White Cutout Cookies

Lego head cookies

White Cutouts

The recipe I use for white cutout cookies was given to my mom by a grade school friend's mom many years ago. The sour cream keeps them soft. So, not dairy-free, but very tasty.

White Cutouts
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour

• Cream the shortening and sugar.
• Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix well.
• Add baking soda and salt to the first cup of flour and mix with the other ingredients.
• Then gradually add the last four cups of flour.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• Roll out and bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes.

Notes: I usually use a powdered sugar, vanilla, and water frosting.

Directions for Lego cookies: To make the Lego heads, I used a round cookie cutter, then trimmed the curved edges of the cookies with a bench scraper to make the sides flat but the corners rounded. Next I added a little rectangle on top. After baking, I frosted with yellow, and piped on the black with a zip bag-- (just cut a tiny triangle off the corner of the zip bag to make it into a piping bag).

Click here for Gingerbread Cutouts.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cereal Bars

Rice Krispies Treats made even better with chocolate and peanut butter

Rice Krispies Treats are a well loved dessert at our house. The kids like when I add in extra goodies such as mini M&Ms or sprinkles. My favorite combo to add is chocolate and peanut butter. All six of us give this a something good rating.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cereal Bars
2 Tablespoons butter
10 oz. marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
6 cups cereal (Rice Krispies, Chex, Cheerios)
1 cups mini chocolate chips, divided

• Grease a 9x13 pan.
• Place butter and marshmallows in a large bowl and microwave for 90 seconds or until marshmallows are big and puffy.
• Stir in peanut butter until combined.
• Stir in cereal.
• Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips.
• Spread in the prepared pan.
• Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips.
• Put a little butter or oil on your hand and press down on the bars until you have an even layer.
• Let the bars cool and set before cutting.

Notes: Feel free to add more peanut butter and chocolate.

Lime Sorbet - Guest Blogger Neighbor Jen

Lime Sorbet

Guest post by Neighbor Jen
I love to have Becky as a neighbor, we reap the "extra goodies" aka: leftovers. Trading food back and forth is always fun. I never know what my plate will have on it when it returns. I feel like my family has the better end of this arrangement, Becky is a wonderful and gracious cook.
When I brought over my lime sorbet, and she asked me to blog the recipe, well... I must have done something right!
So, here is my best efforts for you to recreate it. (I tend to use what I have in the house. For me, a recipe is only a loose guide.) The original recipe came from a friend who pulled it off allrecipies.com. (My print out is from 2009. The link is long lost on the website.) It is a lemon sorbet recipe. The store happen to have a great sale on lovely-looking limes. So...lime sorbet it was!

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
3 C. water
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon peel

Bring water & sugar to a boil. Cook about 5 min. until sugar is dissolved. Cool.
Add lemon juice and peel. Pour into ice-cream maker & freeze. Let warm on counter about 10 min before serving.

MY VERSION:  my changes are in itlaics
3 C. water
1 1/2 C. sugar - sometimes I will have a steeped sugar around. (Lavender or vanilla infused) I like to use some of that. I like to use about 1/2 cup of the flavored sugar and a cup of regular sugar. For my recipe I used lavender sugar. Just stick a stick of cinnamon or used vanilla bean, or my garden lavender in a jar of sugar and leave it for a while. "Hello, yummy!"
1 1/2 C. lemon juice - Squeeze it fresh. Do not substitute!
1 T. grated lemon peel -always double this. This is where the flavor is. Go for the BIG flavor!
Fresh mint sprig
Vodka- or other alcohol  about 2 T.

Bring water & sugar to a boil. Cook about 5 min. until sugar is dissolved. Add the fresh mint sprig to this. Clap the mint in your hand or crush it first. (Just like you would crumple a used piece of paper.) Cool. Remove the mint.
Add lemon juice and peel. Add a dash of liquor to the mix. We happen to have a lime vodka, so I added that. Just a tablespoon or two. This will help it not to freeze quite solid. I'm sure some chemist can explain why this works scientifically but I'm not sure exactly. It has something to do with the formation of ice crystals. (There is not enough alcohol in the mix for me to worry about feeding it to my kids. They love this sorbet! It is the same as when you add vanilla to your cookies. Vanilla has a VERY high alcohol content.)
Pour into ice-cream maker & freeze. Umm...too putzy for me. Throw it into an 8x8 glass pan & freeze. Then just scrape the top with a fork or spoon before you dish it up.  Let warm on counter about 10 min before serving.

