Sour Cream Cookies

 This is a family recipe. I am sure man others have a similar one in their family. My Grandma and Mom have always made these for holidays or special occasions. My Grandma passed away the end of 2013, but I always remember her when I make these cookies. She used to change the recipe up every so often - adding lemon grind or using more almond extract than vanilla. But this is the basic recipe my Mom always uses and I suggest you play around with the flavors. 

This recipe is good anytime you are wanting a sweet treat. They are my favorite cookie.

Sour Cream Cookies

Cookie:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup sour cream

Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cream or half and half
Optional: Sprinkles such as pastel colored sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat Oven to 350. Mix flour, baking soda and powder in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and extracts. Stir in sour cream. And then slowly add flour mixture until all added in. Drop cookies on a cookie sheet and bake 8 to 12 minutes. Cool.  Glaze cookies and let the glaze set for an hour. Store in an airtight container.

Cocktail: Adult Milk Shake

2 cups Chocolate ice cream
3/4 milk
3 oz. coffee liqueur

Using a blender, combine ice cream, milk, and coffee liqueur. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared milkshake glasses.

Serves 2

Variations:
* 1 cup chocolate ice cream & 1 cup coffee ice cream
*  need more chocolate add some chocolate syrup
*  want a little almond flavor add some Amaretto
* Garnish with any of the following: a drizzle of chocolate syrup, whipped cream, a chocolate covered coffee bean, or sprinkle of cocoa powder to make it a little bit more fancy

RECIPE for homemade Coffee Liqueur

Andes Mint Brownies

I was going to do a great post this week about making homemade Egg Nog, but I've been under the weather and haven't really felt up to it.  I promise, however, I shall post it NEXT SUNDAY and how appropriate since it will be right before Christmas?  And we will all need a drink to celebrate surviving the Mayan Apocalypse!

This week, I needed to come up with something FAST for a holiday party at work.  Something EASY.  So I  made...

Andes Mint Brownies

Ingredients:

One box of ANY Brownie Mix.

Whatever ingredients you need to make those (usually 1-2 eggs, vegetable oil, water)

2-4 boxes of Andes Mints (my boxes had 28 mints each)

Following the directions on the box, make the brownies!  I used Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Brownies for mine, but whatever is to your taste, as long as they are not frosted brownies.  While they are cooking, unwrap your Andes Mints and try not to eat all of them!  For my recipe, I used a 9x9 pan and I used a box and half (42 mints).

After the brownies are done baking, and while they are still hot, lay the mints across the surface of the brownies.  As you are laying them across, the heat from the brownies will make them melt.  When you have the desired amount of mints melting on your brownies, take a small spatula ans spread the melted mints across the top of the brownies.  Again, for a 9x9 pan, I used 42, use more if you want a thicker layer.   If you are using a 9x13 pan you will probably want at least 3 boxes.

And that is all!  Cool and serve!

(Sorry I don't have a picture of the brownies but well, by the time I thought of it... they were 3/4 gone!)  They were a big hit in my office!

A little Latke here, a little Sufganiyot there...

Most of the holiday memories I have revolve around traditions of some kind, and many of those involve  traditional family handed down recipes.  Hanukkah is no exception to this rule.  From as far back as I can recall Hanukkah was celebrated in our family with both potato latkes and Sufganiyot (Israeli jelly donuts).  So for me it wouldn't be a complete and happy holiday without these things.  Now I proudly teach my daughters how to make both of these.  From my family to yours, Happy Hanukkah.

Bubbie Leah's potato latke Recipe

Ingredients:
6 potatoes peeled and shredded
1 sweet onion diced finely
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cup all purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste

oil (we prefer to use canola oil for this but any oil would work)


Directions:
Soak your potatoes in cheese cloth to be able to ring out excess moisture for about 1 hour.  Remove the potatoes from the excess moisture and combine in a bowl with the diced onion.  Mix in the 2 eggs (lightly beaten).  Mix well.  Salt & Pepper (start with about a pinch of both).  Slowly add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until your potato mixture is binding together.  Use as much flour or as little flour as necessary to bind your potatoes together.

