Orange Creamsicle Cookies

And the baking continues! Last night I started with Orange Creamsicle Cookies.  These are some of our favorites so I thought I'd share the recipe!

 

Orange Creamsicle Cookies Recipe:
 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (for me that was the zest of 2 oranges)
2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest and white chocolate chips.Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Hope yall enjoy!!!

 

Andes Mint Grinch Cookies

So I didn't get a ton of sewing done last night.  Instead, I got the first of MANY batches of cookies made.  These are called Andes Mint Grinch Cookies, or, as my kids always refer to them, simply the Grinch cookies.  I ran across this recipe last year around this time (over at Six Sister's Stuff) and they have become my most requested cookie this year.  I thought I'd share it with you.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp mint extract
15-20 drops green food coloring
1 bag of Andes mints (chopped or broken apart)

Directions:
 
Preheat oven 375 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside. Unwrap the Andes Mints

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and mint extract. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and add the green food coloring. Mix until even colored. Last fold in the chopped Andes mints.

Put in the refrigerator until the dough is cool.

Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls.  To make them more rounded when they come out, flatten the balls as you place them onto un-greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool.

That is the "official" recipe.  That being said, I bake mine at 350 for 8 minutes and they are perfect.  Hope y'all enjoy them!  I give tins of cookies as gifts to extended family and let the kids take them to school for teachers and their friends.  I usually start at the beginning of November.  However, since it is just Cassidy and I this year, I thought I may be able to delay that a bit.  But I'll be sharing cookie recipes with you for a while.  I'm hoping they can add a bit of variety and deliciousness to your holiday season!

After I finished up that batch of Grinch cookies, I sat down and got started on my next block for Lori Holt's Have Yourself a Quilty Little Christmas sew along.  I got this ornament block done...

 

I love that little piece of crochet trim!  Next up is a basket and I got it cut last night so it should get finished up tonight.  What have y'all been working on?  Can't wait to see!

 

 

My Adventures with Sugar Cookies

So at 9:30 tonight my daughter reminded me that she needed me to make cookies for one of her best friend's birthday tomorrow, the first day of school.  She had asked me yesterday, and reminded me today, and I got so busy with sewing, that I completely forgot!  So I went into the kitchen, pulled out some chocolate chips, and went to make cookies.  My recipe calls for 2 cups of butter.  So I opened a new package and this is what I saw....

Crap.  So I opened up the second package and had the same problem.  They are both heading back to the store tomorrow, but that didn't help with the cookies that I needed to make tonight.  So we changed to sugar cookies.  My sugar cookie recipe calls for a cup of butter and I had one stick, so I halved the recipe.  I start adding the ingredients into my KitchenAid in a hurry, managing to spill sugar on the floor in the process...

When I finally get a batch in the oven, I forget to set the timer.  Thus, this is how the first ones came out.  :(  Slightly browned.  My daughter tasted one and said they taste like popcorn.

Here's the second dozen.  :)  These are perfect.

Don't let my photography and terrible time in the kitchen stop you from trying these.  I love these cookies.  They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  They have become a family favorite.  Here's a link to the recipe.

I'm heading to bed, finally!  Goodnight!

QOV Progress and Cookies!

My middle child turned 21 yesterday! How is that even possible? I don’t feel old enough to have two grown children. So, I took Alex to lunch at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican food restaurant, Patty’s, and had some amazing cheese enchiladas (tried to find you a picture but couldn't).

When I got home, I finished did step 3 of the Road to Brenham quilt that is being hosted by Patchwork Times. Very simple step of making rail fence blocks. I’ll show pics of that one with the design wall tomorrow.

Then I pulled up the next step for the QOV Mystery Quilt from Persimmon Quilts. OMG! May I just say, this quilt is going to be fabulous?!? So far, all of the fabric has come out of my scrap box. Here’s a pic of all the parts of step 2. I love the way she designs her mysteries. You don’t have a chance to really get bored of making a certain thing because she spreads them out over a few weeks. For example, you may make 20 HST’s this week then you may make 10 more next week. It’s definitely not too late to join in!

So today, I decided to work on my flying geese UFO. I finished trimming down the flying geese units today so all I have to do is sew them together. Finished three blocks today before stopping and making cookies.

I absolutely have to share this recipe with you. When I was a kid, my dad’s favorite cookie was the chocolate wafer cookie. Mom’s recipes got lost a few years ago and I have been looking everywhere for something similar. This cookie is the closest I've found. They are called Chocolate Sugar Cookies and they were featured in Cook’s Country Magazine.

Don’t they look great? Just wait until you try them. They are my newest favorite cookie. Here’s the recipe. Try them and let me know what you think.

Cathy