lopez island long weekend + fourth of july.

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now that its the beginning of august, lemme tell you what i did for the 4th of july.

it seems extra hard to keep up with all my photo-takings and blog postings and whatnot during these gorgeous summer months. i just want to frolic in the sunshine every single day when i get home from work. and summer weekends are like gooold- not for sitting on the computer. but i'm currently writing this while sitting on the back porch in the sunshine and pete and i are bout to grill some corn and chicken - so, win-win!

for 4th of july weekend, we took off in the cheddar bus to lopez island where we stayed for 4 fabulous days. my bff katie and her bf chad came for the first time, too! 

i just love riding on the ferry. it feels like you're going somewhere without actually going somewhere. ya feel meh?

qp & kt: a love story.

first stop was the lopez island farmer's market to visit pete's aunt & uncle who blow this amazing glassware! among many other beautiful things! check them out here!

special bonus sighting of pete's cousin peri, eldest offspring of the glassblowers. that family is seriously sooo talented and artistic and awesome...every last one of them. peri hand makes these cool tote bags out of old sails from sailboats. she also makes hats, ladies' swim wear, kimonos...the list goes on. check peri out here!

^^^ there's cousin peri and her sail bags and other goodies for sale! pete and i got the orange and also the mac & cheese tote for the cheddar bus, 'acourse :) those things are durable as hell. carry 4 bottles o wine in the medium one! big loads of laundry in the large ones! just sayin.

we made lots of cute dog friends.

^^^ we went to the lopez island thrift shoppe where pete and i scored these fab island duds. me, a $4 dress (with pockets!!), pete, a $3 seagull pullover jacket. instant vacation mode achieved.

biker gang off to laze about by the water. // this gal loves her ritz (& pete taught her the ways of cheez-whiz).

MY BOO.

all the ducks in a row. or geese.

chad built a driftwood sculpture by the sea. we named her "seahag." she fell over. but check out that walking stick at the bottom! just like yoda's stick. we meant to sell it on ebay but forgot it.

fun little day hike and picnic up at watmough head. followed by some chillin and paddleboarding in watmough bay. just crazy pete went, though. dat water was absolutely freezing.

ooo birks & socks and a wonkily buttoned shirt. #donthasslemeimonvacation

a quick sail with the zerkel men! peter and brother tim's beer coozies each match their outfits hehe.

more dog friends.

4TH OF JULY EEEEEEEATS! hot dogs & spam sliders for everyone!

awesome fireworks show viewing party right on their property. soo great. we usually watch them from the sailboat which is also sOoOooOoo great, but the water was super choppy that day.

last relaxing day on lovely lopez.

and we were welcomed back to seattle with this stellar sunset. 

love you long time, lopez. see you again soon.

 

qp

mallow cookie creme pies.

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meee want cooookieeee.

hey there, cute stack of cookie sammiches! you are (/were) mighty delightful.

so i had a buttload of extra marshmallow fluff leftover from when i made these s'mores donuts. what else to do with leftover mallow fluff but make MALLOW COOKIE CREME PIES.

oatmeal chocolate chip (my absolute favorite favorite) and fluffernutter aka peanut butter + marshmallow!

here's a dramatic pic of butter softening in the sunshine: 

(a great method for softening cold butter! we don't have a microwave anymore - which i love. i don't miss that thing at all. but anyhoo, the sun-softened butter method works well. if the sun is shining. if not, i carefully soften it over the gas stove, or the ol' classic method of simply getting it out a couple hours early and just letting it sit.

having a bright school bus yellow kitchen is no bueno for taking photos of food. especially in the late summer afternoon like this day that i shot these cookie sammiches. ^^^ eeek.

yellow kitchen! you're cute and happy. but sometimes make pictures look displeasing.

it's a love/dislike relationship with these yellow walls.

the oatmeal chocolate chippers are just to die for. i enjoy the fluffernutter ones a lot too, but c'manng. i could eat homemade chocolate chip cookies every day for the rest of my life.

its the texture that gets me! you can easily share one of these creme pies, by the way...they are richhh. i just love the soft, buttery, chewy cookies with a creamy marshmallowy fluffy filling. the oats and choco chips take the crunch factor to the next level. let these chill in the fridge or freezer, and jaheeeez you've got quite the magical treat.

alternatively, plop a scoop of your favorite ice cream between two of these cookies and freeze it. oh wow. 

Marshmallow Cookie Creme Pies

Makes 12 creme pies - 6 Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & 6 Peanut Butter/Fluffernutter

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Cookies

  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • {DIVIDE INTO TWO BOWLS after combining all these ingredients above!}
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup oats

Marshmallow Fluff Frosting (recipe makes a LOT o' mallow - store in airtight container in the fridge) - follow mallow fluff instructions from my S'mores Donuts recipe here

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 3/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • pinch of salt

Instructions-

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a stand mixer (with paddle attachment) or large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs & vanilla and mix until combined. Add baking powder & soda, salt, and slowly add flour, mixing in between additions to avoid a big ol' flour cloud. 

At this point, move half of the dough into a separate bowl. In one bowl, add the 1/2 cup peanut butter and mix until well incorporated. In the other bowl of dough, add the oats and chocolate chips and mix until combined.

Spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray or lightly grease them. Spoon out golfball sized amounts of dough evenly spaced on the cookie sheets. 

Bake the peanut butter cookies first (they need more time to cool and firm up - mine were super duper soft and crumbly when they came out of the oven) for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.

Bake the chocolate chip cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Spread a small dollop of cool marshmallow fluff onto one cookie and sandwich the other cookie on top. Wrap each creme pie cookie sandwich in tin foil and store in an airtight freezer bag in the fridge or freezer. Store for up to 2 weeks.

enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

i sure did.

 

qp