Heat your oil in your frying pan (I usually use an electric frying pan but you can use any fry pan that you prefer).  When your oil is sufficiently hot, drop potato mixture by rounded tablespoon into your oil.  Let fry on one side until the side is golden brown.  Then flip and fry on the other side for the same length of time.  Take out of the fry pan and let cool slightly on some paper-towels (they help absorb any excess oil).

We like to serve them with either apple sauce or sour cream.

Bubbie Faye's Sufganiyot Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the baking sheet and rolling out the dough
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup warm whole milk (105°F to 115°F)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), at room temperature
6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) vegetable or canola oil, for frying, plus more for coating the bowl
2/3 cup smooth jam or jellyPowdered sugar, for dusting


Directions:
Place the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine. Add the yolks and milk and mix, using the hook attachment, on medium-low speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute. Add the butter, increase the speed to medium high, and mix until the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Coat a large bowl with oil. Form the dough into a ball, place in the bowl, and turn to coat in the oil.

Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly flour a baking sheet; set aside. Punch down the dough, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and roll until about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cutter, stamp out as many dough rounds as possible and place on the prepared baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Gather the dough scraps into a ball and roll out again, stamping rounds until you have 30 total on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel.

Let rise in a warm place until puffy and about 1/2 inch thick, about 30 minutes.

Place the vegetable or canola oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350°F on a candy/fat thermometer. Meanwhile, line a second baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack over the paper towels; set aside.

Place the jam or jelly in a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip; set aside.Using a flat spatula (don’t use your hands—this will deflate the doughnuts), carefully transfer the dough rounds, one at a time, into the oil. You should be able to fit about 6 at a time, leaving at least 1 inch of space in between and keeping the oil temperature at 350°F. Fry until the bottoms are golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Carefully flip with a fork and fry until the second side is golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes more. (If air bubbles appear in the doughnuts, pierce with the tip of a paring knife.) Remove with a slotted spoon to the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds.

When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to puncture the side of each to form a pocket in the center. Place the tip of the piping bag into the pocket and pipe about 1 teaspoon of jam or jelly inside. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Autumn Treats

Here are just a few sweet treats we have already posted on the blog in years past....plus a few links at the bottom from elsewhere that look good too.

1. Pumpkin Cheesecake

2. Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing

3. Raisin Spice Cookies

4. Snickerdoodle Pie

5. Snickerdoodle Bars

6. Pumpkin Wonton

7. Vanilla Crumb Cake

8. Apple Butter (no photo)

A few treats I found via Pinterest....

Cinnamon Apple Dessert Chimichangas

Petite Pumpkin Donuts

 Caramel Apple Crumb Bars

Whole Wheat Spice Latte Pumpkin Muffins

Scarecrow Crunch

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Simplest Apple Tart

Snickerdoodle Bars

I brought these on a picnic this summer  because they were easy to make. But as I said with the pie I posted snickerdoodle pie - I think these are a good for autumn and winter.  These are a cross between a snickerdoodle cookie and blondies. 

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Combine flour baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of nutmeg in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.

NOTE:
It is a thicker batter almost like a cookie. I had to press it lightly into the pan.

Snickerdoodle Pie

I  made pie yesterday - pumpkin because I had several cans of pumpkin in my pantry that I want to start using. But  I really wanted to make this pie because I have been craving it.  I love all things Snickerdoodle.  This pie is very good - but it is more like a cake in a pie crust.  It is a good  pie for autumn and winter. 

Adapted from BHG 

Crust Layer: 
1 Single-Crust Pie Pastry or 1 rolled refrigerated unbaked piecrust 
1 tbsp. granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
2 tsp. butter, melted 

Syrup: 
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 
1/4 cup butter 
3 tbsp. water 
2 tbsp. light-colored corn syrup 
1/2 tsp. vanilla 

Pie Filling/Batter: 
1/4 cup butter, softened 
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1/4 cup powdered sugar 
1 tsp. baking powder 
1/4 tsp. salt 
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar 
1 egg 
1/2 cup milk 
1 tsp. vanilla 
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare pastry and line 9-inch pie plate. In bowl combine sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Brush melted butter over crust. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of cinnamon-sugar mixture. Set aside. 

