cookies

On Oreos, Ice Cream + Snow Stress

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Breyers Golden Oreo ice creamMaybe it’s snow stress. Maybe my sweet tooth has turned very nostalgic for the treats of my youth. Maybe it’s a bit of both. Either way, I’ve become rather preoccupied with all things Oreo. Cannot wait to try the S’mores Oreos!

When I was in the store recently, I noticed Breyers Golden Oreo Cookies & Cream. I could not resist.  Like most days now, another snow storm was imminent and this flavor seemed quite comforting. It was!

The cookie ice cream combo reminds me of Steve’s Ice Cream from back in the day.

Breyers actually has quite a cool thing going on with their Breyers Blasts! line of ice creams. They have all sorts of cookie, cake and candy combos.

Again, we in the Boston area are preparing for another snow storm later today and I will be doing some grocery shopping soon. I may indulge in another flavor to ride-out the storm.

What about you? Any favorite sweets to deal with the snow?

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Photo Credit: Breyers

Monday in Collage

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Monday in Collage
It seems that the post that I wrote last Monday could very well have been recycled for this Monday as well. The T was a mess again with the new snow storm that is currently going on.

While in my opinion, it should have been shut down before the snow even started based on what happened last week, the train service is shut down through the end of Tuesday. Also, finally the Governor declared a State of Emergency for Massachusetts. Hopefully, with additional equipment now being requested, the snow will be removed and it will be safer to get around. We’ll see. There’s supposed to be another storm coming on Thursday and on Sunday. It’s just too much!!!

Above are some pictures that I took on Instagram that I thought I’d share here. The snowy scene is from my backyard. The table and chairs have almost disappeared under the snow! I finally tried the Red Velvet Oreos. They are so good! But I gobbled them all up really fast, so they are not pictured here.

Luckily, when I went food shopping before the storm, there was an enterprising Girl Scout in the store selling boxes of cookies. People were swarming to get them! I got three and had some Thin Mints today. A wonderful classic. Since I ate all the Oreos, G finished that box up. I also bought the Thanks-A-Lot and Cranberry Citrus Crisps. I’ll be opening those soon! The boxes are much smaller than they used to be, so they don’t last as long.

Also, in the midst of all this snow, the paperwhites that my mother gave me for Christmas have bloomed. They smell so good and remind me that spring will arrive eventually. It will be a very nice change.

How is the weather where you are?

Snacking On A Pumpkin Cookie

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pumpkin cookie for snacking

As I mentioned in my Edgar Allen Poe post, I had a meeting downtown yesterday. We met at Starbucks, but then decided to sit outside, since it was nice out.

My free birthday drink was getting ready to expire, so I let Starbucks treat me to an iced Oprah Chai Tea Latte. My first time trying it. It was good! Have you tried it?

Since I can’t resist anything striking any sort of resemblance to a pumpkin or hinting at pumpkin spice, I broke down and got a pumpkin sugar cookie since it was perfect for snacking. It wasn’t pumpkin spice, but I still enjoyed it.

I could probably bake something just as good, if not better myself for snacking. Maybe I need to get a pumpkin cookie cutter?

Recipe: Single Serving Toffee Bits Cookies

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single serving toffee bits cookies

One of my favorite things in life is dessert. I wish I didn’t have such a sweet tooth. But I do. And I indulged on my trip to Nantucket early this week.

For the past few days, I’ve tried to get back to much healthier eating. But I wanted a little bit of dessert today and cannot trust myself with baking a full recipe with a few dozen cookies. So it was time to bring back Desserts With Borders!

If you’re a new reader, my Desserts With Borders series is where I create recipes for single serving desserts. I take a regular recipe and shrink it down so that it’s a small portion and there are no leftovers. So it would be like if I went to a bakery and bought a few small cookies or one muffin.

It’s cheaper to bake at home. Not that any dessert is healthy, but when I create the recipe, I know all the ingredients in these desserts and I’m at least aware of what I’m eating and can adapt the recipe to fit my preferences. Plus, these recipes are fun to do and make me happy.

So, the last time that I made a single serving dessert was waaaay back in February. It was time! This cookie recipe took in total about 20 minutes to make. That’s not too long a time if you get a sudden craving for a few cookies. I loved these and hope you try them too. If you do, please let me know!

Single Serving Toffee Bits Cookies

Ingredients + Instructions

  • 3 T butter
  • 1 heaping T brown sugar
  • 1 heaping T sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
  • scant 1/8 tsp. baking powder
  • scant 1/8 tsp. baking soda
  • scant 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 T toffee bits

Set aside a small cookie sheet and use a small piece of parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I used a toaster oven and the little pan that came with it.

Combine ingredients in a small bowl until you have smooth dough. I used a tablespoon to make five small cookies. You could make two or three bigger cookies if you like or one mega cookie. I might try the mega cookie next time!

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Use a spatula to turn cookies over onto a plate. Eat and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice: Do You or Don’t You?

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Pumpkin Spice OreoIf you’re into Twitter, you may have seen Pumpkin Spice Oreo trending about a week ago. My first thought was, “This better not be a joke, because that would just be cruel.”

When I was in CVS a few days ago, I sort of casually looked for them. I didn’t see any, so I asked.  I was told that they didn’t have them and wouldn’t be carrying them. *Gulp*

Yesterday in Stop & Shop, I sauntered over to the cookie aisle to catch a glimpse. Nothing. When I got home, I did a quick search and didn’t see anything on the Oreo website. Then I  searched on Twitter and found the Tweet pictured above.

September 24th is the official day! I had read some articles about how good the cookies were and mistakenly believed they were available for the general public. I guess only a special few were given the cookies in advance.

Needless to say, I am now mildly obsessed with trying them and will be looking forward to their arrival on store shelves. After writing about my search for them on Facebook, someone commented that I might need an intervention. Ha! Not quite yet.

I love all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Since I prefer summer, the annual arrival of these flavors infused into just about every food product almost makes me happy for the cold weather. Yeah, I said it!

This pumpkin spice latte recipe is one that I plan to try. This pumpkin crumb coffee cake would go nicely with it too!

pumpkinsNow one more thing that I’ve noticed with the pumpkin spice phenomenon is the racial tinge to it. When and why did that happen?  Pumpkin spice is being associated with white girls.

I posted this photo to my personal Facebook wall recently. In case you don’t click over, the quote says, “if you say ‘pumpkin spice latte’ in the mirror 3 times a white girl in yoga pants will appear & tell you all her favorite things about fall.”

I re-posted it because I think it’s hilarious, but I added that it could be “any” girl. Similarly, BuzzFeed has an article called “25 Things All Basic White Girls Do During The Fall.”

Of course, first on the list is “Get on that Pumpkin Spice Latte grind.” The top comment on this post is by Nicky Watson.

Buzzfeed, girls of color could enjoy these things too you know >_> I mean what does Buzzfeed think all black girls like to do during the fall? Twerk? Sheesh.

Agreed. What about pumpkin spice makes American culture want to associate it with “girls” first of all.  Not women. Or men. Or boys. It’s a flavor people! Shouldn’t it be gender and age neutral!? Then all people of color are uniformly dismissed from the conversation.

Granted, this is just a fall flavor. But in general, when we eliminate certain people from the greater conversation, it’s never a good thing. So the next time you eat something pumpkin spice flavored, think about who else you picture consuming it and why.

*Updated 10/10/2014* I spied the cookies! I’ve had way too many cookies recently, but when I saw these Pumpkin Spice Oreos in the store today, I decided to get them. Just to follow-up this post…. So I could report back to you! They’re good! I hope you appreciate my sacrifice.

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Photo Credit: Oreo Tweet