How to Make Cookies (Rowan)

Hi, I'm Rowan and today, I am going to show you how to make cookies.  The first thing I do is pick a recipe I like and make sure to read through it.

 Before I handle any food, it is very important that I wash my hands with soap and water.

First, I mix the butter...

...and the sugars together.  I like to add the white sugar one pinch at a time.  Mommy thinks it takes too long, so she dumps it all in at once.

 There is brown sugar too.  It stays all clumped together until I brake it up.

 After mixing the sugar and butter together, I add the eggs.  I had Mommy crack the eggs open to give her something to do.

 Then I add the flour.  It works better if you actually get it in the bowl!

 Make sure all the ingredients are mixed really well.  It's fun to watch the mixer go around and around as the dough tumbles in the bowl.

 The best kind of cookie has chocolate in it and this recipe uses two kinds! Chocolate is also good just to eat.

After adding the chocolate, or at least what was left of it, we bake the cookies.  Mommy helps me with the oven because it's so hot.  After they come out of the oven, I have to wait for them to cool, and it's so hard!

Finally, I get to taste what I made.  They're really good!  I love making cookies!

Here's the recipe if you want to try them too:

Grandma's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (from "Worldwide Ward Cookbook: Secret Recipes" by Deanna Buxton)

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teasppon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups oatmeal, blended to a fine powder
4-ounce chocolate candy bar, shaved
12 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

In a large bowl, cream butter and both sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Stir in flour, soda, salt, baking powder, and oatmeal.  Add shaved chocolate, chocolate chips, and nuts.  Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Makes 36 cookies.



There's Always Room for Jell-Uh-Oh

So we found a recipe for a new jello salad, Cherry Coke Salad.  Since Ror likes Cherry Coke, we figured it would be a good one to try.  This is the recipe:

1 20-oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup water
2 3-oz cherry gelatin
1 21-oz cherry pie filling
3/4 cup cola flavored soda

Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set fruit aside.  In a saucepan or microwave, bring pineapple juice and water to a boil.  Add gelatin; stir until dissolved .  Stir in pie filling and soda.  Pour into a serving bowl.  refrigerate until slightly thickened.  Fold in reserved pineapple.  Refrigerate until firm.  Makes 8-10 servings.

Ror and his dad took care of the grocery shopping on Saturday night, so I put it together Sunday morning before church, like right before.  My first mistake became apparent when I looked over the recipe: it called for two boxes of cherry jello, and I only had the guys get one.  Fortunately, we had a box of strawberry in the pantry, which we figured was close enough.  Then it came time to add the pie filling.  I went to the pantry and could not find anything that looked like a can of pie filling .  I finally turned around a smaller can and found Ror had picked up a can of cherries in syrup, not pie filling.  So that obviously gave us a lot of extra liquid, and this was 10 minutes before we were going to leave for church.  The save was the Knox gelatin in the cupboard.  It all turned out okay, I guess, but the texture was a little grainy since I didn't add the Knox until after the cherries.  So I guess the moral of the story is buy more than you think you need, don't send your husband for groceries (J/K Ror, love you!) and don't wait until right before church to try a new recipe.

Wedding Luncheon

When Charles became engaged, I knew that we would have to provide a luncheon for the family and guests who could come, so I asked him to let me know what he wanted.  He thought about it for the next few days, and he wanted chicken salad sandwiches and salad.  Anything else, he said would be up to me. (He is really big on salads). I wanted to make it nice and have a variety of food, so I came up with this menu:

                Chicken salad sandwiches (Have to get a recipe)
                 Green salad (just as the freeze hit and lettuce became like gold)
                  w/ croutons, sunflower seeds, and choice of 3 dressings
                 Potato salad (Charles and Chris loved this idea)
                 Seafood pasta salad ( My favorite for a special event)
                 Spinach Strawberry salad ( just to round things out)
                 Carrot sticks, celery sticks, olives, pickles
                 cantaloupe, and pineapple
                 Sparkling white grape juice to drink
And dessert - what for dessert?  I came across this dessert recipe  while I was going through some recipe books one day.  I chose it because I could make it a week before and it had chocolate and ice cream.  You can never go wrong with chocolate and ice cream. So, dessert was Frozen Ice Cream Delight  ( thanks TOH magazine). It was the hit of the day and I had requests for the recipe. So here are the recipes for some of the items at the wedding luncheon.  I will give you dessert first, since life is short.

FROZEN ICE CREAM DESSERT
2-1/2 cups cream filled chocolate cookie crumbs, divided
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened (use any flavor you like)
1/2 to 1 cup salted peanuts
1 carton (8 ozs.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
2 cups confectioners sugar
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (12 ozs.)evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
     Combine 2 cups cookie crumbs with butter and sugar.  Press into the bottom of a 9X13 pan.  Freeze for 15 minutes.  Spread ice cream over crumbs; freeze until firm, about 3 hours.  Meanwhile, combine first four sauce ingredients in a sauce pan; bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla; allow to cool to room temperature ( I stirred it while it was cooling.  Try not stirring it while cooling and see if it freezes harder).  Spoon sauce over ice cream; sprinkle with nuts.  Freeze until firm.  Spread whipped topping over nuts and sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 3 hours before serving. Can be stored in the freezer for a up to a week.  Yield 12-16 servings.

