Allison: Fall & Baking

Hello!  Something amazing has happened this last week: Autumn finally arrived in Arizona!  Well, at least in the mornings.  That chill has hit, and I've had to pull out my flannel pajama pants, and socks.  Of course by about 11 am, it turns warmer, and I regret the socks.  Oh well.  But at least for the mornings, I'm happily chilled and ready for hot chocolate and a warm fire.  What else usually hits me around this time of year?  A desire to bake!  So I scoured my "Cookie" board on Pinterest and besides being embarrassed by how many pins are there, I found my new favorite recipe: 5 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.

I found the original recipe here, and had serious doubts about how good they could possibly be.  With the base cookie only consisting of peanut butter, sugar and an egg, it doesn't make sense, but it works and I may never go back to the traditional cookie.

Sort of forgot a before picture, but here's the aftermath.  

To make things even better, the cookies are dipped in melted chocolate, and then in chopped peanuts.  AMAZING!  The cookies literally fall apart in your mouth while the chocolate and crunch of the peanuts just add to the experience.

Here's the basic recipe:

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Chill dough for half an hour.

Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

These cookies are a little brittle, but that gives you a chance to sample your work.  :)

I didn't have baking chocolate, so I melted 1/3 of a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double broiler on the stove (a glass bowl over a bowling pot of water).  I also didn't have plain peanuts, but I had honey-roasted peanuts.  I chopped them up and they worked perfectly.

I hope the rest of you are enjoying the Fall weather and changing leaves.  Have a great week!


Allison

Allison: Fancy Cookies Part 2 & Giveaway!!

                                     ***************GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED******************


Hi again! This morning my friend, Amanda, and I were able to finish our cookies from yesterday. My two-year-old almost thwarted our plan with a runny nose, but we pushed on.  Modern-day pioneers, huh? :)

After outlining and "flooding" the cookies yesterday, the royal frosting had finished drying completely overnight and was ready for a little more detail. If you didn't read Part 1 from yesterday, here's a link. We used the same piping bag of frosting to add the veins on the cookies today. This part went really fast, though maybe I should have slowed down a little.  :)

I thought this was such a fun activity to learn, that it made me a little sad that I hadn't tried it earlier.  One of the many reasons I'm grateful for this blog, is that it forces me to be creative and to try new things.  We've had this blog up for a little over 6 months now, and just reached 15,000 views today!  That definitely deserves a giveaway to show our gratitude to all our friends, and new friends that take the time to see what we're up to.  So here's the question for today's giveaway:

What is something creative that you would love to try/learn, but have been too scared to actually do?

If you answer that question before Monday morning, you could win a mini-starter kit to decorate your own cookies. This kit will include:

Meringue powder (frosting recipe is on Part 1)
Disposable frosting bags
2-Tips
Gel food coloring

Thanks for sharing in this new venture.  And a HUGE "thank you!" to my friend, Amanda, for teaching me.  I can't wait to try decorating cookies again. Now I challenge you all to go out and try something new. Have a great day!


Allison

Allison: Fancy Cookies Part 1

Hello, again! I'm so excited to share what I did this morning. For awhile now, I've wanted to learn how to decorate sugar cookies. I'm not talking pre-made frosting and some sprinkles. Instead I've wanted to learn the fancy decorating with frosting that wouldn't cause all my cookies to stick to each other, and fun details. I've watched multiple tutorials, and pinned too many pins on Pinterest, but have been too scared and lazy to try (that's a bad combo!).

Then this last Christmas, my good friend, Amanda, brought the cutest cookies to our church cookie exchange, and we made plans to make some together. Then we both got pregnant and life got a little crazy. The cookies would have to wait.

Now that we both have newborns, and our two-year-olds are playing better together, we thought we'd give it a try. Amanda originally learned how to decorate the cookies with this tutorial from Annie's Eats, making cookies using this recipe and the frosting with this recipe, also from Annie.  Amanda jokes that she feels like she knows Annie after watching tutorials and followings her tips.  :)

I think the hardest part to this whole process was actually trying it. I was surprised how easy it actually was, and how fast it went, once we got started. Prepping the frosting with food coloring and getting it to the right consistency can take a bit of time, but they turn out so cute, that the time is worth it.

This middle pic is me trying to help still while I was nursing.  :)

Nap time was quickly approaching so we decided to finish the cookies tomorrow morning. Make sure to check out tomorrow's post to see how they turned out.

