It's That Time Of Year Again...

It's that time of year again. No, not sweater weather. I live in Louisiana. There is only one day a year that it is cold enough to wear a sweater. No, not the end of daylight savings time. Although we did just experience the wonderful Fall Back event, that's not what I'm talking about. No, not crank up the fireplace season. I wish I could. I've needed to get my chimney swept for several years, and I'm too embarrassed to admit how many. Have you ever seen what smoke will do when it has nowhere to go but back up into your living room? Not a pretty sight.

If you guessed Christmas cookie baking time, then you guessed right. It happens every year. The weather turns cooler (notice I didn't say colder), the leaves fall, the trick or treaters have come and gone, and my children say, "Mom, will you bake us some cookies?"

I baked my first batch tonight. Here's the link to the recipe from Betty Crocker:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-peanut-butter-blossom-cookies/a3563f6e-96b0-443f-ae0a-53cef4be6db6

Pre-bake

Post-bake

My cookies didn't turn out exactly like the picture on the website. Truthfully, my attempts at baking never do look like the recipe picture. :( 

I had a couple of accidents after I took them out of the oven. Two of the precious little darlings slid right off the spatula and landed on the counter. They were delicious.

I miss the days when a person could eat cookie dough right out of the bowl. Not any longer. Too much risk of ingesting the salmonella virus.

You know what? I'm going to Google eggless cookie dough. A gal's gotta have something to do after she types The End on her next release.

If you have a favorite cookie recipe, please share it with me. I'm always looking for something new to try.

The Best Snickerdoodles Ever!

My daughter and I just made the best snickerdoodles ever for Memorial Day!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix together and set aside:

3 C all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

In another bowl, mix together until smooth:

2 sticks of non-salted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 C dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 C granulated sugar

Stir into butter/sugar mix:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Gradually add flour mix to sugar mix until dough forms.

Mix together:

8 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon

Form dough into 2 Tbsp portions, roll in sugar/cinnamon
mix, and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. The original recipe I adapted this recipe from suggested baking the cookies for 12 - 14 minutes at 300 degrees F, but I found because of the low baking temperature, it took my oven between 15 - 16 minutes to bake. Don't over bake. Cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire baking rack to set.

Enjoy!

The Best Mini M&M Cookie EVER!

My daughter and I made these cookies for Easter and they might be the best cookies I've ever baked.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix together and set aside:

2 C plus + 2 Tbsp All purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

In another bowl, mix together:

1 and 1/2 sticks of non-salted butter, melted and cooled

1 C dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 granulated sugar

Stir into butter/sugar mix:

1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

Gradually add flour mix until dough forms. Fold in M&Ms.

Roll dough into 2 Tbsp portions and place on ungreased air insulated stainless steel cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. If you want, you can add more M&Ms to the tops of each cookie before baking to make sure each cookie has a colorfully decorated surface. Bake for 8 -12 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, but I found my cookies did best at just about 11 minutes. Don't over bake unless you want very crunchy cookies. Let cool for at least 5 minutes.

Enjoy!