TWD: Chipster Topped Brownies

Two words - Delicious Disaster.

This was supposed to be a layer of decadent brownie topped with chocolate chip cookies. Later, it would be covered two scoops of vanilla ice cream and smothered in hot fudge. But...

I heard tales of overbaked cookie/brownies so I shaved 5 minutes off the time. The result was gooey middle (part of which fell on the floor!). Oops. Oh well, the rest was YUM and got sent to school with hubs with a note that said "looks ugly, tastes great."

I think folks appreciated my hodge podge additions. I added all the random chocolate chips in the cupboard as well as half a bag of heath bits I had left over from something. I will make this again but will bake for the full time. Oh, the lessons learned...

I wish I had photographed it before I took it out of the pan. It was golden brown and gorgeous! Pay no attention to these photos:

Head over to TWD to see how all the other bakers fared. You can also find a link to this week's featured baker and the recipe for this gem.

TWD: Tartest Lemon Tart

I made this week's lemon tart and man, the name is totally appropriate. You use the entire lemon (minus seeds) for the recipe. This was one tart tart! I've noticed that citrus things have tasted extra tart during my pregnancy so this was too tart for me. (Something that's never happened to me before.) But, I took the tart with me to Mother's Day dinner and it got eaten, burnt edges and all.

The recipe called for use of a fluted tart pan with removable bottom and mine doesn't have a removable bottom so I used my springform. I spread the crust too thin by pushing it too far up the sides and it got really burned. My sweet MIL claimed she liked things burnt. She is so good to me!

Head over to TWD and see how all the other bakers fared. Hope all the moms and moms-to-be had a great day on Sunday! I'll see you all next week with mango bread. Sounds fun!

Off-line

Hey guys, I'm giant stress monkey right now. Too much technology, too much stress. I'm going offline for a few days. No need to worry. I'll be back this weekend.

See you on the flipside!

Forgotten photos

I realized I never posted the pictures of the Coconut Butter Thins from a few weeks ago. Man, they were really yummy!

TWD: Coconut Butter Thins

EEK! I forgot to finish my draft write up for these delish cookies and I just realized I never posted my blueberry crumb cake. Write-ups are coming tonight after work. Thanks for your patience!

kisses!

TWD: French Yogurt Cake

I'm too pooped to write too much but this week's recipe was very good. Apparently, every French person over the age of 4 knows how to make this cake so thank goodness I was able to get it done without any major issues. My pan wasn't quite the right size so my cake was shorter than some of my fellow bakers but it tasted amazing, especially after I trimmed the edges off. They were a little too done for me.

I used orange marmalade as the glaze since I couldn't find lemon. Next time, I might even skip the glaze. The cake is the really star of the combo.

Head over to TWD and see how all the other bakers did this week. There was a fancy option for this cake and some folks really did it up. I, of course, opted for the basic option. Hey! Sometimes simple is just better. But, you can judge for yourself. And if you want the recipe pop on over to My Cookbook Addiction and say hi to Lilliana.

I'll be making this one again!

Updates

Wow! So much has been going on recently that I've really been neglecting my blog. Sadly, I don't think that will change anytime soon since things don't really seem like they will slow for a while.

I've gotten a lot of questions about the big announcement. The hubs and I are expecting our first child sometime around 9/28. We don't know the gender of the baby yet but we do hope to find out when it is time. I am now in the 12th week and feeling pretty good. I had about three weeks of morning (er, all day) sickness but thankfully, that seems to be gone. I still get pretty tired and when I can, I take a nap at lunchtime. If I get in a good 30-40 minutes of sleep, it really makes a huge difference for the rest of my day. I'm getting a tummy pooch but don't really think I am 'showing' yet. Though, my body is definitely changing (especially the girls). We are obviously super thrilled about the baby and just hoping for a happy healthy bundle in just a few months.

My sister is still moving out to live with us and should be here in late July. She's a great girl and I am so happy she'll be around when the baby is born though I've told her many times that we don't expect her to be a baby slave. It will be so nice to have some of my family nearby since all the rest live 1500 miles away. The hubs family is close by and I know they will be a huge help. I really do have the best inlaws.

We are in the house hunting process though I probably won't talk about it much online until the deal is done. I am preparing myself for a long and stressful journey so I don't get too disappointed when we don't get the first thing we love. Our agent warned us that the market now is tricky and patience is key. However, it is hard to have patience when I need a place for my kid to sleep in just a few months!

Anyway, we have some big changes afoot for 2009 and they are all good things. I'll try to keep you all posted with updates and if you have any questions, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer.

Hope you guys have a great week!