I've been dying to try snickerdoodles in recent weeks, as everybody seems to be talking about them and how good they are. So I decided to try this recipe tonight, and I think I've found my new favorite cookie.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Coating:
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. In a bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Blonde Brownies
These are still cooking, but here's the recipe I used this evening to make blonde brownies after Alex requested them. No idea if they're any good, but they sure as heck SMELL good!
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
Measure 1 cup sifted flour. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift again. Add chopped nuts and mix well. Set aside.
Stir the brown sugar into the melted butter and mix well. Cool slightly.
Mix the egg and vanilla into the brown sugar mixture. Add flour mixture a little at a time, mixing just until combined.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
Measure 1 cup sifted flour. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift again. Add chopped nuts and mix well. Set aside.
Stir the brown sugar into the melted butter and mix well. Cool slightly.
Mix the egg and vanilla into the brown sugar mixture. Add flour mixture a little at a time, mixing just until combined.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
Choosing to Buy Local
So recently, especially if you're in Canada, you may have heard about the beef recall due to possible e. coli contamination.
Upon hearing about it, we decided not to buy meat (beef in particular) from the grocery stores anymore, since we don't know where it's from, what's been done to it, etc. Besides, too many times in the past few months, one of us has gotten ill from meat (beef) bought at the grocery stores.
We also learned that if Charlie won't touch it...it's probably spoiled or bad in some way. He loves meat and it's rare that he won't eat it, but if he refuses, and we still eat it...one or both of us is sick the next day.
Lesson learned: Pay attention to the toddler when it comes to meat. LOL.
Anyway, there is a butcher shop in town, they've been around for longer than I've been alive. When I was little, my parents got their meat from him all the time, but stopped when I was probably five or six, and started buying it at the grocery store.
Because of the recall...my parents have started going to them regularly again, and I have as well. I told the lady who waited on me today that I will be a regular customer of theirs because of that recall, and the fact that it's just so much better.
It's also kind of cool that they know my parents...and that the lady recognized me as their daughter (even without seeing me with them) and we were talking about them while I was there today.
They get the meat (beef, chicken and pork) from local farms in our county. They also sell eggs, cheese, apples and other stuff, all of it from our local area. No chemicals, nothing. The meat looks fresher (heck, most of it, they will slice it fresh right in front of your eyes, to your specified thickness, as I discovered today) and tastes a million times better than meat bought at the grocery stores.
So far, we've had ground beef and pork chops. So...freaking...good. And it just feels good to be supporting our local butcher and local farmers, you know? I know it's not for everyone, but it's really not more expensive (if anything it's cheaper!) and it has to be better for you (but that's just my opinion).
I can't wait to try other cuts of beef and pork, and chicken, from them, ha ha!
Upon hearing about it, we decided not to buy meat (beef in particular) from the grocery stores anymore, since we don't know where it's from, what's been done to it, etc. Besides, too many times in the past few months, one of us has gotten ill from meat (beef) bought at the grocery stores.
We also learned that if Charlie won't touch it...it's probably spoiled or bad in some way. He loves meat and it's rare that he won't eat it, but if he refuses, and we still eat it...one or both of us is sick the next day.
Lesson learned: Pay attention to the toddler when it comes to meat. LOL.
Anyway, there is a butcher shop in town, they've been around for longer than I've been alive. When I was little, my parents got their meat from him all the time, but stopped when I was probably five or six, and started buying it at the grocery store.
Because of the recall...my parents have started going to them regularly again, and I have as well. I told the lady who waited on me today that I will be a regular customer of theirs because of that recall, and the fact that it's just so much better.
It's also kind of cool that they know my parents...and that the lady recognized me as their daughter (even without seeing me with them) and we were talking about them while I was there today.
They get the meat (beef, chicken and pork) from local farms in our county. They also sell eggs, cheese, apples and other stuff, all of it from our local area. No chemicals, nothing. The meat looks fresher (heck, most of it, they will slice it fresh right in front of your eyes, to your specified thickness, as I discovered today) and tastes a million times better than meat bought at the grocery stores.
So far, we've had ground beef and pork chops. So...freaking...good. And it just feels good to be supporting our local butcher and local farmers, you know? I know it's not for everyone, but it's really not more expensive (if anything it's cheaper!) and it has to be better for you (but that's just my opinion).
I can't wait to try other cuts of beef and pork, and chicken, from them, ha ha!
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Cookies
So, Alex found this recipe on allrecipes.com. There, it's called "Craving Cookies" because they're high in magnesium, and when a person craves chocolate, it's actually magnesium that is being craved. I didn't want to just call them that, though, so...yeah. They. Are. Awesome.
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 tablespoons cocoa*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed banana and peanut butter until well blended. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, combine flour and baking powder, then add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. The add the cocoa and mix again. Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place two inches apart on the sheets. Press lightly with a fork (like you would do for regular peanut butter cookies).
Bake for 10-12 minutes (Alex cooked ours for 12). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
*The actual recipe calls for 1/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, but we didn't have any so Alex substituted for the cocoa. Personally, I think they're better this way than they would be with chocolate chips.
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 tablespoons cocoa*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed banana and peanut butter until well blended. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla until smooth. In another bowl, combine flour and baking powder, then add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. The add the cocoa and mix again. Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place two inches apart on the sheets. Press lightly with a fork (like you would do for regular peanut butter cookies).
Bake for 10-12 minutes (Alex cooked ours for 12). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
*The actual recipe calls for 1/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, but we didn't have any so Alex substituted for the cocoa. Personally, I think they're better this way than they would be with chocolate chips.
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