Cookies!

These are the cookies I received from The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. They were all so good. 

Almond Tartlettes from Simply So Good

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cookies from Southern Sweets and Eats

Oatmeal Caramel Creams from The Life Album

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012

I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap again! It was just as fun as last year! If you are interested in getting notifications about next years cookie swap click here.

The first box of cookies I received was from Melissa at Melissa Likes to Eat. She sent Chocolate Covered Cherry cookies. They were delicious. They had a fudge like chocolate on top that tasted so good!

The second package I received was from Alyssa at Karma Cucina. They were Chewy White Chocolate Cherry Pecan Oatmeal cookies. They had a great taste. I loved the white chocolate and cherries. Sweet and tangy. I also received these cookies from her last year. They were just as delicious.

The last box I received were from Megan at StylishFood. They were Cashew Choco-Nut cookies. They had white chocolate chunks, coconut and cashews in them. I really liked these. I love cashews and have never had them in a cookie.

I made mocha chocolate chip shortbread cookies to send out.

Mocha Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

by Brittany Ray

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

6038200

Ingredients (36 cookies)

• 1 tbs. mocha powder
• 1 tbs. hot water
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

In a small bowl, dissolve the mocha powder in the hot water and set aside.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar together on medium speed until mixture is smooth.

Beat in vanilla and mocha then reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix only until it disappears into the dough.

Fold in chocolate chips with a spatula. Do not work dough much.

Put dough into a gallon zip lock bag. Leave top open, using a rolling pin roll out dough. Flip bag occasionally to even out dough.

Refrigerate dough until chilled and stiff, approximately 1 hour or more.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut dough out of bag. Cut dough into 1 1/2 inch squares. Place on baking sheets lined with silicone mats.

Prick each square twice with a fork.

Bake for 18 - 20 minutes. Turning cooking sheet halfway through.

Cookies will be pale. Transfer to cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar while cookies are still hot. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

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Summertime Swap

I received my swap box yesterday from Heather at Musings of a Day Dreamer. I love the North Carolina glass! I can’t wait to try out the Green Tea and the neon socks are super cute! Thanks so much for all of these fun things Heather!

11 Things

Nicole from The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie added me to her list of people to post 11 random things about myself and answer her 11 questions. So here we go!

 

How it works: Post 11 random things about yourself – then answer the 11 questions asked by the person who tagged you – and create 11 new questions for the people you’ve decided to tag (11 people if you can!). Last but not least, post these rules so others know how to play! 

11 Random Things About Me:

1. I daydream about the day I own my own house.

2. I love breakfast at Chik-fil-a but have not had it in weeks maybe even months and I think that is a huge accomplishment! I am on my way to a healthier me!

3. I can blow bubbles with my spit. Like they exit my mouth and float in the air until they pop.

4. I am not a morning person at all. I have to set 6 alarms that go off starting at 5:30. Each has its own snooze alarm that goes off in increments of 15 minutes until 7:00.   

5. I am a saver. I get nervous about spending large amounts of money. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t save every penny. I do love to go shopping.

6. I check my email on my phone a million times a day. It’s like a habit. I am checking it before I realize that I am even doing it.

7. I couldn’t live without hash brown casserole. How can something that taste so good be so bad for you!

8. I have only had a professional manicure 4 or 5 times and a pedicure once in all of my 24 years. I can’t see paying $30 for someone to paint my nails when I am going to want to change the color in a few weeks. For $30 I could buy a lot of nail polish! But I do enjoy them every now and then.

9. I don’t know what I would do without my iPhone. Its with me all of the time.

10. I am a magazine junkie… I love getting them in the mail but they usually stack up for months before I think about reading them.

11. I would rather be cold than hot. 

Questions from Nicole:

1. What is your favorite vacation of all time?

I went to Peru in 2007 and absolutely loved it! You can see my posts about them here: June 24, 2007, June 25, 2007, June 26, 2007. I have not finished all of the recaps but I hope to soon. Trey accidently took my external hard drive home with him to Mobile so I have not had any of my pictures to finish my posts.

2. What is your favorite way to spend a Sunday?


Going to church and having lunch with my family. Then coming home and laying on the couch and watching movies or napping. I like to spend the last day of my weekend resting up for the week ahead. I usually have way to much to do though and never get to lay on the couch and nap.

