Ginger Bread Cookies

I’m a little gingerbread man, I am.
Come on and run with me.
I’m a little gingerbread man, I am.
You can run but you can’t catch me.

I look so good in my
gingerbread clothes.
I’m baked so perfectly.
With my raisin eyes and
my cinnamon nose
It’s no wonder everyone I see
wants to take a bite of me.

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!

CHORUS

I’ll stay all day and we can play.
I’ll never move my feet.
Until the time I hear you say,
“Hey everybody, it’s time to eat!”

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!

I’m a little gingerbread man, I am.
Come on and run with me.
I’m a little gingerbread man, I am.
You can run but you can’t catch me.

I’m a little gingerbread man, I am.
You can run but you can’t catch me

Ok, well no Raisin Eyes or Cinnamon Nose, but I can tell you these are good cookies! Fun to make and Fun to eat! My Grand kids had a great time decorating these.

Nick Malgieri’s Ginger Bread Cookies

From: FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

• 4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• ICING
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 drop lemon juice or vinegar
• Food Coloring
• Raisins, currants, nutmeats, colored sugar, sprinkles and other decorations

Directions

For the dough, add the dry ingredients (except sugar) to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Beat the butter and sugar, adding one egg at a time. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth. Beat in half the flour mixture, then stop and scrape the bowl and beater(s). Beat in the molasses, scrape again, and beat in the remaining flour mixture, just until combined.

Divide the dough into several pieces and press each piece into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least one hour or until firm.

Set the racks in the middle upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Roll the dough, one piece at a time, on a floured surface, just to make the dough flat and even, but not much thinner. Cut with floured cutters and arrange on the pans an inch or two apart. Repeat with the remaining dough. Reroll the scraps immediately; or press together, chill and reroll later. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until firm when pressed with a fingertip.

Cool the cookies on the pans. Meanwhile for the icing, combine confectioners’ sugar and egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat by machine until combined. Add the lemon juice or vinegar and continue beating until fluffy. Divide the icing into several small bowls and add coloring. Keep plastic wrap pressed against the surface of the icing to prevent a crust from forming. Use a paper cone or the snipped end of a plastic bag to pipe icing on the cookies. Use the raisins and other decorative ingredients to accent the icing

Almond Raspberry Snowflakes

This is a delicious Shortbread Cookie! The dough is a dream to work with, and the taste of the cookie will have you coming back for more! These made a great addition to our Christmas Cookie Trays! I do not recall where I picked up this recipe, but I have been making them for years! This is one of our favorites! Double the recipe, they’ll be coming back for more!

Almond Raspberry Snowflakes

Cookie Dough:

3/4 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

1 3/4 Cups Plus 2 Tbsp. All Purpose Flour

Topping:

2 Tbsp. Finely Chopped Almonds (I used my food processor)

1 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar

1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 Egg White, lightly beaten

Raspberry Jam

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extracts. Stir in flour. Shape into a ball; cover and chill for 15 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into shapes. Combine the almonds, sugar and cinnamon. Brush small stars with egg white and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Leave large stars plain.

3. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake small stars at 350° for 10 minutes and large stars for 12 minutes or until the tips just begin to brown. Cool on wire racks.

4. To assemble, spread enough jam over large star to cover the center. Top with a small stars; press lightly (jam should show around edge of small stars). Let jam set before storing. Yield: about 3 dozen.

Baklava Bars!

As is tradition, all of my family gathers at my sister’s house for Christmas Eve.  It has been that way, for years.  Every year my sister makes these delicious Baklava Bars and somehow, I have managed to miss these beauties every year until this one!  These are so good! I can’t believe that I have missed these all these years!  She told me they were easy too! Betty Crocker Sugar cookie packet and a couple of other ingredients, and I’d have Baklava in no time.   I had brought a couple of pieces home with me, trouble is, they didn’t last at all and were gone in no time.  So good these were, I had to search for the recipe so that I too could have these delectable bars, and I had to give away half the pan for my daughter to take to work so they wouldn’t all go on my hips! Lo and behold, here is the recipe, directly from the Betty Crocker Website!

