Giveaway: Homemade Cookies!
I’m giving away a batch of homemade cookies to 3 lucky readers! Here’s the scoop…
My blog is moving to a new URL next week (http://foodsforthesoul.net). While I can transfer all of my pages and posts, I can’t transfer any of your subscriptions! Because I enjoy reading every comment you leave and smile at all of your heartfelt words, I consider you my friends—and I’d hate to end our friendships just because I change addresses!
I wish I could mail each and every one of you a package of homemade cookies, but I don’t have quite enough stamps… It’ll be hard to give away only 3 sets of sweets, but here’s how you enter:
- Follow my blog at its new address by either email or RSS.
- Follow the Foods for the Soul Facebook page.
- Follow me (@FoodsForSoul) on Twitter.
- Follow me (Foods for the Soul) on Pinterest.
- Refer a friend to an email or RSS subscription—and be sure they sign up! (This actually counts as two entries: one for you AND one for your friend. And you can refer as many friends as you like to increase your chances of winning cookies!)
Post a separate comment here at the blog’s new address for each way you enter. (Each comment counts as a separate entry!) The giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on Friday, February 22, and I’ll post the winners the following day. Each winner will get to choose what kind of cookie I make and mail, so start thinking of your favorite recipes!
You have a week to enter as many times as you want—ready, set, go!
Sourpuss Turned Sweet
My last post didn’t publish correctly… I was thanking you for all of the thoughtful comments you left on my sweet and sneaky veggie series! I also asked what vegetables you’d like to see in the next sequel series, so please leave a comment with your requests!
And now on to fruits…
Everyone I know owns a lemon tree. My coworkers, my parents, the mailman, the speedy grocery cashier, that one house on my morning running route… Everyone but me.
I sulked for a while over that fact. They were so lucky; they could walk outside and pick citrus any time a lemonade, lemon bar, or lemon meringue pie craving hit. Me, I had to plan ahead for my cravings to ensure I wrote “lemons” on my weekly grocery list.
But then the light bulb in my brain flickered on… Continue reading for recipe.
Best Desserts of 2012
With New Year’s Eve drawing near, I started flipping through photos from 2012 to smile at the year’s fun memories. As I scrolled through the albums, I laughed… All of my pictures were of food! (Well okay, except for the summer vacation to Kauai. And the father-daughter trip to Arizona.)
So I can’t exactly share very many memories, seeing as I barely remember lots of them, but I can relive a few of my favorite recipes instead! Continue reading for recipes.
Death By Flour (And Chocolatey Nutella)
My mother nearly killed me a few weeks ago. She drove up to visit, and as I munched on my afternoon snack, she dropped this on me: “I’m giving up flour!”
Choking on my carrot, I barely spluttered out, “W-w-what?” as I reached for my water glass.
“I’m giving up flour,” she repeated.
“Forever?” My mind was racing… How could my mother, my one and only mother, omit flour from her diet when her daughter dreams of becoming a baker??
She reassured me that no, this was a temporary diet-change-for-weight-loss thing, and she still enjoyed the occasional English muffin or fudgy brownie… In moderation. Limited moderation.
(You can call the ambulance driver back; I’m not going to die from a heart attack after all.) Continue reading for recipe.
“Dairy” I Try Gluten-Free Baking?
Last month, I invited a friend to dinner at a local Indian place, only to cancel on him two hours before the meal. My stomach had contracted an oh-so-lovely 24-hour bug, which left my lying pitifully on the couch all night, the remote dangling from one hand and a glass of Sprite in the other.
As an apology, I wanted to bake him some sort of tasty treat. At our rain-checked dinner three days later, I finally dragged it out of him: he’s a sucker for a good peanut butter cookie. Perfect! Easy as pie cookies, right?
Not so fast… Turns out he’s allergic to both dairy and gluten. I checked around my kitchen: white, whole wheat, and cake flour sat in the pantry, while butter and milk chilled in the fridge. Oops. Continue reading for recipe.
Haunted By Debts
Remember my macadamia nut debt? Where I tested a few of the nuts in a pesto sauce? Well, I finally repaid it—with interest!
My macadamia nut friend drove into town on Sunday to visit some high school buddies, but he left a little time in the afternoon to stop by. When he arrived, we moseyed into my kitchen, where I took the “Teach a man to bake cookies, and he’ll eat for a lifetime!” approach and handed him the measuring cups. Continue reading for recipe.
A Game of Guessing and Digesting
Want to play a word game? The rules are simple: I give you a word, and you think of (and possibly write down) every other word that you associate with mine. You win by picking the same word that I had in mind. Ready?
CRINKLE
Celebrating with Chocolate
While breakfast in bed starts the morning out on the right foot, Valentine’s Day is never complete without a little extra chocolate treat. Hershey’s, Nestlé, Cadbury, and Lindt all agree; they create special candies wrapped in festive red and pink foil just for the holiday. Heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and truffles disappear from store shelves faster than Hallmark cards and candy conversation hearts, the empty spaces magically refilled before sunrise by delivery trucks and night-shift workers.
If packaged and sold, these homemade chocolate cookies would vanish long before any nougat or truffle. Moist and fudgy, the cookie develops a slight fruity undertone from the balsamic vinegar, and the small salt crystals on top pair beautifully with the chocolate’s sweetness. Go ahead, treat yourself and your loved ones to a decadent dessert. There’s more than enough to share! Continue reading for recipe.
Breakfast for Rushed Morning Multi-Taskers: 4 Ingredient Cookies
When the sun rises during the week, most people pull the pillow over their heads and swat at the snooze button. After multiple repetitions, all of their good intentions of enjoying a wholesome breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice continue to lounge in bed while they frantically scrub in the shower. They substitute a bowl of instant oatmeal instead, pour it into a thermos, and try not to wear it while eating on the jerky bus ride to the office.
With 90 seconds of planning, that rushed bowl of oatmeal can easily be transformed into a much more satisfying—and portable—breakfast. Before showering, simply twist the oven knob to 350° for a quick preheat. After toweling off, step back into the kitchen, mash up a banana and oats, and put it in the oven to bake before brushing your teeth and combing your hair. You’ll even have time to straighten your tie or apply mascara as the cookies (yes, cookies for breakfast!) cool. And your fellow commuters won’t shift away from you on the bus anymore—they’ll ask for a taste instead! Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: The Final Cookie
After reviewing the 12 different desserts I prepared to find Santa’s favorite, I realized how much doubting and overthinking influenced my decisions. Worried about texture, fillings, chocolate, and sugar, I jumped from cookie to cookie until I wasn’t even baking cookies anymore!
Does that happen to you too? During the holidays, do you run around trying to buy the perfect gift for every grandparent, sibling, niece, nephew, and dog? Do you re-hang the ornaments until each one reflects the sparkling lights? Do you plan a five-course Christmas dinner to meet everyone’s low-fat, low-carb, and allergy needs? Do you spend so much time behind the camera recording every excited child’s face that you forget to smile yourself? Continue reading for recipe.
Foods for the Soul 