Easy Lemon Cake Blueberry Cookies

Make these and then put them in the refrigerator!!! Mmmmmmmmm Good!:)

Again, I'm not going to feel guilty for using a box mix! And you know what? I'm going to keep on doin' it. Now, don't get me wrong, I have many recipes that I create from scratch and they are wonderful, and give me many bragging opportunities, BUT I don't always have time and hence the reason for the box mixes.

In my defense, the lemon juice was from a real lemon and the blueberries were fresh! Ooooh and I used REAL butter and cage free eggs, so there!

Easy Lemon Cake Blueberry Cookies

Lemon Cake Mix
1 Stick of Butter, softened
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1/2 -3/4 C. Blueberries

Mix all ingredients together and then fold in the blueberries.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use a small cookie scoop and drop onto to cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven.

Glaze

1 C. Powdered Sugar
Juice of the other 1/2 of the Lemon
1-2 Tbsp. Milk

Whisk together until smooth and drizzle over cooled cookies.

Eat right away if you are like me...refrigerate for a few hours and you'll think you went to Lemon Heaven...:)

Linked up with Tidy Mom

I linked up with Skip to my Lou!

and also Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Zucchini Bread :)

This bread made me think of fall...it smells like Thanksgiving in my house right now. It must be the cinnamon and the cloves... :)

By the way, I changed my font size, can you see it better now? Or was it just me? I know I'm gettin' kind of old, but dang that type was so small.

Oh yeah, back to this bread. It has a vegetable in it, so that makes me feel better about all the oil, sugar, and (gasp!) white flour. Whatever, I'm not makin' everything with ground up wood.

Speaking of ground up wood, do you watch "Everybody Loves Raymond"...I do ALL the time. I own all the DVD's and I've seen them so many times, sometimes I think I could be part of their family. Aaaanyway, there is this episode where one of the twins pretends to be sick so he doesn't have to go to school and Ray stays home with him. Well, the twin tries to eat chocolate donuts for breakfast and Ray hands him a box of bran cereal and tells him that is what he has to eat...wood for breakfast...the box had two grandmas on a bike. Funny huh? No? Huh.

I'm not sure where I was going with that, but this bread is good, and there isn't any wood in it.


Zucchini Bread

3 1/2-4 C. Zucchini, shredded
1 2/3 C. Sugar
2/3 C. Canola Oil
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 Eggs
3 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2/3 tsp. Cloves
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of one 9x5x3 pan OR two smaller pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanill, and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer on low speed. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low just until incorporated. Batter will be thin, this is correct.

Pour into pan or pans and fill about 3/4 of the way. Bake 50-60 minutes, depending on your oven. Check by inserting knife in the middle and comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes, then run knife around edges. Continue to cool for another 20 minutes and remove from pan. Slice when completely cool.

Eat:)

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker:)

Here Little Fishy!:)

My son requested some fish...no not real fish...these fish:)

He is so used to me making cookies, and cookies being all over the house that he typically doesn't even notice what is going on. So when he requested that I make some orange fish, I had to oblige!:)

Yes, I realize there are more than just orange fish here, because after I had mixed up almost ALL of the icing in orange he says to me, "Mama, can you do some green and purple too?"! Why of course son, at your service! :)

Now, I know the little purple fishy doesn't look purple...he looks blue, but that's because my camera is old, and my photography skills are pretty null and void. Someday I hope to improve both of those situations...you know after I finish college and get a paying job.

For now you can look at the "blue" fish because he sure is lookin' at you!

P.S. Doesn't it look like he has little lips?:) "Smack"...he gave you a kiss!

Edible Olympic Rings:)

The Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming!

