Chocolate Chip S'Mores Pizookies

Oh my!  This mixture of a warm gooey chocolate chip

cookie, S'mores, ice cream and toppings will have 

you swooning and digging in for another spoonful!

You know my philosophy on eating treats -

80/20 - eat healthy 80 percent of the time

so that you can indulge 20 percent of the time.

Well, this Pizookie or Skookie or Skillet Cookie,

whatever you want to call it, fits well

into that 20 percent of indulgence, and it

is so worth it!  The chocolate chip cookie is first

baked, just until set, then it is topped with graham

cracker, Hershey bars, and mini marshmallows.

The mini marshmallows are toasted under the broiler.

After it comes out of the oven, it is topped with two

scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate

and of course, a Hershey candy piece.

We love to make decadent desserts and then

share them as couples, so you are only getting

half as much decadence, and this hot, gooey

concoction is definitely big enough to share.

Chocolate Chip S'Mores Pizookies or Skookies

Makes 6

1 recipe of your favorite chocolate chip cookies

1 C. crumbled graham crackers

4 Hershey candy bars (1.55 oz each)

2 C. mini marshmallows

Vanilla ice cream

Whipped cream

Hot fudge sauce

Spray 6 mini Skookie pans with Pam.  There are two

basic sizes.  I made mine in the 5 inch size.  Your amounts

will vary if you use the 7 inch size, but either will work.

Press cookie dough into the bottom of the pan.  Do not cover

the pan completely or very full because the cookie will spread

and grow and these pans are not deep. 

(See collage above!)

 Place the pans on

a cookie sheet (in case they ooze over the pan a little) and

bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  You want the top just set.

Turn the oven to broil.

Remove the cookies from the oven and top with crumbled

graham cracker, then Hershey squares, then mini marshmallows.

Place the cookies back under the broiler.  Watch carefully so

that they don't burn - you just want them golden brown.

Remove and let cool a minute, then scoop the ice cream

and place the toppings on and have everyone dig in!

Yeah, you had better share this one!

Can you see the layers of lusciousness?!!

Baked Brie with Bruleed Pears and Candied Pecans

Have you ever had an experience when someone asks you

to make a recipe that they think you have made before, and

you don't have that recipe in your arsenal?  

Well, that just happened to me.  My friend asked me to make

my Brie with sugared pears, and I asked if she meant my

Brown Sugar Baked Brie en Croute

that I serve with sugared pears, and she said that wasn't

the one.  I think she must have remembered something

that someone else had made, but maybe I could come

up with something to please her for her luncheon.

I decided that I wanted to use my torch to brulee the pears

rather than broil or bake them, or pan fry them.  

I have actually had my little kitchen torch for a long time,

but I couldn't get it to fill.  My son in law was over, and I

knew that he could figure it out, and he did!  Hooray!!!

Wish I would have asked ages ago, and I do mean ages!

With the soft textures of the warm cheese, and the bruleed pears,

I wanted a little crunch, so I added sugared pecans - so, so easy,

and the perfect touch.

Start by removing the top rind, and poking holes

with a fork.

Cover the top of the Brie with brown sugar,

then bake until the Brie is soft and runny. 

 See how that sugar has melted

and run down into the holes?  Wow!!

Then ripe Bartlett pears are dipped in sugar and placed

in a fan shape on top of the baked brie.

The pears are now caramelized and lightly cooked from

the torch.  The finishing touch is topping it with sugared pecans.

To tell the truth, I was tempted to just do my Brie en Croute,

but when she had said that wasn't the one, I was glad I played

around and came up with a new idea.  Everyone wanted to just

eat the appetizer and never move on to the main dish (although

that was fantastic too!)  Four of us ate the whole thing!  I am

making it again for Mother's Day dinner.  It is so simple, yet

fabulous.

Baked Brie with Bruleed Pears and Candied Pecans

6 inch wheel of Brie

1-2 T. brown sugar

2 ripe Bartlett Pears

1/4 C. white sugar

2 C. pecans

1/2 C. white sugar

1/4 C. water

1 baguette, cut, and toasted

Heat oven to 350.

With a sharp knife, remove the top of the Brie.  Poke the

Brie with a fork, and spread the brown sugar on the top of

the cheese.  Place the cheese in an ovenproof dish.  (I put

a piece of parchment paper under it, which you can see

in the picture, but I wouldn't do that again.  It made it

hard to cut the cheese into wedges.)

Bake for 15 minutes.  The cheese should be soft and melted.

While cheese is baking, place the 1/2 C. white sugar in a frying

pan with the 1/4 C. water.  Bring it to a boil and add the pecans.

