Peggy''s Shortbread Cookies

Happy Sunday friends!

I am going to warn you this blog post will be fairly short.  There will be an update on my YouTube channel about my eyes, so make sure to watch for it.  They aren't cooperating to say the least.  I can't see well enough to do a very long post,  I am frustrated and it is especially hard when I had such huge amounts of family recipes planned for here and the YouTube channel.  If you aren't subscribed come join me!  There is more than cooking, there are tons of life stuff, crafts, etc.  There is pretty much nothing that is off limits there.  (Sounds questionable doesn't it?)ChefWannabe's Life

My sister Peggy is precious.  She and I have a special relationship and she is the baker of all bakers!  This woman is awesome in the kitchen!  She used to always be famous for her sugar cookies, now it is her shortbread cookies!  You can leave them plain, add chopped pecans to make them Pecan Sandies, or dip in chocolate, which is what I did!  I dipped ad drizzled!  I did chocolate on some and cherry on others!


Here is the recipe......

3/4 lb Softened butter (unsalted)
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1/ tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
Mix all ingredients just until it holds together.  If you dough is a bit wet or sticky add another 1/ cup of flour.  
Roll out fairly thick and cut into whatever shapes you fancy and bake for 9-11 minutes! 

Remember shortbread cookies are supposed to be a bit crumbly and these are perfection!
You could also frost these with buttercream at Christmas and cut into shapes!

Oh the places these cookies will take you....!

ENJOY and thanks sissy!

 

5 Cups of Something Cookies

Hello!!

It has been awhile you guys!  As most of you know I have undergone 2 eye surgeries in the last 6 weeks which have simply rendered me unable to cook or bake really at all until a couple of days ago.  It was the best feeling to be able to get in the kitchen and jut get away from life for awhile and bake  Christmas is coming and I had planed such a great barrage of cookie recipes from my family.  I am sorry this eye stuff all came up so suddenly but it is how it worked out and it had to be done.  Don't worry though, I will still get you some fun and very versatile recipes.

Speaking of versatile, this recipe is one of the most versatile I have seen.  My sister Peggy was in for a super quick visit recently and she brought me this recipe.  It is one she makes at the holidays and when I saw the recipe I knew immediately I had to make it and share it.  While I made this with ingredients of my choice, this would be a perfect recipe for your end of the baking train recipes.  You could use up whatever you have left on hand which makes complete sense to me and it will to you as well.

This is a base recipe and the you add 1 cup, of 6 more ingredients.  Genius!  The options you guys, endless.  ENDLESS! (Just on a side note, I am typing this entire thing with my eyes closed because it is easier than the blurriness of my vision right now.  I am just imagining the spell check is going to have to work in overdrive.)
ANYWAY.....

I am going to give you some options for your "5 cups"....
I know you can come up with them on your own, but, you might not have thought of some of these!

cornflakes, rice krispies, coconut, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, ay chips, M^M's, nuuts, peaut butter, oatmeal, cocoa kirspies, crushed up pretzels, mallow bits, golden grahams....you get my point.

This is why I think it would be a great recipe to use up leftovers on.  All t hose odds and ends of what you have left from your other recipes.

Here we go!

1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brow sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
5 cups of something else

Get your oven preheated to 350 degrees F.  Cream together shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  Add flour, baking soda and salt, mic to combine.  Add your 5 cups of any combination of ingredients.

Drop by small scopp or teaspoons on greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake for 9-10 minutes.  Take them out and let them cool 10 minutes.  They will seem MAYBE under cooked but they aren't!  Trust me.  Let them cook and bacm, get a glass of milk and ejoy your Christmas tree!

I used sprinkles on some of mine to fight the "brown cookie syndrome".  I think this would easily be a non issue with red and green candies, etc.  Oh the possibilities!

I hope you are enjoying your holiday preperations!

BE JOYFUL!

Russian Tea Cake Christmas Cookies

Christmas is coming!  Christmas is coming!  I am unusually excited.  Perhaps it is the new home, maybe it is my deeper faith, or perhaps, it is that I am excited to be back in the swing of life after a hard 18 months. I think I can attribute it to being the happiest, and most content I have ever been in my life.  I have a gracious heart, especially about all of you.

I am late out of the gate but I will be posting as many recipes as I can before Christmas Eve!  I work best under pressure!  I will be filming some of my recipes, as many as I can as well, so make sure you hit up my YouTube Channel and subscribe!  Here is the link: FoodThoughtsOfaChefWannabe YouTube Channel!  If you haven't hit the FOLLOW on this website, I would love for you to do that as well.  I love having you all in my life, everywhere!  You see, and learn, and experience different parts of me on my different social media outlets.  Not sure why, but, it seems to be that way!  I am weird, like so weird, but I am fun!  I mean at least I think I am! HA!

