I'm Back

Introducing: 

 

Luke Levi Jackson

12.28.12

10lbs 4oz   22in

If you know/follow me on Facebook, than you've long seen this introduction, and know that we've been pretty busy over here. 

And, I know... I know... It's been a very long time since I've blogged. Were you starting to think I'd given up on the blog altogether? 

I have to admit - the thought did cross my mind about just giving it up. As much as I love this blog, I've said so many times before that it's only for the enjoyment of doing it, and if it's too much or too stressful to post, than I will never post just to post. So, that is the reason I have not done anything for the blog in almost 5 months. 

      

As you can imagine, I've kind of had my hands full! :) This little guy has been keeping me busy and giving me a run for my money! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this little munch, but motherhood has been a totally different journey than anything I've ever expected. 

I'm not sure that really anyone can know what to expect. As much as you think you do, as much as you absolutely plan for the lack of sleep, crying, and overwhelming feeling of being worried 100% of the time, there really is nothing that can prepare you for what it's like. It probably doesn't help that our little baby has given us a challenge from the beginning! :) 

He was 11 days overdue, so from the start, he has wanted to do things in his own timing. About 12 hours after birth, we realized that he was having difficulty breathing, so we spent an incredibly scary 5 days in the NICU. 

  

We are so enjoying having Luke into our lives. He has such personality (as you can see in these pictures). He loves to laugh (and hates to sleep! :)), enjoys discovering new things... has already figured out how to roll over and get his feet into his mouth, and just enjoys life! We are so blessed by him, and cannot believe he's already four months old! 

 

Once we came home, about 2 weeks after his birth, we started to have major issues with eating. This is really still quite an issue for us. Luke does not like to eat. We've tried the gamut of solutions to try to figure out what is going on - I've tried no dairy, thought it was reflux, tried adjusting his schedule, tried bottle feeding only, tried nursing only, tried every position imaginable for nursing, saw a lactation consultant, tried probiotics... unfortunately, nothing seems to be working. Hopefully, one day soon we'll figure out what is going on. He certainly did not inherit his lack of desire to eat gene from me! :) 

During this time, I eliminated dairy from my diet for a little over 2 months to see if that was causing the issue and rule out a lactose intolerance. Of course, my sweet tooth was having a hay day with that one. So I had to find something I could eat that satisfied my sweet tooth while not adding any lactose. (P.S. FYI oreo cookies are dairy free!!!)

 

This recipe calls for coconut oil instead of butter and you can hardly tell there is butter missing. Coconut oil is great for hair/skin as well, and you can find it at Target. It's really creamy and great. My favorite thing to do with it by far is to mix in a little bit of sugar with a spoonful of it and use it as an all natural lip scrub! 

You'll have to give these cookies a try - they are really packed full of flavor and the consistency is great! 

 

Toasted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies (Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup coconut oil (measured solid), melted and slightly cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut, lightly toasted for approximately 3-4 min in oven
1 cup quick oats

Preparation: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, prepare dry ingredients by mixing together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

 

3. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer mix together the sugar, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla until creamed together and fluffy. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Stir in oatmeal and toasted coconut flakes. 

 

 

4. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet and press cookie down slightly with the back of the spoon in the center. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are very lightly browned and set. Allow them to cool slightly before transferring to a wire cooling rack and cooling completely. 

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Peppermint Bark

I love to make Christmas treats. I look at recipes all year long in anticipation of which ones I'll make each year. Part of the joy of making all these treats is to give it away! One of my favorite things to do is to make gift baskets of homemade treats to give to friends, neighbors, and maybe keep a bit for myself too! 

This year, I'm going a little more low key since Baby Jackson is due any day now, and I want to make a few things in advance that will store for a bit, especially since some of these gift baskets this year will be going to the nurses at the hospital who will be helping me out - God Bless em! :) 

I made the traditional peppermint bark as one of the treats this year. It's so easy, there's no excuse to buy the store bought kind. And considering, with the cost being about $7.00 for an entire batch that can split into multiple servings - it's super affordable - way cheaper than the store bought stuff. And I can guarantee what kind of chocolate is in it - I went for the good stuff since the chocolate is the main ingredient. My favorite is Guittard chocolate. I know I've mentioned it on here before, and I think it's only available in California, but it's AMAZING, and totally worth it - even if you have to order it! :) 

Homemade Peppermint Bark - by Me

Print Recipe

Ingredients: 

12 oz Guittard (or other high quality) semi sweet chocolate chips

12 oz Guittard or Ghiradelli white chocolate chips

1 Tbs. vegetable oil (only if needed)

approximately 12 mini candy canes or 6 regular ones

Preparation: 

Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or silpat. 

In a microwave safe bowl, place semisweet chocolate chips and microwave in 35-45 second increments, stirring after each heating until chocolate is completely melted. Pour and spread chocolate into prepared 9x13" pan. Place in freezer for approximately 20 minutes. 

While the chocolate is chilling, place candy canes in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin or glass. 

When there is a few minutes left for the semisweet chocolate, melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until smooth. If chocolate is not completely smooth, add 1 TBS vegetable oil until all smooth. Add about 1/4 of the candy cane mixture into the white chocolate and spread quickly onto chilled semisweet chocolate layer. Sprinkle the rest of the candy canes onto the top of the white chocolate and chill in freezer for an additional 20 minutes. 

