Snickerdoodles

Two things have been brought to my attention lately:

1. My blog needs more love and attention

2. There is no Snickerdoodle recipe to be found here

Well, it's easy enough to fix the Snickerdoodle issue. As for carving out more time for my blog, we'll see. I have a cute little man (just graduated from preschool, yes I cried) and a darling Baby Strawberry (who is now closer to 3 than 2 my husband pointed out) and while I always make time to bake with them, I don't always make time to photograph/upload/blog about our adventures. I'm sorry.

Back to business- these cookies are amazing. This is another fabulous Barb recipe. My original copy calls for cream of tartar or to substitute with powder and soda- I much prefer them this way. I'm also a crazy snob about only using butter in cookies BUT I like to make these with a little Crisco (half and half? 1/4? Whatever you like.) They hold up a little better in the oven.

The end product is a chewy, delicious cookie just like every kid wants to pull from the cookie jar. Add a little sprinkles to the cinnamon sugar to make them feel fancy or enjoy them as is. They're a tried and true favorite around here.

PS One time, I wanted to dye these pink for Valentine's day but didn't want to make them pink covered in brown cinnamon- so I added a little cinnamon extract to the batter after the eggs then just rolled them out in sugar. Same taste but a different look- I love a versatile recipe!

Snickerdoodles
from Barb Sperry 

 
1 Cup Butter, Barely Softened (you can use up to half original Crisco for firmer shape)
1 ½ Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspooon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
¾ Cup Cinnamon Sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 450.

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat for one minute. Add the dry ingredients and carefully mix until just combined. Scoop into ball and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Bake on Silpat lined sheet for 7-9 minutes (alternately- grease and line a standard cookie sheet). Cool and enjoy. These cookies freeze well before or after being cooked (if you decide to freeze the dough, hold off on the cinnamon sugar until you are ready to bake them).

Peppered Walnut Salad

Today I'm sharing my favorite salad recipe... again. This one comes from my genius cousin who can take regular produce and turn it into salads women moan over. I've had a couple friends ask for this recipe so I am bumping it back up and including the post as well because when I posted this last (the same week in April a couple of years ago) my feelings were exactly the same as they are today. With berry season upon us it's the perfect time to try the salad. You can be flexible on the specifics- berries, types of nuts (my mom makes it with sunflower seeds since my sister-in-law is allergic to walnuts) but the crunchy, peppery nuts, creamy, salty cheese and hint of sweet from the fruit makes for a really amazing flavor combination. Let me know how you like it!

{printable recipe here}
The heat is coming. I'm sure some of you are still in "winter" mode but around here it's already getting hot. Some days I feel like it's time to turn on the air conditioning but I just "can't want to" as we like to say around here. Hopefully spring will hold on for a couple more weeks but even if it doesn't this light, flavorful salad will hit the spot. It's fresh, delicious, and features so many wonderful flavors- peppered candied walnuts, feta, craisins or dried blueberries {fresh are great here too!}, and a garlic and parsley dressing. I've never met a woman who didn't love this salad (as for the men, sometimes they just don't know a good thing when they taste it!)

One note about the feta- the real deal will really set this salad over the top. Peter from Kalofagas (my favorite Greek cooking blog) recommended the Dodoni brand from Costco. I haven't been able to find that, but I love the authentic Greek Feta from Trader Joes. It comes in a white and blue box and is soaked in brine so it stays fresh. It's even made in Greece and is the only kind my brother, who lived in Greece, likes.

Peppered Walnut Salad

{printable recipe here}
From Wendy Jensen, my fabulous cousin who consistently makes the best salads. Thanks for sharing!

Nuts:

1 cup chopped walnuts

3 Tbsp. butter

½ cup sugar

2 tsp. black pepper

Toast walnuts in butter on low for 5 minutes. Combine sugar and pepper and coat hot nuts. Set aside to cool.

Dressing:

2 tsp. sugar

2 cloves peeled garlic

1 tsp. Dried oregano

½ c. diced red onion

½ tsp. salt

1 c. fresh parsley

½ c. red wine vinegar

1 c. canola oil

Blend and refrigerate in a container with a non metal lid (I like to use an old peanut butter jar)

Dressing keeps for a little under a week. I usually throw it out when the parsley loses it's bright green color.

Salad:

1 large head dark green Romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped

¼ c. crumbled feta cheese

¼ c. craisins or dried blueberries

Add nuts and a 1/4 cup of dressing. Toss and serve immediately.

