Butterbeer Cookies

Butterbeer Sugar Cookies 

Some with Chocolate glaze, some with Butterbeer glaze and some with both.

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)

2 sticks butter

1 egg 

1 tsp butter flavoring 

3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg, butter flavoring, and vanilla; mix until well-blended.

Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom. (The dough will be quite thick...you may need to knead in stray bits of flour from the bottom of the bowl by hand.)

Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4" and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cutter. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Butterbeer Glaze

2/3 cup butterscotch chips

1/8 cup evaporated milk

1 TBSP light corn syrup

pinch coarse salt

Place all of the ingredients in a glass or metal bowl and heat over a pot of simmering water (or a double boiler).  Stir occasionally, until melted and smooth.

Put the cooled cookies on a wire rack on a baking sheet.  Pour the glaze over the cookies and spread with an offset spatula. 

Chocolate Glaze

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1/8 cup evaporated milk

1 TBSP light corn syrup

pinch coarse salt

Same as above... ENJOY!  

I made a mess.... Whoops!

Oh, and one last treat... Thank you 

Harry, Ron and Hermione!

Sunday Afternoons in October

It's gorgeous outside, my windows are open, my Auburn Tigers just beat South Carolina and I'm watching Cam Newton on fire in the NFL (I told you so, I told you so, I, I, I told you so - Elliot Reed Dance). What could make my day better? Oh, I know. Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup and Pumpkin Spice Bread! So I made this-


Chicken Tortilla Soup:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup/

And this-
Pumpkin Bread
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pecan-topped-pumpkin-bread-10000001673145/

And it was lovely. So was this....

WAR EAGLE!

- Eliz

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

When it comes to baking, times have channnnged! Throughout history people baked to live. Bread was a part of daily life and a necessity to a household. And back then it was a much more difficult process than it is now. So to be honest there is no excuse people! Now a days people are intimidated at the idea of baking their own bread, but here's a secret - It's not that hard!!! Here are a few tips to make it easier:

1- Bake bread in good weather. I has to be sunny and it cant be humid (hard to get in Alabama, I know).

2- Temperature is everything.
3- Timing is important.


Now we're ready to begin....


Ingredients:


- 2 tsp. Dry yeast
- 1 cup of warm water
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. Salt- 1/2 cup Flour

- 1 1/4 cup Scalded milk cooled to warm
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 2 tsp. Salt
- 1 3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup Wheat germ
- 3 1/2 cup White flour

Directions:


1- Mix together first five ingredients then cover with a warm, damp towel and let sit for 15 minutes in a sunny area. 

2- While you let it sit, put the milk in a saucepan over heat until frothy on top and scalding hot. 

3- Add next five ingredients together.

4- Next add this mixture to the already combined ingredients and mix for two minutes. As the mixer is going, gradually sift in white flour one cup at a time. 

5- Place in a greased bowl, cover with warm, damp towel and let rise in sunny, warm area. After its risen (typically a couple of hours) punch down the dough. 

6- Divided into two or three pieces. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Let rise again in sunny area (about an hour.

 7- Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. 

- Elizabeth -

Brownie Points

Literally, the best brownies you'll ever eat. These changed the way we will look at brownies forever. AND they are SO simple!


Ingredients:

1 box of Brownie mix
2 eggs
1/2 a cup of vegetable oil
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup of your favorite ice cream (make it a plentiful 1/2 cup)
1/4 Cup hot fudge topping (chilled)

Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix the brownie mix, 2 eggs and oil until combined…and thick. We did NOT add the water. Add ice cream, chocolate chips and hot fudge (chilled).. Mix until its combined

2. Pour into a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been GENEROUSLY sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center.

3.  Let cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.

Recipe Recap:

A- How much did it cost? Less than $15

B- Level of difficulty? Beginner

C- How long did it take? 15 minutes to make, 40 minutes to bake, 20 to cool, 5 to serve

D- Pros: Tasty! Texture was good, easy to throw together, the ingredient are something most have on hand

E- Cons: None

F- Would you make them again? YES!

Almond Butter Cream

My little brother wanted to make cupcakes last night and wanted White Cake from the box - fine by me! So I thought they needed something to give them a little kick. I have been wanting to try flavoring our signature buttercream recipe (used here with our Strawberry Cake). The essentials are all the same:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 to 2 tbsp. whipping cream

However, instead of using 1-2 tsp. vanilla extract, I used about 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract AND 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract.

It really turned out nicely. I am a huge fan of almond so, naturally, I liked them... The vanilla helps to balance the flavor. I'm sure you can substitute other flavors to your liking! If you do, let us know! I think we'll try lemon next time :)

PS- Sorry no pics... I'm so upset over it too because we used Toy Story 3 toppings!

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies = A Hot Mess

At first, this recipe looked cute, fun and simple. However, as the our cooking progressed things began to go downhill quickly.

1. Due to unexpected weather conditions, the power went out.

2. Being the pioneer women we are, we decided to go old fashion and use the gas stove to make the melted chocolate... FAIL. We burnt the chocolate.

3.  The delicacy of the Shortbread cookies persisted a problem as we didn't realize our own strength as we continuously broke the cookies while trying to cover with chocolate. This resulted in a numerous amount of half-broken and crumbly cookies.

Despite our fails, the cookies turned out delightful! They were the melt-in-you-mouth kind of shortbread with just the right amount of chocolaty sweetness... Heres how...

Shortbread:

- 1 cup of butter
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 cup cake flour

1- Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix with electric mixer on low until combine.

2- Add vanilla and mix until fluffy

3- Add the flour and mix until completely incorporated

You are now finished mixing the batter. Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface (We used a cookie sheet). Spoon the dough down the center of the plastic then fold the plastic over the dough and shape into a long rectangle. Seal plastic wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch thick slices and place about half an inch apart on an buttered baking sheet. Bake for about 18 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove cookies from the pan and let cool on parchment paper.

Chocolate:

- 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 1 cup of sprinkles (or any crushed treat of your choice)

1- Place chocolate chips in a small microwavable bowl and melt on high for 1 minute. Stir and if the chips are not yet melted, place back into microwave for 18 seconds. Stir after each time until chocolate is completely melted. Be careful not to let the chocolate burn or it will become gritty (Don't try it on your oven either).

2- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Dip one end of each cookie into the melted chocolate. Scrape the excess chocolate from the cookie. Immediately dip the chocolate part of the cookie into the sprinkles. Lay the cookie on the baking sheets and let sit for at least 10 minutes.

3- We made a TOTAL mess when we did this last part- But it was totally fun and delicious. Enjoy!

Recipe Recap:

A- How much did it cost? Less than $10

B- Level of difficulty? Beginner

C- How long did it take? 15 minutes to make, 2 hours to refrigerate, 18 minutes to bake, 10 to cool, 10 to serve

D- Pros: Tasty! Texture was good, easy to throw together, the ingredient are something most have on hand

E- Cons: Cookies were a little crumbly 

F- Would you make them again? YES!