Make: Valentine Heart Meringues

February 4, 2014

Couldn’t be happier to have my talented friend Meghan (from here in Atlanta!) as a guest today. She comes up with THE coolest ideas in the kitchen…

Confetti Meringue Heart Cookies

Valentine’s Day always seems to sneak up right after we’ve recovered from all our holiday indulging. And I’m always such a sucker for the boxes of chocolates and the crazy sweet conversation hearts. To combat my terrible sweet tooth I’m baking up these Confetti Meringue Heart Cookies. Bonus – they are low in fat, sugar and look darling packaged as a teacher’s gift or classroom Valentine’s Day treat.

There are two tricks for getting wonderfully fluffy meringue – room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar. A little pinch of cream of tartar helps denature the egg white’s protein allowing even more air to be beaten into the meringue. Out of cream of tartar? Just make sure your eggs are at room temperature and your mixing bowl and whisk are clean and dry.

I designed these cookies to taste like a “funfetti cake”; The secret ingredient to their cake-like flavor is the almond extract. Feel free to skip the almond extract if you don’t have some in your pantry – these cookies are just as delicious without it.

Confetti Meringue Heart Cookies

Yield: 6 dozen 1 inch cookies

Ingredients:
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar, optional
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
¼ cup sprinkles or jimmies, plus extra for topping

How to:

Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium high heat. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or a heat proof bowl if using a hand mixer). Set the bowl over the pot of simmering water, and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and cream of tartar.

Whip the egg white mixture with the mixer on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and meringue is mostly cooled, about 7 minutes. Add vanilla extract and almond extract, if using and stir to combine. Gently fold in the sprinkles.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip with meringue or use a gallon sized zip-top bag and snip a ½ inch off at one corner.

Pipe the meringue into the heart shape: Think of the heart as a letter “V” – pipe a small round as the left side of the heart and pull straight down to create tear drop shape. Repeat for the right side of the “V”/ heart and drag the bottom of the drop down into the left side so they connect. It takes a little bit of practice!

TIP: You can make yourself a template by drawing out a few hearts on a piece of paper. Slide the paper under the parchment paper and pipe the meringue on top of it!

Meringues do not spread as they bake, so place the hearts about a ¼ inch apart so you can fit as many on each baking sheet as possible. Sprinkle with additional sprinkles as desired.

Bake meringues until crisp on the outside but still soft inside, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place for up to a week.

Meghan Splawn is a professional recipe developer, wife, and mama. Meghan’s blog, Stir and Scribble, is full of clever cooking and useful kitchen tips. She’s a fan of candy, classic cocktails, and fuss-free family dinners.

Find more of Meghan here: twitter | pinterest |instagram.

Sprinkles, Treat Cups, and Tablecloth all came from our local Target, Washi Tape was an incredible dollar store find – its actually tiny heart print!

Sunday Sessions

February 2, 2014

She’s a close reader.
She will read piles of books after piles of books.
She will pretend she knows how to read and make up words through each page.
She has been working on growing pigtails since she was born.
She has 7 different smiles for several occasions and knows when to deliver each at just the right time. The smile she gives when she knows she is eating something she shouldn’t be is my favorite.

And something I should probably dedicate to another post, but I am not patient enough…
VIEW FULL POST

Shop Scoop: Everlane

January 31, 2014

Silk Top: c/o Everlane // Raglan Sweater: c/o Everlane // Pants: Gap // Shoes: J. Crew (similar) // Hat: J. Crew (similar) // Necklace: Crafts and Love c/o // Watch: Shop Sosie c/0 // Bag: Lo & Sons c/o

When I was younger I never gave much thought to where clothes were made, how they were made, or the subsequent price points. Over the last few years it has become more important to me to understand the stories behind the company, the makers, and where clothes are produced.

I am happy to introduce you to Everlane who introduces “Radical Transparency,” where they take you inside their factories, reveal true costs, and challenge customers to ask questions. Pretty spectacular right?

Well I was also swept away with their modern designs to the basics they offer. Soft and luxurious at a non-luxurious price.

Take a look at Everlane…you will feel like you just got a tour of their company from start to finish, and it will make you want to be a life long customer:)

Happy Friday friends! Atlanta made it through the Snow Jam and are very anxious to see warm weather this weekend!
x, Anna

* Photos by Chelsey Heidorn Photography

10 of the craziest stories from ATL Snow Jam 2014

January 29, 2014

We pause our regular scheduled programming to ask for your prayers for the south who can’t seem to get themselves out of this horrible mess. Just a few of the crazy stories emerging from this great city that I love so dearly (despite its inability to cope with cold weather)…

1. First problem. Every highway in Atlanta shuts down in gridlock as black ice causes accidents and pileups. Many highways are still in this same situation.

