Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Can you believe we’re in the first week of October already?!  Where has the year gone?  I certainly won’t complain.  It’s been a great year thus far and I’m happy to welcome the fall season.  I’ve never lived in an area that experiences a full change of seasons, but I still get excited at the thought of holidays being just around the corner, gathering with friends and family over really great food, activities such as pumpkin carving and running through a corn maze, sipping on hot tea and warm apple cider, and pulling out all of those yummy spiced baking recipes.  Fall is just so warm, friendly and cozy - what’s not to like?

Over the years I’ve become known for my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (PCCC).  Come fall, it’s almost expected that I bake a batch for any social gathering.  A few years ago, my bridesmaids even went out of their way to make a batch for my bridal shower (in October) because they knew I loved them so.  I know...pumpkin and chocolate?  That was my first thought too.  But trust me on this one, these are so scrumptious!  They’re a little less like a cookie and more like a bread, but in perfect little bite sized portions.  Seriously, so good.  

Turning my original recipe into a gluten free recipe was a bit tricky, but I’ve had 3 years to perfect it and think I’ve found a suitable flour to substitute for a fabulous gluten free PCCC.  That said, let the baking begin!  What better way to get into the fall spirit, than by baking with a little pumpkin?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 C Canned Pumpkin

1 C White Sugar

1/2 C Canola Oil

1 Egg

*2 C of "Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour" (from Williams Sonoma)  

2 t Baking Powder

2 t Ground Cinnamon

1 t Pumpkin Pie Spice (I use Trader Joe’s - otherwise a dash of ground nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice and a little lemon zest works nicely too)

1/2 t Salt

1 t Baking Soda

1 t Milk

1 t Vanilla Extract

2 C Semisweet Chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and set aside.
2. In a mixer combine pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, canola oil and egg.  Mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Add baking soda mixture.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients with wet until completely mixed. (Be careful not to over mix.  This is easy to do when using gluten free flours.)
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop by spoonful and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.
7. Let cool and enjoy!

*I also had great results with the Pamela’s Baking Flour.  These two flours gave me the best results.  I did try several different flour combinations (rice, tapioca, coconut, etc) but was sorely disappointed.  

**If using regular wheat flour, do 1 C Canned Pumpkin and 2 C Baking Flour.

I can't wait to hear what you think!  Happy Fall!

Food : Fruity Ice Cubes

I just love fruit!  Especially now that so many of my favorites are in season right now.

I think I mentioned in my Mocha Frappuccino post, that I'm trying to be sugar free {not including the natural sugar of fruit of course}, so I've had to be creative when curbing that craving and satisfying that terrible sweet tooth!  

I've never been a big soda drinker, but I do like a sweet drink from time to time.  So to satisfy that desire for something sweet, I've started filling my ice trays with my favorite fresh fruits and berries and adding them to either plain water, or plain fizzy water.  It's so yummy!  

Not only does your drink look beautiful, but there's a fun, sweet treat awaiting you at the end of that glass. And if you want to take the benefits one step further, you're doing your body a favor - fruits and herbs have been known to help fight free radicals, clear your skin, sooth your digestive system, boost your energy, lower cholesterol and alkalize the entire body!  Why wouldn't you add fruit to your drinks?!

These are a few of my favorite combinations : 

Berrilicious

- Raspberries 

- Blueberries

- Strawberries

Island Delight

- Mango

- Pineapple

- Frozen in Coconut Water

Pucker Up!

- Mint

- Lemon

Just Peachy

- Mint

- Peach

Southern Gal

- Lemon

- Lime

- Rosemary

*Combine your ingredients with about 1 C of room temp water, mix well, cover and let flavors fuze in the fridge over night.  Fill your ice tray and let freeze.

The options are endless, so drink up!

XOXO


- image via Danya Collyer

What are your favorite combinations?  Leave a response in the comments below.

Go Chic With Orange & Pink!

Hello, everyone!

I'm so happy to be here with you at Pink Peony Style with a guest post from Arcadian Home. It's a wonderful place to find lots of interior design inspiration including decorating ideas for everything from fabulous foyer lights to colorful home accessories and much more. Today we're going to have fun exploring some of the many possibilities of decorating with a lively color, brilliant orange and pink.  Please enjoy!
Danya, thanks for letting me stop by to share. ~ Mari

 

  This modern tabletop vignette of pure white and metallic gold is set against bold swaths of color. Isn't orange and pick a great design choice for art in a contemporary or modern space?