Baklava Bars

From: Betty Crocker Website

Cookie Base:

1 Package (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix

1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter or margarine (I use butter), softened

1/2 tsp. Grated Lemon Peel

1 Egg

Filling:

1 1/2 Cups Chopped Walnuts

1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine, softened

1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1/8 tsp. Salt

8 Frozen mini Filo Shells from a 2.1 oz. package (I used Filo Dough Sheets, cut off about 3 oz., I wanted more filo dough on mine, and chopped it up. Worked Great!)

Glaze:

1/3 Cup Honey

2 Tbsp. Butter or Margarine, softened

1 Tbsp. Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice

1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp. Vanilla

Garnish:

5 Tbsp. Honey

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir walnuts, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt with fork until mixture is well mixed and crumbly.
4. Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over partially baked base. With hands, crumble frozen fillo shells evenly over nut mixture. Bake 18 to 20 minutes longer or until golden brown.
5. Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave 1/3 cup honey, 2 tablespoons butter, the brown sugar, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon uncovered on High 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in vanilla.
6. Drizzle honey mixture evenly over fillo. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
7. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Before serving, drizzle 1/2 teaspoon honey over each bar. Store covered at room temperature.

Cookie Trays for Christmas

Large Cookie Trays

Small & Large Cookie Trays

We made our neighbors, friends and relatives cookie trays for Christmas and I thought I would post the pictures. These are better than the last post on Cookie Trays anyways. I will be posting the recipes for the cookies made soon. Stay tuned!

My daughter and I start making the cookie trays

This one is almost completed!

Here’s a Recipe for Butter Twist Cookies found at Martha Stewart’s Website. I have made these cookies the past couple of years. They are delicious and my youngest Grand daughter Anna, loves these things!  Color half of the dough from the recipe pink or red and twist them together to make multi-colored twists!

Butter Twist Image & Recipe From: Martha Stewart Website

Butter Twists

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until creamy. Mix in vanilla and egg white. Reduce speed to low. Add salt and flour; mix until combined.
2. Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls. Roll each ball into a 6-inch log. Bend log in half, then twist. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake, rotating halfway through, until cookies just begin to turn golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on parchment on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Merry Christmas!

What a whirl wind, busy month this has been for me! I love being busy, and Christmas keeps us all busy. The hustle and bustle are non-stop up until tonight. Christmas Eve!  I wanted to sit down just for a minute and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  This is my most favorite Holiday we celebrate!  I know that I have not gotten done much posting and that I have a lot of recipes to share with you.  Even though Christmas is almost over, I’m still going to post the recipes I have been making. We still have this week coming up, leading into the New Year and maybe you will find one useful!

Merry Christmas Everyone, I wish you Joy, Peace and togetherness!

Homemade Christmas Cookie Trays

Recently I had to do 15 Christmas Cookie  Trays.  The pictures are taken with a cell phone, I did these at my daughters and we had to use her cell phone to take the pictures.  Nevertheless, these turned out very nice.  Client was happy and so was I with the results.  I will post the cookies and the recipes.

Ritz Dips!

Ritz Crackers

Peanut butter

Chocolate

Spread peanut butter between 2 Ritz crackers.  Dip crackers in melted chocolate and let sit until chocolate is dry.  Decorate top of cookie if desired.  Quick & Easy!

Christmas Tree Squares

Image by: Land O Lakes

Recipe by: Land O Lakes

Christmas Tree Squares

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Land O Lakes® All-Natural Egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, softened

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 to 4 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Half & Half or Fat Free Half & Half or milk

Red and green food color

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine sugar, 2/3 cup butter, milk, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and salt; mix well. Spread mixture into ungreased 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and almond extract in medium bowl. Beat at medium speed, gradually adding enough half & half for desired spreading consistency. Reserve 1/2 cup frosting; set aside. Spread remaining frosting over cooled bars. Cut into 48 bars.

Tint half of reserved frosting with red food color and other half with green food color. Pipe tree design in center of each square, alternating red and green trees every other bar.

