White-Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

For some reason, during class today, I thought that the combination of white-chocolate and cranberries would be delicious in a cookie. So, I came home from school and tried it out.

I think they turned out pretty good. So, I thought I'd share the recipe with you lovelies.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tbl. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup of sour cream

Dried cranberries

White chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until blended.

4. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and yolk until light. Mix in sifted ingredients.

5. Stir in white-chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

6. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Tips:

Use plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream. It's a lot healthier, and tastes exactly the same.

Enjoy!

Why Did the Hipster Burn His Tongue?

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Today, my friend, Nunsie, came over for a hipster fashion-shoot. Yeah, yeah, I know, if you call yourself a hipster, you're not really a hipster. Whatever.

She brought over a bunch of her crazy clothes and we took pictures for a few hours.

Here's a few of my favorites.

Isn't she gorgeous?

And here's a few of me, that are not as cool...let's just say I prefer to be behind the camera.

Yes, I am wearing a vest over a sweater. It's not a big deal.

After the shoot we had the most delicious lunch. A quesadilla made with goat cheese, carmelized onions, red peppers, roasted corn, and homemade guacamole. Yum.

Oh yeah, and answer to the title is:

He drank his fair-trade goat's milk espresso before it was cool ;)

Tea In The Sahara With You

I drink tea. A lot of tea, actually. It's perhaps my favorite thing to drink. I have a few that I like more than others, but I love trying new kinds. I even tried one that was made with gun powder a few weeks ago...that was, interesting, to say the least. I don't think I'll be having a cup of that again anytime soon.

I love tea because you can drink it hot or cold, or in any kind of weather. Yeah, yeah, I know you can do that with coffee too. But tea is better. So, here's a recipe for an Iced Chai Tea. I think it's quite delicious, and on days when it's just a bit too hot to drink a steaming cup 'a' tea, this is the next best thing.

I know what you're thinking, "It's winter. Why would I want a cold drink?" Well, the answer to that is that St. Louis is stupid, and even though it's January 8, it's warm enough to go outside with just a sweatshirt on, and still be warm. I refuse to call this winter. I honestly think I'm being cheated out of my annual winter experience, and I'd like a refund. Thank you.

Anyhow, for this recipe you will need these ingredients.

Chai tea (my favorite is Bigelow's Vanilla Chai, but you can use whatever kind you like.)

Heavy Whipping Cream, or Half-and-Half\

Milk

Vanilla Extract

Sugar

Spices of your choosing (I chose Nutmeg and Pumpkin Pie Spice)

Blender

And here's how to make it.

First, brew a cup of tea Then, take two tablespoons of whipping cream, two tablespoons of milk, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and two teaspoons of sugar. Then add a bit of your spices of choice, and blend it all together. Once it's all mixed and creamy, pour it over ice, and enjoy!

Happy drinking!

-Anna

*The title of this post comes from The Police's song, Tea In The Sahara*

One More Go

So, it's January 1, 2012. And I've decided to start over. Let's give this one more go.