  A white living room is amped up with a melon-toned pink and brilliant orange. A traditional light fixture is turned into a modern pendant light with color. Long fringed shawls add a splash of orange to white slip-covered chairs.

  Sometimes we long for just a pop or two of color in a white space. Here, in a tabletop vignette that's done with three books, one each in hot pink, warm sand and bright orange. It's a great look.

  This amazingly colorful eclectic bedroom goes orange and pink with toile wallpaper in a Chinoiserie pattern. It makes for a wonderful background for the lovely mix of styles, patterns and colors in the space.

  A lovely pink hue adorns the walls of this contemporary bath. Pops of orange and melon work beautifully, but it would be so easy to change out the towels for an entirely new color scheme.

  A comfy neutral sectional gets wonderful splashes of pink, orange and golden yellow with a lovely array of decorative pillows.

  A wonderful custom-built white daybed with floral upholstered back is at once chic and comfortable. I love the use of several stylish orange and pink combinationsófloral, stripes and zigzags.

  This girl's bedroom is so pretty in pink and orange. Kids lamps like the one seen here are available right now in lots of popular colors. I love the branches and birds design. It even has a bird finial on top. How cool is the ladybug table?  

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

 What do you think of these orange and pink designs? Let us know in the comments below and stop by our blog for more home decor and interior inspirations!

Decor : Layering

I don't know about you, but I'm totally loving natural blonde/grey colored woods - especially in the dining room.  These neutral woods make for such a perfect background to display multiple textures and colors.

Layering a room is so important - curtains, rugs, chairs, wall colors, accent pieces, lighting - when all of these elements are well thought through and nicely assembled, a room can fully come to life.

These dining rooms are a perfect example of layering.  The largest pieces {the dining table} and the walls are neutral, while the fabrics and accessories are colorful and the lighting eye-catching.

1 | 2 | 3

What do you think?  Are you a fan of layering, or do the rooms in your home just "happen"?  

I have a great line up of posts to share next week and a beautiful guest post from Arcadian Home, so be sure to check back soon.

Also, I would like to introduce you to my newest partner Amy from Amy Grace.  She likes to blog about her favorite makeup products and life events.

Happy Memorial Weekend Friends!  

Enjoy your time off ~

XOXO

2013 Adventures!

Hi Friends,

So 2013 has many new things for us already!

Remember that little flood we had last fall?  Well, since then we've been on the hunt for a new place to call home here on the West Coast.  After much praying and much much searching, we've finally found our new apartment and we moved in over the weekend!  I can't wait to share photos with you once it's a little more unpacked and complete - until then here is a pic from my instagram.

Aside from the apt hunt, I've taken on some other things as well.  One of them being an opportunity to volunteer weekly at our local pregnancy center.  It's been such a different ministry for me to dive into, but one I'm excited to be part of.

AND if that's not enough, I'm exploring a new and exciting business venture!  {More on that later.}

With that said, we've been a bit busy over here and PinkPeonyStyle has been a little neglected *sad face*.  But with a pretty new apartment to decorate and a new design project for a client underway, I'm excited to share my fav design projects and inspirations with you over the next few months!

So tell me - has 2013 been full of change for you as well??

Looking forward to posting again soon!

XOXO

Herbal Honey : A Homemade Christmas Gift Made with Ease and Love

Hi Friends!  Melanie here, I have an easy DIY Christmas gift to share with you today!

The parties, the eggnog, the gifts, JESUS -- Christmas is such a beautiful time of year.  For me, what often gets in the way of the holiday sparkle is long shopping lines, grumpy grinch crowds, and dare I say it, burnt cookies.  It can often be a time when wonder and chaos unite and never leave our side until the credit card bills come in January.

Wouldn't it be great if you could make a gift from home that someone could actually use? Better yet, what if you didn't have to go shopping for the ingredients?! 

I made 6 of these tasty treats in 15 minutes all with ingredients and supplies I had in my pantry.  Homemade gifts don't have to be time consuming or require hard to get ingredient!

Flavored Honey

You have honey in your cupboard, right?  However you eat or drink honey, it is possible to enhance the medicinal qualities by adding herbs to it.  You heard me right, that underused, overflowing spice rack is about to get functional.  Herbal honeys are easy to make and substitute into almost any capacity that you use honey.  Your almond butter and honey sandwhiches will never be the same.  Drizzle over muffins, add to tea, top your waffles, or eat herbal honey straight out of the jar.  You can even use them as a barbaque glaze.  C'mon I'll show you how!

   After I washed and dried all of my glass jars, I added my spices and herbs to each jar. 