2. For syrup, in saucepan combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, the water, corn syrup, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil gently for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Set aside. 

3. For pie batter, bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds in a mixing bowl. Beat in granulated sugar, powdered sugar, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar until well combined. Beat in egg and 1 tsp. vanilla. Gradually beat in milk until combined. Beat in flour. Spread evenly in crust-lined pie plate. 

4. Slowly pour syrup over the filling in pie plate. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cover edges of pie with foil. 

5. Bake pie 25 minutes; carefully remove foil. Bake about 20 minutes more or until top is puffed and golden brown, and a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 10 servings. 


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Pumpkin Wontons

I got the original recipe off of Kraft. I think they would be great if you have to go a Christmas or New Years Eve party. They are easy and tasty. I did modify it a bit as I have worked with wontons before and didn't feel there was a need for the egg white that Kraft had in their recipe. I also used more wonton wrappers but kept their number in the recipe too.

12 caramels

1 tsp.  water

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp.  ground cinnamon, divided

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup  canned pumpkin

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp.  flour

1/4 tsp. orange zest

20-24   won ton wrappers

 water

2 cups  oil

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

MICROWAVE caramels and water in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec.; stir. Heat for another 30 sec. Stir until caramels are completely melted.Cool 2 min. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Refrigerate until ready to use.

WHISK cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, flour, zest and remaining cinnamon until well blended. Spoon about 2 tsp. onto center of each won ton wrapper. Moisten edges with water; fold diagonally in half. Moisten edges again with water pressing edges together tightly to seal.

HEAT oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat to 350ºF. Add won tons, in batches; cook 2 to 3 min. or until evenly browned. Drain. Cool slightly or to room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with caramel sauce

MAKE AHEAD

Cook won tons as directed except don't sprinkle with powdered sugar. Freeze up to 2 months. When ready to reheat, place frozen won tons on baking sheet. (No need to thaw first.) Bake at 350°F for 15 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

COOKING KNOW-HOW

* Won ton wrappers quickly dry out, keep them covered with a damp clean kitchen towel until you are ready to use them.

* I found the dip didn't go quite smoothly but it might have been because I didn't use Kraft caramels. When I mixed it into the sour cream, it hardened right away because the sour cream was cool so cooled the caramel. There were clumps of caramel in the dip. So it didn't exactly go as directed.  I think next time I would use like caramel you use for ice cream topping. I think it would mix more smoothly after being heated for a few moments. 

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cut Out Cookie

I  made these cookies last year instead of my cardamon cut-out cookies. But I love cardamon so I couldn't imagine my Christmas without a cookie with cardamon so I made a little change to the original recipe so that I could have cardamom.  I have to say I am not sure which I like better these or the Cardamom Cut-Out Cookies. These were a really good cut-out cookie.... flaky and buttery such great flavor. They even have some healthy elements to them. 

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cut Out Cookies 
adapted from King Arthur Flour's Chewy Oatmeal Decorating Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (King Arthur's recipe has ginger)
2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I only use Unbleached All-Purpose flour now)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, traditional or white wheat
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
cinnamon sugar 

To prepare the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cardamom, beating until smooth. Beat in the flours and oats. The original recipe warns that the mixture may look dry at first but then it will come together - I didn't have that problem. It was pretty moist all the way through the mixing process. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

To shape the cookies: Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a circle about 14" in diameter. Use your favorite cutters to cut out cookies, re-rolling and cutting the scraps. Place the cutout cookies on lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets; set them fairly close together, as they don’t spread.

To bake the cookies: Bake the cookies for about 9 to 10 minutes: the shorter amount of time will make softer cookies, the longer amount of time, crisper cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough. 

Yield: 6 1/2 dozen 2 ½" cookies.

