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Hi!
Welcome to the first edition of "Tips and Tricks Tuesdays". I will be sharing tips and tricks I know that may help you with all of your cookie adventures! I am by no means an expert, but I do know a few things about how to create cute sugar cookies that you can absolutely do with a little practice! :)
So,
Have you ever wondered how those "cookie people" get their cookies to be all the same thickness? Well, I am one of those people and let me tell you, it took a lot of trial and error to find a method that worked for me.
There are many methods out there and a lot of gadgets you can buy, but I'm here to tell you don't have to them. You can just go down to your local hardware store and buy one dowel rod and cut it in half and voila!
See...
The ones I use are 1/4 inch thick and they are square, not round...that wouldn't work! ;)
I like to roll my dough right on the counter top with a lot of flour. Don't be afraid of the flour, it will not, I repeat will not hurt your cookies.
P.S. Don't you think that looks like a skull face? I just noticed that.
I roll about a third of my dough at a time, about a baseball size ball shaped into a disc. Set it between the two rods, nice and tight and start rolling. Make sure your rods are always touching the sides of your dough to ensure even rolling.
This takes practice but over time you will get the hang of it.
Another side note, I like my dough to be slightly chilled, but this is not the same for everyone. You just have to test a few methods until you find what's right for you.
Why don't you drop a line in the comment section and let me know what you think about Tips and Tricks Tuesdays! And let me know what you may need help with...
I'd love to hear from you :)
~Ashli
Okay, I've been making these breakfast muffins for a long time but never thought about putting them on the blog. I actually bake a lot of other things BESIDES cookies, I just never think of sharing them. However, that's about to change, beginning with these muffins! :)
Don't those look fabulous?? They are light, moist and slightly spicy! Everything you need in a breakfast muffin, in my opinion. I'm not much of a sweet eater in the A.M., I usually save those indulgences for the night time ;)
Recipe:
3 cups flour(I used all purpose, but you could certainly use whole wheat)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
2 whole eggs
1 1/3-1 1/2 buttermilk
3 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 tbsp. butter (melted)
1/2 cup chopped green onion (mostly the tops)
1 pkg. Canadian bacon, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 cup chopped bell peppers (any variety, I used red, yellow and orange)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400*. Spray muffin tin (12) with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl ( I used my That's a Bowl) whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl beat eggs, buttermilk and olive oil. Once the butter has cooled a little bit add to the buttermilk mixture. Add the Canadian bacon, onions, peppers, and cheese to the dry mixture and stir together. Add buttermilk mixture and stir together just until it comes together. Don't over mix. It will be sticky, that's okay. If it seems too dry add the additional 1/4 cup of buttermilk a little at a time.
I use two serving spoons to scoop the batter into the muffin tins. They should be pretty full, as this makes 12 large muffins! :)
Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool before removing from pan.
These store very well in the freezer and you can heat them in the microwave from the frozen state by wrapping in a damp paper towel and heating for about 1-2 minutes on high.
These make THE perfect on the go breakfast! And if you are a calorie counter these come in at around 275 calories :)
Try them and let me know what you think!
Recipe adapted from Eating Well.
Isn't that pretty?? Yeah, I think so too, I really do. But. You saw that coming didn't you? Sometimes, I get soooo sick of it! Especially, when you are stuck in the house and can't get out of your freakin' driveway! Ugh:(
I truly do love snow days...especially the part where I get to spend time with my family. I also love that I don't HAVE to do anything, because it's like a free day. A day where you can just hang out, maybe bake or clean or just watch some TV.
But then it's enough already and I want to go outside. I want to go shopping, go out to eat, to the store...something. Does anyone else feel this way? Stuck. In the house for days with the children and nothing to do.
I know those perfect mother's who craft with the children, bake with the children, redo a room with the children. I am not that mother. My kid is not that kid. He's not into the craft thing. He's only into the baking thing for about two minutes, and who has time to do redo a room!
I just want to go outside!
Now, I sound like the children.
Did I mention I'm a teacher? And we haven't had outside recess for daaaaaaaaaaaays?
He got to go outside...for two seconds!
In my defense I did bake after all. I made cupcakes, then I graded papers, cleaned the bathrooms, and watched The Croods with my kiddo! :)
And tomorrow we are going to sled down the driveway, make snow ice cream, and enjoy another free day together!
Oh, and shovel the car out of the driveway...maybe.
Um, there's no suggestion list of things to do. We're you looking for one? Sorry.
If you have one, will you send it to me? No crafts. No baking. No DYI projects. Never mind.
So, tell me...what do you do on snow days?
Oh, okay...here's a list of things to do. It's from The Happy Housewife. She rocks! Maybe I'll pick one of her things to do tomorrow! :)
Check her out!
http://thehappyhousewife.com/homeschool/101-things-to-do-on-a-snowy-day-with-kids/
OMG! It's been almost a year and a half since my last post. Wowza! I've made many a cookie since then, but just kind of let the blog thing go. But I missed it and decided to give it another whirl!
Lots has happened since my last post. For starters, I graduated from college and started my first teaching job! Yay! I'm a third grade teacher to 22 of the greatest kids ever! I've also started my master's program...I know I'm crazy, I guess I don't think I'm busy enough! My "baby" is in 1st grade! Can you believe it?! Me either!
Honestly, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to keep up with the blog, but I'm going to give it a good effort! It was one of my New Year's Resolutions. That and less time on the computer...not sure how those two are going to work out together ;)
I hope to share some tips with you on cookie making...the easy way. My cookies have become much more simple and frankly that's the way I like them! I'm a busy woman and I just don't have time to make fancy ol' cookies all the time. But I will tell you this, they are tasty and they still impress!
These were some of my favorites from 2013...I'm especially loving those tropical ones right now...kind of sick of all this snow! :(
I will be sharing more details on how I actually do my cookies and not just pics of the finished product. I hope to inspire you to make your own sugar cookies! Your family and friends will be so impressed! I'm still amazed at the reactions I get from my sugar cookies...especially because there is sooo much amazing talent out there!
It feels good to be back...hoping you will join me when you can :)
