REQUESTS??

In my further effort to redeem my failed Christmas cookie blog, I thought I would take requests for what you'd like to get recipes for.

Does anyone have any requests for recipes? Crockpot Meals? Dips? Desserts? Party Food? Homemade Pizza? Leave your requests and I will share some of my favorite recipes!

Guilt Post #1

To appease my guilt for not doing my cookie blog justice, I'm going to share some of my favorite recipes in hopes of winning back your favor! My first post is one of my favorites, and one of the first things I learned to make. As I've said before, I didn't grow up cooking and doing much of anything in the kitchen, other than pulling up a chair to the table come dinner time. I was very active in 4-H when I was a kid and they had a food show each year. I think I mentioned my Jello Poke Cake before, with the tie dyed cookies Despite the fact that I couldn't really cook, I found a way to win a couple of awards, including one for this pie! This no-bake pie is simple to make and my family has been known to tell small children all sorts of lies to keep them away from this pie, so that the adults can eat it all. It tastes just like a Nutty Buddy ice cream cone and the best part is that the recipe makes 2 pies, so when you need to take a pie somewhere, you have one to keep in the freezer for yourself!!

Nutty Buddy Pie

1 16oz package of Cool Whip
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (no fat free or low fat)
2/3 cup peanut butter--your choice, crunchy or creamy (but you are wrong if you pick crunchy)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup milk
2 chocolate pie crusts
Chocolate and/or Caramel Syrup (optional but highly recommended)
Chopped Pecans

Mix Cool Whip and softened cream cheese together.

Add powdered sugar and mix well.

Add peanut butter and mix well.

Add milk a little at a time.

Stir until well blended.

Pour into chocolate pie crusts.

Drizzle with syrup and pecans.

Freeze until firm.

Let thaw 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Re-freeze leftovers right away (not that I've ever seen any!)

Fail!

So who had a week in the "Becca is SO not going to blog daily" betting pool?!? You win..............nothing, but at least you can say you were right! 

Trying to blog daily during the busiest time of the year was a massive failure, and once i fell off the blogging wagon, I was too lazy to catch back up with it and get back on it. I was super busy with the design business, and then I was on a much needed lazy daisy vacation and just didn't update the blog. Shameful, but true. No excuses here.

I do plan to update this blog throughout the year with some of my favorite seasonal recipes, go-to dishes for entertaining & potlucks, and other tasty goodness, so please don't totally give up on me! Maybe I can win my way back into your hearts with some great recipes!

Happy 2012!!

Tie Dye Cookies

The Christmas Cookie Project 

Day 6

Tie Dye Cookies 

These cookies are inspired by my loved for hand dyed items, particularly tie dye! In my non-cookie blogging world, I am an artist and I own a photography & design studio in my hometown. This year my design studio has grown in a huge way, and my hand dyed scarves have really taken off so now I have hand dyed cookies too! These cookies also remind me of one of the first things I learned to cook, which was a red and green Jello poke cake that I entered into a contest for 4-H when I was a kid. I was never the kid that liked to hang out in the kitchen. I was much more concerned with collecting rocks outside and dressing my Barbies to be bothered to cook. Besides, my mom was an excellent cook so there was always food, I never really thought about learning to cook to be honest. 

1 tube of sugar cookie dough

(or enough dough to make 24 cookies)

red food coloring

green food coloring

toothpicks

2 large baking sheets sprayed with nonstick spray

pre-heat oven to 350

place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets

flatten with a spoon

dot with food coloring (2-3 tiny dots per color, per cookie)

drag toothpick through dots of food coloring

bake about 12 minutes

Enjoy...........cause Christmas calories don't count!! 

ALTERNATE IDEA: 

Don't just make these for Christmas! Use the other colors of food coloring to make tie dye cookies in the colors for your favorite sports team!! 

Classic Sugar Cookies

THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE PROJECT

Day 5 

Classic Sugar Cookies

I buy butter once a year, only to bake during the holidays. Otherwise, we do not eat butter at our house. Mainly because I love butter. Real butter! So for the majority of the year we eat some sort of margarine spread that kills you much more slowly and butter is a holiday treat. Needless to say, I adore the butter loving Paula Deen and her recipes during the holidays. The woman put melted butter into a shot glass, threw some lobster in there and served butter shooters as an appetizer for Pete's sake! The two biggest things I learned baking these cookies--yes you DO really need the baking soda and buy the smallest container of tartar possible when buying ingredients, the stuff lasts forever when you use it a teaspoon at a time! 

     

This is the yummiest sugar cookie recipe ever from

THE BUTTER QUEEN PAULA DEEN!!! 

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted 

1 cup (2 sticks) butter 

1 egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon pure almond extract 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon cream of tartar 

3 tablespoons granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then mix in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tarter; mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, then cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Divide the chilled dough in half and roll it out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to a 1/4-inch thickness. Lightly grease some baking sheets. Cut the dough with a floured cookie cutter; sprinkle with sugar. Transfer the cookies to the prepared sheets and bake for 9 minutes.

Enjoy.........cause Christmas Calories Don't Count!! 

Peanut Butter Sugar Sandwiches

The Christmas Cookie Project

Day 4

Peanut Butter Sugar Sandwiches

As I mentioned before, this blog was partially inspired by my purchase of a huge tub of sugar cookie dough at Sam's, which is a place I frequent often. Needless to say, I purchase many things in bulk (Mt. Dew, peanut butter, paper towels and apples in particular) so don't be surprised if you see some ingredients on repeat in my recipes. I am a firm believer that EVERYTHING is better with peanut butter, so today's recipe is peanut butter sugar cookie sandwiches. 

24 sugar cookies

1 cup peanut butter

Bake cookies (approx 12 minutes at 350 for most recipes)

Match up cookies into pairs based on size/shape

Spread 12 cookies with peanut butter

Top with the other cookie

Enjoy......cause Christmas Calories Don't Count!!

Makes 12 sandwiches

ALTERNATE IDEA:

Throw nuts, dried cranberries or chocolate shavings into the peanut butter!

Spiced Up Sugar Cookies

The Christmas Cookie Project

Day 3

Spiced Up Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies are such holiday standards but I always like a modern twist on a classic. This recipe takes classic sugar cookies and spices them up with a burst of flavor on the bottom. You could probably even use store bought cookies to do this and still get homemade credit! 

1 small tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough

(or enough to make 24 cookies) 

1 tsp apple pie spice 

(or pumpkin pie seasoning, or cinnamon sugar mixture)

2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted) 

large cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray

pastry brush

pre-heat oven to 350

place pieces of dough 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet

bake for approx. 12 minutes

while cookies are baking, melt butter

mix spices into butter

just before cookies are completely cooled, brush the bottom of the cookies with the spiced butter mixture with a pastry brush


Enjoy.........cause Christmas Calories Don't Count!! 

ALTERNATE IDEA: 

Add a few drops of vanilla to your butter mixture for a super rich flavor!