Valentines Cookies

My youngest worked hard putting her Valentines together for her classroom to celebrate the day. She is such a chip off the old block:-)

Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Rainbow Cookies

My youngest loves rainbows. She colors EVERYTHING in rainbows. So, when I went to bake treats for her classroom for her birthday, I knew just what to do:

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Sugar Cookie Pumpkins

I relapsed this weekend but before I got sick again, I made these cute Sugar Cookie Pumpkins for my youngest's classroom party:

And, in order to keep on track with my new lease on life, I am making sure that there is always one dessert in the house. That way, we aren't jonesing for sweets. We have our reward for doing good at the end of the day:-) I made a few extra of these and without the embellishments, it is actually not that bad for you: One cookie is 133 calories and 6 grams of fat. Everything in moderation.

As for my health, I am still being tackled by my hormones. They are making me very sick and I have to be on them for another month until they can implement a permanent solution to my problem. So, send me all your positive energy. I am going to need all the help that I can get!


Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Copper Cookware to Help with Holiday Cookies

Did you know that there are uses for copper cookware other than hanging on the wall or from a pot rack? As an amateur baker, I was mostly interested in how copper cookware could help me in the kitchen with my holiday cookies:

Bain Marie: a fancy word for a double boiler. Copper heats evenly and that is important if you want your melted chocolate to be perfectly tempered (a.k.a shiny).

Egg White Beating Bowl: for whipping up egg whites into a frenzy. You need frenzied eggs for meringue and for some reason, the copper really aids in this. It's like science and stuff:-)

Sugar Saucepan: for caramelizing sugar. Apparently, copper maintains it's temperature better than other metals. My interest in sugar art is pique by the idea of this. If I had a nickel for every caramel I have broken, I could buy a bakery:-)

Zabaglione Bowl: for beating egg yolks and sugar together. Again, evenly conducted and maintained heat makes the perfect lemon curd (or any other curd for that matter).

I did not know that such beautiful things existed and I found a place to buy Ruffoni Copper Cookware. Now, I need to figure out how to make one of those wish lists for my side bar...

Ladies' Night Cookies

Welcome new readers from Ladies' Night. I hope you enjoy looking around and if you see anything you like, email me at sewing@wi.rr.com for a custom order:-)

For my regular readers, I was asked to make these cookies for a Ladies' Night event last night. I just made sugar cookies, dipped them in chocolate and topped them with a chocolate transfer. Chocolate transfers are designs that are made in coco powder and put on acetate sheets. When you put them on melted chocolate and peel away the sheet, it transfers the design...hence the name:-) Anyway, here is what I came up with:

White Chocolate Floral

White Chocolate Purple Shells

White Chocolate Rose

Chocolate Lace

Chocolate Damask

White Chocolate Blue Lace

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies!

Tackling Back to School Cookies

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This week, I tackled making some cookies for our wonderful teachers. Every year, the PTO throws the teachers a back-to-school luncheon. Here is my contribution to the event:

How fun is this box of crayons full of sugar cookies? Unfortunately, I had to drop and go so, I don't know how they were received. I hope they all liked it as much as I did making it. Thanks Hubby for making the box:-) You rock!

Tackling Easter Cookies

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . We are still painting away but I wanted to play along with Hooiser Homemade in her Blog Hop. To that end, I am contributing my Easter cookies:


Aren't they pretty? I made them for a bake sale at school and they were quite a hit! I used the same Vanilla Sugar Cookies recipe to make them that I have used before. With a little Royal Icing and sprinkles, you can have a beautiful Easter display. Here is each one up close:

Tackling Planning for Cookie Day

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This week, I planned for our annual Ewing Family Cookie Day.

If you remember our haul from last year, we produce way more than our families can/should consume. But, we love baking all day so we didn't want to do less. We just decided we were going to give away more. So, the school's bake sale and the Veterans are going to reap the harvest of our labor. We are very excited about our giving this year. It makes me feel like we are in the true Christmas spirit.

So, here is my plan for Cookie Day:

Peanut Butter Blossoms
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
54 Milk chocolate kisses or stars

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie's center. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes 54 cookies.

3. To store: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Servings: 54

Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Cake Journal is one of my favorite sites for decorating inspiration. I converted this recipe from grams from her site:-)

3.5 oz sugar
3.5 oz Powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
16 oz all-purpose flour
7 oz unsalted butter, diced
1/4 recipe Royal Icing
1/2 recipe Marshmallow Fondant

1. In a bowl or in the kitchen mixer with paddle attachment, mix the two types of sugar, vanilla and the egg. Add the flour and the butter and keep mixing just until the dough comes together.

2. Knead the dough lightly by hand on your flour dusted kitchen counter and wrap it well in cling film and put it in a plastic bag. Chill the dough for 2 hours.

