Pumpkin Mousse

Is it still pumpkin season? I'm gonna say yes since it's so weirdly warm this winter that it still sorta feels like fall.  I mean, I just went for a run and got way to sweaty for this time of year.  Also, I got really cute cold weather running gear for Hanukkah and I can't even wear it since it's too warm!  I know I shouldn't complain.  I love that there is no snow and that I can still make pumpkin things.  What more could a girl ask for?  

I was playing around with the idea of a pumpkin-like pie but without the pie crust.  I found a recipe for a pumpkin mousse and I just loved that idea!  So, that is what I am sharing with you today!  

Today is also a pretty exciting day for me (besides the pumpkin mousse).  I have a lunch date with Bri's Aunt to talk about a wedding shower and then I have a dinner date with Bri's whole family to celebrate his and his twin's birthdays!  I get to go to Cheesecake Factory and Portillo's...all in one day!  This is why I went for a 5.75 mile run this morning.  Gotta prepare myself for all the delicious eating!  

Pumpkin Mousse

(adapted from Pastry Chef Online)

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

1 15 oz can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, heat the water and sugar until boiling.  Continue to boil until the sugar has deeply caramelized.  Once this happens, immediately remove it from the stove and pour in 1 cup of the heavy cream and stir to combine.  Pour this mixture into a metal bowl.
2. Add in the pumpkin, honey, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla.  Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.
3. Pour the rest of the heavy cream (1 1/2 cups) into a metal bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.  Pour 1/3 of this mixture into your cold pumpkin mixture and beat to combine.  Then pour the the rest and use a spatula to fold in the cream until no white streaks remain.
4. Place back into the fridge to keep cold, or serve!  I served mine with a little whipped cream on top!

Enjoy :)

Caramel Apple Cake

Today is my last day of school this week!!! Plus, it's a test day!  I know...I'm a little evil.  I'm a math teacher and I'm excited about giving a test.  Actually, I'm really excited about this test because my students are going to do amazing on it and that is pretty awesome.

I'm also pumped because after school I am leaving for NYC with my family!  We are DRIVING there.  So, if we don't kill each other, by Wednesday night, we will be in NYC to meet up with my little brother and the University of Illinois Marching Band.  My brother is a proud member of this band and they are performing in the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving!! How cool is that?

I'm excited to go to New York, see my New York family and see the Macy's Day Parade in person for the first time.  It is going to be so fun.

To celebrate, I'm sharing a cake!  This Caramel Apple Cake was inspired by the Brown Eyed Baker.  I made it for the ladies of my book club and they thought it was one of the best cakes they had ever had.  I made my cake with two layers of apple spice cake and then spread some "to die for" cinnamon, caramel cream cheese frosting over the whole thing.  Finally, I topped it off with some fresh slices of a granny smith apple.  YUM!  This dessert is super tasty and it is a great option for a Thanksgiving dessert that celebrates fall flavors.

Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 cups unsweetened, plain applesauce
Frosting:
12 oz light cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp caramel sauce
1-2 tsp heavy cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line two 9 inch circular cake pans with parchment paper.  Grease generously.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar for a few minutes.  Beat until it is light and fluffy.  Beat in both eggs until well combined.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the applesauce mixture to the butter and sugar.  Start and end with the flour. Divide the batter into the two prepared pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes.  Let cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together until well combined.  Add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you have a desired taste and consistency.  Add in the cinnamon and caramel sauce and beat well.  Add in the cream if needed.
6. Once your cake is totally cooled, you can spread a layer of frosting over the top of one layer and the place the other layer on top.  Frosting completely and top with some apple slices.

Enjoy :)

Happy Pi Day! 3.141592653...

Happy Pi Day everyone! Today is an especially epic Pi day as it is March 14th of 2015!  Since Pi starts with 3.1415 this is the first time this has happened in 100 years and I am pretty excited about it!  For school, I brought in oreo pie and chocolate chip cookie pie for my students and a ton of my kiddos brought in their own circular treats to share.  It was pretty great!

It also happens to be the St. Patricks Day celebration in Chicago and my friend Lauren's bday celebration.  Can today get any more epic?

The answer is yes.  Here is an epically delicious pie for you all!  This is like a "better than sex" pie and it was truly AH-mazing.  I hope you all have a fantastic Pi/St. Pattys/Whatever day and enjoy your weekend!