3. What is the coolest thing you did in the month of January?

The coolest thing I did in January was attend the Food Blog South conference in Birmingham. It was so much fun! Here are my posts about FBS2012: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

4. What is the first blog you ever read?

The first blog I ever read was Julie’s PB Fingers. I saw an article in Women’s Health Magazine that she had written and saw she had a blog and from there it all started.

5. If you could pick a song to be your theme song (that played wherever you go) what would it be?

Hmmm.. Good question. I have no idea let me think about this one.

6. Crushed ice or cubed?

I like crushed when it’s the soft kind but if its out of the refrigerator door kind then cubed. By soft crushed I mean like Sonic or Taco Casa ice. 

7. Which Disney Princess do you identify with the most (if any)?


via

I guess I would say Ariel. I daydream a lot and have a fish for a pet.

8. Do you prefer to plan things or be spontaneous?

I prefer to have a plan but spontaneity is a must sometimes and can make things fun.

9. What is your favorite flower?

I honestly don’t have a favorite. But I like these.


via

10. Do you ever listen to songs on repeat? If so, which was your most resent repeat song?

The Civil Wars – Poison & Wine
I have been obsessed with this song since it came out.


I was also tagged by Julie at Julie Goes Healthy so here are the questions she asked:

1. What fitness class/activity can you imagine yourself teaching?

I think it would be fun to teach spin!

2. What do you wear all the time?

I am at the office 88+ hours a week so I am usually dressed up. Lately I have been wearing a lot of leggings and tights.

3. What's your favorite big city?

I have always wanted to go to NYC but have not made it yet. I am sure that would be my favorite but until then I will have to say Nashville. It is such a fun place.

4. Who could you spend every minute with?

Trey! I have not seen him in a month! We have only lived in the same town 2 months out of our 2 years and 7 months of dating. Therefore, it seems like I am always missing him.

5. What reality TV show would you be on?

I think it would be fun to be on TLC’s What Not to Wear. Hopefully others don’t think I am a horrible dresser but who wouldn’t want to be given $5,000 to go shopping with Stacey and Clinton!

6. What colors do you gravitate towards?

I love light blues, turquois and teals. I love cool colors. But of course I love pink too.

7. What is your fondest high school memory?



So many memories were made at the football games on Friday nights and all the time spent with my high school friends.

8. Where do you buy all your fitness wear?

Usually I go to Academy Sports unless their is something they don't have then I order it online.

9. Who is your fit role model, and who is your foodie role model?

My fit role model is Skinny Runner! One day I will like to run as much as she does. :) I have a lot of foodie role models or people I look to for good recipes or inspiration.

10. Which is your favorite blog?

I absolutely can not pick a favorite! I have so many that I love reading and they are all so different.

11. What new non-food/non-fitness thing can't you get enough of lately?

Scramble with Friends (iPhone App that is so much fun!) My username is BrittRay87 you should play with me! Please :)
 
My questions for the ladies listed below:

1. Do you prefer summer or winter clothes?
2. What are your top 3 favorite books?
3. What is the last movie you saw?
4. If your house caught on fire what are the 3 things you would grab first? (Besides pets and people)
5. What is your all time favorite thing to cook?
6. If you could travel to anywhere in the world where would you go?
7. What do you like to watch on tv?
8. What is your favorite holiday and why?
9. What type of food (Greek, Mexican, Japanese, etc.) is your favorite?
10. If you could go back to high school and/or college and do it all over again would you?
11. What is something you have learned after graduating high school and/or college that you wish you knew while you were still in school?

Your turn:

Kristy – Roe and Lee
Kristen – A Healthy Balance
Colleen - Jimmy Choos on the Treadmill
Kori – Sewing K’s Closet
Laura – Against the Grain
Kasey – Life and Love with Mr. Wonderful

If you aren't listed and want to participate too leave a comment below! I would love to see your answers!

Food Blog South 2012 Recap Part 3

Up next, Drink Blogging and Beer Tasting session with Ale Sharpton and Mike from Good People Brewing Company.



