Grandma's Christmas Cookies

My grandma's chocolate-molasses cutouts were always my favorite Christmas cookie.

My mom sent me a photo of the recipe from an old family cookbook, 

and I decided to post it here so I can pin it and have it easily accessible.

The family cookbook credits these as "Aunt Ethel's Chocolate Jumbles"

but to me, they'll forever be "Grandma's Christmas Cookies".

Grandma's Christmas Cookies

Warning: halve this recipe unless you are baking for hundreds.

Mix together:

1 c sugar

4 sq Baker's chocolate, melted - or - 3/4 c cocoa

1 c shortening (+ 3T if using cocoa)

2 eggs

2 c molasses

Add in:

2 t soda

1 t cinnamon

1 t cloves

5-6 c flour

Make dough stiff & chill.

Roll thin & cut out. 

Bake at 350 for 7-12 minutes.

Frost & decorate.

mom's chewy chocolate cookies

Not to be hyperbolic, 

but these are the most perfect chocolate cookies you will ever eat.

[1]

Cream together: 

1 1/4 c butter, softened

2 c sugar

[2]

Add:

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla 

[3]

Combine and stir into creamed mixture:

2 c flour [I did 2 1/4]

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

dash salt

[4]

My mom says here to "Stir in 1 c of chopped nuts, if desired."

I never desire that for a cookie. 

I, however, stirred in a cup of chocolate chips.

[5]

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. 

Cool on sheets until set; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

I also saw these amazing triple chocolate cookies on Sweetapolita and had to try them.

The glaze is AWESOME, but you will definitely need a huge glass of milk.

Chocolate Glaze by Sweetapolita

3/4 c bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp light corn syrup

You're welcome, friends.

You're welcome.

fast & easy dessert croissant

You guys.

I know I probably didn't invent this, but let's pretend I did.

Because I just whipped this up in the kitchen.

Easiest dessert ever.

 

Fast & East Dessert Croissant

 

Approximate Ingredients:

2 T cream cheese

1-2 T confectioners sugar

small handful of frozen berries of your choice (I used blueberries & raspberries)

1 pkg crescent rolls

few drops of water

 

Directions:

1. Mix room temp cream cheese with about a tbsp of sugar,

depending on how sweet you like your desserts.

2. Unroll crescent rolls, separate and place on baking sheet.

3. Put a dollop of cream cheese on each crescent roll.

4. Sprinkle a few berries on each.

5. Wrap crescent rolls around cream cheese & berries.

Try to make yours cuter than my sloppy ones below.

6. Bake according to package directions - mine was 375 for 11-13 mins.

7. While baking, make a thin frosting by mixing confectioners sugar with a little water.

This is really approximate - just dribble a little water into some conf sugar

until it reaches a consistency you're okay with.

Yep, high quality culinary instructions here.

8. When crescent rolls are done, remove and brush some of water/sugar mixture over them.

These would be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Enjoy!

campfire trifle

The girls of my little Class of 2012 had a "Last Summer Bash" to say goodbye to everyone before they head off to college, and I signed up to bring dessert. I knew right away that I wanted to make a trifle because they're easy. I'm also increasingly obsessed with s'mores and thought, how can I make this a s'more trifle?? I brainstormed in the shower, obviously (my most productive thought time, for some reason), and came up with this bad boy.

Campfire Trifle

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix (& required ingredients to prepare)

1 box instant chocolate pudding (& required ingredients to prepare)

1 small container of Fluff

1 medium container of Cool Whip

appox. 10 graham crackers

Heath Bar, if desired

Directions:

1. Prepare box cake as directed.

2. Prepare instant pudding as directed.

3. Beat fluff & Cool Whip together.

4. Crush graham crackers.

5. Layer ingredients as desired & decorate the top.

Source: my gluttonous brain

Thoughts/modifications I'd make:

- Annie makes s'more cupcakes that I'm dying to try, and I think her marshmallow frosting would be killer in this. Plus, how amazing would the top the trifle look if you ended with the frosting and used a kitchen torch to toast it?!

- I knew I wanted more texture, so I added the Heath Bar. 

- I don't think you'd be able to refrigerate this overnight because the graham crackers would get soggy. This wasn't an issue, since I put it together 10 minutes before leaving... and we made pretty quick work of it at the party.

