You Make My Heart Happy and Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, sweet friends! I hope your September is already filled with tons of happy memories. :o)

Yesterday was amazing! I crafted and baked, which means my heart was happy dancing. I made a card for a few challenges (although it now appears I missed My Craft Spot), which will be going to a coworker of my sweetheart. I knew all week what I wanted to do, which is one of the reasons I love participating in challenges... one minute you don't know what to design, then the next you check a favorite challenge blog and your mind is racing with possibilities. They are such a blessing!

"You make my heart happy!"

The instant I saw the "Winged Things" challenge, I knew I wanted this butterfly to take center stage. The following day when I saw the yellow challenge, these papers were my first thought. The finishing touch came to pass when my sweet boyfriend surprised me with a bouquet of new ribbon... the very ribbon I've been longing for! Color me excited. He lives near a Hobby Lobby, so he zipped in and picked out several colors of the pretty ribbon he knew I liked. :o)

Butterfly elegance was my goal, so I wanted to make a fairly streamlined card... which doesn't come easy to me. I'm so accustomed to adding a million elements, most often of the cute variety. It was nice to revisit this side of me! ;) All three sparkly patterned papers are from the gorgeous DCWV Lemon Flower stack, which I completely love. I used the silhouette of the butterfly to ensure ample room for the paper's beauty to shine, then simply added a sprinkling of yellow rhinestones for the body and gave her a sparkly black shadow. I envision the pops of yellow to be sundrops, while the ribbon signifies being wrapped in sunshiny warmth. (Essentially a giant, fluttery hug.) I pop-dotted two of the layers, so there's a lovely amount of dimension. :o)

Challenges entered:
Fantabulous Cricut~ A splash of color (yellow)
Getting Cricky~ Winged Things

You know what also makes my heart happy? Chocolate. Cue Sweet Saturday! Ironically, my treat for you this week sort of matches this card... both are dark with pops of color. If you are enamored with rich chocolatey goodness, then we speak the same language and you really need to make these cookies. Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk cookies, to be exact.

Oh my. I knew this was going to be delicious... four forms of chocolate in one cookie? How could it not make my heart flutter? The super dark parts you see are Oreo pieces. These are rich and chewy, an explosion of chocolate in every bite. If anything is troubling you, these surely will make it all better. I confess to eating two of these last night while I finished my card... but in between I had steamed veggies, so I think that nullifies one of them. Right? ;) Make and enjoy these drops of chocolate decadence as soon as possible. :o)

Note: This makes a *ton* of batter. Certainly not a bad thing, but something to keep in mind. If you make smaller cookies, you'll have over three dozen. I prefer huge cookies and it still made a ton. I think I know what I'll be snacking on while watching football today.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, my friends! Thank you for brightening my days. :o)

Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies
Yield: (at least) 18 jumbo cookies

Ingredients:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup dutch processed cocoa
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped white chocolate (or chips)
1 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate (or chips)
1 cup chopped Oreos

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

With a mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add in the vanilla extract. Mix until blended well, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until the flour disappears. Stir in the chocolate and Oreos. Drop cookie dough by scant ¼ cups onto baking sheets.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake~ when they start to crack and are set around the outside but still soft in the middle, they are ready to come out. They will set up on the baking sheets. Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Key Recipe Components (for card):
 * Cricut cartridges: Elegant Edges, Florals Embellished, Gypsy Wanderings (tag)
 * Paper: Core'dinations, DCWV
 * Stamp: Scrappy Moms Stamps Quirky Quotes
 * Ribbon: Hobby Lobby
 * Miscellaneous: iRock