Now, on to the recipe.  These were a staple Christmas cookie as a kid.  My mom never skipped over making these.  I wasn't a huge fan of them as a child.  But, I think, these are more appealing to grown ups.  I love them now.  I of course changed mine up, just a little updating on my moms recipe, but hers were awesome as well.  As you can see in the video, I can't keep anything the same size.  I think you should get 2 doz out of this recipe, but I made a few of mine for the jolly green giant so I didn't get quite as many.

Please feel free to change the type of nuts you use to what you have on hand or love.  I wanted to just go with hazelnuts because I love them, I had some some and it was definitely the right choice.  What if you did almonds, with a WEE bit of almond extract?  Ohhhhhh!

1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup finely ground hazelnuts
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract (maybe a heaping tsp)
pinch of salt
1 cup extra powdered sugar for dipping

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

Combine butter and powdered sugar until combined.  Add in nuts, and let it mix until completely combined.  Add in a pinch of salt, your vanilla extract and again, mix until combined.  Add in flour and mix just until it is all incorporated.  Your mixture will appear to be dry and crumbly, but I promise it will stick together!  

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out your cookies, dump into your hand and roll into a ball.  The warmth of your hands will melt that butter enough to make them roll nicely.  Do this will all of them, place on your parchment lined cookie sheet and then bake for 10 minutes!  Let cool completely and then roll in your additional powdered sugar!  Place on a platter and waaa-laaaa, time to enjoy!

PS Did I mention to just double this recipe from the start?!  DO!
PSS These will be perfect for your #nobrowncookietray Christmas cookie trays!

Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

Hello my dear friends!  How long has it been?  TOO  long!

I am glad to be back with you, after all, it IS the most wonderful time of the year!  Right?  I am ready for holiday cheer, holiday feelings, holiday food, and everything else!  I truly find it odd, how busy things have been yet, at the beginning of such a busy time, I get to make time to share some cookies with you!

If you have been following me awhile you know I have a "Just Say NO To Brown Cookie Trays" campaign.  Well, maybe not a campaign but, I feel strongly about it.  You know the ones, don't act like you have never received them!  Hard cookies, difficult to differentiate one "flavor" from another, and not even sure what is in them.  Yes, those cookie trays.  I actually came up with these cookies, because I sell Scentsy as well.  This Blueberry Cheesecake Scent Bar came out and I was like, "oh maaaaan, I need to make that edible"!  I did!  This recipe was adapted from Get In My Belly.

This recipe makes between 18-24 cookies.  I will without a doubt double it when I make it again.  This will be on my cookie trays, and I hope they will be on yours!  My grandson helped me with these today, and he also is in the YouTube video that will accompany it!

Here is what you will need:

1/4 cup softened cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flower
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
frozen or fresh blueberries

Optional:
white chocolate
vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Using a stand or hand mixer, combine cream cheese and butter.  When it is combined add in sugar and again, mix until all ingredients are combined.  Add egg, vanilla flour, baking soda, and cornstarch.  Mix until ingredients are just combined.

Refrigerate your dough for 1 hr.  I did 30 minutes and it worked fine but if you double the batch, go for 1 hr.  You can chill it up to overnight if you like.

Place balls of dough or use a cookie scoop.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Dough will spread, but if for some reason yours does not, just give it a little smoosh with your hand.  I used frozen blueberries I had let sit out for 10 minutes, but fresh will be awesome as well!  Place 4 or 5 blueberries on the top of each cookie, slightly pressing them in.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

You can enjoy as is, or you can drizzle with some melted white chocolate.  Use about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips, melt in 30 second increments in the microwave.  Add a cap full of vegetable oil to it to make it a bit more liquid and drizzle-able!  Drizzle and let the chocolate set before serving!

I hope you enjoy these little heavenly cookies!  I think using strawberries, raspberries, etc would be awesome as well!!

ENJOY!

Induction Cookies

DISCLAIMER:  This is NOT medically proven.  This is not medical advice, this is for entertainment and an old wives tale.  I assume no responsibility for the consequences of eating these, or any health issues that may result. (which will probably not even be the ones they are SUPPOSED to cause)

OK, now that, that is all clear,  lets get to the reason I made these to begin with.  Shall we?

My poor, POOR daughter in law is so pregnant, that I think even her pregnancy is pregnant.  She, due to other health issues will not be allowed to get past 37 weeks and she is so there.  She is so ready that she will try about anything for a natural induction.  ALMOST!!

