Sunday, December 15, 2013

Cookie Contest & Other Bits...

My office had our Annual Cookie Contest this week and I'm proud to say I won for the most popular vote and judge's Best In Show! Below is a picture of the cookies that I submitted, I called them "Almond Bark".
It's a recipe my sister Frances got from her friend which I tweaked a bit. It's personally, my new favorite dessert and I wanted to share it with you, too! Hope you like it.

Ingredients:
2 packages graham crackers
1 1/2 cubes of butter
1 lb of chopped raw whole almonds (I buy mine from Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate (for drizzling on top)

Line 16.5" x 11.5" jelly roll pan with foil.
Place graham crackers end-to-end to cover the entire surface.
In medium saucepan, melt butter and mix in sugar until thick, like pie filing - approximately 3 minutes. 
Mix in chopped almonds.
Spoon/spread almond mixture over graham crackers.
Bake 15 min at 350 degrees.
Cool completely. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.
Break into bite size pieces.

I hope you'll try this recipe! If you like almonds, you'll love this one!

Today, I was able to sneak out for a few hours and take a Copic Marker Technique Class at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley. It was fun to attend a class and have some time to just sit and play. Below are the cards I made in the class.
The stamps the teacher used are from Stampingbella, the Uptown Girl collection - such fun images to color. I ended up buying these stamps from her too...
And if you haven't been to 4th street yet this holiday season...you must check it out. They've deck out the streets in tons of lights...

This month I was also busy coordinating a 2014 collaborative calendar for Catherine Moore with 13 wonderful artists. Each artist created a page for each month and Catherine designed the cover. This time we sent our images to a vendor to produce a professional 5"x5" spiral bound desk calendar. I want to show you a sneak peek, the wonderful cover created by Catherine. I will be able to order some extra calendars if you're interested in purchasing. I'll show more of the calendar pages in upcoming posts...stay tuned.

Can't believe Christmas is just a couple weeks away. Hope you're having a wonderful Holiday Season!

10 comments:

  1. the almond bark is yummy! thanks for posting the recipe for everyone. glad you were able to do something for yourself. did you learn alot about blending copic pens.
    am excited about the upcoming character construction calendar. love the title page by catherine moore, creator.. you're such a tease.. can't wait to see more pages..

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  2. Connie I am going to try that yummy bark!!! I am interested in the calendar please email me amount and I will send a check....I have your Christmas card done so I shall send that out too
    Ho Ho Ho Laura H :)
    xoxo

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  3. Your graham/almond/chocolate cookies are just what I need for some holiday events! Thanks for the recipe at such a timely day! I will be buying chocolate grahams - because that's what it looks like in the photo?
    I, too, would be interested in the calendar. Please let me know how much.
    Mary: blukazam@yahoo.com

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  4. Hi Connie,
    I would love to purchase a calendar if you have enough. Happy Holidays!
    Valerie Myers

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  5. I can't wait to see the calendar pages and am so excited that they will be available. Would you please put me on the list?Thanks so much.Julie Loeschke

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    Replies
    1. Hi Julie, can you give me your email address and I'll send you the info on the calendar. Thanks!

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  6. It's nice that you were able to have some play time for yourself. The stamps are really cute colored in with the markers...especially the one with the Christmas colors.

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  7. Hi! The bark looks really wonderful! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Can you tell me what a "cube" of butter is? Does it equal a tablespoon? Here is my email address: Nichols@BartonCoeVilamaa.com Again, thank you very much! Cecile Nichols

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  8. Dear Connie,Sorry,I just saw this.Here is my email for the calendar info:tj.loeschke@gmail.com.Thanks so much! Julie

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  9. I would love to have a calendar. Send me the details please:
    pamandzim@gmail.com
    Thanks, Pam

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