Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Match Made in Confectioner's Heaven

History is littered with dynamic duos - Lucy & Ethel, Fred & Barney, Gumby & Pokey... you get the idea. With the upcoming holiday season, I wanted to talk about one of my favs, chocolate & peanut butter. That's right, I've never met a Reese's I didn't like (although I am partial to the Easter Egg variety.)

Anyways, about a week ago I made these peanut butter cookies with Hershey's Kisses in them. They were a big hit and simple to make so I thought I'd share the recipe in case anyone was looking for a little something to make during this holiday party season. Tip: roll the dough in colored sugar instead of plain sugar for a fun, festive look.

Yum!


PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS 
Recipe from Hersheys.com 

Skill Level:
Beginner
Prep Time:
20 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Granulated sugar

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
  2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
  3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
  4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each
    cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
    About 4 dozen cookies.

    Nutritional Information per serving (1 cookie):
    Calories: 90, Total Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 75mg,
    Total Carbohydrate: 10g, Dietary Fiber: less than 1g, Sugars: 6g, Protein: 2g, Vitamin A: 0%DV*,
    Vitamin C: 0%DV*, Calcium: 0%DV*, Iron: 2%DV*
    *%DV= %Daily Values are calculated based on a 2000 calorie diet



Monday, November 28, 2011

Coveted Collection: White House Black Market

As I was catching up on my blog reading after a nice holiday weekend, I came across a post from Dilly Dallas highlighting her work with White House Black Market. With visions of sparkly, sequined pencil skirts in my head, I perused the store's website (it's Cyber Monday, after all) for this seasons must-have pieces. I was not disappointed. Here are a few of my standout picks:

p.s. - 30% off total purchases and free shipping on their website today only!

Love the lace detail

Hello holiday parties!

Bring some festivity to the office

Perfect sweater for Christmas dinner

The awesomeness of this necklace speaks for itself



Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Are You Skinny Fat?

One of the perks of travelling this past weekend was that I had time to catch up on some magazines on the plane. Flipping through the pages of the latest issue of Women's Health magazine, I made mental notes of new toning moves and recipes to try at a later date. Near the back of the issue though, I stumbled on a feature article that really caught my attention.

As many of you may know, Type 2 Diabetes is a rising health risk in America, largely due to the ever-expanding American waistline. However, even though this disease can be almost completely preventable, it's striking many people, including those who are "young, slim & fit."

The article discussed the condition TOFI (thin outside, fat inside):


'Molecular imaging expert Jimmy Bell, M.D., studies a condition he calls TOFI—thin outside, fat inside. Nearly undetectable from a person's appearance, TOFI happens when fat that would normally build up under your skin (hello, thunder thighs!) gloms onto your abdominal organs instead. This visceral fat is way worse than any muffin-top chub—it can cause inflammatory substances to affect your liver and pancreas, and lower your insulin sensitivity, putting you at risk for type 2. "With TOFI, you might look slim," says Bell, "but your insides are behaving as if you are obese." '


Read the whole article for yourself here and spread the word to your friends and loved ones. Health should always be the number one priority in your life.


1111-young-slim.jpg
Photo Courtesy of Women's Health Magazine