Weekend Reading

Wow, it's been an embarrassingly long time since I've done a link-love style post! I suppose I think they're so easy to do that I'll do it the night before/morning I want the post up, but somehow that never seems to happen (except this morning, thank you Sunday!). It's also tough because I prep a lot of my posts for the upcoming week over the weekend, but I never know what's going to catch my eye or happen in my life for a link love/Friday post. I've been telling myself for weeks that I'm going to spend that next weekend relaxing, getting things done around my apartment and doing some serious (blog) work...but that never seems to happen. I'm far too easily sidetracked by day trips to the Hamptons or upstate, brunches, coffee (lots) and the chance to wander the streets of NYC while it's still nice out. Oh, and let's not forget the puppies! Scout's honor (although I'm not a scout, so I don't think that holds weight here) I'm working on consistency. We all know it's not my forte.

Overwhelmed by the response this post has received from friends all over the country-if you want to see more writing like this, please let me know in the comments!

A delicious-sounding recipe for salt and honey pie.

Adding this chunky knit to my collection for winter.

Love this great list of bars that NYC's bartenders like to drink at. (A few of my favorites are on there-Amor y Amargo and Lantern's Keep!)

Have you seen Real-Life Instagram yet? Definitely a good laugh.

Bookmarking Lulu & Georgia's gift page for the holidays!

I know Dia de Muertos is over, but I still want some of these beautiful cookies from Dean & DeLuca.

Now's the perfect time to stock up on gardening supplies for next year-like this bright yellow watering can (so fun!).

Alpaca wool & silk throw, perfect for all the nights I won't want to leave my couch this winter.

What to do with all those apples from the orchard.

Great tips for removing stains from just about anything (coming to you from the queen of I-spill-on-everything).

Getting my sweet tooth fix with this baked donuts recipe.

Recently saw that Victoria & Grace have signed up for French lessons-I studied it for 10 years but am a little out of practice. Checking out classes in NYC here!

*image copyright Rose Mayo/Blonde in this City

A Treat for All My Friends (Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies)

One day, while browsing blogs, I stumbled across a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. It was late September, so I knew it was a perfect recipe for the fall season! I have a thing about trying to bake something every weekend, usually on Sundays, as a dessert for the week (& yummy treat for my roommates). 

The best thing about these cookies is their cake-like consistency, keeping them nice and fluffy after baking instead of flattening out the way most cookies do. I like mine to have a rich, spicy flavor so I've adapted the recipe a little bit. I've also read great things about substituting applesauce for the oil, I'm going to have to give it a try next time! They're also super quick to make, perfect if you don't have all day to spend in the kitchen. I highly recommend investing in some Goldtouch Baking Sheets from Williams Sonoma if you're in need of new bakeware before you start this recipe. They're pricey, but well worth the investment-I use mine several times a month.

I've made these a couple times now, and they don't last more than a day or two. I had a special request from Jessica to make them once she finished her Whole 30 plan in October, so I baked up a batch last weekend & took them to all the girls at brunch on Sunday!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: About 25 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon milk

1 tablespoon vanilla (extract or paste)

16 oz bag chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin and sugar. Add vegetable oil and egg. 

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

3. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and stir into pumpkin mixture. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly. 

4. Add vanilla. Mixture will be very moist, but not runny. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (can also be a greased cookie sheet). Bake at 365º for approximately 12 minutes or until firm and lightly brown. 

6. Enjoy!

*adapted from allrecipes

I fully plan on making another batch for the orphan's Thanksgiving we hold at my apartment every year. Last year, I did a crumb-topped apple pie that lasted all of 15 minutes once it was cut! 

xx

Homemade Oreos (+ a serious dose of cabin fever)

I got a little lazy yesterday after finding out I wouldn't be at work today (or, likely, tomorrow-thanks Sandy). I have a terrible case of cabin fever, and you'd think I'd be used to it after dealing with winter storms consistently throughout my childhood. Weirdly enough, I think living through four floods in Iowa since 1993 has made me oddly calm about everything going on right now, and I feel more annoyed at being shut in than anything else. Mostly I've been watching FAR too much TV & eating pretty much everything in my kitchen. 

I've made kale chips (twice), pasta, apple cinnamon pancakes for breakfast...next on my list? A favorite of mine-homemade oreos. I stumbled across the recipe when reading a blog earlier this summer & traced it to Smitten Kitchen, a fantastic site for everything delicious. Since we still have power, I'm about to go take advantage of it & whip these up...they're super easy and immensely popular with my roomies & friends. 

*photos & recipe via Smitten Kitchen

Homemade Oreos
Adapted from Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

Let’s talk about the sugar for a minute, shall we? This is a sweet cookie. A good, sweet cookie. Yet, if you think of an actual Oreos, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling bringing harmony, happiness, yada yada. If you want your cookie closer to that original, you can take out a full half-cup of the sugar. If you want to make the cookie by itself (as I did a while back for ice cream sandwiches), go ahead and use the full amount.

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups (155 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (45 grams, but cocoa weights can vary greatly) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups (200 to 300 grams) sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 140 grams) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 55 grams) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup (50 grams) vegetable shortening
2 cups (240 grams) sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

The above photo is from an earlier batch of mine...they didn't last long! I need a yummy dessert for this storm since I already finished all my ice cream.

I hope everyone on the East Coast is holding up alright! Thoughts are with all of you. 

xx