A little goes a long way. It has BIG flavor and everyone finds it refreshing on a hot day. It is also a great recipe that can impress even the toughest of critics. You could make it days or weeks ahead of time and have no prep for company. If you toss some fresh raspberries & an fresh mint sprig on top when serving you too can pull off the "Martha Stewart" look!

Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcake with strawberries and whipped cream

Strawberry shortcake minus the strawberries

As evidenced in the pictures above, some of us like our shortcake with strawberries, and some just like cake. A bonus with this shortcake is that it is nondairy for the little guy. The recipe I started with came from joyofkosher.com. I reduced the sugar and changed the method a bit. Also, this shortcake is similar to a spongecake, different from many shortcake recipes that are more biscuit like. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

• Preheat the oven to 325*.
• Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Add orange juice, oil, vanilla, and eggs and stir until smooth.
• Spread the batter in an even layer on the sheet pan.
• Lift the pan and tap it down on the table 4-5 times to even out the batter and get the bubbles out.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Serve with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

Notes: If you like a bit of juice with your berries, slice them, sprinkle with sugar, and let them sit for an hour or more.

Campfire Dessert Pizza

Sweet pizza cooked over the campfire

The kids thought this dessert pizza tasted kind of like a doughnut. I got the idea from a camping cookbook Over a Fire: Cooking with a Stick & Cooking Hobo Style. I made some changes: homemade dough instead of refrigerated, different toppings, etc. My husband has a couple changes for the next time we make this recipe too, but it really wasn't difficult and was very tasty.

Campfire Dessert Pizza
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 Tablespoon olive oil
7 oz. water
Heavy duty aluminum foil
1/2 can chocolate frosting
Sweetened flake coconut
M&Ms
Chocolate chips
Pecans
Caramel ice cream topping

• Before you leave to go camping: combine 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in a zip bag. Place the extra cup of flour in another zip bag.
• At the campsite: in a medium bowl, add the yeast to the mix from home. Stir in oil and water and mix for about one minute.
• Add more flour until a slightly sticky ball forms.
• Transfer the ball to a floured cutting board and knead for 4-5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary until the dough is smooth and springy.
• Pour a small amount of oil in the bowl, add the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let raise for 1-2 hours until double in size.
• Cut two squares of 18 inch heavy duty foil, grease with olive oil. Punch down the dough and spread in a large circle on one of the pieces of foil.
• Transfer foil to a cooking grate set over hot coals. Bake for 5-10 minutes until the bottom side is browned.
• Place the second piece of foil over the pizza and grab both pieces of foil together to flip the pizza.
• Remove the top piece of foil and bake the second side for 5-10 minutes until browned.
• Transfer foil with pizza onto a large cutting board or picnic table. 
• Spread the frosting on the crust. Sprinkle on the coconut, M&Ms, chocolate chips, and pecans. Drizzle with the caramel topping.
• Use a pizza cutter or a knife to slice into squares.

Notes: If you don't want to make the dough from scratch, use refrigerated pizza dough. The cooking time depends on how hot the coals are. You could divide the dough in half and make two smaller pizzas.

Non-dairy Snickerdoodles

Super soft, non-dairy snickerdoodles

There are lots of recipes for snickerdoodles. It seems that the biggest difference is whether you like your snickerdoodles crunchy or soft. My kids like soft cookies. These snickerdoodles have a little sugary crunch on the outside, but the inside is soft, almost cakey or doughy. That's how they like it.

Snickerdoodles (no dairy)
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• Preheat the oven to 375*.
• Mix the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Mix the oil, applesauce, vanilla, maple syrup and egg in a small bowl or measuring cup.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• In a shallow bowl or on a plate, mix the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the cinnamon.
• Form the cookie dough into Tablespoon sized balls and roll them in the cinnamon sugar.
• Place cookies about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes.

Notes: This recipe makes about 30 small rounded cookies. If you like your cookies flatter, press down to flatten the balls of dough before baking.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Bread is another food the whole family can agree on. Whether or not to add chocolate chips, now that's a different story. This pumpkin bread recipe is adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe.

Pumpkin Bread
1 15oz can pumpkin
1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• Preheat oven to 350* and grease the bottoms only of two loaf pans.
• Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl.
• Stir in remaining ingredients.
• Divide batter evenly between the two pans.
• Bake 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.
• Remove bread from pans and cool completely before cutting.

Notes: Because some of us like chocolate in this bread, I add 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the second half of the batter after filling the first pan. To keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom and sticking, I spread a thin layer of plain batter in the bottom of the pan before adding the chocolate chip batter.