She has tried it all, accept castor oil, she will NOT go that far.  The things she reads and I find on the internet are hysterical.  I have read anything from eating eggplant Parmesan to bumpy car rides, castor oil smoothies, and everything in between.

These cookies were just the icing on the cake and I HAD to amuse her and make them today!  I don't recall where I got the recipes since I hand wrote it down but, if I find it again, I will post it.  There was just no way I couldn't give them a shot.  This poor girl can't tie her shoes, can't dress herself, and can barely drive!

Without further explanation let me give this recipe to you.  She said they are good, but as you swallow them it has a kick from the red pepper!  I might have added a WEE bit more red pepper.  Don't judge, I want to meet my grandson too!

 2 1/2 cups  flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp/ ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
8 T butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar plus extra for rolling cookies in
1 cup  brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup molasses 
2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F,.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl or the bowl of your standing mixer.  Mix until combines.  Add in softened butter, sugars, and egg whites.  Mix until combined.  The dough may seem a bit crumbly but no worries it will all work out.

Place your extra granulated sugar in a bowl.  Roll dough into balls, about 3/4 inch balls and then roll in sugar and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Do this with all of your dough, molasses, and then bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown!  

Enjoy the this fun wives tale and don't forget to BREEEEEATH! 

 

Chocolate Kiss Cookie

Ahh, the holiday that either people love or hate.  The dreaded/dreamed about "Valentine's Day"!  Are you a loather or a lover?  I love it.  No, my husband and I don't need a special holiday to express our love to each other (because I know that is a famous excuse) it is a day to do something extra special!  Anyone who doesn't like it will argue anything but, I am all about that mushy love stuff.  I get it often but I get a second helping on Valentine's day!

In case you wondered, the answer is yes.  I am that woman who tries to cook or bake everything in heart shapes or X's and O's, and writes a love note to use as a napkin ring.  Candles, and flowers, all of it.  In my defense, I am like that with most holidays, so no worries, that I am showing favoritism to this one.  Do it for your kids, for your parents, just show TONS of love on Valentine's day, don't make it so dang difficult!  This cookie for instance, adapted from the Hershey's website.  I just wanted a big cookie.  Some people don't like pies, or cakes, or cupcakes, and I think this same idea would be awesome for a birthday party if someone doesn't like cake.  It really is all about how you decorate it, or theme it.  I just wanted to share because I made it for my littles, and they loved it.  Also, I used a heart shaped pan I have.  It is about 11 inches at the widest part.  You can do it in a 9x13, or anything really, it will just make your baking time vary.  So I will give you the directions to get the particular cookie I made in the photo.

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 T milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Red Wilton candy melts
Pink Wilton Candle melts
almond bark
15-20 Hershey's Kisses
Red sugar

Preheat your oven to 350.  Beat together, butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, milk and vanilla extract.  Beat until completely combined.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well, and pour into the peanut butter mixture, beat until just combined.  Lightly spray your baking pan.  Pour dough out into pan and use a spatula or fingers to press into place.  Bake for 10-15 minutes.  I hate to be vague but this depends completely on your baking pan size.  You want the cookie to remain soft, but be baked all the way through.

When you take it out, IMMEDIATELY place your kisses on the cookie,  However you want, randomly as I did or in a design, or a name?!?!  Or the word "LOVE" OH yes!  Let cool completely!  Melt your red and pink melts, about 4 or 5 of them will be enough of each color.  Add a few drops of vegetable oil to them if they aren't drizzling nicely enough.  Do one color at a time and your almond bark as well.  About 30 seconds in the micro for each color did it for me.  Then sprinkle with red sugar and waa-laa!  A special Valentine's Day treat for your husband, wife, gf, bf, kids, parents, or friends.  Just spread the love!

ENJOY!

Chocolate Monster Cookies

Snack time, again!  Because the holidays didn't bring us enough sugar right?  Oh well, life goes on and so does dessert!

These cookies are a staple of my child/teen hood.  My oldest sister, who we will refer to as "number 1" (for birth order sake ONLY) is the queen of these cookies.  She always used to have these cookies at her house, AND red Kool-Aid.  She was the Kool-Aid queen actually.  I don't know what she put in that stuff, but I always drank the Kool-Aid! HA!

Anyway I took her recipe and used up some leftover Christmas baking goods.  I didn't get much done with my husbands health issues, but, I had some leftover things I wanted to use.  You can use peanut butter in place of the Nutella, that is the original way, but I had tons of Nutella that needed used so I turned them into chocolate cookies and man oh man are they good!

I hope you give them a go, and enjoy their chewy, (no flour) goodness!!

