Pecan Cinnamandies

My boyfriend's going to Africa. Did I mention that? Oh yeah. For like five weeks. And sure, I mean, it's with his grad school program not like an Iron Man-style walkabout (oh wait; that's Australia...whoops), but c'mon...Africa's kinda far away.

So clearly, the thing to do when one's significant other is departing for a foreign country is to make them cookies.

Perfectly Portioned Pancakes

What are your thoughts on breakfast? If you're anything like me, it's your favorite meal of the day. I mean, breakfast is so versatile! It can be sweet; it can be savory; you can even have it for dinner on occasion. What could be better?

Sometimes after one of those weeks--those weeks when your train breaks down, everything at work that has been running late suddenly gets back on schedule all at the same time, and you feel under the weather to boot--you just want to wake up on Saturday, when the weekend is finally here, and treat yourself to a yummy breakfast. But I bet you're a good person. And when the thing you really, really want is pancakes, you say to yourself, "Oh, no, I shouldn't make pancakes. A whole batch? And only me around to eat them? No, that would be wasteful."

Well, kids, thanks to the always ingenious stylings of Joy the Baker (and a little freestyling on my part), that is no longer an issue.

Dinner for Two: Tomato & Mozzarella Crostini and Spicy Roasted Red Potatoes

I like food.

I think that's pretty obvious, right? That's what I thought. And while there is a very warm and fuzzy and often-hungry place in my heart (and stomach) for dessert, by no means does that lessen my love for all those parts of a meal that come before the sweet stuff.

Without further ado, Chip Chip Hooray ventures into the realm of the savory.

Chocolate PB Sand Pail Cupcakes: An entry for Cupcake Project

True confession: The very first baking blog I started reading was the Cupcake Project. Day after day, I found myself heading back to Stef's page to read about these fantastical cupcake (and other) creations that I never imagined I'd have the skill (or courage) to try myself. One day, months after I'd started reading and a few weeks after my own fledgling blog took its first steps, I saw it: the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest! Along with the fine folks at Scoopalicious, Stef challenged her readers to create a recipe for ice cream cupcakes.

Hooked yet? That's what I thought.