2. Stories of diabetics, newborns babies (with their moms), and elderly being trapped for hours start to spread on social media. A facebook group is created where people started to come to the rescue to those in need by providing food, water, blankets, gas, and shelter. I guess social media can be a good thing after all;) Hope in humanity restored.

3. Home Depot, Target, and Whole Foods leave stores open city wide to house those stuck in the snow jam overnight.

(image source)

4. Hundreds of teachers and students stranded over night at local GA schools. Some children as young as 5 years old who had never stayed away from home before.

5. Buses are sent out to help hundreds of stranded motorists and deliver them to local shelters.

6. Woman in Sandy Springs, GA delivers her baby girl on I-285 with the help of her husband and local police officer. Luckily, an ambulance arrived shortly after to take her to a local hospital.

7. The later it gets the more cars are abandoned as people attempt to walk,(and in a friend’s case crawl), and drudge miles home in hopes of avoiding the night in their car.

8. What started as a daily commute for many turned into a snowpile nightmare of car crashes now totaling 940 with one death and 104 injuries. As the news even tried to communicate the severity of the situation. “Don’t get on Johnson Ferry. Seriously. Don’t.”

9. Atlanta becomes the opening scene of The Walking Dead. Our good friend and neighbor had an experience straight out of the opening scene of The Walking Dead (I am sure many of you Atlantans did!), as he had to search for his wife and two sons who were stuck out in the snow jam. Her phone had died and she had a nursing baby with her. As he starts driving on the opposite side of the empty highway to look for her, the city is eerily quiet and no one is moving. Abandoned cars everywhere. He found her going in 4-wheel drive up the grassy side around the gridlock. This tough chic comes from the midwest where these situations are commonplace. 8 hours total before they all arrived home. Some individuals are going on 18 hours+..

10. Least significant, but worthy of note…Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves rescues old team mate Freddie Freeman on his four wheeler. What? Smart move.

I am kind of in shock. I grew up in Ohio so really have never seen anything like this. I know you northern friends may be in awe, but this is unfortunately as real as it gets! My heart breaks for the parents who cannot get to their children. There are still so many stuck in this horrible snow jam and could use a prayer or two! Wish I had a serious four wheeler of my own right now to go out and offer transportation. You think they would have a fleet on back up for situations like this!

Atlanta. We love you, but you show your better side in the spring.

DIY Giant Quiver of Arrows

January 28, 2014

I am over at Style Me Pretty Living today sharing the details on making your own giant copper quiver of arrows! Because who wouldn’t want to receive a Valentine you can work as home decor? 😉

For more DIY Valentine ideas, visit the gallery!

x, Anna

To love at all is to be vulnerable.

January 23, 2014

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Marriage and motherhood is not for the faint of heart.
It pulls, it stretches, it bends, and sometimes you feel it can break you.
It requires love and lots of it. Not the touch-y feel-y kind. The selfless unconditional kind.
I experience so many moments of joy in my week, but it comes with equal parts of trial.

There is still so much for me to learn in this life, but here is what I know to be true…
I have felt the aching pain of heartbreak….but it lead me to a deeper and stronger marriage.
I know the confusing pain of feeling betrayed by someone I admired…..but it taught me that we are all human with human flaws.
I have experienced the sting of putting time and energy into a friendship that does not reciprocate….but in the process I found the truest friends.
At times I feel completely inept, alone, and exhausted in motherhood, yet never have I felt more alive.
My heart is full.

I nod my hat to you Lewis. Your words ring true.
The commercials tell us to take more time for ourselves. The movies speak messages of self preservation. If you aren’t happy, than leave. If you don’t get something out of this, than why are you there? Don’t give if there is no promise of benefit in return.
But you Lewis have it right. Anyone who has loved wholeheartedly would agree.

As much as my heart has been squeezed, tried, broken, and patched in motherhood, friendships, and relationships, I would still choose vulnerability. Always. The true, squeeze your heart, unshakeable love is only experienced when you have given your heart away.
The closest I can relate to this is after I have had each of my children. Your body is pushed to the point of breaking, and you are physically and emotionally drained out, but as soon as you see the face of your child your heart is gone. You love them to the point where you would give your life over if the doctor said it would sustain theirs. Your heart is actually replaced with a larger bleeding one that will bleed out of love for your child till the day they die and forever after.

I am so grateful to have experienced this kind of love in my lifetime, both in marriage and in motherhood.
Our life is too short for cautious love. There are few chances at deep rooted happiness and too few days in our life for self preservation.
So thank you Lewis, for reminding me what it means to truly live. I will hold your quote dear when my naturally selfish heart wants to stray from the clear and narrow path to happiness:)

*This post is part of The Portrait Project and 52 Week Project.
My coat c/o Sheinside, Scarf: F21, Max’s coat Thred Up, Gabriel’s sweater c/o Gap, Veronica’s Jacket and Hat: Old Navy

Australia Day Recipe – Lamingtons

January 22, 2014

From our talented abroad contributor, Davina of Passports and Pamplemousse

Growing up down undah’ was an unintentional luxury, that unfortunately, I took for granted. I suppose it’s kind of like people who live by the ocean; they always tell me they rarely actually go to the beach, because they live there so they assume they have the rest of their lives to go there. Similarly, friends in New York City have told me that they’ve lived in the big apple for years and never been to see the Statue of Liberty or the Guggenheim. And, as a child and teenager growing up in Australia, I didn’t realize just how gorgeous it really was, until I was forced to leave.