The Epically AH-mazing Pi Day Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter

1 tsp white vinegar

2-3 tbsp cold water

Filling:

Your favorite hot fudge

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

8 oz light cream cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Your favorite caramel sauce (I recommend salted caramel)

2 cups cool whip topping

Mini PB cups, M&Ms...and whatever other toppings you want!

Directions:

1. Make the crust: place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Cut cold butter into cubes and place in food processor with vinegar.  Pulse until you have a sand like combination.  Pour water in, 1 tbsp at a time, while pulsing, until your dough comes together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.  Once chilled, heat oven to 400 degrees and roll out pie dough so that you have a large circle.  I usually try to go for a circle with a 12 inch diameter.  Then, place pie dough into a 9 inch pie pan and form crust to your liking.  Place in preheated oven and cook for 10-12 minutes or until dough starts to brown.  Cool

2. To make the filling, melt the dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl.  Once melted, whip with the cream cheese and heavy cream until you have a light and fluffy filling. 

3. To assemble the pie: spread hot fudge into your cooked pie crust so that it covers the bottom.  Then, spread the chocolate mixture on top.  Next, drizzle caramel sauce over the chocolate filling.  Finally, top with the whipped topping and sprinkle extra hot fudge/caramel/other toppings on top.  Place in fridge to chill until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy :)

Sea Salted Caramel Brown Butter Cookie Cups

I feel like I've been slacking.  I know I don't post as much anymore, but what I really mean is that I've been totally skimping on sharing my amazing Chicago experiences.

I've been living in my apartment in Chicago for over a year now, and I really haven't shared all the amazing times I've had around the city.   I will be at an event thinking, "I should totally post about this," and I'll even take pictures so that I'm ready for the post.  But then, I forget, or get busy, or just get lazy.  So, I have ended up with tons of photos of amazing times that have never ended up here.  

This issue ends today.  I am going to start actually informing you all about how great Chicago is.  Starting with: Breweries.  Bri and I are huge fans of going to various breweries to take tours and sample beer.  Chicago is a fantastic place to do that!  So far, we have hit up two spots: Revolution and Half Acre.  Both breweries have great beer and we even had dinner at Revolution which was also fantastic.  If you are ever in town, try to find a brewery tour to take.  There are so many in Chicago and it is a really fun way to spend an afternoon.  

Today I also have an amazing dessert recipe to share!  I made these, brought them to school, and was told they were the best thing I've ever made.  Now, I get told that a lot, but truly these guys are delicious.  They also go along with the theme of amazing things that I am currently into because I am currently obsessed with carmel and sea salt.  I can't get enough.  I just ordered some dark chocolate sea salt caramels to support the school's band, and I bought the Dove ones from the store to keep in my desk.  I can't get enough! Sweet, salty, and delicious, these Sea Salted Caramel Brown Butter Cookie Cups are just divine!  

Sea Salted Caramel Brown Butter Cookie Cups

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1 egg

1 egg white
2 cups mini chocolate chips

24 caramels

sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.

2. Place butter in a small sauce pan and melt over medium heat.  Continue to swirl the butter around over medium heat until it browns.  Remove from heat.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  

4. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, sugar, and browned butter until well combined.  Beat in the egg and egg white until combined and then the vanilla.  Slowly mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  

5.  Fill each muffin well about halfway with cookie dough.  Press a caramel into each well and sprinkle sea salt over the top of each caramel.  Scoop cookie dough on top of each salted caramel and press into the muffin well.  

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookie dough just starts to brown. Let cool and remove from muffin pan.

Enjoy :)

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

I got to see my very first dust storm yesterday! We were at a baseball game for Spring Training when the sirens went off warning everyone about the impending dust storm.  Nothing happened until we got home and looked out our front door and saw that there was just dirt flying around everywhere.  I was told that this was a pretty mild one, but it was still crazy to see.  We're used to blowing snow, not blowing dust!

After the dust storm, we made our way over to the pool to have some $2 tacos and play bingo.  None of us won, but the tacos are great so I guess we were all winners in some way.  From baseball to tacos, today was a lot of fun.  Zack and I even got to go for a run in the morning.  This trip has been great so far and I can't believe I'm enjoying all of this when there is snow back home!