I don't know how it is at your house, but at our house the Olympics are a BIG deal! I remember one year our local weather man kept interrupting the Summer Olympics to report on a possible tornado, and he wouldn't get his face off the TV. Well, I guess soooo many people complained that night, that the next day on the news he made a statement, and said he was just trying to keep us safe. Ha! We are in the Midwest... we stand on the porch to watch the twisters go by! We want our Olympics!!:)

I wanted to do the Olympic Rings in a way that wasn't a cookie...I know...sorry, so I thought why not do Rice Krispie Treat Rings and viola...Easy Peasy! Well Sorta:)

However, we did it the hard way and made the entire marshmallow part at once, but in hind sight we decided it would be easier to make it in batches, so that is the recipe I am going to give you. If you wanted to do a grand production and were having a big ol' Opening Night ceremony you could make five regular sized batches, and make them HUGE and use them as a center piece and the peeps could just grab a piece of the rings.

I used Americolor for these because it is the best and it really makes the colors pop! I am lucky to be able to get mine locally at Sweet Baking Supply. I used Royal Blue, Black, Tulip Red, Leaf Green, and Lemon Yellow. As you can see from the pictures I don't have the best lighting in my kitchen. I have to take most of my pictures in the mud room...I know:(

My baby loves making Rice Krispies and this is one time I know I can get him the kitchen to help! :)

I know it's only the back of him, but isn't he just the cutest! :) I'm not to hip on putting him all over the Internet just yet, so until he's a little older, these kinds of pics will have to do.

Rice Krispie Rings

3 3/4 C. Rice Krispies

5 tbsp. margarine

10 oz. Marshmallows

You will also need a muffin pan that you will flip over and spray the back, and coloring.

As I said if I were you I would make this in batches. So, you only need one small sauce pan.

Start off melting 1 tbsp. of margarine, and 2 oz. of marshmallows until smooth. Add in a few drops of color and stir until completely incorporated and desired color is achieved. Next, stir in 3/4 c. rice krispies. Shape around the bottom of the muffin pan. You should be able to get two rings with each color.

See like that:)

After it has set up a little bit, you can transfer it over to a piece of wax paper that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Now, just repeat the same thing all over again with the remaining ingredients and colors.

I was going to be satisfied with just putting the rings next to each other as I did in the picture at the top, but my "PIC" had to interlock them because then that makes it all official I guess:)

See...............

Stay tuned for more Olympic Treats and maybe, just maybe a craft! :)

Linked up with Skip to my Lou...

and Tip Junkie

http://www.tipjunkie.com/homemade-projects-724/

Caramel Pretzel Toffee Brownies

I had a bag of caramels that were three days from expiring...so I made you these:) You are welcome!

This was so easy and guess what? It uses a box mix! Gasp! I know, can you believe it? Well here's the deal, sometimes I don't have time to make EVERY thing from scratch, and I decided that was okay.

If you know me personally, you know that for the last 4 years I have been an unemployed, full-time student, and stay-at-home mom which has allowed me to make things that take a lot of time, like these, but I am starting to realize that when I go back to work... next year...that kind of stuff won't be happening too often. That realization made me a little sad because I still want to be able to make yummy treats for friends, family, co-workers, and most importantly, for my son to take to school.

Sooooooo I decided it's okay to use a box mix. Don't get me wrong, if you have time to make your own caramel more power to you, but if you don't ,these are just as good, and they only took 40 minutes from start to finish!

And trust me...YOU will be SUPER woman when you serve these! :) Or super MAN, no discrimination here! :)

Caramel Pretzel Toffee Brownies

1 Box of Your Favorite Brownie Mix, prepared as stated on the package
1 C. of Chocolate Chips
1 Package Caramels
1 Tbsp. Whipping Cream or milk
1/2 C. Butter, I used real
1 C. Roughly Chopped Pretzels
1/4 C. Toffee Bits

Mix brownies according to directions, add in 1/2 cup of the chocoate chips, bake 25-28 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool 5-10 minutes. While brownies are cooling, melt in the microwave for 2-3 minutes the caramels, whipping cream, and butter, stirring a couple of times. Spread over browies, then top with remaining chocolate chips, toffee, and pretzels. Cool completely before cutting.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker

You need these NOW! Unless you are on a diet, then maybe not, or maybe a piece and find someone else to eat the rest, or eat the whole pan and then run for a month, whatever floats your boat!

Linked up with Skip to my Lou...

Veggie, Ham & Cheese Crust Less Quiche

That title is a mouthful huh? Well this IS a mouthful and...I didn't know what else to call it...I didn't think "Egg Thing" gave this enough justice. Except of course if you must have crust with your quiche then it may just be an "Egg Thingy" to you...I don't know...I'm rambling I know:)

Aaaaaanyway. I made this without a crust because someone in my house likes to go low-carb sometimes, and well I aim to please. Plus, I guess it makes it healthier than a golden-buttery-flaky crust...you want crust now huh? Feel free to add crust, I won't be mad, just jealous!

Here's the recipe(without crust). Get over it!

Veggie, Ham & Cheese Crust Less Quiche

10 Eggs
1/2 C. Milk
1/2 C. Heavy Cream
1 tsp. Cayenne
1 tsp. Dried Parsley
4 oz. Diced Ham
4 Scallions, sliced
1-9 oz. Frozen Spinach(Thawed and Squeezed Dry)
1 C. Fresh Mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. Muenster Cheese, shredded
4 oz. Gruyere Cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 inch pie pan.

Whisk egg, milk, heavy cream, dried parsley, and cayenne. Add in remaining ingredients and stir together until well incorporated.

Pour into pie pan, place on cookie sheet, and bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Hope you enjoy...even though there is no crust...make a piece of toast! :)

Strawberries:)

Happy Monday!! :)

Wanna a strawberry? Looks yummy huh?

I made these awhile back for us to take on our mini vacation to enjoy in the hotel. I thought they turned out pretty cute and so did my "cousin", because she requested that I ship some to Texas. Hot, humid, melt your face off Texas. We'll see how that turns out!

I will be working on those this week along with something else to go with them, but she'll have to wait until they arrive to see what they are:)

She has agreed to take pictures of them so I can see how they faired the delivery process, as this will be the first time I have ever shipped my cookies...keep your fingers crossed!

I'll let ya know how they turn out:)

Chocolate Teddy Bear:)

I know, I know...I'm a little bit late with my something chocolate post. Originally I was going to post a chocolate banana bread recipe, but it was a flop and the pictures were horrible. Also, I am starting to realize most of you really enjoy the sugar cookie posts the most, so.... I did this...:)

Isn't he CUTE?:) But you know what I was just thinking? I am so ditzy sometimes, I should have made chocolate butter cream!!! :/ Ugh! Oh well, he's still cute and tasty!

But, let me take back what I said about buttercream being easier than royal icing. It is easier if all you are doing is swirling the top of a cookie or cupcake, but if you are trying to do this, it's just as difficult, and I thought my hand was going to fall off! Hence, that's why you only see ONE little bear and not a family of bears.

So maybe you want the chocolate sugar cookie recipe? No? Maybe? Yes! Here goes:

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

1 C. Butter

1 Egg

1 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

1/4 C. Cocoa Powder

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar

2 1/4 C. Flour

Mix the first three ingredients until smooth, add in vanilla and cocoa powder until well incorporated. Mix in the remaining ingredients until dough ball starts to form.

Cut out just as you would regular sugar cookies, bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

This is basically the same recipe as my regular sugar cookies, I just used less flour and replaced it with cocoa.

Want another peak of that sweet little teddy?

I know, I couldn't stay away from little brown monkey either! I just love playing around with my pictures...probably because most of them aren't very good! Ha!:)

I have a couple of these little bears in the freezer, someday I'll make them with royal icing and we can compare:)

Linked this Post here.

Fruit and Nut Chicken Salad Recipe!

Did you think maybe I made a cookie that looks like chicken salad? Or maybe a chicken cookie sitting on a cookie that looks like salad? Sounds a little ridiculous huh? Well let me assure you there IS a cookie decorator out there that could do this and probably has! But not I...I made real chicken salad. Wanna see?

And guess what? I didn't make the croissants...I know I'm kinda sad about that too, but I'm not superwoman, maybe someday I'll attempt it, just for you. I used mini ones that I bought at that CRAAAAZY store that starts with a "W"...you know the one that is always on the Internet and facebook with pictures of those people in questionable clothing or almost no clothing. Ugh:(
But the croissants are good so what are ya gonna do.

