Santa Cookie

 Just wanted to share a cute cookie I made this past week.  It is Santa, of course!  I got the idea from Cookie Craft and think it is one of the cutest cookies I have ever decorated!  Hope this gets you into the Christmas spirit!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Logs

 I made these for the first time just a week ago, and the recipe just had to be shared.  First of all, this cookie pairs two classic flavors, peanut butter and chocolate.  Second of all, this recipe makes a lot of cookies, I had more than 9 dozen!  Third, they are delicious.  And finally, they look beautiful and festive on a cookie platter.

I made these to send to our local homeless shelter, Hesed House, as part of a meal our church was preparing for the residents there.  Lucky for both my kids (and me, too) there was enough for a few extras for us.  And boy did we enjoy eating them!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Logs

1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2½ cups all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces chocolate candy coating
8 ounces chocolate chips
Optional:
chopped peanuts, sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape into 2 inch logs. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 1-2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to wire rack to cool.

In microwave or double boiler pan, melt candy coating and chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie into coating; allow excess to drip off. Dip or sprinkle peanuts or sprinkles on chocolate if desired. Place on wax paper to set.

Yield: Approx. 9 dozen


Notes: These cookies are perfect for a cookie exchange because one batch makes so many!  These are also great for picky eaters (like my daughter), just don't add anything to the chocolate.  I found that the dough was a a little easier to work with after it had chilled slightly, so I kept the dough in the refrigerator while I was baking each pan of cookies.  I also laid the wax paper on the cookie sheets as I dipped the cookies in the chocolate, then when the tray was full I put the tray in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes until the chocolate was set.  You can store these cookies in a tightly covered conatainer on your counter once the chocolate has set up.  One final tip:  I did not melt all the chocolate at once.  I melted enough to fill a coffee mug (using a mixture of the coating and the chocolate chips) in the microwave and dipped as many cookies as I could until I ran out of chocolate.  As I needed more chocolate, I would add more to the mug, microwave it until melted, and continue dipping.

Only 7 more recipes and 13 days until Christmas!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

 Well, I know I said the Cocomac Dreams were indulgent, and they are.  But this dessert, this is the most indulgent, rich, fantastic chocolate lovers dream that I've ever created.  I have for many years wanted to make a flourless chocolate cake.  I just never did.  Then, one of the women in our Bunco group discovered she had Celiac Disease.  So, instead of trying to make something separate for her to enjoy, I made something we all could enjoy.  Even though this dessert is gluten free, don't think for a minute that it is only for people with wheat allergies or issues.  This dessert will be sure to be a hit with all adults with taste buds.  It is that GOOD!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

½ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
18 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Grease one 10-inch round springform pan. Wrap bottom and up the outside of springform pan in aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.

In the top of a double boiler, melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, one piece at a time until all the butter is mixed in. Beat in the hot sugar-water mixture. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Put the springform pan into a larger cake pan. Fill the larger pan with boiling water until it reaches 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the springform pan side.

Bake the cake in the water bath for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Remove pan from water bath and let cool for at least 30 minutes on wire rack. Refrigerate cake overnight in pan. To unmold, open springform pan and place on serving plate.

Yield: 1 10-inch cake (about 16 servings)


Notes:  I used as much Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate I could find, which was 12 ounces.  Then I used 6 ounces of Nestle bittersweet bars.  I would just suggest to buy the best chocolate you can.  you may also want to sample the baking chocolates.  I found the Ghirardelli to be a bit more bitter than the Nestle, so I think the mix was nice.  Find what tastes good to you. 

Be sure your butter is at room temperature so it mixes easily into the chocolate.  I actually don't have my eggs at room temperature, but I do take them out of the refrigerator as soon as I start this recipe, so they have some time to warm up.  Finally, make sure your foil is large enough to cover the bottom of the springform pan so no water from the water bath can seep through.

This really is a rich, decadent cake.  Serve small slices with raspberry sauce and whipped cream.  It is divine!

8 more recipes and 16 more days until Christmas!

Cocomac Dreams

Let's face it.  Christmas is a time of indulgence.  A time when you buy special ingredients, a time when you make once a year treats.  These cookies qualify as special.  And indulgent.  They are soft cookies filled with coconut, macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips.  If those three ingredients together don't scream "special" to you, then I don't know what does.  (Except maybe gross amounts of dark chocolate.)

So, go find the ingredients in this recipe and make these cookies.  You will not be disappointed.

