Darcie Bakes //

Random Sides // Come Visit Spring Fling in the City!

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Are you into crafts, vintage housewares/decor/clothing, handmade and local items, or anything remotely hipster-esque? If so, may I suggest that you check out Spring Fling in the City?

From the Spring Fling in the City Facebook page, here’s what it’s all about!

Spring Fling in the City is all about love of vintage, love of handmade and love of local. It’s an event inspired by times past, where old is new again and everything has potential.

All the fun will happen on North 14th Street between St. Louis Avenue and Warren Street in the beautifully restored Crown Square.

The Fling features local vendors selling vintage clothing, vintage accessories and vintage home decor, as well as vintage-inspired handmade items.

We’ll also have live music from local bands Ruth Acuff and Letter to Memphis (thanks to our sponsor TSV Sound & Vision!); food from local eateries La Mancha Coffeehouse, Crown Candy Kitchen, Completely Sauced and Vincent Van Doughnut; and 4 Hands Brewing Company will be setting up a beer tent to keep the good vibes flowing (wink)! 

The Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group will also be holding its annual home and community tour that day, and it’s a great chance to stretch outside 14th Street and see the beautiful history of its surrounding neighborhood! To get tickets ahead of time, visit the Facebook event page!

All in all it’ll be a great day to find some unique treasures (and that last-minute Mother’s Day present!), eat some good food; explore the local neighborhood; and celebrate the spirit of revitalization!

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If that sounds fun to you, then here are the to-the-point details:

When: Saturday, May 9th, 2015

Where: Crown Square in Old North St. Louis [It will start at North 14th St. and St. Louis Avenue {Across from Crown Candy Kitchen}, and go to east Warren St.]
Time: 10:00AM – 4:00PM, CST

For a list of vendors, check out the vendor list on the Spring Fling website. There will also be food, drinks, and live music. Plus, this is a family-friendly event. So bring your doggies and your kids! There will be fun for everyone who comes, even if you hate crafts. 😉

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Oh yeah. I might have forgotten one minor [!] detail: I AM GOING TO BE A VENDOR AT THIS EVENT!! Eeeeek. I will be selling tasty baked goods in my very own 10×10′ booth. My menu is still being finalized, but I do know for a fact that I’ll be selling vegan cupcakes and homemade [duh] animal crackers! I will share more details on this soon, but as you can tell, I am pretty pumped. 

All of that being said, if you’re going to be in the St. Louis area on May 9th, then please come check out the Spring Fling festival! It’s a great way to support our local community, plus many of the awesome local artists and small businesses. And of course, you’ll need to try my baked goods. That’s a given. 😉

Mark your calendars now, as it’s only a month away! If you have any questions on the event, please let me know.

<3

Giant M&Ms Cookies.

Is there a dessert that you just love, but barely ever eat – because you know you’d overindulge every day on said dessert if given the chance?

For me, that dessert is M&M cookies – I rarely eat them, but my taste buds think they’re the best cookies ever. I love me some cookies of all types, and I certainly don’t discriminate against any type of cookie. But M&Ms cookies – I’d have to say – are my absolute favorite cookies.

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I love that chewy, brown sugary cookie base, and I am a chocoholic, so it goes without saying that I like chocolate in cookies. But what sets M&Ms cookies apart from your average chocolate chip cookie, you ask? Honestly, as gross/non-healthy/non-organic/whatever as it may sound, it’s that candy crunch around the chocolate that’s baked into the cookies that makes these my favorite cookies.

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I’m tellin’ ya, M&Ms cookies have to be something that I will only make on occasion. Otherwise you’d see me eating these very large cookies all by myself.

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I made this batch with the Easter/spring M&Ms, and I must admit that I’m a bit partial to these pastels. [I like pastels a lot in general, in case you couldn’t tell. Dat mint green. <3] Aren’t the colors just perfect for this time of year? Yum.

{Windowsill cookies!}
{Windowsill cookies!}

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Giant M&Ms Cookies.

Yield: Makes 18 large or 36 small cookies.

Ingredients:
– 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
– 1/2 tsp. baking soda
– 1 1/2 sticks [12 TBS.] of salted butter, melted and cooled {Note: I used unsalted because it’s all I had on hand. If you do, too, it’ll be aight.]
– 1 cup brown sugar, packed
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar
– 1 whole large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
– 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1 cup mini M&Ms, or about 3/4 to 1 cup of regular-sized M&Ms

Instructions: 
1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour and baking soda in a small bowl, and set aside.
3. In a larger bowl, mix the butter and sugars until they’re combined.
4. Next, add in the egg, the yolk, and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until a dough forms. It will look crumbly at first, but it does come together. I used my hands to get it together in a cohesive dough – that’s okay, too.
6. Fold in the M&M’s or whatever add-in you’re using.
7. Divide the dough however you wish [1/4 cup portions for large cookies, or 2 TBS. portions for smaller cookies]. Shape each portion of dough into a ball, then pull each ball apart into two equal pieces. Turn each ripped half so that the rough side of the half [what used to be the inside of the ball] faces upward. Squish the halves together, then place the dough balls rough-side up on prepared baking sheets. Leave a bit of space in between the cookies, as they’ll spread.
8. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, if doing the larger cookies. Or, bake for 8-12 minutes for smaller cookies. Either way, ensure the edges are slightly browned, and the centers are still slightly soft and puffy. Let cool on a wire rack, then dig in!

– Recipe from How Sweet Eats.