Lemon Sugar Cookies

I have been in the mood for sugar cookies for a couple weeks now, but haven't had the time to make my favorite recipe. It takes up too much time to make it, refrigerate and then roll, etc... So when I saw the recipe for these cookies that can be made immediately I knew I had to try them out. They are too yummy and they probably took about 10 minutes total to make. In fact, I made a batch and then immediately made another. They were light, soft and very sweet. And they tasted better the next day!

The original recipe called for almond extract (which would be great!), but I love lemon in my sugar cookies so I adapted the recipe just a little.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

adapted from Your Home Based Mom

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. lemon extract

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Glaze: 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. lemon extract, 4-5 tsp. milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix butter, sugar and extract in a large bowl. Mix well, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients. Beat 1 to 2 more minutes. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a floured glass dipped in sugar.

Bake at for 7-9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. I like mine almost under-baked, remember they stiffen up as they cool. Cool 1 minute.

Stir together glaze ingredients with a wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze and sprinkles.

Apple Blintz Pancakes

Did you know last week was National Pancake Week? I didn't realize it until the weekend and so I decided to celebrate! I searched for something different and found an awesome recipe on myrecipes.com. They are blintzes, which means they are a thin pancake and are usually filled with something. They are right in between a pancake and a crepe. They were so good! I doubled the recipe and my family ate every last one of them. They were raving and raving about them throughout the entire meal. I will definitely be making these again soon!

Apple Blintz Pancakes

1 cup pancake mix

1 egg

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1 cup milk

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

2 apples

applesauce

cinnamon

Whisk together the egg, cottage cheese, milk, oil and sour cream. Add in the pancake mix and whisk just enough to combine. Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes.

While the batter is resting, cut the apples into thin wedges. Spray a pan with cooking spray and cook them over the oven on medium. They will look like this at the beginning, so pretty...

Let them saute' for a while - keep turning them every couple minutes. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and cook them until you are happy with their texture. I wanted mine cooked well, but not completely soft. This is what mine looked like after cooking...

While the apples are cooking, spray a nonstick griddle or skillet and turn onto medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake onto the griddle. Flip over when bubbles rise to the surface and the edges look cooked.

Fill each pancake with a spoonful of applesauce and a couple of cooked apples. You will love them!

Cream Puffs

I got this recipe from one of my best childhood friends, Cami. It is without a doubt one of my very favorite recipes. My family requests it all the time. My kids have asked for this a couple times instead of birthday cake. So, they get a really big puff with a candle! My oldest asked my mom the other day what her very favorite dessert was and she said these cream puffs. They are wonderful.

Cream Puffs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cups butter

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 package vanilla pudding mix

1 tub cool whip

chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water and butter and bring to a boil over medium heat (like the first picture). Stir in the flour and salt, cook, stir well until mixture leaves the sides of the pan in a smooth ball (like second picture). Then remove the pan from the heat.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing very well after each addition until the mixture is smooth and glossy. It might take a minute, but it will get there. And if you triple the recipe like I always do - then you may have a little bit of a tired arm!

Spoon 6 mounds of the dough 3 inches apart onto the cookie sheet. I just use a large spoon and plop it onto the sheet. I like the puffs to be a little uneven, with personality!

Bake them for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Immediately prick them with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape - dont forget! Remove from the cookie sheet - I just always transfer them to another cool one - and allow them to cool completely.

Open up the top of the puff and if it is too dense, remove some of the inside dough (like the first picture). Prepare the vanilla pudding according to directions on the box and after it has set up, mix it with a tub of cool whip. Really, you should just lightly fold the two together or the mixture can become a little runny. Fill the puffs with the pudding mixture (like second picture!) I like to use the sugar free pudding and the fat free cool whip - you can't tell the difference and it makes me feel a little less guilty.

Put some chocolate chips into a microwavable bowl and melt them until smooth. I start with 30 seconds, then 20 and then do it in 15 second intervals until smooth. Coat the top of the cream puff with melted chocolate and allow them to harden up in the fridge.

We like to eat them by taking off the top and eating the chocolate part first. Who am I kidding, we like to eat them any way. Once, when we were newlyweds I doubled the recipe one Sunday afternoon and Pete and I ate all 12 of them. It was a great Sunday.

Peanut Butter Bars

I had to make a treat for pre-school today and decided to make these bars I saw on Allrecipes. They are no-bake, peanut butter, graham crackers & chocolate - all my favorites! Oh my gosh! They are so yummy. I have made peanut butter bars before and these are definitely the best I have ever made. They are thick and dense and have just the right amount of peanut butter taste, not too overpowering. I need to get them out of my house quickly.

Peanut Butter Bars

• 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 
  
• In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
• 
  
• In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. I started with 30 seconds, mixed and then cooked at 15 seconds intervals until melted and smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Give them a try and see if you can stop eating them!

Baguette

My sister gave me this recipe the other day and told me how easy it was. If she hadn't already made it and liked it, I would have been skeptical. She told me you make it in 5 minutes, let it raise for 30 and then bake it for 15 minutes. It just seemed to easy and good to be true. I was really excited to try it!

My baguette turned out so yummy! In fact, my children were HUGE fans of it. One of them even told me it was "The best bread I have ever had." Maybe a little bit dramatic, but I will take it! We had it for dinner and then I made the kids their sandwiches on it for lunch the next day. I will for sure be making this more & I think I will be teaching my 10 year old to make it. It really is that easy!

Baguette

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup of the water with the yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar. Mix it well and cover with a cloth.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt and 1 tsp. sugar. When it is mixed well, add the yeast mixture. Gradually add the rest of the water. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball.

Remove from the bowl and knead the dough, cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. Take a knife and core down the middle - that makes it authentic! You can see, mine aren't too fancy.

Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Put water in a cookie sheet and put it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Half way through, brush the bread with butter.

I really like the recipe for its low sugar content! You could try it with wheat flour also. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

I love these cookies. I could (& do) eat them all day long! These were the first cookies I made by myself. I was in the 4th grade and was so proud of myself. They are super easy to make and you will love them too!

Snickerdoodles

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbs. sugar

2 tbs. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the sugar and eggs. When you are done add the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt and mix well.

In another bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Form the cookie dough into little balls and then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake them for 8-10 minutes - don't overbake! They will stiffen up on the cookie sheet - I always bake them for the least amount of time possible. And I always double the recipe! You will be proud of yourself after you make them too!