We got to taste 3 different beers all from Good People Brewing Company. To be perfectly honest I do not drink beer so I didn’t like any of them. The Brown Ale was the most tolerable though. I did enjoy tasting and learning about each of them. This is what I learned.
4 Basic Elements of Beer:

1. Water
2. Yeasts
3. Hops
4. Mault

Snake Handler – pale ale, 9.3% alcohol, aromas of grapefruit and ginger, pair with a citrus salsa

IPA – #1 seller, 7.2% alcohol, aromas of pine and citrus, cuts through fried and fatty foods, pairs with Cajun dishes, Indian dishes, lemon salmon and citrusy dishes

Brown – 5.8% alcohol, aromas of maple and brown sugar, paired with honey glazed ham, blackened salmon, sweet bbq to pull out caramelization

After we tasted some beer it was time for Marketing Your Brand with Helene Dujardin, Lisa Ekus and Hanson Watkins. It was very interesting to learn the dos and don’ts of marketing your blog. I found out that I did something right when I made my business cards. I put my picture on them. Helene also has her picture on hers and thinks it’s a great way for people to remember you. Instead of just seeing a business card and not remembering who gave it to them they see your face and will be able to remember exactly who you are. FYI I did not put my picture on my card out of vanity but to be more memorable.



For a snack we had sugared pecans from Pecans! that were amazing! Go order some! It’s for a great cause too! I got some pecan butter to take home and try. I haven’t yet but I’ll let you know how it tastes!



For dinner Kristen and I went to La Paz. I ordered a Skinny Margarita and the Taco Salad with chicken instead of beef and no olives. The margarita and taco salad were both great. I had a ton of food left though I wish you could order a smaller portion.






 


After dinner we went to the Good People Brewing Company for a beer and cheese pairing after party. It was in a big warehouse. It was very open. Great for parties.

























Other FBS 2012 Recap Posts:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Food Blog South 2012 Recap Part 2

Just a heads up this post is going to be pretty long!

Saturday I woke up and Kristen laid out a great spread for breakfast! I mixed 2 cereals and added blueberries and milk.



The conference was at Old Car Heaven. I loved the venue. It had a lot of old cars and cool décor.



The first speaker I chose to go to was Colleen Duffley. She is a professional photographer and works with Studio b. Studio b is in Florida and I really want to go take some classes there. It sounds like a great experience. Her session was on Camera-Phone Photography in other words “iPhoneography.” IPhones have so many great apps that can be used to take great iPhone pictures. Colleen has even done photo shoots for clients with her iPhone.

Here are some apps Colleen recommended to use to improve your pictures:

• Hipstamatic
• Camera Bag
• Photoshop – I love this app!
• Camera+
• Best Camera
• Big Lens
• Slow Shot
• Pic Grungier
• Diptic – This is the app that I used to group the photos in this post. Totally worth the $0.99!
• Tilt Shift

Other tips Colleen gave:

• Turn off the flash on your iPhone camera and use another light source.
• Do not use overhead lighting.
• Use a mirror or foil to reflect light.

The next session I attended was Tammy Hart’s on Blog Design. Here are the notes I took away:

• Psychology of Color
• Red & Orange – stimulates hunger
• Yellow – sociable, but be careful yellow renders differently among monitors
• Brown – natural, calming, iffy when using around food
• Green – calming, aids in digestion
• Blue – appetite suppressant, do not use when talking about food
• Make text large and easy to read
• Make sure links within text are bold and stand out
• Use space don’t cram

After Tammy’s session was over it was time for lunch catered by Shindigs.



I filled my plate with:

• Spaghetti Squash & Vegan (L.A.) Balls - Tossed in EVOO, Green Garlic-Tomato Sauce, Fines Herbs & Garnished w/ Artichoke Tapenade
• Spinach Salad with oranges, pomegranate seeds, fried goat cheese and some type of tasty vinaigrette dressing
• Some grain with butternut squash and mushrooms
• Sweet Soy Braised Short Rib
• Some type of broccoli salad with pomegranate seeds
• A piece of bread with some type of olive butter which I didn’t know had olives until I tried it and didn’t like it.

Dessert was amazing! Tiramisu with a lemon whipped cream. We also went back to the High Road Craft ice cream table for some Bourbon Burnt Sugar ice cream.

Food Celebrity Sighting! Justin Balmes from Food Network Star Season 7 was working the Roland sponsor table. I didn't want to be annoying and ask for a picture so I borrowed Kristen's picture. It would have been too weird and obvious if we were both taking creepy far off pictures in the same direction. So thanks Kristen for doing what needed to be done :)



After lunch the next session was Recipe Development with Virginia Willis. She has worked with many popular people and magazines such as Paula Dean and Country Living. I took so many notes at her session I am not going to post them since this post is getting long already. If you want them email me and I will send them to you! 

I still have 2 more sessions to write about and the after-party at Good People Brewing Company so be on the look out for Part 3!

Other FBS 2012 Recap Posts:

• Part 1 
• Part 3