My friend Sarah and I hosted a sweet, little Valentine’s Day Party with some of our favorite gal pals this past weekend. We threw together this fun party in a little more than a week! Sarah and I had been emailing back and forth about DIY projects we wanted to do, and the look and feel of our ideas seemed perfectly made for a Valentine’s get-together. Take a look!

Valentine’s is a very versatile party theme. You can do up the room with hearts or use a classic black and white base with splashes of girly pink or red. Sarah’s open, minimalistic kitchen was the perfect setting for the latter. A few pops of color here and there with flowers, a heart garland and a table runner tied in the Valentine’s theme.

Sarah made this excellent strawberry shrub with red wine vinegar for our drinks. One or two tablespoons of the mixture was topped off with Topo Chico or cava.

Getting some fun #diy #valentinesday ideas with @wanderlustanita, @kathyphantastic, @mjsoko & @pbchipses. Pop tarts, chocolate dipped Rice Krispie hearts, Herb infused syrup cocktails/mocktails, flower pepper shakers and more!

A photo posted by Amy drohen (@sushigirl_atx) on Feb 13, 2016 at 1:04pm PST

For our DIY snacks, we decorated rice krispies and made pastry tarts. For the pastry tarts, we used pre-made puff pastry and a selection of jams, including a homemade jam by Amy’s mother-in-law! With a little mix of lemon juice, powdered sugar and food coloring; Sarah made a icing and we topped the treats with sprinkles.

For the rice krispies, I pre-made the rice krispies with my favorite Smitten Kitchen recipe. We used a heart cookie cutter to get our shapes, and then we drizzled chocolate and finished them off with sprinkles.

For our other DIY, we made colorful pepper mills with dried flowers and peppercorn. Sarah first saw this DIY in the Near and Far cookbook. You can find a similar recipe here. We layered peppercorn with dried calendula, roses, hibiscus and lavender. It’s a pretty result that can be cracked onto yogurt or ice cream.

Finally, we also decorated cards for our valentines!

It was a fun time celebrating Valentine’s Day with some of my favorite gals!

#GalentinesDay crafting and baking with @WanderlustAnita and @SushiGirl_ATX pic.twitter.com/kW9EdGSaUP

— Kathy Phan (@kathyphan) February 14, 2016

I’m on a mission to throw 12 celebrations in 2016. This is #3 of 12. See all of #Celebrations2016 here!

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For the 5th Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I combined my favorite cookie ingredients – caramel, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips – into one super cookie. You could call it indecisiveness or gluttony. All I say is ‘why not?’ You’re going to love this recipe because this chewy cookie gives you rich, buttery, and bittersweet flavors that perfectly blend sweet and salty.

You can easily adjust the caramel, chocolate chip and butterscotch chip ratios to your liking. I found that the ratios of caramel and butterscotch chips I used in the recipe ensured those rich and buttery flavors weren’t overpowering.

I was excited to participate in my first Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap with 475 other food bloggers around the world! This year was the 5th annual of the event. I received the names of three different bloggers to send a dozen cookies to and I received a dozen cookies from three different bloggers. All participation donations were given to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a non-profit organization fighting against pediatric cancer. It was so fun receiving and opening up my cookie packages and the cookies disappeared very quickly after opening. Also, thank you to OXO, Dixie Crystals and Land O’Lakes for being brand partners of the event, for matching the donations of the cookie swap, and for sending bonus goodies to help make my cookies!

I’m craving more of these cookies, so it looks like my family and friends are going to enjoy them this holiday season!

Salted Caramel Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Makes 40 cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup salted caramel sauce (I used Ree Drummond’s recipe)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
Coarse sea salt (optional, to finish)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Add egg and vanilla. Scrape down bowl as needed.
4. Lower speed of mixer and mix in caramel sauce until incorporated.
5. Mix in fine sea salt and baking soda until combined.
6. Mix in the flour.
7. Fold in chocolate and butterscotch chips gently.
8. Scoop cookies into 1 tablespoon and place two inches apart on your baking sheet.
9. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, until golden. It will be soft on the inside.
10. Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
11. Sprinkle cookies with coarse sea salt.
12. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
13. Enjoy!

