If there's one thing I have lots of, it's hobbies. If I'm not scrapping, I'm reading or working out, watching movies or cooking. One of my favorite hobbies is baking. I'm known as a Martha Stewart-type around the office, and there's hardly a week that goes by that I'm not making brownies or cookies to share.
I often take Instagram photos while I'm in the kitchen. One day while I was baking a batch of salted caramel whoopie pies (recipe below), I snagged a photo of my kitchen island, which is almost always covered with flour and sugar. It's a nice little everyday view of one of my most favorite rooms in the house.
On this layout, I glued strips of different paper together, then cut a circle out of the middle and layered it with a complimentary patterned paper. Then I layered the photo, my journaling card and the "Where I Belong" Bungalow Snapshot. I framed my mixing bowl with the cut-out window and added the cute fork and spoon tag (I love the little pop of teal in the middle) from the Bungalow Dots n' Spots. The layout is pretty simple and it came together really quickly!
Hope this inspires you to scrap what you do that makes you happy!
xoxo,
Steph
SALTED CARAMEL WHOOPIE PIES
Ingredients:
For cakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
For frosting:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp fleur de sel
1/4 cup sour cream
6 tbsp softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
For cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.
Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.
Spoon 1/4-cup* mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.
For frosting:
Put the granulated sugar, water and corn syrup into a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to combine, then cook until the mixture is a nice, deep golden brown.
While the sugar is cooking, bring the salt and cream to a simmer in another saucepan.
Once the caramel is the right color, remove the pan from heat. Wait one minute, then stir in the heavy cream. Let cool for a few minutes, then whisk in the sour cream. Set aside to cool.
Once the caramel is cool, beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add the caramel and powdered sugar, and beat until it has a spreadable consistency.
Spread a thick layer of frosting on the flat side of one cookie, then top with another.
