Cookie Jar
Wednesday, May 28, 2008, by Leigh Anne
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The last few months I have been on the hunt for the perfect sugar cookie. The perfect sugar cookie would be one that did not need to be rolled out or refrigerated, would have an almond flavor and a yummy almond frosting on top.
You see, I found the perfect sugar cookie at a small little deli in Kalama, Washington. Kalama is about an hour north of Portland, too far away to visit on a regular basis to satisfy my sugar cookie cravings! I love their almond sugar cookies - and I wanted to find a way to create them at home.
I tried numerous recipes - some close but not quite right. I shared my quest with my blogger friend Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe. Melanie sent me several almond sugar cookie recipes and I tried them all and guess what?! One of them was a winner! Another food blogger had shared it with Melanie and then she shared it with me and now I’m sharing it with you! Thank you Melanie.
So today’s recipe is for what I think is the perfect sugar cookie! They don’t need to be refrigerated or rolled out - they have a lovely almond flavor and a yummy almond frosting. They are slightly crisp around the edges and soft in the middle. They are even better the second day!
Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix butter, sugar and extract in a large bowl. Beat until cream, 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 buttered glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Move to a wire rack. Stir together glaze ingredients with a wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze and sliced almonds (optional)
Glaze: 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp. almond extract, 4-5 tsp. milk (I used whipping cream)
Popularity: 48% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I think you know by now how I feel about lemons - I love them! You may have also picked up on the fact that I love white chocolate too and my favorite all time cookie is a chocolate chip cookie - today’s recipe is a twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie - combining three of my favorite things - lemon, white chocolate and chocolate chip cookies!
The combination of lemon and white chocolate is one I had not tried before - but it did not disappoint. The lemon in this cookie recipe is subtle but it’s there.
I found this recipe on a fun blog I visit on a regular basis - Cookie Madness
I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did. After eating one, my sweet husband came up to my office and said, “These are really good!”
Try them and let me know what you think. Happy cookie baking!
PS - this dough has to be refrigerated so allow yourself some time.
Lemon White Chunk Cookies
1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used salted)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used regular brown sugar)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup plus 1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt (I only used 1/4 tsp. since I used salted butter)
3/8 tsp. baking soda (this is not a typo - it is really 3/8 tsp. - just use slightly less than 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract or lemon oil
2 cups white chocolate chunks (You can also use chips. I bought a block of white chocolate at Trader Joes and chopped it up)
Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do not over-mix.
Add white chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate batter until cold, preferably overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft, about 12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Popularity: 36% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Recipes
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Thursday, February 28, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I was planning on sharing another Lovely Lemon recipe with you today but we are a divided camp at our house. Half of my children are lemon lovers/mint haters and the other half are mint lovers/lemon haters. I love lemons and mint.
So when the doorbell rang this week and there was my cute little neighbor delivering my Girl Scout cookies (I actually had 3 different Brownies delivering cookies to my house - I can’t say no to them!) I remembered a recipe I have been saving for almost a year now for Thin Mint Pizza Supreme. So in fairness to the mint lovers at my house you will have to wait until next week for another lemon recipe.
Although I love many of the different varieties of Girl Scout cookies (except for Samoas - I don’t do coconut!) my favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Thin Mint -there is nothing better than a frozen thin mint cookie right out of the freezer.
I also love Girl Scouts. I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout growing up and my mom was my leader. Not only was she my troop leader but she was also the President of our Council and my dad was in charge of fund raising for the Council, so you can see why we love our Girl Scout cookies.
Wasn’t I a cute Brownie!
My girls have also been involved in Girl Scouts and I was a Brownie leader too. We have had our share of cookie selling at this house -hundreds of boxes over the years!
I found today’s recipe in a Rachel Ray magazine but after all my Thin Mints were gone so I have been waiting for this year’s delivery of Thin Mints so I could try it. It did not disappoint.
Leave a comment below and let me know what your favorite Girl Scout cookie is!
Thin Mint Pizza Supreme
One roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
Half of a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies (I used about 16)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. heavy cream or half and half
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12 inch pizza pan or a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper. (I used my Pampered chef pizza stone and did not use parchment paper) using your fingers, press the cookie dough to fit the pan. Break the Thin Mints into quarters and gently press them into the dough. Bake until golden brown 15 minutes or so. Let cool.