NOTES:
* I wish I had ran the oats through my food processor just a little bit. Maybe just 2 pulses. Because in cutting the cookies out through the oats was difficult at times. And so the stars didn't have clean edges. I think having the oats in smaller pieces would have helped that. But you don't want oat flour you want oats so that is why I say only 2 pulses. Maybe only one. I just feel it would be easier if they were in a little smaller pieces. But they still turned out good and I even if I don't have time or the food processor thing doesn't work - then I would still make these cookies as they are very good. 

* These cookies are great for high altitude cooking. The oats and whole wheat flour helps hold them together. They don't spread at all. 

* They weren't good to ship at least not loosely in a container. They broke. We shipped some to Master's parents and I think I included some in a package to my sister and brother-in-law. But Master's parents told use that the stars didn't make it. As I said above they were light and flaky. Although they weren't crumbly. I just feel it was to being jostled so much in shipping they broke. But they aren't fragile cookies just in normal conditions (such as sitting in a cookie jar and being eaten because they are so good).

These cookies were really good. I loved that they had whole wheat and oats in them. And I will be making them again this year. I might be trying different spices in them and possibly drizzling them with some dark chocolate.

Cookie, cookies everywhere....

It's beginning to look a lot like cookies!! Cookies cookies everywhere. In our house one of the things that always signifies a holiday is food. As a child there were always different foods that came out at various holidays that might not have been seen at other times of the year. As an adult, I like to keep those same memories alive by continuing along those lines. So with that in the month of December, my daughters and I do a lot of baking. We make many different types of treats. Some to keep and eat, some to have on hand for that last minute holiday guest, and some to give as gifts to others.

No other time of year sounds, tastes, and feels like cookies to me as much as the month of December. By the time Chanukah, Christmas, and the new year roll around we will have baked at least 24 different types of cookies.

But our very favorite that would not be the holidays without is Florentine cookies. These delightful little tasty treats just scream holidays to me. I'm not really sure why other than I remember as a child making them with my grandmothers and my mother. So for the past forty years I have enjoyed these treats with my family and now with my own daughters. It's exciting to me to pass down cookie recipes from generation to generation.

Do you have similar traditions in your family regarding recipes? Do you have a favorite food or treat that signifies the start of the winter holiday season? If not, perhaps this is the year you will start a tradition that can continue on with your family into the future years. Making memories to me is far more important than any present we can share. In fact it is the best present we can share with our loved ones, the making of memories.

In this case, it's in the form of Florentine cookies. I hope you and yours enjoy these delightful cookies as much as my family does.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I have tried this using wheat flour but don't like how it turns out)
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. I always use parchment paper.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.

Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.

Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.

Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)

Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

Busy baker's tips: Store baked cookies carefully, separated by parchment or waxed paper, in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Florentines are best stored separated from moist cookies and cakes.

Holiday Treats

Holiday treats that I have posted the past several years on Domestic Servitude. 

1. C.C Peppermint Bark Cookies - Chocolate chip cookies with peppermint bark in them too

2. "Gourmet" Popcorn -  Chocolate popcorn in the photos but 2 other popcorns in the post - Zesty and Butterscotch

3. Peanut Butter Blossoms - a classic cookie...peanut butter cookie with a Hershey kiss pushed into when they are warm out of the oven

4. Ritz Mints -  Ritz crackers dipped into chocolate with peppermint extract and then crushed candy canes on top

5. Maple Fudge - if you love maple flavor you will love this fudge.  I have given very detailed instructions as this was my own creation after searching the net and not being happy with any of the maple fudges I found

6. Cardamom Cut-out Cookies - my most requested recipe...they turn out very pretty and have a lot of flavor 

7. Chocolate Peppermint Cookies - these cookies always seem to be a hit also. Not much to them just a chocolate cookie with pink peppermint icing

8.  Gingerbread Muffins - really good for Christmas morning.  

9. Cookies-n-Cream Bark - This is probably the easiest recipe I make at Christmas time, but also something everyone enjoys

Cream Cheese Cookies

These cookies are so easy. I like that you can change the flavor on them easily too. This one I used lemon extract and they turned out really good. But I have also done almond, vanilla and orange extracts.  I think adding nutmeg, cardamom and/or cinnamon.  These cookie are really good cookies to make in high altitude - they keep their shape really well because it is cooked in a log before cutting. 