Can you make a pie in 30 seconds? Me neither.

I like starting out a blog post with cupcakes- they just look happy (orange creamsicle cupcake recipe here). So, how have you been? It's busy at my house for some reason even though I really try to avoid that. Oh well. It's a happy busy and everyone is eating well over here. We watched the pie ninja's episode of Backyardigans Saturday and it inspired my son to ask to make pie. So, we made quiche for dinner and a lemon meringue tart for dessert. I tried a new crust recipe I ripped out from Gourmet a few years ago (couldn't find it online for some reason). In the Backyardigans episode, the pie master teaches his apprentice the secret to pie making- and they can make a pie in about 30 seconds. My son informed me that I must still be a pie apprentice because it took us a little bit longer than 30 seconds to make a clean up our pie extravaganza. I guess I still have a lot to learn, funny boy.

 

The winner of the MyBlogSpark Pillsbury giveaway is comment #5, Natalie. Please email your address and I will have the prize shipped out asap! Have an awesome week everyone and enjoy the beautiful spring weather!

Pillsbury Bake-Off (and giveaway)

  

Hot pink cupcakes- made my 'red velvet way'- using a white mix, some pink and red gel coloring and a lot of frosting- perfect!

The other day at the park, one of my friends mentioned in passing by that she was up to do/help with/whatever since she isn't busy at all. I was kind of shocked (she does have a family, home and Church responsibilities, lots going on). It made me wonder if her perception of busy is different than mine, if she is just ultra-capable, or if I am just a crazy person and doing too much. I don't know about you but I feel busy. I try to simplify but every so often it just gets to me that I am busy and there isn't a lot to do about it (especially since I am certainly creating my own reality!) Sometimes there isn't a happy shortcut to simplify certain things but when there is... a way to mix quality and efficiency, fun and useful, it makes me happy. 

 

I love experimenting in my kitchen and spending time knocking out big, fun projects (homemade chocolate sweet rolls anyone?) but sometimes I need a showstopper and I need it fast.  When MyBlogSpark contacted me about the Pillsbury Bake-Off I thought it looked like a lot of fun. I love perusing recipes and seeing how creative people can be (and thinking about the $1 Million prize on the line for the best recipe?! Wow!) There are a ton of great recipes to check out- for breakfasts, appetizers, dinner, desserts.

I love recipes like these that feature simple, easy to follow instructions and ingredients and yield infinite different results. It's easy to customize and change things up based on your own preferences. I can't believe how many different things you can do with cresent rolls. Myself, I usually doctor up cake and brownie mixes. Cereal is another tricky one (way more  uses beyond breakfast!) What is your favorite short cut? Something I am missing out on? As for the recipes... I am going to try the Hazelnut French Silk Turtle pie first. Wow.

 

My favorite lemon cake recipe comes from a box. It's so tender and flavorful (and delicious, even if I am terrible cake decorator!)

Instead of oreos, I use Chocolate Cheerios to make press in crusts for cheesecakes and pies. It sounds kind of weird, but it's crazy delicious and simple too (just some melted butter and whirl in the food processor). Plus, I feel a lot better about eating Chocolate Cheerios than oreos, even if that's fuzzy math.


Peanut butter and cheesecake swirled brownies take less than ten minutes to prepare and taste divine.

These were a beast to name but seriously delicious-

A Golden Graham crust
Topped by a layer of Sugar Cookie Dough
Followed by some apple pie filling
And they layered with a cream cheese filling
And more cookie dough
Then topped with caramel and pecans.

Let's call them Caramel Apple Pecan Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Bars. Or little bars of deliciousness, I think they would answer to that too. They are also easy to customize (store bought cookie dough and pie filling, or homemade, or some of each, whatever you have. It will taste yummy!)

 

I really think anyone can bake delicious food for their families without too much stress. We are all so busy but everyone needs to eat, so why not show your love to your family by making them something special?

MyBlogSpark and Walmart have a prize pack to give away to one lucky reader- a $25 Walmart giftcard to stock your fridge and pantry with yummy food for your families so you can have your own little bake-off. Leave a comment (make sure your profile is linked to your blog or email or leave it for me) by Sunday night, midnight AZ time to be entered. One entry per person. 

And before you shop, check out this site for great General Mill's product coupons- even though I am beyond tired of picking them up off the floor, there's no such thing as too many Cheerio's around here!

Disclosure:  The gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Walmart and General Mills, through MyBlogSpark.