Patriotic Pinwheel Cookies

 

Happy 4th of July y'all!

 

We are heading over to my brother's to celebrate with family and a few close friends today!  It's a potluck affair and for some reason I have been spending way too much time considering what to bring all week.

 

 

Since I still have littles at my house (a.k.a. picky eaters), I always try to bring at least one thing that I know they will eat.  And because it's summer and a holiday today, I decided that something would be cookies!

 

These pinwheel cookies are actually a Christmas tradition around our house and were featured in my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Series, so you can grab this recipe (and others - yum!) here.

 

To turn these 'Christmas Swirls' into 'Patriotic Pinwheels' I simply substituted blue food coloring for green in one of the layers and revved up the red while I was at it.  We also decided to roll a portion of the cookie log in red,white and blue sprinkles we had left over from the Texas Chocolate Crackles made for Girl Scout Thinking Day.  It was actually less messy than I expected and look pretty cute too!

 

Sheep wanted to add popsicle sticks to make them look like lollipops, which would have been super, duper cute by the way, but I decided it would be easier to serve (and faster to make) as is.  She's so creative though and it's got me thinking about what other colors and occasions we could bake them for . . .

 

 

Now that we've broken with tradition and pulled them out for the 4th of July, who knows how often these yummy sugar cookies will be showing up!

 

Wishing you a safe and fun-filled fourth today!

 

God Bless the U.S.A.

 

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'Shamrocks' Thin Mint Cookie Pops!

 

What are you doing with all your Girl Scout Cookies?

 

If you're like me, you're a sucker (Ha - Sucker!) for those little entrepreneurs in uniform - especially when one of them is yours!  Needless to say, we have lots of girl scout cookies on hand about now, so Sheep and I thought it might be fun to experiment with making some recipes that use girl scout cookies as a main ingredient!

 

St. Patty's Day is literally just around the corner, so we thought we'd better give this idea a try and quick!  I am happy to report that after only a some trial and error with the candy bark, we have a winner!

 

I wanted to call them "Leprechaun Balls" but Sheep suggested Shamrocks, so we went with that instead.  She didn't seem to find my name for these tasty treats all that funny.  Eight-year-olds . . .

 

'Shamrocks' Thin Mint Cookie Pops

 

1 box Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, crushed

5 oz. (approximately 2/3 of block) cream cheese, softened

White candy bark

Green food color

Green sugar sprinkles

 

Mix crushed cookies and cream cheese together to dough-like consistency.  Form into 1" balls.  Melt candy bark according to instructions.  Add green food coloring to melted bark and stir to achieve a uniform color.  Dip cookie balls in melted bark and place on waxed paper to harden.  Alternately, roll cookie balls in green sugar and place on waxed paper.  Insert popsicle sticks if desired.  Enjoy!

 

I don't know about you, but we really struggled with the candy bark.  Not sure why. I just know that I personally have never used the stuff very successfully, despite my continued desire and numerous attempts.  Hence the alternate instructions using only green sugar.  Sheep actually liked the ones rolled in sugar better than the dipped ones because they weren't as sweet.  And I do have a picture of those too.  Somewhere . . . .{Sigh.}

 

 

We had actually abandoned the candy bark altogether, but went back to it one last time after we had gone with the sugar, so you can see some of the sugar sparkles in the bark.  It actually looks really pretty, but certainly not a necessary step.

 

In the end, our original idea worked and has been 'leprechaun' approved too!

 

 

The weather here has been lovely this week and with any luck, we'll be out on the boat on Sunday.

 

What are your plans for St. Patrick's Day?

 

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Edible Photo Props for Boys!

 

Let's face it, Valentine's just doesn't get any sweeter than this!

 

Sheep and I came up with this darling edible photo prop idea while making lip-shaped cookies for her classroom, and knew we would need something for the boys as well.  Our lips were made with a delicious strawberry cookie recipe and what goes better with strawberries than chocolate?!

 

After some serious search time, I settled on a chocolate cutout cookie recipe from King Arthur Flour, but put my own spin on it because (as usual) time was of the essence and I didn't have all the ingredients it called for on hand.  You can check out the original version here and here's the version I used as well.  They are delicious I might add!

 

Chocolate Moustache Cutout Cookies

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa

1/4 cup cocoa

2 1/4 cups flour

Mix dry ingredients together in seperate bowl.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.  Chill dough.  Roll to 1/4-1/2" thickness for moustache cutouts.  Insert stick before baking.  Makes about 18 4" cookies.  Bake ay 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  Cool on pan for several minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Since this idea was hatched, I have been on the hunt for a moustache cookie cutter locally (again, no time), but my clever sister suggested that I just cut out the lips and use the bottom to take off a small piece to form a moustache instead.  What can I say, it runs in the family!!

Anyway, that's what I did!

 

Voila!

 

 

Trying to get a picture of the finished product proved a bit tricky, as my model was more interested in licking, kissing and nibbling the props!

 

 

 

 

Oui, oui my little 'nekked' chef!  I supposed this would be your favorite holiday!

Let's just say, it's a good thing I made extra!

And I ended up with one that I could work with . . .

 

 

and turn into the cutest card EVER too!

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!

 

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Sweetheart Cookies

Nothin' says lovin' like homemade treats this Valentine's Day and these cookies are one of my family's favorites! They are a cross between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie and they are oh so yummy and PINK!!! I have never tasted another recipe the same as this one and believe me, I have looked!   Last February my beloved Sweetheart Cookie recipe went missing and I spent hours trying to replicate them using other recipes I found on line - FAIL!  Luckily I came across it over Christmas when I was hosting my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies . . .

