Sugar Cookie Recipe

Here's the sugar cookie recipe I have found to be the

yummiest,

easiest to roll out,

not too dry,

not too sticky,

and bakes evenly.

It has become my no-fail recipe.

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
4 tsp. clear vanilla extract
2 tsp. clear almond extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

(I use clear extracts to avoid discoloring the cookie dough.)

Beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add 2 whole eggs, and then 2 egg yolks. Add extracts. Beat until combined.

In another bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly add to the butter mixture. Mix until combined, but do not over-mix.

Roll dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. When ready to cut, roll onto floured surface and cut. Cookies should be thicker rather than thinner when cut. (Approx. 3/8 to 1/2 inch, but I just eyeball it.) Bake at 350* for about 10-12 minutes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Do not let the edges brown.

Tip for Rolling Out Cookies: Roll dough immediately after mixing onto parchment paper and then lay saran wrap on top. Refrigerate the dough, and it's chilled and ready to cut. This way, you don't have to roll out rock-hard dough that's been refrigerated in a ball.

Tip for Cookies that Spread: Cookies lose their shape when the dough is warm when it's put in the oven. Never, ever put dough on a warm cookie sheet. I always put the baking sheet lined with the cut outs on parchment paper in the freezer for a good 10 minutes before putting it in the oven. The colder the dough, the more likely they are to keep their shape. This is very important when you use cutters that have detailed cut outs like a snowflake.  ALSO, baking powder causes cookies to rise, which also causes them to spread.  If you roll out the cookies a bit thicker, and use a tiny amount of baking powder, it will also help them keep their shapes.  

Tip for Food Coloring: Always use gel food coloring. Don't use the little liquids that come in a dropper from the grocery store. I have used Wilton gels (from Michaels) for a while but read that Amerigel brand or Aetco brand (same thing) were way better and the choice of professional bakers. So I asked for some for Christmas...and yup, I can tell a huge difference. Especially in the red. It just takes a tad of red and it's a vibrant red. You can order these from Amazon.

Royal Icing Recipe: I have used so many different recipes, and I like certain things about some and then certain things about others. There are SO many factors that go into royal icing, and it's not something you get the hang of after just one try. So I'll post a recipe when I find my VERY favorite one. I've found 2 or 3 that I really like and am still experimenting. And if you want a tutorial on how to pipe and flood royal icing, you can just Google it. They all explain it much better than I could. And be sure to allow several hours; it's a tedious process.

So there ya have it. Can you tell I've learned a lot?!

Taco Seasoning

My family asked for this recipe, so I thought I'd put it on the blog so I could find it quickly. Even though I can easily get taco seasoning packets for free with coupons, I make it myself to avoid all of the additives, MSG and sodium in the pre-made packets.

And it tastes SO much better.

I just use a pinch of red pepper flakes since 1/4 tsp was a little too spicy for the kids. And I've found chili powder in the "hispanic-ethnic foods section" of the grocery store for much cheaper than McCormick or store-brand chili powder. (Unless you have a McCormick coupon that doubles during Super Doubles!)

This recipe equals one pack. Stir the following together and use as you would any recipe that calls for a packet of taco seasoning.

1 TBSP chili powder

1/4 tsp of each: garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and oregano

1 and 1/2 tsp of cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

I got this yummy recipe from a blog called How Does She?

You can find it here.

These are cinnamon pancakes, made from scratch.
You probably have everything on hand already.
As Nick said, they taste like French Toast Pancakes.
They are awesome!

I made the "special syrup" too and it's definitely sweet like a cinnamon roll icing,
so you may or may not like that part?
The kids and I did, but I didn't even put any on Nick's--just gave him regular syrup.
I served them with cut-up bananas, and it was delicious!

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

Mix wet ingredients in a bowl:

2 eggs (whole) beaten

1 Cup of milk (or a little more if your batter isn’t runny enough)

2 Tbsp Corn Syrup

1/4 Cup butter or margarine, melted

1 Tbsp vanilla

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Cook in a greased skillet or on a griddle.

Maple Icing Syrup

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cups butter – melted

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1/4 cup milk

Combine all of these ingredients and pour over the cinnamon bun pancakes.