So in Honor of the upcoming Australia Day holiday (January 26th), I baked one of my favorite Aussie treats – The Lamington. fact, it’s so revered in my home-state of Queensland, that there is actually a National Lamington Day (July 21st). The pinnacle of Lamington fever was last experienced in 2011 when the world’s biggest Lamington was made in Toowoomba, weighing in at 1320kg and breaking the Guinness World Record.

For now, I’ll stick to small batch Lamingtons… and here’s my recipe. I use Jacques Pepin’s basic sponge cake as a base, rather than the regular commercial lamington recipes. I find it perfectly spongy and much healthier than the alternatives:

What you’ll need:

– a square baking dish about 30 to 40cm or two smaller dishes. Lining them with baking paper is the easiest method, as sponge cake tends to stick and be very delicate. Baking paper allows you to lift the cakes out easily!
– an upright electric mixer for the sponge cake
– some skewers or large forks (the straight 2 pronged forks you use for meat are perfect)
– a pre-heated oven. Set to 177 degrees Celsius
– cooling rack and kitchen towel underneath it

For the sponge cake:
6 large eggs (room temperature)
169 grams of Sugar
½ teaspoon of high quality vanilla extract
150 grams of all purpose flour
56 grams of melted unsalted butter (optional)

For the icing:
30 grams of melted butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
½ cup of high quality cocoa powder
50 ml of milk at room temperature (perhaps a bit more; set aside if needed)
and a deep plate of shredded coconut (to roll in)

Sponge Cake Instructions:

When you follow the sponge cake rules below, it comes out perfectly. Like a sponge; light and fluffy with a hint of vanilla. A real beaut as we’d say in Australia!

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer (whisk attachment).

Small tip: If your mixer has an induction, set the heat to about 30 degrees Celsius for just a minute or so. This ensures that the sugar dissolves. Alternatively, you can begin by whisking the mixture over a pot of boiling water for a few seconds. Do NOT over-heat or you will have scrambled eggs. Then, transfer to the electric mixer. This step is optional, but I find it does help.

Mix this at medium high speed for a good 10 minutes. You want to incorporate a lot of air, so the mixture should triple in volume (at the very least) and be a slight yellow color. It should make a thick ribbon.

Once you have achieved this, slowly SIFT the flour while FOLDING the mixture to the same time. It may help to have a 3rd hand here – one person folds while the other sifts slowly. Sift the flour slowly enough that clumps do not form.

Once you have done so, slowly fold in the butter way, the same way. (Make sure the butter is not too hot!)

Fill the baking trays about half way. The mixture will rise on its own in the oven.

Bake at 177 degrees Celsius for roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Baking time will depend on the size of your tray. Your sponge cake is done when there is a nice deep golden brown color on top. The cake should not sink in or sag.

Allow it to cool before attempting to take it out of the baking dish.

Once cool, cut out squares of the same size. I like to do mine roughly 6cm x 6cm (with a thickness of about 1.5 or 2cm) (as pictured)

For the icing and rolling:

Start with 30 grams of melted butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar, ½ cup of high quality cocoa powder and
50 ml of milk at room temperature. Mix with a fork.

Set aside a deep plate of shredded coconut
Set up your cooling rack and set a towel underneath it, so excess icing and coconut can drip off.

The icing should not be too runny, yet it should also not be too thick. You want to be able to spoon it out and drizzle it over the cake squares. It should stick and not run off. If it the icing is too thick, it will glob down when you roll it in coconut.

Starting with 50ml of milk is perfect for the ratio of icing sugar to cocoa powder. After that point, even a small drop of milk will go a long way – if you find the icing is too thick for you, then just add small drops of milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Some people like to dunk their sponge squares in the icing. I find that the sponge falls apart this way, and rolling the coconut is a disaster.

I like to take a 2 pronged fork that we use for meat, and skewer the sponge cake square onto it.

Then I take a spoon, and drizzle on the chocolate icing lightly – allowing the excess to drip back off, before rolling it on all sides in the shredded coconut.

Place on the cooling rack, so the excess can drip off, and allow these to dry.

They taste splendid with some jam or whipped cream in the middle (a sort of lamington sandwich) and will stay lovely and moist in a Tupperware container for a few days! (if they last that long!)