6 eggs
1 cup softened butter
3 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
20 oz. Nutella
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pancake syrup
4 tsp baking soda
9 cups quick oats
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups M & Ms
1 cup Heath toffee bits

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in the order they are listed.  Feel free to change your add ins to whatever you have on hand that you want to use up, this is just what I chose and it was fantastic.  

Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.  I used my 1/4 cup cookie scoop because I wanted real MONSTER cookies.  Feel free to use a smaller scoop.  I only could fit 4 on a pan.  Can you say, "takes forever"?  So do what you want, get a real MONSTER size cookie or make smaller cookies.  They are chewy and delicious.  Bake for 10 minutes and make sure to let cool COMPLETELY on the cookie sheet before removing! 

ENJOY my friends!

Kris Krinkle Cookies

 Hello friends!  I am sorry it has been this long between recipes, but I think it is "game on" again, and nothing is in my near future, but baking and cookies, I mean cooking.  Craft show season is over, and the holidays are upon us!!  I LOVE Christmas!

At a recent show, my daughter in law bought some crinkle cookies and I, in my old age had completely forgotten about crinkle cookies!  Oh they were so good, my memory just went back to my childhood!  I remember one of the nuns at CCD made these often, and I loved it.  See, I KNEW before my life ended I would find something nice to say about Sister Michaeline.  My mom would be so proud.  Anyway, I found an old recipe and wanted to make it a bit more festive and into a "Red Velvet" sort of cookie . I mean, Santa's suit IS red velvet, and it would only be fitting to leave a red and white cookie out for him to eat on his travels, right?  This would be an awesome one to make for my "NO BROWN" cookie trays!  I have discussed my disdain for brown cookie only cookie trays, in case you are new.  You know the ones, right?  Someone delivers them and they all look like they could be dried up poo, but nobody wants to try one to make sure.  You know it now......

One more thing.  I can tell you this dough can be refrigerated for days.  Don't ask me how  know.  Ok, do.  I mixed up the dough on Monday evening.  Maybe it was Tuesday.  Crap.  Anyway it is Friday and I just baked them off.  SO, keep that in mind if you are doing weekend baking, mix up one kind of cookie every night and have the dough all ready!  This one will stand up for sure!

When you roll these out, make sure to pop the dough into the fridge between batches.  It gets a bit messy when it warms up but isn't impossible.  They are so worth it!

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
1/2 cup oil
6 T cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
red food coloring (gel or paste)
2 cups flour
PINCH of salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder together, set aside.  In a large bowl combine the sugar, oil, cocoa powder, vanilla and eggs.  Mix until combined well.  Add in milk and continue to mix.  Carefully add in the flour mixture and mix until it is completely combined and smooth.  Now, add in your food coloring, you can add a bunch at once or go little by little until you reach the read you like but I can assure you, it will take quite a bit!  Once you get there, cover your cookie dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Place your powdered sugar in a bowl.  Roll your dough into about 1 inch balls, and roll in the powdered sugar and place on to a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for approx 10 minutes and let cool on the cookie sheet 2-3 minutes before removing.  Remove to cooling rack and carry on with the rest!

ENJOY!

PS My dough doesn't look very red.  Ugh.......it was!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

All I had to do was the type the title, and I went and grabbed another one.  You guys, seriously, these are amazeballs.

My daughter in law and I have been doing craft shows nearly every weekend.  WELL, 2 weekends ago we happened to be set up straight across from the bake sale people.  Whhaattt?  She brought two of these over and I went to a place so happy in my mind, I had to go home and figure it out, find a recipe, find a place to buy them or better yet, track down the nun who made them and beg for her recipe.  Well, none of those things really happened, but, I did find a couple of recipes online.  I tried them and neither were just the way "the ones" were at the bake sale.  So I started combining, adding, taking away, dancing the Na' Na' in between and it all just seemed to be the perfect mix.  So I baked them up, they looked and SMELLED perfect, I let them cool 10 minuted and waited for that glorious moment I was going to have another one of these in my chops and BAM.........not done all the way.  WHAT?  What kind of cook, someone who has been food blogging for 5 years, makes THIS kind of mistake?  Me.  So, I just looked at them, like, like a dog who ate a 20.00 steak off of the counter.  I threw them in the fridge, after all, almost raw dough is good to, and started again.  This time, was going to be different, I was going to bake them longer, and let them sit a bit longer, and waaaaaa-laaaaa!  Here is what I got!  I love the texture of these, which you might find a bit, almost "creamy" but not.  Cookie like but not.  Oh, just make them.  They are indescribable!

I think these would be an awesome addition to your table of holiday desserts, or just a nice snack to have sitting around the house so you can  wait for your next physical appointment and find out you have gained 5 lbs since April and then come home and eat more all the while............OMG...........sorry, small tangent there.

