Banana "Bread" Bourbon Ice Cream Sandwiches

A little bourbon goes a long way, especially when its good bourbon.  I have grown to love bourbon over the past few years now.  Some people crave wine after a long day; well after a long week all I want is an Old Fashioned..strong and just sweet enough.  I would have to agree with George Bernard Shaw's thought sometimes...that "whiskey is liquid sunshine."  It can make you forgot all of crap that can happen in week for just a little bit.  I however am NOT encouraging heavy drinking in this post...I am just saying how it is for me personally.  So when I stumbled upon the recipe for these ice cream sandwiches when I was trying to figure out what to make with the overripe bananas sitting in my refrigerator I was very excited.  I might not should have served them on a Friday afternoon in the office...but well I did...AND they were delicious.

Let's talk about the cookies first.  These cookies taste like banana bread, soft, light, moist and with a little crunch from the pecans.  You could really just serve them by themselves...which  I did when I sent some with Charles to his office.  I mean I will be honest, I was meaning to send some ice cream sandwiches with him, but the ice cream is just too soft with the bourbon in it and I knew there was no way it was making it on the metro ride downtown.  

Okay so the ice cream...the ice cream is simple.  Take a things of vanilla ice cream and either blend or food process with bourbon and then re-freeze for at least 24 hours.  Learn from me and do the ice cream the day before you make the cookies...then it won't go melting all over the place as fast.  These ice cream sandwiches really turned out the way I hoped they would.  The are a super fun "adult" ice cream sandwich that is a little "fall" with the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and a little "summer" with the cool vanilla bourbon ice cream.  Give them a try sometime and Enjoy!

Insight and an "Old Fashioned" Cocktail Cake

What is your dream (job)? But really what are your dreams in life?  The first question, is my favorite interview question to ask.  What is it that you truly would love to do if nothing was holding you back?  Not money, time, nothing could get in the way.  I ask this even though I myself don’t have one dream.  I love meeting planning, I would love to learn more about “fun” event planning and get to do that in the future, but baking for a living is another dream.  I mean it’s probably okay to have a few life goals around ones’ career, right? 

Ever since reading this article ("No Time to Think") that Joy the Baker shared a couple of weeks ago, I am have been really trying to figure myself out.  To try and see how others see me, and think about what I really want to be doing, what would make me happier.  Don’t get me wrong, I probably took the completely wrong thing from this article, but it left me thinking. 

The Ultimate Peanut Butter Tart

I have to admit I actually made this recipe last month and I have been going back and forth about whether or not to post it.  You see the thing is I really didn't like the way the pictures came out, BUT the tart was so rich and delicious I feel like the recipe deserves to be shared.  I mean seriously though...it all starts with an Oreo crust, followed by a thick layer of salted caramel and chopped peanuts.  Then there is a layer of peanut butter pie filling and its all topped off with chocolate ganache!  I mean its part peanut butter pie, part Snickers.  Creamy and crunchy with the smooth chocolate ganache; this tart has serious texture and flavor.  It is definitely worth giving a try sometime!

So let's talk about the more recent...

Adventures & Pistachio Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

And we are back to the little things...the things that can make everyday a little bit more exciting.  This past weekend, well really the past week really, has been wonderful because of the little sometimes everyday things.  Like getting to have lunch with a friend when lunch is normally eaten at my desk.  Going to a concert after work with friends on a Thursday instead of going and working out again.  

Going for an early morning run Friday and finding a few words of encouragement along the way...