THE cookie.

When I was first married I was making cookies for the first time as a wife. I was so excited to make cookies on the new cookie sheet, with my new mixing bowls, using my new spatulas and a bunch of other supplies I got as gifts from our wedding. I was so excited. It was MY kitchen in MY apartment with MY new husband. I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing and thought everything would turn out fine. I mean who doesn't know how to make chocolate chip cookies? Right?

For some odd reason during the process I decided to use I can't believe it's not butter spray as the butter. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure I was out of butter and was just trying to make do with what I had but really, how did I think they would turn out?

Anyways, the cookies came out paper thin and super hard. They were gross. Not even good enough to pick out and eat the chocolate chips. My husband said they looked like frisbees and i'm pretty sure he even chucked one across the room to see if it would float like a frisbee. Ha! He has referred to those cookies every time I make anything that doesn't turn out.

Don't even get me started on the time I tried to make home made chicken nuggets. Chicken Nuggets? Who does that?!

Anyways, over the years I have made my husband plenty of cookies and slowly got back my confidence in making cookies. For the past few years I have been on the hunt for...

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever!

Thanks to Sara and Kate at Our Best Bites, I found it. It's perfect! Not too gooey on the inside, crispy on the outside, holds it's shape, not too thin and... best of all, it's not a frisbee cookie! Yay! I use the ghiradelli chocolate chips. I like that they're big chips.

Here's the recipe...

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Delicious Apple Cider

I got this recipe from my sister this morning and couldn't wait to try it. It's so good! It was the perfect drink to cure my sweet tooth, warm my bones on a cold evening & made my house smell like fall. One thing that I love is that it tasted just like this smells. It's pretty much the same ingredients except for the cider and sugar. It's the perfect twist on cider.

2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole allspice
2 qts apple cider which is 64oz
1/c c brown sugar
1 orange sliced

enclose cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice in cheesecloth, creating a little bag. In the photo can you see my bag floating under the oranges?

Pour cider and brown sugar into crock pot. Stir and let it warm up until brown sugar is disloved. Add cheesecloth bag. Slice up one orange and put slices in crock pot.

Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.

Discard spice bag and serve.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cookies

3/4 C sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup and eggs mix well. Add pumpkin and mix well.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves.

Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix well. Don't over mix though. Drop spoonfulls of batter onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 11 minutes. The cookies don't even out and become perfectly round. The batter pretty much stays the same shape and size as they cook so watch them closely. 11 minutes is pretty much all they need.

Cool on racks and then frost with this recipe...

Cream Cheese Frosting


In a mixer cream 2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, 1 C powdered sugar, 1/4 C Milk,1 Tbsp vanilla and zest from 1 lemon. Not the whole lemon but 4 good sized spots. The lemon adds the perfect zing to the frosting but you don't want too much!

Just peachy!

Okay folks. It's peach season and we have these beauties all over the house. I canned some but still have a lot left over. They were starting to get pretty ripe so the spouse and I went on a mad peach binge. Not kidding we made this, this and this within a 24 hour period. We don't plan on stopping anytime soon either!

The last 2 we made together one night while the kids were in bed.

Spouse and I both had never had peaches and cream before. You know the old fashioned way. We basically poored heavy whipping into a sauce pan added some sugar to sweeten it up and let it heat up a bit. It never got to the boiling point, just nice and warm. The heating up part was all spouses idea and he was pretty proud. Then poored it over fresh, sliced, peeled peaches. It really was a very delicious and simple dessert.

Oh, and the sour cream tart wasn't our favorite. Very sour creamy. Too sour creamy. I think it needed to be sweeter and maybe some cream cheese mixed with the sour cream or something. I'm just sayin'.

What are your favorite fresh peach recipes?

Happy Mother's Day

There's still about an hour left before Mother's Day is over. So, instead of cleaning up a bit before I go to bed, I'm blogging.

A cute friend of mine had to spend Mother's Day alone since her husband is out of town for a job interview. I thought she needed a little something on Mother's Day since she is an awesome mother and such a good example to me. I whipped up these little cups of goodness. I know they were goodness because I had 2 of them and spouse probably had 3. He knows a good baked good too.