(I like runnier batter so the pancakes aren't too thick. It's harder for the kids to eat thicker pancakes, so I added more milk until it was the consistency we like.)

Marty's Muffins

Marty made these blueberry muffins for our family a little while ago, and she shared the recipe.

We LOVE them and the kids devour them every time I bake them.

I like to keep tried and true recipes on the blog so I know where to find them,

so this is really more for me than for you.

But if I were you, I'd make them very soon!

3 c. blueberries
2 c. sugar
1 stick butter
1 c. milk
3 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix flour, sugar, & baking powder.
Cut butter in w/ pastry blender or knives until crumbly.
Set aside 1 c. of mixture (will be for crumb top).
Add eggs, milk, & vanilla. Blend until smooth.
Gently stir in blueberries.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
Drizzle melted butter over 1 cup of crumbs and mix with fork until crumbly.

(You may not need all 2T of butter so pour slowly.)
Sprinkle crumbs on top of each muffin and then bake for 20 minutes or until light brown.

(Makes 24 muffins.)

Nick's Cookies

You know by now that Nick doesn't really do sweets.

But he loves just a few things: Riesens candy, the sugar cookies and

chocolate-peanut butter-oatmeal drop cookies.

Carol and Courtney sent me this recipe for the cookies, and it's a keeper.

We have a few other recipes we've tried, and sometimes they're too dry or too runny or too chewy. This one turned out great on his birthday.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

dash salt

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 t. vanilla

2 1/2 cups oats

Mix together butter, milk, sugar, cocoa & salt on stove. Bring to a boil.

Take off stove & add peanut butter, vanilla & oats.

Let the mixture sit and cool for just a few minutes before dropping on wax paper (to avoid spreading).

Allow cookies to cool at room temperature to set.

Sugarplums

I had the best time making these Sugarplums!

I found the funnest treat (especially for kids) and copied it from this blog.

You can find the detailed instructions there.

So, of course I take no credit for the idea.

I can only take credit for the color combinations I used and the different kind of sprinkles.

I didn't really have a reason to make them, but you know I love this kind of stuff.

So I found a reason...Elijah's preschool class!

And of course I have no time to make them, especially this time of year.

But, I have noticed that I procrastinate by baking (or creating).

I bake cookies and fun treats when I don't want to face my to-do list or my dirty house.

That's just me.

I made these at midnight last night.

And yes, I'm very much a night owl.

I had this holiday ribbon so I matched my candy coating

(white with food coloring) to the ribbon.

But of course I ran out of ribbon halfway through so I had to use two different kinds.

Thankfully, I happened to have a blue that matched perfectly!

I thought the shimmery sprinkles were more 'magical' looking for Sugarplums.

I just love this ribbon.

Don't you think I need to bake something to match it?

Anyway, back to the Sugarplums...

the blog even had a template to print out a tag that read,

"May visions of Sugarplums dance in your head."

You simply print what she's already formatted.

How easy is that!?

If Elijah's friends are like him, they probably have no idea where that line is from,

but I just though it was a cute touch. That part is really for the moms.

And I would have loved to use my punchers and use matching paper but I decided to go the "easy way" and use the template she provided when I realized it was 12:30 a.m.

Sugarplums for the girls.

And Sugarplums for the boys.

Elijah was SO excited to take them to his class today!

Come to think of it, these would be really pretty for a traditional baby shower

...light pink and light blue!

Court and Carol are giving a baby shower over Christmas, and I'm going to make some things while we're there. The shower is going to be baby blue and red with white snowflake accents, so I made one of these to try it out. I'm not sure if I like it better or not? I loved the pink on pink and the blue on blue. Maybe white on white?

I don't know if that would be beautiful or boring?

I'll figure it out...Just another reason to make them again!

Christmas Oreo Balls

It's that time again.

Oreo Ball Time.

I really would have rather made Christmas sugar cookies with royal icing this year for neighbors, friends, pastors and co-workers. I'm just really enjoying those right now.

But Nick said, "Give the people what they want."

And he's right.

Our neighbor who is a single guy asked the other day,

"Are you gonna make those white balls again this year?"

