Sugar Cookies

These cookies were deemed, and I quote, "The best sugar cookies ever" by Spencer.  He loves the way the sugar cookies taste and he likes the texture and chewiness of them when they come out of the oven, but who doesn't love a cookie fresh from the oven:) ?  This recipe, however, kept that same consistency and chewiness even after they had cooled and were stored for a few days.  He had some that were iced, rolled in sugar and plain and he said they were all good but thought the plains ones were the best!

Everything about them was absolutely incredible.  I have had some sugar cookies that were very good but after you finished eating them they left a not so good after taste, others were great right when they came out of the oven but then became kind of hard or crunchy after they cooled, but these were perfect.  They were great right after they came of the oven; they were soft, chewy and moist but even after they had cooled and been stored for a day or so they were still the perfect!  This is definitely my "go to" recipe from now on! 

Daring Bakers June Challenge-Chocolate Meringue

The June 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Dawn of  Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

I was so excited when I saw what the challenge was for June for two reasons; it's been a while since we've done anything with chocolate so I was happy and I've never made anything like this.  After reading about this recipe and looking at the pictures she posted, I couldn't wait to attempt this challenge.  I always look forward to the challenges; some are variations of recipes I've tried before while others are things that either I hadn't thought about/heard of or things I thought I just couldn't even begin to attempt.  I always learn things from these challenges and they encourage me to step out of my comfort zone from time to time.  This challenge was no different; I made something that I would not have otherwise made and I learned some new recipes and techniques to incorporate into my cooking. 

This challenge had a few steps but the end result was incredible.  This would make for a wonderful and impressive dessert and with fruit added to it, it would serve as the perfect, light dessert for the hot summer time! 

Sweet Potato Wedges

 Sweet potatoes have recently become one of my favorite vegetables.  I love finding new flavor combinations using them and cooking them new ways.  One of my favorite recipes I've tried is a basic sweet potato fry with a basil garlic mayonnaise.  I love the combination of the sweetness of the fries with the sharpness of the maynnaise dip.  As much as I love that recipe I really like this one too, the combination of seasonings and flavors is so different from the other.  The other recipe with the dip has more of a savory taste while this one has the cinnamon butter drizzled on top, so you get a hint of the same flavor that you would get in a sweet potato casserole.  We really enjoyed these wedges, they are the perfect compliment to many things.  I love having a variety of recipes for potatoes, and having the option of using sweet potatoes rather than regular potatoes gives us that many more options!