Pinning for Gold

So who is up for a post that's not about my ovaries? I know it's shocking. You were expecting a post about how miserable my Sunday was as it's been a year since my one and only BFP. I could write that. There were definitely some lows today, but I did not cry, and I accomplished all of the things that I set out to do today. Win!

So anyway, I thought I'd tell you all about my experiments from Pinterest land. We've tested out several recipes over the last couple of months, and most have been successes.

First up, Red Velvet Cookies. Now, I'll admit that I had actually had these before I pinned them. Our friend, Lesley Anne made these and they were delicious! We tried them out and they are soooooo easy. The only minus about these is that they aren't a great travel cookie. Stacking is kind of tough due to the icing, but displayed on a tray... perfection.

Second, Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Sugar Chips. This is delicious! The only tedious part is cutting up the fruit super small. The chips are a breeze and (BONUS) they make your house smell like heaven while they are baking. They only thing I would change about this recipe is the sugar and preserves. If your fruit is ripe and sweet by itself, I would completely omit one of the two. My choice would be the preserves. When we made it, we only used one tablespoon of preserves (it calls for three) and it was overly sweet in my opinion. Plus, the sugar and the preserves makes it a little too wet for scooping if it sits for more than about half an hour. But overall, a major win. This is a GREAT option for parties. We had it for a little get together at our house in Augusta and everyone loved it.

Next up: Peach Cupcakes with Peach Cream Cheese Frosting. These were the only real let down thus far from Pinterest; however, I feel that I should admit that we didn't follow the recipe exactly. We attempted to use fresh peaches as they were bountiful and beautiful this summer. The recipe calls for dried peaches, which I think would have a much stronger peach flavor. That was one let down: not peachy enough. Secondly, the cake itself wasn't that scrumptious. We only used one teaspoon of baking powder (the recipe calls for  two and a half), but the flavor of the baking powder really come through. The texture was kind of grainy too. Ultimately, I think I could take a basic white cake recipe and add the peach components and come out with a better product, but it certainly sounds like a good idea!

Okay, those were all a while ago. But today, we had a Falcons Kickoff Party with some friends and Sam and I brought two desserts. We had a little contest. Sam chose to make Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies. I chose Snickers Brownies. Sam won, which is nothing new, in kitchen or in life. Here's why.

Oatmeal Cream Pies. Lovely. These are sweet, but not overwhelming. You can probably eat two in a sitting (say a four hour football game) without going into a diabetic shock. Honestly, the oatmeal cookie recipe itself is fabulous. If you aren't in the mood for the extra work, the cookies alone would score you big points. We did have to add flour to the batter as our test cookies turned out too flat. I think about a half a cup was added, but if I was to make them again, I would add a quarter of a cup and then more oatmeal. I love oatmeal!

Snickers Brownies. These on the other hand are deadly. Eat two of these and your pancreas will be in overdrive. There are several things I would do to these to make them both yummier and easier. Firstly, I'd make them in a 8x8 pan instead on a 9x13. We used two boxes of brownie mix (did you know Betty Crocker cut the box? It now makes an 11x7, not a 9x13) to get the desired thickness. For the nougat center, I think you could easily get away with one 7oz jar of marshmallow cream. I'm not a big measurer... so mine basically included two big spoonfuls of Jif. That seems about right to me. Lastly, she recommends Butterscotch Caramel. I questioned it, but ultimately decided to follow her recipe. Bad idea. The butterscotch flavor was kind of overwhelming. I would use plain old caramels. I wouldn't buy a sauce, I'd buy little caramel squares (they taste batter) and melt them. But don't get me wrong, these are good. Test them out for yourself. Just have a drink near by.

So there you have it. If you have a party coming up, a tailgate, or any social gathering, head on over to my "Yummy Treats to Try" board, and grab yourself a tasty treat!