Snickerdoodles

Photo by Naylor Made Photography

Rolled in cinnamon and sugar, baked until crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, these cookies bring a sense of warmth and happiness. I've been known to call them "boy bait" 'cause I've never met a man who could resist them.

SNICKERDOODLES

1 cup soft shortening (part butter)
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ¾ cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. salt
Heat oven to 400. Mix shortening, sugar and eggs thoroughly. Blend all dry ingredients; stir in.
Roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. (These cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.) Makes about 5 dozen 2” cookies.

Double the recipe and put half the dough in a quart-size freezer bag. When things get crazy during the holidays or your kids pull an "Oh-by-the-way-I-need-cookies-for-school-tomorrow!" you will be all set!

WINTER ONEDERLAND!!!

WINTER ONEDERLAND!!!

To celebrate my granddaughter's first birthday in early January, my daughter gave me her ideas (via Pinterest) for a Winterland Onederland theme. All I need is a theme and my little brain is smokin'! I put on my shopping shoes and scoured after-Christmas sale bins to decorate on a budget. 

My niece Ashley made the beautiful banner. Find her on Facebook at Looks Like A Party. She is reasonably priced and does beautiful work. She took everything my daughter and I had accumulated and turned it into a spectacular display.The milk glasses dishes were gathered from various family members. The other grandmother made the smash cake for the birthday girl and cupcakes for her guests. So what I'm trying to say is that it was a team effort!

This beauty was marked waaay down to $9 because
a wood flower was missing. I slapped a bow on
it and called it good! 

The sleigh, also in the bargain bin, held pine cones and potpourri. I re-purposed it to hold plates. I found the tablecloth, runner, plates, and napkins 50% off in the wedding section of Hobby Lobby.

The glitter-coated pine cones from the sleigh, silver candles, and battery-operated tea lights turned a wooden box into a sparkly centerpiece.

Our Hot Chocolate Bar was big hit! The kids loved adding crushed peppermints, all sizes of marshmallows, and gobs of whipped cream to their to their cups. I saw more than one adult snag a handful of marshmallows just for the pure joy of eating them.

My proudest accomplishment was making the whipped cream can blend with the rest of the decor. We couldn't have a red and white can in the middle of our winter wonderland.  ;)

Can you believe I came across the snowflake-shaped white chocolate covered pretzels at Braums?!! We stopped to get the girls a cone and there were the pretzels at the check-out counter.

Penguin punch and thawed ice were available for those so inclined.

Chocolate chip cookies and  glazed spritz cookies accompanied hot chocolate cheesecake dip. Recipe below.  

The birthday girl and one of her older sisters, T-Bug, helped me make several batches of spritz cookies. We used the recipe on the back of the box. the cookies lacked sparkle. I made a little glaze to hold on edible glitter. A white Sixlet from the wedding department adorned the top. Now these cookies were worthy of the Winter Onederland theme. We kept the food simple and recruited plenty of help to make the day a huge success.

HOT CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE DIP
Ingredients

Baking & Spices

• 4 oz Cool Whip
• 2 tbsp Vanilla mini-mallow bits

Dairy

• 1 (8 oz.) package Cream cheese

Desserts

• 4 (.73 oz) envelopes Cocoa mix without marshmallows.

The perfect dip for your cookies! It's filled with tiny marshmallows and hot cocoa flavor. Next time I would add more Cool Whip and mini marshmallows.

Hope you enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

Photo by Naylor Made Photography

Rolled in cinnamon and sugar and baked until they are crispy on the outside but chewy in the middle. These cookies bring a sense of warmth and happiness. I've been known to call them "boy bait" 'cause I've never met a man who could resist them.

SNICKERDOODLES

1 cup soft shortening (part butter)
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ¾ cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. salt
Heat oven to 400. Mix shortening, sugar and eggs thoroughly. Blend all dry ingredients; stir in.
Roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. (These cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.) Makes about 5 dozen 2” cookies.

Double the recipe and put half the dough in a quart-size freezer bag. When things get crazy during the holidays or your kids pull an "Oh-by-the-way-I-need-cookies-for-school-tomorrow!" you will be all set!

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies are my husband's absolute favorite cookie. Made with oatmeal, coconut and Heath English Toffee Bits, they are healthy enough for breakfast, right? Okay, okay, I know they aren't, but I believe wonderful things should be enjoyed in moderation. This is the only cookie I make ahead of time and freeze. Perfect for unexpected guests.Once it has thawed, you can't tell it's been frozen. All other cookies I freeze the dough and bake them fresh. One way or the other, none of my cookies have a chance to get freezer burn.

