Fall Inspiration

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Caramel Cashew Cookies

 I made these lovey little nutty cookies with my husband in mind. He likes chocolate, but prefers his dessert not quite as decadent. These cookies are absolutely delicious- they were the perfect find to please his taste buds! They're a little bit sweet and a little bit salty. I'm not going to lie, they're not quick or easy to make. But they're well worth it. They don't take hours, but they're not as quick as throwing chocolate chips in dough and throwing them in the oven! On the bright side, I learned how to make cashew butter which is delish!

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups roasted salted cashews
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 24 cubes soft caramel candy (7 ounces)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and salt together. Coarsely chop 1 cup cashews; set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour in oil. Process until mixture is creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture. Mix in reserved chopped cashews.
3. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; space 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten with a spatula. Bake until bottoms are just golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
4. Melt caramels with cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring. Let cool. Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies; let set. Store airtight in single layers.
   SOURCE: marthastewart.com
   
   
   
   
   

 I do adore Martha... she can't go wrong with anything!

A Little Cubicle Inspiration

That little space you see above is where I spend four days of my week. They did some rearranging at work. I used to have two walls and the rest of my space was wide open and was located next to the nice large windows you see in picture. Now, I have a cozy closed in space, still in the same spot, and with my nice large windows. However, I was tired of looking at drab, office cubicle walls. If I was going to be closed in, I needed some color!

So, I decided to do what I do best. Use my favorite fabrics in an unconventional way! I decided to use some fabric I had laying around to brighten up my space.

As you can see from the picture below I added fabric to the bulletin board to the left of my workspace. This was really simple. This actually is a detachable board so it makes hiding the pins super easy. I just wrapped the board in fabric and used dress pins to secure the fabric on the back of the board. I suggest pinning once on all four sides of the board  (in the middle) and then working your way out, pulling securely before placing each pin. Then just attach the board back to the rails and TA DA... wonderful color and pattern!

The board to the right of my workspace was a little more tricky, but not too hard at all. I simply made the fabric fit to the same dimensions as the wall that was there. I folded the fabric over to make a nice clean edge and then simply pinned along the hem line. You can see the pins, but luckily I have cute metallic pastel pins so it actually gives it some nice detail! I added a ribbon on the bottom because I had to add another piece of fabric (the same that I used on the other bulletin board) since the piece I was using for this side wasn't quite long enough for the space.

There you have it. A simple (and easily removable) cubicle decoration. Hopefully this inspires you to brighten up your workplace!

Have a great weekend!

Cottage Love

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I came across these little muffins when I made an impulse buy at Homegoods. I bought a little cookbook called, Perfect Muffins & Bakes: a collection of over 100 essential recipes.

The first recipe I tried was for doughnut muffins. These are a great little gift for the man in your life. They're also good for anyone that likes cake doughnuts. These muffins taste almost exactly like them! They are delicious. very moist and the flavor is great.

Doughnut Muffins 

1/4 c. + 1/2 Tbsp butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 c. flour

2 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. milk

Topping:

1/4 c. sugar/cinnamon (mix ratio to your taste)

melted butter

1. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating well between additions.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together. (I usually don't sift dry ingredients together, I just mix them around to disperse everything evenly). Add half to the creamed mixture with half of the milk. Gently fold the ingredients together before incorporating the remaining flour and milk. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup to about 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees, for 15-20 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly brown and firm to the touch.

3. For the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. While the muffins are still warm from the oven, brush lightly with melted butter, and sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar mixture. 

P.S. These are amazing with a tall glass of cold milk for breakfast!! ;)

How-To- The Lazy Girl's Way to Cover Lampshades

For those of you who know me, you may know I tend to be quite impatient at times. I wanted a quick way to recover some lampshades I had for our lamps in the basement. Here is a how to on how to cover lampshades- the lazy girls way...

1) Buy lampshade and desired material.

2) Measure your lampshade and cut the appropriate size fabric. Make sure to allow enough extra for the hem. I allowed 1" for my hems. So, I cut my piece of fabric to 12".

3) Measure and iron your hem down. Again, I used 1" hems.

4) Break out your hot glue gun and start gluing the fabric along the inside rim of the lampshade, making sure you pull your fabric taught. Because my lampshades are a bit smaller at the top, I had to fold my fabric when stretching it along the shade. It actually ended up adding a nice pleat detail

5) Ta Da!  A quick and easy lampshade cover!!

Some tips and tricks:

To get around the wire on the top of the shade I simply cut a slit in the fabric and glued it around the wire.

Some of the pleats I decided to glue down so the look of the shade was more sleek.

Hope I've inspired some of you to recover your boring white lampshades!! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Rock Me Mama Like A Wagon Wheel...

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Wheel Bookcase! designspiration.net

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Wagon Wheel Gate- organicgardening.com

INSPIRED BY: Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel" 

It's Tuesday and I forgot to post!

Well Dear Friends,
 I let Monday slip by without posting Most Delish Dish Monday! I thought about it yesterday morning... OK, I didn't think about it, but I have a reminder set on my phone so I don't forget- except at 10:00 am I wasn't ready to post, and dismissed the reminder, thus I forgot. So, here you have it, a day late but still just as yummy, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream. This recipe is from my grandmother, Dorothy Lou.... I am so in love with them. So delish, and actually packed with veggies... icing free they could be pretty good for you!!...??

For the Cupcakes:

1 ¾ cup sugar

½ c soft butter

½ c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. buttermilk

2¼ c. flour

8 tbsp cocoa

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. grated zucchini (not peeled)

1  c. chocolate chips

Cream sugar, butter and oil together. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk, beat with mixer. Mix together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Beat well. Stir in zucchini and 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour batter into cupcake pans. Bake @ 350 degrees 25-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

For the Icing:
2 sticks, plus 4 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter until fluffy- approximately three minutes. Combine powdered sugar and cocoa in a small bowl. Add dry mixture to creamed butter, adding milk 1 Tbsp. at a time. Add vanilla and mix until fluffy.

These are AWESOME out of the refrigerator... Happy vegging! :)