Cowgirl Cookies {Cookies for Santa}

We made these for Santa on Christmas Eve. They are seriously yummy cookies!!!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Add:

1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.
Then roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. I got about 26-28 cookies out of these.

Lots of baking!

Last week, I had 100 decorated cookies to bake/decorate, 100 Hershey Kisses Pretzel snacks to make, and 24 cupcakes for Hannah and Noah’s class for the last day of school. Also 24 ribbons and tags to tie onto 24 suckers and teacher gifts to put together! Phew!

Hershey Pretzel Bites:

Ingredients:

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug
M&M's candy {totally forgot these. oops}

Instructions:
1. Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.
2. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.
3. Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.



A close up of the 100 snowflake cookies I baked & decorated:


Here are all 100 drying!

And, sucker treats for Hannah and Noah’s Class…


24 cupcakes I baked and didn’t decorate very well!!

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

These yummy muffins are great for an on-the-go breakfast. This is the first recipe I made with my new awesome Kitchen Aid mixer! I love it!

Ingredients:

1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter (melted) or canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 apple (peeled, shredded – at least 1 cup)

Optional Add-ins:

chopped nuts
raisins
dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 (F).
In a bowl add sour cream to oats.

Stir in milk. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat two eggs and add vanilla. Set aside.

Peel an apple.

Chop into quarters and remove core.

Use a box grater to grate the apple quarters.

In a large mixing bowl, add brown sugar and whisk to remove any lumps.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to brown sugar.

Combine thoroughly.

Add cinnamon and nutmeg to mixture and combine.

Create a well in the center of dry mixture.

Pour beaten egg mixture and melted butter into well. NOTE: Make sure melted butter is not hot or it will cook your eggs!

Fold dry mixture into egg mixture until combined. Mixture will be stiff.

Add oat-sour cream-milk combination.

Fold until combined.

Add shredded apple and all juice that comes from it.

See the pool of fresh apple juice?

Stir just until combined and your batter is done.

Fill muffin cups with batter. These muffins are dense and do not rise too much, so fill the cups fairly full, if not brimming :)

Bake 375 (F) for 20 – 25 minutes.

Allow muffins to cool in tins on a rack for about 10 minutes before attempting to remove from tin. Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 24 mini-muffins.

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I didn’t really have anything planned this night, so I pulled what I had out of the refrigerator and it turned out to be really good!!


Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (halves)
salt
pepper
Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Seasoning
15 oz. ricotta cheese
10 oz. spinach (frozen chopped, thawed and drained)
1 clove garlic cloves (minced)
2 beaten eggs
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
16 oz. spaghetti sauce

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees  (175 degrees C).
-Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Slit open on the side for stuffing; set aside.
-In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, garlic, tomato basil seasoning, eggs and 3/4 of the cheese. Mix well and stuff each breast with 1/4 of the mixture; secure with toothpicks and place stuffed breasts in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour sauce over all and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
-Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 60 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

This recipe was super yummy and pretty healthy too! I love squash and so do the kids so it was perfect for us! I served it with chicken breasts and marinara.

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
• 2 teaspoons butter
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 50 wonton wrappers
• 1 teaspoon egg white, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges.
3. Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes.
4. Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Fill a deep pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil.
6. To make the ravioli, place a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Brush edges with the egg white. Place about 1 tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of the wonton. Cover with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and squash mixture until all have been used.
7. Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared.

Rainbow Birthday Cake

This is the super cute and fairly easy cake I made for Hannah’s 4th Rainbow Birthday! It was a huge hit! All the kids {especially Hannah} loved the cake and it tasted great too! I love all the colors! Please note that I used pink in place of the red layer because red wasn’t really going with our girly theme!


{Mini bunting made by me and info is available here}

Ingredients

• Vegetable shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
• Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
• Vanilla Frosting (5 cans)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush six 9-inch-round cake pans (or as many 9-inch cake pans as you have, reusing them as necessary) with shortening. Line bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper; brush again and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add egg whites and mix until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture and milk in two alternating additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the milk. Mix until well combined.
3. Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Add enough of each color of food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes (working in batches if necessary).
4. Remove cakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a wire rack; re-invert and let cool completely.
5. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the purple layer on the cake plate. Spread a scant 1 cup buttercream filling over the first layer with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges. Repeat process with blue, green, yellow, and orange layers.
6. Place the remaining red layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
7. Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting.
   
   

MIA

Sorry I haven't been around lately! We’ve been having lots of baked chicken, steak and pizza. However, I will return with some yummy new recipes this week!