Give Away & Rice Crispy Treats

After the short delay due to hurricane Sandy, my Smitten Kitchen Cookbook has arrived! Yeah! This book is beautiful. Once you take a look at the gorgeous food photography and read the short stories behind the recipes, you will want to get cooking or baking something right away. I have followed Deb's blog www.smittenkitchen.com for sometime now and her new cookbook is as delightful as her blog.  I flipped through the book as soon as I got it and now am taking my time reading each recipe. The first one I tried was her pizza crust and that did not disappoint. Trust me

we are picky about our pizza crust and so far Deb's ranks up there with our favorite made with beer (that's right) (recipe soon to come). I'm a huge fan of rice crispy treats, so when I saw her recipe tweaked a bit, I had to make a batch. Who would of thought that browning the butter, adding a touch of salt would make that much difference! Oh, but it does... Just a hint of salt now & then against the sweetness of the marshmallows and a slightly nutty flavor from the butter. You must make these NOW!! They should be on your dessert menu whenever possible. Who doesn't love rice crispy treats? You will love these. I also love s'mores. It's probably a very good thing that I do not have a wood burning fireplace. S'more making would be a nightly event for me. So, when I came across her picture of S'more layer cake, yes, you know where I'm going with this...Well, it will be on my list of what I'm baking next. 

I am also very glad to announce that I will be given away one of her cookbooks! Contest starts today and will close on Tuesday, November 20th at midnight. Since I mentioned on my last post about keeping track of your blessings till Thanksgiving, I would love to hear what some of those blessings are and or what you are most thankful for. The winner will be randomly chosen. Winner to be announced on November 21st.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats-
the smitten kitchen cookbook

Ingredients- 

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
heaping 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
one 10oz bag large or miniature marshmallows
6 cups puffed-rice cereal (or just about 1/2 of a 12oz box)

Directions-

Butter  an 8" square pan with 2" inch sides.

Brown the butter in a large pot. Melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Do not take you eyes off the butter, it will go from golden to burnt in a matter of seconds. As soon as the butter is melted and takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and sprinkle the salt over the butter. Stir in the marshmallows, the heat should be enough to melt them, but if not, turn the heat on to low and stir till smooth.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cereal until well coated. Quickly spread into the prepared pan. Use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that has been sprayed to press it firmly into the pan. I just lightly butter my hands and pressed the cereal mixture into the pan. Let cool and cut into squares.

Peanut Butter No Bakes & My First Giveaway!

It's hard to believe that in all my baking experience and trying many things, I have never had a no bake cookie. When I mention this to friends they look at me like I have a 12 heads. "What you've never had a no bake!".  It's the same reaction when I tell them I have never been to Kohls!  So, I decided to make a double batch for work, and of course, it was the hottest day of the summer. With temperatures nearing a 100 degrees. I know, the thought of making any cookies when it's that hot out is just crazy! The thought of turning on a oven and heating the kitchen anymore just wasn't an option either. I just had to make these and find out what I was missing and my co-workers really need a treat. With these little gems, you don't have to turn your oven on. No you don't and they are absolutely amazing. Amazing I say. I have made them twice and you can bet I will be making them again real soon. I think they would make a nice addition to the Holiday cookies trays that will soon be upon us. They taste like peanut butter fudge, oh so chocolaty, peanut butter, oats, addicting and just wonderful. I made a double batch and there was not one cookie left. If there is any left, someone could easily get into a fist fight over these. These cookies require no flour or eggs and are a great treat for those who are watching their gluten intake or have an allergy to eggs. These cookies double well and make lots. The recipe also comes from one of my favorite cookbooks Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito. Just a wonderful dessert cookbook.  "What you've never had a no bake!"

Wow, this year has gone by so fast. I have been posting since last October. I have been richly blessed. I give God all the Praise & Glory for giving me the words to write and the resources & ability to create wonderful food for you. Thanks to each one of you who have read my blog, tried the recipes, commented and became of follower. Thanks to my family for their support, encouragement and always willing to try a treat or two. In honor of my one year anniversary coming up, I will be doing my very first cookbook giveaway around Thanksgiving time. I am very excited about the giveaway and it's from one of my favorite blogs that I have been following for sometime. Watch for details coming late October/early November.

Ezekiel 35:26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season: there will be showers of blessing.

Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
Baked Explorations

Ingredients-

1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I used regular Hershey's cocoa because that is what I had on hand and they were still amazing)
1/2 cup (1stick) butter, cut into 1/2" cubes, softened
1 cup chunky peanut butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions-

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and butter until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, stop stirring, and boil for a full 90 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter, oats and vanilla. Stir until the mixture is combined.