Stir constantly.  The syrup will boil and get thick and all of

a sudden the moisture will all boil out, and it will turn sugary.

Pull it off the heat, and pour onto a piece of tinfoil.  Break

the clumps apart while they are hot.

When the cheese is melted, remove from the oven and 

top with sliced pears that have been dipped into the 1/4 C.

white sugar.  Use a kitchen torch to brulee the sugar on

the pears. 

Top with the pecans, and serve warm with toasted baguette.

You can also serve with additional sugared pears.

Mix 1 T. powdered egg white with 2 T. cool water.  Whisk

until smooth.  Paint the egg white on a clean, ripe pear.  Sprinkle

white sugar over the surface.  Set aside until the egg white dries.

This one will wow everyone, and it is so super simple.

We all fell in love with it!

Best Tea in London - On A Vintage Bus

Welcome to afternoon tea in London!  This had to be

the best food I have ever had at high tea, and the

most fun I have ever had (and I have been to some fun teas!)

Our tea takes place on a vintage double decker bus,

boarding right off Trafalgar Square.  

Imagine how enchanted we were as this 1960's bus

rolled around the corner to pick us up.  Talk about

making you excited that you had picked this excursion.

It was tea plus a bus tour of the major attractions in London.

And as we walked on the bus, our table was

all set and ready to go.

The inside of the bus has been redone with classic vinyl seats,

and funky, girly tables and decor.

Our places were set with hot pink napkins and silver flatware

with vintage plates.  The lemon meringue tarts were on each

plate as we sat down.

 Each individual had a different vintage

china plate.

A darling book was at each table of two or four

to tell you about all of the sites we were going to see.

The table was filled with the most scrumptious

sandwiches and pastries.  They are all made by

BB Bakery, so every bite was fantastic.

Of course we had traditional cucumber sandwiches, but

made with their homemade bread.

with quiche and smoked salmon and cucumber blinis, 

along

with a tomato bread and a chicken sandwich that was 

everyone's favorite.

This was not a skimpy tea like some!

We couldn't finish all of the food,

and they had orange juice in cup holders

on the table, they took your order for tea - I chose

peppermint, and they also offered us water.

Each of the delectable sweets were made with real

cream and were fantastic.

 A few days later, we ran across BB Bakery.

It was just as charming.

Look at their gorgeous florals in the windows,

and notice the little creamer filled with

French Macarons at the bottom.

This is another floral, made of pastries with

a couple of tea cups tucked in!

Simply darling.

I would highly recommend this tea experience,

or just stopping at BB Bakery!  We all felt like

it was one of the highlights of our London experience.

I will be posting this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday

Dishing It and Digging It

Retro Dinner of Aprons and Pearls for The Relief Society Birthday Party

Welcome to our Relief Society Birthday Party!

The Relief Society is the Women's Organization

of our church, 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Every March we celebrate the beginning of the Relief 

Society, which was organized in 1842.  I am on the

committee.  The dinner is usually for around 60 women.

This year we chose a retro theme of Aprons and Pearls.

This was the invitation for the event, thanks to Annie.

Just seeing this darling invitation made you

want to attend.

The centerpieces of all the tables were beautiful packages

wrapped in pattern tissue, and topped with matching bows,

crowned with jewels.  There were vintage hats, books,

and trinkets tucked around the room.

Vintage hankies, aprons, gloves and doilies were 

hung as banners behind the serving table.

Laura and Joanne had all of the vintage items.

They purchased the patterns at a thrift store.

Laura had vintage dresses, and the dress forms were

dressed in them, with aprons and pearls.  These

"ladies" greeted the women at the door.  I think

these ladies at the door were my favorite decor

item.

What an impact a little bling and ribbon makes on

a package wrapped with pattern tissue.

Such a clever idea.  

The centers of each table also had mini sewing machines

owned by Joanne.

Volunteers made cakes to add to the table decor,

and also as dessert.

Here are the tables before the cakes were brought.

We had eight tables set up.

We are in the kitchen with one of our retro maids with a huge

bowl of mashed potatoes.

We had meatloaf, salad with retro dressings (Thousand Island, French, and Italian - bottled of course), 

Jello Salads, fresh rolls and mashed 

potatoes.

My favorite part was seeing ladies of all ages in their

aprons and pearls.

Of course, we made it a point to try out all of the

cakes from each table.  This one was made by

my neighbor across the street,  Hailey, who is a teenager.

This girl has talent!  It was the yummiest chocolate cake.

It was a fun and unique party theme, with adorable decor.

I will be posting this with 

Tablescapes Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday

Dishing It and Digging It