Buggie Cookies

Posted on by

I was asked to make some cookies for a butterfly/bug themed party. So here’s what I created:

Super fun cookies to make!

Cookie Ingredients:
2 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature (4sticks)
2 cups of white granulated sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
3 teaspoons of vanilla (can use almond flavor here too)
6 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp of salt
Here is what I do:
1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. add eggs and mix
3. add vanilla and mix
4. mix salt and flour and whisk together
5. slowly add the flour to the creamed butter mixture
6. mix on low approx 30 sec then scrape the sides and mix again
7. It is mixed when it clumps around the paddle
I divide the dough into 4 sections and roll it out on parchment paper- 4 separate sheets with 4 separate dough circles (use rolling pin and roll out) and then I refrigerate the dough for an hour or overnight.
Cut into desired shapes. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet.
For the royal icing:
  • 3 Tablespoons of meringue powder
  • 4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons warm water
  • 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla (optional but I prefer it)

Directions:

  • Mix the meringue powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, and water together. Icing should come together and will be pretty thick.
  • Add water tiny amounts at a time until you have the desired consistency.
  • I have stopped outlining my cookies and use one icing to do everything to save time. I like my icing thick enough to stay on the cookie and prefer to shake the cookie to get the “flood” icing to fill it in. I outline and then immediately fill in the area with the same icing. I shake the cookie to get the icing to settle. Watch this video from Sweetopia and it will all make sense!

Have fun! It’s a process but worth it!

Frozen Banana Pops

Posted on by

The kids and I had a blast making these fun little treats!

IMG_3327

Here’s what we did based on an idea I saw in my Food Network magazine.

  • Peel and cut a couple of bananas in half.
  • Place on a sheet of parchment paper, put cookie sticks or popsicle sticks into the bottom of the bananas, and put into the freezer for an hour or so until bananas are frozen.
  • Melt some chocolate (your choice of semi, milk chocolate, etc).
  • Dip bananas into the chocolate and put back in the freezer to let the chocolate solidify. I used candy eyes and put them on the chocolate before the chocolate hardened.
  • Melt mini marshmallows in a bowl and mix in a tiny amount of water. The marshmallows will be stringy and you just use a spoon to wrap it around the banana pops.  Kinda tricky but it’s super fun for the kiddos!

Homemade Tortilla Shells

Posted on by

Tortilla shells are something we keep on hand for the kids at all times. Well I was out last night and decided to try a recipe my mother in law recommended. I have tried making tortilla shells once before but the recipe was not good so I haven’t wanted to attempt it again until last night when I needed some and didn’t want to go to the store. This recipe was easy, quick, and delicious!  I would say it’s a keeper:)

IMG_3815

Ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

1 cup of warm water

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in your mixing bowl.

2. Using the dough hook, add in the oil and water. Mix at low to medium speed until dough begins to clump and make a ball. Should only take a minute or two.

3. Take the dough out and transfer to a floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces.

4. Cover with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

5. Flatten each dough ball into a small disc then use a rolling pin to make the tortillas thin. Getting a perfect circle was next to impossible for me but hey the taste makes up for that;)

6. Heat a griddle or skillet on medium-high heat.

7.  Place tortilla on griddle. Cook on the first side for about one minute. You will see it start to bubble up. Flip and cook on other side for 30 seconds. Repeat until all tortillas are cooked!

*My picky daugher says these are 100 times better than the store bought ones!

Recipe from here.