I heated the honey slightly until it was warm and runny.  Make sure it doesn't boil.  Next, I poured honey into each jar. 

I stirred each jar well and placed the lids once I let them cool.  Christmas gifts, done.  Store them in a cabinet for two weeks so the flavors can mingle, and your cute little presents are ready!  I've used mine before two weeks and they were still delicious, so if you're reading this on Christmas Eve, it's not too late.

You can find corresponding recipe cards for each herbal honey blend here and here to be included with your gift.
You can find the circular labels here.
My jars were from World Market, but any glass jar with a lid that holds one volume cup will do.

You will find the recipe for each herbal honey blend below. Choose 1, all 4, or create your own blend for a unique treat this Christmas.  You could simply make a rosemary honey or a cinnamon honey as long as you powder your herbs the possibilites are endless! The basic ratio to follow is 1/4-1/2 cup dried herbs or spices to 1 cup of honey.  All recipes below are adapted from Kami McBride's The Herbal Kitchen.
 

Barbeque Honey Glaze

Spread on chicken, skewered veggies, or fish before baking or grilling.

1 cup honey, warmed
1 T powdered ginger
2 teaspoons powdered rosemary
2 teaspoons powdered thyme

Powder your herbs in a spice grinder if they are still whole.  It will still be the same measurement above.  Add to a clean jar and stir well. Pour warmed honey over herbs and stir well. Allow to cool, then close tightly.

Spiced Honey

You will never be the same after trying this honey.  It tastes like a cinnamon roll.  Fabulous in tea or spread on pancakes, the possibilities are endless. 

1 cup honey, warmed
1 T powdered cinnamon
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice


Powder your herbs in a spice grinder if they are still whole. It will still be the same measurement above. Add to a clean jar and stir well. Pour warmed honey over herbs and stir well. Allow to cool, then close tightly.
.
Flexibility Honey

Perfect for a family member that suffers from arthritis.  This blend is packed with herbal anti-inflammatories.

1 cup honey, warmed
1 T powdered tumeric
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon powdered juniper berries (no juniper berries? try powdered black pepper)
1/2 teaspoon powdered cardamom

Powder your herbs in a spice grinder if they are still whole. It will still be the same measurement above. Add to a clean jar and stir well. Pour warmed honey over herbs and stir well. Allow to cool, then close tightly.

Poultry Glaze Honey

Sticky sweet barbeque chicken.  Makes you wonder what is in those jars of BBQ glaze at the store, doesn't it?

1 cup honey, warmed
1 T powdered coriander
1 teaspoon powdered paprika
1 teaspoon powdered cumin
1 teaspoon powdered tumeric
1/2 teaspoon powdered thyme
1/2 teaspoon powdered clove
1/2 teaspoon powdered celery seed

 Powder your herbs in a spice grinder if they are still whole. It will still be the same measurement above. Add to a clean jar and stir well. Pour warmed honey over herbs and stir well. Allow to cool, then close tightly.

I hope you will give this easy project a try as homemade gifts for others or to use in your own kitchen.

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours!

-Melanie
The Grecian Garden

- all images via Melanie 
{please ask to reproduce, or properly link if you desire to share via your own blog}

DIY : Chic Serving Trays

I love that all it takes to spruce up a space is something as simple as a new shiny accessory.  And what makes a new accessory even better??  A personal touch of DIY!

Serving trays are so tres chic and can be easily found at almost any thrift store or craft store.  A tray makes the perfect surface for a collection of small books, displaying jewels and baubles, a small bundle of fresh florals or even makes a great catch all for keys and small things near the front door.  Of course, you could always use one to do what the name suggests - serve, as well.

Take a look at these pretty little DIY trays I found throughout the world wide web - maybe you'll be inspired. ;)

{their links will take you straight to the diy instructions}

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

Happy Wednesday!!

XO

Decor : Mustard

via

Isn't this a beautiful mustard wall?  It was actually hand painted...check out the link above to see before, during and after photos!

Happy Tuesday!

XO

Beautiful Bar Carts

Hubby and I aren't the drinking type, but I can't deny that I have a slight affinity for gorgeous bar carts.

Whether it be liquor, a jones soda collection, tea and coffee, or a private library - bar carts come in all shapes and sizes and can be the home to anything you'd like.  

I'm hoping to find one for my dining room.  I would love to display my pretty dishes and my espresso maker atop a lucite cart or a gold faux bamboo cart with a glass top.  

Take a look at these little pretties...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

What do you think?  Are you a fan of the bar cart?