Here is what you need for these undeniably sweet treats!

2 2/3 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 eggs
3 T. granulated sugar
3 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease your 9x13 baking pan.  In a bowl mix together flour, bakng powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a mixer bowl or a larger bowl cream together butter and sugar until smooth.  Add in eggs and whisk to combine.  Add this mixture to your flour mixture, or, as it may be your flour mixture to THIS mixture and mix until combined.  Pour into your baking pan and spread out evenly.

Now mix together your sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle liberally over the top.  Do it from high above, make it RAIN my friends!

This is the important part.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  DO THE TOOTHPICK TEST on the center.  I can't deny that chilled half cooked cookie dough isn't delicious, but, shoot for the moon, and cook it all the way!


Much love to you all.  I sometimes forget to thank you often enough for your support, not just here on my website, but my social media as well.  Your kind emails, your recipe requests, I do my best to return them all!  I am forever grateful for all of you, my friends

ENJOY!

Frozen Butterfinger Pie

It is 80 degrees today.  Time for some fun COLD treats, don't you think?  I do! 

I am guilty of hitting up the after Easter sales on candy.  I mean, I bought A LOT of it.  I have used most of it but this bag of Butterfingers keeps getting pushed to the side.  I like them but I don't need them and they get stuck in my dang teeth.  Drives me nuts!  I decided to make them into something delicious for these warm spring/summer days ahead!

I love no bake desserts.  For some reason, now that I think about it, my favorite desserts are NO bake.  Except for cream puffs, but they are in an entirely different realm of fabulousness so they don't count.

These ingredients are pretty straight forward but, if you want to use a premade chocolate cookie crust feel free.  I didn't want that much chocolate so I used some store brand, half vanilla, have chocolate sandwich cookies.  They worked out fabulously.  This is a very rich pie, I would guess you could easily serve 12 with it.  Also, I used Cool Whip, please feel free to use fresh sweetened whipped cream.  That is just a personal preference, and while I normally choose that, it was more in the realm of what I wanted to use cool whip. 

On that note, let's get to this EASY recipe.  Make sure to make it the day before so it is frozen nice and firm!

30 sandwich cookies
6 T. melted butter

Place cookies in a food processor and process until fine crumbs.  Add in butter and process until you get the consistency of wet sand.  Pour out into a pie pan and press firmly.  You could do this in a 9x9 square baking dish as well.  Set aside

In a stand mixer bowl or mixing bowl combine the following except candy bars....

3.4 oz. box of vanilla pudding mix (instant)
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
8 ounces cool whip
8 ozs cream cheese
12 fun size butterfingers chopped (reserve 2 for topping)
remaining cool whip for the top

When all ingredients are a smooth mixture, fold in candy bars.  Pour into crust smooth over and top with cool whip.  Sprinkle leftover candy bars on top and freeze at least overnight!

ENJOY!

Rainbow Rose Meringue Cookies

Hello friends!  Just me again, making some more wildly delicious and fun stuff!  Ok, well in my opinion it is ALL that!!  Just more like finding excuses to make meringues.  Any excuse will do, I love them!

These are so easy.  Have you heard all those old wives tales about when to make meringues and when not too?  Never on a humid or rainy day?  It might be true, I am just saying, I made mine on a humid rainy day and they turned out perfectly.  I am not saying the old wives are wrong, I am just saying, they were wrong about my superhuman abilities, that's all. 

These will brighten up anyone's day, so make them, and share them with someone who needs some cheer!  Or let's be real, keep them for yourself because you know since they are mostly air, they have no calories.  I mean that is what I heard, so I am just sayin......R

PS.  Don't throw those yolks away kids, use them, for some pastry cream or homemade egg noodles!

3 egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
red, blue and yellow food colors
pastry bag
Wilton 1M tip

In a very CLEAN metal or glass bowl, being to whip your egg whites.  Wipe them until they become foamy.  No peaks yet, just good and foamy.  Add in your granulated sugar and cream of tartar and whip until you have soft peaks.  Add in vanilla and continue to whip your egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. 

In 3 bowls, divide your meringue evenly.  Color on red, one blue and one yellow.  Or, use any colors you like!  Carefully fold in the coloring so you don't lose all the fluffy air in the whites.

Now using a 1m tip and a large pastry bag or Ziploc bag, cut off the corner and insert tip.  Roll the bag clear down and add one spoonful of each color at a time, then move up the cuff and add more.  This will give you more rainbow, and less of one color blob at a time.  Get it?  Yes, I said color "blob". 

