New Fav Sugar Cookie Recipe

These are still soft a week later!

Summer Citrus Sparkles
Makes 2 dozen
Ingredients

FOR THE CITRUS SUGAR
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

FOR THE COOKIES
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (for vegan/dairy free, replace with 1 tablespoon corn starch)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder (for vegan/dairy free version, increase to 1/2 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (margarine for vegan/dairy free)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg (for vegan/dairy free, replace with 3 tablespoons almond or soy milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To make the sugar: Combine the sugar and both zest in a small bowl until the zest is evenly distributed; set aside.

To make the cookies: In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined, then stir in both zests and juices, as well as the vanilla. Once everything is combined, sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the top and gently mix in. Add the remaining flour mixture, mixing until no streaks of flour remain. If the dough is very sticky, add more flour, as needed, until the dough is barely tacky. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Once the dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll one tablespoon portions of dough into balls. Roll each dough ball in the citrus sugar to coat it completely, then evenly space the cookies on the prepared baking sheet(s). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges turn light golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before serving.

http://bakingdom.com/2011/05/summer-citrus-sparkles.html

Pumpkin Cobbler

1 lg can solid pumpkin
1 lg can evap milk
1 1/3 C sugar
4 eggs
1 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup nuts (any kind) to sprinkle on top. I use sliced almonds.
1 1/2 sticks butter

Mix all ingredients except dry cake mix and pour into a greased 9 X 13 pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the top. Sprinkle nuts on top. Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter or marg and pour over the top.

Bake at 350 for 55 min.

Serve w/ cool whip.

Brownies

Brownies, as They Should Be

Added by rainydaygal on May 28, 2010 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts

Ingredients

• 1-½ cup Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ⅔ cups Butter
• 1-½ cup Granulated Sugar
• 4 Tablespoons Water
• 2 packages Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (12 Ounce Packages)
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 4 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix to combine. In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar and water. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in one package of the chocolate chips and the vanilla extract. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly blend in the flour mixture, and then add the remaining package of chocolate chips and the chopped nuts.

Pour into a greased 9×13″ pan* and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake, and make sure that your toothpick is coated with uncooked batter and not melted chocolate chips if you’re going to continue baking longer. Let cool at least 2 hours before serving.

Note: To make a half-batch, use a greased 9×9″ square pan and bake for 25-35 minutes.

Prep Time 15 Minutes Cook Time 35 Minutes

Servings 16

Difficulty Easy

Banana Oat Muffins

• 250 g plain flour
• 75 g porridge oats, plus a spoonful
• more porridge oats, for decoration
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 eggs (beaten)
• 175 g caster sugar
• 250 ml corn oil or 250 ml sunflower oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 medium ripe bananas, chopped small

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 350° Prepare a muffin tin.
   
2. 2 Sift the flour, oats and baking powder together.
3. 3 In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil and salt together until pale and fluffy.
4. 4 Fold this mixture and bananas into the flour.
5. 5 Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin. Sprinkle the extra spoonful of oats over and bake for 15 minutes until muffins are risen and golden.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/oaty-banana-muffins-300779#ixzz1CjU51bHM

Chocolate Chip Cookie Topped Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookie-Topped Brownies

From Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, where they are called “Chipster-Topped Brownies.”

These end up being pretty thick in the pan, and I found I needed to keep watching them as they got close to being done, so that I didn’t overbake them (I actually think I did overbake them just a bit.) And, as with most brownies, these are really so much easier to cut into clean squares when they’re cold, so if you can restrain yourself, it helps to let them cool down on a rack, then finish chilling in the fridge before you cut into them.

Ingredients

For the brownie layer
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the cookie layer
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup storebought chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment (use enough so that it comes up and over the sides), and butter the foil/parchment.

To make the brownie batter, melt both chocolates and the butter together in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Melt and stir just until the mixture is shiny and smooth, then remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, beat the sugar and eggs together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) on medium high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla, then reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the flour, mixing on low speed just until it disappears into the batter. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chopped walnuts by hand with a spatula, then scrape the batter out into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Set aside.