Want more cookie inspiration? Check out #fbcookieswap on Instagram. Happy baking this holiday!

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Chocolate Truffles at Make It Sweet Class
My friend Amy and I enjoyed learning to make chocolate truffles at Make It Sweet at the beginning of the month. I put Make It Sweet on my Austin culinary class list because I’ve taken classes there several times and have always had fun and learned a lot! My Instagram photo was featured in the Austin American-Statesman too!

It’s going to be okay.
I love this comic on The Oatmeal. It’s a little and meaningful reminder of what we’re here for.

Austin Bakes for Refugees
A few times a year, the Austin baking community comes together to fundraise for people in need through a citywide bake sale. This month, we raised $1,269.46 for Syrian refugees and in five years, $60,000 has been raised for people around the world. Every little bit counts and I’m proud of everyone who stepped up to provide for others. This bake sale I donated my favorite salted brown butter rice krispy treats.

Speaking of Refugees
I found this video to be very clear and informative of how the Syrian War started and how it has progressed. Everyone should be informed about what’s going on in our world!

The Paper and Craft Pantry
I met Pei, a fellow Austinite, a few months ago and since then I learned that she has accomplished her dream of opening a stationary shop and workshop in a few months. As a lover of stationary and crafty workshops, I’m excited her shop is now open! If you are in Austin, be sure to stop by and support a new local business!

6 Clever Ways to Make More Money and Be Happy Doing It
I read this article on The Muse and thought it was very helpful!

Hello, Holiday Season!
Ah, the holiday season is here! I enjoyed wonderful Thanksgiving time in Austin (boyfriend’s family) and Dallas (my family) and though I’m not ecstatic about this cooler weather, I’m looking forward to Christmas traditions, taking time off from work, and celebrating the New Year.

More about my November coming in my Flavors post later this week!

What’s your favorite November memory?

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In the aftermath of natural disasters and devastating events, it’s hard to know how to help those in need. Monetary donations are easiest but sometimes it feels like it’s not enough. Austin Bakes began in 2011 and this past weekend’s event for Nepal was the fifth. I like that Austin Bakes not only provides a way for people to give money but it spreads awareness of a community or country’s need and it gives bakers a way to donate their time. Austin Bakes for Nepal raised $6,930.21 and counting and 100% will go to relief efforts.

The city-wide bake sale was held in eight locations around the city. I donated treats and volunteered my time at the Whole Foods Gateway location. We had a great group of volunteers at that location and plenty of donated baked goods. Our location raised $1,222.28!

Yummy goodies I went home with from Austin Bakes!

One thing I noticed was that many folks simply put a donation in the jar and thanked us for our time without picking out any baked goods. Sometimes a physical opportunity (real life bake sale) in a place of their routine (grocery store) is what someone needs to make it easy for him/her to donate.

I thought it was meaningful to spend my Friday night reflecting on Nepal as I baked. With 8,000 people dead, 19,000 injured and many homes destroyed, Nepal is in a devastating state. I can’t imagine it. I was glad for the opportunity to help out by baking. I’ve baked for Austin Bakes twice before but this was the first time donating these treats. I made the best and my favorite rice crispies recipe: Smitten Kitchen’s salted brown butter crispy treats. It is seriously delicious. I also made a peanut butter version (just added a few spoonfuls of peanut butter to the marshmallow mix) and used Brown Eyed Baker’s pound cake recipe for mini loaves.

The journey from marshmallow gooey to mixed treat to packaged treat.

The wonderful and generous people of Austin and beyond raised $6,930.21, little by little in four hours. Many people also donated online on our fundraising website and continue to do so. We are accepting donations online until May 30, so if you’d like to contribute, we’d be happy help you do so for the people of Nepal! Thank you in advance!

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Nutella Banana Bread
I only recently tried Nutella (yum!) and thought this recipe would be perfect for breakfast. I made a loaf and warmed a few slices in the morning. The recipe isn’t overly sweet and the touch of Nutella was a nice addition.

Vanilla Glazed Baked Donuts
I made these heart shaped donuts for our February Brunch Club. They might have been in the oven a tad too long and the glaze came out lighter than I thought but still tasty.

