Molasses Ginger Cookies

                     

 These molasses ginger cookies might just knock your socks off! 

This year, I participated in the The great food blogger cookie swap. It was pretty awesome! In case you don't know about the cookie swap, what the basic idea of it is to make and send 3 dozen cookies to 3 other food bloggers that you are "matched" with. Then, 3 other food bloggers make and send a dozen cookies to you! And best of all, the cookie swap raises money for Cookies For Kids Cancer. It's pretty amazing! 

     I got the recipe for these from my neighbor, and it's quickly become one of my favs!!

They are soft cookies bursting with molasses and spice flavor. Best of all, they stay fresh for at least a week, which is a major plus. They come together in a snap, and require no chilling time, making them a perfect last minute holiday dessert. 

Try them, I guarantee you will love them!

Molasses Cookies

Yield: 24 large cookies

Recipe adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook

Ingredients: 

12 tablespoons butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup molasses 

1 egg

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenhight 

2. Melt butter, add sugar and molasses, and mix thoroughly. Lightly beat egg and add to butter mixture, blending well. 

3. Whisk flour together with spices, salt, and baking soda, and add to first mixture. Combine, making sure not to overmix. The batter will be wet. 

4. Drop tablespoons of batter onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Make sure to leave at least 3 inches of space between the cookies, as they will spread during baking. 

5. Bake until cookies begin to darken, 8-10 minutes. Cookies will still apper soft. 

Let cool COMPLETLY before moving to a wire rack. 

 

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Single Layer Chocolate Cake

 Thanksgiving is right around the corner!
 I can't believe it. I am SUPER excited for turkey day. I mean, it's a holiday all about food! What could possible be better than that? Absolutely nothing in my book. My favorite thing about thanksgiving is being with my family, and having dessert.
Thanksgiving tends to be associated with pumpkin desserts, and while I love pumpkin anything, this single layer chocolate cake would be a great addition to your dessert table to mix things up a bit.

           This cake is moist, and has a nice, tender crumb.You could top it with ganache, or frosting. I used this frosting recipe, and cut it in half. I think it is my new favorite chocolate frosting recipe. It comes together in a snap, and is super creamy and delicious. Go try it out for yourself!

 



 

 

Single layer chocolate cake
Adapted from thefrugalgirl.com


Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter(softened)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease one 9" round cake pan.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a mixer.
Add the milk, butter and vanilla. Beat on low until combined, then on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, and beat for 2 additional minutes.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

This cake takes no more than 10 minutes, and comes together in a snap. Not to mention it's delicious! Enjoy!


@glitterpies

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

 

 



             I love baking with pumpkin. Pumpkin season is my absolute favorite.

Pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, you name it I make it.

I simply adore the delicious taste of pumpkin coming together with all the fall spices like

cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc. And these pumpkin cinnamon rolls are no exception. Soft

and bursting with pumpkin flavor, I know you will enjoy these buns as much as I did!.

 

 

 

 

You can find this delicious recipe over at sallys baking addiction. Sally includes some more great photos, as well as additional tips and instruction.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Grace 

Nutella Fudgesicles

      I know that it's a little late in the year for popsicles, but these nutella fudgesicles are amazing any time of the year.
Halloween has come and gone, and now I have a dangerously large pile of candy staring me in the face. What a problem to have, I know. I really think that Halloween should be a semi-annual holiday. You get all this candy, eat it, bake with it, and then by valentine's day its all gone, and that always sends me into sadness.
 But, wait! When that happens, you have trusty Nutella Fudgesicles to fall back on. These guys are seriously amazing, and they have a whole 1/2 cup of Nutella in them. That means they've got to be good, right?

*sigh*

 

These fudgesicles are two-ingredient, no-bake, and AMAZING.

Why are you still here? Go make them!

 

 

 

Nutella fudgesicles

adapted from Dailywaffle.com

Makes 6 pops

1/2 cup Nutella

1 1/2 cups Pacific Hazelnut Chocolate Milk(I used regular 1% milk and they turned out great)

Mix the nutella and milk together with a whisk until combined.

Chill mixture in the fridge for 2 hrs.

Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze for at least 4 hrs.

Note: Can also be made in the Zoku quick pop maker

Blueberry Pie Filling

I`m back!!

I went to Lake Winnapasake for 2 weeks and had a fabulous time, but I missed you guys

terribly!

I'm sure you guys missed me too, right?

Yay, I'm loved :)

Anyways, I know blueberry pie filling is pretty basic, but since nice fresh blueberries are

in season right now, i figured I`d share a delicious recipe with you.

This filling has this delicious Cinnamon-nutmeg tang to it, and I know you guys are just gonna

love it!