 

Cocomac Dreams

2⅓ cups all purpose flour
1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup vegetable shortening
⅔ cup sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts
 

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, stir together flour, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in coconut. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended. By hand, stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Using a tablespoon, drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are light brown.

Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack and cool completely.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

Notes: Do not make the mistake I made and buy whole macadamia nuts.  Only because they cost so much more than already chopped macadamia nuts.  I did not have time to shop around and had to buy what the one store I went to had, 4 oz. of whole macadamia nuts.  That bottle cost me $8!  A few weeks later I went to another store and they had 4 oz. of chopped macadamia nuts for almost half that price.  

In my opinion, these cookies actually taste better a day after they are made.  The flavors have time to meld and come together when they sit a day in a tightly closed container.

Only 9 more recipes and 18 days until Christmas!

Poppy Seed Biscuit Ring

 

When you want to have homemade rolls or biscuits, but just don't have the time, this is a great recipe to make. It is easy, convenient, but best of all fancy and delicious.

Poppy Seed Biscuit Ring

⅓ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon dried minced garlic
2 tubes (12 ounces each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, onion, poppy seeds, and garlic. Separate biscuits from each tube; dip each biscuit on both sides into butter mixture and stand up on end in a lightly greased 10-in bundt or tube pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately invert onto a serving plate and serve warm.

Yield:10-15 servings


Notes:  I use the Pillsbury Grands Jr. buttermilk biscuits for this recipe.  This smells and looks delicious!  And, it is in a wreath shape, so festive for a Christmas dinner!

Only 10 more recipes and 20 days until Christmas!

Snickerdoodles

I always love to start my 12 Recipes with a cookie recipe. Christmas cookies are such a tradition in our house. We have tins of Christmas cookies in our house from about the 2nd week in December until after Christmas. There are always lots of different kinds and we always have one or two after dinner, not to mention after school or in the middle of the afternoon for a quick treat.

I know Snickerdoodles are a fairly common cookie, but my mom never made them when we were growing up. When I was engaged to my husband, his Aunt Kathy threw me a bridal shower where family members each gave me a recipe for a recipe box. Two of his cousins gave me a snickerdoodle recipe. After I made them, I was hooked! Their cinnamony sweetness along with the crunchy cookie is a match made in heaven.

Snickerdoodles

¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1½ cups sugar
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2¾ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 400ºF. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon; set aside. Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, the shortening, butter and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until centers are almost set. Let stand on cookie sheet one minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 5-6 dozen

 
Enjoy!

 Only 11 more recipes and 22 days until Christmas!

It Will Be Here Tomorrow

I know I have been away from this blog for sometime. Try as I might, I just can't seem to get the regular blogging schedule down. I will, however, be blogging regularly in December for my 4th annual 12 Recipes of Christmas. Starting tomorrow I will be posting a special recipe I have made and would like to share with you. I hope to see you checking out some recipes, and maybe even trying a few!

Summer Baking

June went by so quickly, but for the first time in a long time I can tell you I feel like I didn't let it pass me by. Every summer I have big plans of things to do with the kids, and every August I wonder what happened to both the summer and the plans.

But not this year. This year I have promised the kids that we will do one thing special every week. And so far I have kept that promise. The first week of vacation we went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in the movie theater. During the second week we went to the DuPage Children's Museum. (We have a membership.) Week three I took them all bowling. It was Zoe's first time ever and she was the only one of the four of us to get a strike! (Two strikes actually!) And last week we went to Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg.

The other big plans I made were for the kids to make desserts this summer. So I assigned each child a week, let them pick a dessert to make, and put them to work. It has been a rousing success! My middle child, Emma, went first. She was inspired by an article in an American Girl Doll magazine she had checked out from our local library. She made chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes, and then decorated them to look like our family. They were both super cute and delicious!



My youngest daughter, Zoe, went next. She wanted to make her famous ice cream pie that she has successfully made at least two times before this. She chose an ice cream that had three flavors in one container, and then topped it with Reese's Pieces. It was described as awesome and really, really good!




My oldest, Ian, chose to make Lemonade Pie. I had made it earlier in the summer and he liked it so much he wanted to make it himself. It is a cool, creamy treat, perfect for hot summer days.



I plan on continuing to go places and having the kids make desserts. They are really enjoying being in control and sharing something they make themselves with their family. I know Emma is planning some fancy milkshakes for July, and I can't wait to try them!

