happy father's day!

Anyone who knows me knows what a serious sweet tooth I have. I usually make the joke, "does it have sugar in it? Then I'll like it." And now is the time to come clean...I stole that joke from my dad.

I absolutely got my huge sweet tooth from my father and it kills me. Ya'll. When I got in trouble as a kid, my punishment was that I couldn't have dessert. That's a problem.
We share this love for any and everything sweet - which is how I knew I had to make him something perfectly sweet for Father's Day.

These cookies are huge and chocolatey and perfect. I actually had to fill the mixing bowl with water so I would quit eating the leftovers. So. Good. As in, debatably the best cookie I've ever made. I know that's a big statement -- but I stand behind it.
Make these now. Your dad will thank you.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies
(recipe from Handmade Charlotte)

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 tbsp flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 & 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar, plus 1/2 cup more for rolling
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350* and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix well.
Gradually add flour, mixing slowly, until just combined.

Roll large spoonfuls of cookie dough in bowl of extra sugar, then place on cookie sheets - you should be able to fit only 8 per sheet.
Bake for 11-12 minutes or until centers are puffed and cookies began to crackle over their surfaces.
Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also got my dad these crazy lures because his hobbies include anything outdoorsy and manly - mountain climbing, kayaking, fishing, drumming, mountain biking, picking his nose, and farting. Yes, those last two are hobbies.
All I need him to do now is pick up motorcycling and shooting guns so he and Peter will be completely inseparable. Yeesh.

Hug your pops extra tight today. I know I will. :)
-e.

em + the kitchen - easy cream pie.

After my grandma's funeral in Denver, the whoooole extended family piled into one house to enjoy a meal prepared for us by the sweet people at my relative's church. It was delicious and comforting and highly reminiscent of Thanksgiving -- including the uncomfortable way I stuffed myself silly with food.

There were pies galore, but the one I chose (yes, I only chose to eat one!) was so so good I immediately had to get the recipe and replicate it. The sweet woman who brought this pie laughed when my aunt asked her for the recipe; it's so simple she couldn't believe someone wanted the recipe that badly.

This pie is horchata in solid form. If you've never had horchata, DO THAT NOW. It's basically a mexican rice milk drink made with cinnamon. Quit wrinkling your nose. It's absolutely divine.
And so is this pie.

Easy Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 prepared pie crust (homemade or store-bought, doesn't matter)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
2 & 1/4 cup milk
pinch of salt
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon, to dust

Bake pie crust according to instructions. Set aside.
Meanwhile, melt butter and sugar together in a pot.
Once fully melted, add milk, corn starch, salt, and vanilla, whisking constantly.
Let ingredients come to a rolling boil (if I'm being totally honest, I never let this happen while making the pie because I was so afraid it would burn if I quit whisking. As a result, the pie never quite set in the fridge, but was still delicious.)
Pour into prepared pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon, and pop into the fridge until set.

Full disclosure: the first pie I made actually did burn and it simply tasted more caramelly than it should have. It was still delicious.
2nd full disclosure: this pie is certainly not for those on a diet.

Enjoy!
-e.

christmas 2013.

This Christmas was spent in Colorado with my mom's side of the family.
It was fabulous as usual!
Denver is my happy place. And the weather was gorgeous!
We kept up with old traditions and began some new ones.
Christmas was made even more sweet with the addition of 2 new ones in the family.
Coming to Denver and being with family always fills my heart to the brim.

Happy, happy.

 wrapping homemade caramels.

 

Pop reading the Word to remind us

what Christmas is all about.

Rolling homemade gnocchi with the McNabb family

 Brunch with a sweet friend from college.

What did you do for Christmas? I hope your heart is full!
-e.

em + the kitchen - apple butter.

In 2008, my Aunt Lisa took me on a trip through California. We started in San Francisco (where I promptly fell in love with the city) and took the 1 all the way down to LA, stopping in Carmel and Monterey on the way. It was my first real traveling adventure and I've not been able to shake the wanderlust bug since then.
Of the many great experiences during the trip, one I specifically remember is tasting apple butter for the first time. My Aunt Lisa had lived in SF for a while in her early 30's and would frequently get breakfast at a restaurant on Lombard St called Home Plate. She took me there to experience their freshly made scones and apple butter and I never looked back.

It's for this reason, 5 years later, that I knew I needed to make apple butter. Besides, what else am I going to do with 9 pounds of apples? Must. Use.
I'm so glad I decided to use 3.5 of those pounds to make this. It was smooth, thick, and perfectly fall-tasting. Not to mention, I was forced to buy an immersion blender that I'd secretly been wanting for a long time. Win-win-win!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter
(recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:
3.5 lbs apples - peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp vanilla

Place apple slices in crock pot or large bowl.
Combine all sugars and spices and pour over apples. Mix well so all slices are coated.
Turn crock pot on low for 6-10 hours, returning every hour or so to stir. Once apples are mostly broken down and color has turned a dark brown, you're nearing the end.
Stir in vanilla and leave uncovered to cook for another 1-2 hours.
Use immersion blender to make butter completely smooth.
Spoon into mason jars and store in fridge for up to 2 weeks (if it will even last that long without you gobbling it up!).

This recipe made 2 pints for me. I bought half-pint mason jars that are juuuust adorable and handed them out to friends and family.
Have you ever tasted something on vacation that rocked your world?
-e.

levi emerson.

It's been a while.
Lots of life has happened in between my last post and now.
Including, but not limited to, my new nephew! I am completely in love with the new man in my life.

In fact, I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
I apologize in advance for the sheer volume. Sorry, not sorry.

 

 

 

I just love every last part of him!

I can't promise that every post from here on out won't be him, but I'll try my best.

aunt e.