Deliciousness...

I don't know about anyone else, but every year around the holidays, walking through festivals or the mall my husband and I always get sucked in by that amazing cinnamon-sugary aroma that makes you smile and drool a little...it draws you in and you can't help but follow it to see where it's coming from, well-we know where it's coming from...the amazing roasted-candied nuts! My husband lived in Germany with his family as a child and they had a Christmas market every year called Striezelmarkt, he recalls the sights, smells, and tastes-and the candied almonds were his favorite, so every year at Christmastime we always buy them when they are being made fresh at an event.
The bad thing is, come January-they are nowhere to be found! Sad day! Well, now you don't have to be so sad...this recipe is perfect! Not only is it perfect, but it makes your house smell ahh-mazing. I promise-you will be one drooling, happy fool just waiting on them to cool so you can eat them up! They are delicious to chow down yourself, but they also make for fantastic gifts for neighbors, teachers, or anyone else you can think of! 

Picture Perfect (and oh-so soft and delicious) Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Please forgive the delayed posting of this recipe, I very wrongfully assumed(yeah, yeah, we all know the saying...) life would slow down after Christmas and I'd be able to catch up my blog with all the great recipes I've been dying to share...but I'm here now, and I'm updating, so enjoy!! :)
A few great friends and myself wanted to get together and do something "festive" at Christmas time, so we decided on baking and decorating sugar cookie cutouts! Abbey and Katie offered to provide the dough, claiming it was perfect for cutouts...boy, were they right!! It was beautiful, it rolled out nicely, was not sticky, didn't tear easily, and baked to perfection in 10 minutes exactly. Abbey was kind enough to share the recipe from her friend over at "Food, Friends, and Fun!" http://foodfriendsandfun.blogspot.com/2008/07/sugar-cookies.html and Beth was kind enough to let us invade her kitchen(and spread the powdered sugar love! Haha!) I provided the Fluffy Buttercream recipe(shared below) that paired with cookie decorating perfectly!(Also great for anything else that needs frosting, but that's for another post!) These recipes are not just for Christmas! Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, Spring, Easter, Fall, Halloween, all great excuses...err-opportunities, to make some awesome cutouts! Enjoy!

Perfect Sugar Cookie Cutouts

1 lb.(4 sticks) Margarine

2 Cups Sugar

3 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

6 Cups Sifted Flour 

*Make sure you sift first, that way they don't get hard during rolling and re-rolling

Cream margarine and sugar. Mix well. Add eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda to flour and then add 1 cup at a time to the sugar and margarine mixture. Wrap dough in waxed paper (I separate into 2 halves), then refrigerate for at least an hour (I do overnight). Roll out on floured surface, cut into shapes.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes- exactly. Let cool completely on cookie sheet! Transfer when cooled and frost and decorate with buttercream frosting(recipe to follow) 

Enjoy! Seriously, these are the easiest to make, and our family and anyone we have made them for just love them. They turn out to be a softer cookie, so sometimes they break when you frost them, but it is worth it!

This makes about 6 dozen or more, depending on the size of your cutter. I have halved this recipe before, and used 2 eggs (everything else divides evenly). Cute and easy!

Fluffy buttercream:

*Roughly....* (I say this because sometimes my TBSP's are heaping and not just a true TBSP but close)

4 TBSP butter(we used salted)

4 TBSP Crisco

1tsp vanilla

2-3 TBSP Milk

Powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want(Probably 3-4 cups?)

In a mixer, cream butter, crisco, vanilla. Add milk, then slowly add powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency.

The Betty Crocker Momsters, sporting our awesome new, coordinating aprons, made with love by Katie! 

Oven-fried Chicken 

(Great when served with Barilla mini farfalle "Bow Tie" pasta tossed with garlic butter and steamed broccoli!)

1 lb boneless skinless thin cut chicken breasts

2 Eggs, lightly beaten-add a pinch of salt/pepper/garlic powder

Breading: 

1/4 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs 

(can also add grated parmesan to the breading mixture for a good Italian dish!)

Salt/Pepper/Garlic Powder/Onion Powder

Cookie Sheet coated generously with Olive Oil

Preheat Oven to 375

One at a time, dip chicken breast in egg mixture, then dredge through breading mixture and place on prepared cookie sheet. Lightly drizzle with a little melted butter for extra flavor.

Bake 10 minutes, flip chicken over, bake 10 more minutes or until middle of chicken is white when cut into. (Times will vary with thickness, some may take 12-15 min. on each side)

Brownie Cut Outs

                   4th of July festive brownies!