Use a small ice scream scoop with a release mechanism or a tablespoon to drop the no-bake cookies onto the baking sheet (leave some room around them, they will spread). Let the cookies cool, then refrigerate them for at least 1 hour. They can be eaten directly from the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Store the cookies between layers of parchment paper in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days. (if they last that long)

Eat & Love Well,
Sonya xo

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy fourth of July!! I love this holiday, fireworks, food, family, the colors especially, red, white & blue. Some of my favorite colors. The flag. My mother-in-law always had holiday plates, cups, napkins, her flags everywhere and great holiday food.  I was requested by some fellow co-workers for a menu of goodies I could make. With the fourth just a few days away and a new summer magazine that I received as a birthday gift, filled with tons of summer recipes including these cookies, well it was meant to be. Thanks Leslie for a great magazine! These cookies are amazing. Our oldest son could not get enough of them and has requested that they are a house staple for every day of the week for life! A cookie for everyday for life, this recipe is a keeper. I just love it when the boys take a bite of anything I make and go crazy with oohs and aahs and these are so good......They were a huge hit at the office as well and I am sure by the end of the night there were only crumbs left. They are easy to mix and roll out beautifully. One batch makes about 10 dozen. I doubled the batch and got a bazillion cookies. More than enough for home and to take to work. They have a touch of lemon extract which compliments nice with the cream cheese & frosting.  I made the cookies on one day, frosted and decorated the next. With red, white and blue frosting and sprinkles to match they will make a nice touch to celebrate the day! I think I will have to make another batch very soon, there were just a few cookies left when I came home from work...

July 4, 1776 a day to remember our independence as a nation. We too can have independence from sin. Galatians 5:1 It is freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand Firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Christ died to set us free! Free from sin. What is holding you in bondage today?What day is or will be your independence day?


Sugar Star & Flag Cookies
Adapted from Taste of Home best of Summer Recipes

Ingredients-

1 cup of butter-softened
1/2 cup cream cheese-softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
5 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt


Directions-

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese & sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to a 1/4" thickness. Cut with floured 2 or 3" cookies cutters of your choice. Place 1" apart on un-greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar or leave some blank to frost. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned and set.

Cool and then frost with your favorite frosting.

Butter Cream Frosting
Adapted from Taste Of Home

1/2 cup softened butter
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 Tablespoons of milk

Beat butter until light & fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add the milk to thin as needed to make it spreadable. Tint with desired paste food coloring.

Frost, decorate and let the frosting dry a bit before stacking on a tray or in a cookie jar.

Pudding Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a great chocolate chip cookie? I know I do. I'm not big on thin and crispy, but like them on the soft side. Believe me, there are a ton of recipes out there for just about any kind of chocolate chip cookie. Just pick up a bag of chocolate chips and you have a recipe on the back. My mom always used Nestle chocolate chips and the recipe on the bag. I mean always, she never ventured from what she said was a tried & true recipe. Unlike me who is always trying new recipes, until one day I was going through some old recipes and came across this pudding chip cookie recipe. Wow! do I remember making theses. My mom and I found this recipe on the box of Jello instant pudding and I made a batch for my baking project in Home Economics. I lost the recipe and wrote the jello company asking them for a copy. I remember being thrilled that they sent me a copy. I made them almost every week while in junior high and while I was a freshmen & sophomore. Why I stopped making them I don't know and shocked myself that it's been over 20 years since I made them. Did my life get so busy that I forget the little things I loved to to do? I was thrilled that I had all ingredients on hand and set out to make a batch. Yes, they were exactly as I remembered. Soft, gooey and with an extra hint of vanilla. Next to moms' these are the perfect cookie. No wonder I made them every week. While I was enjoying these little darlings, it quickly brought back all that was doing back them.  A junior high student adjusting to a whole new group of kids, changing classes, and trying to find my bus. Moving on to high school and adjusting to a larger building, more classes, more students and attending a new church, I also was falling in love....I am thrilled that God placed that recipe back in my hands, a little reminder of how recipes that we acquire and the memories that are associated with them are our history, our family tree. I have recipes from mom, dad's family, my husband's family, grandma, aunts, sisters & brothers, friends and even though my cookbook collection is never ending, these recipes are tried & true and link my past with the present. Let's not forget to make those family recipes no matter the occasion or do the things we love.

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands, and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. One thing I love to do is go to church with our boys and share our faith and family history with them. They are learning daily about faith in God, their family history and one day will be passing it on to the next generation.

Pudding Chip Cookies-


Ingredients-

2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup butter softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 pkg. (4oz) Jello instant pudding & pie filling, vanilla or french vanilla (use the small box)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 pkg. (12oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts-optional

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flour and baking soda set aside.

Cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar and pudding mix till creamy. Add vanilla and eggs mixing well.

Add in the flour mixture to combine, stir in the chips and the nuts. Batter will be stiff.

Drop on ungreased cookie sheets by rounded teaspoonfuls. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Just till the edges are brown and the center is just about set. Let cool on sheet for about a minute. Makes about 3 dozen.