And I always thought he tossed them into the trash?!

So I set out to make 4 batches. Which is about 200 Oreo balls.

I had a little helper.

First, Nick ground all of the Oreos for me one night. We put each "box" into a bag.

Then another day, Hudson and I mixed each bag with a stick of cream cheese.

We made a mess, even with the splatter guard!

Then I put all four batches together in one bowl and refrigerated it.

Then one day during naptime, I rolled all of them.

And refrigerated them again.

Then yesterday during naptime, I dipped about half of them.

And last night, I dipped the other half.

Then I put them into bags and tied them with a ribbon and a little punched-out tag.

It's so pitiful how long it takes me and how each family only gets about 4 or 5 Oreo balls!

I don't want to see another Oreo ball for a long time.

But I sure hope you do!

On a side note: if you're one of those people who make Oreo balls...

note the difference in white candy coating and white almond bark.

The left side is candy coating and the right side is almond bark.

The candy coating is a brighter white, but it's also more transparent.

It's very drizzly and thin and makes a bigger "skirt" at the bottom of the Oreo ball.

It's easier to work with, somewhat.

The white almond bark is more of an off-white color, but it's opaque.

It's much thicker and does not "drip" at all.

It's harder to dip but it doesn't drip or leave a puddle, so the balls are neater looking.

No one would be able to tell the difference if they're not mixed together.
I just made sure that they weren't mixed in the same bag.

Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is from Chip's sister. It is my all-time favorite chicken noodle soup.

And it is so easy to make. Try it on a crisp, fall day!

4 chicken breasts

3 quarts water

2 celery stalks

1 small onion

6 peppercorns

3 carrots, grated (or matchstick carrots)

2 Tbsp. salt

5 or 8 oz. pkg. egg noodles

1/2 cup butter

6 Tbsp. flour

1 1/2 cup milk

Simmer chicken in water with celery, onion and peppercorns for 1.5 to 2 hours. (No need to chop celery or onions.) Strain, keeping the chicken and stock. Throw away the veggies and peppercorns. Bring stock to a boil. Add egg noodles, grated carrots and salt. Boil for 10 minutes.

While boiling, make cream sauce: melt butter and add flour. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Add cream sauce to stock.

Shred chicken and add to mixture. Heat and serve.

P.S. I've never let it simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Simmering or boiling until the chicken is cooked still works out just fine!

Pumpkin Cookies

This weekend, Nick's away at the college Rugged Retreat in Virginia.

We planned to go along for the weekend, and I was so looking forward to it.

But Emmaline and Hudson got sick the days leading up to it, so we had to stay behind.

I have been really down about it, but the Lord reminded me that I should take advantage of a quiet house and maybe use my time bless someone else.

So I made cookies.

Lots of them.

The kids and I took them to our neighbors and to several friends who have blessed us recently.

We have some for Elijah's teachers and a few couples in our church too.

In practicing these sugar cookies, I've decided on the recipe that I like best for the cookies.

I found one that's not too crumbly but not too sticky. And tastes yummy, of course.

And I found an icing recipe that I like too. It's easier to pipe, and is actually easier to make.

I just need some fun cookie cutters!

Out for delivery!

Crock Pot Mac 'n Cheese

3 cups pasta, uncooked
3 T. butter, unsalted
8 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 ¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until it is just under al dente.
Drain and place in the crock pot.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pasta and stir until well combined.
Cook on high for 2 – 3 hours stirring about every 30 minutes.
The pasta should still hold its shape and the cheese will be completely creamy.
This makes about 6 servings as a side dish.

And as always, here are my notes:
This DOES NOT take 2-3 hours on high. Maybe it does in your crock pot? But oh goodness, it would be solid black if I let it cook that long. I used a large crock pot and after an hour on high, it was done and starting to burn on the edges. Of course, I made this 4 hours before a picnic, allowing for 2-3 hours of cooking time, plus time to get there. It was pretty much room temp by the time we got there. So next time, I'll just allow an hour, tops.

I used spicy brown mustard since I was out of dijon mustard. No difference. And I used whipping cream instead of heavy cream. So don't rush to the store to get those exact ingredients.

