Resurrection Cookies for Easter

This was one of the best Easter ideas I've ever seen.  My husband and I are always on the lookout for activities to do with our children that will make our faith real to them.  Experiential learning is a fantastic way to go.  I found this idea on Pinterest which led me to the the MOPS website.  They have a great number of ideas that I look forward to going through and sharing with my kids.  These were easy to make and the kids worked at every step together.  They were involved completely (my kids range in age from 2 to 7).  Here's the recipe:

• 1 c whole pecans or 1 c mini-chocolate chips (for nut allergy)
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 c sugar
• Ziploc bag
• Wooden spoon
• Tape
• Bible

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Place pecans (or mini-chocolate chips) in bag and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, the Roman soldiers beat him. (Read John 19:1-3)
3. Let each child smell the vinegar before putting it into a mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, he was given vinegar to drink. (Read John 19:28-30)
4. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. (Read John 10:10-11)
5. Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers and the bitterness of our own sin. (Read Luke 23:27)
6. Add sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know him and belong to him. (Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16)
7. Beat egg white mixture with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. (Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3)
8. Fold in broken nut or mini-chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. (Read Matthew 27:57-60)
9. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven off. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. (Read Matthew 27:65-66)
10. Go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers felt despair when the tomb was sealed too. (Read John 16:20-22)
11. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. He is risen! He is risen indeed! (Read Matthew 28:1-9)

Cookie Pizza

I had this glorious plan that each day of the March Break I would do something creative with my kids.  While we didn't get to every day, we did get to a couple of days crafty.  This one was the highlight.  The idea is so simple really.  Take your favorite cookie recipe, spread all the dough out onto a pizza pan, bake it and then decorate.  It was such a hit with my family!  My husband asked why he'd never had this deliciousness before.  So I figure we'll be making it again sometime soon :)
I used Mrs. Field's Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe which is from her Best Cookies Cookbook (one of my favorites).  I did have to bake it for longer than I would for individual cookies (about twice as long - but keep checking to make sure you don't burn it).  The topping is some leftover cake icing I had in the freezer and the kids had a blast with the Smarties and sprinkles on top.  I used a pizza cutter to slice it up (and of course a side of milk for all!)

Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with wire whisk. Set aside. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended. Do not overmix. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes.  (For the pizza, I spread all of the dough out onto a pizza sheet.  I turned the it in the oven after 20 minutes and kept checking every 10-15 minutes until it looked nicely browned).

                                                     My son can't quite believe his eyes!

                                              My kitchen assistants looking pretty pleased!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies

I have been searching for a pumpkin cookie recipe that actually turns out like a cookie instead of a cake/cookie.  This is it! And with white chocolate chips to boot.  Thank you Food.com.  The real test was in my family of taste testers...they all went back for more.  Definitely a keeper.  I used fresh pumpkin in my version, but you can used canned.  To use fresh, bake the pumpkin like a squash and let cool before incorporating it.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups white chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 300*.  In a medium bowl mix together the flour, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda and set aside.  In a large bowl beat the butter and brown sugar together.  Mix in the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla.  Slowly add the flour mixture.  Finally, mix in the white chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray).  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 4 dozen.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I was searching my cookie recipes last night, I couldn't believe that I hadn't posted this recipe before.  These cookies are THE cookie around our house.  If we are going to make cookies, these are the ones we make.  I have a fond attachment to them and joke that this is the cookie that hooked Jonathan to me for life, as I would send them to him in college care packages when we were dating.
Needless to say they are fantastically delcious and don't last long in our home.  They are based on an old Mrs. Field's recipe, using a few of my own adjustments.  Enjoy!

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup salted butter, softened (the trick to a really good cookie is using real butter, not margarine)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mashed banana (about 1 banana)
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 300*F.  In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt - set aside.  In a large bowl blend the sugars together.  Add butter and mix to make a grainy paste.  Add the egg, vanilla, and banana and mix.  Add the flour mixture and the chocolate chips.  Blend until combined - don't over mix.  Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray).  Bake 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to a cool surface to cool down.  Enjoy with a glass of milk on the side!

Sugar Cookie Icing

This week my husband and I celebrated our 9th Wedding Anniversary. These cookies were my anniversary gift to him. These are no ordinary cookies. These are our wedding cookies. Cookies were a significant part of our courtship. As such our wedding gift to our guests were these fantastic cookies (you know instead of mints, or whatever other token gift is on the reception place setting). A friend of my mom's (Lori) did all the baking for our wedding. She made these cookies, which my husband declared the best cookies he had ever had. They were 2 sugar cookies, iced and in the middle sticking them together was a little bit of jam.
This past Valentine's Day I made sugar cookies with cookie icing for the first time. Sugar cookies I had made lots before, the icing was new to me. As he ate them he told me that this was it, these were the cookies similar to what was at our wedding. So for our anniversary, I made the cookies, complete with the jam filling as a gift to him. I did the icing here yellow as yellow was our wedding theme colour.
Here is the recipe for Sugar Cookie Icing. It is so easy to make. I recommend putting the icing on with a butter knife or icing spreader, I found a pastry brush was too tricky to get the icing to spread just right.

