One of the best parts of this blog adventure is the wonderful blogging community that it makes you a part of. Folks that know exactly what it’s like pouring your heart and time into your tiny little corner of the interwebs and hope that the people reading it respond to your voice and what you’re talking about.

There are a seemingly never ending number of opportunities to meet and connect with these other folks. When I saw that one of my favorite style bloggers, Nicole from Probably Polka Dots, was hosting a monogram swap I thought “Why not?”. I’ve never done anything like this before but I really liked the concept of connecting with one or two bloggers and really getting to know them. The fact that I’d get to gift and be gifted something personal and unique made it even better.

Our group was a trio. I was entrusted with finding the perfect gift for Susan, a lifestyle blogger from Ohio. I have loved every minute of getting to know Susan and spending time in her space, Charming Lucy. She is creative and stylish, but the thing I find most inspiring about her blog is how highly she talks about her precious daughter and blog namesake, Lucy. Be sure to head over to her blog to see what I ended up giving her!

When I found out that Sarah, a style blogger from Kentucky, was going to be picking out my monogramed goodie I was pretty pumped. The girl has style as evidenced by her blog Simply Sarah Style, so I knew I’d be getting something awesome. Since we are all about the kitchen over here, she picked out some cute personalized recipe cards and a monogrammed tea towel. Thanks so much Sarah!

     
photo credit: the mama

Ladies, thank you all so much for making the swap a great experience. And, because y’all are both so awesome, I thought I’d share a little recipe I cooked up that was inspired by both of y’all.

Football season is THREE days away and, for the football devoted, that means lots of tailgating, football watching get togethers, and a significant amount of cooking every weekend. {At least, that is what it would mean that for me if we were in the States, but we’re not. So football season means 2am game starts and lots of gnashing of teeth if the video feed freezes.}

One of the things I’ve learned in my years of tailgating is that if you put liquor in it, folks will eat it. Traditionally a tailgate favorite for fans of The Ohio State Buckeyes {sorry Michigan fans, I do love you}, I think that regardless of your school allegiance, these are a bite sized, Kentucky bourbon filled dessert that folks can get on board with.

Normal buckeyes are pretty simple–peanut butter, powdered sugar, and chocolate. In a effort to up the nutritional value of these a bit, I wanted to eliminate most of the refined sugar, so instead of powdered sugar, we’re using peanut butter cookie crumbs and mixing it with cream cheese and bourbon and then dipping it in dark chocolate. Bam.

Bourbon Buckeyes

The Crumb
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 cup whole grain flour {I used spelt.}
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

The Mix
6 ounces {175 grams} cream cheese
2 Tbsp bourbon
2 Tbsp maple syrup

The Cover
8 ounces {200 grams} of dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and melted coconut oil together. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, and salt until they are just incorporated.

Spoon golf ball sized balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet and press flat with a fork. Pop them in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until they are crispy.

You could stop here and just have some peanut buttery cookies, but I recommend you keep going. Its about to get delicious.

When the cookies are finished, let them cool for a quick minute, and then put them into your food processor. Process until there are no chunks of cookie left, just crumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk the bourbon and maple syrup into the cream cheese. Empty the cookie crumbs into a large mixing bowl, and add the cream cheese mixture. Mix until it’s fully incorporated.

Roll into golf ball sized balls and pop in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

To melt your chocolate, break the bar up into small pieces and put the pieces in a bowl. Pop the bowl in the microwave for a minute. Stir the chocolate. If it’s not completely melted yet, keep going in 15 second intervals stirring well in between each. It shouldn’t take more than 1 or 2 more hits.

Dip the bottom of your peanut buttery ball of goodness into the chocolate then transfer to a parchment paper lined tray. Let the chocolate harden and then store in the freezer until about 30 minutes before you’re serving them.

This should get you about 20 buckeyes. Adjust your amounts accordingly, but just a warning, everyone at your tailgate will be gobbling them up!