I can’t help it. I was flipping through the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens for some recipe inspiration and I saw these Bourbon Cranberry Chippers. Now, I don’t cook or bake with or drink a lot of alcohol (hello, I have a 3 year old and a 10 month old), so I left out the Bourbon, but clearly I was not about to leave out the chocolate or dried cranberries. I promise I’m going to try to make something other than cranberry desserts (I only have a few so far…. this Cranberry Cake, these Cranberry Cupcakes, these Cranberry Caramel Bars… but there are a few more on the way!) for the next 2 months, but meanwhile — Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Blondies. As I get older, I feel like I understand myself more and more. You know? I know you’re all like, “yeah, yeah. Whatever. What does she even know? She’s like 16 years old.” I am actually not 16 years old. I just look 16 years old. From far away and in air brushed photos. When you get a little closer, you can see “haggard mother” written all over my face. So I’m a high school teacher in Real Life. Right after I got my Education degree, I got a short term position at a really large high school nearby (really large here being over 1000 students — the school I work in now has under 200 from grades 9-12!). I was walking down the hallway one day, when classes were in session when a teacher asked, “shouldn’t you be in class?”. I like to think that when I’m 40 I’ll still look 16 except I’ll appreciate it a lot more. I love magazines. I’ve mentioned this before (probably many times), but I love paper. I like paper books, and I like writing on paper, and I like not having to rely on technology in my classroom every day. When I’m teaching, I really like to have students still write on paper, with a pen or pencil. Call me crazy, but I just know that a paper and pen is never going to fail me (and I say this as I’m typing on my iPad, obviously). Sure, there are great things about technology, but there’s nothing better than sitting down in the evening and paging through a copy of Better Homes and Gardens for some holiday inspiration. Looking through the décor and design articles, wishing I could actually put something like that together in my own home (since I’ve been blessed with 2 mischievous little girls, I guess I stopped caring about home decorating a little bit). But something we all enjoy is good food, and Better Homes and Gardens is full of that, too. When I flipped to the food section, the first thing I saw was the Bourbon Cranberry Chippers and it was hard to pay attention to anything else. They are smothered with a Bourbon chocolate ganache (which you can find in the November issue if you want to replicate it!), but I keep things pretty kid friendly over here. I used my favorite blondie recipe, stirred in some dried cranberries and chocolate chunks and topped with a chocolate ganache (sans the booze). I love baking like this because it’s easy to make a lot and freeze for later. I also love making bars because you can just spread it into a pan instead of rolling or scooping each cookie, which shaves a bit of time of the prep (and is helpful when you’re baking with a 10 month old wrapped around your legs). Create an account easily save your favorite content, so you never forget a recipe again. Register Now Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel — I love to see what you’re making!
