14 dozen later ...

 I made 14 dozen cookies this year!! The only batch that didn't make it were the sugar cookies.  I made them, used the cute cookie cutters, baked them and then decided I was way too tired to frost them!  I wanted to try royal icing this year ... Oh well, maybe for Valentine's Day! 

The cookies that did make it ...

Peanut Butter Blossoms 

(my favorite!)

Recipe:

Ingredients 

1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk and they tasted the same)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar for decoration
1 (9 ounce) bags milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped (I bought 2 bags just incase, but only needed on one)

This makes about 5 dozen.  It's always nice to have a little helper to unwrap all the kisses for you ... Thanks babe! 

Directions

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use a Silpat mat(my new favorite thing, I need to buy a second one!)

- In a large mixing bowl(KitchenAid Mixer will be the easiest), cream together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup white sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating until fully combined. Mix in milk and vanilla.

-  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the peanut butter mixture until well blended.

- Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and roll in remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.

-  Bake for 10 to12 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie. Allow to cool completely; the kiss usually takes overnight to harden. 

Next up ...

Gingerbread with White Chocolate Morsels 

I made these a few weeks back and had the rest of the dough in the freezer so these were the easy ones.

Last, but not least ...

Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies

Recipe:

Ingredients

14 tablespoons of melted and cooled butter

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

3/4 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 a cup of Hershey's unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of peppermint extract (I didn't use this, just substitued other teaspoon on vanilla extract)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 bag of White Chocolate Peppermint M&M's

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat Mat. 

- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, sugars, cocoa, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Stir on low just until combined. Continue stirring and add eggs one at a time. 

- Add flour and baking soda mix to bowl and stir just until dough forms. 

- Form 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Place 5-6 White Chocolate Peppermint M&M's on top of each cookie dough ball and bake for about ten minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. 

Recipe Notes: You may have to flatten dough balls slightly to fit all the M&M's on the top.

Found this recipe on pinterest via here.

What did you bake for the Holidays??

Merry Christmas!!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas with the ones they love.  I know we did!!  Trevor's mom just moved down to South Carolina,  so we had Christmas dinner with her and her two sisters.  We are so fortunate to have family around to spend the holidays with.

It was the FIRST time I have not spent Christmas with my parents ... growing up sucks sometimes!  It was even harder not seeing our niece and nephew on Christmas morning enjoying all their gifts from Santa.  I was extremely homesick on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but I am very lucky to have such a loving husband who reminds me to be thankful for all the good things we have this year.  I am so fortunate to be married to the man of my dreams, living in a city we love, with a puppy we absolutely adore. To top off all those wonderful things .. my mom and dad will be here on Saturday! YAH!!

Ok ... I will stop being a big ol' mush face! Christmas morning was SO much fun.  Thurman loved opening all his gifts and was in puppy heaven:

Check out all his excitement:

 

(sorry the video quality is not that great)

Tomorrow I will share my holiday baking madness with y'all!! Fourteen dozen cookies later ...

What was your favorite thing about Christmas this year?

Elf Yourself!

It is that time of year again!! I love a good Elf Yourself Video, don't you?  Check out our family ...

We might actually dance around like this every night .  How else do you think this happens?

Since Vizsla "supposedly" learn so quickly, we are trying to teach Thurman how to do the kid & play.  Hopefully we will have a video to share soon!!

Have any Elf Yourself videos to share?  

Let us know ... we want to see! 

My Dog Is Trying To Kill Me

This innocent little face 

Is the DEVIL!!

Doesn't he look guilty? 

He Is!!

 This was right after he was trying to destroy the Christmas Tree.  

I love him so very much and he makes me laugh all the time, but I think he may be trying to chew my hands & arms off.  I look like I stuck my hands and arms into a garbage disposal! 

I am counting down the days until he gets his final round of shots so I can actually bring him to the dog park to run off some of his energy.  Trevor and I have both been trying to run him on his leash, but he gets very uninterested, very quickly! 

Any advice for a new owner for a very crazy puppy?

Christmas in the South

We have been trying to hit up as many holiday events as possible around Charleston.  On Friday, we packed up our folding chairs and blankets then were off to Park West Recreation Complex in Mt. Pleasant to watch Elf in the park!! The best part ... it was free!