The reason for this post is not to share some amazing cupcake recipe that I use. It is to give you a little trick that I have found that makes boxed cake mixes a lot better. Maybe it's not new to anyone, maybe it's not a trick, maybe it's not as good for you as I think it is. I don't care. It makes me feel so much better about eating a cupcake, thinking that is better for me.

Here's my trick: Whenever I am making a cake out of a box I follow a few rules.

* never add the yolk of the egg, only whites plus one more white

*never add oil, add applesauce

For example, the box my mix came from said to add:

1 1/3 C water

1/2 C vegetable oil

3 eggs

I added:

1 1/3 C water

1/2 C applesauce

4 egg whites

I also fill the paper baking cups to the top and bake it for the minimum amount of minutes. So, if it says to bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, I bake them for 20

I have used this on all different kinds of cake mixes and it has never not worked. They come out so fluffy, moist and light. Never undercooked. I don't know why, it just does. Try it!

Let me know if you have any questions...

The cute cupcake toppers I got from TomKat Studio

They just happened to match some cupcake liners I got from hobby lobby a while back.

I also used this recipe for the icing and it was delicious! I think it was from Wilton but I can't remember.

Icing

1 stick softened butter

1 stick softened neufchatel cheese (cream cheese)

4 C powdered sugar (1 box)

1 Tbsp. milk

cream butter and cheese until smooth

add sugar one cup at a time

add milk and mix until smooth (about 30 seconds)

This was the perfect amount for 18 cupcakes. Double the recipe and you'll get 5 1/2 cups of icing.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

I'm really sorry to anyone that checks my blog. I have been wanting to post for days now. If I'm blogging it's usually on my personal blog and even then that has slowed down. Child 1 had the swine flu and I can't get my husband healthy. He is going on 2 weeks of feeling awful. Urgh!

However I will post this awesome recipe for cinnamon roasted almonds. These are really really good!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cold water
1 egg white
4 cups whole almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar

preheat oven to 250 and grease a cookie sheet. Preferably one with edges.
Mix the egg and water until egg becomes frothy. Add the nuts and mix it around until the nuts are coated with the egg. Mix together the sugar salt and cinnamon and then sprinkle it over the nuts. Toss until nuts are evenly coated. Spread into the greased pan and bake for 1 hour. I stirred mine every 20 minutes or so.

Tip: I think the nuts are a lot better once they're cooled. They're good warm but I liked them after they've cooled so the nuts aren't so soft.

Store in a air tight container.

Zucchini Bread

This recipe is amazing. Really it is! It's really moist, fluffy and filling. I don't think I'll ever use another recipe for plain ol' zucchini bread. Sooo good! I found it online and changed it a little to cut out some sugar. Here's the recipe...

3 C flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C applesauce
1/2 C white sugar
1 C brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3-4 C grated or chopped zucchini. I actually used close to 5 cups.

preheat oven to 325.
sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon together.

In separate bowl, beat eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce & sugar. Add sifted ingredients. Mix well. Add zucchini. Bake in 2 greased pans 50-55 minutes. I think mine were done in about 60 min.

Tip: some recipes for zucchini bread say to squeeze all the water out of the zucchini after it has been grated. Don't do that for this recipe. All the water in the zucchini is what helps keep the bread so moist and keeps it from drying out.

If you're looking for a different zucchini bread recipe try this.

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

Are you ready for this? No really, are you ready for this.

I got his recipe from my friend Melanie...

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 c. zucchini (grated)

3 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg until foamy. Add oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini.

Then add:

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. cinnamon

dash nutmeg

Sift together and add to egg mixture.

Add:

1 c. blueberries

1/2 c. nuts (optional)

Bake in greased and floured bread pans at 325 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes two loaves.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Ben loves this recipe. His birthday is coming up next Saturday and I plan on making this for him for breakfast on his special day. I thought I'd share the recipe since it's amazing and easy.
I love that all the prep is done the night before and then refrigerated until the next morning. I'm pretty sure this recipe is pretty popular but just in case there is someone out there who hasn't tried it...you have to.

Anyways, here's the recipe...

Creme Brulee French Toast
INGREDIENTS
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• An 8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier or Orange Juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish. Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350° F and bring bread to room temperature.

Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot French toast immediately.

