Month: August 2014

Biscoff Blondies with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chips

/ Jodi / 8 Comments

biscoff blondies title photo

OOOO  LA LA!!  Have you ever tasted Biscoff Spread?

O… M… G…

It kinda tastes like those little teddy graham cookie crackers, but in a peanut buttery-like spread.  (Can you imagine?!)

biscoff

It is amazing on toast, bagels, English muffins…..

It is heavenly licked from a spoon!

Add it to a blondie with some cinnamon chips and some white chocolate – and it is magical!

biscoff blondies 2b

Remember – I was recently cleaning out the baking shelf??   Well – I had some Biscoff Spread, had some cinnamon chips, and Biscoff Blondies came to my imagination.

So, of course, I googled Biscoff Blondies to see if anyone had thought of it yet or if there was a similar recipe; and lo and behold, the amazing Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction, had just the recipe!

I thought it needed cinnamon chips, so that was just the way to “Jodi” it up.

biscoff blondies 4

I simply followed Sally’s recipe, but subbed 1/2 cinnamon chips and 1/2 white chocolate chips for her 1 1/4 cups of white chocolate chips.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup  flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 Tbsp  butter, melted
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Biscoff spread
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray (I used a 9 x 9 square baking stone).

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk, then add the vanilla. Stir in the Biscoff spread. Gently fold in the dry ingredients.

(Per Sally – be careful not to overmix, as it will result in crumbly, hard blondies.).

Fold in the cinnamon and white chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The blondies may appear very soft, but they will set up as they cool.  Always UNDERBAKE for yummy goodness.

Allow the blondies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 16 yummy, awesome blondies.

biscoff blondies 2a

Betchya can’t eat just one!

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Drink More Water

/ Jodi / 5 Comments

water

We hear it everywhere – right? We know it is good for us – right? But do you drink enough water?
I know I don’t myself.
Coffee all morning – many cups… Wine in the evening – (ahem) no comment…

All dehydrating.
So I TRY to drink a couple of glasses of water in between.
I was watching a show on Food Network recently that took muddled honeydew and coconut water and lime juice that they made look like a cocktail!
Fruit Infused Water seems to be all the rage.
So I thought I’d try my own version.
I must say – DELISH!
water 2
For my water “cocktail,” I simply mixed some muddled fresh red raspberries and lime juice to some sparkling water over a tall glass of ice.
water 3


Another really refreshing way to drink water that seems all the rage is with freshly sliced cucumbers; and with all the cucumbers I’m harvesting (YAY!), I tried this too – with simple tap water.  Nice when you don’t want something “sweet.”  And it is amazing how quickly it infuses.

cuke water

It’s not quite cucumber vodka (which – – have you tried yet?  with tonic – YUM!) …… but – I so easily digress – we’re hydrating now – remember?!

And it always tastes better with a cute straw – right?

Drinking Water…
At Life in Between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Cheers! It’s Friday!

/ Jodi / 2 Comments

happy hour cheers

CHEERS!  It’s Friday!  Another week flew by, and it’s the Yippee Skippee Weekend again!

I’m sure hoping it’s a summertime weather weekend.  These silly Fall-like temperatures need to go away and come back another day – much later in the year.

For my Friday card this week, I had fun with StampinUp’s Happy Hour Stamp Set making fun looking cocktails and thinking festively of celebrating time with family and friends.  The “Cheers” is embossed in silver, and I thought the silver ribbon added just what it needed.

Hope your weekend brings lots of things to cheer or “cheers” about!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi