Blueberry Bliss Icebox Dessert

This last week my beautiful parents celebrated thirty-three years of marriage!! Truly, they are a lovely example of a Christ-centered, selfless, strong-and-sweet marriage. I was looking up the traditional and modern gifts for a thirty-third anniversary, and all I kept seeing for year 33 was amethyst.

Great! I'll just go buy an amethyst paperweight . . . not.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Scotchies

Well, since my last post, it indeed rained! :)

So on this beautiful, sunny, blustery March morning we returned all the rain books back to the library.



Somewhere between the drizzles on Friday and this crazy wind today, our hose faucet pipe completely busted. Let's just say the rain themed books fit far too well into our basement "decor" this weekend.

The culprit of the "raining basement."

Thank goodness for our extremely helpful neighbor plumber, who bailed us out (literally) on a Sunday evening!!



Bundle and I baked these up as a thank you for him and his family for all the extra work they went to in making sure our pipe won't break again!



Old Fashioned Oatmeal Scotchies

Altered from an original 1979 Betty Crocker recipe for "Farm-Style Oatmeal Cookies" -- Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 c. softened margarine
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. quick oats
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the sugar, margarine, milk and vanilla with a hand-mixer on low speed. Add the remaining ingredients, except for baking chips. Mix again on high until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in butterscotch chips.

Shape cookie dough into 1 in. balls, and place about 3 inches apart on a greased baking tray. Flatten the cookies slightly using the bottom of a drinking glass wet with water. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove and allow at least ten minutes to cool (burnt mouths are not fun) before devouring!

Learning how to use the margarine wrappers to grease the pan. :)

Enjoy with life, and please share. <3

Favorite Pinterest Recipes this Week . . .

Just click on the title links to get to the recipes! :)

Chocolate Shortbread Heart Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod





Easy Bacon Egg and Toast Cups from Martha Stewart Recipe




Citrus Vinaigrette from food.com





Poor Girl's Peppermint Mocha from right here!





This is my #TBT. Still one of my favs! It's so fun to see my recipes on Pinterest.



Love, peace and life. <3

Spur-of-the-Moment Healthy Cookies!

So tonight I had my daughter on my lap, reading books, and had a sudden craving to bake with her! Okay, mostly to eat with her . . .but I knew I wanted something healthy with no flour or eggs. If you're looking for something quick, kid-friendly and gluten-free, look no further!

Empty Cookie Jar = Immediate Remedy

Spur-of-the-Moment Healthy Cookies!

Ingredients:

2 cups oats
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 overripe banana
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Makes 16 cookies

Mix all ingredients together, preferably with a two-year-old stirring with a rubber spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees for ten to twelve minutes. :)

The brown sugar and pumpkin creates the dark honey color. The peanut butter and chocolate just oozes out! :)

Y.U.M.

Hmmm . . . someone is sneaking one . . .

As aforementioned, this is totally a spur of the moment post. In other words, it's 7:15 p.m. (a.k.a T-minus fifteen minutes til bath time), and these cookies (and this post) is short, sweet and to the point.

Think you don't have time to bake with your kids? Think again. This whole recipe (including prep and baking time) took less than 20 minutes!



Enjoy with your sweet bundles of joy. <3

Valentine Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

At the end of this month I will have hosted, helped with and/or attended five parties...four of which revolve directly around children.


That's a lot of partying.


And a lot of kids!


I wanted to make something fun for my daughter and her friends for one of her (two) Valentine's Day parties this week.

My original plan was to make Valentine butter spritz cookies using  my (new antique find!) cookie press.

Isn't this fun?!?

I found a good recipe base from this book:

Since I lost my 1960 Betty Crocker cookbook in our fire, this has been one of my best resources for key recipes.

Unfortunately, the butter cookie recipe from the book did not halve well, or press well, and needed a lot of love.



 My new recipe makes fabulous, pink, buttery drop cookies with tons of tiny chocolate morsels!


Enjoy with a party... (even a party of one!)


Valentine Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
red food coloring (5-7 drops)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two large baking sheets.

Cream the butter and sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer.

Add the flour, eggs, baking powder, and milk. Mix on high again until the dough is thick and sticky.


Add however many drops of food coloring desired and mix on high again until the color is well-incorporated into the dough.

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips!

Scoop small, level drops onto the baking tray. I was able to fit about 15 per tray.

Bake for 10 minutes.


So pretty and fluffy and yummy!

I had to sample one...

Bundle already approves, so hopefully the kiddos at her party will too!

I've been waiting and waiting for a reason to fill this beautiful cookie jar my mother-in-law gave me!