1 cup icing sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup*
1/4 teaspoon almond extract**
assorted food coloring

*Can use honey or maple syrup in place of corn syrup
**Can use any flavor extract, I used vanilla

In a small bowl, stir together icing sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush (or spread with a butter knife).

Plans for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is one of those holiday/non-holidays that I can take or leave.  When I was single, I spent many a Valentine's Day dressed in black with my other single girlfriends, treating ourselves out to a nice dinner and then having a fantastic time letting guys buy us drinks and dancing the night away.
When my husband and I began dating I made him cookies for our first Valentine's Day.  He loved that.  He's a sucker for homemade gifts.  The cookie theme stuck throughout our courtship (including me express posting packages of them to him when he was in college across country).  Incidentally, we had cookies for guest treats at our wedding instead of the traditional party mints to keep with the theme.
We've had a variety or Valentine's dates over the years.  One of the most memorable we spent at a cooking class that was advertised as a romantic night of cooking for two.  There were other couples there ready to learn and feast with this great chef.  The funny part (and unromantic part) was the lone single woman who kept inturrupting the chef and the company host who insisted that the chef portion out small to us.  She was also a rather brash personality that just did not add to the ambiance of it.  We ended up picking ourselves up a burger afterwards so we wouldn't go hungry.  Ahh well, we tried.
This year we are on a rather strict budget so no going out date.  We have become experts at the at home date, once the kids are in bed. 
Kids see Valentines Day as something special too.  What kid doesn't get excited about all the cards being exchanged with friends.  Never mind all the heart cut-outs and small school celebration attached to it.  Anything to break the routine of day to day school.
I like to do a little something for my kids on Valentines day - nothing too big (it's not a second Christmas) but a little treat because I love them.  I went to a card-making craft session on Friday and make everyone some cute Valentines.  And I've stocked up on Hershey's kisses and cinnamon hearts to have on the table on Monday.  Do you want to see the cute jam heart breakfast sandwiches I'll be making?  I got this idea on Chatelaine's website here.  Cute eh?

What I didn't realize until today is that I do not have heart shaped cookie cutters of my own.  That's just not right!  I did pick some up at the dollar store this afternoon.  I'm planning on making some sugar cookies with my boys tomorrow.  Always a great treat.
Here's my favorite sugar cookie recipe.  It is from Mrs. Field's Best Cookie Book Ever.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 325*.  In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt with a whisk, set aside.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Add the egg and vanilla, beat until well mixed.  Add the flour mixture, Blend on a low speed just until combined, don't overmix.  Gather the dough into a ball, flatten the ball into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate one hour until firm.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into fun shapes.  Bake for 13-15 minutes.

And for our Valentine's dinner - here's the planned menu (shh, don't tell my husband, it's a surprise for him!) - Basically, it's his favorite meal.  Avacado salad, Shrimp in garlic butter, steak, baby potatoes followed with strawberries dipped in chocolate.  Sounds good, doesn't it?
What kind of plans do you have for your Valentine's Day this year?

Candy Cane Cookies

This little twist on the traditional sugar cookie is just what we needed to jump start our Christmas baking.  It was so easy to do.  Make your regular sugar cookie recipe.  Add 1/4 cup* of crushed candy cane to the dough, mix it in well.  Bake as usual

Once the cookies are done baking let them cool for just a couple of minutes, then press them one by one into a mix of equal parts icing sugar powder and crushed candy cane (3 tbsp of each).  So tasty!

To crush your candy canes, put about 8 regular sized ones into a ziplock bag.  Cover with a tea towel.  Pound with a rolling pin or a meat hammer until the candy is in little bits.

Here's my favorite sugar cookie recipe.  It is from Mrs. Field's Best Cookie Book Ever. 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 325*.  In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt with a whisk, set aside.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Add the egg and vanilla, beat until well mixed.  Add the flour mixture, Blend on a low speed just until combined, don't overmix.  Gather the dough into a ball, flatten the ball into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate one hour until firm.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into fun shapes.  Bake for 13-15 minutes.

*1/4 cup candy cane was added to half of the dough, the other half I baked as directed.

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cookies

The ultimate triple chocolate cookie!  Warning!  they are addictive!

1 2/3 C all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c margarine
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans


Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  Cream margaine in a large mixing bowl at medium speed until light.  Gradually beat in brown and white sugars, egg and vanilla until smooth.  Blend in dry ingredients on low speed.  Mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop dough by spoonfuls, 2" apart onto ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 375* for 8 to 10 minutes, or until set.  Cook on baking sheet 1 minute, then remove from sheet and cool completely.

