Oatmeal Crispies

The other night Dane and I wanted a dessert after dinner but sadly our cupboards have been a bit bare since I went back to school so I thought, let's grab a cookbook and make the first recipe that we have all the ingredients for.  Of course the cookbook we grabbed was Pioneer Woman and the first recipe we hit was Oatmeal Crispies so we gave it a go.  We made the recipe minus the pecans and added craisins....so good!!  I am usually the type of person that can have a few cookies and be good but sadly I have been eating these for breakfast and dinner!  (It's healthy if it has oatmeal and craisins, right?)

Oatmeal Crispies

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

So for Bunco last month I decided to take a dessert and for some reason Lemon Bars sounded delicious so I called my mom for the recipe but she politely told me they are hard to make and I probably shouldn't serve them to people until I have made them a few times (yes, she is a perfectionist Wilcox, through and through :) )  She did tell me that Keri had this really good recipe for Lemon cookies if I wanted something lemony.  I'm not a huge lemon fan but she loved them and I know Dane is an absolute lemon-lover so if I didn't really like them he'd eat them.  I ended up making them and taking them to Bunco without tasting them (I know major mistake when serving other people) but then at Bunco people were asking who made the lemon cookies and then they wanted the recipe so I decided I better try one and well...they were DELICIOUS!!!  I had saved a couple for Dane in the fridge (which was good because I didn't bring home any leftovers home from Bunco) and he loved them so I ended up making a second batch in the same week and we have them saved in the freezer for a sweet treat.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies w/Icing

Bake @ 325 degrees

6 TB butter

2/3 C granulated sugar

2/3 C ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 TB lemon extract

1 1/3 C flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Icing

1/3 C butter

¼ C fresh lemon juice

3 C powdered sugar

4 tsp lemon zest

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add ricotta cheese, egg and lemon extract.  Beat until well mixed.  Add dry ingredients and butter mixture; stir to mix and then beat until will blended.  Drop batter in TB portions 1 ½ “ apart on cookie sheets.

Bake cookies in 325 degree oven between 10 – 14 minutes – watch to make sure they do not over bake.  Cookies will be light on the top.  If baking more than one pan, switch pan positions every 8 minutes.

Icing

Combine Ingredients.  Add more lemon juice if needed for smoother icing.  One at a time, hold cookies by the edges and dip rounded tops into icing.  Set in a single layer, icing up (duh), on rack and let stand until icing is firm – about 10 – 15 minutes.  Serve, or store in air tight container up to one day.  Freeze to store longer.

THANKS KERI!!

Strawberry White Chocolate Streusel Bars

After making jam, I had LOTS of leftover strawberries and by lots I mean an entire Costco case!  So I went on a mission today to find some good food to make with strawberries and I came across this recipe.  Dane and I wanted a sweet treat after dinner so we gave it a try...DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

• 2 cupsOld Fashioned Oats
• 1-½ cupAll-purpose Flour
• ¾ cupsWhite Sugar
• ¾ cupsBrown Sugar
• 1 teaspoonBaking Powder
• ½ teaspoonsBaking Soda
• ½ teaspoonsSalt
• 1 cupCold Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces
• 4 ounces, fluidStrawberry Jam
• 1 teaspoonLemon Zest
• 2 cupsStrawberries, Chopped Or Sliced
• 3 ounces, fluidWhite Chocolate

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Add the chopped up cold butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like small crumbles. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.
3. Dump the remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 15” x 10” pan (jellyroll pan) and press it into an even crust.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-13 minutes or until it is firm to touch. Do not brown.
5. Remove pan from oven. Warm the jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir in the lemon zest. Drizzle the warm jam over the warm crust. Spread the chopped strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle on the reserved cup of crumb mixture.
6. Return pan to 350 degree F oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the crumbs on top are lightly browned. Then remove it from the oven and let the pan cool for 1 hour.
7. Melt the white chocolate in microwave, following directions on package. Drizzle melted chocolate in thin lines over the streusel top. Cut into bars.

Thanks Tasty Kitchen!