Perfect. All full! Bundle helped me load it up!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

<3

Quiet Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yikes! Today I made the delightful mistake of napping while my one-year-old was napping. It was heavenly, but I still had tons to do when I awoke a ghastly two hours way too many minutes later! I had no idea how much naptime I had left to finish chores, baking, blogging, and working out, so I was determined to bake and blog first, as quietly as possible.

This is a blender-less, electric mixer-less recipe for oatmeal chocolate chips cookies. They are fluffy and soft, and almost have a cake-like texture. Perfect for those rare and hallowed moments of alone-time!

...or of course, snack time, when everyone wakes up...


Quiet Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. quick oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together with a large metal mixing spoon in a large plastic, rubber-bottomed bowl, folding the chocolate chips in last. No loud scraping! 

Spray a ice cream scoop with cooking spray. If you aren't using a silicone tray cover, spray the baking tray as well.

Using the ice cream scoop, arrange twelve even scoops of cookie dough onto the baking tray.

These are huge scoops, so you may have to adjust your baking time based on what your scoop looks like. :)

Bake at 350 degrees for twelve to thirteen minutes. Be sure to watch the clock at this step, instead of setting a loud timer. :)

Remove the cookies from the baking tray using a silicone or rubber spatula to cool.

Enjoy with cold brewed coffee (wouldn't want to use that microwave or burbling coffee maker!), and the serene quiet that accompanies naptime.

<3

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I am SO thankful for days off.

Days off often = baking. So...today I wanted to make oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

I checked my trusty 1950 Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook. I found it amusing that they have a section of cookies entitled "Beau-Catchers (and husband keepers!)" There was a key recipe for "His Mother's Oatmeal Cookies" that I used as the base for this recipe. I substituted 1 cup peanut butter for 1/2 cup butter and added chocolate chips. 

This was the outcome!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup cold margarine

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup milk (sweet or sour)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 oz. (1/2 a bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix flour, salt and oats together in large bowl. 

Cut in margarine until mixture is well-blended.

Dissolve the baking soda in the milk. Add milk, peanut butter and brown sugar to the bowl. 

Mix on a low setting until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. 

 Fold in chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. It helps the cookies stick together better before baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet and small melon-baller. Scoop out cookies with melon-baller and place two inches apart on baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes per tray.

Cool on a wire cooling rack and enjoy!

Perfect afternoon snack. Enjoy with life.

Chocolate Chip Slice 'n' Bakes

Several weeks have passed where my husband and I have had company drop in on weekdays or on short notice...and we love it! I love entertaining and making people feel at home in our home. Sometimes after working all day, making dinner and executing a thirty-minute-cleaning-scramble, it can be tough (or close to impossible!) to put a nice dessert on the table before guests arrive. Solution? Pre-made cookie dough.

Recently my school participated in something I always hated as a child: Redwheel Fundraising. Most kids are eager to put their game faces on when it comes to selling frozen pastries and pizza door-to-door, but I always hated the competition. Last month, the roles reversed! We found ourselves saying "Sure, why not?" to the 11-year-old selling frozen cookie dough at our doorstep. I quickly discovered how fabulous frozen cookie dough is for last-minute get-togethers and lazy, late-night snacking.

All this goes to say...why not make my own? I mean, the fundraiser's over...so who know's when some other charity will come around begging us to buy something delicious and pre-made?

Here's a recipe from Taste of Home I tried tonight. They are awesome.  Can't wait to see how the frozen batches turn out!

Ingredients:

1 c. butter or margarine, softened

1 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 bag (8 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

How To:

Cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.

Mix in vanilla extract and half of the dry ingredients. Add the other half and mix until well-combined. 

Fold in (or mix on low) the chocolate chips.

Tear off a large sheet of wax paper and flour it well. Divide your batter into three equal lumps. Mold one lump of batter into a log about 2 in. wide and 10 in. long. Roll the log along the floured wax paper to ensure that it will hold its shape. 

Roll the wax paper completely around the log until there is no wax paper left. Twist the ends together and tear off the excess on the ends. 

Do the same for each remaining lump of batter. Or...as I chose tonight...do the same for just one, and bake up the other immediately! :)

To bake immediately, you may not receive the perfect circle results of slice 'n' bake cookies, but they'll still taste great! Just roll in to balls, place on a greased baking sheet, and bake in the oven at 350 F for 12-14 minutes. Yum!

This is also the perfect recipe to tinker with. Add a hint of your favorite extract, use dried cranberries and pistachios instead of chocolate chips, use M&Ms...whatever suits your fancy! 

Enjoy with life.

Original Recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Versatile-Slice--n--Bake-Cookies