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Combine:
1 cup softened butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
Blend together:
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
Add to butter mixture and mix in:
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 10 oz. pkg. Toffee bits
1 cup coconut
Heat oven to 375⁰ Lightly grease cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool one minute. (Any longer than that, they will stick to the cookie sheet. In fact, I spray my spatula with non-stick baking spray to keep the toffee from sticking.) Makes about 4 dozen.

Gingersnaps and Snickerdoodles Redux

Rolled in cinnamon and sugar, baked until they are crispy on the outside but chewy in the middle, these cookies bring a sense of warmth and happiness. I've been known to call them "boy bait" 'cause I've never met a man who could resist them.

SNICKERDOODLES

1 cup soft shortening (part butter)
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ¾ cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. salt
Heat oven to 400. Mix shortening, sugar and eggs thoroughly. Blend all dry ingredients; stir in.
Roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. (These cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.) Makes about 5 dozen 2” cookies.

Gingersnaps and Snickerdoodles

Cool air, state fairs and football signal the arrival of fall in Texas. We like to celebrate at our house with Gingersnaps and Snickerdoodles. Crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle they go well with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee. I make at least a double batch of dough and freeze half of it in quart-size plastic bags. I use a Sharpie to write the baking instructions on the bag. These favorite cookies are my most requested recipes. This week --

GINGERSNAPS

Preheat oven 350⁰
Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and set aside:
3 ½ cups flour
4 teaspoons soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon each of allspice, cloves, & nutmeg

1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
1 ½ cups shortening (like Crisco)
2 eggs
½ cup molasses
4 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoon vanilla
Beat sugars together with shortening. Add eggs, combine thoroughly. Stir in molasses, vinegar and vanilla. Blend in all dry ingredients.
Form into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in sugar. Place 2” apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes until light brown. Do not over bake. They will be chewy in the middle when cooled. For crispy cookies, bake 2 to 4 minutes longer.

I use a cookie scoop to insure
uniformity of size.





I never suffer a shortage of volunteers willing to sacrifice
their dainty fingers to messy sugar.


 

They also willing to be my testers.

 Next week--Snickerdoodles.

Frickin' Amazing Lemon Squares

The bars were still warm from the oven. The lemon luciousness dripped down her fingers as my generally reserved neice announced, "These are frickin' amazing!"
I gotta admit they were pretty good.  So good, in fact, I gave all the leftovers away after the baby shower. Even frozen this tart temptation is deadly to my will power. I have plenty of will power.  It's the don't power that gets me into trouble. Here is the recipe:
LEMON SQUARES

SERVES 24          BAKE AT 350       COOK TIME: 25+25

CRUST:

2 cups flour

½ cups confectioner’s sugar

1 cup softened butter

Combine and press into ungreased 9x13 glass pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Cool slightly.

FILLING:

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

¼ cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup lemon juice (2 large lemons)



Beat eggs and sugar together

 

Combine dry ingredients and pour into egg mixture





Use room temperature lemons. Roll on hard surface before cutting to get the most juice.




Squeeze and extract all seeds.



 Mix in lemon juice and pour over cooled crust.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Middle should be firm.

  The top may be brown, but don’t worry, use a sifter to sprinkle confectioner’s sugar over the top.  Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

I have been making this simple cookie for 30+ years. I couldn't find the puzzle piece cutter locally, so I ordered it from Amazon. 

Lace's Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream sugar and butter. Mix in egg and flavorings.  Measure flour by sifting.  Blend dry ingredients; stir in.  Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Divide dough in half. Keep half chilled. Roll out the other half on waxed or parchment paper slightly sprinkled with powered sugar.  I use powdered sugar instead flour to keep the cookies from getting tough if you have to re-roll them several times. 

I place 1/4" dowel rods on either side of the dough to ensure uniform thickness of my cookies.  Dip your cookie cutter in powdered sugar and cut away.  Place on lightly greased baking sheet.

 

Sprinkle with sugar. I place the cookie cutter over the cookie to keep the sugar from flying everywhere.  Yes, that's my thumb over the lense.  What can I tell you?   I'm a rookie!

Bake 7 to 8 minutes, or until delicately golden.  Makes 5 dozen 2 to 2 1/2 inch cookies. 
Let them cool just a minute or two before moving to a cooling rack.  Enjoy!