There were a couple of requests for the seafood salad. So here it is:

SEAFOOD PASTA SALAD
1 lb. imitation crab ( if you like real crab, use it. We like the imitation because it has a milder flavor.)
1 (24 0z.) package of large shell macaroni
1 package of celery roughly chopped, leaves and all
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup lemon juice ( Fresh is best, but the concentrate is just fine.)
1 Tbsp. onion powder ( you can adjust to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook, drain and cool pasta according to the directions on the package. Chop celery roughly. Chop crab roughly. In a smaller bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, lemon juice and onion powder.  Pour over pasta, crab and celery. Add salt and pepper. Combine thoroughly and chill.

Now for the chicken salad.  This recipe is for 50 small croissants.  Good for a crowd.  I doubled it for the luncheon and there was plenty.
15 cooked and cut up chicken breasts
1 cup chopped celery
2 Tbsp grated or minced onion ( I grated it and added 1 Tbsp onion powder.  If you don't like onion, don't add the onion powder)
2 cup mayonnaise
4 cup whipping cream
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese
sliced almonds ( I didn't add these, but it would be very good)
2 Tbsp chicken broth paste
1 tsp. salt ( or to taste)
1/8 tsp. pepper ( or to taste)
Mix together whipping cream and softened cream cheese until cream peaks.  Add onions, mayonnaise, broth, salt and pepper.  Mix well. Add remaining ingredients.  Will make salad filling for 50 small croissants.

SPARKLING WHITE GRAPE JUICE
2 cans frozen concentrate White Grape Cocktail Juice, slightly thawed
1 1/2 liters club soda
ice
Combine slightly thawed juice with club soda.  Pour over ice.

How about Brownies and a book? (mom)

Last Friday, Steph, Mel and I took the babies and went to Grandma H's house to give her a perm.  When we got there, she was in the process of making some zucchini brownies from a recipe in the newspaper.  I needed to start on her perm right away because she had to leave at three and we had arrived late due to traffic. It always takes so long to get out of the valley.  Anyway, she asked Steph to finish what she had started.  The recipe turned out more like cake than brownie.  So, yesterday it was Sarah's turn to host a team dinner and I decided to find a recipe for zucchini brownies.  This is what I came up with.  I modified a zucchini bar receipe into a brownie recipe.  It turned out wonderful and yummy!  Try it!
Zucchini Brownies
In a large mixing bowl, cream the following ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cup sugar
2 cup zucchini, grated ( I peeled it because it was older.  Younger zucchini doesn't need to be peeled.)
In another bowl, combine
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Use a whisk to combine these well.  Add to the wet ingredients. Don't over mix.  Pour into a greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 *.  Be sure to set your timer so you don't over bake. Cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
Brownie Frosting
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup softened margarine
1/3 cup boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Add butter, vanilla and enough boiling water to mix together.  If more water is needed, add a spoonfull at a time until it becomes spreading consistency.  Frost cooled brownies.  It is yummy for zucchini.

I finished the latest book I was reading.  The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke was originally written in German and translated to English about the same time that the first Harry Potter came out.  It is set in Venice, Italy in  modern day.  It is about 2 young boys who have run away from their relatives because they are not nice people.  The two boys are taken in by a group of street children and adventure begins.  There is a detective, intrigue, and magic in the book.  It wasn't a really hard read.  I enjoyed it even though it was hard for me to get into at first.  You have to get through the first few chapters to meet all of the characters.  I did find that I liked the main characters.  I would have to say that if you want a quick read with adventure this is it.

Cookies (Dorthy)

Some time last week, I did a second batch of cookies from an America's Test Kitcthen recipe.  They turned out a lot prettier than the first batch, so much so I wished I knew where my camera was so I could take a picture and show everyone.  Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe with everyone.

Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce bag chocolate chips

Melt butter and let cool.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment.  Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl.  Cream butter and sugar together, incorporate eggs and vanilla.  Add dry mixture a little at a time with mixer on low speed , scraping sides.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Roll 1/4 cup of dough into a ball for each cookie and place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet.  Bake untill the edges are golden but the centers are still soft and puffy (about 17 - 20 minutes).  Be sure to rotate and switch the pans  about halfway through baking if you are doing more than one sheet at a time.  Let cookies cool on pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

These did not last past the next morning either time I made them.  Since Chris likes only milk chocolate chips, that's what I used even though the original recipe calls for semisweet.  We bought the maxi chips, which work well because these are BIG cookies.  The first time I made them, I didn't really let the butter cool after melting, and I think they did spread a little more than they were supposed to.  I guess melting the butter and adding the extra egg yolks adds extra moisture, which makes the cookies chewy.  Just think of how chewy they would be if I DOUBLED the butter!  JUST KIDDING!  Everyone at my house came to the consensus that they were the best chocolate chip cookies ever, but even as good as they were, I thought there was something missing.  If you try it and have any ideas, let me know.

Just one more quick thing.  I want to brag about my birthday gift from Granny and Kate.  They got me two 1/4 size baking sheets with lids and precut parchment paper along with a nice metal spatula.  I need to etch my name on them, since I will be using them a lot for ward/family functions.  And they went to Gygi's to get them, so they are super nice.