Oh how I love thee Sweetheart Cookies!

2 packages strawberry Jello (3 oz. each)
3/4 butter
1 egg
2 C flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Beat Jello and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients to make a stiff dough. Refrigerate 1-2 hours until dough is very stiff. Roll out onto well floured board and cut with heart-shaped cookie cutters. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

*Make sure you use regular Jello, NOT sugar-free because the Jello is substituting for the sugar in this recipe.

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That's One Tough Cookie!

It's that time of year again!

You've probably already had them casing your neighborhood - knocking on doors and smiling while they wreak havoc on your new year's resolutions with their tasty temptations.

Yes folks, I'm afraid so . . . It's GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME!!

Last year, my very first year selling cookies as a girl scout MOM, I was terrified of the goals being laid before me.  And there were plenty of phone calls and much wringing of hands while I tried to figure out if all this focus on funds was something I wanted my daughter (or myself) involved in.  After all, isn't the purpose of selling cookies to teach our girls lessons about manners, financial responsibility, leadership, and blah,blah, blah . . . you get the idea.  And I was worried!

Weeeeell, it is - but it's also about the money!

One year later and I now find myself in the position of co-leader for this fledgling troop and let me just say, "Helping Girls Grow Strong ain't necessarily cheap!"  So this year I vowed to get off my soapbox, ignore my moral high road and take the road MOST travelled instead. 

Uuugh!

Luckily, Sheep is one year older (and wiser) and has caught the cookie bug this year, so she's willing to help!  Last year she set her sights on a journal that required selling 200 boxes of girl scout cookies.  And she did it!!!!  And when I say she did it - I mean SHE did it!  I was not working (outside the home) last year and Speed was working from home, so mom and dad did not have offices.  No break rooms tables to simply throw the form out on and wait for the orders to come rolling in over lunch.  Instead, she had to go door-to-door and person-to-person.  She made lots of phone calls as well.  Speed is a salesman by day, so he helped her with her pitch and she got quite good at it if I do say so myself!

I guess I have my mom (a former girl scout leader herveryownself) for my insistence that she sell them herself.  My mom always made us call up to her office to sell cookies or other school things rather than taking the forms to work.  At the time I thought it was torture.  Now I see it as a stroke of genius!!  It is sooo much harder to say no to that tiny voice and that earnest little look!

This year, she has set her sites on the LARGE stuffed penguin plush toy that requires selling 650 boxes (what the . . .?)!!  Can she do it?  Probably not.  Don't tell anyone, but girl scout leader/mom doesn't really want to deliver 650 boxes of girl scout cookies either.  But I am LOVIN' the effort I am seeing from this girl!!  And even though we've 'officially' gone cookie crazy this year with a troop goal of 2200 boxes, I am secretly smiling to see her using her math, HER MANNERS and making change like a pro!  I'm also impressed with her practicality (which I have never been accused of having - ha!), because she has assessed her initial goal and revised it now that she's been pounding the pavement this week.  So we'll see . . .

Either way, thanks to girl scouts she's already growing into ONE TOUGH COOKIE!!

P.S.  If you need a connection, Sheep can hook you up!!

P.S.S.  In additon to everything else,  I also fight with own an embroidery machine.  I put this design together using the varsity feltie font from Planet Applique and a donut design (I don't know about you, but that looks like a Samoa to me!) from Stitch on Time.  Check these ladies out - they both have great ideas and products!  This was my first try at a 'raggy' alphabet.  Not too shabby - ha!  Sometimes, I crack myself up!

The Dog Ate My Homework!!

OMG!!!

Remember that new Animal Shelter the Daisies have been working so hard for all semester?

Well they're about to get their first visitor!!!

I crazily happily agreed to bake cookies for Sheep and her classmates to decorate at their X-mas party.  Yes, you heard me right.  I said X-mas Party - which is what it apparently should be called since it's public school and I guess we're not supposed to acknowledge that it's a Christmas Party.  "We" call it a "Winter Party" instead - but that's a topic for another day :o)

I was patting myself on the back and generally feeling like 'clever and efficient mom' upon agreeing to bring cookies for the class, because I was already supposed to be baking cookies for decorating at the Girl Scout Christmas Party (Yes!  We called it a Christmas Party!!) tonight!  So today I spent the whole, entire afternoon baking 5 DOZEN(!!!) cut out sugar cookies and whipping up 2 batches of homemade frosting.  Which happened to be JUST ENOUGH for the two parties!!

Only 1 dozen of said cookies went with us to Girl Scouts while the other 4 dozen stayed behind with our only surviving dog  - for now!!!

HERE is what was left when I got home!

Does this look like 4 dozen cookies to you?!?!?!

ME NEITHER!!!

So, while Katie is 'sleeping it off'' on the sofa, I'm back in kitchen at, let's see here, 11:05 PM, to make another batch of cookie dough to roll out and bake bright and early in the morning!!  Uuugh!

Good heavens, where IS my wine . . . . .!

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Cookies!

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!!

We need Cookies for CCE, cookies for girl scouts AND cookies for the classroom this year as well!!  So I thought I might share some of my family's favorites with you!  But with so many cookies to bake this Christmas, I am on the lookout for some NEW recipes as well!  That's why I have decided to host an online Cookie Exchange! For the next twelve days, I will be posting a recipe of my own and I would love to see what you're baking up this season as well! It doesn't have to be a cookie - but it does need to be something sweet - yum!