Edible Easter Baskets

I made this a couple of years ago (2008 or 2009?!) while I was on Spring Break, but needed to transfer it to my recipe blog. I *think* I used peanut butter cookie dough and Rolo Caramels, but it really doesn't matter, because I just remember them as being good!

Ingredients
cookie dough (peanut butter or sugar)
Rolo Caramels or Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures
Peanut M&Ms

Lightly grease a mini-muffin tin. Then, roll the cookie dough into 24 equal pieces, flatten with the palm of your hand and then stuff into the mini-muffin pan, pushing dough down gently and up the sides. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 9 minutes. Take out of oven and with the back of a spoon, gently deflate the cookie dough, pushing it up against the sides--but DO NOT break the dough. Add in the Rolo or PB Cup, and place back in oven until the cookies are done--usually 1-2 minutes.

Take out of oven and let sit for about 1-2 minutes, then place three Peanut M&Ms on the top of the chocolate. (Which I just now realized that they represent the Trinity.) Let the cookies sit for five minutes before taking out of the pan.

NOTE: You can use any cookie dough that you want. I use homemade cookie dough sometimes, and other times I use store bought. I have a sugar cookie recipe in here, and I will try to get a peanut butter one up soon! 

VERDICT: We loved this...I need to make them again this year!

Cauldrons for Halloween

I started making these cauldrons a couple years ago when I saw them in a 3-in-1 Idea cookbook. I try to make this treat around Halloween each year. 

Ingredients
1 roll of sugar cookie dough--either bought or see the recipe below
1 14 oz bag of caramels
About 2-3 TBSP millk
1 cup crispy rice cereal
Mini M&Ms (or plain M&Ms if you can't find the mini ones--I couldn't this year)

Lightly grease a mini-muffin tin. Then, roll sugar cookie dough into 24 equal pieces, flatten with the palm of your hand and then stuff into the mini-muffin pan, pushing dough down gently and up the sides. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 9 minutes. Take out of oven and with the back of a spoon, gently deflate the cookie dough, pushing it up against the sides--but DO NOT break the dough. Place back in oven until the cookies are done--usually 1-2 minutes. Take out and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cool before adding the caramel mix.

Next, over low heat melt caramels with the milk. Once melted, add cereal and stir until well mixed. Spoon mixture into the cookie cups and top with M&Ms. Let cool before eating.

VERDICT: These never last long around here. In fact, we had some family members down, and the cauldrons were gone within 24 hours. :) Around Easter I hope to give you the recipe I use to make "Easter Baskets," which is based off of this recipe.


SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE:
Cream together: 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar.
Blend in: 1 medium egg (I use large and there's no problem)
Sift and add: 2 tsp baking powder and 2 cups flour (I don't sift, and I don't have problems)
Blend in: 1/2 tsp vanilla

Roll out into about 1 inch balls before flattening with your hand.

It's the Day Before the Night Before Christmas

Even though I'm iced in, I feel the need to cook and bake! Here are this year's Christmas cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the cookies:
Cream together: 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar.
Blend in: 1 medium egg (I use large and there's no problem)
Sift and add: 2 tsp baking powder and 2 cups flour (I don't sift, and I don't have problems)
Blend in: 1/2 tsp vanilla

Chill. Roll out to desired thickness and cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 cup shortening (Crisco)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. butter flavoring
water

Mix half of sugar with the shortening. Then, add vanilla and butter flavoring. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar slowly--add water to create your desired consistency.

Puffer-Nusse a.k.a. Pepper Nuts

I grew up with puffer-nusse (also spelled pfuffer-nusse), which are small, nickle sized anise flavored cookies. Obviously, this is a German recipe, and yes, it's from my hometown, Iowa, cookbook. And, we pronounce the name like this: poofer-noose. 

Anyway, my mom always makes these, but since Jeff and I haven't seen them this year, and may not make it back for Christmas--depending on the weather--I baked up a half-batch last week. I love the crunchy texture, because it feels like you're eating a big cookie, when in reality, you're only eating a tiny one!
I'm posting a full-batch recipe below.

Ingredients
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c. margarine (I use butter, my mom uses margarine and we didn't notice a difference)
4 1/2 c flour
1 egg (when I make only a half batch I use the egg white)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c black, warm coffee
1/2 tsp anise oil (I can't find this, so I use 1 tsp anise extract for a full batch)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Mix the sugars and shortening together, then add the egg. Dissolve the soda and the anise in the coffee, then add to the mixture. Add the dry ingredients, mixing well. Place in the refrigerator for an hour or longer. Then, make the dough into rolls the size of a nickel, I usually roll mine a little smaller, and put into the freezer for an hour or longer--I usually leave mine in the freezer overnight. Cut into thin slices, slightly flatten with your thumb, and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes--just until a little browned. Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan, because then they won't stick together if you do a mass pile-off of the baking stone.

VERDICT: Tastes like I'm back home!

Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

I found this recipe on Picky Palate, and KNEW I had to make it. So, after finally finding cherry chips a couple weeks ago, I got around to making them. I have found that making cookies is an excellent way to keep your back from locking up on you, because you only sit for about 10 minutes, and get up for about 5. Oh, and they taste great, too!

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsps. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 bag of Log House Cherry Chips (about 1 1/4 cup)
3/4-1 cup white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars, then add eggs, vanilla, soda and salt. Stir in cocoa powder and flour. This makes a very thick dough, so you may have to add in the chips in by hand. I rolled the dough into balls, and slightly flattened them before baking.

Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes on a pizza stone. Note: The cookies will still be soft in the middle. Let the cookie sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the stone to finish cooling.


VERDICT: Fantastic! We liked the raw dough, but this is one of the few cases where the baked cookie tastes even better. The taste of cherry with the chocolate is heavenly. Not quite BING quality, but definitely like it. This will definitely be going into the cookie rotation.

Pumpkin Cookies

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

This is my mom's recipe, I'm not entirely sure where she got it from, but I remember that the sugar cookie recipe had some type of company affiliation with it...I think. Anyway, she always makes these for Halloween, and we get to decorate them. I haven't been back home to Iowa since August, so I couldn't decorate her cookies, and I missed it. Therefore, I made some of my own!

Ingredients
Cream together: 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar.
Blend in: 1 medium egg (I use large and there's no problem)
Sift and add: 2 tsp baking powder and 2 cups flour (I don't sift, and I don't have problems)
Blend in: 1/2 tsp vanilla

Chill. Roll out to desired thickness and cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

Frost with your favorite orange and green frosting. (I used 1/4 cup milk, 2/3 cup soft butter, 4 cups powdered sugar and some vanilla for flavoring.)

Decorate each cookie with 2 M&Ms for eyes, a candy corn for the nose and more M&Ms for the face.


VERDICT: Not as good as Mom's...my frosting tasted a little off, not sure why. And, my candy corn was HUGE!! But, overall, still good enough to let company eat if we had company.

Snickers Bar Cookies

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

Tomorrow starts yearbook camp, so I decided to bake a sweet treat for my class. This recipe is from my 1997 4-H cookbook. I've made it a few times, and always regret it later, because they are very good! The only change I have made to the recipe is that I don't flatten the cookie with a spatula when it comes out of the oven.

Ingredients
1 c. salted butter
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
Fun-sized Snickers bars cut in half (so they are square-like)

Cream together the first 4 ingredients, then add eggs and mix again. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Wrap dough around the Snickers and place on a greased baking stone. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes (my soft ones took 11, but I like them crunchy so I cooked them at 12). IF YOU CHOOSE--you may flatten the cookie with a spatula when it comes out of the oven. However, I did not do this.


VERDICT: YUMMY! They are soft and chewy with a surprise center!

Kitchen Sink Cookies

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Originally uploaded by IowaSunshine

This is my version of Kitchen Sink Cookies. There are many floating around, but this is the one I use. Basically, I use this recipe to use up some odds-and-ends chips or M&Ms I have around the house. You can use anything you want--almost any quantity.

1 c. butter flavored shortening (Crisco)
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. plain M&Ms

Cream butter and sugars together, then add eggs and vanilla. Mix until creamy. Add baking soda and flour--the mixture will be stiff. Stir in your "kitchen sink" of chips/candies with a wooden spoon. Mix well.

Shape into walnut sized balls and punch down slightly with the bottom of a spoon.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes. I know this time is imprecise, but baking with shortening is much different than using butter. The cookies should not brown, but if there is a little browning on the sides, that's ok.

Let sit on baking stone for 3-5 minutes, because the cookies are soft.

We really like these! In fact, Jeff asked me if I was intentionally trying to make him fat. LOL :)

Choco Chip Cookie

I adapted this from a recipe I bought a couple weeks ago. That recipe called for Crisc0, but I don't ever have shortening on hand. So, I adapted it to be used with butter. Additionally, this can be mixed by a wooden spoon--you don't have to get the beaters out for this one!

1 c. butter
2/3 c brown sugar, packed
1 c white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp real vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Soften butter until almost completely melted. Stir and let cool slightly (there will be a few "bumps" in the butter). Mix in brown sugar, then white sugar. Let sit about 5 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Mix in flour 1/2 c at a time. The dough will be slightly sticky and stiff. Add chocolate chips and mix thoroughly.

Drop by spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten with the bottom of a class and bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes, or until slightly browned at the edges.

Chocolate Chip/PB Cookies

My mom found this recipe when I was a little kid, and has been making them ever since. She even switched to this peanut butter cookie base to make her Christmas cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms. And, as the times have evolved we now use butter instead of margarine, but the cookies turn out just a bit different. I have left margarine in the recipe here just for old-times-sake.

1 C sugar
3/4 C margarine
1 egg
2 C. flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. peanut butter
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream margarine and sugar. Add in rest of ingredients one at a time until well blended (may have to use your hands to mix as dough is stiff).

Roll in sugar before baking and use forks to make cross pattern. Do not grease cookies sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

No Bake Macaroons

3 c quick oatmeal
6 TBSP cocoa
1 c shredded coconut
2 c sugar
1/2 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c milk

Mix oatmeal and coconut. In a saucepan combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Boil for 1 minute. Add vanilla, stir into dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.

My mom gave me this recipe when I was a little kid. While we only made them 3-4 times a year, my brothers and I would always look forward to this cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another recipe my mom made me make as a kid.

1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c oatmeal
1 c chocolate chips
about 1/2 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Cream butter and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes. Then add brown sugar and let stand again for 5 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla and 1 cup flour and mix well. Add remaining flour and baking powder and soda. Mix well before adding oatmeal. Fold in chocolate chips. Roll by spoonful into powdered sugar (this step is optional). Then put dough on greased baking sheet and cook in a moderate oven (350) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

This is by far my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, because you can make it even sweeter than a regular cookie by rolling the dough in powdered sugar before you bake it. Personally, I think if you only have one chocolate chip recipe in your collection, you should have this one. I'm not biased or anything...