 Follow baking instructions on brownie package, allow to cool completely-overnight is best, but not necessary...cut out shapes, use piping bag(or a ziploc baggie with the corner just barely snipped off to allow for piping) and pipe zig zag's on brownies, sprinkle immediately(before frosting hardens) with festive sprinkles! (Can be cut in any shapes and decorated with any colors for different holidays! i.e. heart cutouts with red/pink heart sprinkles for V-day)

Spaghetti Sauce

Grandma Scurlock's Spaghetti Sauce

This makes A LOT.


20 oz. Can Tomato Paste + 2 cans water
20 oz. Can Tomato Sauce + 2 cans water
20 oz. Can Tomato Purée + 2 cans water (more or less to your desired consistency)
Large onion, chopped
4-5 Stalks of Celery, chopped
5-6 bay leaves (do not eat these alone-grandma's words exactly)
Oregano, Salt, and Pepper to taste
1 C. Sugar

Bring to a boil then simmer with lid on for 4-6 hours, remove lid for last hour to thicken. Stir and pay close attention so it doesn't burn!

Cheeseball

Grandma Scurlock's Cheeseball
Everyone's favorite cheeseball, she's asked for the recipe everywhere we take it!

2 - 8oz. pks philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
½ C black olives, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 C dry cottage cheese...or 1 C lg. curd cottage cheese, rinsed and dried in a paper towel(much cheaper)
2 pks Dried Beef, chipped...1 pk mixed in cheeseball mixture, 1 pk to roll the finished cheeseball in.
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 -4 dashes of hot sauce (Grandma uses Texas Pete's)


Chop olives, green onions, and dried beef all seperately in a food processor

Mix all ingredients except 1 pk dried beef, form cheeseball- it will be gooey and soft, refrigerate until cold and workable so you can roll cheeseball in chipped dried beef.

Refrigerate, Serve with Sociables, Club, or Wheatable crackers

Cakes I've made! :)

I dabble in baking/cake decorating when someone I know needs a birthday cake...store bought cakes get old after a while and they always seem to look the same! I enjoy baking and getting creative, but lack a lot of knowledge in the area! if anyone has any helpful tips for how to better my cakes, feel free to comment, I love input and appreciate any help!

       

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Truffles

1 package Double Stuffed oreo cookies (I used great value brand!)

1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)

2-3 packages white chocolate(Melting chips work the best) 

½ package milk chocolate chips(or colored melting chocolates)

Directions:
Crush cookies(cream filling as well) in a food processor and stir in softened cream cheese.  Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Freeze) Melt white chocolate as directed on the package and then place one at a time into chocolate and lift out with 2 forks-allowing excess chocolate to drip through prongs. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. Melt milk chocolate chips and pipe or drizzle design on top! Enjoy!
Makes about 40 truffles.(Recipe doubles easily)

Notes:
Store in refrigerator as they do contain Cream Cheese.
May require re-freezing during the dipping process, as you go along some of them will soften before you get to dip them. If the first coat doesn't cover well, freeze and then dip again.(I always dip mine twice) Also, if you have extra chocolate you can always make a few chocolate covered pretzels or strawberries or bananas!

Grandma Scurlock's Pecan Dainties

Grandma Scurlock's Pecan Dainties

1 Cup margarine (or butter)

½ Cup Sugar

2 Cups Sifted Flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon water

1 Cup finely chopped pecans

Cream sugar and margarine in mixer, add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Chill. Shape into 1 inch balls on cookie sheet. Top each ball with a pecan half. (We cut them in half-not long ways) press pecan half down in middle of ball.  Bake at 325° for 20 min. Yields 6 to 8 dozen. Store in airtight container.

Pumpkin Rolls

                                          

Pumpkin Rolls

(Recipe Compliments of Sheila Wheeler)

3 Eggs

1 C. Sugar

2/3 C. Pumpkin (1 Large can of Pumpkin yields 5 pumpkin rolls)

1 tsp. Lemon Juice

¾ C. Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Nutmeg

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves

¼ tsp. Allspice

Preheat oven to 325º. Put waxed paper on cookie sheet. Butter/spray lightly.

(I measure out all of the dry ingredients-except for the sugar- in one bowl to dump in all at once while mixing-makes things go more smoothly and you don’t forget what you’ve added or not while you’re mixing!) It is best to use a mixer on a stand. Beat eggs 5 minutes at high speed. Add sugar, beat well. Add remaining ingredients, blend well.

Pour onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and loosen edges w/spatula all the way around. Roll up(with the wax paper included) and wrap a dish towel around it and let set to cool @ room temp.

While cooling, clean mixer and make the filling:

Mix the following together well:

1 C. Confectioner Sugar

1 8oz. Cream Cheese

¼ C. margarine

½ tsp. vanilla

When pumpkin rolls have cooled, unwrap/unroll, fill, roll back up(Without the wax paper) and chill seam side down, sprinkle powdered sugar on top if desired.