November 2016

Hi Guys! It’s an extra happy Monday because Thanksgiving is only a few days away. Who all’s excited?! I’ve been feeling really stressed as of late trying to balance dissertation research with job hunting, working on some other research projects, and trying to get some manuscripts submitted. This will be my time to recharge with some amazing food and even better company. Now many of you may already have the Thanksgiving dessert menu finalized, but for those of you who do not, you’re going to want to grab a pencil and add these cookies to your list.

A Few Reasons You Should Make These:

They’re very easy to make.

Sweet potatoes are super cheap this time of the year. If you live in NC like me Wamart is selling huge ones for 33 cents a pound.

I shared some with one of my cohort members and she told me she couldn’t stop eating them because they were “AMAZING!”

What more motivation do you need?? I’ll wait. *Silence.*

Exactly! Check out the recipe below:

Ingredients:

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes

1 large egg room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature

1 teaspoon of cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of maple extract

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Spice Mix:

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ginger

1/4 teaspoon of allspice

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Fold Ins’

1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

1/2 cup of salted toasted pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and lightly spray it with cooking spray. Spread the pecans flat on the parchment paper. Lightly coat the pecans with cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt.

Toast the pecans for approx. 5 minutes. Stay close by because the nuts go from perfectly toasted to burnt very quickly!

With a handheld or stand mixer cream the butter and sugars (brown and granulated) on a medium speed in a large bowl. Next add the egg, extracts (vanilla and maple), and sweet potatoes. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Combine until no dry pockets of flour remain but take this step slowly as to not overmix the ingredients.

Fold in 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of toasted pecans. Set aside the leftovers.

Cover the cookie dough with saran wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Once your cookie dough is almost done chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take two baking sheets and line with fresh parchment paper. Lightly coat with cooking spray.

Once your cookie dough is done chilling, take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls.

With the back of a spoon press down on the balls to flatten them. Add the remaining white chocolate chips and pecans left on top.

Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes.

You should have approx. 16-18 medium-sized cookies.

Enjoy!

Keep these in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days, if they last that long.

Bonus: Even on Day 3 these tasted amazing. Just pop them in the microwave to warm them up. Happy Monday and an even Happier Thanksgiving in advance!

Hi Guys! Happiest of Mondays to you. I like to be upfront here so I have to admit that I struggled with how to start this post. I could jump right into the fabulous sweet potato pancake recipe that I have for you but I felt like I needed to, if only briefly, touch on what happened last Tuesday. I like many people expected that Hilary Clinton was as good as our 45th president. That did not happen.

I’ve gone through a series of emotions since the winner of the presidential election was announced, none of them positive. I’ve wondered how a human being that has managed to denounce and degrade so many different sects of the U.S. population, has managed to secure a position as the next leader of this country. It’s disheartening to say the least. Through it all I’ve been reminded that now more than ever it’s imperative to put in work. Work that leads to building a legacy. This election was a call to action to create things and build businesses that will do just that. And not just for me, but for the communities that I represent and those that support me.

On to a lighter and fluffier note, I come bearing gifts. To be more specific it’s a stack of pillowy, fluffy, sweet and spicy gifts. These pancakes are literally fall on a plate. From the sweet potatoes to the toasted pecans and the mix of warm aromatic spices, they could be the poster child for fall.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes

2 large eggs

1 tbsp melted and cooled butter

3/4 cup of toasted chopped pecans

1 tsp maple extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 cup low fat buttermilk

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tbsp granulated sugar

Spice Mix:

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp cardamom

Optional (for tossing the pecans):

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp of granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

While the oven is preheating combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl.

In a separate medium bowl mix the eggs, sugars (light brown and granulated), buttermilk, extracts (vanilla and maple), water, and butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

By now the oven should be done preheating. Lightly spray your chopped pecans with cooking spray and toss your pecans in the cinnamon sugar combo if so desired. Lay them flat on a baking sheet and cook for 5-7 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as nuts burn easily.

Take the pecans out of the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before adding them to the pancake batter.

Bring the oven back down to a temperature of 200 degrees. You’ll use it to keep the pancakes warm as you’re flipping:)

Put a pan on the stove at medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour your pancake batter.

You should end up with about 12 medium-sized pancakes.

Enjoy!

Now as promised there will be a part two in this ode to the sweet potato mini series. The best part is that the second recipe calls for a lot of the same ingredients that were used in this one. Any guesses for what it is??

Let me know in the comments!

Hi Guys! I hope you’re enjoying the extra hour we were gifted this weekend. Whether you spent it catching up on sleep or knocking a couple items off your to do list, I hope it left you feeling refreshed for the week ahead. This past Saturday was my 2?th birthday. I put a question mark there because I’m not sure if I’m at the age where I should just start saying I’m 25 lol. At this point I’m only a couple years off, so it’s still just a white lie. Anyways, I kept things pretty chill. Between working to finish my proposal and prepping for my defense I didn’t have time to plan anything elaborate. On Friday I got a gel mani and tried to do a little pre bday shopping. “Tried” being the operative word because I didn’t end up getting anything. I found this beautiful romper at Nordstrom but I wasn’t willing to pay retail for it. Another perk of getting older. My shopping/spending habits have considerably improved.

On Saturday I ended up exploring some local shops that had been on my “NC Places to Check Out” list for a while, tried a sushi restaurant in Raleigh, and saw a new exhibit at the NC Museum of Art. I also bought some heavily discounted Halloween candy. Don’t judge me. At 70% off Target was basically giving it away.

Aren’t the flowers beautiful?? I love getting fresh flowers for my birthday. Much like a good mani they’re pretty to look at and they make me smile. For the first time ever I ended up trying sushi with “not cooked” seafood. I must admit that I liked it. If you’re looking for a sushi spot in the triangle I’d recommend giving Kai a try. They have 3 for $24 and 5 for $37 roll specials. Clearly you can see I went with the latter. Hey, you only turn 25 three or four times.

Now it’s time to really get in it. The celebratory period has ended (insert sad emoji face here). This week I’ll be conducting some focus groups about campus composting initiatives, continuing the job/postdoc hunt, and trying to get a better sense of sample size for my dissertation research. Sounds super exciting, huh?! What have you guys got planned for the week? Drop me a note below so we can commiserate about our super exciting week together!