If you try it, let me know what you did! 

a story about cupcakes.

... a post in which I both brag and complain. It's like an American miracle.

On Thursday afternoon, the female teachers at my school had a shower for our co-worker, Elise, who is expecting her first baby - a daughter! - in January. I volunteered to make (surprise, surprise...) cupcakes!

I was inspired by this ruffled cake by Sweetapolita and this tea-party that she did. Then I saw this pin by Manda and knew I had to make pink cupcakes. And finally, since I love raspberry as a flavoring in... pretty much anything, I wanted to re-visit these cupcakes by Annie that I've made before and maybe tie in these cupcakes by Annie as well.

So. I had a glorious picture in my mind of dainty, pink ruffly cupcakes with raspberry filling.

I was pretty pleased with the result. The end!

Just kidding, because if you know me, you know that there were obviously some bumps in the road. 

I started out with ridiculously high and lofty goals, and decided that I would try to make the pink of the cake fade from light to dark. I had purchased gel food coloring, which I've never used before in my life, and thankfully, I had the gut instinct that a little would go a long way. I dabbed the tip of a knife into the food coloring - barely anything. Wiped the blade on the paddle of my mixer and began to stir it into the cake mix, and the batter turned, like, neon pink. So, there went my idea for changing the shades of pink. Oh well, the cupcakes will be pink, which is cute.

Baked the cupcakes. All was well. Made raspberry filling, all was well. Started to make raspberry buttercream frosting. 

I opened the cream that I had purchased THAT DAY, and huge clumps of nastiness plopped out into my half-made frosting. Now, I don't know if I should admit this online, but if I were just making these cupcakes for myself or maybe even family members, I might have just scooped out said clumps of nastiness and gotten different cream and continued. But I was taking these to a baby shower, and there was a chance that the guest of honor might eat one and who knows what bad cream could do to an unborn baby, because I didn't really pay attention in biology, and frankly, I don't even know if we covered that. Then I thought about what would happen if I made all the female teachers sick, where would we get that many substitute teachers, and how would our school survive if only our male co-workers were there? So I just threw away the tainted frosting. 

Thankfully, I had purchased another container of cream, and could successfully create my raspberry buttercream. My illustrious dream of ruffly pink goodness was about to become a reality. I pulled out a Ziploc bag (to pipe with - I keep it classy.), which I had also just purchased that day... and realized that I had mistakenly grabbed a box of 2-gallon bags. Why are there 2-gallon Ziplocs? 1. Who has that much freezer space? 2. What are you storing? Leftover turkeys? 

Anyway, I cut the bag in half and put the box back, lacerating my index finger on the cutting edge of the parchment paper box. I made some weird, pained noises and Doug came in and helped bandage my poor, afflicted finger. The show must go on!

I started trying to make pretty, ruffly, ribbon-like frosting decor on a cupcake. The operative word being "trying". Sweet mercy, these things were ugly. In fact, I saved a picture on my computer as "ugly cupcake".

Maybe you can't really tell, but take my word for it. These things were not living up to my expectations.

At which point I decided to try to make roses. Which, surprisingly, were much easier than I anticipated. But I realized I was going to run out of frosting. So, in a last minute effort, I made some chocolate ganache and finished my cupcakes. Ta-da! They ended up looking kind of cute, and the shower was really fun and people liked them. The end? 

The next morning, one of my co-workers told me she had an allergic reaction to the cupcakes. I'm not joking.   (She was okay - just lip & facial tingling and minor swelling... no breathing problems or anything.) Apparently she's never had a reaction to any of the ingredients I listed before, so she thinks she might have developed an allergy to raspberries...

Lesson learned? Maybe just buy some cookies for school-related events. 

Also, I had a cupcake for breakfast today.

in the kitchen with rachel... clara.

My mom & Jayne came to visit last weekend. We had a full weekend of touring Canton, thrifting, getting coffee/hot chocolate, going for walks with Zooey, baking, playing Euchre (Jay & I beat Mom & Doug... twice!), and so much giggling. I had planned on making Mom's mac n' cheese for lunch on Saturday, but I forgot to start the process in the morning (needs 4 hrs in a crockpot), so we improvised and made homemade tomato soup & grilled cheese. I was worried, because I do like Campbell's tomato soup, but I loathe raw tomatoes, so I wasn't sure if I'd like homemade tom soup. Answer: I DO. Delicious. We got the recipe here & adapted it a bit, but this is a good start. 

