-- Dare to... Eat Cookies --

It feels like I keep making little adjustments to the Dare to DIY Challenge and this week - Dare to Eat Cookies isn't any exception.  Fortunately, Kim is a pretty nice person and I think she will still accept my contribution :)

At our house we are making a concerted effort to cut way back on the snacks - which definitely includes cookies.  However, Christmas isn't Christmas without Lemon Bread so we made the choice to forego cookies and indulge in our Lemon Bread instead.

With a sweet, tangy and crunchy glaze on top this bread is just perfect.  Here's the recipe which has been passed down through both of our families for a few generations...

Glazed Lemon Bread
 - 1/2 cup shortening
 - 1 cup sugar
 - 2 eggs
 - 1/2 cup milk
 - 1 1/2 cup flour
 - 1 tsp baking powder
 - grated rind of 1 lemon


Mix and place in a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degree for 45 to 60 minutes depending on your pan.


When cooked remove from oven and drizzle immediately (while in hot pan) with the following mixture:
 - juice of 1 lemon
 - 1/4 cup sugar

** I made this batch with multigrain flour and Lucas reported that it tasted "funny"  I'd agree and say it was definitely heavier than usual but it still had a great flavor.

If you want to check out a similar Christmas treats... check out what I posted earlier this fall: Homemade Peppermint Patties or one of the Dare to... Eat Cookies challenges from last year: here and here.

-- Winter White --

This fall has been a challenge for me.  It just feels like the weeks are flying by!  Mondays are long days at work because of a late in the day meeting that just makes the evening commute home even longer.  As a result, on Monday nights we get home around 6:30/6:45pm, make dinner, make our lunch for the next day and its just about time for bed.  On Tuesdays I teach a 3hr night class that doesn't get over until 10pm and then I get up at 5:30am the next morning for work on Wednesdays.  Because of this somewhat crazy schedule to my early week, by the time Wednesday evenings come around I am so ready to change into some jammies, and hang out on the couch.

Last night, we did just that but also wanted a little sweet snack with our hot evening beverage :)  So I tried out a recipe that I found on Pinterest. 

The "pin-spiration":

Source: howsweeteats.com via Amanda on Pinterest

My version:

I didn't have any evaporated milk so I used a light cream and I think it turned out fine.  I also didn't have a whole bunch of chocolate so I fully dipped a couple peppermint patties and just half-dipped the rest.  

The bonus: these guys only took about 20 minutes and half of that was waiting for them to firm up in the freezer!

I spent the rest of my evening winterizing my nails... another "pinspiration" :)

-- Attitude Adjustment --

I'm not sure why, but lately I've been in a bit of a funk and the lack of blog posting is Exhibit A of my bad mood.  As my Mom and Dad might say, I have been in desperate need of an attitude adjustment :)

So in an effort to perk-me-up Lucas suggested Cake Pops and that's an idea that I can definitely get behind.  My last cake pop experience was also right around Easter and they were delicious.  This batch is equally as good - and was less of a headache too because I took the route of sprinkles instead of hand-decorating each pop.

A highlight of this Cake Pop experience was that I asked Lucas to get me a piece of styrofoam to stick the pops into and he didn't have any in the garage.  So instead he disappeared into his workshop, pulled out some wood scraps and a drill bit and came back with these stunners!  Nice right?  I think that with the way Cake Pops are sweeping the country, he should patent these babies :)

Yes, I took a lot of pictures :)

In addition to making - and eating - Cake Pops, another perk-me-up from yesterday was coming across this beautiful song on Facebook yesterday by Nichole Nordeman.  What a wonderful message - my favorite line "You should have seen me smile the day that I made you"

If you've got a minute - check out this video - it will make your heart swell :)





Ok, one last Cake Pop picture...

-- Yummy! --

I found Dlish via a Toronto based blog (that I can't seem to track down) and I was immediately smitten.  The cupcakes look just like the ones from the TLC show "DC Cupcakes".  So when my sister suggested a little afternoon get together, I suggested that she take a gander over to Dlish and pick some up for us to share.

From their online menu, I chose 3 cupcakes, a Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cookies and Cream, and Red Velvet.  The Cookies and Cream was my favorite!

Red Velvet was a close second though - I can't believe that this was my first opportunity to try Red Velvet cake (it definitely won't be my last...)

So Yummy!

If you are in the Toronto area, I'd suggest to run, not walk, over to Dlish!  But check their website because they only make certain flavors on certain days...