Shortbread Sugar Cookies

Shortbread Sugar Cookies - so festive!

Last week we got a pretty big snowstorm - 11 inches! My wonderful husband went out to shovel, all by himself. Yes, I am lucky that most of the time I can stay warm and comfy inside while he is out in the cold doing the physical labor! He said the snow was at least pretty light and fluffy, but was also surprised and grateful when our neighbor with a snow blower came over to help clear the driveway. So I knew I had to give him some homemade goodies as a thank you. I already had some fudge, but wanted to round it out with some cookies. These cookies hit the spot - decadent and crumbly, with fun sprinkles. They are also very easy to make, though it takes a long time to bake and cool.

Shortbread sugar cookies right out of the oven and so good!

Shortbread Sugar Cookies
based on the recipe by Chelsa Bea

Ingredients 

1 cup sugar plus 1/8 cup

4 sticks of butter (1 lb.)

2 ½ cups flour

½ cup cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Optional:

ginger or zest of lemon or orange

sanding sugar (in place of the 1/8 cup sugar)

(whatever else sounds yummy!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250°.

Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment.

Cream together 1-cup sugar and all butter. Once creamed,, slowly add the flour, then the cornstarch, then salt. If desired, mix in ginger, lemon or orange zest.

Pat it into baking pan.

Bake for 1 ½ hours at 250°.

Remove shortbread from the oven, but leave the oven on.

Cut into smaller pieces, cutting down the middle then cutting across into sections. Sprinkle cookies lightly with remaining sugar (or sanding sugar), until they are evenly coated.

Turn the oven off. Place pan back in oven for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and allow shortbread to cool, in pan, for at least 20 minutes. The cookies will be very fragile when they first come out of the oven and will easily fall apart if handled. Store in an airtight container or freeze.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 9/2/13

Happy September!! Well... it might not officially be fall yet, but I couldn't resist using this banner :D September starts our busy months... Already we have something going on every week this month and into October! Not to mention that J. is back to work and E. starts his 2 year old class 2 days a week, so our schedule is totally changing! I love that fall is a time of change :)


This week:

Monday: leftover taquitos

Tuesday: Jen Hauler's Pizza Casserole

 Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken


Friday: Crock Pot Ranchy Chicken

Saturday and Sunday: leftovers and pizza

Dessert of the Week: need to make something for a birthday party on Sunday... probably Double Fudge Oreo Cookies


More menus at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Father's Day Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Father's Day Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

J.'s family loves desserts. LOVES desserts. Unfortunately, they don't like anything too odd or out there, so I am learning to hide my fun dessert streak and just make plain ole boring desserts for them. Every year for Christmas Eve, J. makes some sort of complicated cake, and his family is more likely to make fun of it (even with a look or turned up nose) than to simply say "Thanks for making this"

So for Father's Day, I asked J. what his dad might like for dessert. His dad is diabetic, so he doesn't really eat dessert, but it IS Father's Day. J. suggested chocolate chip cookies. BORING! Thankfully I found this recipe in my bookmarks and was  able to pump up the regular ole chocolate chip cookie.

I baked them the full 20 minutes, but they are still a bit undercooked in the middle and flaky on top. So. So. GOOD!!!

Father's Day Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars - chewy in the middle, flaky on top

Happy Father's Day!


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy and light. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour is just incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.
4. Turn out the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the center is set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars and store at room temperature in an airtight container.

The kiddo couldn't wait until I was done taknig pics to try to nab one!

 

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 1/14/13

Monday:   whatever you can grab... Dentist for me :(

Tuesday:  Omaha Steaks Hot Dogs and Taco Potatoes

Wednesday:  Scooter's Spaghetti

Thursday:  Pepperoni Cheese Stick Rollups

Friday:  leftovers

I try not to cook on the weekends, so Saturday and Sunday are leftovers or frozen meals!

Dessert of the Week:  Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies They won't last the week, though, so I am not sure what else I will make!

Find more menus at Org Junkie

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I went to a birthday lunch and was told to bring dessert... no problem!!! Since the birthday girl is not too fond of sweets (and she bakes and decorates cupcakes for a living!), I wanted to find a cookie that wasn't really sweet. These cookies from Bake or Break fit the bill! The cream cheese gives it a different taste and makes them really, really soft. And unlike most recipes, I actually made this one as-is! My only note is that if you do not have a cookie scoop, you cookies will not be perfectly shaped - see my pic below.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: about 48 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used a 12 oz package)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or line baking pans.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until almost combined. Add chocolate chips, stirring until dough is thoroughly mixed.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared pans. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. (These cookies will not brown like classic chocolate chip cookies.)