Every other homemade mac 'n cheese I've ever made curdled. I've researched and understand why it happens, but no matter what I do, it still does. This one didn't. Hooray!

And I'm not sure how big this person thinks a side dish should be, but I think it will feed way more than 6 people.

Strawberry Peach Crisp

I made this over the weekend, and it was really yummy!

Tips: I didn't have whole wheat flour, and regular was just fine. The lemon juice helps to keep the strawberries' vibrant color, so you can probably do without. It made a lot of topping, so if you'd rather have more fruit and less topping, I wouldn't use all of it. I also didn't use 3/4 cup of sugar. With strawberries and peaches being naturally sweet, 3/4 cup seemed like a lot. So I probably used 1/4 to 1/2 cup. And I used fresh strawberries and peaches, which was amazing. I'm sure frozen would be good too, but with both fruits in season right now, it was too perfect.

• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 2 cups sliced peaches
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 cups oats

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the strawberries, peaches, lemon juice, white sugar, first whole-wheat flour, first cinnamon, and nutmeg in a greased 8 or 9 inch square baking dish.

Make the topping by tossing together the remaining whole-wheat flour, brown sugar, oats, butter, and cinnamon.

Sprinkle the topping mixture over the strawberry peach filling.
Bake 35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I saw this on The Intentional Home blog, and really want to start using this for taco seasoning. I can taco seasoning packets for free at the store with coupons, but I'm sort of getting leery of all the additives in our foods. So if there's an easy and inexpensive way to do it differently, I'm always up for it! This is an easy one to replace with something "homemade" without ingredients that I can't spell or pronounce. Try it with me!

Homemade Taco Seasoning Packet

The recipe below equals one pack. Stir the following together and use as you would any recipe that calls for a packet of taco seasoning.

1 TBSP chili powder

1/4 tsp of each: garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and oregano

1 and 1/2 tsp of cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This is a great recipe that's perfect for a mommy who has had
a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...like Alexander once had.

I hesitate to even call this a "recipe."

Toss 3 frozen chicken breasts into the crock pot. (Even better if you have those awesome crock-pot liners.)
Pour a bottle of BBQ sauce over them. Save a little bit in the bottle. (Even better if the BBQ sauce was free after coupons.)
Set the crock pot on low if you've got your act together and it's earlier in the day. Or put it on high if it's 3:00 and you have kids to spank, fights to referee, laundry to fold, and toys to pick up.

When the chicken is done, shred it with a fork. Pile it onto hamburger buns and top with some of the 'fresh' BBQ sauce from the jar. I usually serve this with a baked potato or corn on the cob.

And if you used a crock-pot liner, and made oven-baked potatoes in foil (or microwaved them)...you won't even have any dishes to wash!

Basil Italian Pasta Salad

Kelly H. made this at Eric's birthday party, and it was awesome. I am not a big pasta salad fan, but this one was amazing.

1 jar of Hot-n-Sweet peppers (with juice)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crushed basil
1 8oz Italian fat free dressing
1 16 oz bag rigatoni multi-colored pasta (cooked)

Mix all together. Refrigerate until chilled. Save some Italian dressing to pour over right before serving in case it becomes dry.

Double Chocolate Ghirardelli Cookies

This recipe is from Kim Davidson, a new friend at PBC. I made them last night, and they are really yummy. They're rich, so I made them on the smaller side and flattened them out with a spatula when they came out of the oven. Give them a try!

1 bag dark chocolate chips – Ghirardelli 60% (bittersweet)

6 T unsalted butter
3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 bag semi sweet – Ghirardelli

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Melt dark chocolate and butter in a sauce pan – let it cool a bit. Mix eggs and sugar till thick and creamy. Add in chocolate. Mix well. Add in dry ingredients. Fold in chips and nuts.

Divide batter in half and wrap in saran wrap. Chill for at least an hour.

Cut, roll, and bake for 9-11 minutes at 375 degrees.

(I put the dough in a blob the middle of a square of saran wrap, covered it with the wrap, then shaped it into a tube for easier cutting.)

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

These quesadillas are a winner.
They are cheap, easy, fast and only require washing two dishes.
And best of all, Emmaline loved them.