Chewy Bars

Chewy Bars--definitely something good

Due to a number of requests for the Chewy Bar recipe, I've decided to post it next. However, I will say that the recipe is on the box. This is not an original recipe of mine or even a from scratch recipe, but they're so good that everyone thinks it must be a family secret. I have an aunt who is famous for making Chewy Bars, but she'll also tell you, "it's on the box." I guess the secret is which box: JIFFY Golden Yellow cake mix. Now the secret is out....

Chewy Bars
1 package JIFFY Golden Yellow Cake Mix
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water
2 Tablespoons flour

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Grease an 8 inch square pan.
• In a small bowl, blend all ingredients.
• Spread in prepared pan.
• Bake 25-30 minutes.
• Cool and cut into bars.

Notes: I usually double the chocolate chips--sometimes I even triple them if I'm in a chocolatey mood. You can double the whole recipe and bake in a 9x13 pan, but bake them a little longer, 30-33 minutes.

Pie Crust (cookies)

Pie Crust Cookies

It seemed appropriate on Pi day, March 14 (3/14), to post on something "pie" related. The place to start with pie is the crust. This crust recipe is from my grandma. However, as with many recipes from Grandma, I have a list of ingredients but not many instructions. So, the ratio is Grandma's, but the method is not. If you don't like my method, give Grandma a call; I'm sure she'd love to talk you through it.

Pie Crust (makes one double or two single crusts)
3 cups flour
dash salt
1 cup lard
1 cup or less ice water

• Use a pastry blender to cut the lard into the flour and salt until the texture is consistent, mealy with pea sized balls.
• Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together in a ball.
• Flatten the ball into a disk.
• Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• On a floured board, cut the dough disk in half. Set one half aside.
• Roll out the other half into a long rectangle. 
• Fold the dough over on itself so that you have a squarish shape.
• Roll out into a circle large enough to fit in your pie pan, about 12 inches for a 9 inch pan.
• Repeat with the second half of the dough for the top crust, pie crust cookies, or another single crust pie.

Pie Crust Cookies

• Use the dough trimmings leftover from your pie or make a whole batch of crust into cookies.
• Follow the above method for making and rolling the dough.
• Cut out into squares or cookie cutter shapes.
• Place on a cookie sheet.
• Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar.
• Bake at 400* until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• Remove from the pan and cool before eating.

Notes:  Make sure to add more flour when rolling the dough if it starts to stick. The rolled dough should end up about 1/8 inch thick.

Question: Which part of the pie do you like the best, the filling or the crust?

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

Heart Shaped Gingerbread Cookies

Another favorite cookie recipe from my grandma. She calls them Dark Cutouts. We call them Gingerbread Cutouts. We also call them "something good."

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
6 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
6 Tablespoons sour milk or buttermilk

• Cream the sugar and shortening.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Put molasses and baking soda in a bowl and beat until light colored and foamy.
• Add molasses mixture to the sugar mixture and beat again.
• Mix flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger in a separate bowl.
• Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk to molasses mixture.
• Roll on a floured board and cut out with shaped cutters.
• Bake at 350* for 10 minutes on ungreased pans.
• Remove from pans and cool on a cooling rack.
• Frost and decorate.

Notes: This recipe makes about 10 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters. I use soy milk with a little lemon juice to keep it dairy free for the little guy.

Question: What is your favorite cookie shape?

Mini Monster Cookies

Although not as large as traditional Monster Cookies, these Mini Monsters are just as delicious.

This recipe is from my grandma. It's one of my favorite of her cookie recipes. She tends to make her monster cookies about twice as big as we do. I've seen similar cookies in coffee shops that are even bigger, more monstrous. We tend to make them smaller because then they are the perfect size for snacking, and my cookie scoop is one Tablespoon. Sometimes I'll make one really big cookie with that last of the dough when I need to finish up quickly; the kids call that the DADDY cookie. :) Big or small, we love them all.

Mini Monster Cookies
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup m&ms
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups peanut butter

• Mix all the ingredients.
• Drop Tablespoon sized dough balls onto an ungreased baking sheet. A cookie scoop works great for this.
• Bake 11-12 minutes at 350*.
• Let cookies cool for one minute on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

Notes: If you do make a big monster cookie, make sure to flatten the dough when you place it on the cookie sheet and bake for a couple of extra minutes.

Question: Do you have a favorite cookie recipe from your Grandma?