Cravings

It’s officially the month of tricks or treats – emphasis on the treats. Since next week is the season premiere of “Vampire Diaries” – one of my most guiltiest of pleasures – I thought these vampire cookies were an ideal way to start October. I’ve made these cookies before for a “True Blood” party and they have since become a cookie cult favorite. They’re sort of like the cookie version of a jelly donut.

What you’ll need: 3/4 cup butter (softened), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp salt, raspberry or strawberry jam, 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk

In your mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until lightly whipped. Beat in the egg and extract. Slowly add flour and salt until dough is just combined. Then wrap the dough either in plastic wrap or a sealed container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. You want the dough to be nice and chilled.

Preheat oven to 325F. Divide the dough in half, keeping the half you’re not using in the refrigerator. For the next step you’re going to want to work somewhat fast because the dough gets warm pretty fast which causes it to be sticky and kind of difficult to work with (especially if you live in Florida). Gently roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8-inch thick.

Next use a cookie cutter to cut out 2-inch rounds and place them on baking sheet.

Add a heaping 1/2 of teaspoon of jam on each round and cover with another round of dough.

Gently press the edges down, pinching the two together. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (until cookies look set). Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

While cookies are cooling, take about a cup of powdered sugar and add 2 tablespoons of milk to create the pale icing (I used almond milk because that’s what I had available and it works great). Whisk the two together and let it sit for a minute or two. You’ll want your icing to be slightly thick, not too runny. Once the cookies have completely cooled, generously frost each cookie with an icing spatula or spoon. Let the icing firm up for at least 30 minutes.

Next, take about 1/4 of a cup of jam and heat it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir. To create the vampire bite, take a toothpick and poke two holes into each cookie, twisting the toothpick. To create a blood trickle, dip the toothpick into the warm jam and drag it from the holes downward.

I want to eat youuuuur cookies.

They’re so delicious looking – you’ll want to take a bite!

When I like something, I tend to go full nerd mode. The thought of watching “Vampire Diaires” while eating vampire cookies and wearing this Markus Lupfer Vampire Sequin Sweater is enough to make me seriously geek out. The black sweatshirt features a sequin vampire mouth that is as sexy as Ian Somerhalder. Okay, almost as sexy.

(Available at: Net-a-Porter, ASOS, Shopbop, My-Wardrobe, Matches)

Recipe Adapted from Baking Bites

You know when everyone’s buzzing about a product but you’re kind of like “ehhh, I’ll check it out later” ? Yeah, that was me with Urban Decay’s Naked Palette. Don’t get me wrong. I definitely wanted to get the skinny on the pretty palette when it first came out, but it just sort of just became dormant on my wishlist.

The wishlist item quickly moved to the top when I spent an afternoon playing in a Sephora during a recent trip to Georgetown with my mother-in-law. She liked it so much, she got one too. The palette conveniently features five versatile shades, ranging from delicate champagne to gritty gunmetal. The pretty palette also includes glitter, shimmer, and matte shadows, letting you easily create day-to-night looks. The best part? The shades of shadows work well for all seasons, fall through summer. They’re also the kind of colors that surprisingly look good on everyone, regardless if you have a fair or olive skin.

And although you’ve probably already read rave reviews about Naked, I thought I would just finally add my two cents to say it’s definitely worth every pretty penny.

While most people are enjoying the romantic spoils of fall – changing autumn leaves, stylish scarves, and crisp-cool air – I am not. Only recently has there been a somewhat noticeable drop in temperature, offering a momentary but sweet respite from the unbearable heat and humidity of Florida. Alas, the A.C. must still work it’s magic. And although autumn is probably my favorite time of year, Floridians really don’t get one. So sometimes you just have to fake it. An autumn scented candle and “You’ve Got Mail” usually help, but the best cure for fall cravings are satisfied easily with the taste buds. I tend to gravitate toward the flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg. Over the weekend I was tempted to make these again, but after a lot of back and forth I opted to make Iced Oatmeal Cookies.

What you’ll need for the cookies: 2 cups quick cooking oats, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 large eggs

First: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Next: In a food processor, pulse your oats about 4-5 times until partly ground. Then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Set aside. (Warning: the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg is completely intoxicating)

Next: Melt butter in the microwave. In your kitchen aid bowl, beat together the sugars and the melted butter. Then add in the eggs one at a time. Slowly add in the oat mixture until well combined.