And who doesn't love that amazing stretch of cheese when you pull apart the triangles?!

I also baked a pie for Ethan's 21st birthday. He was supposed to meet Mom & Jay in Erie, PA on their way home, but kid was a no show. What's the deal, E? Apparently it's in Mom & Dad's freezer, waiting for you. For shame. Could have had a fresh pie. For shame.

 Okay, this last pic is from awhile ago. Remember how I said I had an awesome culinary experiment involving the caramel cream cheese dip? Well, I decided to try it as frosting with these apple pie cupcakes. It was pretty good, but shockingly - jot this one down in the record books - maybe too sweet. I know. I just said that.

That picture looks pretty disgusting, but it tasted good... sigh, the pictures on my blog leave a lot to be desired... I should take more time to take pretty pictures for my blog & make them look fancy. Maybe someday.

On an unrelated note, we had our first 2 home studies today! Hooray! (Edit: you can read a brief story about my thoughts surrounding the home study here!) Now the paper chase begins...

happy halloween.

SWEET. heavens. to. betsy.

This is cream cheese caramel dip with Heath bar. 

In other words, this is insanely delectable and you need to drop everything you're doing, run to the kitchen and make this IMMEDIATELY.

Victoria & I made it this weekend, and I am slightly obsessed. 

[there is an embarrassing chance that i may have eaten 2 apples when i got home from school just so i could dip them in this divine delight.]

Directions

Beat 2 8oz pkgs cream cheese, room temp til smooth and creamy. Blend in 1 16.5oz tub Marzetti's carmel dip. Stir in 2 crushed up Heath bars. Eat your heart out.

So. Good.

I am planning the master of all culinary experiments for this bad boy tomorrow night... stay tuned...

Oh, P.S. - Zooey says she's Tom Selleck for Halloween. I told her it's not as believable without the chest hair protruding from a Hawaiian shirt...

"fall fabulous!"

This is what I've been saying all day. "Fall fabulous!" I'm not really sure why, except for the fact that I'm so excited we finally went to get pumpkins and fall decor.

I made some nice, hot, minestrone soup.

And here's a sneak preview of a fall onesie I'm making! LOVE this fabric!

Yay for fall!

food for football

My friend Patti's husband, Zac, writes a blog for the Detroit Lions called the Side Lion Report. He has graciously asked us women to partake in a weekly feature called Tailgate Thursday - we provide fun recipes themed by the team the Lions are opposing that week! This Sunday, the Lions are playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so we went into pirate mode!

We made "Peg Legs" - aka, Oven-baked Mozzarella Sticks (original recipe here)

and "Treasure Chest Cupcakes"...

... or, if we're being really immature (and we are) - "Booty Cakes". Haha. Booty.

Check out our Tailgate Treats here!

ode to summer

Work starts again for me on Monday. I'm always astonished by how quickly the summer flies by. I was talking with someone the other day and mentioned that the month of August is like a Sunday night - you know school is looming. Some of the distinct warning signs of summer's close...

1. Peaches. Sweet, sweet peaches & nectarines - the taste of summer & sunshine.

2. Realizing you need to change into jeans & a sweatshirt for that bonfire at night.

3. Fresh corn on the cob.

4. The hum of cicadas.

5. Crayon boxes and notebooks and pencils and erasers and packages of paper lining the aisles of grocery stores.

6. Premature orange and yellow leaves peppering otherwise green trees.

So, we try to make the most of our dwindling days by grilling as often as possible & enjoying as much fresh produce as possible!

[peach blueberry cobbler]

[chipotle pork wraps... yummm]

What signifies the end of summer to you, and how are you enjoying it??

i'd like to call back summertime

have her stay for just another month or so

but she's got the urge for going

so i guess she'll have to go

-joni mitchell

cake pops!

The other night we went over to Maria & Troy's for game night & cake pops! Maria had a lovely display of her delicious cake pops: salted caramel and spice, oreo, and my favorite, strawberry cheesecake. Yummm!

When I offered to bring something and Maria told me the theme was "cake pops", I got really excited because I've never made them before and now I had an excuse to make them! I looked up Bakerella for some inspiration and was a little overwhelmed, but still determined. Mine didn't have to look awesome, I just wanted to be able to say I'd made cake pops!