Sundae Cake Pops

Emma, my 3rd grade daughter, asked me if I could make a special treat for her class for the last week of school. I happened to be subbing at the school the week before and asked her teacher if that would be okay. She said it was fine, so I decided to make Bakerella's Sundae Cake Pops. AS you know, I received the book for my birthday from my sister and had up to this point only made some simple Christmas ones. But these seemed like the perfect treat for an end of the year, "Yay, summer is here!" kind of day, so I set about making them.


I used chocolate fudge cake with chocolate frosting for the cake balls. A seriously excellent combination. I decided to add a few new colors than just pink (being there are boys in the class, too), so there were some white and yellow cones, too. I set to cutting all the cones down to size with my knife and then re-packaged them carefully in their styrofoam container and then in a plastic bag to stay fresh. I made all the pops on Memorial Day thinking Emma would take them to school on Tuesday. However, Emma came down with a 24 hour flu that left her throwing up half the night and a 103ºF fever. So after all the dipping, the cake pops were put into Tupperware containers to save for a day and went to school on Wednesday to enjoy during a class movie.


The kids really loved them (and one girl absolutely had to have the "messed up one"), and Emma's teacher liked them so much she ordered two dozen for her daughter's 14th birthday party! I made them exactly the same for the girl's party except added some purple ones. Definitely a fun and tasty treat to make!

More Knitting Projects

I have not only been baking these last few months (though I have been doing a lot of that!), I have also been knitting. I still am really enjoying it and I am looking for more challenging projects. For example I made a baby hat and a pair of socks. Correction: I should say I am working on those projects. Anyways, I made three dishcloths for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day as well as two hero hats for my girls in the color of their choice. I am currently working on the baby hat, socks, and another scarf, this one for my husband.

Here are some pictures:
Flying Geese Dishcloth: First one I made for my mil. I was worried I didn't like detailed patterns for knitting while I made this, but I realized later that I just don't like a fussy pattern that yields only this as the result. It is pretty, but too much "work" for such a simple looking dishcloth.


Chinese Waves Dishcloth:I really love the yarn on this one and the look and feel of this dishcloth. The pattern yields a lovely thick textured cloth that really makes me think of a dishcloth. And the self striping yarn, LOVE IT! The first picture is the "right side" of the cloth, the second picture is what the back or "wrong side" looks like.




Mock Cable Dishcloth: This is the dishcloth that proved to me I don't mind a detailed pattern as long as the results are stunning, and this one is stunning!



And finally, the girls' hats in pink and purple:




I'll get a picture up of those socks when I get them done. The worst part about socks is after completing one, you are not done! (Unless you want a sock puppet!)

Ocean Night Cupcakes

Zoe, my first grade daughter, was having Ocean Night with her class, and her teacher asked if some parents would make snacks. So, I volunteered and started scouring the internet for cute ideas. I finally decided on several different cupcakes. The plan was to make 48 of them, with different ocean animals on each one.

My first cupcake was a sea turtle cupcake because Zoe's animal that she researched was a sea turtle. I made about 8 of these. I loved how sweet these little guys were. The head was a large green gumdrop with miniature chocolate chip eyes, the shell was a sandwich cookie half with piped on frosting and dipped in green sugar, and the legs were spearmint leaves cut to size. (I also loved that I used NO FONDANT on any of the cupcakes, all just cookies, candies, and other yummy goodies.)




My next set of cupcakes were colorful fish. I made 22 of these. They are simply M&M's and a flattened fruit slice cut in half. Super easy and super cute!



I made these Octopus cupcakes with orange melting disks from Wilton. I just kind of winged it (and yes, I know Octopus have eight legs, but they looked cuter with only six.) I put it on top of some pretty blue buttercream frosting, and voila - an octopus cupcake. I made the seahorse the same way - but only made one of these. (Zoe's best friend did her project on seahorses, so I had to make one!)




I made these whales and whale's tails cupcakes with Twinkies and chocolate wafer cookies. I got the idea from the "What's New Cupcake" book that I got for my birthday from my mother-in-law. I was surprised that they actually turned out almost as cute as the ones in the book. The heads were popular with the kids, but none of the tail cupcakes went!



By far, the most popular cupcake (and I only made three!) was the shark cupcake. It is also made with a Twinkie and a chocolate wafer for the fin. The mouth is red fruit roll up, the eyes mini chocolate chips. These were the first off the table, and probably into boy's hands, though I cannot guarantee that!




