Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Welcome to the last day of the year. We’ve made it! We’ve made it through earthquakes and lunar eclipses, volcanic eruptions and mudslides. Our nation’s capital was inundated with snow and our coastal waters were filled with oil. And according to my boyfriend, Ronald Reagan passed away. It’s been a tough year. Luckily we have many reasons to celebrate 2010. For one thing, Conan is back on TV! And I made cookies for you.

Hopefully your personal year has treated you a little better than it did the planet and at least now you can watch Conan to cheer you up. After a rousing success at my 2010 new year’s resolutions I’m finding it difficult to decide on my 2011 goals. I mean, how can I beat “Eat more Chinese food?” That was one awesome resolution. If you are thinking about your goals for the New Year, try to think more liberally. Goals like “Lose 50 pounds” only set us up for a lot of stress. More fun goals like “eat more strawberries” are much easier to meet. So, here we go, my 2011 goals and resolutions!!!

1. Find a really good pair of jeans. I had an amazing pair, but then I wore them too much and they fell apart. I had a little funeral for them. I’ve mourned them and now it’s time to replace them.

2. Convince Wegmans to install a store in the first floor of my apartment building. It would make my life so much more easy, and awesome. This one might be a difficult one…

3. Use more bacon in my cooking. A coworker of mine has been touting the many merits of bacon, he carries a bag of bacon around with him at all times. Or at least, this is what I think he does.

4. Determine the perfect cupcake to frosting ratio. Many cupcakes will need to be consumed in accomplishing this goal, but I feel as though I am up to it.

There we are, my 2011 goals. Here’s hoping that I can accomplish at least half of them! I’m thinking that number two will be exceptionally difficult, but the benefits would be exponentially greater than the amount of work I have to put into it. I feel as though it would benefit mankind as a whole.

To celebrate the last day of the year, enjoy some cookies. A simple a delicious recipe, reminiscent of an

Oreo cookie. One last cookie recipe before our January health-fest. Remember, we’re spending the month of January eating healthy! Don’t think that means we’ll be without cookies and desserts, there will be dessert.

Blueberry Macarons

The year is coming to an end. Have you accomplished your new years resolutions and goals? At the beginning of 2010 I made several resolutions and decided upon a number of goals. My resolutions might sound a bit strange, but I wanted something that would be attainable and fun at the same time. During my first BodyPump class of the year, I shared my goals with my class. There were mixed reactions. I think it’s because none of my goals and resolutions were fitness or health oriented. Maybe next year, I’ll have to think on that and get back to you on Friday! Here were my resolutions for 2010.

1. Wear more Hats. Now, I was not trying to be metaphorical, suggesting that I wanted to become more of a renaissance woman. I meant that I literally wanted to wear MORE HATS. Berets and cowboy hats, beanies and chapeaus. I look good in hats. Sadly, I did a poor job of accomplishing this goal. Send me pictures of cute hats, I need to try again this year.

2. Eat more Chinese food. Why? Because it is delicious. I’m not sure if I can check this one off the list. I think that if I had made it a more generic goal, like “Eat more Asian cuisine,” then I could put a check mark there. I ate an exceptional amount of Thai food this year. I’m going to include all the Indian food I ate as well, since India is on the continent of Asia. Asian Cuisine accomplished.

3. Complete current work project. Easy enough to understand - finish my total synthesis. A work goal. Sometimes being a synthetic chemist is a little disappointing because it can take an entire year (or five) to complete a single project. Thankfully it is done and I’ve moved on to another project, which will hopefully be done soon!

Making French macarons was not on my original resolution/goal list. They weren’t even on my radar in the beginning of the year. This year I have transformed into more of a foodie, with the start of Wilde in the Kitchen and my many worldly travels, I have learned so much more about cooking, baking and eating! Here’s to 2010! I hope that whatever the year brought you, you’ve learned, loved and had some great moments along the way.

Raspberry Three Layer Jell-O

Three ingredients?  Perfect

Sounds like a good chunk of my friends out there are buried under feet and feet of snow! The funny thing is, here in Buffalo we have barely gotten a dusting! So, if you are trying to figure out what to do with 24 inches of snow, I’ll tell you what to do! Just leave it there; it will go away at some point! If that isn’t an option, then you should throw on an extra layer of clothes and head outside. That two feet of snow is just calling for you to make an army of snowmen!

Thanks for the help mom!

Today I present to you one of my favorite holiday desserts. The dessert that we brought to every holiday dinner we attended. When we asked what to bring to thanksgiving or Christmas dinner it was an easy answer, “You’re going to bring the Jell-O, right?” I’m in no way a food snob, and I’m happy to make Jell-O my fancy holiday dessert. All you need to do is dress it up with a little fruit and some colored sprinkles!

I should warn you, this is a messy dessert! Have a bleaching solution ready for your countertop, when you inevitably spill some of the mixture. I have to claim responsibility for spilling some on my aunts white carpet. What can I say, I was little and uncoordinated. I suggest serving it in bowls, rather than dishing it out onto a plate. Especially a paper plate with low edges!

I'm a kid, all over again! 

A heads up!  Starting January 1st, I'll be spending the entire month providing you with healthy (and tasty) recipes.  I thought, why not start the year off right?  Along with the healthy recipes I'll be posting helpful hints, common diet mistakes and tricky food lies.  Until then, let's eat sugar!  Two more cookie recipes this week will finish up out 2010!