Meanwhile, in a double boiler, whisk together the white chocolate chips and cream until the chocolate melts. Remove from the heat. Using a fork, drizzle the topping over the cooled pizza. Cut into slices.
Popularity: 50% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Recipes, Traditions
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Thursday, February 21, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I love lemons!
I love everything about lemons!
I love the taste of lemons, the smell of lemons, the color and shape of lemons!
I purchase lemons by the pound, not individually - last week I bought 5 lbs. of lemons. Wondering what 5 pounds of lemons look like? - see the above photo (you can also see my lemon tablecloth in the picture!).
Over the next few weeks I am going to share with you what I did with 5 lbs. of lemons!
But before I do that I want to tell you about two kitchen tools you are going to need if you are going to work with lemons.
First - the microplaner. I love this tool. It is a long, small grater type tool. You use it to “zest” a lemon which basically means grating the lemon rind. Fresh lemon zest adds great flavor to recipes.
Second - you will need a lemon juicer. I use this handy little hand juicer - it quickly and easily squeezes all the juice out of the lemon. I got mine for a couple of dollars at Ikea but both of these tools can be found at any kitchen shop or even Target.
You are going to want to use fresh lemon juice, not that fake stuff that comes in the green bottle at the grocery store for the recipes I will share with you so get juicing!
One of my favorite lemon recipes is Lemon Bars. Recently a new friend I met through my blog, Rachel, shared with me her recipe for Lemon Cheesecake Bars and promised me they would become my new favorite lemon recipe - she was right. The cheesecake layer makes for a much creamier and yummier lemon bar!
Lemon Cheesecake Bars - you will need 3-4 lemons for this recipe
Crust:
3/4 cup butter, chilled
2 cups flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Cheesecake:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Lemon Layer:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup flour
Crust: Preheat oven to 325. Cut butter into pieces. In a food processor (or blender on low, pulse setting) Process all ingredients until mixture becomes tiny and fine pieces. Sprinkle mixture into a 9 x 13 baking pan and press evenly into bottom of pan. Bake for 12 minutes and remove from oven.
Cheesecake: In medium bowl, blend cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix well. Cream together the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Pour cheesecake evenly over hot crust. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300.
Lemon layer: In a bowl whisk together eggs and sugar until combined well. Stir in lemon juice and flour. Pour over semi-baked cheesecake. Bake at 300 for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle powdered sugar over top if desired.
Cool for an hour and then refrigerate. Can be served warm but better after it has chilled. I let it sit out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before I serve it. For families, it will probably be eaten as soon as they are out of the fridge.
Makes 24 bars
Popularity: 70% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Recipes
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Thursday, January 31, 2008, by Leigh Anne
You have heard me say it before -one of the best things about my direct sales homebased business is the friends I have made.
Today I want to share one of those friends with you - Sherra (yes, it is pronounced Share - a). We have been friends and business associates for over a decade. We have shared a lot over the years. We’ve shared business ideas, favorite books, recipes, incentive trips, visits in each other’s homes and a friendship that transcends the 2500+ miles that is the distance between our homes and lots of laughs.
I can honestly say Sherra is the funniest friend I have (and I have some pretty funny friends), she makes me laugh - a lot! Sherra is an amazing lady - she has had a lot of different experiences in her life - some good, some bad but all have made her stronger, wiser and funnier! (Even the severe head injury!)
As a result of the “magic of the internet” you can meet her too! She’s recently started her own website (she’ll tell you she did this at my urging - and I’ll take the credit!) where she shares many of her life experiences and how they have helped to shape the person she is today.
I know she’ll make you laugh - she is the funniest person I know. Seriously, I mean that. So I hope you will visit Sherra at www.Sharealifelesson.com to get to know her better, learn from her life lessons and to have a good laugh now and then!
So in the interest of sharing Sherra, here are three things she’s recently shared with me.
The $2.00 product that changed Oprah’s life!
- Is this cool or what!! The new Scotch/3M highlighter with built-in post-it flags is exactly the kind of thing that Sherra knew I would love. We are both voracious readers and she was surprised when I hadn’t heard about it yet. Of course, I went out the very next day and bought one. I would have gone that night but Office Depot was already closed!
- Sherra is a techno wizard” - well, at least compared to me! She shared with me a great way to change my comment section on this blog so you all can comment more and talk to each other. So be sure and leave a comment - let me know if she made you laugh!