Anywho, want the recipe? Well too bad because you're gonna get it. It actually has fruit and nuts in it...you know to balance out all the MayOnnaise and bacon.

Chicken Salad

3 C. Shredded Chicken
1 1/2 C. Real Mayo
6 Slices Bacon, crumbled
1/3 C. Dried Cranberries (such as Craisins)
1/3 C. Pineapple Tidbits, drained
3 Scallions, sliced (that's fancy for green onions)
1/4 C. Pecan Pieces, toasted
1/4 tsp. dill (fresh or dried)
1/2 tsp. parsley (fresh italian or dried)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Croissants- I used Mini ones because...I don't know it made me feel better about the calories and well they are just so cute! :) Plus you can eat two!!
Mix all ingredients until incorporated. See easy:)

You can either bake your chicken then shred, buy a rotisserie chicken and shred, or like I did here-poach boneless chicken tenders in a little water, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, then shred.

This recipe is so versatile...the possibilities are endless. You could use greek yogurt instead of mayo, leave out the bacon, gasp!, or you could use different fruits and maybe walnuts, because you know they are all the rage about now.

I know this wasn't a fancy dancy cookie but a girl's gotta eat more than cookies:) Well at least once in awhile.

Stay tuned...something sweet is comin' up tomorrow and it has chocOlate in it! Yes!

Linked up HERE:)

"Rose" Cookies with Buttercream Frosting! Plus Recipes:)

You all know how much I love decorated sugar cookies, but what you may not know is...

sometimes..... I HATE actually decorating them!!!

It takes SO much time and patience, which most of the time I don't enough of either.

Soooo, I did this:)

And you know what? It was EEEEASY!

Now it was a little bit of work, but it wasn't anything compared to using royal icing to decorate a sugar cookie.

When I first decided to start this blog I kind of went back and forth on what type of blog I wanted...Did I want a place to just show off my sugar cookies or did I want a place to share what I've made, the recipes for them, and how I did them.

So, while I have started off showing mostly my decorated cookies(and I still will, just not as often), I'm going to start moving in a new direction. I love to bake, and I love to take pictures, so I figure this is a way I can do both. Plus I can share it with all of you! :)

Okay, I'm about to give you the recipe for my sugar cookies and I must say, I'm a little nervous. You know because, what if someday I wanted to sell them nationally or something, yeah right! 

Here goes:

Sugar Cookies

1 C. Butter (not margarine) at room temperature

1 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 1/2 C. Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Cream of Tartar

Directions:

Beat butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond extract on medium speed until fluffy. Add flour (all at one time), baking soda, and cream of tartar. Mix on low just until incorporated, then on medium until it starts to pull away from the sides of the ball.

Let rest for 30-45 minutes. Roll out about a third of the dough on a surface lightly dusted with flour, to a 1/4 inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-9 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. Let cool on cookie sheet.

Butter Cream Frosting

4 C. Powdered Sugar (sifted)

1 C. Shortening

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbsp. Whole Milk or Heavy Cream

Beat powdered sugar, shortening, and vanilla until incorporated then slowly add milk until the frosting becomes the consistency you desire. Sometimes it may require more milk. Add desired color...I use Americolor brand, you only need a little bit.

Recipe adapted from Wilton

Now to decorate you will need a large piping bag and tip 1M(Wilton). I buy both of these at Walmart. Start in the center of the cookie and make a swirl around to create the rose look.

For a great tutorial go to Glorious Treats! She is great:)

Have fun and give it a try. It really is easy...I promise!

Now, trying to get the perfect picture is another story....I sat on the floor to get this one...

P.S. Yes I'm aware that the Butter Cream recipe actually has no butter.....I don't know why, I didn't create the recipe:) But I have used it with all butter and with half butter, half shortening. All are pretty good.