I've been meaning to share this recipe for ages! It is a delicious dessert and in honor of a fun Spring Break, I am going to share it today!  A while back, I went apple picking with some of my girlfriends and then I made this recipe using some of my apples! You can use any apples that are good for baking here.  This recipe is adapted from Paula Deen's on the Food Network to make it a little lighter (but not much :)).

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 8 oz packages low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp, divided
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 apples (I used a mix from my apple picking experience) peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Streusel Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with foil.  Grease the foil.
2. Mix the 2 cups of flour with the brown sugar in a large bowl.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the 1 cup of butter until well combined.  Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove from oven.
3. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese with the 1/2 cup of sugar until well combined.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.  Beat in the vanilla.  Pour this mixture over your warm crust.
4. In a small bowl, toss the apples with the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Sprinkle apples over the cream cheese mixture.
5. In a small bowl, combine all the streusel toppings, sprinkle over the apples.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cream cheese layer is set.  Let cool in the refrigerator and cut into slices.

Enjoy :)

Caramel Apple Scones

Okay, these scones are just phenomenal.  Seriously.  Make them.  I am considering whipping up a batch of these babies right now since I just found out that we have yet another snow day.  Also, since there are not enough days built into the year, I might be going to school until July at this point.  I mean, we might even have another day off tomorrow.

With all this time off, I have been working out, cooking, and blogging.  I keep telling myself to be productive and get ahead on schoolwork, but I am currently enjoying a glass of wine while watching the Grammys instead.  I don't have any regrets.

But seriously, I should be productive.  With all this first year of teaching thing, I am now also taking two courses to further my own education and go for my Illinois license.  So, I have lesson plans and my own homework!  So far, the classes are interesting and not too much work.  I know there are some projects on my horizon and so I want to try to get ahead so that I do not feel too overwhelmed when things become more intense.

However, I am still just sitting around planning recipes instead.  In fact, I just made these amazing Baked French Fries with a Homemade Cheese Sauce as well as a huge pot of Healthy Vegetable Soup.  Yum!  And tomorrow, I am planning a crock-pot meal of Chicken Marsala so that I have lunch/dinner ready for the rest of the week! I guess that is productivity in its own right...right?  I love being able to do all this and sleep in, but I know that I will have to go back to reality eventually and schoolwork is just as important!

Caramel Apple Scones
(adapted from Recipe Girl)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 cup non fat plain greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1 tsp vanilla
Caramel Icing:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a pan over medium heat, melt butter.  Place diced apple and cinnamon in the pan and cook until apples soften, about 5-7 minutes.  Turn off heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the butter until just combined.  Stir in the yogurt, vanilla, and apples.  Mixture will be lumpy.  Do not over work it too much.  Roll out the mixture on a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment paper until you have it formed into a rectangle about 4-5 inches in width.  Cut diagonally into scone (triangle) shaped pieces.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes or until scones have risen and bottoms begin to brown.  Let cool.
5. While baking, make the caramel sauce: in a medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar and milk until well combined.  Whisk for a minute.  Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar until well combined.  Drizzle over finished scones.

Enjoy :)

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust

When Tamara and I were planning a dinner for Courtney's birthday, Tamara came up with an amazing sounding cheesecake idea: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes with Pretzel Crust and Salted Caramel Glaze.  Yea, she's a genius.

I can't wait to share this recipe, but I am also excited to share my Half Marathon Training! I finally made it up to the double digits and Saturday was my 10 mile run! It went really well and I got to run on a beautiful day through the Madison Arboretum.  It was awesome.  This week I have some shorter runs planned for during the week and then on Saturday, I am running in the Madison Crazylegs Race! I can't wait! I've wanted to run this race all through my college career, but I have always been busy.  Finally, my senior year, I am crossing this one off my bucket list!

Speaking of bucket lists, I got another item checked off when my parents came to town Friday for the UW Marching Band Concert.  We went out for dinner at Roast, saw the concert, and then headed to the Ivory Room for a fun night of dueling pianos.  The bucket list item: my mom and I took a shot together! It was super cute.  We had a really fun time and it was awesome to have them here in Madison.