Now with your baking sheets lined with either parchment or silicone mates, pipe out a rose shape.  Working in circles from the center out.  I yielded about 16 cookies, but it depends on the size of roses you make and you can do other shapes as well. 

Bake at 195 degrees F for 1 hr. 30 minutes.  Rotate the pans half way through.  When the time is up, turn the oven off and crack the door open.  Let cool to room temperature. 

ENJOY!



 



Adapted from CherryLanesCupcakes

Cake Mix Vanilla Chip Sprinkle Cookies

Hello my dear friends!

It is about 5pm in the evening. I am listening to some classical piano music, only a lamp on in my "office".  One sister just visited, and we spent the afternoon just chatting, watching some TV, etc.  We had some coffee, and just had a really nice visit.  I was just thinking how nice it is to unplug, power down, and just talk.  Find out what is going on in each others lives, etc.  We seem to find less and less time to do this.  Call someone you haven't seen or "talked" to lately, have coffee or a soda together.  Don't text them or call them, see them, face to face if you can.  It is like the lost art of human contact.  I have no idea what got me off on that tangent or what in the heck it has to do with my cookies but....  I think I am just in a deep thoughts kind of mood.  Yea, maybe that is it.

So here are my cookies!  Finally, right?  I was inspired by the Pillsbury website, when I got a link for these in my spam folder.  I am in another "use up" phase so I modified the recipe to my taste, and what I needed to use up!  They are sweet for sure, but I think they are delish.  I think they would be fun to do with chocolate cake mix, and add cherry flavor and maybe a cherry on top.  Add some white chips maybe?  Oh, as always the possibilities are endless but this is my version, I hope you try it!

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract (choose any flavor you like)
1/2 cup vanilla chips
3 T. sprinkles
flour
flat bottom glass or your fingers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Lay your cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. 

In your stand mixer or large bowl combine dry cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla chips and sprinkles.  Stir or mix just until combined.  Your dough will be a week bit sticky, no problem.

Using a cooking scoop or roll about 1 inch size balls of dough.  Fill up your trays and then tip your fingers OR your flat bottom glass in flour and press the balls down until they are about 1/4 inch thick.  Nobody is coming to your house to measure, so just flatten them out a bit, not all the way but a bit.  Sprinkle the top with extra sprinkles so that everyone knows that fun that is inside!  Bake for 8 minutes.  Mine took literally exactly that amount of time.  They won't get really browned, unless you burn them, they will just get slightly golden!  Let cook for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet to cool before removing.

These are easy and fun, and I wish I had this recipe back in the day of "oh I need to take 2 dozen of something to this meeting in an hour".  They are happy, tasty and cheery.  Most of all they are easy and easy to customize!

This recipe should yield you 2 dozen cookies.  (unless you eat some dough and only get 23)

ENJOY!

Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies

ACK! 15 more days until Christmas!  Are you ready?  How are you doing on the shopping?  Are you at the "OMG I have no have to pay more than the price of the gift to get it shipped in time" phase yet?  I started wrapping last night.  We discussed, if you follow me on Facebook about how I am about that kind of thing.  Yikes.  But I enjoy soft lights, Christmas music and beautifully wrapping the gifts we have chosen for those we love.  It is relaxing, and my husband always says I should start a gift wrapping business at the holidays!

I did get in the kitchen yesterday and get these wonderful treats made.  They are a favorite in our family, and I wanted to make sure to share the really special treats we love with you this year.  It is a really busy time and developing new recipes this time of year, (which actually started 2 months ago for me.  I am like retail!) I just want to enjoy the beauty of the season, the reason for the season, my family and friends and spending a lot of time developing anything new isn't in my game plan for this month, especially this year with my grandchildren now living in the same city.  They are our families Christmas miracles as they were born last Christmas Eve, 6 weeks early and yet, they have grown into beautiful, funny, healthy little monkeys who we can't imagine life without!  Though this isn't technically their first Christmas, it kind of is.

I have to share one of their Christmas photos with you!


These cookies are so good.  The chocolate flavor is rich, and though the actual cookies isn't super sweet, the addition of the white chocolate drizzle and crushed peppermint, makes it the perfect cookie.  When you see the amount of sugar you might say, "WHOA", but using the unsweetened chocolate, in addition makes the flavor so much richer.  It makes over 5 dozen cookies, don't worry, you won't consume it all at once! They are easy, the dough is beautiful, and they don't take long to bake or cool.  I think it would be fun to let the kids drizzle and sprinkle them with anything they like! 



Here is what you will need:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsps. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate (I used the already melted variety because I had it on hand)
1 cup white chocolate chips melted
crushed candy canes (how many is up to you)
You can use any other candy or decoration to sprinkle over the top as well it doesn't have to be peppermint!