Cool cookies completely on pan on wire racks.

http://www.bakeorbreak.com/2012/04/cream-cheese-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Copyright 2012 Bake or Break

Rice Krispies Cookies

Rice Krispies Cookies

A few weeks ago, we bought a package of small boxes of cereal at BJ's. A rare treat that we enjoyed... except for the Rice Krispies. Poor bland, too tiny for toddler hands to pick up, Rice Krispies that have been on my kitchen counter ever since. I wanted to make something with them, but of course regular Rice Krispie Treats wouldn't do. So I searched Pinterest and found the following recipe from Une-deux Senses. I'm posting it as written, but my changes are below. These cookies are really moist and yummy. They have crunch from the Krispies and gooeyness from the marshmallows.

Rice Krispies Cookies ready to be baked!

Rice Krispies Cookies

Yields: 15 large cookies

Adapted from here.

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsn.) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 3.4 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding (I recommend cutting this in half)

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup rice krispies cereal

1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Stir together the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in the pudding mix until well blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. When smooth, slowly add in the flour mixture, make sure it is well incorporated. Use a large ice cream scoop to drop the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 3 - 4 per cookie tray. Use your palm to slightly press the cookies down, then press 1 tbsn. of rice krispies onto and around each cookie. Bake for 4 minutes, remove from the oven, then press 6 - 8 marshmallows on each cookie. Bake for another 4 minutes until the marshmallows are slightly toasty and the cookie is golden brown. Let the cookies cook further on the hot cookie sheets on your counter for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

I increased the baking time - at 4 minutes they were still undercooked, but cooking them for 5 minutes each round then leaving them on the rack for 5 minutes cooked them perfectly.
I also did not have an ice cream scoop (we use this for our ice cream) so I just made them into big balls, and surprisingly, I ended up with 15!
I also used half of the pudding mix.

Brought them to a family BBQ, and everyone loved them. YUM!!

Six and Twelve...

I went to a Valentine's craft and brunch moms meetup yesterday. I found  recipes on the Internet for Funfetti heart cookies and red velvet cake batter dip. Sounded good so I made them for the meetup. and i was going to share them w/whoever is still reading this blog!

But I didn't really like them. The cookies were very bland to me. I should have used my own (awesome) cut out cookie recipe. And the dip was ok. Red velvet isn't my fave but the dip just seemed eh.

I took them anyway - I needed to bring something. And the moms loved them! One literally had 5 cookies dipped in the dip! Which made me realize that just because I think it's bad doesn't mean everyone will. We all have different tastes!  (DUH LB!!)

Two days later, the cookies taste better, I guess a little stale works for them? (I would still use my recipe though) and the batter dip is not too bad, once it warms up for awhile. And it made A LOT!!!

Here is a pic... do you want me to share the recipe? I am still undecided!!

funfetti heart cookies and red velvet cake mix dip

Eggless Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Artsy pic!!

What a day. It was supposed to be rainy, so I planned to bake... just baby E and me, for the first time since he was born. The few times I have baked, Jeff has been home to watch the baby. But, I didn't have eggs and had to use up the milk. I wanted to use up some canned pumpkin, too, but couldn't find a recipe that used what I had on hand. So, I asked around and eventually found a peanut butter cookie recipe. But it was after 3:30 by the time I could make it... after I put a very cranky boy down for a nap. So i had to rush through them (taking a lot longer than I thought... thankfully after his nap the babe was just fine hanging out in the bebe pod in the kitchen) but thankfully Jeff got home way late from work today, so I was  done by the time he got here.  Phew. So much for a relaxing rainy day LOL!!!

Fresh out of the oven and still puffy!!

Eggless Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

adapted from cooks.com

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
5 tbsp. skim milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup white chocolate chips 

Thoroughly cream butter, sugars, milk and vanilla. Stir in peanut butter and add dry ingredients. Stir in chips, Drop from a teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

 

Yum!

 Here are some tips:

• These cookies are thin and chewy, but not crumbly
• Let them cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring them to the cooling rack
• The dough was super soft for me - it was much easier to work with after being in the fridge awhile

And to end....a pic of my babe watching me make these!

Double Chocolate Toffee Cookies!

Tomorrow I am going to a cookie swap! Yummm. Of course, I can't make cookies I've made before, so I searched through my bookmarks and came up with 3 contenders... which I  literally kept opened on my Firefox for 3 days until I made my final decision. And this is why buffet restaurants are my favorite LOL So bad at making decisions.

I took this Double Chocolate Toffee Cookie recipe from Good, Cheap Eats. I did change it a little, I doubled it as well - since I need 48 cookies, and I wasn't sure how many this recipe made. These cookies were so good!!!!  My doubled recipe made 79 cookies but the first few cookies were smaller than the rest  - these don't spread very much.