- I love chocolate chip cookies - they are my absolute favorite, especially when they are warm! Sherra shared with me this yummy recipe that gives a new twist to chocolate chip cookies. There is a secret ingredient - malt - and if you love malt, you’ll love these. Even if you don’t love malt I think you’ll still like the cookies - YUM!
LA Note- if you have not ever bought Malt before you will find it in the section of the store with the chocolate milk powder and hot chocolate. The malt flavor is very subtle in these cookies so don’t be afraid! Watch the timing of your oven - I found my time varied a little from Sherra’s - they cooked faster so just check them.
Chocolate Malted Cookies
- 1 cup butter flavored shortening (Crisco)
- 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup malted milk powder (Original)
- 2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients; beat for 2 minutes. Add egg. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chunks and chips. Shape into 2 inch balls; place 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack. - Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen.
Popularity: 70% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Direct Sales, Friends, Home Based Business, Recipes
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Thursday, January 24, 2008, by Leigh Anne
The great debate - what is the best way to eat an Oreo cookie? That debate has been raging since 1912 when the Oreo cookie was introduced and it has been the best selling cookie in America ever since with over 362 billion sold!! We have eaten our share of Oreos here at the Wilkes house (we even named our rabbit Oreo).
So how do you like to eat your Oreo cookie? How you eat your Oreo actually reveals a lot about your personality - or so says this cute online quiz.
Do you eat your Oreo…
1. The whole thing all at once.
2. One bite at a time
3. Slow and methodical nibbles examining the results of each bite afterwards.
4. In little feverous nibbles.
5. Dunked in some liquid (milk, coffee…).
6. Twisted apart, the inside, then the cookie.
7. Twisted apart, the inside, and toss the cookie.
8. Just the cookie, not the inside.
9. I just like to lick them, not eat them.
10. I don’t have a favorite way because I don’t like Oreos.
I’m a dunker (in milk), you’ll have to read the quiz to see what that says about my personality!
This summer I found a recipe for homemade Oreos in our church cookbook. I made them when the Wilkes family was here for our summer reunion and they were a big hit. This version is a “soft” Oreo and yummy! I make them using my smallest cookie scoop because they are pretty rich and I don’t like them too big.
Homemade Oreo Cookies
2 pkgs. Duncan Hines Deluxe Devil’s Food cake mix
1 1/2 cup Crisco
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
Mix together all ingredients and roll into balls the size of large melon balls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Let cool then put frosting between two cookies and stick together like the original Oreo cookie!
Frosting:
1/2 cube butter, room temperature
1 (80z.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Put between two cooled cookies.
Popularity: 45% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Recipes
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Monday, December 10, 2007, by Leigh Anne
I love surprises! I especially think it’s fun to bite into a cookie and find something you didnt’ expect (as long as it is some form of chocolate!) This week I had the girls from my church class (14-16 year old girls) over for a holiday cookie baking night. One of the girl’s moms (thanks Claudia!) taught them how to make some fun Christmas cookies and one of them I just have to share because it was so good - Snowballs. The best part of this cookie is that hidden inside is a Hershey Kiss! These cookies freeze great too. You can make them with or without the nuts.
My class from church making Snowball cookies
Snowball Cookies
2 sticks butter, softened (1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
8 oz. chocolate kisses
powdered sugar for dusting
Cream butter and sugar well until smooth. Add flour and then walnuts. Gather dough into disk-shape and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove foil from kisses and insert one inside a ball of dough 1 inch in diameter. Make sure each kiss is completely covered by dough. Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 12 minutes, until just cooked through. Roll in powdered sugar after cooled.
Another fun “hidden surprise” cookie is Snickers Cookies - you guessed it - hidden inside is a mini Snicker candy bar - yum! This recipe was shared with me by another food blogger -Katherine of How to be a Domestic Goddess. These are so awesome - you won’t be able to eat just one! Happy Baking!
Snickers Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
60 minature (bite size) Snickers candy bars (these are the smallest size ones - NOT the fun size)
chocolate glaze (see recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 . Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to peanut butter mixture. Take 1 Tbsp. of dough and flatten into round shape in palm of hand. Place Snickers bar in center and fold dough around it. Roll in palms of your hand to form a smooth ball with the Snickers bar totally covered with the dough. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool. Drizzle top of cookies with chocolate glaze.
Chocolate Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 Tbps. milk
Mix powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa and milk. Add additional as needed to thin mixture enough to drizzle from spoon.