I made them using two tortillas like a sandwich, and broiled them in the oven. That way, all of them were done at the same time. I buttered the outside of the tortillas, and flipped them after a few minutes. Patience for quesadillas that are cooking one at a time is not a virtue in our family.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn, then add sugar, salsa, and pepper flakes; mix well. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.
2. Melt 2 teaspoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the skillet, sprinkle evenly with cheese, then top with some of the bean mixture. Place another tortilla on top, cook until golden, then flip and cook on the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Granola

I made this granola recipe this week, and my family really enjoyed it. It's not too sweet, and it's on the plain side, which makes it more versatile. It would be great with milk (like cereal), or over yogurt, or vanilla ice cream. We mostly ate it by itself, but Nick and I talked about throwing in some M&Ms, craisins, raisins, etc. to make a trail mix next time. Just an idea.

I actually halved the recipe, and it still made a ton. If you make the full recipe, you can probably do a lot of things with it.

7 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup honey
1/4 cup water
2 T vanilla
1/2 T salt
1/8 cup cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together by spoon in a large bowl. Spread out on a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Stir and bake for 15 more minutes. Scrape pan immediately to keep from sticking to pan. After cooling, store in an air tight container.

(I think I misread the recipe and put in 1/2 teaspoon of salt instead of 1/2 tablespoon, and it was just fine. So if you want to skimp on the salt, you probably can.)

Sweet Treats

For Elijah's preschool class, I made rice krispies dipped in chocolate, then sprinkled them with little hearts. I ran out of ribbon after tying the shovels to the cards, and used all of my clear bags for oreo balls last month. But they would have been much cuter inside of cellophane bag with a ribbon tied around it.

Just a tip: I was going to cut them into heart shapes, but my heart cookie cutter was too big. I couldn't get very many out of the batch of rice krispies, and the portion size was just too much for a preschooler. I also figured they would "sag" a little bit on the stick if they were too large. So I just used a round biscuit cutter, and it was a great size.

If you want to try it, just make a regular batch of rice krispies. When they've cooled, cut them out with a cookie cutter. Stick a craft stick or lollipop stick inside and refrigerate for a few minutes. Melt the chocolate or bark, and dip the front half of the rice krispie. Decorate with sprinkles and let them set in the fridge.

I used white almond bark and milk chocolate morsels, and both worked just fine.

You could cut them out in different shapes and change up the sprinkle colors for different occasions.

It's a fun treat for kids!

Rainbow Pancakes

For dinner tonight, we had "rainbow pancakes."

They were a big hit.

I hope to make this a birthday and holiday tradition.

Red and pink for Valentine's Day. Green for St. Patrick's Day. Rainbow for Birthdays.

You get the idea.

The boys picked orange, blue and green.

Elijah said it was for the "Tennessee Vols, Blue Devils and Crocodiles."

(Hee. I think he meant the Gators. Even though they're not green.)

The batter looked like an advertisement for Sherwin Williams.

The boys played in a band while I made the pancakes.

Emmaline did some sit ups.

And looked like her adorable self.

But look at these pants!

I mean, really? It doesn't get any cuter than that.

The lighting is bad, I know. I'm learning.

Well actually, I haven't even opened the camera manual. Maybe one day...

Chocolate Chess Pie (Angus Barn)

I made four Chocolate Chess Pies on Saturday night for the sitters who helped us this week while Nick was gone and I had my bi-annual work meetings/dinners. They are inexpensive, very easy to make, and so delicious!

It's actually the famous recipe from Angus Barn, a local restaurant that has made the Top 100 Restaurants in America for many years. You must try it.

Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie

1 unbaked pie crust
1 stick butter
2 squares Bakers Chocolate (semi-sweet)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash salt

Melt butter and chocolate in sauce pan. Mix with other ingredients which have been blended together. Pour into pie crust and bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with whipped cream.

The recipe stressed not baking it any longer than 35 minutes. I tried a bite when it was still warm, and it was runny. It is best if it's baked for exactly 35 minutes and then cools for several hours, allowing it to set.

(But, who would complain about runny chocolate?!)