I spent an entire day decorating these, but it was so worth it seeing the kid's faces when they got to have one!

Easter Cookies

I am going to rename myself the Lazy Baker. I didn't make the cookie dough (Pillsbury makes such good sugar cookie dough!), I used the fewest colors of icing possible, and I used mini chocolate chips for the eyes. Whenever I bake, I find myself more and more thinking, "How can I make this with only two colors?"

Anyways, I was inspired by Kate over at Grin and Bake It. For Easter this year I am making her Snickerdoodle Bars as well as some hatching chick Easter egg cookies. Her cookies are so sweet and beautiful, and full of many colors. Mine, mine are cute, but only have a few colors. The bare minimum in my opinion. I would love to make some like hers, with Easter egg colors and lovely fancy eggs without chicks, but as usual, time crunched and I needed to get my family packed up to go to Ohio. And, I'm lazy.





But, I still think my cookies turned out pretty darn cute, even for a lazy baker! (The cookies are huge - Pillsbury dough spreads pretty significantly, so the nieces and nephews are going to get quite a treat!)

My Knitting Projects

So I have gotten very busy with knitting, and enjoy it very much. My only fear with knitting is that it is going to be like all my other creative passions - things I LOVED doing for awhile (even several years), but now don't do or do very infrequently (scrapbooking, cross stitching, cake decorating, stamping and making my own cards, etc., etc.) I am afraid I will amass my supplies (knitting needles and yarn) and then never use them again.

Despite these fears, though, I am knitting quite frequently and really do enjoy the creative process. I currently have a rule to have no more than two knitting projects going on at once, in order to make sure I finish them. (I started a scarf that took me two months to knit, mostly because the pattern was boring, even for a beginner like me.)

I have had some orders from my kids, and I have made some gifts already. So, I decided to share some pictures of my finished projects here, today.

My Shamrock Dishcloth - first project finished, (2nd started) - didn't turn out very pretty, but it's for me and it washes dishes just fine



Two Rubber Ducky dishcloths for my brother-in-law - second and third projects I finished, thought these looked pretty nice aside from the ugly cast on edge





Seed Stitch Dishcloth - mainly just wanted to see what seed stitch looked like, made for us, cleans dishes well.



My first Bunny Blankie Buddy - Know several pregnant people, wanted to make a practice bunny to make sure I could do it. Was really proud of this one until I made my second one - you'll see what I mean! (Gave this to my youngest daughter, she loves it.)



My second Bunny Blankie Buddy (in blue) - See what I mean? So much better all the way around. Gave this to my older daughter. She too loves hers.



Dishcloth for my mom for Mother's Day - Don't worry, she does not read my blog. Loved how this one turned out.



Second dishcloth for my mom - Her favorite color is yellow.



Third dishcloth for my mom - Wanted to have a set of three for her. (Can't wait to give them to her!)



Hat for my son - I'm making three of these, this one in black was for my son, making a purple and pink one for the two girls



The infamous two month scarf - here it is!



That's all for now, but I'll try and keep posting some of my work here as I finish items.

My First Pattern

So last month I blogged about learning to knit. Since then I have made a scarf (still in progress), two bunny blankie buddies and several dishcloths. And I am loving all the knitting I'm doing, but I wanted to make something out of some of the leftover yarn and try a new stitch pattern other than garter, stockinette, and rib. So I checked a book out of the library with all kinds on stitch pattern ideas and came up with this cute poncho for my daughter's American Girl doll. It is a fast and easy knit, and something any A.G. doll owner would love (especially in a color to coordinate with one of their outfits!)


Ridged Poncho for American Girl Doll

Materials:
Size US 10 1/2 needles (6.5 mm)
Bulky Weight Yarn

Instructions:
Make two identical pieces.

CO 36 stitches

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: p1, *k2tog; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 3: k1, *Kfb; repeat from * to last stitch, k1
Row 4: Purl
Repeat these 4 rows a total of 6 times (24 rows of knitting)
Row 25: Knit
BO
Weave in all ends

Finishing:
Sew short end of one piece along long edge of other piece. Use cast on edges at neck edge of poncho. Sew the short end of the second piece to the long edge of the first piece to form poncho.

For the poncho I made I used Lion Brand Jiffy yarn in Aqua. It knit up nicely and is nice and soft for my daughter to play with.


I really loved the end result and I'm happy to share the simple pattern here!