So much to tell y’all…

Life has been full force ever since we got back home.  Sure, I had the regular stuff:  Alyson’s birthday; The start of school; 3 1/2 weeks of mail; Laundry and everything that goes with being a wife, mother, and Zoe owner!

In the meantime, ShawnsPlate.com, was bombarded with opportunities(BLESSINGS!) that I didn’t imagine in the weeks or months prior.  The one that I want to share is the most surprising…I was contacted by HuffPostLive(Huffington Post) to participate in a live web-chat/roundtable discussion on food waste.  They were interested in my Refrigerator Challenge and how it pertains to decreasing food waste in my home. Thrilled & thankful first come to mind but, panic ensued because I only had 2 hours to get my drag together(hair, makeup & top…the view would only be shoulders to head…whew!), set up Google Voice(I’m soooo not techie), and dial in for a sound check.  Thankfully, I was not afraid.  Normally, fear would have consumed me and I would have made an excuse to not commit to the request from HuffPostLive.

See the web-chat here:  http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/503502c52b8c2a042a000b49

It’s funny that just that morning, I’d prayed about surrendering the desires of my heart to GOD’s perfect will for me.  For months I’d been focused on ShawnsPlate’s numbers(why aren’t my page visits higher?!), lack of popularity, lack of brand sponsorship opportunities, and better looking blogs.  I didn’t realize that I had allowed myself to be completely burdened down by the weight of these things until I simply released them on that very morning…truly released, without a thought!

Hey, I didn’t forget those cookies!   Surprisingly, they are a refrigerator challenge.  I had leftover chocolate chip cookie dough on hand.  I also had cream cheese buttercream frosting leftover from Alyson’s birthday.  I simply baked off the cookies and allowed them to cool completely before filling them with the frosting.  Super yummy, delicious, and not at all wasteful!

No leftover cookie dough and cream cheese buttercream?  Don’t worry, this is a good enough excuse to make some 🙂

So, you find yourself with leftover cookie dough and cream cheese buttercream?!

After baking, allow cookies to cool completely before assembling with cream cheese buttercream.

Cream Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 18 sandwich cookies

1 recipe chocolate chip cookie dough, chilled at least 4 hours
(I used Hershey’s recipe…click here for link)
***Please note that my baking process is completely different than the recipe***

Cream Cheese Buttercream:

1-8oz bar cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-2lb box or bag confectioners sugar

In a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth and well blended.  Stir in vanilla(important…if beaten in with the mixer, vanilla often has the tendency to spray out during the process).  Add confectioners in thirds, stirring first, then beating with mixer until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

If using the Hershey’s recipe, preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment or silpat.  Divide dough into thirds.  Create tablespoon sized dough balls for 12 cookies per third of dough.  Place on 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes.  Allow to rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Repeat baking process with remaining dough.  Allow cookies to cool completely before filling with cream cheese buttercream.

When ready to assemble, spoon 1 teaspoon of the buttercream onto the bottom/flat of half of the cookies.  Affix remaining cookies, bottom/flat to buttercream, creating sandwich cookies.