Winners!

I was going to wait until Monday but I felt bad making you guys wait another whole day so.....

The winners are:

Monica H!!

Monica you won Dories book!



and....

Teri!!!

Teri you are now the proud owner of Pioneer Woman's new book!



Ladies please use the contact me button to the right and send me your addresses!

Congrats and thanks to everyone for entering!

Wordless Wednesday~

Giveaway Day! Pioneer Woman & Dorie Greenspan Cookbook Giveaways!

I'm sure that some of you figured out that I was going to give away cookbooks by the little hints I left on Friday.

Ok so it's Giveaway Day!

I’m overdue!

I haven’t had a giveaway in a long time, so here it comes. Today I’m giving away copies of 2 wonderful cookbooks!

The first is Dorie Greenspans: Baking: From My Home to Yours. I’ve had this book for a few years now and I have to admit, it’s the cookbook with the most post-it’s attached to it on my shelf. It’s filled with delicious recipes. I haven’t made one yet that hasn’t turned out fantastic.

The second book is from P-Dub herself. The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Food from my Frontier. Probably the biggest blogger on the planet. Filled with down home goodness and lots of pictures of cowboys, horses and Charlie the ranch dog.

Two great books! Multiple chances to win!

 

How?

It’s easy.

Just leave me a comment telling me which cookbook you’d choose if you won.

Maybe you already have Pioneer Woman’s book and you’d love to bake up everything in Dories book? Or vice versa?

Either way….comment and let me know.

Want more chances?

If you’re a follower – let me know! Double your chances!

If you’re not already a follower, follow me and let me know that you’re a newbie – you get an extra chance too!

You can also follow me on Pinterest. Just scroll up to the top of the page and click the red button on the right hand side. More chances to win!

You can now follow me on Facebook too! Scroll up to the top of the page to the right and like The Cutting Edge of Ordinary! (Just made a page today!) Another chance to win!

 Giveaway will close on Friday, April 27^th at midnight EST.

 Good Luck all!

Double Decker Brownies (Sugar Cookie Espresso Brownies with Chocolate Chips)

Did you ever have a brownie epiphany?

One where you stand in the middle of the kitchen with a slightly warm brownie in your hands, crumbs trailing down your face and think "why didn't I try something like this before?"

Even though I have only made these once, these will now become my "go-to" brownie. The ones I'll make for parties and cookouts, the one's I'll change up just a little to make them different for each occasion, the one's I'll bring to you if your sick in bed, or just need a pick me up, the ones that will be requested when I ask "what would you like me to bring?"

The bottom layer is sugar cookie dough, topped with espresso spiked brownies then topped with a boatload of chocolate chips! Brownie nirvana!

I'm already I’m thinking of all kinds of alternative toppings to make with this recipe. Throwing on a little coconut, adding in some nuts, white chocolate chips. Endless possibilities!

AND....they are so easy to make! Bonus!



I baked these late Sunday afternoon as a snack for the boys while they are out on school vacation. It was almost dusk before they were really cool enough to cut into to, so I knew I wouldn't get a decent picture of them that night. I also knew that if I left them on the counter, I risked coming home to an empty pan, so I took a piece of note paper and positioned it down the middle of the pan and wrote on it:

DO NOT EAT FROM THIS POINT ON!

I drew little arrows pointed to the other side of the pan.

It worked! There actually were some left when I got home!

Once the photos were snapped I had 3 teenage boys lurking over them on the plate. Are you done? Can we eat these now?

Yes, they are that good!

Double Decker Brownies (Sugar Cookie Espresso Brownies with Chocolate Chips)
1 (1lb, 1.5oz) pouch sugar cookie mix (made according to package directions).
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 – 19.5 package milk chocolate brownie mix
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup strong coffee or 1 tablespoon espresso powder dissolved into 1/3 cup hot water
1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli double chocolate chips)

Oven to 350. Preapre the sugar cookie recipe as directed and then press the dough into the bottom of a 9x13 inch lightly greased pan.

In a large bowl combine the eggs, brownie mix, cooking oil and coffee mixture. Stir until just combined. Spread the batter over the sugar cookie dough. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until edges are set. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Coming soon......

I have a little secret.....

Cause you're all so nice.

Cause you keep coming back to my little space on the world wide web.

Cause I love to make people happy, especially when those people are my readers....

I'm having a giveaway!

I'll give you a few hints....

They are square.

They are filled with goodness.

Full of beautiful pages.......

And I'm giving away 2 of them, both the same but different!

Check back Monday for details on how to win!

Wordless Wednesday~

Honey Beer Bread

It's finally getting warm in Rhode Island.

Yesterday I had a day that I needed badly. A day to myself.

John was off to a Red Sox game, the boys off doing what they do. Jesse was home but I barely heard a peep from him, it was a day mostly for me.

I dug in the dirt. I cooked and baked what I wanted, when I wanted too. I spent hours taking pictures and editing them. I took a magazine outside and hung out in the yard reading. It really was just what I needed.

The weather is cooperating too so things are looking downright springy around here....plants are starting to bloom, flower beds have been raked, all the stuff that was piled in the shed last year has now seen the light of day.

My hydrangeas are are budding, my hostas are peeking their noses out of the ground, I'm looking through seed catalogs, I'm designing new beds in my head, I'm anticipating all those cookouts and get togethers with family and friends.

 Spring really is here.

I couldn't be happier.

I love working in the yard.

I love planting and growing my own food.

I love getting my hands dirty and I still love to bake bread.

I know it's not really the bread making season, but our bread eating doesn't stop in the spring, or summer, or any season for that matter.

This is a recipe you can throw together in literally 5 minutes.

You can eat with a delicious soup, you can eat it toasted for breakfast, you can eat is as a snack.

 My friend Tati was over Sunday morning and she ate it with butter and jam.

 It has a touch of sweetness to it. Kinda like my day yesterday.

 

 Honey Beer Bread Recipe
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (**You can double this if you’d like**)

Makes 1 loaf

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed.

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you’d like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.