Sylvia's 100 Cookies

1 C oil
1 C butter
1 C white sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 egg
3 1/2 C flour
1 C coconut
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 C oatmeal
1 C rice krispies

Mix 1st 5 ingredients.  Add dry ingredients and vanilla.  Drop from tsp onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes

Pumpkin Cookies Help

This was a recipe that I found on Recipezaar.com. They were tasty, but came out more like a welsh cake than a cookie. So I'm still on the search of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. If you have a recipe I'd love to try it :o)

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup oats
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 cup margarine
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1 whole egg, slightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup pumpkin
* 1 cup chocolate chips


Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon, set aside. Cream margarine, gradually adding sugars; beat till light and fluffy; add egg and vanilla, mix well. Add pumpkin to wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix. Add chocolate chips, mix well. On cookie sheets, drop tbsp full of dough. Bake at 350F for 10- 15 minutes.

The Best Shortbread

So I'm really, really behind on my blog posting. Yes, this was a pre-Christmas recipe that just didn't make it (I don't think I posted in December at all!) But the recipe is too good not to share and I have the pictures now anyway, so the next few days will have some treats posted in them.
This recipe was passed down from my mom who got it from her Uncle Eddie's neighbours, some nuns in Saskatchewan from long ago. The base recipe is good on its own. I change it up by adding some dried cranberries to it. My mom told me this year she dipped half of each of her cookies into chocolate which was delicious too. Here's the base recipe:

1 lb butter
1/2 C cornstarch
3 C flour
1 C icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream together butter and sugar. Add flour, cornstarch and vanilla. Beat together. Form dough into a log and slice 1/4 inch thick for each cookie. Bake at 300* for 12 minutes.

Would the real Neiman Marcus Cookie please stand up?

As I was purusing through my favorite foodie sites tonight one post in particular caught my eye. Barbara Bakes posted the $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie recipe. Interesting! I had read this story more than once in my email, but never made the recipe myself. The cookies look delicious.
Then I got to thinking, trying to remember exactly how the story went. I went to my favorite 'is it real' site truthorfiction.com to check it out. I found the story - I also found out that the story is fiction!
Here's the story as it appears in the emails:

A TRUE "GET EVEN STORY " MUST READ The following is a story of a lady who decided to get even with a company that ripped her off. I thought it was an interesting way for one to get even and illustrates the power of people when empowered with the Internet. Enjoy...Not A Joke

My daughter & I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not, but you can buy the recipe". Well, I asked how much, and she responded. "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I agreed, just add it to my tab, I told her.

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus andit was $285.00. I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00". That's outrageous!

I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars by any *POSSIBLE* interpretation of the phrase! Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.

They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money at this point."

I explained to her the criminal statutes which govern fraud in Texas. I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State's
Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, it doesn't matter, and we're not refunding!! your money."

I waited, thinking of how I could get even, or even try and get any of my money back. I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250.00, and now I'm going to have $25,000.00 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every Cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus... for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, you should have thought of that before you ripped me off," and slammed down the phone on her.

So here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can
possibly think of. I paid $250 for this... I don't want Neiman-Marcus to *ever* get another penny off of this recipe....
********************************
THE NEIMAN MARCUS
COOKIE (Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine
powder.)
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 - 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice, but we liked pecans best)
***************************************************
Cream the butter and both sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking
powder, and soda.
Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two
inches apart on a
cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.
**************************************************
Have fun!!! This is not a joke-this is a true story. Ride free, citizens!
PLEASE PASS THIS TO EVERY ONE YOU KNOW!

Great story, but not true. (Cookie is still worth making though).

Truth or Fiction posted this find: This is one of the classic urban legends. It has circulated for decades and various versions have named different restaurants and hotels, although one of the most common versions says it happened at Neiman-Marcus.

Hmmm....very interesting. So I googled Neiman Marcus and they have addressed it on their site. Their post reads like this: An urban myth is a modern folk tale, its origins unknown, its believability enhanced simply by the frequency with which it is repeated. Our signature chocolate chip cookie is the subject of one such myth. If you haven't heard the story, we won't perpetuate it here. If you have, the recipe below should serve to refute it. Copy it, print it out, pass it along to friends and family. It's a terrific recipe. And it's absolutely free.

Oddly enough (or maybe not) their cookie recipe is completely different than the one in the email version. Here it is:

Ingredients

# 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
# 1 cup light brown sugar
# 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
# 1 large egg
# 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
# 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
# 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
# 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
# 1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds)

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

So, I thought I have all these ingredients in the house, why not make this version and share. So really we get 2 great cookie recipes out of all this hoopla. Both very yummy!