Here's my very slightly modified recipe (note: this is for one batch, but the recipe can be easily doubled)

Double Chocolate Toffee Cookies

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup butterscotch chips, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup crushed Heath bars

Preheat oven to 350°. In mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, whip butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and continue whipping until incorporated. Beat in eggs, melted chocolate, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Beat in flour mixture and stir in crushed candy.

Spoon dough onto cookie sheet by rounded tablespoonfuls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool in pan for a few minutes, then cool on rack.

(Instead of chocolate chips, I used an 85% dark Lindt chocolate bar)

Butterscotch Blondies: Recipe

For Jeff's grandpa's birthday last month, we were asked, as usual, to bring a dessert. I am always happy to do that :D We were requested to being something not "too sweet" since there was already gong to be an amazingly frosted cake. I immediately thought of cookies, but J shot down most of my suggestions due to his family's limited tastes. I finally decided on butterscotch blondies. Here's the recipe I based them on: My Recipes

Here is my recipe, changed just a little:

Yield: 24 servings (serving size: 2 squares)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
• 2 1/2  cups  firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 8  tablespoons  unsalted butter
• 3/4  cup  egg substitute
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips
• 1/2 bag butterscotch chips
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Place butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook for 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Pour into a small bowl, and cool for 10 minutes. Combine butter and egg substitute, stirring with a whisk. Pour butter mixture over flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Add chips and stir until mixed in. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; smooth top with spatula. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 48 squares.

I am happy to say now that I browned the butter perfectly!!
Quick, easy and a big hit!

The Daring Barkers September Challenge... a few! days late!

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

I messed up my days and so the day I baked my cookies was the day the challenge was supposed to be up... oopsie? I didn't get a chance to do the  icing until today.

They were supposed to represent September, which to me means fall, so I made apples, pumpkins and leaves. I also had a new star cutter so I made a few stars.

I made the thinner ones the way I usually do... with sprinkles and jimmies and fun little things.

Here is my finished, iced cookies. Not too bad for a first time, especially since I only have 3 tips, and I have no clue what "number" they are.

I also used some edible glitter. (They look better in person!)

I tried to use the icing over method, but my icing was jsut too thin by the end. IDK why but it thinned up the more it sat.

My yellow ones...

The strs with the iridescent glitter!

Well one thing is off my bucket list! LOL I enjoyed the icing part, but I think I'd only do it again for a very special occasion!

Lemon Coolers Recipe

Our stove was busy today!! First I made Lemon Coolers, then Jeff made almond cookies (if you want the recipe LMK). Then I made baked chicken for dinner later on in the day. Phew.

So, I decided that my Easter cookies would be lemony - a great taste for spring. I searched through allrecipies and ended up adapting a few recipes to make my own version of Lemon Coolers.They are so simple to make!

(The confectioners' sugar is missing!)

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 T almond extract (I used a little vanilla also to use it up. You could also use lemon)
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven the 350 degrees F
2. Mix together cake mix, whipped topping, extract and egg until well mixed. Batter will be really sticky!!
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar and turn to coat. Smoosh into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. (Note... make them bigger than the ones in this picture! The bigger ones are better.)

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Try to take them out before they brown. Makes 36 or more cookies.

And note... powdered sugar will get EVERYWHERE.... but that is part of the fun!! :D

Happy Easter again... and Happy Spring!!

Easter/Spring Cookie Recipies?

Does anyone have any good spring or Easter cookie recipes? I will be doing cut outs for Mother's Day. I was thinking something light and airy - like with lemon or lime cookies, but J doesn't think his family will like those. So maybe something with chocolate instead? I still might just make some lemon crinkles though lol

Please LMK if you have any suggestions!!

Cookie Madness Begins...

Have been spending the evening looking up cookie recipes. Going with some standards and a few new ones.  Thinknig about chocolate peppermint cookies.

But i am STUMPED on candy. Can't seem to find a fairly easy non-chocolate candy recipe. Any suggestions?

Pre-Christmas Cookies...

I had not been to the grocery store since before Thanksgiving... Jeff and I were living on tidbits, rummages and the things my parents left behind... It was crazy. We went to the store today and are all filled up. Hopefully we can last until Christmas... but of course I realized tonight I am almost out of sugar! I stocked up on everything else. Oh well.

I NEVER buy cookie mix but... ;) I got it for pennies. However, I couldn't just make a cookie, I needed to dress it up a bit. I found this recipe: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars except I only had one block of cream cheese. Until today! So I decided to make it to hold us off until the Christmas baking begins!

All ready to go into the oven!

The comments on the Web site say you should use 2 bags of cookie mix, so there's more on top. That is a very good idea!

I added mini chocolate chips to make up for the lack of topping ;)

MMMMM delicious!