To make the cookie dough, first whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl, and set aside. Wash the bowl of your stand mixer (that you used to make the brownie batter), and then beat the butter and both sugars together using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the egg yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate.

Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls onto the brownie batter, then use a spatula to gently smooth out the cookie dough layer evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cookie top is deep golden brown and a sharp knife inserted into the pan comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack to cool, then when you’re ready to cut them, just lift them out using the foil/parchment that you lined the pan with. It’s easiest to cut these when they’re cool/cold, if you can wait that long.

Makes 24 bars.

Caramel Apple Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

l tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter or margarine,melted

2 eggs

l tsp vanilla

1 apple, chopped

DIP:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

How to make Candy Apple Muffins

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
In another bowl, combine milk, butter, eggs and vanilla until well blended.
Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.
Fold in apple.
Do not overmix.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling cups two-thirds full.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool slightly and remove from pan.
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring honey and brown sugar to a boil.
Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Pour walnuts onto a plate.
Spear warm muffins with a skewer or popsicle stick and dip quickly into the honey/brown sugar mixture, then into chopped nuts.
NOTE: You can use a miniature muffin tin and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Dutch Farmer's Cheese Soup

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, diced
• 1 1/2-pound cauliflower, trimmed, cut into florets
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth

• 6 1-inch-thick French bread slices
• 12 ounces Gouda cheese, wax removed, cheese sliced

Preparation

Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and onion; sauté until onion is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add 4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until vegetables are tender, adding more broth if soup is too thick, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Preheat broiler. Transfer soup to large broilerproof bowl or individual broilerproof soup bowls. Arrange bread slices atop soup. Place cheese slices over, covering bread completely. Broil 6 inches from heat source until cheese melts and is golden, watching closely to avoid burning, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yummy Carmel Corn

This make a yummy crunchy- sticky treat!  Great to bag up and share for holidays.

6 Quarts popped popcorn (2 bags microwave natural)
1 Cup mixed nuts
2 Cups brown sugar
1/2 Cup lt. karo syrup
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 250'
Pop popcorn and remove old maids.  Spread out on cookie sheets or roasting pan.
Add nuts

Melt butter, add brown sugar, salt and karo syrup. Stirring constantly over med-high heat bring to boil.
let boil 5 minutes without stirring
Remove from heat and add soda and vanilla.
pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.  Bake for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes!
YUMMY!

Chicken Ranch Quesadillas

from stolenmomentscooking.com

Chicken Ranch Quesadillas

• 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb. bacon, diced
• 1 green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 – 3 c. shredded cheese
• Ranch dressing
• 8 tortillas
• Butter or margarine, for cooking

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet until desired crispness. Remove to drain with a slotted spoon. Pour out all but 1 T. of the grease. Add the sliced green peppers and onions to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, until crisp-tender.

2. Add a handful of cheese to the tops to 4 tortillas. Top each with chicken and bacon, then lightly drizzle some ranch dressing over that.

3. Top each tortilla with the cooked peppers and onions. Then add the remaining cheese on top of each pile.

4. Top each tortilla with the remaining four tortillas. Melt a little butter or margarine in a large skillet and cook the tortilla stacks one at a time over medium heat, about 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown and cheese is melted. Add more butter or margarine to the skillet as needed.

5. Cut each quesadilla into wedges and serve with extra ranch for dipping, if desired.

A few notes about this recipe:

• The veggies are completely optional. In fact, I only added them to the quesadillas that my husband and I ate. Also, we both agreed that a few thin slices of tomato would have been a nice addition inside the quesadilla, if you like tomatoes.
• Lightly frying in a skillet is the only way that I’ve ever made quesadillas. But I am in love with the idea of grilling them and Erin has a great recipe featuring grilled quesadillas over at $5 Dinners. That method would definitely work with this recipe too.
• Leftovers reheat beautifully when warmed in a dry skillet for a few minutes. They taste almost as good as fresh!

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