In a large bowl or the bowl of your standing mixer, cream together, cream cheese, butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together until creamy.  Add in baking soda and mix well.  Start adding in  your flour and beat (stand or hand mixer) slowly at first, so you don't get covered in flour and add until it is all incorporated!  Now, pour in your melted unsweetened chocolate and let it mix until well combined. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Take a tablespoon size scoop or actual spoon and roll that amount into a ball. Next roll it into a long snake shape, you can do them as small or as big as you like, but the size I did, I got a nice size cookie, and ended up with over 5 dozen.  Shape them into a candy cane shape and place on parchment lined or non stick cooking spray, sprayed, cookie sheets.  I easily get 12 on a sheet, they don't spread a lot but they do spread a bit. 

Bake for 10 minutes.  That is the exact time that I find keeps them soft, even with the carry over cooking.  Place them on a cooling rack to cool!

Melt white chocolate in either a double boiler set up or in the microwave, 20 seconds at a time on half power.  Trust me, just trust me.  Place into a piping bag or Ziploc that you have cut the tip off of.  You can even just use a spoon or fork to drizzle.  While the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with your crushed peppermint candy or whatever you choose to sprinkle on them.  Let sit until the chocolate is set and enjoy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Graham Cracker Toffee Crunch

Good evening friends!

Hoping this finds you all enjoying your Monday evening, healthy and happy!  It has been a crazy day for me, and at 3pm on Monday I just not getting this typed up for you! 

As most of you know my parents have been needing us to be with them more (us as in my siblings and I) as they have increasing health needs.  Well my sister Anne was there a couple of weeks ago.  My mom is always having us text or FB message each other with things she MUST tell us.  Well she is always asking me about what I have been cooking and she cuts out recipes she thinks I need to try.  Often she will say, "I would try this one, but I would take out this, and I would precook that, and I would etc....".  She always has an opinion that one!  I am SO glad I don't take after her! (what?!!??!?!)  Anyway she was so adamant I get this recipe she had my sister photograph the newspaper clipping so I could get it made.  I don't recall what the name of the recipe was on there, but, I am sure this isn't the first time some of you have heard of this or perhaps it is a staple at your house.  I had never heard of it or eaten it so I gave it a try. 

This was undeniably a hit with my family.  In fact, it was SUCH a hit, that the first time I made it, I didn't get to photograph it, because when I got around to doing it, it was GONE! HA!  If it wasn't so easy to make, I might have minded more, but instead I just chuckled and made a second batch.  I did a couple of things different the second time and liked it better.  Nothing major, just, well......just keep reading!!

Here is what you need:
15 graham crackers.  (enough to cover a cookie sheet, standard-ish size)
1 cup of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanuts (you can use whatever kind of nut you like but this is one thing I changed and liked better the second time)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line your crackers up on your cookie sheet.  My recipe says to fill in the edges with crackers you have broken apart.  Forget about it.  Just leave the space.  Otherwise trying to even spread the topping on is a bit annoying.  In a saucepan place butter, and brown sugar, heat until melted.  Here is the next thing I changed.  It says to add the nuts to the brown sugar and butter, however, I just sprinkled them on top the second time and like them better.  SO....do as you wish but if covered by the toffee layer, they don't have much dimension to me.  Perhaps I am particularly ridiculous, perhaps.  They will get partially covered up anyway to be honest.  So add them in or don't, but pour evenly and then spread to cover your graham crackers.  If you didn't add them sprinkle nuts on while the top is hot.  Place in the oven and bake 10 minutes.  Let cool completely, break apart and devour!

This is dangerous stuff friends.   Put on a safety vest, you are going to need saved, and I want you visible to your rescuer. 

ENJOY!

Vanilla Snickerdoodles

As a woman, there are few things in life, that cure what ails us better than chocolate.  Right?  Isn't that how it is supposed to be?  I agree, somewhat.  But for me, it is vanilla, or cinnamon.  I swear, something about cinnamon toast, absolutely takes me to the happiest place ever, when I need some comfort.  Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, but, it isn't my cure all, as it is for many. 

When I decided to make snicker doodles, which I obviously, LOVE, I wanted to make a twist on them.  Well it was no question, it had to be add vanilla.  Easy, right?  Add vanilla to my regular plain old recipe which I got from www.cooks.com a hundred years ago and call it good.  No, no, no.  That wasn't just going do the trick, I needed to bite vanilla.  Cinnamon and vanilla, I die.  I DIE.  So with the addition of some of my fantastic homemade vanilla extract and some vanilla chips, these are addictive, healing, love, fluffy bunny slippers and pink clouds all rolled into one bite. 

