Crazy Candy Cookies

I've been testing out new apps for my iPad over the last week or so and decided to test out The Food Network magazine on Zinio.  I had never bought the magazine before but they offered 3 free issues so why not?  I sat down to read it and was pleasantly surprised at how many things I found that I wanted to try. First up was Adam Gertler's Kid's Candy Cookies. Who wouldn't want to try those on the name alone? But as I read through the ingredients I was lured in by the thought of salty, sweet, warm, gooey cookies. So I jotted down the ingredients to pick up while I was at Target yesterday. Unfortunately they didn't have everything I needed and I had already gone to the grocery store on Friday so I decided to just make some substitutions. I got a little creative when I found something in the baking aisle called Caramel Bits. I had never heard of them before but they are just little balls of caramel so how could I go wrong? The cookies are amazing! The original recipe is below along with my substitutions. Try them and let me know what you think!

The Original Recipe
2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup Pretzel M&M's
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup toffee pieces
3/4 peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk the flour & baking soda in a bowl.
Cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on low speed until incorporated then increase to high speed and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the salt, vanilla, whole egg and egg yolk to the mixer; beat until thoroughly combine. Add the Pretzel M&M's and beat for a few seconds until slightly crushed. (I have a stand up Kitchen Aid but if you are just using a hand mixer I would suggest crushing these before.)
Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Mix in the bittersweet chocolate, toffee pieces and peanut butter chips.
Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on baking sheets about 2" apart. Slightly flatten with your fingers.
Bake until the edges are golden brown. 11-13 minutes.

For my version I substituted 1/2 cup chocolate chips for the bittersweet chocolate, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts for the toffee, and 1/2 cup of caramel bits for the peanut butter chips. That was just the right amount of everything for me but if you like more of one thing than the other just play around.  The result was delicious!

Reverse Bucket List

Yesterday one of my Facebook friends posted a blog where someone had created their Reverse Bucket List. It is a list of things that you have done instead of things you want to do. I really love the thought of celebrating all of our accomplishments and remembering what we have done rather than dwelling on what we want to do. I couldn't get the thought out of my head so I started creating my own. I realized after putting it all together I've done a lot of really cool stuff. I wanted to share it and hopefully inspire all of you to do your own! Plus this will allow me to add to it as I go so here it is in no particular order:

• Signed my name to the Wall of Tolerance at the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL.
• Saw Rent on Broadway
• Did a private tour of Buckingham Palace and had champagne on the patio.
• Stood on the Cliffs of Moher in the pouring rain.
• Kissed the Blarney Stone
• Had a beer (or several) in Temple Bar in Dublin
• Visited Stonehenge (also in the rain)
• Partied in the Infield of the Kentucky Derby (while it was pouring down rain...see a theme here...still a blast.)
• Delivered pizza to, and hung out on, a band's tour bus.
• Had backstage passes.
• Been put on the guest list for a concert by randomly meeting one of the bandmembers at work.
• Whale watched in Alaska & attempted to take pictures.
• Saw a bear and several moose in the wild.
• Drove through the Yukon.
• Stood in the sun and looked at Emerald Lake which was the most beautiful body of water I've ever seen.
• Saw the Midnight Sun
• Sat in the studio audience for a taping of Friends as a guest of Courtney Cox
• Attended a Home Run Derby and an All Star Game
• Visited the fish market in Seattle
• Quit a job I hated without having a new one.
• Seen the Military Tattoo...twice.
• Completed the book 100 Years of Solitude (which you know is a great feat if you've ever read it)
• Attended games at 11 MLB stadiums and one AAA stadium with more to come
• Flew to New York 3 weeks after 9/11 & saw the aftermath of Ground Zero firsthand
• Visited 23 states.
• Listened to a bagpiper in the Scottish countryside.
• Took a glass blowing class
• Had someone tell me I inspired them
• Saw Loch Ness  (but not the Loch Ness monster)
• Returned to College after being out for many years.
• Saw a double rainbow in England
• Toured Alcatraz during the day and at night.
• Drove to Destin and back for a friends wedding
• Partied on Beale street
• Cruised the River Thames at night.
• Attended a World Series parade
• Held a snake
• Won 3rd place in a National Essay contest in 7th grade.
• Won 4th place at state in softball in 8th grade.
• Reconnected with friends I lost touch with.
• Climbed the Giant's Causeway in Ireland
• Went to a Lakers game & saw Jack Nicholson
• Rode a boat under Niagra Falls
• Sat on a jury and got justice for a child.
• Took a limo down the Vegas strip and....wait..what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
• Cut people out of my life that I thought were friends but actually weren't even though it was hard to do.
• Sat in the 2nd row at The Cure.
• Saw Mt. McKinley on my last day in Alaska
• Been inspired by a friend and by a stranger
• Visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis
• Stood up for what I believed in
• Defended a friend when everyone was turning against them
• In the words of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, "Saw Cameron Diaz at Fred Segal." That really happened but I didn't talk her out of buying a sweater.
• Bought a stolen Gucci purse in an alley in LA. (I was young and I really wanted it...don't judge.)
• Toured England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in their entirety. (Including Northern Ireland)
• Got stuck in the mud with 5 of my good friends in high school....not once but twice...and had to walk miles back in to town.
• Saw the place where the Titanic was built
• Visited the place where W.B. Yeats is buried
• Drank cider in a small Irish pub
• Said a prayer in St. Patrick's cathedral
• Said a prayer in the Crathie Parrish Church which is where the Royal family attend service in Scotland
• Crossed the Yukon Suspension Bridge
• Saw the Book of Kells
• Saw the Crown Jewels of both England and Scotland
• Walked on the campus of St. Andrews University
• Toured the ruins of the St. Andrews Cathedral
• Toured the University of Kentucky basketball museum
• Helped refugee kids who had relocated to St. Louis practice their English
• Helped their parents practice interviewing for a job.
• Attended the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh
• Took an African-American literature class which turned out to be my favorite class ever.
• Played with a new litter of sled dogs.
• Learned all about how the altitude in Colorado can affect your alcohol tolerance the hard way & suffered my first concussion as a result.
• Drank whiskey w/ an old Irishman in Scotland
• Attended the Great American Beer Festival in Denver
• Experienced an earthquake while on a train in Alaska
• Toured the Alamo
• Tried to be a great aunt
• Had a valet driver at a hotel drive us to Taco Bell at 2 AM in Omaha, NE
• Drove to Sioux Falls, SD and back for a friends wedding
• Saw the falls....you aren't missing much.
• Attended an Underground Dinner
• Ate at one of John Besh's restaurants
• Read all the Harry Potter books
• Watched Lost from beginning to end in real time and learned to love the ending.
• Learned how to twirl a baton, roller skate and ride a bike (swimming is another story)
• Became a great speller & learned to love words because of my 5th grade teacher & all the dictionary pages he made me write for talking too much
• Went to see the Citadel parade.Stayed out til the sun came up talking with great friends
• Went up in the CN Tower, the Space Needle, and the London Eye
• Saw Billy Elliott in the West End
• Spent a day drinking in Pacific Beach with friends
• Toured the Imperial War Museum
• Watched the sunset on Manhattan Beach
• Had Jamie Cullum sing to us during his concert
• Stopped telling everyone what they want to hear
• Tried Haggis while in Edinburgh
• Experienced the temperature of 40 below.
• Signed up to distribute shoes to kids in Africa without knowing anyone else going.