Anything free that is festive makes me smile! 

About halfway through the movie we left because this little wimp couldn't take the chilly weather.  Next year, I will bring a hat, gloves and hot chocolate.  

We were lucky to get a FREE pass to the Festival of Lights on James Island from Sarah & Scott(Thank You)  and we were eager to go.  We went last night with Thurman! He wasn't as excited about driving around in the car to look at lights as we were, but it beat sitting at home by himself.

Let me start by saying we were not expecting much! (If you are from upstate NY and have been to the Albany Festival of lights you know what we mean)  We thought the Festival of Lights on James Island was SPECTACULAR!  There was so much to see ... three mile drive of millions of light displays, marshmallow roasting, pictures w/ Santa, carousal rides and MORE!  This will definitely be a Bogan Family tradition! 

Some of our favorite lights:

(click on the picture to see it bigger)

My two favorite boys: 

For more Holiday Events check out Christmas in Charleston events page.  We are thinking the Holiday Pub Crawl next?  

Can't believe Christmas is next week!! 

Where did December go?

'Tis The Season

'Tis the season .... for BAKING! 

I don't know about you, but when the Holidays are here all I want to do is bake!! Luckily, I have lots of new baking supplies from my wedding shower to really get crazy!  So far I have made:

Gingerbread Cookies

These were AMAZING.  The perfect gingerbread cookie! I only made half the batter and tossed the rest in the freezer for another time.  At first, I was a little skeptical about these because of the molasses in them, but they were so tasty.  Next time, I might try to substitute honey for the molasses just to see what happens.  For those of you who like gingerbread cookies, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 tsp. Ginger, Ground
1 tsp. Cinnamon, Ground
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg, Ground
1/4 tap salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer (I also use my KitchenAid mixer, it is heaven on earth) on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press about 5-6 white chocolate chips into center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

(recipe found on Pinterest via here) 

If you don't like white chocolate(mom), the dough works well enough if you wanted to roll it out and make cute little gingerbread men.  I was most excited about using my new Silpat mat, it worked great!  

Next up are Nutella brownies, which we made at 8 o'clock one night because I needed something chocolately (ladies, you know what I mean).  They were really easy with only a few ingredients.  Found the recipe here... Nutella Brownies. 

I couldn't leave Thurman out on all the goodies, so I whipped him up some puppy treats!  Trevor tried one and said they were "dry and boring", but Thurman goes absolutely crazy for them! 

(yea .. I didn't have any dog related cookie cutters so it was either 

a christmas tree or a star)

Recipe found here

Can't wait to try out more cookie recipes this season!  

What are y'all baking this season?

Any treat that you have to make/eat every year? 

- Laura 

What the ... BEACH?!

It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L here on Sunday, like 75 and sunny beautiful!  It was a perfect day for a little beach action and the perfect opportunity to get Thurman out for his first visit.  He LOVED it and we basically had to drag him home.  As for me with the camera, I was like a new mom when her kid goes to school for the first time.  Yes, I have turned into one of "those" people!! Whatever, I accept it .. don't judge! 

 His favorite activities at the beach were: 

Playing Fetch

Running with Trevor

 And

Digging Holes! 

Getting him to test out the water was a little bit of a different story. I think the waves were scarring him and the water was freezing!

Can't wait to bring him back! This week it isn't looking so good with the weather ... Maybe next week!!

To read Thurman's story click on his picture to the left under "Meet Thurman," he wrote it all by himself ;) 

- Laura 

Welcome to Chucks Around Town

A new city... A new dog... a new Blog??

Why not!?!

We are so excited to finally share our new and improved blog with all of our readers! Crazy Adventurous Love will always have a special place in our hearts, but it was time for a fresh new look with a fresh new name to match!  

Don't y'all worry... you will still be reading all about of our adventurous here. We have lots to talk about being a newly-wed couple, living in Charleston ... with a dog.

Some more exciting news is that we are making a commitment to write more!!  Trevor and "Thurman" will be doing some writing as well, so it's not all just me babbling on and on how much I love them (you can gag now). 

Tomorrow, we will be telling you all about Thurman's first visit to the beach!! (spoiler alert: he LOVED it). 

Let us know what you think about the new blog!! 

Love It or Hate It?