Anniversary Treats

This post is clearly very late, but the Filthy Fowl and I celebrated our first anniversary on October 11. Our first year of marriage was full of highs (including an amazing trip to Greece) and lows (the deaths of two grandmothers) but overall it was a big success. I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful husband!

For our anniversary, we made a nice brunch of a frittata, potatoes, and the most delicious monkey bread. It was by no means healthy, but so worth it.

We also ate the top of our wedding cake, which my parents kept for almost the entire year in the freezer in their basement. They did such a good job packaging it up, because it still tasted great! They also gave us a bottle of good champagne which we enjoyed with the cake.

Here’s the monkey bread recipe and a few shots of the cake!

Monkey Bread

as found on Cooks.com

Ingredients

4 cans refrigerator biscuits (about 40)
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pecans, raisins and/or coconut, if desired (I omitted)

Directions

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Pour sugar and cinnamon into a plastic bag and mix.

Add biscuit pieces, several at a time; shake to coat well.

Place pieces in a buttered tube or Bundt pan until all are used.

Sprinkle layers with nuts, raisins or coconut.

Bring brown sugar and butter to a boil in saucepan. Cool 10 minutes, then pour over top of biscuits.

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. Turn upside down to serve.

The cake in its original form, and after a year in the freezer…and a few wedding pictures for good measure!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Instead of offering up some bad excuse for my lack of blogging, I’m just going to jump right back in. I have no excuse. But to make up for it, I’m starting with the most amazing chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever taste. I don’t take this lightly. I got this recipe from one of my favorite sites, Smitten Kitchen. Not only did this recipe make me want to blog again, it converted me from a “yuck” to nuts person into a “heck yeah add nuts!” person. I made half this batch with nuts, half without, and both were delicious! If you do use nuts, definitely toast them and definitely chop them finely. Some of mine were almost powdery.

Here’s the recipe…enjoy!

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt or 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (Deb option)
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.