Blueberry Oatmeal cookies

Happy President's Day! I LOVE Monday Holidays, don't you? One more day to sleep-in, and enjoy the kiddos being home. When my kids are out of school, we usually bake something fun. Unfortunately, I haven't been to the grocery store all week, so we needed to bake something with the ingredients we had on hand.



Cue...Oatmeal Cookie Recipe...

1 Cup Shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour, scooped and leveled
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. hot water
1 1/2 Cups quick rolled oats ( I substituted blueberry flavor oats here)

Directions:
Cream shortening, add sugars and cream until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla:



Add flour and salt, then add soda that's been dissolved in hot water; blend. Stir in (blueberry)rolled oats:

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet/ungreased cookie sheet about 1.5 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until barely browned and still a little puffy.

Remove to wire rack to cool.


These cookies were so simple to make, and yummy! Crispy-ish on the outside, chewy on the inside.

Easy cupcake flowers...TUTORIAL

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone gets to spend lots of time with loved ones. I woke up this morning to gobs of CHOCOLATE, and a gift card to a nail salon...loving cute, pedicured toes for SUMMER. What a WONDERFUL husband I have!!!

I wanted to share this great idea, my mom shared with me, for putting flowers on cupcakes.

You start with mini marshmallows and a pair of scissors. (Please wash your scissors BEFORE and AFTER) Cut your marshmallows in half~ corner to corner.



Next,gently push the sticky end of the marshmallow onto some pretty, colored sugar.



This is how the marshies look, when covered with the sugar.



Arrange them in a "flower" pattern on a frosted cupcake...



and, lastly, add a gumdrop to the center.




This was super easy, and we decorated 30+ cupcakes in less than an hour.



What do you think? Will you give it a try?

The BEST Banana Bread

In the summertime I generally don't do much baking. It is too hot to crank up the oven and have more heat in the house. There are rare exceptions though, like when you have a few ripe bananas, and you are going out of town for the weekend. That is where my favorite banana bread recipe comes in. I got this recipe from my friend Janey, I knew I would love it when I read that it has sour cream in it. Sour cream is one of my favorite condiments, dressings, mixed with salsa, oh how I love it! I think it is what makes the bread so moist.

Banana Bread

1 & 2/3 Cup all purpose flour

1 TSP baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 Cup plus 2 TBSP sugar

2 eggs

1/3 Cup oil

3 & 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed

2 TBSP creme fraiche or sour cream

1 TSP vanilla extract

Set the oven to 350, line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. Beat the sugar and the eggs together with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. (I cheat and let my kitchen aid mixer do the work.) Drizzle in the oil. Add bananas, cream, and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients and add desired nuts. (This is optional, my husband doesn't like nuts, so I skip it.) Pour into lined loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. (It usually takes me an hour.)

Enjoy!

Mouthwatering Chocolate Chip Cookies...

After the birthday party, I had many requests for my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It has taken me awhile, but finally I am posting it! It is another one of those recipes that has been in my family for years. The only problem with this recipe is that it makes 6 dozen. So, I don't advise making them, unless you are planning on giving half a way, which is usually what I do. If you don't give them away, they are so yummy you will eat all 6 dozen and gain weight! You could attempt to half the recipe, but I have found in baking that doesn't work so well, it alters the chemistry and they don't quite taste the same. The ginger snap recipe also got a lot of inquires, you can find that recipe here.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 12-13 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

-3 cubes butter or margarine

-3 large eggs

-2 TBSP vanilla extract

-2 cups chocolate chips

-1 1/2 cups sugar

-1 1/2 cups brown sugar

-6 cups flour

-1 3/4 TSP baking soda

-1 3/4 baking powder

Cream the sugars and the butter until smooth and a light color. (This part is key, really make sure they are blended, it makes the cookies.) Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix together. Add dry ingredients and mix. Add chocolate chips and mix a final time. Drop spoonfuls or use a cookie scoop and scoop onto cookie sheets.

ENJOY!

Around the Town Tuesday featuring.... The Sweet Tooth Fairy

What a wonderful Holiday season we enjoyed! While we spent some time out on the town, we were able to stop into a cute new bakery~~ The Sweet Tooth Fairy. What a darling little shop, and they have a little bit of everything!

There were Cupcakes galore...


brownies...

lemon~bars...


and the very popular cakebites...


Did I mention that there were Free samples~~sitting out, waiting to be sampled? My kids enjoyed one of everything, before I caught them.

I enjoyed a delicious frosted vanilla sugar cookie.

What will you enjoy when you visit?

The Sweet Tooth Fairy
1140 Fort Union Blvd
Midvale, UT

Fun Way To Use Thanksgiving Leftovers: Weekend Website

I just love "ooing and aahhing" over Diamonds for Dessert, Susan has such a creative talent for baking, and I am super jealous! I came across these beauties and thought they would be so fun for Thanksgiving leftovers. Especially if you are already making rolls for the big day, why not make a pan of these too! I have a list of treats that I am planning to make some day, she has some really fun pirate ideas that I think would be so fun for a boy's birthday party. I am sure you will love looking through all the amazing creations this weekend, enjoy! Happy weekend!