I prepared this with a premade pie crust for the sake of ease and time, but you are welcome

make your own if you'd like

Blueberry Pie Filling
adapted from Food.com

2 pints blueberries (4 cups)

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 egg, well beaten with

1 pinch salt, for egg washing top of pie

2 tablespoons sugar, for top of pie

2 individual pie crusts

Directions:

1.   Combine 1 cup berries with 3/4 cup sugar in pan
2. Simmer on low heat until sugar is melted and mixture is very liquid; about 5 minutes.
3. Combine cornstarch and water in bowl
4.  Add to pan with blueberries.
5. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to full boil and is clear and thick.
6. Pour hot mixture into large bowl.Cool until warm
7. Fold in remaining 3 cups of blueberries, lemon rind, cinnamon,nutmeg and butter
8. Let cool before adding to pie crust.
9. Add top crust and brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar
10. Preheat oven to 400°F but reduce heat to 375°F when you put pie in oven. Bake about 40 minutes. Check pie halfway through baking; cover edges with a strip of foil if edges are getting too brown

Homemade Buttermints

There are a few things in life I will never understand...

1. Why you would ever use lotion sunscreen instead of spray.
2. Socks and sandals (gross!)
3. Why the Kardashians are famous.
4. Grossly long fingernails.
5. Waxed moustaches.
6. Why the world does not believe sweatpants are attractive, and instead forces me into skinny jeans.
7. Crocs.
8. Math.
9. Why I love Target so much.
10. And lastly, vegan diets. (Why would you ever give up cupcakes?)

Anyways...

I have always loved, loved, loved butter mints, so when I found this recipe, I was SUPER EXCITED!

Also, they are no-bake, so you don't have to turn on the stupid oven.

They are super easy too.

All you do is mix your ingredients together until you have a nice play-dough consistency dough...

   And then you can color the dough. The original recipe suggests coloring balls of dough one at a time in your mixer, washing the bowl every time, but I came up with an easier solution...

                                   
 Blood lol. Take your dough ball, and push your thumb into the center of it, making a hole that you can then squirt the dye into. Knead it until you have a smooth color consistency. (This is one of the 4 balls of dough that I colored)

                                                               

Then begins the sort-of hard part. The great mint roll-out. Roll out your dough into snakes, and slice it into bite-size pieces. Refrigerate for at least 3 hrs., and you`re done!


Homemade Butter mints
Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks

Old-Fashioned Butter Mints (no-bake, gluten-free)

Makes about 200 bite-sized mints
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar plus 1/4 cup+, if needed
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract*
food coloring, optional
In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer,  combine butter and salt and beat for 1 minute on medium-high speed.
 Add 3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, milk, peppermint, and beat on medium-low speed until a dough forms.
If the dough seems wet, add additional confectioners’ sugar until dough combines ( I did not have to add any additional sugar). The dough will be crumbly but will come together when pinched and squeezed into a ball, and have the consistency of play dough, or clay.

At this point, taste the batter. (yes, that is an order) Add more mint extract if you feel you need it, but be careful. The slightest bit more extract can seriously alter the flavor. ( I did not need to add any more.

Take a handful of dough, and make it into a ball shape. Press your thumb into the middle of the dough, and add a few drops of food coloring. Knead until you have reach the desired color. Repeat until all your dough is colored.

Take each lump of dough, and roll out into a snake-like line. Cut into bite-size pieces with a knife or pizza cutter. Repeat until all the dough is cut up, and refrigerate for at least three hours, or until they become firm. The mints can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for several weeks.

Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment telling me what you thought.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

  I don`t know if I can deal with this heat anymore.

It`s like a million and two degrees outside, and I am DONE.

Sick of going to bed sweaty, sick of not being able to sleep because of the heat, and sick of

getting hot flashes every other minute.

Grrrrr...

So we belong  to this pool club, and we go there A LOT because it`s like the only other

place to go besides dying of heat in your house (Or the mall. Not opposed to that option

either)

So there I am, just standing around in shallow end, trying to cool off when

I get hit, splashed, rammed into, and my butt gets crashed into by a bunch of crazy

boys playing a game WITHOUT GOGGLES.

I think this should be a rule.

No swimming without goggles, because otherwise, you will crash into people in unpleasant

places, and possibly get shouted at.

You here me Mr. policeman?

Anyways...

Peanut butter cup cookies. Yes.

Plus, these are like, super simple.

All you do is make sugar cookie dough from a box, add some peanut butter, roll it into

little balls, and press a mini peanut butter cup into the center of it.

BTW, how awesome are those miniature Reese's`s?

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 box sugar cookie mix
• Ingredients called for on the box
•  1/4 cup Creamy peanut butter
• 1 bag miniature peanut butter cups

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to the temperature directed on the box (Usually like 350 degrees F)
2. Prepare your sugar cookie dough as directed on the box, mixing until it`s just barley a dough.
3. Add your peanut butter, and mix until dough is smooth and well-combined.
4. Roll your dough into quarter-sized ball shapes (they will spread out in the oven) and press your peanut butter cup into the center of each.
5. Arrange all your cookies on a baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly brown on the edges.

 
Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment telling me what you thought!