Valentine's Day S'mores

I have been craving s'mores lately and Valentine's Day just happened to stumble upon my craving. This recipe is a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe (shaped in to hearts, of course) with the addition of a graham cracker crust, marshmallows & pink and red m&m's.
...I had to make the extra-giant heart-shaped cookie just for fun:-)
And I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to combine my craving with a gift for my new office. Who doesn't love the new girl with sweet treats?
So I packed these bright and yummy cookies in to individual packaging with a sweet note and brought them to work for that 2pm snack everyone looks forward to in the office.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of graham cracker crust, crumbled
1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of m&m's
1/4 cup of marshmallows
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 1/4 cups of flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

1 Beat the butter until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the sugars, beat for 2 more minutes. Mix in the graham cracker and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips, m&m's & marshmallows.

2 Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

3 Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.

For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.

A semi-homemade Whoopie Pie recipe decorated perfectly for hungry football fans. I used a traditional cake batter for the cookies but swapped in a simple store bought creamy vanilla frosting for the filling. Why? I've always had trouble finding a marshmellow filling that I liked and was easy to make - vanilla icing is my perfect solution.

By the way, interesting fact. Whoopie Pie's originate in either the Amish country of Pennsylvania or in New England. Nancy Baggett in her book "The All-American Cookie Book" gives an excellent account of their history. She tells us that they can be traced back to the depression era and the Berwick Cake Company of Boston was the first to start making them commercially (around 1926). Although we may never know who or how someone came up with these delicious cookies, the story is that one day a creative cook had leftover cake batter and decided to make large round cookies with it. When they turned out, the cook was heard to say "Whoopie!" "Pies."

{Super Bowl Whoopie Pie}

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups cacao powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup strong coffee, lukewarm

1 cup creamy vanilla icing, store bought

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg beating well. Beat in the vanilla extract.

4. In a small measuring cup, mix the buttermilk and coffee.

5. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture, coffee mixture and flour.

6. Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. With moistened fingers or with the back of a spoon, smooth the tops of the cookies.

7. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

8. Once cooled, take the store bought icing and smooth it in the insides of two cookies. Refrigerate for two hours.

Red Carpet Celebration

Hosting an Awards Season party?

The Award's Season is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only am I a media professional but personally my weeks are filled with sitcoms, new movies, documentaries and reality shows - it's true. Over the past few years, my friends have started a tradition of getting together to guess the winners of each award and to criticize the fashion. Here are a few of my favorite necessities for red carpet season. Enjoy! Don't forget to look at the nominations (Oscars)

1. I get super cranky when I have cute shoes on but my feet hurt. Dr. Scholls inserts feel luxurious and are frequently my lifesaver.

2. Every party needs an invite to set the mood. Cocodot.com has the most fabulous selection of e-cards and invitations including designer collections for unique occasions.

3. It's always important to show appreciate to your host by bringing a gift including wine, food or my personal favorite, baked goods. My new favorite gifting obsession is BananaAppeal, a little jar filled with all-natural banana infused delicious cakes.

4. A bold necklace can make any simple girl stand out. Check out OpenSky.com for great deals on local designers.

5. Several of my friends swear by a Juice Cleanse to refresh your body from all the toxins you take in during the year. I have never tried one but recently found these Red Carpet Cleanses and could not think of a more perfect excuse to test it out.

6. Chocolate Champagne Corks? Amazing and necessary at every celebration.

7. Baked by Melissa is my favorite cupcake place of all time. Melissa makes tiny little cake bites allowing you to try several flavors including Banana Pie, Oreo, S'mores and Red Velvet.

8. I'm always looking for a lighter, less messy nacho recipe and this Wheat Cracker version at MyRecipes.com is perfect.

9. Award season is a nice excuse to be a little edgy even if you're a kitten on the inside. ShopHale.com is a local San Francisco- Marina designer selling handcrafted, affordable edgy jewelry for your hair. Fun!

Trail Mix Cookies

{Trail Mix & Peanut Butter Cookies}

This weekend I was so excited to travel up to Lake Tahoe to meet some friends from New York. Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite indulgences to soak up in the bay area - skiing, hiking, stunning views, local brews and late night games of Yahtzee...LOVE! This recipe was inspired by my weekend ski trips which are always a mixture of healthy days and indulgent nights with friends...

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar


• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature


• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter


• 1/2 cup trail mix


• 1 egg


• 1 1/4 cup flour


• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1 Beat the butter until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the sugars, beat for 2 more minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture. Add the trail mix.

2 Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

3 Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.

For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.

TAHOE PICTURES

'Follow Me' to Win a $50 Gilt Groupe Gift Card

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

'Follow Me' for a chance to win (1) FREE $50 Gilt Groupe E-Gift Card...

The {PartyDish} knows that every girl has a 'gilt'y pleasure. As a 'thank you' for reading {PartyDish} this year, I am giving away (1) FREE $50 Gilt Group Gift Card! It's easy, just enter your email in the 'Follow Me' box in the upper right hand corner by January 1st, 2012 and you could win. What's Gilt Groupe? Only the best luxury fashion and city finds for up to 60% off retail price. See here. Any questions? Email Stephiegalli@gmail.com... Happy Holidays & Have a Gilt-y New Years!

DIRECTIONS:

1. FOLLOW ME by entering your email in the upper right hand corner. You should receive a 'thank you' note in your email...

2. FORWARD your confirmation email to Stephiegalli@gmail.com...

3. CHECK YOUR EMAIL on January 1st, 2012 for me to contact the winner.

Any questions? Contact Stephiegalli@gmail.com...

You could win a $50 Gilt Groupe Gift Card

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

'Follow Me' for a chance to win (1) FREE $50 Gilt Groupe E-Gift Card...

The {PartyDish} knows that every girl has a 'gilt'y pleasure. As a 'thank you' for reading {PartyDish} this year, I am giving away (1) FREE $50 Gilt Group Gift Card! It's easy, just enter your email in the 'Follow Me' box in the upper right hand corner by January 1st, 2012 and you could win. What's Gilt Groupe? Only the best luxury fashion and city finds for up to 60% off retail price. See here. Any questions? Email Stephiegalli@gmail.com... Happy Holidays & Have a Gilt-y New Years!

DIRECTIONS:

1. FOLLOW ME by entering your email in the upper right hand corner. You should receive a 'thank you' note in your email...

2. FORWARD your confirmation email to Stephiegalli@gmail.com...

3. CHECK YOUR EMAIL on January 1st, 2012 for me to contact the winner.

Any questions? Contact Stephiegalli@gmail.com...