Lucky Bars

May the countdown to Thanksgiving begin. These Pecan Pie Bars from Joy the Baker's new cookbook are the perfect pre-thanksgiving indulgence. I'm now the proud owner of Joy's second cookbook, Homemade Decadence, thanks to Blogging for Books. 

I've been a long time fan of Joy's blog and already own her first cookbook. When it was time to pick out my next book from the B4B archives, Joy's was a no brainer. This book blows her first cookbook out of the water. It's double the content and I can confidently say I want to make everything in it. 

It was a struggle having to decide what I would bake first, but because of the holiday season, Pecan Pie Bars had my tastebuds tingling. The shortbread crust, chocolate chips and addition of liquor helped too. 

Sunday looked like this, so it was a no-brainer that it had to be a baking day. 

After making the crust and getting it in the oven I started making the pecan mixture. Melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrupy goodness was all combined when it was time to add the eggs and BAM! A double yolk! I let out a slight squeal, quickly snap chatted it (I'm such a stereotype of my generation), and now I'm waiting to see what kind of luck it brings me. Joy may call them Pecan Pie bars, but these guys will now forever be "Lucky Bars."

Pecan Pie Bars
yields one 9 x 13 pan

Ingredients:

Shortbread Crust:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 tsp. salt

Filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp. bourbon or any liquor of choice (I used Kahlúa)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups toasted pecan halves, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, then also line it with parchment paper. Grease it again to ensure the pecan bars will come out easily!

For the crust:: combine flour, powdered sugar, butter and salt in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until completely combined, about 4 minutes. Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and use your fingers to spread the crust out evenly. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Keep the oven on.

For the filling:: whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, liquor and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the pecans and chocolate. Pour the mixture over the crust and spread evenly. 

Bake until set, about 25 to 30 minutes. You're supposed to let them cool completely before cutting into bars, but when you have the scent of pecan pie filling your house it's a little hard to wait. The bars will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

I have a weak spot for shortbread. The crust is so buttery and when paired with the sweet chocolate pecan topping, their just, just, just, so good. They are like pecan pie turned up a notch. 

Joy's cookbook is now a top favorite for me. On my bake list are her Lemon Bars, Classic Vanilla Cake, Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Grits, Dirty Chais and Breakfast Biscuit Cobbler. Read my full review of Homemade Decadence on Blogging for Books. 

BRB while I go cut tiny piece after tiny piece until I realize I just ate about two full sized squares... Once a grazer always a grazer. 

Annie

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. If you are a also a blogger make sure to check out their site on how you too can start Blogging for Books!

Bites of My Life

Today has included the first snow of the season, the first OU basketball game, holiday baking, decorating my little house for Christmas and now snuggling up in front of the TV with a double feature of You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Today has been too perfect. P.S. It's currently Sunday while I'm writing this.

Before I get too ahead of myself, last week included verde turkey chili with leftovers to last all week, the "polar vortex" that blew in (making walking to class such a joy...), multiple bowls of soup, multiple cups of tea, and finally a quickie trip to Dallas to help sis find her dream wedding dress!

-Verde Turkey Chili doctored up with loads of Fritos and avocado.

-Phood for the soul.

-Homemade Irish Coffee--this is how you do happy hour when its 30 degrees out.

-When in Dallas, sit at the bar and eat fried avocado fries. 

-Breakfast at Start. A new real fast food concept in Dallas that I'm totally on-board with. I got the veggie sausage pancake sandwich. Indulgent but healthy!

-It's official, she #SYTTD! Champs cheers to finding sis's dream dress!

-Found the dress at our first stop, so it left the rest of our day in Dallas for lots of eating and lots of shopping! So, let me tell you about my new favorite restaurant, True Food Kitchen. "Honest food that tastes really good." We got the gorgonzola onion and fig tart (not-pictured), the red chili shrimp, inside out quinoa burger and Autumn Ingredient salad. Read my full review here. I'm dreaming about the chance I get to go back.

-A DOUBLE YOLK! Good luck to me. Stay tuned for what this good luck baked up!

-Woke up Sunday to little flurries filling the sky, but after a few hours, Norman quickly became blanketed in a thick layer of snow!

-Snow day soup. 

I'm now going to sleep with a spoon under my pillow at the hopes of a no-school, snow day tomorrow!  It worked! NO SCHOOL!