The rest of the weekend was jam packed with running, DTS Sister Bonding Sleepover, DTS Activation, and lesson planning.  I also spent some time coming up with new recipes and I can't wait to tell you about them!  I hope that everyone has a lovely day and enjoys this amazing recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust
(Cheesecake Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour and Caramel Sauce adapted from Cooking Channel)

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the Cheesecake:
16 oz light cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 and place 16 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the crushed pretzels, powdered sugar, and salt.  Pour melted butter over the mixture and stir to combine.  Place 2 tbsp of pretzel mixture into each cupcake liner and, using a small glass, press the crust into the pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 325.  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in the sugar until well combined.  Beat in the cream, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.  Beat on high for a few minutes until light and fluffy.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Pour batter into cupcake wells until it is almost to the top.  Bake for 30 minutes or until cheesecakes are no longer wobbly.  Let cool for an hour and then place in fridge for 1 hour.
4.  To make the caramel sauce, heat the sugar with the water in a medium pot over medium heat until completely dissolved.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil.  Continue to cook, without stirring, until your mixture is a deep amber color.  Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and cream.  Mixture will bubble violently.  Whisk until well combined and whisk in the salt.  Let cool completely.  Mixture will thicken as it cools.  Drizzle over cooled cheesecakes.  You can store the extra caramel sauce in the fridge.

Enjoy :)

Weekend Getaway to St. Louis

I just had a super fun weekend in St. Louis.  I haven't been here in a while to visit Bri so I was excited to see him and experience more fun in the city!

I got in on Friday.  I missed school becuase I needed to be here by 4 to make sure I would be intime for Bri's concert.  That's right, he performed with the university orchestra.  This was apretty big deal and it was great to see him perform.  The shymphony was amazing and Bri did a great job! It was really beautiful music and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I got to sit with Bri's dad and stepmom and it was really nice to see them! After the show, we all went out to dinner with a bunch of Bri's friends to Dewey's Pizza.  The pizza at this place is pretty fantastic.  It is thin crust, and we had a red sauce pizza with spinach, sliced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and goat cheese. It was awesome!

The next day, I went for an amazing 8 mile run through Forest Park.  I love that this park is pretty much right next to Bri's apartment.  It has a great path for bikers and runners and, even though it had snowed, the path was clear.  I was planning on running 6 miles, but I was feeling so good and Bri was still sleeping, so I ended up going for 8.  At this rate, 13.1 will be easy peasy right?

After a much needed shower, I was pretty desperate for food.  Bri and I headed to Cafe Nadoz, which we heard was like cafes in Vienna.  We loved those cafes so we were excited to try this.  It wasn't really like the cafes in Vienna, but it was a pretty awesome place for lunch.  We both had really yummy sandwiches and split one of their European-style desserts, a Caramel Apple Bombe.  It was all delicious!

After Cafe Nadoz, we headed out to the Schlafly Brewery for a tour.  I found yet another beer I actually like and it was a great tour! On the way back, we stopped by my friend Michael's house and it was great to see him! After catching up, Bri and I headed back to the apartment to chill for a bit before dinner.  This meant watching 5 episodes of How I Met Your Mother...great show.

Dinner was on The Hill at Zia's.  The Hill is a great little neighborhood known for being like a Little Italy.  We arrived at Zia's to find that it would be about an hour wait.  We decided to get drinks and the famous appetizer of toasted ravioli at the bar while we waited.  This was a great plan until I took a bite into the ravioli and realized it was filled with...MEAT! I grabbed Bri's arm as we was about to take a bite and told him it was meat ravioli.  This was unfortunate as Bri is a vegetarian.  He was grateful that I stopped him before the bite and I ended up with a lot of leftover ravioli to take home with me.  Our dinner was great and Bri ended up being glad he didn't have an appetizer as his baked mostaccioli was a HUGE portion.  I had the portobello stuffed spinach ravioli with asparagus and red peppers.  Everything was super delicous and we ended the meal on a high note with some mini cannoli for dessert! Yum!

This weekend was super fun and I am sad that I have to leave today.  However, tonight is Oscar night and I can't wait to watch back in Madison with all my friends!

Caramel Apples

The Little Sisters of Delta Theta Sigma are some of my favorite people on this campus.  I love this organization and I love all the great ladies I have met in this group.  This is my last semester being "active" with the group because of my student teaching in the Spring.  I am sad to be almost done with these girls, but I have decided to go out with a bang.