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. (lemon) extract --- use whatever flavor you like
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Beat cream cheese, butter and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and extract to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Gradually add combined flour and baking powder, beating until well blended after each addition.

DIVIDE dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into 12x1-inch log; place, 2 inches apart, on large ungreased baking sheet. 

BAKE 25 to 27 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks; cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut each log into 12 diagonal slices.


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Coffee Cake

For the cake:
1 stick butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (16-ounces) sour cream
3 cups flour
1 teapoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the middle and top:
1 bag chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all of the cake batter ingredients. Mix for 1 minute at low speed; mix 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour 1/2 of batter into greased pan. Generously sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over batter, making sure to get the corners, and then sprinkle with 1/2 bag of chocolate chips. Pour remaining cake batter on top and spread across bottom layer. Repeat with cinnamon and sugar and chocolate chips.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs. 

NOTES: Be sure to check this cake around the 30 minute mark as you don't want to over bake it. It was a super moist cake. After putting lid on this cake, the moisture made the crispy cinnamony top become moist. I liked it more crispy so not sure if baking it a little longer would help keep it crispy. But over all this was a good cake. A good cake recipe that was easy to make and great because I have all the ingredients on hand almost all the time so could be made spur of the moment if needed.


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Quick Fix No Bakes

We all have moments when we need a little something sweet and preferably chocolate, right?  Please tell me I'm not alone in that.  In those moments we need something fast, too and something that hopefully we have all the ingredients on hand for.  They're great for nights when Master's had a bad day at work too - quick, easy and always pleasing.

These cookies easily fit that bill.  They're not always the prettiest thing but they are for sure yummy and there seems to be an endless variety of substitutions to make it your own.

These can also easily be adaptable for those folks with food allergies or gluten intolerance by using gluten-free oats.

Impossible to Mess-Up No Bakes

• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Cocoa Powder or Carob Powder
• 1/2 Milk (Cow, Goat, Soy, Coconut, Almond, whatever you prefer)
• 1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine or Lard (yes, lard will work)
• 1/4 Cup Nut or Seed Butter (Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, etc. even Tahini will work)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups Rolled or Quick Oats
• Dash Salt

In a saucepan combine the sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and butter.  Bring to a boil and heat until it reaches 234 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Remove from heat and stir in the salt, vanilla, and nut butter until the nut butter melts.  Stir in the Oats.

Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper or silicone baking sheets and allow to cool.  The mixture will be super hot so be careful with your hands and I don't know that I'd let small children do this because melted sugar is akin to molten lava in my experience.

Store any leftovers in an cookie jar.

Note: The recipe can easily be halved for when you just need a quick little bite and there aren't many folks around.

Raisin Spice Cookies

I like to tuck treats into Master's lunchbox.  Sometimes I pick up his favorite licorice when I'm grocery shopping to stick in there but most of the time I try to stick something homemade inside.  Keeping cookies on hand and not munching on them is a bit of a trick that I haven't mastered, however.  What I've been doing instead is making up batches and freezing them.  When I'm packing his lunch, I can put a few frozen cookies inside and they'll be thaw by time he's ready to eat.  These particular cookies happen to be a favorite of his and freeze quite nicely if you're inclined to make some up ahead of time as well.

Raisin Spice Cookies

• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
• 1 Egg
• 1/3 Cup Sour Cream
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• 2 Cups Flour
• 3/4 Cups Raisins (Nuts would be good, too if you wanted)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.  Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light.  Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla mixing until incorporated.  Mix in the sifted dry ingredients.  Fold in the raisins, making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
4. Drop by Tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets.  Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Cool on wire racks.  If you want to freeze them, make sure they are completely cool before putting into containers. 
6. Enjoy!

Gooey Chocolate Muffins

On Wednesday I had an interview for a job I've really, really wanted and in the afternoon, the phone rang with the news that I got it! So to celebrate, I made gooey chocolate muffins, filled them with raspberry topping and had a glass of cider with that.