You can find more Neiman Marcus restaurant recipes free here.
To find a recipe just choose a store and from there you can find recipe links.
The original cookie recipe is found here

A Feast of Food and a Funny Carrot

It's been a whirlwind couple of days of cooking. I've really been enjoying my downtime lately and having the oppourtunity to puruse through other blogs. The food that I'm seeing on other foodies' blogsites makes my mouth water. So I decided that in this round of cooking I would try out some of their recipes.
First up was Donna's French Onion Soup

If you haven't discovered Donna's blog yet, take a look. It's well worth it. She writes with humour, a dose of eye-candy and some really delicious recipes. This soup does take some time to make (a lot of simmering and bringing out the flavours of the onions), but it is really worth it. Start cooking about 4 hours before you want to eat (you don't have to stick in the kitchen for the entire time, so don't worry about that.) The result is absolutely tasty. Because I don't make French Onion Soup often, I don't own soup bowls that can go into the oven. I improvised and did the final cheese and bread stage in a large casserole dish. This recipe does make a lot of soup broth, so I only finished up half of it and froze the other half to enjoy another time. Thank you Donna for this treasure!


While I was simmering Donna's soup, I started on Katy's Flemish Carrot Soup. This is the soup I plan to take for lunches at work this week. I did a little taste test and loved it. The taste of it gave me in interesting idea. It's very chowder-like and I wondered how it would taste if I added some seafood to it. I think it would be a delicious twist. I had a lot of fun looking through Katy's blog and have found another recipe that I'm going to try in the next week or so to use up some more carrots that need to be cooked, so thank you Katy!


While I had both soups simmering, I started in on the cookies. Melissa's Cinnamon Cookies have been calling my name since she first posted them a few weeks back. I'm very impressed with Melissa's blog. If you haven't yet discovered it, she is a high school student who cooks the most marvelous things (and has lovely photography too). I first started cooking in high school too, but nothing like what I'm seeing on her site. These cookies were really sweet and soft, just like a cookie should be. Here's a couple pictures of my cookie monsters devouring them.
Elijah

Jeremy

Back up a day and we come to my husband's birthday cake 2009 edition. He told me that he wanted a black forest cake this year. So I started looking through your sites to find one. I had a feeling I would find a good recipe on the site I did. I wasn't mistaken. I found it at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. When I first discovered this blog, I knew I had found a keeper. I grew up in the western part of Canada where there are a lot of Mennonite families. The food that my friends had in their houses was always delicious. I looked forward to the church bake sales where the Mennonite ladies had their wares out. Mmmm, just lovely, wonderful homestyle food. The blogsite for Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a team effort. Annelise's Black Forest Cake is a family favorite of hers. We served it to 12 last night and they all agreed that it was delicious. She makes hers with strawberries (you should see her pictures), but I opted for the traditional cherry approach. I wish I had had more time to make it prettier, but the taste made up for it!


And finally, the funny carrot. Obviously for Katy's soup recipe I had to use a lot of carrots. When I reached in the bag, this is what I found:

Have you ever seen a carrot like this before? Double roots! Too funny, I had to take a picture. Happy Eating!
*An addendum: Thank you girlichef for introducing me to Kahakai Kitchen and Souper Sundays. I don't how much I'll be able to partake, but I usually do make a soup at least once a month or more in the winter time. Looks like a fun thing to take part in!

Cookie Pizza

Last night I was procrastinating. Today is potluck day at one of my schools. I usually sign up for dessert as I travel between schools and the lag time in the mini-commute is just long enough for some of the staff to be about ready for dessert by the time I arrive. Last night I got caught up in blog surfing. And I didn't really pay much attention to the time. I knew I had to make something fast. So here is what I came up with.

Roll out one tube of Pillsburry Cookie Dough (I had Chocolate chunk in the fridge) onto a pizza pan. Take the time to press it out and thin (but leave room on the edges for it to rise and spread out. Bake at 350* for 12-15 minutes.
Meanwhile melt a half cup of chocolate chips mixed with 1/8 cup canned evaporated milk in the microwave for 2 minutes. Mix well when chocolate is melted. (My mixture had more canned milk so turned out thin, so this is my guestamate to make it a thicker consistancy - you won't use all of it anyways).
When large cookie is done, spread the chocolate 'sauce' onto the cookie. Decorate with whatever cookie goodies you have around. I used rainbow sprinkles and toffee chunks, but smarties, white chocolate chips, marshmallows, anything sweet would work.
Let cool, cut and enjoy :o)

Triple Chocolate Cookies

I got this recipe from a lady at church, these are sooooo delicious.

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup margarine
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Cream margarine in large mixing bowl at medium speed of electric mixer until light. Gradually beat in brown and granulated sugars, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Blend in dry ingredients on low speed. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop dough by spoonfuls, onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 375* for 8 to 10 minutes, or until set.

Cool on baking sheet 1 minute, then remove from sheet and cool completely.