Snickerdoodles

If you have been reading my blog, Thank You, and by now you know that my husband loves cinnamon.  I am constantly looking for different cinnamon recipes to try for him. He doesn't really have a sweet tooth, but occasionally, he will indulge in a sweet treat.

I found this recipe through ohsodelicioso.com.  It's a snickerdoodle cookie, but it's like a traditional snickerdoodle and a sugar cake had a baby.  This snickerdoodle is crispy to bite into, but it is soft on the inside.  I liked these so very much, and my husband....well, he could not get enough of them.

This dough needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour before baking the cookies.  When I started making this dough, I forgot about this detail.  I usually do my baking before I go to work around noon.  I was making this dough and then got to the "refrigerate dough for an hour" part, and I was heartbroken.  Then, I had to work for 8 hours thinking about these cookies.  I immediately started baking them when I got off work.  Trust me when I tell you they were worth the wait!

Ingredients

• 1 C butter, at room temp
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 C flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar together with electric mixer. Add eggs.
2. In separate bowl sift flour, tartar, baking soda, and salt together. Slowly combine with butter mix.
3. Chill dough in fridge for at least 15 minutes more if you can.
4. Meanwhile grease cookie sheet and make a cinnamon-sugar mix by combining 3 T sugar and 3 tsp. cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
5. When dough is chilled, take a small amount and roll into a ball about 1..5 -2 inches wide.
6. Then roll ball in cinnamon-sugar mix to coat and place on cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 deg. Baking time varies depend upon size of dough balls so watch them close. Cool on rack.

Easy recipe, no milk, no flour...peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies

By now you know how much of an absolute peanut butter enthusiast I am.  I cannot, for the life of me, understand how people do not like peanut butter.  Just the mere thought of it makes my mouth water.

I stumbled upon this recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.  It could not have been more simple.  There are only 5 ingredients!  There is also no milk and no flour!  I made these for my son's percussion group where there are some kids with lactose allergies and gluten allergies.  They almost created a black hole inhaling these cookies!

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp baking SODA
1 cup brown sugar....packed firmly (use light brown sugar)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

That's it!  Throw it all in a bowl and mix!  Scoop by tablespoon onto a lined cookie tray.  Oven should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake these for 7-9 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool completely before removing from tray.

These cookies are sooooo good.  They are gluten free and lactose free....so they are healthy right?  That's the rationale I use anyway.

Happy baking!

Almond cookie recipe

I am always looking for a new cookie recipe to try.  Even the best chocolate chip recipe gets tired after a while.

We had a few friends over to our house this past weekend.  I was trying to find some recipes that would allow me to prepare the food early in the week and then freeze the food until the weekend.  I found an easy recipe for almond cookies.  They are much like butter cookies or shortbread cookies.  I personally do not eat almond, so I could not test these for myself.  I was hostage to the opinions of others.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl blend the butter, sugar, and almond extract. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture 2 Tablespoons at a time to the butter mixture until completely combined.

Roll into small balls and flatten slightly. Cook for 7 minutes (they will not look done) at 400 degrees on a lightly greased pan or parchment lined pan. Cool cookies until they are just warm and place sliced almonds on top of each cookie.  (I only ha slivered almonds, but these worked just was well.)  

Now, it's time for the almond glaze....

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 teaspoons water

For the glaze: Combine powdered sugar, almond extract, and water. Drizzle a spoonful of glaze on top of the almonds and cookie.

Well, the cookies baked up beautifully, they froze beautifully and then defrosted beautifully.  I couldn't quite understand my guests as they tried to talk with cookie crumbs in their mouths, but I heard a lot of "Mmmmmm" and saw lots of head bobbing, so I am going to assume they were good.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies as good as grandma made...or close to it.

My love of baking comes from my grandmother.  She was your stereotypical housewife.  They believed in living a simple life.  They had no television, and she would wash the clothes in an old wringer machine.  The clothes would then be hung on the line to dry, winter or summer.  She ironed everything, from my grandfather's cloth hankies to sheets, everything got ironed.  

I stayed with my grandmother while my parents worked, so we spent a lot of time together.  Once a week she would say "time to make the chocolate chip cookies" and she would get to work.  I can still see her as she would measure the ingredients and mix up the batter.  She used the "2 spoon" method to drop the batter onto the cookie sheet.  I can remember how the cookies smelled as they came out of the oven.  

My grandmother has been gone for 9 years now; but she was not able to bake for quite some time before she passed.  When she passed, my step-mother got some of her recipes.  She has been trying to replicate the chocolate chip cookies, among other things, with little success.  My father and uncle say "Nope, it's close but not like Mom used to make."  

Well...when I was leaving home many, many years ago to get married, I noticed that my mother's Grange Hall cookbook jumped into one of my moving boxes (honest, it did that all by itself!).  Over the years, I have been perusing through the pages of this cookbook.  I found this chocolate chip cookie recipe.  The ingredients sounded similar to what I remember from all those years ago with my grandmother.  I decided to give it a go.  I'm so glad I did!  These cookies taste just like hers did.  Whenever I make these, I think of her and the many things she taught me all those years ago.  I miss her, and what I would not give to have her back just for a little while to give me more tips and pointers along the way.

Here is the chocolate chip cookie recipe:

ingredients:

1/2 cup soft shortening (I use stick margarine)

3/4 cup sugar (half brown sugar/half granulated)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/8 cup flour (measure before sifting)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1 small package of chocolate chips

Mix together the shortening, sugar, egg and vanilla.  (I used my KitchenAid and let it go for about 5 minutes).  Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and add nuts and chips.  Drop by teaspoons 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  Yield: 2 dozen