3. I always roll out my dough on a sheet of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour and I set my oven to 325F (170C) when I bake cookies and place the baking tray in the middle of the oven. Depending on size I bake them from 15-20 mins. You want them to be light golden brown without being raw in the middle.

Servings: 30

Source
Author: Cake Journal
Source: http://www.cakejournal.com/archives/vanilla-sugar-cookies

Molasses Cookies
1 cup butter
1 1/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
1 tsp ginger
3 cup All-purpose Flour

1. Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add in molasses and cream. Add in eggs one at a time until combined. Add in spices, baking powder, and baking soda until combined. Add in flour and mix just until combined. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet for 5 minutes for removing to wire racks to cool.

Servings: 24

Source
Author: Sherry
Source: Lamp Unto My Feet
Web Page: http://lampuntomyfeetandalightuntomypath.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-goodies-1-molasses-cookies.html

Lemon Bars
Lemon bars absolutely sing spring! The citrus awakens your taste buds, while the rich buttery crust satisfies all dessert cravings. Simple enough for an after-supper treat at home, these are also pretty enough for a spring bridal shower, baby shower, or tea party. Enjoy!

1 cup softened butter
2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs
2 cup sugar
6 Tbs flour
6 Tbs lemon juice

1. Mix sugar, salt, and flour. Cut in butter. Press into an 8×12 pan. (9×13 will work, too, you’ll just have thinner bars) Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

2. Mix together while crust is baking. Pour onto hot crust. Bake an additional 25 minutes. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store in refrigerator.

Servings: 12

Source
Author: Amy's Finer Things
Source: http://amysfinerthings.com/lemon-bars/comment-page-1#comment-3713

Pecan Delights
2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, cubed
1 cup light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 lbs whole pecans
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a large saucepan, combine the first four ingredients. Cook over medium heat until all sugar is dissolved. Gradually add milk; mix well. Continue cooking until a candy thermometer reads 248° (firm-ball stage).

2. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla until blended. Fold in the pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm. Loosen from paper.

3. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle over each cluster. Cool.

Servings: 48

Source
Source: Taste of Home
Web Page: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Pecan-Delights

Gifts of Good Taste

I am going to take a break from gardening for a few weeks to play along with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free for her Holiday Food Fest.

Her host Cents to Get Debt Free is featuring Gifts of Good Taste and I thought it would be great to show you how I am packing my cookies for gift giving this holiday season. Here is what they look like:

And here is how you do it:

(These instructions are for 3 inch cookies)

Step 1: Get a piece of cellaphane that is 6 inches squared.

Step 2: Fold both sides 1 inch towards the center:

Step 3: Fold the bottom half way up to the center and secure with tape on both sides:

Step 4: Place the cookie face-down in the little baggie you just made for it:

Step 5: Bring the top flap down and secure it with a pretty sticker of some sort:

Step 6: Flip it over and viola! It is ready for gift giving by itself or put it with others in an attractive basket:

Tackling Kid's Cookie Day

Update: By popular demand, I have included the "recipes" below each cookie. Enjoy:-)
Do you think I can get away with a Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus for this one too? Let's see:-)

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Last week, I told you about our annual Ewing Family Cookie Day and I even showed you how much we made . Well, creativity runs in the family and you can't leave the kids out at Christmas time. So, this weekend we had Kid's Cookie Day.

Here is what 7 kids and 3 adults did in 3 hours in 1 kitchen:

Peanut Mice:-) My 4-year old made these!!

These are just peanut butter cookie dough with chocolate chip eyes, M&M noses, peanut ears and pretzel tails.

Bacon and Eggs
Two pretzel sticks, a glob of white chocolate and a yellow M&M make this treat:-)

Hamburgers
These burgers are made with vanilla wafers for the bun, thin mint meat and colored frosting for the lettuce and ketchup.

Chocolate Spoons
This was my niece's concoction. These are just plastic spoons dipped in chocolate and decorated.

Three Women, Six Hours and a Kitchen

It's time for another Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-)

Annual Ewing Family Cookie Day

(This was only a third of what three women did in six hours:-)

Ewing Family Cookie Day Cookies

Yesterday, we had our annual Ewing Family Cookie Day. Every year, my MiL and SiL get together and bake Christmas cookies...ALL DAY! It's a great time and we make enough cookies to fill a bakery.

These cookies are an important part of my Christmas Menu . And as such, I am posting my favorite recipe from Cookie Day:

Susie's Homemade Caramel Bars

I made a triple batch but the recipe is for a single one:-)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsps vanilla
20 vanilla caramels
2 tbls milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until it looks like cornmeal. Press into 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

2. Sprinkle pecans over the crust. Combine sweentend condensed milk and vanilla and pour over the pecans. Bake 25 minutes more. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine the caramels and milk in a small saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat. Pour mixture over the baked filling. Sprinkle the chocolate on top. Cool completely.

4. For easing cutting, freeze for 30 minutes. Cut into 48 bars and enjoy:-)