I was going to make something really complicated and spectacular this week. Well, actually I did make something really complicated. It just didn’t come out too spectacular. It’s resting at the bottom of the trash bin now. So I give you plan B instead. Easy M&M Blondies. Simple, tasty and not taking up room at the local land fill.
M&M Blondie Recipe
1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (12 ounce) package M&M’s plain chocolate candies (optional)
1/2 cup crushed walnuts (optional)
From RecipeZaar
Directions
Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add in flour and soda – it makes a thick dough. Stir in M&Ms. Spread in a 13×9 pan. and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
The dough is really thick. It was easier to press it into the pan with my fingers than spread it with a spatula. I’d back down the cooking time. I only left them in for 30 minutes, and my blondies came out a little more brunette.
Cookie of the Week is now Treat of the Week.
I got bored with just making cookies, so I decided to expand the possibilities. Now you might find anything from cakes, to pies to ice cream. Just as long as it’s sweet and yummy.
We are in the throws of winter here. The thermometer reads 10 below this morning, and everything is buried under almost three feet of snow. Everywhere you look it’s white, gray and brown.
This is the time of year when cabin fever starts to set in. Oh, how I long for those warm, sunny days of summer.
Fortunately I have little bit of summer tucked away in my freezer. Plump, juicy blueberries. Their bright flavor and color perks up any winter day.
First I was going to make blueberry scones. But then I remembered that our American biscuit is the cousin of the British scone. And I love biscuits. So I went in search of a blueberry biscuit recipe. Here’s the one I tried.
Blueberry Biscuit Recipe
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unthawed frozen blueberries (keep frozen right up until adding to dough)
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
Mix 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, lemon peel, salt, and soda in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix egg and buttermilk, then stir into the flour mixture. Stir in the frozen blueberries. Sprinkle remaining flour on the counter top. Scrape dough out onto the flour; flour fingers and gently knead 6 or 7 times, just until dough begins to hold together. Pat dough into a rectangle or round 1/2-inch thick. Cut out rounds with a floured 2-inch cutter or glass. Place biscuits 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in center of a preheated 400° oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Combine topping ingredients and brush over the warm biscuits.
From Southern Food
These were so good! They didn’t raise as much as a regular biscuit. I think all the juice in the blueberries might have interfered with the leavening. So they look more like a scone, but they’re a lot lighter and more moist than a scone. And the cinnamon and sugar topping adds just the right touch. Warm out of the oven with a little butter, Oh, yum! These are even better than blueberry muffins if you ask me.
There’s only one change I’d make to the recipe. The dough was really sticky because of the blueberries. It calls for these to be rolled and cut. But the batter consistency really was more drop biscuit dough. I think making these as drop biscuits might help them raise a little more.
Rolled or of dropped, try these out. I don’ t think you’ll be disappointed.
So they sounded good in theory.
Carmel Apple cookies.
Perfect for fall right?
I tried two different recipes. One two weeks ago, one today. Neither recipe worked. The caramel burned before the cookies were done. The caramel stuck to the pan even with no-stick cooking spray and parchment paper.
I say caramel baked into a cookie just isn’t a good idea.
I guess I should have taken photos of my disasters, but I was so frustrated I just scrapped the mess off the baking sheets and right into the garbage.
I made a brownie mix tonight to snack on instead. Easy, no fail.
Off to look for next week’s recipe.
Well there was no Cookie of the Week post last week, because I tried a new recipe and it was a complete disaster.
This week, at my husband’s request, I made old tried and true Chocolate Chip cookies. Now I know everyone probably already has a favorite Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. The one I use is the one my mom always used, and I think from the back of the chocolate chip bag.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag chocolate chips
Cream together sugar, margarine, shortening and eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.
I’ve learned two tricks to making these cookies over the years that improved them.
First, I started replacing all the butter and shortening with Butter Flavor Crisco.
Ever make cookies with butter or margarine, and find that they can really spread and come out flat? That happens because the butter or margarine melts too fast during the baking process.
Butter, margarine and Crisco or shortening are all fats. When the fat in a cookie melts in the oven, it releases moisture that the heat turns into steam. The steam helps the cookie rise. But it also pushes the cookie outward if there’s too much steam released before the dough has set. When you use Crisco the steam starts to release at about the same time the cookie starts to set. That gives you a nicely raised cookie that holds together.
For flavor it does have to be Butter Flavor Crisco. Plain shortening would affect the taste of the cookies. You can substitute Butter Flavor Crisco for butter or margarine in almost any cookie recipe. I use it to make biscuits too.
The other thing I’ve learned about Chocolate Chips cookies is that the type of cookie sheet you bake them on is important. I’ve used coated non-stick, Air-Bake and baking stones, but the sheet that gets the job done best is a thick aluminum baking sheet like professional bakers use. Nordic Ware make a great half-size professional grade aluminum baking sheet you can pick up for around nine dollars at discount department stores. It’s worth investing in a couple.
Aluminum heats up quickly and distributes heats evenly so that all the cookies bake at the same rate. A thicker sheet allows the cookies to cook through, and brown on tops and bottom at the same time. Dark, coated sheets brown the bottoms too fast. Usually you either end up with burned bottoms or raw middles. Air-Bake sheets are supposed to not burn the bottoms of cookie by using an insulating pocket of air. But I find they they can take to long to brown the cookies on bottom, or never even brown then at all. If you leave the cookies in the oven waiting for the tell-tale brown edges you can end up over-baking them. I don’t like the stones because they take too long to warm up. They can double the baking time in some cases.
Baking is really just a bunch of chemical reactions triggered by heat. If you learn a little bit about the science behind it, you can use it to make some of your favorite recipes even better. Or even make up your own.
Well, I’m in a car on my way to Knoxville, TN right now. This is coming to you via the magic that is Autopost. I made some Snickerdoodles to take with us to snack on in the car. I figure they taste better, and are a little more wholesome than the junk available at gas stations and rest stops.
Snickerdoodle Recipe
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.
From All Recipes
Oh, these are yummy, and they make your house smell so good! These Molasses Ginger cookies are great for fall with their sweet, spicy flavor. They go really well with apple cider. Ooh, warm cider would be even better. So cozy.
Molasses Ginger Cookie Recipe
8 tbs. butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
Cream together butter, 1 cup of sugar, egg and molasses. Add all other ingredients except 1/2 cup sugar and mix well. Chill in refrigerator. Form into walnut-sized balls and roll in sugar. Arrange on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Today is one of those late summer days that feels like fall. The air is cool and crisp, the sunlight is muted by clouds. A few leaves have even turned and fallen to the ground already. With Autumn just around the corner, I’ve got pumpkins on my mind. It’s too early in the season to break out the pumpkin pie, but how about some Pumpkin bars? This recipe is from my mom.
Pumpkin Bar Recipe
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Mix all ingredients together in order. Spread in a greased and floured 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. After they cool, frost with cream cheese frosting. Then refrigerate. Slice into squares to serve.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar.