Delicious Chocolate Cake and Frosting

This recipe comes courtesy of my friend Erin. She made this cake for a BBQ this summer and it is amazing! I love it! (It might have something to do with the 2 sticks of butter....) It is even easy to make, it is the first cake I have made that did not begin with getting a Betty Crocker box out of the pantry and it turned out pretty well :)

Cake

2 c flour
2 c sugar
1/4 salt
1 stick butter
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c cocoa powder
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c buttermilk with 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved

Mix together flour, sugar and salt in large mixing bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, oil, water, vanilla and cocoa. Cook until it comes to a full boil. Add to dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Add the buttermilk/soda mixture and the eggs, stirring vigorously to avoid scrambled eggs :) Pour into a greased sheet cake pan. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. (I think this would work in a regular cake pan also, it would just need to bake longer and it would be thicker.)

Frosting

1 stick butter
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c cocoa powder

Right after cake comes out of the oven, cook the above ingredients until they come to a boil. Then remove from heat and add 2 cups powdered sugar. Stir until all lumps of powdered sugar are melted into the frosting. Pour over the hot cake and spread evenly.

Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Who doesn't love oatmeal cookies? I love this recipe, the spices make your home smell like Christmas while they are baking!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely.

birthday cakes

since I just celebrated my 26th birthday I thought I'd share how to make one of the most fabulous cakes ever....

Ingredients

1 baked dome cake (baked in a 1-liter bowl, such as Pyrex)
1 baked 9" round cake
4 baked cupcakes
2 to 3 cups pink icing
2 green Hi-C Fruit Slices (hooves)
1 pink Hi-C Fruit Slice (mouth)
2 m&m's (nose
2 m&m's (eyes)
Red shoestring licorice (ears and eyelashes)
1 red Sour Belt (tail)

Instructions
For the basic shape, set a dome cake upside down in the center of a round cake and secure with icing, as shown.Cut one cupcake in half and place it as shown for the ears, then arrange two more cupcakes as legs. Add a cupcake snout.Frost the cakes and cupcakes pink and decorate as shown.

everyone will gwak at your talent and if you make this for your kiddies, I think you might win the title of best mom ever.  you would if I was your child any way.  for more cool cakes you can click here.

the BEST sugar cookies ever

if you are ever feeling down in the dumps then you need these cookies in your life. not only will they give you a light fluffy sunny feeling and turn your despair around but they will also boost your confidence to levels you've never even felt before! no joke these cookies will do wonders for your self esteem, your popularity and best yet, your ego!

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
3 Tbl spoons of sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cup flour.

I mix the wet ingredients first and then the dry. (another great thing about these cookies, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get it just right!). once all the ingredients have been mixed well together divide the dough in half and wrap in saran wrap and put in the refrigerator for a few hours. I usually let my dough chill overnight, but if you're in a hurry a couple hours should be fine.

also to note, your dough might seem really sticky when you're done mixing it and wraping it with saran wrap, but I don't add any more flour because when I roll the dough out to cut the cookies I always sprinkle flour on the counter and on the rolling pin so it gets any extra flour it might need at this stage in the game. plus chilling the dough makes it less sticky.

now for the icing...

2/3 cup butter mixed with
3 cups powder sugar (add more if needed)
1/2  cup of milk and
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla 
1/2 teaspoon almond extract!

I dare anyone to write and tell me that after they made these cookies they weren't asked by more then one person (who they might not even have known) for the recipe!!!! they're just that good!

Dahlia Cookies!

I make these cookies when I need a change from chocolate! they are so so good! and even better warm....(as I suppose most cookies are)

12 Tbl butter (that's 1 and 1/2 cubes)
1 cup. sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 tbl ginger
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt
1/2 tea cinnamon

Mix all wet ingredients and then stir in the dry ingredents.
If dough is too soft, put in fridge for about 20 minutes.
Roll into 1 inch balls, then roll in a bowl of sugar.
You can flatten the balls if you so desire, but I never do
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

they really are divine, we often get request to make more or pass along the recipe. and if you are scared about buying the molasses and ginger, don't be! I promise you will want to make them again and will be glad you had to buy a big ol' jar of the sticky stuff.