S'mores Bars

Happy Thanksgiving! 

So this is what I made for Thanksgiving 2012: this s'mores bars recipe. Man, they were good! But man, they were soooo rich! 

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 king-sized Hershey's milk chocolate bars 
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix at a low speed until it's all mixed together (we'll call this your "dough").

Cover the bottom of the pan with an even layer of your dough. Place chocolate bars over dough. Three king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. (This part is a little tricky...we tried placing the dough in small globs on top of the marshmallow, then spreading the globs into each other. It sort of worked, especially once we decided to grease the spoon we were using). I'm not sure if we just did a bad job of splitting the dough in half, or if the recipe did not create enough dough, because we did not have enough dough to cover the top. Sooo, improvising, we sprinkled on some more graham crackers. 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

The Wrap

Well hello there folks! Can you believe it is Thanksgiving week? I am flabbergasted that finally I can say "it's the holidays"! I love this time of year...the malls are decorated with over-sized Christmas decorations, public places are starting to throw in a Christmas song or two, people are starting to string up Christmas lights, and there are holiday inspired treats and scents to be found everywhere.

So here you have it, an update on all things enjoyable that I'm thankful for this past week or so.

{an awesome note some strangers left on my car}

{a Starbucks date, complete with sweets and a gingerbread chai}

{a super fantastic view on a fun night out}

{nothing like a not-so-healthy late night snack with friends}

{and last, but most certainly not least, an ode to the struggle of a loved one to keep cherished memories close by}

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Some Lovely Things

This week flew. I mean really flew. And so I keep finding myself in a state of shock that Turkey Day is next week! As the holidays approach ever faster I am missing my family (and the small-town way-of-life) more and more, but that also means I will be bursting with excitement when I finally get to see them for Christmas! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

So, here are a few of the [many] things brightening up my world lately.

{yep.}

{adorable overload}

{Paris in the rain}

{glittered mason jar...a must make}

{Scottish Highlands}

Brown Sugar & Bacon Smokies

Holy smokes these are good! We made them for a fun "let's stay in and cook" Sunday night, but they'd be great for a party or tailgate...or really anything or anytime that calls for some major yummyness.

1 pound bacon

1 pound little smokies (little weenies)

1 stick butter, melted

2 - 1 cups brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375. 

2. Cut the bacon into thirds and wrap each third around a little smokie. Place all of the wrapped smokies in a single layer in a greased baking pan. 

3. Stir the first cup of brown sugar into the melted butter until mixed well. Pour the butter and brown sugar mixture on the wrapped smokies. Then take the other cup of brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over top. 

4. Bake your little sugared guys for about 15-20 minutes and then turn the heat up to 400 for about 10 minutes until the bacon becomes crispy.

5. Get ready to have your mind blown!

The Wrap

It seems the holidays cannot come soon enough...I'm so stinking excited about their arrival! I'm forcing myself to wait until after Thanksgiving to do any sort of Christmas gift shopping, but I tell you what...I am itching for some shopping (for others, I promise!). Until then, this sweet little thing will serve as a great reminder of the fabulous family I have waiting at home for me!

So here we go: an update on all things enjoyable from the past week or so.

{just one this week folks, because it's so awesome it gets to stand alone: a handmade pillow created and mailed to me by my super great little sis!}