Oooooh, ooooh I almost forgot. I did try the cookie immediately after I frosted and it tasted like what I "think" diaper cream would taste like....NO JOKE! I wasn't going to post them or anything but this morning I remembered that my "regular" sugar cookies are the same way, they don't taste as good until they are set up, so I tried one of these this morning and it was GOOOOD! So happy, because it would have been a bummer to have such a pretty cookie and have it taste like....baby bootie cream! Ha!

P.S. Just so you all know, I really love decorating cookies, sometimes I just don't have enough time! :/

It's Almost Fiesta Time! :)

Fiesta time starts in my neck of the woods ,although right now it's more like a desert land seeing how the ground is cracking and all, on Tuesday. I really wanted to make Margarita cookies...but it doesn't look like it's gonna happen, but look what I did do...

Okay, well I didn't do them recently but they totally go with the Fiesta theme, wouldn't you say?  I actually did these for a 21st birthday party back in March for a boy...I mean a man that I've known since he was 7 months old. Kinda made feel old, but what are ya gonna do?!:)

And you know what kind of cookie cutter I used? A witches hat...I squished in the brim a bit to make it look like a sombrero. I think it worked, how about you?

Anywho, maybe if I get energetic by Saturday I'll make some Margarita cookies and post those, or maybe I'll just make some REAL margaritas and then...you know drink them.

I'll keep you posted...literally! Hee hee, I made a joke...do you get it? I know I'm a geek!

P.S. Did you notice I couldn't leave the picture alone? I'm addicted I tell you, ADDICTED!

Under the Sea Cookies!

I did these cookies for a little boy's first birthday party awhile back ,and I think they turned out pretty good. I especially like the octopus:) He is so cute and he was really easy! I used the wet on wet trick for his spots.

I drew his mouth on with an edible marker. and I did his eyes with the same wet on wet, and then a little white dot after his eyes were dry.

Next up is Mr. Crabby....I have a little trouble with my red icing sometimes...it either cracks or just looks funky. I did finally figure out to only use the Super Red (Americolor). But I have also discovered if the icing is too thick and I move the cookies around too much, they crack....grrrrr! Makes me mad, but I will get better the more I practice:) I could have also added a little detail on his body after he dried. I'll try to remember this next time.

I know I'm gettin' a little carried away with cutesying(is that a word?) the pictures up. I will try to refrain from this..maybe?:)

Here they are together!

Oh but wait, I really like how I did this one up:) I used PicMonkey, I'm addicted to that little monkey....he is sooo cute!

Wow...four posts in one week. I'm sure I won't be able to keep up with this pace, but I'll try!

Well, that's a little big...I'll have to work on that:)

Rice Krispie Flag:)

My son loves Rice Krispie Treats....so this is what he made, with a little help from my partner in
crime:)

This is just the regular recipe for Rice Krispies. We used Americolor food coloring in Super-Red, Royal Blue, and Bright White.

I think it turned out pretty cute:)

My little man was very proud!!

Theatre Cookies

My niece goes to theatre camp in the summers, and I made cookies for their last day. I wasn't going to do the old fashioned camera ones, but decided at the last minute to wing it, as I don't have a KopyKake...yet:) Hopefully you can tell it's a camera...it kind of looks like some sort of space ship thingy to me, or an upside down army tank with antennas... but whatever they tasted good!

I used sanding sugar on the "silver" stars and on the edges of the red ones...I was trying to add a little glitz to them for the whole theatre thing.

The red ones are my favorite:)

How about you, what's your favorite?

P.S. Wow, two posts in two days....we'll see what happens tomorrow:)

Baseball Cookies:)

Baseballs!

I am just playing around to see if I really want to do a blog or not! Because I am a procastinator and change my mind every second about everything, I didn't want to pay for a blog and then...you know suck at it.

So, I made these cookies for a friend's son for their last game of the season, and guess what she did with them? Put them in the freezer because she forgot to hand them out! Poor kids! :( But at least they will have a sweet treat for fall ball! :)

Oh well, we'll see how they taste in a couple of months after being in the freezer:) A nice way to do a test run!

I'll keep you posted....that is if I'm still blogging.