peanut butter + dark chocolate cookie cups

Have you ever seen a more beautiful site than gooey dark chocolate peanut butter cups melting inside a peanut butter cookie?? I didn't think so!! At last , Traders Joes  finally opened in Oklahoma City back in September and all the loves I discovered before our move were rediscovered and some new loves formed. H E L L O dark chocolate peanut butter cups, where have you been all my life? These little bites were truly addicting. Outside of the fact that once you open the box it is like a black hole until you reach the end - there was only one problem...not enough peanut butter for me. Dark chocolate is sometimes teetering on the verge of too rich for me so every time I eat one of these little cups I think what I can mix it in, or with, or a how can I transform it. I tried mixing them into ice cream, baking them in a brownie and it wasn't until I dunked one into a tub of peanut butter out of pure desperation that the light bulb moment happened. PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES! Take old fashioned peanut butter cups kisses with a Hershey's kiss nestled in the middle while it is all gooey and melty delicious and do a remix! When these peanut butter cup babies come out of the oven while they are piping hot you nestle a dark chocolate peanut butter cup in the middle and magic happens.

Let's gather the ingredients and get started:

3/4 cup AP flour - 1/4 cup butter - 1/4 cup sugar (I used mix of brown and granulated sugar)  - 2/4 cup peanut butter - 1 egg - 1/2 + 1/4 tsp baking soda - 1/4 tsp salt - dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

So close little one..

You want to know the beauty of this entire treat?? Its a one bowl masterpiece! You can throw one ingredient after the other into a bowl and whiz whiz with an electric mixer - stand mixer - or serious tricep muscle engaged  hand mixing.  This is a small batch recipe so it only makes 8 mini cups. To be honest, I have Z E R O self-control and can't afford to have more than 8 of these in my house at a time. Also you only need 1 measuring cup and 1 measuring spoon.  Am I the only one who hates doing dishes?? If I can make something decadent with 1 bowl and 2 measuring utensils its a done deal for this girl.

Once you have all the ingredients mixed together - use a tablespoon scoop and roll each tablespoon into a ball and pop it into a greased mini muffin baking pan. Bake them at 350 for 10 minutes. Once you test with a tooth pick and it comes out clean you want to nestle the unwrapped dark chocolate peanut butter cups into the center of each peanut butter cookie.
Make sure to let them rest for a few minutes to ensure easy removal. I have found that running a knife around the edge of each cup and twisting as I pull them out of the pan makes for the cleanest removal.

I whipped these up for Bachelor Monday (can we talk about the hometown dates for a second?? Holy spending - Corrine!!!) with a glass of wine or tall glass of milk these are perfect for your viewing pleasure.  Salty creamy peanut butter mixed with rich dark chocolate and some more peanut butter, there is not much that can go wrong here.

Happy Baking!
XO
Elizabeth

Jayden Emory: O N E year

I blinked. They told me not to, but here we are and you are O N E. I tried my hardest and wasn't able to figure out how to freeze or even slow down time so I guess this was inevitable. I truly can't believe how fast the last 12 months have gone. You are so stinking handsome, smart, sweet, and goofy as can be. You are all the things this mama wished for and many more! I love every single moment we have shared in the last 12 months and I look forward to every one we will share in the future. I know I am not a perfect parent and thinking back on your first year of life there are many things I will do differently the second time around. But I can honestly say I have given you every ounce of love that I know how to...and then some. It has been a wild and crazy but incredibly fun ride so far, little dude.

Last weekend the weather was perfect and it was your birthday party weekend so we celebrated with an impromptu photo shoot in the back yard full of a few of your favorite things, some giant balloons, and cupcakes. Because...duh! I love you punkin. Here's to many many more!

These two....I just can't handle how much love this kid has for his dada

XO
Elizabeth

Game changing S A L S A

Salsa might be my love language. It is in is stiff competition with chocolate and peanut butter....and popcorn. Is it a rule that you can only have 1 love language? I'll come back to that. Let's talk about this salsa. 

Mexican food has a special place in my families heart. My dad in particular is a salsa connoisseur. He loves a good chip & dip situation but is pretty loyal to a good old fashioned spicy salsa. How spicy you ask? Totally up to you, I would say. This salsa features the hard working jalapeno - which can be relatively mild with all the seeds removed. It can also come in hot with a subtle "oh, there it is" lingering spice if you leave the seeds in half of the pepper. Or if you are like my daddio you don't remove any, I mean ANY seeds. My mother has actually made this salsa with habaneros. Talk about spicy - that batch required a glass of milk to wash it down. Safe to say she loves that dad of mine! 

The cast of characters is pretty basic and can be changed to meet your hearts desire in any way:

Tomatoes - Pepper - Garlic - Shallot - Cilantro - Salt- Cumin - Lime

I normally use a combination of canned fire roasted and regular tomatoes. Whatever tickles my fancy when I am at the store or perusing through my pantry at the time. If you grow your own tomatoes, pick a couple of those bad boys - roast them up and then get to salsa making. Regular onion can be used in place of or in addition to the shallots if you wish. I really like the mild onion flavor of shallots but typically use the b i g g e s t shallot and garlic I can find for salsa recipes. Garlic - she is my tried and true. I typically add garlic to recipes that do not even call for it and if it calls for it - well then make it a double! Jalapeno is my favorite pepper for this recipe. You could choose a mild pepper like a poblano, or something spicier if you like it that way. If spice is not your thing then you can omit the pepper component completely. Cilantro is the herb I normally pick for this salsa but I have experimented with other herbs in addition to/in place of cilantro and it still tastes great. If I am being completely honest 9/10 times I make this I use dried cilantro - but for the sake of a pretty photo mama got the good stuff. Kosher salt, cumin, and lime come in hot at the end. These three are all just to taste, and they taste goooood.