If you're interested in trying these fun cookies, I strongly recommend getting a group of girlfriends together and giving it a try. I can't wait to see the finished product! Until tomorrow...  Oh!  I also think we have to have a giveaway to celebrate 15,000 views to our blog!  It's going to be a fun one, so make sure to enter tomorrow.  So mysterious, right?  :)

Allison

Sara Jane: Berry Crisp

For the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to serve a sweet friend of mine, who has been in need of a little extra TLC, by taking her dinner.  My sweet friend is gluten intolerant so I have challenged myself to find delicious recipes that are within her strict dietary guidelines.  I have had so much fun doing this.  You would think that cooking for 6 extra people would be difficult but it really has been so easy and quite relaxing.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I have LOVED every minute of it and have found some pretty yummy alternatives to foods we eat all the time.  I will be compiling the recipes I have made along with some other delicious finds in a blog for my friend.  I am sure she won't mind me sharing the blog with you when it is finished.

With each yummy meal, I have tried to make a dessert that goes along with it.  I usually alternate between a fresh fruit dessert and a gooey chocolate dessert.  Yesterday, I made a creation that I know isn't new to anyone but it was so tasty last night at 10:00 PM that I have to share it with you.

Berry Crisp

I call this "Berry Crisp" because you could use any berry in it and it would still be delicious.  We happen to have raspberries so that is what I used.  I would just make sure to adjust the amount of sugar you use if you use a less tart berry, like a blackberries or blueberries. 

The only way this crisp is really different from other crisps I have made is that I didn't use flour in the topping.  Last week, I made my friend an apple crisp and used quinoa flour in the topping.  I didn't like the after taste that the quinoa left so I omitted that this week and actually enjoyed it better than my usual crisp topping.  

Ingredients:

4 cups berries (I used frozen berries from this summer; fresh would be delicious, too)

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want your berries)

2 Tablespoon cornstarch 

1/2 cup melted butter

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375*.

Toss your berries with the cornstarch and sugar, coating the berries. Set aside.

To make the "crisp" topping, combined your oats and brown sugar.  Pour your butter over the oats/brown sugar and mix together.  It should be very clumpy.  If it isn't, add more oats until it is.

To assemble the dessert, I filled small jars 1/2 way full of the berry mixture and then topped them with the crisp mixture.  When you have both in there, you should have your jar about 3/4 full.  Leave some room so when the berries start bubbling they don't over flow.

I put the full jars onto a pan (to catch any runaway berry juice) and cooked them for about a half hour or until the topping was nicely browned.

Since I was taking these to my friend and not eating them right away, I let the jars cool for about 10 minutes and then capped the them with a lid and a band.

* I find that when I make berry crisp with just sugar, the juices are too runny.  The cornstarch thickens the berry juices giving it more of a sauce feel.  If you don't care for that consistency, omit the cornstarch and just use the sugar.  

*If you feel like you need more or less of the oats, sugar and/or butter for the topping, then adjust to what YOU like.  We like a lot of oats in our topping so I tend to put a bit extra in.

*Since I knew a jar portion would be too little for my hubby, I cooked his crisp in an cereal bowl that was oven safe and it was the perfect portion for him. 

I really am so grateful for the opportunity to serve and hope that I can always serve with a happy heart, even if it doesn't involve food :)

Loves

Sara Jane

Allison: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Hello, again!  First off, I would also like to send my condolences to Lisa's extended family for the lost of their brother-in-law, son-in-law and father.  I remember Greg from various encounters years ago, and he was a great man.  Any contributions that could be made to support this amazing family, would be incredibly appreciated (see Sara's last post).

I'm not sure where time is going, but another week is here, and I'm still not 100% back to my crafting and baking self.  So for this week, I thought I'd share one of my favorite Fall recipes: Pumpkin Spice Cookies.  They have been a go-to treat each Autumn since I first tasted them in Sara's kitchen.  (Sorry, Sara, if I'm stealing a post idea.  At least I'm giving you credit!)  This yummy treat is incredibly easy and amazingly delicious.  Here's how you make them:

1- box of spice cake mix
1- 15 oz can of pureed pumpkin
chocolate chips (optional, but essential at the same time)

That's it!  You combine all ingredients, spoon onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (until they're set).  Can you think of an easier treat?  They're so moist and delicious and always a crowd pleaser.  I was going to make some, but let's face it... getting to the store is still a little tricky.  But I'll definitely be making them this season, and I'll try to post some then.  Sorry for the lame post!  I'll get back into the swing of things soon.  Promise.  What's your favorite Fall treat??

Have a great week!!


Allison