Snickerdoodles

When my funds are low and I need a sweet for friends who are coming over or just to have something to soothe my sweet tooth, I make a batch of snickerdoodles.

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-2/3 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg and mix well. Add all the other dry ingredients(except for the sugar mixed with cinnamon--add this to a bowl all by itself) until everything is combined.

Shape the dough into balls the size of a walnut, or an egg yolk. Rollthem in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the coated balls on an oiledcookie sheet. Using the bottom of a smooth cup or glass, press thedough down to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake them at 400° for 10minutes.

Enjoy!


 

 

Gingerbread Men Without Molasses

If you are my friend on Facebook, you know I have been looking for a recipe to make gingerbread men without molasses, cause frankly, molasses are just NASTY!
Anyway, this past week, I found a recipe that is just delicious! It uses butterscotch pudding instead. Here is our result:

They turned out really good—without icing! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 (3.5 ounce) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter, and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon; stir into the pudding mixture. Cover, and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheets. On a floured board, roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into man shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are golden at the edges. Cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!!

Spreads by The Pioneer Woman

My friend Becky over at Do It Yourselfdom turned me on to this blog, The Pioneer Woman. She has the most delightful recipe you could ever imagine posted on her blog. It has step by step instructions with pictures on how to make this lovely dessert! And ya'll know how much I love a homemade recipe, and did I mention it's chocolate!!!!!

So without further ado....here is the recipe for Spreads.

Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies with Homemade Icing

One of my kids favorite cookies is the all time easiest cookie to make...the Sugar Cookie. A while back, Kayla and I got in the kitchen to make a batch for a project we were doing at church. Look at how adorable they turned out!

Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) .
2.Over a large bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. Cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender until mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in lightly beaten egg, cream, and vanilla. Blend well. Dough may be chilled, if desired.
3.On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Sprinkle with sugar; cut into desired shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets.
4.Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until delicately brown.
Sugar Cookie Icing:
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring
Directions:
1.In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
2.Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.