Use your cookie scoop or drop tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating halfway through. After they bake, let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I just love seeing the little specs of cinnamon and nutmeg in the cookie dough.

For the icing: Simply whisk together 2 1/2 cups of powder sugar with about 4-5 tablespoons of milk.

Once the cookies have completely cooled, generously spoon frosting onto cookies.

Let the cookies sit for about an hour until the frosting glaze fully hardens.

These oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy. The powder sugar glaze offers just enough sweetness to complement the comforting flavors of nutmeg and cinnamon.

I’ve professed my love for everything Isabel Marant many times on this blog. The brand is always a crave. During the fall season, I’m always drawn to her chunky knit sweaters. There’s just something so appealing about slipping on a chunky, cozy knit sweater when the temperatures gets just a little chilly. This Isabel Marant Quena chunky-knit wool and alpaca sweater has a delicious neutral oatmeal color and an incredible soft texture.

(Available at: Net-a-Porter, Matches, La Garconne)

Now that summer’s over, the pressure to look like a beachy tan goddesses is on hold. However, sometimes a girl’s skin – particularly her face – needs a little color to avoid feeling drab. Hourglass’ Solar Tan Self-Tanning Primer has become my official go-to for that flattering glow. It’s a primer that creates a warm, natural glow that’s perfect year-round. It glides smoothly onto your skin to create a soft focus finish, provides moisture (especially important during the fall and winter months), and slowly develops during the day to give your skin a little radiance and that much needed boost of color.

Although many students start the school year in August, September always feels like the official kickoff of the school year. And even though it’s been a few years since I’ve been in a classroom – unless you count watching Cameron Diaz’s “Bad Teacher” – I really like all the back to school stuff. In fact, I get a little nostalgic for lunchbox goodies like oatmeal pies.

If there’s one thing I learned in school it’s that salty peanut butter+ sweet jelly = satisfying goodness. So I thought it would be fun to try to make tiny peanut butter jelly cookie sandwiches.

For the cookies: 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (or creamy pb of your choice), 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp xylitol (or sugar), 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 1 egg, 2-1/2 tbsp almond milk (or milk), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour ( or all purpose flour), 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda

Note: Use creamy butter for a richer peanut taste and a smoother cookie. I used natural peanut butter since it was what I had in my pantry at the time. Using natural will still create a yummy cookie, but will result in a slightly more subtle flavor and a more crumbly texture.

In a bowl, beat together the peanut butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.  Then add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat until just combined.
Take the dough and roll into two rectangular blocks.  Use your fingers and pinch along the middle of the top and along the sides to form indentations along the length of the block.  The dough should now resemble o loaf of bread.  Wrap each loaf in seran wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take your chilled dough and cut into 1/4″ slices.  (Note: Try to work fast as the dough will warm up quickly making it more difficult to slice). Bake for 7-9 minutes on a parchment paper or silpat-lined cookie sheet. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the crust: combine 2 tbsp vodka with a few drops of brown food coloring

I know what you’re thinking. Vodka?!? But using vodka instead of water will prevent the cookies from getting soggy since the alcohol will evaporate. So no drunk cookies. Now you can either paint crusts with a little brush or you can do what I did and simply dip the the edges of the cookies into the bowl of food coloring (which is a lot faster)

Once the cookies have dried, simply spread your favorite jelly (jam or spread) on one of the cookies and then layer with another cookie.

I think it’s pretty much impossible to think of school and not think of backpacks. Back in the day, Jansport was the backpack of choice. It was durable with supportive straps for lugging around heavy text books. And although it often seemed that the weight would burst the backpack dam, it was reliable for not spewing it’s contents all over the floor. The bag’s only style came from the friendly scribbles and doodles that covered its shell from fellow and students and boredom. However, they were not cool. However, these backpacks by Free People and Madewell are undeniably just that – cool. The bags, crafted from supple and stylish leather, each have their own tempting style. One with a rugged, distressed look and the other with a more polished and softly worn look. Each vintage-inspired style invokes studious thoughts of libraries and books. They’re perfect for toting around miscellaneous objects – like Sharpie pens, cute notebooks, iPads and an essential lip gloss. Whether on campus, work or an adventurous getaway, these backpacks are the perfect traveling companion for your stuff. Students of style will agree, these backpacks get a passing grade.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Tooth