 This semester, I am Sister RA (where I make sure that people are feeling okay and helping out anyone who is going through any sort of hard times), I am Academic Chair (I reserve study rooms once a week and make sure that there are plenty of yummy baked goods for people to snack on as they study), and for the first time, I ran for Fundraising Chair.  I was really nervous about Fundraising Chair because it was something new and something I was not so sure I would be good at.  However, I have done my best to be creative and get us involved in various fundraisers to help support our group.  First we had a Cup Night, at a local bar/restaurant.  This helped to get us over $300!  I was so surprised at how successful it was and it gave me a lot of confidence that I could do a good job as Fundraising Chair.  Then, I wanted to do something that really reflected some of my strengths   So, we did a bake sale! And, not just any bake sale, but we made and decorated caramel apples and then sold them! It was great.  People loved the caramel apples and many people even gave us extra donations! Making and selling the apples was also a really fun way to bring the girls together!

Caramel Apples

Ingredients:
8 bags caramels
40 medium granny smith apples
peanuts, chopped
pecans, chopped
mini M&Ms
oreos, crumbled
reeses, chopped
sticks
sandwich bags

Directions:
1. Melt the caramels and 6-8 tbsb of water in a crockpot on medium until melted.
2.  Stick the sticks into the apples.  Dip them in the crockpot and then let the caramel drip off for a few seconds.  Then, take a knife and scrape off the bottom of the apple.  Then place on wax paper if leaving plain, or dip in your toppings.  This allows the caramel to form an even layer and not pool at the bottom.
3.  If using toppings, roll the dipped apple in the toppings of your choice and then place in the plastic bags to wrap up.

Enjoy :)
 

Homemade Caramel Delights

I have been trying to go through all of my saved recipes and make all of them...and there are a lot.  This particular recipe was the oldest saved thing I had, and I was really craving them: Homemade Caramel Delights.  Some people call them Samoas, some call them caramel delights, whatever you call them, they are fantastic and I wanted to make them.

One of my best friends, Caryn, had her 21st birthday this week and I went to the Wisconsin Dells for my fraternity's formal.  Obviously, I needed to stock up on cookies.  

Caryn's birthday was a fun time, and people loved the cookies.  We went to the Nitty Gritty for dinner, after all it is the birthday place of Madison, and then everyone who was able to, went out to celebrate with her for her 21st.  I, unfortunately, headed back to my house to watch Revenge in my PJs and get ready for middle school in the morning.  I really can't believe how old I am getting.  This was my third time at the Nitty for Caryn's birthday.  I feel really grateful to have made such great friends in college and it's really shocking to me how fast time is flying by.

The birthday crew

In the Dells we went to the Wilderness and we had a whole cabin to ourselves.  After playing in the water-park all day, we headed back to the cabin to shower and get all dressed up for our fancy dinner to Field's at the Wilderness.  We had some time to kill before our reservation and people were getting hungry.  Needless to say, the cookies (that I brought for everyone for dessert) were gone before dinner.

All ready for dinner :)

Homemade Caramel Delights (adapted from Once Upon a Plate)

 Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
0-2 tbsp skim milk
12 oz caramel sauce
3 cups sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (or more)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Beat in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Next, mix in the vanilla.  Then, add milk (a half tbsp at a time) until the dough comes together.
3. Roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Use a 2 inch sized round cookie cutter to cut out circles from the dough (I used a cup from my kitchen) then use a smaller circle (a large straw or a small cap from a bottle will work) to cut out the little holes in the cookies. Repeat until you use all the dough, re-roll as needed.

4. Place the prepared cookies on the parchment lined pan and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.
5. Once cookies are cooled, preheat oven to 300, spread the coconut out on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.  Stir the coconut after every 5 minutes to make sure that it is evenly toasted.

6.  When coconut is ready, place in a medium bowl and mix with the jar of caramel sauce.  Spread this mixture evenly on all the cooled cookies.

7. Melt the chocolate, milk, and salt in a microwaveable-safe bowl for 45 seconds, stirring after 30.  Dip each cookie into the chocolate and then place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the tops of the cookies.  You may need more chocolate.  Let the cookies set completely, and chill in the fridge before removing from the parchment paper.

Enjoy :)