Popularity: 40% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Recipes
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Sunday, December 2, 2007, by Leigh Anne
When you find a couple of ripe bananas on your counter what is the first thing you think of ? Most likely - it’s banana bread! Well, next time you find a couple of ripe bananas give this recipe a try - they are so yummy! It makes a huge batch since it uses a big jellyroll pan so there are plenty to share. It’s a good “potluck” dessert since it makes so much My friend Jane Densley shared this recipe with me and it has become a family favorite. My favorite part is the cream cheese frosting on top. So if you have any leftover banana bars be sure and refrigerate them so the cream cheese doesn’t go bad.
Cream: 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs.
Add: 1 cup sour cream, 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine and add dry ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt
Stir in 2 medium ripe mashed bananas (enough to make 1 cup). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes in jelly roll pan
Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, soft
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Popularity: 38% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Family, Recipes
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007, by Leigh Anne
They’re home! Late last night (their flight got in at 10:30 p.m.) my two sweet college boys got home. And guess where the first place they went was? - the pantry and refrigerator to check out what was there! One of the treats waiting on the counter for them was a freshly baked batch of Snickerdoodles. When Clark was in high school he and his buddies would hang out at the house playing Halo - they always requested Snickerdoodles! I made a lot of Snickerdoodles his senior year! Snickerdoodles are just a classic in the cookie department so I’m not going to post my recipe but if you need a good one just email me and I’ll send it along!
This week as I was doing a little blog surfing on some of my favorite food blogs I found another recipe for a classic - rice krispie treats. Now you may think - everyone has that recipe - it’s on the back of the box! True, but not all rice krispie treats are created equal! Almost two years ago my father was going through cancer treatment at a local hospital. It was a hard and stressful time for our family and we spent a lot of time at the hospital. One of the things we discovered in the cafeteria at the hospital were these amazing rice krispie treats! First of all - they were BIG and they were nice and soft and gooey! So when I found this rice krispie treat recipe I thought I’d give it a try -and guess what - they taste just like the ones at the hospital. It may be silly but during that stressful time in our life those rice krispie treats brought some enjoyment and comfort.
So thanks to Katherine of How to Be a Domestic Goddess here is a great “comfort food” recipe!
Start with one full bag of marshmallows, I used mini but you can also use the large. Now here come’s the secret. Add
1 cube of butter instead of the 1/4 cup the recipe suggests. Trust me.
Melt in microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Mix marshmallows and butter until butter melts and mixture is smooth. (If the butter doesn’t melt, microwave for an extra 15 seconds or so.)
Just pour the rice krispies into the bowl without messing with measuring cups. I used an 18 oz. box and had just over 8 cups leftover (sorry I didn’t measure, I just kept pouring until it looked right) You don’t want to add too much rice krispies or they won’t be as soft and gooey as they should be.
Mix away. What we’re trying to avoid here is big gloppy amounts of white marshmallow.
Once the marshmallow-butter mixture is evenly mixed in, pour into a pan and allow to set. Enjoy
Popularity: 40% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Family, Recipes
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Saturday, November 17, 2007, by Leigh Anne
As I was looking for a cookie recipe to share this week I was going through our family cookbook and came across a cookie my mom use to make when I was young. I love these cookies and they do live up to their name - they literally “melt in your mouth”. They are easy to make and you can change it up a bit if you like and instead of using lemon juice try lime or orange! Being the lemon fan that I am, I always use lemon!
During my recipe search I came across one from my childhood. It was from the early 1970’s and was put out by Wisconsin Electric Power Company (I grew up in Wisconsin) and each year they came out with a new “Cooky Book”. I remember attending my first cooking class as a teenager at the Wisconsin Electric Power Company building with my mom . My mom did most of the cookie baking at our house each holiday season except for one cookie - and every year that was my responsibility - the “Frosted Christmas Wreaths”. As you can see by the looks of the cookbook page (just click on it to enlarge it), this recipe was made a lot (I am also a messy cook!) It’s been years since I actually made this cookie and if I remember correctly it makes a “crisper” sugar cookie. Maybe I’ll have to make them again this year for “old times sake.
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour
Mix and then roll into balls. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes (edges will be slightly brown)
Frosting
1/4 cup butter
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 of a lemon juiced or enough to make frosting right consistency
grated lemon rind
After cookies cool frost.
Popularity: 39% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Recipes
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