As it turns out, cake pops aren't nearly as difficult as I had thought they might be. You bake a cake. Cool the cake. Break it up into little chunks. Mix frosting into it. Roll into balls and let chill for awhile. Put a stick in it. Chill for even longer. Decorate as desired.

After browsing the internet, I realized that I had missed my opportunity to celebrate National S'mores Day, and realized that s'more cake pops might be delightful! So I decided to create my own.

I had originally planned on using a box mix of white cake and making my own marshmallow frosting to stir in, but time was of the essence, so I just used a can of vanilla frosting (for shame, I know...). I do think the mallow frosting would have contributed a little more to the s'more effect, but they turned out pretty well.

Coated them in candy melts, sprinkled on some graham cracker crumbs and topped with cut up mallows and tiny Hershey chunks.

Although they were tasty, I have to admit... I would still take a regular ole s'more over these any day!

numbered list of awesome 5

1. Afternoons spent sewing & puppy watching: the soft whir of the needle, the sporadic twitching of puppy paws, the sigh Zooey emits when she flops to the ground...

2. Homemade salsa via Brown Eyed Baker. Yum! The recipe is super easy and tastes amazing. My next step will be making salsa that I can ... can. In other words, I would like to make salsa that I am able to can. Whatever. You get it, right?

3. Homemade Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls. Or, in my case - Peanut Butter Pretzel Globs.

Oh my. Oh my goodness. Doug, I am so sorry, but these are AMAZING. I had to change the font size. That's how good they are. The peanut butter. The chocolate. The salty crunch. It's the kind of treat where, after you eat one, you keep thinking about how amazing it tastes and the thought of that delectableness keeps interrupting your thoughts throughout the afternoon. Not ringing a bell? That's just my gluttony speaking? I dare you to give these bad boys a try.

Momentary interruption while I mop the drool from my keyboard...

4. Making jewelry again. It's been awhile! Pictured below: Katy's birthday gift.

6. Sara spending not one, but TWO nights! That means long walks (with a pit stop at Coldstone, of course [banana&pb ice cream w/ pb cups and fudge]), non-stop conversation, a lot of laughter, and oh-so-much fun.

7. Thinking about opening an Etsy shop? Maybe? For stuff like this?

8. Going home this weekend! Getting to hang out with my family & maybe help with some painting??

9. Getting to meet Katie & Ryan's daughter, Karalyn Grace!

10. This pup. Currently passed out on the floor because our time at the dog park was soooo exhausting.

Alright, off to eat more pb pretzel globs pack for New York!

**Edit!

11. This video!

Tim Keller: True & Better (The REMIX) from Grant Jenkins on Vimeo.

how to celebrate 4 years

1. Make a last minute version of Annie's Tuxedo Cake.

2. Grill out together.

3. Admire your rings. (Also, get your engagement ring cleaned for the first time in... 2 years?)

4. Seriously, this cake. Also recommended for non-celebratory occasions. Like, you know, July 18th.

5. Take pictures of your ridiculous dog begging. [Every so often, Zooey's upper lip will get caught, giving her an "angry pout" expression, which I find hilarious.]

6. Cave in and give pup some watermelon.

7. Give your husband hugs and kisses for bringing home a rose for each year.

8. Take a picture of your squinty-eyed, no make-upped, trying-to-do-laundry-from-last-trip-while-packing-for-next-trip, but still wildly in love selves.

9. Invite friends from out-of-town who are in-town over to enjoy cake. Even if they protest because it's your anniversary. Remember, an anniversary, like a wedding, is just one day. Every other day is what makes the anniversaries possible.

[Pictures & stories of New Orleans on the way...]

happy 4th

My in-laws are here for the 4th. We had a picnic, and I made "Firework Cake" for dessert (a.k.a. funfetti box mix with buttercream frosting and berries in a "firework" design... sort of...).

I beat Doug in Perfect Pitch! Zooey didn't really want to hold our washers.

Can't celebrate the 4th without sparklers.

Whoops - Doug's sparkler died prematurely. You get the general idea, though, right?

I thank God for the freedom I have living in the United States, but far more importantly,

I thank God for the freedom I have in Christ. Happy Independence Day!