Here is the recipe for the muffins, unfortunately it doesn't translate well into cups and oz, so you'll have to do with the metric version. Makes about 12 muffins:

100 g butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 dl sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanillasugar (if you haven't got any, ignore it or put some vanillabean in casters sugar over night and use that)
4 tbs cocoa powder
2 dl wheat flour, all-purpose
1/2 tsp baking powder
Melt the butter and stand aside. Set the oven for 200C. Whip egg and sugar till white, then add the dry ingredients. Stirr well, then stirr in the cooled butter. Fill the forms about halfway and put in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. They shouldn't be cooked through, that's what'll make them gooey!

Then take them out and put them in the fridge. Mix ½ a pack (100g) of Philadelphia cream cheese and powdered sugar untill you get a soft, slightly fluffy paste. I think I had like 2dl of powdered sugar, but taste as you go along! Then mix in 1dl of thawed raspberries. Scoop into the muffins, which should have sunk in and formed small caves. Serve fridge-cold, with spoons.

The white ones on the picture are without raspberries and with vanillaessence, but they weren't half as good as the raspberry ones!

Twix Candy Bar

This recipe is from the cookbook Baked:New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and these bars are the only thing I have tried but all the photos in this book make me want to try everything. I have checked this book out from the library and I going to admit this out loud or I guess more like in black and white print....I loved the look of this cookbook. It was the typography, the graphics, the styling just made me want to pick it up and dive into baking! But I know I won't touch some of the recipes because they are just going to take too much time for me. I am not a patient baker. I love to bake but I am not patient. And some of these recipes (including this one I am about to tell you about) include patience. And although I am sure the recipes in Baked:New Frontiers in Baking are worth the patience - I just am not sure I am the woman up for the job of testing that out. But I did for this recipe and the bars in the end were worth the effort. OH MY!

These are not bars you can just easily whip up in 30 minutes to an hour. This requires a whole afternoon. They are time consuming and messy to make. As I said I wasn't sure they were going to be worth all the effort but these bars are HEAVEN! Probably the best bars I have had in a very long time. If you are wanting rave reviews, have the time and don't care to make a mess - take the time to create these.

And I suspect that many of the recipes from the cookbook would end up this way - with rave reviews and worth the time and effort.

In the book they called them the Richman's Twix - Millionaire's Shortbread and that is what they tasted liked - an upscale Twix candy bar.




for the Shortbread
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk, slightly beaten

for the Caramel Filling
28 ounces sweetened condensed milk (two 14-ounce cans)

for the Chocolate Glaze
6 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes

for the shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until blended.

Add 2 cups of the flour and beat until well combined. Add the egg yolk and beat for a few seconds, or until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough and your hands with a little flour. Use your hands to gently work the dough into a 6-by-6-inch square. You will have to turn the dough and sprinkle the top with flour as you go. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flour on the surface of the dough. Fold the dough over and knead until incorporated, then flatten the dough into a rectangle. Transfer the rectangle to the prepared pan and press it into the pan.

Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

for the caramel filling:
Stove top Method: Put the sweetened condensed milk in a medium heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of boiling water over low heat. Cook for 1 to 2 hours, until thick and caramel colored. Remove the bowl from the pan and beat until smooth.

Microwave Method: Put the sweetened condensed milk in a large microwave safe bowl. Cook at 50 percent power (medium) for 4 minutes, stirring briskly halfway through, until smooth. Cook on 30 percent power (medium-low) for 12 to 18 minutes, until very thick and caramel colored, stirring briskly every 2 minutes, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the cooled shortbread and place the pan in the refrigerator until cooled, about 2 hours.

for the chocolate glaze:
In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled caramel layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.

Put in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the glaze hardens.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so as not to crack the chocolate glaze. Cut into squares and serve.

The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.

