Monday, June 20, 2011

White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies



These cookies were inspired by a local cookie shop that sells raw cookie dough balls that you take home and bake yourself. Our friends gave us three of these cookie balls to try. We had a snickerdoodle, a ginger cookie, and a white chocolate cranberry almond cookie. All of the cookies were delicious, but the white chocolate cranberry almond cookie was my favorite. It was soft and chewy with just the right amount of almond flavoring. I decided to try and recreate this cookie myself  and I was really happy with the way they turned out. This cookie is a great twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie.

White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookie
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
12 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted then cooled until warm
1 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk
1 teaspoon Almond
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup White Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Dried Cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter and the sugars until well combined. Add the egg, yolk, almond, and vanilla and beat until combined, scraping the bowl as needed. In a separate bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients, then add to the butter mixture and beat just to combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Form dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls and drop onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until golden.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats 

Friday, June 10, 2011

Yellowstone Part Two

I wanted to share a few more pictures of our trip to Yellowstone. Next week I'll be back to posting recipes, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy these photos. Have a great weekend!

Here they come 
Bison and Baby Bison 
Yellowstone Falls 

Yellowstone River

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone 
Elk 
Spring in Yellowstone 
Yellowstone Midway Geyser Basin

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summer Vacation

I have been on vacation! D and I spent the last few days in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole. I thought it would be fun to share our trip through pictures, mostly of food and a few random photos as well.

Mocha in Jackson Hole, quite tasty

Einstein's Breakfast Bagel, not bad
Yellowstone Breakfast Sandwich, nothing special 
Yellowstone "Pancakes", left a lot to be desired 
West Yellowstone Pulled Pork Sandwich, Cheese Grits and a Moose Drool, best meal of the trip!
West Yellowstone Pizza and Beer, Classic 
Jackson Hole Club Sandwich and Sanpellegino, hit the spot
Bear Lake Raspberry Shake good; Fries, not so much 
 D and me at the Biscuit Basin Summit in Yellowstone
Tree 
Yellowstone Sunset #1
Yellowstone Sunset #2