Oh and for the record, I don't know how many this makes.  My kids were over, they started eating them warm, before I realized it, and suddenly, there were so many gone, I couldn't tell how many there WERE!  I will say it made about

You will need:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
10-12 oz. package vanilla chips

In a separate small bowl:
2 T sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together to combine.  You will roll your dough balls in this!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  In a bowl combine, butter, shortening, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamed together smoothly.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt.  Sift together into the wet mixture and mix just until combined.  Fold in vanilla chips.  Roll dough into balls, dip in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheet.  (can also use nonstick cooking spray)  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  I bake for 8 since I like very soft cookies.  Cook on a rack and consume, as many as possible as soon as possible. 

Enjoy!

Tropical Delight Cookies

Welcome April!  Today is April 1st, not sure what do YOU might see this, but probably a couple of days after.  It is a bit chilly but the sun is so bright, who CARES what the reality is, right?  I hope you stay awhile Mr. Sun, you and I haven't spent time together for a long time!

 

So when we get that first warm spring day, it immediately puts me in the mood for summer food, summer treats, or anything that reminds me of warm weather!  I also admittedly realized, the freezer had a bit of "a little a' this and a little o' that" that needed used up.  I had found some things that appeared to be the perfect recipe for something tropical and this was it.  These have a delicate coconut flavor, and then WHAM you bite into pineapple and then WHOOSH there goes a macadamia nut and it feels almost like when you eat a York Peppermint Patty.  All KINDS of awesome things could happen!

Enjoy these easy, eggless cookies, that are a refreshing change from chocolate, although don't get me wrong, there IS no replacement for chocolate!  A summery twist perfect for all occasions!

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk (divided)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup diced dried pineapple
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 cup coconut (divided)
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for glaze)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.   Line cookie sheets with silicone mats or parchment, or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In your the bowl of your mixer or a large bowl cream together butter and both sugars until creamy.  Add in 1/4 cup coconut milk, vanilla and salt, and baking soda, mix again until combined.  Add in flour and mix just until the flour has been all mixed in.  Scrape down the sides and fold in pineapple, nuts, and 1/2 cup coconut. 

Scoop out on to cookie sheets and bake 9-12 minutes, depending on the size you make.  (should make 3 dozen)

Let cool and then make glaze: Combine remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk, and powdered sugar.  You may need to add a bit more of one ingredient or the other depending on the consistency you like.  When you have drizzled them you can use remaining coconut and sprinkle the tops!  Let stand so glaze hardens and...

ENJOY!

Mexican Chocolate Macaroons

Please tell me I am not the only one who completely overbought supplies for Christmas baking.  It is like losing touch with reality or something.  So I have been scurrying around, with my leftover ingredients sitting out, just waiting to be blown over with a great idea.  This never happened.  Well it happened for a few other ingredients but not these almonds.  Don't get me wrong I would just eat them plain, and forget I ever wanted to use them for anything else but, I felt like I had to put them to better use than that!

I cam across this Mexican Chocolate Macaroon recipe in some little grocery story publication my mom had sent me.  It was the answer to my prayers.  You know, when in doubt, listen to your parents kind of a deal.  These turned out awesome but, I did change a few things.

You will need whole almonds since you need them for the center.  Or at least you are going to need enough whole almonds to fill the centers of your cookies, the rest will be processed so it won't matter for those. This recipe is supposed to make 3 dozen cookies, but I used a larger scoop and got 18.  I guess it depends on what you are using them for.

You will need:
1 cup milk chocolate chips (divided)
1 3/4 cups almonds (slivered, whole, sliced, etc)
1/3 cup WHOLE almonds
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Line your cookie sheets with parchment or spray/grease.  Set aside.

Place 3/4 cup chocolate chips into a food processor, process until they are small chunks.  Add 1 3/4 cup almonds and sugar.  Process using the pulse button until the mixture is fine crumbs.  If you don't use pulse, you risk heating your processor to the point of melting the chocolate.   When the mixture is finely ground, add in egg whites, cinnamon and vanilla.  Process until it just come together to form a dough.  The dough will be sticky. 

Scoop your cookies to your desired size, or roll them into balls.  Place about 2 inches apart.  Press one whole almond in the middle of each cookie.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  I did mine twice as big as recommended and they were done at 8 minutes.  Let them cool on the cookie sheets.  When cooled, remove.

Melt remaining chocolate in a small Ziploc bag, and cut the TINIEST bit off the tip.  Drizzle cookies with the chocolate and let sit long enough to let the chocolate set up. 

These ROCK.  If you love almonds, or chocolate, you have met your perfect match.

Your "feeling like I need coffee with these babies" Chefwannabe