Friday, December 19, 2014

Snickerdoodle Blossoms

I "love" chocolate and Snickerdoodle Cookies!  I get to combine the
cookie with a bit of chocolate.  Both cookie and chocolate make for
one scrumptious tasting cookie!




Snickerdoodle Blossoms

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
52 chocolate stars

1.)  In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.  Beat at medium speed until mixture is light and creamy.

2.)  Add the egg, vanilla extract and salt; continue beating until well mixed.

3.)  Add 1 cup of flour and the baking soda to the bowl, and beat on low speed until ingredients have been mixed together well.

4.)  Add the remaining cup of flour; beat on low speed until it has been thoroughly mixed together.

5.)  At this point you will need to refrigerate the dough (in a bowl covered with aluminum foil), so the dough firms up enough to shape into dough balls.  This may take anywhere from 1-2 hours.  (I let mine set overnight in the refrigerator, so I can bake mine the next day, and when I have the time.)  I then let the dough sit on the counter (in the bowl covered with foil) for an hour or two before making it into cookies.

6.)  When ready to bake the cookies, heat your oven to 350ΒΊ F.  And in a shallow bowl, combine the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and the Tablespoon of ground cinnamon.

7.)  Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls.  (I used a small cookie scoop which is equivalent to 1 tablespoon, to make each cookie, then shape the cookie dough into 1" balls.)

8.)  Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then place them 2-inches apart onto either ungreased baking sheets, or baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  (I prefer to line my baking sheets with the parchment paper.)

9.)  Bake the dough balls for 10 minutes, and after removing baking sheet from the oven, immediately press 1 chocolate star in the center of each cookie.

10.)  Let the cookies sit for 1-minute on the baking sheet, then remove the cookies and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

11.)  Makes: 52 cookies

12.) To store the cookies: I place the cooled cookies onto clean baking sheets in a single layer, then place the baking sheets in the freezer, until the chocolate star is firm.  I then place the cookies in a cookie tin or in a Tupperware container, and store the cookies in the freezer.  These cookies do keep well for quite sometime in the freezer. When ready to serve, just take out as many cookies as needed, and let them sit for a bit before serving.  (About 5 minutes.  Providing you can wait that long!)


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Snickerdoodle Blossoms | Just A Pinch Recipes
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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Ziploc Bag Omelet

I use to prepare omelets in one of those omelet pans, but not anymore!  Preparing them in those quart-size Ziploc Freezer Bags, is so much easier, a lot quicker, and hearty enough for 1-serving.



Ziploc Bag Omelet

1 quart size Ziploc Freezer Bag

2 large eggs

A sprinkle (or two) of black pepper (See *Note)

1-1/2 to 2 slices of bacon, cooked & crumbled (See *Note)

1 Tablespoon diced onion

1 Tablespoon diced green bell peppers

2 or 3 Tablespoons of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

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1.)  Fill a large saucepan (half-way) with water, then bring water to a rolling boil.  (I used a 3-quart saucepan.)


2.)  While waiting for the water to come to a boil, crack the 2 eggs into the quart size Ziploc Freezer Bag.


3.)  Seal the bag, and mush the eggs by squeezing the bag.


4.)  Open the bag, add the black pepper, then add the bacon, onion, green peppers, and the cheese.  Mush the ingredients together.


5.)  Squeeze out as much of the air as you can, then seal the bag.


6.)  Place the bag into the pan of boiling water, and boil exactly for 14 minutes.  (After 7 minutes of cooking, I turn the baggie over.  I do this using a pair of tongs.)


7.)  Use tongs to remove the Ziploc bag from the boiling water, and place the bag onto a plate.


8.)  Unzip the bag, or use a pair of scissors, and carefully cut off the top of the bag.


9.)  Hold the two bottom corners of the baggie up over the plate, and let the omelet slide out onto the plate.  Season the omelet with a bit of the salt, if desired.


10.)  Yields: 1 serving (But if making 2 omelets, read the *Additional Note following the recipe.)


11.) *You can substitute McCormick's Hot Shots!  Black & Red Pepper Blend, or Lawry's Seasoned Pepper, for the black pepper.   Also, you can use a variety of ingredients to make the omelets, such as: Canadian bacon, chopped ham or chopped pepperoni, other cheeses, also diced red, yellow, or orange bell peppers.


12.) *Additional Note:  You can prepare 2 Ziploc Bag Omelets at the same time, but... by boiling them in a larger pot.  (I used a 5-quart Dutch Oven.)  Just be sure the pot you are using, is able to cook both baggies together, side-by-side.


........... A close-up picture of the omelet ...........

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Monday, September 15, 2014

Caramel Krispie Bars

These are my all-time favorite marshmallow krispie bars!


Caramel Krispie Bars


2 (8 oz.) bags Kraft Jet-Puffed Caramel & Vanilla Swirled Marshmallows
1 stick of butter (8 Tablespoons)
8 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal

1.)  Butter the inside of one 13x9x2-inch cake pan, then set the pan aside.

2.)  In a large stock-pot, melt the butter over very low heat.  (Whenever I make rice krispie bars, I use an 8-quart Teflon coated stock-pot.)

3.)  After the butter's melted in the pot, add the marshmallows, and stir until the marshmallows have completely melted.

4.)  Remove pot from the heat, add the cereal, and stir until the cereal is evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture.

5.)  Press the marshmallow/cereal mixture into the buttered pan.

6.)  Let bars sit for 2-3 hours, before cutting them.

7.)  Yields: 24 bars

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Strawberry Lemonade πŸ“ πŸ‹

This is a great tasting strawberry lemonade!  For this recipe, I used my own strawberries, which I picked, sweetened with sugar, and then froze them to use later.



Strawberry Lemonade πŸ“ πŸ‹

1 (12-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate

4 -1/2 cups of water

1 (10-oz.) pkg. frozen sweetened strawberries, partially thawed


1.)  In a large pitcher mix together, the lemonade concentrate and the water.

2.)  Stir in the strawberries, then pour the mixture into a blender, and purΓ©e until mixture is liquefied.

3.)  Strain the lemonade twice, to remove excess seeds from the strawberries.

4.)  Rinse the pitcher, so there aren't any seeds from the strawberries in it, then pour the strained strawberry lemonade back into the pitcher.

5.)  To serve, pour strawberry lemonade in glasses filled with ice.

6.)  Yields: 56 ounces of delicious strawberry flavored lemonade!

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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Kool-Aid Strawberry Lemonade

Here's a great tasting strawberry lemonade, which I've made using 2 packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid Lemonade, and with freshly picked strawberries. Who'd a thought you could make a yummy strawberry lemonade with Kool-Aid. Well you can, and it's quite refreshing!



Kool-Aid Strawberry Lemonade

2 (0.23 oz.) packets of Unsweetened Kool-Aid Lemonade

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 cups fresh, sliced, strawberries

3 cups of water, divided

ice cubes, or crushed ice

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1.)  Mix together in a blender, the sugar, strawberries, and 2 cups of water.


2.)  Pour the strawberry mixture into a 2-quart pitcher, along with the remaining cup of water, and add the 2 packets of lemonade.  Stir mixture with a spoon.  (This lemonade has a consistency of being syrupy.)


3.)  Strain the lemonade twice, to remove excess seeds from the strawberries.

4.)  Rinse the pitcher, so there aren't any seeds from the strawberries in it, then pour the strained strawberry-lemonade back into the pitcher.


5.)  To serve, pour strawberry-lemonade in glasses filled with ice.


6.)  Yields: 56 ounces of delicious strawberry flavored lemonade!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed these moist Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. Especially since my husband enjoys bananas, and I enjoy ...