(Ben likes his with a little bit of warm real maple syrup. Not the fake stuff. You know the goodness from a tree stuff).

Cookie Exchange

I was invited to a cookie exchange last Friday. It was so fun! I spent the whole day baking my cookies. I was told to bring a 1/2 dozen cookies for each person attending the exchange. There were 19 people attending so I had to make 19 half dozen cookies. I went with one of my favorite cookie recipes. I've posted this on my personal blog before and also my family website but you can't go wrong with these. They're so good! It's another cookie recipe that involves a cake mix, which equals an arm work out, so they're sooooo worth it in the end. You have to work for these bad boys so dig in!

Chocolate Rolo Cookies
1 devils food cake mix
1/2 c. butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag of Rolo candies

Mix by hand 1/2 cake mix with softened butter, vanilla and eggs. Stir until smooth. Add remaining cake mix. Stir until smooth. Wrap dough around the unwrapped Rolo, just enough to cover the Rolo. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Although the recipe doesn't call for the company of an adorable 4 year old, I recommend it. It makes eating the cookies so much more fun!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

These cookies are so delicious but you have to work hard to get them. O.k., so not hard but the dough is really tough to stir. Total arm work out. But man, are they worth it!

2 packages devils food cake mix
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 c. vegteable oil
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
3 to 4 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
red and/or green food coloring, optional

In mixing bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs and oil (batter will be very stiff, this is where the arm work out comes into play. Feel the burn). Roll into 1 inch balls & place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Cool. In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla, mix until smooth. Divide frosting into 2 separate bowls and add red food coloring in one bowl and green in the other. Spread on bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

I used Wilton food coloring to get the bright colors in the frosting.

Thanksgiving Mix

Anyone who knows me well knows I keep everything. I'm a pack rat. My wheels are constantly turning, trying to come up with ways to [re]use things I already have, which forces me to keep everything. In this case...spaghetti jars. I also kept a little poem that was given to me by some amazing visiting teachers I had for about a year after my son was born. Combine the two and you'll get a cute little jar of Thanksgiving goodness.

Start by thoroughly cleaning the jars and removing the label.

I didn't use any measuring for the next step. I simply just cut a fat strip of paper and decoupaged it on. I love projects where I can use my scrap paper. I just found a bunch of scraps with fall-ish print.

Wrap the paper around the jar and glue it end over end. Make sure to pull it tight enough so it won't come loose and slip down. You could even apply Mod Podge to the jar since it dries clear and the paper would stick to the jar. I was just using the "quick, throw it together, not think about what you're doing" method. I use that method a lot.

Trace the lid on matching paper cut it out and decoupage it on the lid.

Fill the jar with Thanksgiving Mix ingredients and screw lid on.

Add embellishments.
Here's a picture of what goes into the jars and what it means.

The bugels were bugels brand, found in the chip isle at the grocery store.
pretzels were the braided pretzels
candy corn was the regular brachs candy corn
fruit was the sugar fruit slices that come in the shape of orange slices
peanuts were regular peanuts.

Super easy and cute too! Makes for something fun to give to a neighbor a child's teacher or a friend you visit teach. We gave one jar to our pediatrician.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just sharin' some pumpkin love. Seriously these are so good!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies
1 can canned pumpkin
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 C. chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil & egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. Dissolve baking soda in milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add vanilla & chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonfull on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 about 10 min. or until light brown and firm. My cookies were a heaping spoonfull size of batter and they were perfectly cooked at 13 minutes.

Banana Bread

I think everybody knows what to do with bananas when they're too ripe to eat...

make banana bread. Duh!

Don't throw them out. You can get two yummy regular loaves or 4 mini loaves out of 3 bananas, depending on the recipe. Here's a recipe I found on another blog (can't remember which blog) that has a few ingredients you probably already have on hand. I love that in a recipe. When it's simple and you already have all the ingredients Here it is:

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 ripe mashed bananas

Mix butter, sugar and eggs set aside. Mix dry ingredients. Combine two mixes and add mashed bananas. Poor batter into 4 mini loaf pans that have been greased. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake @ 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Tip: load on the sugar and cinnamon. When it bakes it creates a sweet crunchy crust on the top of the bread that is so delicious!