Kale, Mushroom and Ricotta Pocket Pies
I got this cute pocket pie mold for Christmas one year and now I’ve finally used it! I winged this recipe, filling frozen pie pastry with a sauteed mixture of kale and mushroom and sprinkling ricotta on top. They’re finished off with a pepperoni where the heart is cut out. They had slightly too much pastry on the edges but I thought they were delicious!

Creme Brulee
I made my boyfriend’s favorite dessert for Valentine’s Day. It was a great excuse to invest in some cute ramekins and a blowtorch and the dessert was pretty easy to make. The creme brulee was a hit!

Strawberry Pop Tarts
Ah, pop tarts! The store-bought version were part of my college diet on occasion but this homemade version was definitely better. I made them mini sized for a party.

Macarons
They told me it was going to be hard. I was slightly nervous because I was making these for the first time, the process took longer than I had hoped AND I was making these for the Alice in Wonderland Tea Party and I didn’t want to show up without them! But all in all, this was a success. I’ll probably use a different recipe next time and I have many helpful tips from Instagram comments to make my next batch even better!

Fennel Panna Cotta
You may have seen this from Fennel Night. It needed a few adjustments but all in all, it was a hit.

My to-make list continues to grow! This year I hope to make: Salted Butterscotch Pot de Creme, Buttermilk Biscuits, Momofuku Birthday Cake, sticky toffee pudding, and apple pie, among the many recipes that will be added along the way.

What recipe have you made lately and loved? Should I add it to my list?

The post My Month-Long Baking Challenge appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

With the wealth of recipes available on the Internet, using a cookbook wasn’t a regular activity for me. Many would agree, it’s much easier to find a recipe or use a combination of recipes online that fit your time limit, serving size, and available ingredients instead of making do with a recipe in front of you. What I didn’t expect when I started this goal of cooking through a cookbook was how rewarding it would be.

In November 2012, Deb Perelman of the blog Smitten Kitchen came to Austin for her new cookbook tour. My friend Rochelle, being a big fan of the blog, invited me to hear her speak and we ended up getting new, signed cookbooks. I’ve had cookbooks before but they are mostly focused on cupcakes and baking. They also collect dust on my bookshelf. With this new cookbook and the desire to expand my cooking skills, I set out to make all the recipes in 2013. Spoiler alert: to date, I’ve completed 59 out of 105 recipes. 

I’ve loved this fun and somewhat tedious journey. Here’s a run-down of what I think of the cookbook, cooking preparation, and recipes:

• The cookbook is filled with personal stories about each recipe told in Deb’s sassy and down-to-earth style, just like her blog. It’s entertaining and makes the recipes so much more meaningful.

• The beautiful photos are plentiful and inspirational. I love that it has a pretty cover when you take the dust jacket off.

• The recipes are easy to follow and execute, though I needed more time than I expected on several occasions. Having ingredients cut, measured, and ready to put together really speeds things up. When it comes to cooking, I’ve learned to give myself more time than I think I’ll need.

• Included in the back of the cookbook is a guide of tools Deb uses in the kitchen and it’s been very helpful knowing what could make time in the kitchen more efficient and stress-free. Two purchases I made and love are my food processor and electric scale.

• Since I’m more skilled in baking, I’ve enjoyed the dessert sections – which include pies, cookies, tarts, and cakes – the most.

• The hardest section for me is the salads. The salads are more adventurous than I’m familiar with since I enjoy fairly simple salads.

• Focusing on cooking from the cookbook made meal planning easier. It brought variety to meals, decreased the time to figure out what to make, and helped me not overbuy groceries. However, I did end up with a lot of leftovers from many meals and had trouble adjusting recipes for one. I loved making the recipes with or for friends though! Most of the things I made, especially the desserts, were a hit.

There are about 12 more recipes from the cookbook I want to make this year but as for the big goal of cooking through the whole cookbook, the pursuit has been taken off the list. I’ve dreaded some of the remaining recipes because my taste buds aren’t as adventurous or interested, so instead of investing time and money into something I’m not enthusiastic about, I’m going to savor all the recipes I’ve tried, loved and will come back to again and again. Hopefully one day I can say I’ve made all the recipes.

What’s your favorite cookbook or go-to recipe?

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