Eat Well, Sonya

Lemon Slice and Bakes

These are my new favorite cookie and I can't get enough of them. I have made batch after batch since Thanksgiving and have a stash in my freezer. I just pull a few out to go with with my coffee or just because.  A melt in your mouth shortbread with a hint of lemon. They have a lemony glaze and I sprinkled them with silver sugar for the Holiday season. You can easily leave the dusting of sugar off or change it. My sister & her friend made Butterscotch Blondie bars with peanut-pretzel caramel-amazing!! I love salty & sweet. Both recipes came from the December issue of Bon Appetite' www.bonappetit.com. How can I refuse making them when they look so beautiful in the magazine? I am a sucker for photos of gorgeous food or home decorating. I think I buy my cookbooks based on the photos alone. I just can't help myself. As I was making up our cookie tray and in the hustle & bustle of prepping for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I was again thinking of the cookie list for next year, the gifts I want to make, the stocking stuffer's, menu planning and holiday decorating. I'm bad like that, enjoying the season now and already thinking and planning for the next! These cookies are great for any occasion, they double and freeze well.

I wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year's, I already have a cake idea for this New Year's celebration! I encourage you to keep a journal and keep entries of the many blessings God gives you and even the trials you go through. At the end of 2012, you will be amazed at what he has done for you. I am not much of a New Year's resolution girl. I am a list girl! I love making list, reading list, & get so much joy from scratching that one thing off my list. I have a journal for blessings & trials and one for my never ending lists, the bucket list, music, places to go, gift ideas, menu ideas, recipes to try, cookbooks and more cookbooks, home & garden, just about anything list!!!!! This year I will be trying to focus on Galatians 5:22 & 23 but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. With God's grace and strength I can have more love, joy in the life, peace about so many things, even in the trials, patience, patience, patience, show more kindness, do good to others, be more faithful in my walk, be gentle and have self-control. What will you be focusing on?

Lemon Slice and Bakes-
Ingredients-
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (could change our for lemon and make them extra lemony)
4 large egg yolks

Icing-
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
sanding sugar
food coloring (optional) if you want to color your glaze. I left mine white

Directions-
Cookies-
Whisk flour and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl, occasionally scraping down sides, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks; beat just to blend. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture and beat, occasionally scraping down sides, just to blend. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 10" long log about 1 3/4' inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour. Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap 1 dough log. Using a sharp, lightly floured knife, cut log into 1/4" thick rounds. Transfer to prepared sheets, spacing 1" apart. Bake until cookies are firm and golden brown just around the edges. Cool for 1 minute on sheet and transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough log.

Icing-
Whisk sugar and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice in small bowl, adding more juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if too thick. Add coloring if desired. Spread or drizzle icing over cookies. Decorate as you wish. Let stand until icing sets, about 10 minutes or so. Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Eat Well, Sonya

Baked Skillet Cookie

First, and foremost do you not love cast iron skillets? This pan was handed down to me by my Aunt. I love it and use it almost daily. It has a permanent place on our stove top. It is extremely versatile. You can make eggs, skillet chili, cornbread, one dish chicken pot pie, you'll be telling those salt potatoes to move over and make room for the best skillet potatoes you've ever had! It goes from stove to oven to table, and makes amazing campfire meatballs and fruit cobblers on the grill. I love that you can make a dish in it and serve it at the table. Rustic, elegant and never ever goes out of style. The ease of clean up is a breeze with warm water and a little kosher salt to use as an abrasive. Wipe dry and coat with a thin layer of cooking oil and back on the stove it goes. These pans are like cheese and wine they get better with age. If you don't own one, scour flea markets, local five & dime stores or garage sales. You won't be disappointed and then you can make this baked skillet chocolate chip cookie. If you don't want to make individual cookies then this is the cookie for you. One batch of dough, dumped into a skillet and baked for about 45-50 minutes. Gooey, and full of melted chocolate. Cut into wedges, serve warm with a scoop of the best vanilla ice cream and some fudge sauce wouldn't hurt either. Amazingly delicious!

The Christmas Story-continued
Luke 2:6-10 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL the people.

With all the busyness of Christmas, the shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, we sometimes forget about the needs of others. I encourage you to count your blessings and think of your local shelters, food drives and I know that some local schools collect coats & pajamas for children without. Just think what you might be able to buy if you gave up a few lattes or lunches out. Every year I remember our parents picking a candle off the local Christmas tree at the mall and purchasing an item for that individual. This year our youngest & I will be out doing the same. Maybe your office, local neighbors, or a group of your friends and go in and collect a small box of clothing or bring in items for a meal to donate. It will all be appreciated.

Baked skillet cookie-
Ingredients-
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup softened butter (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions-

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda & salt together. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg & vanilla and beat well. Stir in the dry ingredients and then mix in your chocolate chips.

Scoop the cookie dough into a 10" oven proof skillet, spreading evenly out to the edges. Bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes, cut into wedges and enjoy. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or a cold glass of milk.

Eat Well, Sonya