To pipe the Christmas tree design on each bar, use pastry bag and decorating tip #4 or place frosting in small resealable plastic food bag. Snip small hole in one corner of bag to pipe.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

From: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Image By: Allrecipes.com

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan

We also put the Double Butterscotch Cookies that you can find here.  Come back tomorrow and I’ll give you the recipes for the Oreo, Oreo Cookies,  Butter Twists and the Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies. All cookies on the trays are delicious and one of our favorites! You can’t go wrong with these cookie recipes.

Double ButterScotch Cookies – Wedding Favors

These are one of the best cookies!  Once you eat one, you can’t stop!  I recently made these for a wedding as Thank you favors.  We dipped some in chocolate halfway and left one plain as we packed them into favor containers. Everyone raved about these cookies! These are delicious and is one of our favorite cookies! This makes quite a few cookies.

Double Butterscotch Cookies

Adapted From: Taste of home

Yield: 7 dozen Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 cups packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package English toffee bits (10 ounces) or almond brickle chips (7-1/2 ounces)
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (I left these out to avoid nut allergies)
• Chocolate (Almond Bark, or Chocolate Chips, or whatever chocolate you  would like to use.)
• Vegetable oil, to thin the chocolate a little bit

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the butter, shortening and brown sugar for 2 minutes or until mixture resembles wet sand. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the brown sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in toffee bits and pecans.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto a silpat lined cookie sheet. (I used a cookie scoop to get uniform sized cookies)
• Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1-2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 7 dozen.
• Chocolate: In the top of a double boiler, over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring often. Once melted, thin with a little bit of vegetable oil until you have a nice steady stream when a spoon is dipped into it.  Dip cookies halfway into the chocolate and set on a silpat (or parchment paper) lined baking tray.  Let set until chocolate hardens.

My First Wedding Cake

A short while back, I told you that my daughter and I were doing a Wedding cake and favors for a wedding in December.  This is the first time I have done a wedding cake, and I was quite  pleased with the results and thought I would share the pictures. So, without further ado, here they are:

The whole cake was a marble cake, but the bottom layer, I made chocolate swirled with vanilla to have it more chocolate than vanilla. All cakes were frosted with a Crusting Buttercream Frosting.

This was her side cake to make sure she had enough.

The littlest cake on the right here was for the Bride & Groom to freeze and eat for their 1st Anniversary.

The Bride & Groom were very happy with their cakes and they tasted good too! What more can you ask for?

I wanted to post the recipe for the Frosting that I used on this cake! I found it to be dreamy, tasty and easy to work with.

Crusting Buttercream Frosting (Viva Method)

* 2 lbs. Sifted Powdered Sugar

1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter, Softened

1 1/2 Cups Solid Vegetable Shortening (Sweetex works best)

2 Tbsp. Clear Vanilla Extract (Available in Cake Decorating Stores, Walmart & Michaels)

1/4 tsp. Almond Extract

1/3 Cup Water or Milk (1/4 Cup for stiffer Frosting)

Cream butter, shortening and extracts until creamy and smooth.  Gradually add powdered sugar and milk. Mix thoroughly on medium speed for hand mixers, low speed for stand mixers, until smooth and creamy.  Do not over mix or mix on high speed.  For whiter frosting, use white butter, available some cake decorating stores and some health food stores.  If you live in a high humid climate, you can add 1-2 Tbsp. Meringue powder.   Be sure to sift your powdered sugar, even if it says pre-sifted as it will remove lumps from the powdered sugar, making your frosting creamier and smoother for easier decorating.   Let cake sit for 15 minutes after you’ve frosted it to smooth out your frosting with the viva paper towels.   Frosting can be refrigerated for 2 weeks in an airtight container, or Iced cake can be left at room temperature (if using water) for 2-3 days.

*Any flowers made with this recipe, will remain soft enough to be cut with a knife.

Cinnamon Buns

My family loves Cinnamon buns. Tradition was made with this recipe, having cinnamon Rolls made every year for Christmas Day morning.  This has been my go to Cinnamon Roll recipe for years, found on Allrecipes.com I remember for years, every time we went to the mall and there was a Cinnabun shop in it, I had to go check it out!  (And yes, eat one!)  Christmas is getting close, and I thought I’d share the recipe for my favorite Cinnamon Roll Recipe. (The next one I have to try is the Bread Maker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.  I hear those are top dog!)

Clone of a Cinnabun

From: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.