Once you have all the ingredients together the process is pretty simple. Peel the garlic & shallot - dissect pepper(s) - tear (or shake dried) cilantro - open the tomato cans - dump everything in a food processor or blender and pulse until you like the consistency. When I get it to just about the texture that I like I taste it and add the salt, cumin and lime juice. Sometimes more or less of each depending on how much salt and acid the tomatoes are currently packing. 

This salsa is delicious, super easy, inexpensive and you probably have all of the ingredients right 

now to whip this bad boy up.

Enjoy it on chips, veggies, meat, eggs, salad, crackers, the possibilities are really endless. 

 This salsa makes a wonderful gift idea! I have given quite a few mason jars full of this stuff to friends, family, co-workers, complete strangers. OK, maybe not the last one....but I would! You could customize a couple of different jars with varying spice levels and flavors. Or package up all the ingredients with a jar and label for a sweet hostess gift. 

This salsa is a staple in our house - I hope you love it as much as we do!

XO

Elizabeth 

A letter to Jayden

Little bub,

I can remember the exact details of the day you were born. Actually, almost every detail from the moment I woke up at 4:30 am. Which was exactly one hour before I was supposed to be induced to the time you were laid on my chest 12 hours later (give or take a short nap after the epidural kicked in). I remember sitting in the rocking chair in your room before we left for the hospital crying - balling - because I was so H A P P Y  to meet you and yet so incredibly S C A R E D that I wouldn't be able to bring you into the world the way I "planned" to. I was scared that I wouldn't be strong enough, or poised enough, or calm enough. I was scared of the unknown - scared that something would go wrong. I was scared that the plans that I made for your arrival would not be followed. You will learn someday that your mama is a stick to the script kind of gal - I make a plan and I stick to it. But you, my sweet boy reminded me that just like the 270 days prior to this day - YOU were in control. YOU decided when it was go time - and despite the efforts of an eviction notice days prior YOU were not ready...until finally you were.

I remember laying in the hospital bed in our quiet delivery room surrounded by family listening to your heartbeat and feeling the contractions begin to get stronger - praying you would be as excited to meet us as we were to meet you...today..I couldn't believe it was actually happening. And just like that, exactly 12 hours after I woke up that unusually warm morning of February 24th, 2016 you were finally here. The full head of dark hair that required me to rely on TUMS like I was an addict. The not-so-little 8 pound 7 oz boy who caused me to doubt my strength for 25 long weeks. All 20.5 inches of your kicks to the bladder that made getting up 2390343948 a night to pee so incredibly draining. The little hands that used to hate the sonogram machine at our monthly and weekly checkups. The little nose that I remember so vividly from the first profile shot I got of you at our gender reveal. The little heartbeat that I thought had stopped beating after a scary wake up call at 2:30 in the morning at 13 weeks.

"He is perfect." Those were the first words that I spoke to you at 4:32 pm. In that moment all the sickness, pain, exhaustion, doubt, guilt, every single unwanted emotion that I felt guilty for having during the 38 1/2 weeks leading up to your birthday were summed up in those 3 words - He is PERFECT. I was terrified that because there were times, many times, that I downright hated being pregnant that I would somehow be punished during your arrival for having those thoughts. So many people would kill for the "growing pains" that I experienced with you. I felt guilty for not being grateful to be so sick. I was scared that when you finally arrived that something might be missing - that I would have missed the opportunity to form a bond with you while you were safely tucked away inside my belly. Boy was I wrong!!

Mama's boy - I did not know the depths of my heart until the day you were born, my love. You have stretched every ounce of my imagination as to what perfect means. You have the sweetest heart and you love to make other people smile. You dance when no one is watching and when they do - you put on a show. You are a missing piece of a puzzle that I did not know was missing.

Don't you just die for baby yawns??!

For the last 12 months I can't think of a better word to describe all the smiles, kisses, cries, late nights, early mornings, messes, trips, endless amounts of doubt and fear and love other than actual -unquestionable and in its purest form: perfection. I thank God every single day that he chose me to be your mom.  As much as your dada and I will try to protect you and guide your way, your life will not always be easy. I hope that the challenges that you will face in life will teach you valuable lessons on strength and perseverance. You are so very lucky to be surrounded by an amazing family with so much knowledge to offer you and I hope you soak in all you can every chance you get. You have taught me so many things in the first 12 months of your life: Clearly you are the boss - and I am O K with that! I have learned to let go of my need to plan every single little detail of our lives. (ok...I'm a work in progress) I have learned to embrace the chaos that comes along with being a mama. I celebrate getting to drink a warm cup of coffee, and look forward to the 6 A.M. morning snuggles in our bed on the weekends. I love watching you grow and wish I could freeze time and keep you my little boy forever. You are everything I dreamed of and more and I am so lucky to be your mama.

Thank you for teaching me a new meaning of  perfect.

I love you,
Mama.