Holiday Baking: Lemon Pie Cookies

These cookies are amazing. They taste exactly like lemon pie and they're best fresh out of the oven. Enjoy the recipe. 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tsp lemon extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 powdered sugar

1. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in vanilla, lemon extract, and egg. Stir in all dry ingredients. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix again. Chill dough for two hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll into powdered sugar. Place on greased baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes, or until cookies are no longer shiny. Cool 3 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack. 

Holiday Baking~Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/8 tsp salt

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with non-stick baking spray. Beat butter for 30 seconds, until smooth. Add brown sugar, spice, and salt. Gradually beat in flour.

2. Shape dough into 1 inch balls (no bigger!). Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Coat a cookie stamp with non-stick spray and then dust in white granulated sugar. Stamp each ball, flattening it. 

3. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Do not look for brownness, if they are brown they will be overbaked and very hard. This is shortbread, so they dough is already fairly firm. Test by touching a cookie for firmness. It should still be mostly firm,slightly soft, but not soft like raw cookie dough.

I found the original recipe on Better Homes & Gardens, but my recipe has some slight modifications. Find the original here. These cookies freeze really well, so I'm excited to just take them out and serve when my family visits for the holidays.

For Cold Days...Curry Carrot Soup

So, living in South Florida pretty much means a lack of chilly days (in the time that I've lived here, it has gotten down to maybe 64 degrees Fahrenheit). That being said, I still love hot soup. And this one is a winner. I made a great big batch and then froze it in small portions to thaw out and microwave for lunch. So tasty.

Curry Carrot SoupIngredients
 2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs yellow curry powder
4 cups of carrots, chopped or shredded
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups of water (or as needed).
Salt, to taste.

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in the curry powder. Add the chopped carrots, and stir until the carrots are coated. Pour in the vegetable broth, and simmer until the carrots are soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Transfer the carrots and broth to a blender, in small batches, and puree until smooth. Pour back into the pot, and thin with water to your preferred consistency.

So Tasty...Red Velvet Cookies

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: approximately 20 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Red food coloring liquid or gel

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the food coloring gel or liquid until you reach the desired color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.**I had to add  more food coloring gel at this point because the addition of the cocoa powder really changed the color.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate chips until incorporated.

7. Using a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, drop the dough into mounds about two inches apart from one another.  Lightly flatten each cookie dough mound with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

8. Bake until slightly golden and crisp around the edges, about 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy!!

Recipe found here.

A toss-in kind of recipe..the best Taco Soup ever.

Sometimes, when it's raining and there is a hurricane blowing in, all you need is your mom's soup. I love my mother's cooking (who doesn't?) and we joke around with her about the fact that she never makes her dishes the same way twice. Her taco soup however, is an awesome exception. It tastes just perfectly spicy and tex-mex every time. She also doesn't measure; everything just gets tossed in. Here's the recipe-and my suggestion is to add a few toss-ins of your own too. 

1 lb of ground turkey meat
1 packet of your favorite taco seasoning
a handful of red potatoes
white or brown rice
1 lb bag of pinto beans

1. Place your rinsed pinto beans in the crockpot, covering them with water and cook on low overnight. 

2. 2-4 hours before serving, wash and chop potatoes into small chunks, toss into beans.

3. Brown turkey, add taco seasoning, then add this into the beans and potatoes.

4. Cook 1-2 bags of instant rice, or 2 cups of regular rice, and add to soup. 

4. Serve hot and spicy!

Notes: My mom also always makes cornbread to go with her soup. I love it just the way it is, but she likes to add in chopped tomatoes, corn, and onions too before serving. I also like to top mine with grated cheese of any kind. This soup freezes really well too, it makes great leftovers. 

Scrumptious 3-ingredient PB Cookies

If you've had the perfect peanut butter cookie, you're living a wonderful life. If you are searching for one, keep reading. Most importantly, if you want a peanut butter cookie that is perfect for a rainy day and an empty pantry, you've found it. (In case no one noticed...this is the perfect "just-moved-into-my-apartment" cookie).

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

2 cups of Sugar, granulated

2 Cups of Peanut Butter, creamy

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix together eggs and sugar, then add in all of the peanut butter until completely combined.

3. Drop onto greased cookie sheet, criss-cross with a sugar coasted fork if you like and bake for 12 minutes or so.





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