Strawberry Sandwich Cookies

How has it been two weeks since I last posted?  I’m slacking off here and I know it.  The past few weeks haven’t resulted in much baking, although I do have a small handful of nice recipes to share with you once I finally get around to writing them up!  These cookies are delicious.  I made them to bring to my cousin’s high school musical, All Shook Up.  Maybe you remember me mentioning seeing him last year when I posted the Chocolate Orange Chunk Cookie recipe?  Anyway, this year he was absolutely phenomenal!  I wish you could have come too because I think you really would have enjoyed it.  I was singing the songs to myself for at least a week afterwards.  I won’t say these cookies are better than the play, because they’re not.  They won’t make you laugh so hard you cry or give you an earworm, but they will make you glad that strawberry season is right around the corner.  Happy baking!
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The Very Best Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

And we’re back!  Sorry for that little break there.  I’ve been doing a hodge-podge of things over the past few weeks like spending an awesome weekend on the outskirts of Shenandoah National Park in an old farmhouse, eating Peking duck, seeing friends from college, and curling up on the couch with a book that was totally not worth it.  In between, I had a few mediocre baking moments.  The baking ideas were good, but the recipes just need some more work before they are worth sharing.  The recipe for these cookies, however, did not require any tweaking.  They are vanilla cookies at their finest. 
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Cardamom Pistachio Brownies

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe with you for at least a week now, but things got busy.  We went to Portland, OR for the long weekend and I decided it would be more fun if I avoided the computer for a few days.  We got to see some friends, eat maple-bacon waffles and donuts, complete a 12-mile in and out hike to a waterfall, and visit Cannon Beach.  I was particularly excited to go to the beach since we used to pile into the car, put on the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack, and drive there for long weekends when I was a kid.  It was on those drives that I perfected the art of sleeping in the car. 
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Buttery Orange Shortbread

All week I’ve been thinking about what I was going to share with you in this post.  Of course, now that I am sitting here, I am drawing a complete blank.  We did a bunch of different things in the past 7 days.  We saw the boys (not once, but twice!), took a quick midweek trip to Pennsylvania to see my Dad get an award (congrats Dad!), went bowling (next time the girls will win every game!), and even went for a hike (yes!).  In between all of that, we squeezed in a few episodes of Battlestar Galactica.   Now, before you think I am crazy for falling into the sci-fi drama trap, I should tell you that we are only watching it because of a skit in Season 2 of Portlandia. 
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Raspberry Almond Thumbprints

I will be quick about this because there are still things I’d like to get done this evening before the next episode of Downton Abbey starts.  Yes, I am planning my evening around a TV show.  I’d bet a batch of these cookies that I’m not alone in my evening plans.  Of the cookies that I made for the holidays, these were my favorite.  I’m a real sucker for almond and raspberry combinations, and these cookies definitely hit the mark.  As an added bonus, they are light, fluffy, and beautiful.  You won’t be disappointed if you make them!  So, now that you have the details on these awesome cookies, I am going to return to my exciting task of cleaning out my closet.  Enjoy (the cookies and Downton Abbey)!
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Chocolate Caramel Cake

I should be finishing tidying up the house right now because we have friends coming for the weekend in just an hour or so, but I wanted to share this recipe with you.  After all, I’m sure one of you needs to bake a cake this weekend and still hasn’t found the perfect recipe.  If so, look no further than this little blog post, especially if you are a sweet frosting kind of person! 
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Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

The hardest part about making these bars is waiting for the chocolate to set.  I put together a batch yesterday morning while I was still half asleep.  The chocolate didn’t have time to fully set by the time we left for my brother’s house for brunch, but luckily he and my sister-in-law never seem to mind if I need to borrow their knife and cutting board, especially when peanut butter and chocolate are involved. 
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