Take out of freezer and turn over on cutting board. Use a knife or rolling pin and pound gently to break into pieces. Enjoy. 

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2nd Annual Blogger Cookie Swap - Nutmeg Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love cookies! and I love Christmas cookies! 

Because I love to be in a sugar coma from cookies starting December 1st through December 31st, I decided to once again participate in the Food Blogger Cookie Swap. This is my second year (and the cookie swaps second year), and it as always is so much fun. The anticipation of cookies coming in the mail is almost more than I can bear! :) 

Thank you to my awesome cookie swap matches! It's always so fun to learn about new bloggers. 

I got some yummy Ginger Molasses Cookies from Allix @ The NonPareil Baker

Sweet and delicious Oatmeal Cranberry white chocolate chip cookies from Kristen @ The Slender Kitchen

And perfectly chewy and unique deep dish chocolate chip cookies from Sarah @ Sensibly Sara

This year I decided to do a twist on my browned butter molasses chocolate chip cookies. These just went up a whole notch! I found a similar recipe to mine that got all crazy delicious in the Ruche holiday recipe guide. 

These cookies have a hint of coffee, a hint of nutmeg, sweetened condensed milk, and if all that weren't enough, you brown the butter for the most amazing flavor combination. They are intense, but wonderful... and I guarantee you won't be able to eat just one. 

So, I made them all, surprisingly got them all packaged up instead of eating them, and sent them to my matches. Even made a few for friends since they were so yummy. Packaging is half the fun in this cookie swap. Here's how I decided to package mine up this year - hope they made it ok! :)

 

Happy Cookie Swap! 

Nutmeg Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from She Runs, She Eats - Ruche Holiday Recipes)

Print Recipe

Ingredients: 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp ground coffee
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. In a skillet, place butter and allow to melt. Keep cooking for a few minutes until most of the large foam bubbles disappear and butter is golden brown and nutty smelling. I know, very official. :) Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together coffee, flour, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. 

3. In a separate bowl, combine cooled browned butter and brown sugar until combined. Follow this with the sweetened condensed milk, egg, and vanilla. Continue to whisk until smooth. 

4. Stir flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture and continue stirring until all flour is completely mixed in. 

5. Mix in chocolate chips and stir until combined. Mixture will be thick. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350. Roll about 1 1/2" balls of dough. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper approximately 1" apart, and press dough down until flattened. Bake cookies for ~13-15 minutes (depending on if you use a metal pan or not), until tops of cookies are crisp and slightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes on baking tray and transfer to cooling rack to complete cooling. 

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Pumpkin Loaf Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting

If you've read my blog for awhile, you know I love the fall - and this fall seems to be flying by in rapid speed! 

With baby Jackson due in just FOUR short weeks - yes you read that right - four weeks... I feel like I'm having to wrap up fall and start getting ready for Christmas early. 

I usually  have a very steadfast rule in my house - no Christmas music, no Christmas movies, no decorations, not even eggnog until after Thanksgiving. But when I was grocery shopping last week and saw that the Christmas colored M&M's were out, I BARELY contained myself to not pick them up. :) I feel like I'm running out of time! I'm determined to celebrate Thanksgiving though and be thankful for every blessing from God this year - especially Baby Jackson! 

As his due date is getting closer, for the first time in the whole pregnancy, I'm really feeling the effects of being pregnant. For the most part, I did't really have any major side effects that effected daily life for me. I did have an IT band injury related to body changes that made me have to stop running at 7 months, but really, I made it to 7 months still running- that's really not bad. I just switched the routine to elliptical workouts and swimming, and it's been great. However, between having an attack of tachycardia, the overall 3rd trimester tiredness, and showing small signs of pregnancy induced hypertension, it's starting to feel pretty real and I have to say that I'm really looking forward to meeting him! 

Somehow, I found time to savor the fall for just a bit and make some yummy cookies that exploded with fall flavor. :) These are originally called pumpkin cookies - but I renamed them pumpkin loaf cookies because of their texture. They are soft and light, and literally remind me of biting into a piece of pumpkin loaf in the shape of a cookie. Add the browned butter buttercream frosting on top, and it's pure fall-flavored perfection. 

What's your favorite way to make fall last? 

                                      

Pumpkin Loaf Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting (From Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

• For The Cookies
  
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (14 ounces)
  • 3/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  For The Icing
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation: 

For the Cookies: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and set mixture aside. 

2. Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for approximately 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and then reduce the speed to low. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients - pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Dough will be pretty wet. 

3. Transfer dough to a cookie piper or ziplog bag with the end cut off. Pipe 1 1/2" rounds on a baking sheet spread with parchment paper or silpat. Bake for 12 minutes or until cookies are cooked through. Allow to cool on a wire rack. 

For Frosting:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan until golden brown, foam disappears, and a slight nutty smell emerges - approximately 3-5 minutes. Pull off heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. 

2. In a large bowl, mix confectioner's sugar, browned butter (making sure to scrape all the browned bits from the pan), evaporated milk and vanilla. Stir until smooth. When cookies are cool, spread frosting on tops. 

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