Annie

We Can Work It Out

So Stevie Wonder is not the point of this post, but do I love his version of The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." His song did give me inspiration for the title of this post because I've been humming it ever since I decided to post about this new line of workout clothes by Outdoor Voices.

I can't take the credit for finding this brand because oldest sis Claire is Miss New York and is always ahead of the curve. She sent Kathleen and I a link to their site and "subtly" hinted they might make good birthday or Christmas gifts for her (noted). The three of us usually like similar things, so I too, quickly fell in love with their stuff. 

Everything looks above and beyond comfy. I love all of the light grays and heather fabrics. I'll go ahead and use my outdoor voice to tell you how much I love this stuff. 

Clockwise: Black running sweats//Steeplechase sports bra//Warmup leggings//Lavender Athena crop top//Charcoal running sweats//Catch Me If You Can hoodie

"we can work it out, we can work it oooouuuuttt!"

Annie

A Bag and A Bargain

Oh buck it, I'm in a frenzy over bucket bags. After getting the reassurance from my fashion guru sisters that bucket bags really are cool, I've become even more fancied by them. Mansur Gravriel (still working on figuring out how to pronounce that one) has taken the lead in making bucket bags cool again. They are taking over the blogshpere, but their price tag is a little out of reach.

1. Mansur Gavriel bucket bag

2. Old Navy bucket bag

3. Kate Spade Saturday grommet bucket bag

4. Madewell layfayette bucket bag

5. GiGi New York bag

One of my new favorite purse brands, GiGi New York, makes a great bucket bag too, and at a step down from Mansur in the price department. I had settled on thinking I wanted to scoop up the GiGi navy bucket bag, until...Old Navy swooped in with a bargain.

I had seen this bag on Perennial Style's Instagram and when I realized it was from Old Navy and only $29.94 I couldn't pass it up. Let's be honest, bucket bags probably won't be cool in six months so why pay a hefty price. When I went into Old Navy two days ago to pick up my bag, I got to the register to find it on sale for $16. Yes, you heard me, $16. The dark forest green color and the subtle pebbled leather have me swooning over my bargain bag! I'm bringing buckets back and at a bargain price!

Annie

Snacks and Apps

After having a little get together at my house last week, I realized I like to entertain even more than I thought. I've watched my mom entertain with grace over the years, but never thought my control freak side would be able to manage it. 

When a friend asked me to host a jewelry trunk show at my house, I immediately thought of it as an opportunity to get good friends together and serve good food, so I quickly said yes! 

I did as Ina has always taught me, and made half of the appetizers and bought the others. She always says your guests won't have any fun if you are running around trying to take things out of the oven and can't enjoy the party. So, for my snacks and apps, I made pumpkin dip served with apples and graham crackers and dried fruit mascarpone crostini. I also bought little cherry tomatoes and olives for people to snack on.  

I've been eating this dip around the holidays since I was little. I updated it a bit, but it tasted just like the original. It's super simple and a huge crowd pleaser. 

Pumpkin Dip
*adapted from my mom's recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup cool whip (I used lite)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 granny smith apples, sliced
graham crackers, quartered

Directions:
Fold together all the ingredients for your dip in a medium size bowl using a spatula. And that's it! Serve with sliced apples and quartered graham crackers. 

*Mom's recipe called for sour cream, but I love the healthy swap of Greek yogurt instead!

Next up, my dried fruit and mascarpone crostini! These were equally a hit. I got several "Annie! What is this spread?" My fiends were very intrigued with mascarpone and loved it even more when I let them know it was basically italian cream cheese. 

Dried Fruit and Mascarpone Crostini
yields about 32 crostini

Ingredients:
1, 8 oz container of mascarpone (if you can't find it in your grocery store, just plain cream cheese will work too!)
2 thin baguettes
any kind of dried fruit (I used cranberries and figs)
honey

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice your baguettes at a diagonal into 1/2 in slices. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 4 minutes on each side or until crisp without being too brown. Spread a nice layer of cheese on each baguette. Sprinkle with dried cranberries or half of a dried fig. Drizzle with a small amount of honey!

Also as Ina would say, "How easy was that?" Now enjoy these foolproof  appetizers, perfect for holiday parties coming up!...Okay my Barefoot Contessa references are over. 

Happy entertaining! 

Annie