NOTES:
- made caramel via microwave method and much like when I make my maple fudge recipe - it boils up and over the bowl - so be prepared for a mess in the microwave
- I would add 1 tsp vanilla to caramel next time after it comes out of the microwave
- I added just a bit more chocolate as I used dark chocolate chips instead and had a little left in my bag and didn't want to put them back in my cupboard so used the rest so my chocolate is a little thicker then pictured in the book
- I just melted the chocolate mixture in the microwave instead of on the stove top and it worked fine

Faux Cadbury Creme Eggs

Just in time for Easter, make your own Cadbury eggs!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
yellow food coloring
1 bag milk chocolate chips

First, cream together the butter, syrup, salt and vanilla. Slowly add the 3 cups of powdered sugar. It'll get super thick and you'll think you'll need to add some liquid, but it smooths itself out.



TIP: As you add the sugar, be careful not to let it poof up into a thick cloud of sugary-dust that is then sucked into the motor of your mixer, causing it to stink like fried electrical parts and resulting in a Master who says you can't use it anymore because it is ruined. Because then you will be mixer-less (sad face).

That's it. That's the Hogwarty-creation that is the magical deliciousness of the creme filling in a Cadbury egg. Who knew!

If you want it to look genuine, you can divide your creme filling, putting a small amount into a separate bowl, and add the food coloring to make the 'yolks'. We skipped this step because it just seemed like an unnecessary mess.

Now, take your filling, which is thick and very, very sticky, and try to roll it into balls. It's definitely easier to roll if you pop the bowl into the freezer for a few minutes and let it get nice and cold. The coat your hands in powdered sugar and make balls.

We had fun making balls.

More fun than is appropriate, actually.

We're strange.

Anyway.

If the mixture gets too sticky to work with, put it back in the freezer. Cold balls are best.

We lined up our balls on a cookie sheet and then stabbed them all with lollipop sticks. Again with the fun. [insert Psycho-stabbing music here]

We put the cookie sheet in the freezer while we melted the chocolate in the microwave.

If you're going with the yellow 'yolk' part, you need to first make smaller yellow balls, then somehow get that ball into the middle of the white ball. Meh. I'm lazy. Good luck!

We chose to go with the dipping chocolate method rather than trying to get the chocolate into egg molds, because, again, I'm lazy (and cheap. I wasn't going to go buy egg molds.) so I can't give you any hints on how to use molds. Needless to say, my yolk-less, nonegg-shaped, faux Cadbury eggs weren't very pretty.

We lined them up on a foil-covered cookie sheet (foil because I thought I was out of parchment paper, which would have been less sticky, and then found the parchment paper after we were done).




The dipping was difficult-ish. The warm chocolate made the balls get all gloopy and melty. They kept falling off the sticks. It became more of a 'roll it in chocolate' than actual dipping.

And we need to learn how to temper chocolate because it really didn't want to harden into a manageable shell very well. They did harden up some in the fridge, but... yeah. That part needs work.



Another part that needs work is the type of chocolate. The flavor was definitely not Cadbury-egg flavor. So next time, I would not use chocolate chips. I'm not sure exactly what I will use, though.

The finished product:



In doing bite-by-bite, side-by-side comparison with a real Cadbury egg, we determined that the filling was pretty damn close in flavor. Maybe not exact, and certainly a little bit off in texture, which I think was more a temperature thing than an ingredient thing, but close enough as to be acceptable. Because we were eating the homemade ones refrigerator-cold, and the real ones at room temp, the homemade filling felt thicker. I think at room temp, it would be the same. Unfortunately, at room temp, the homemade one's chocolate 'shell' starts to melt. Feh.

All in all, it was a great success. It was fun, and different, and Master ate about 10 of them so he obviously approved. The kids approved. Most importantly, I approve. ;-)





We ganked the recipe from here.

M&M Squares

Recipe adapted from Razzle Dazzle Recipes

1/4 C. butter
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. chopped oatmeal
1 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
8 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
1 t. vanilla
3/4 C. M&M's candies
1/4 C. granulated sugar
1 large egg

Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour and oatmeal, mix well. Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mixture; press remaining crumb mixture into bottom of greased 8 inch square pan. Bake at 350°F for 7 minutes.

Combine cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add egg, mix well.

Layer 1/2 cup candy over crust; top with cream cheese mixture. Combine remaining candy, chopped, and reserved crumb mixture; mix well. Sprinkle crumb mixture over cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

Cool and cut in to 16 equal squares.