Perfect Little Sliders

I've thought about posting a burger "recipe" for a while now, but these are one of my quick dinners, so I usually don't take the time to make them look cute and take pics. Today, since I was making these cute sliders, though, I decided to type up the recipe and post. Another reason I'm doing this is for those who are just starting out cooking, and who don't know that you need to flatten your patties pretty well before grilling, lest you end up with a chunky charred hunk of ground beef that doesn't fit the bun. I'm a fan of my patty fitting my bun, which will happen for you too, if you take the time to form your own patties and make them relatively flat (see pic at the end).
So, if you already know burger basics, this post may insult your intelligence. If you're new to cooking ground beef, I hope you find this helpful.

Burger Sliders

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (I like the 85/15)
• burger seasoning*
• 8 dinner rolls, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Onion Strings (optional)
• American cheese slices (optional)
• other hamburger toppings, if desired

Directions
Cut some wax paper into 4x4 or 4x5 pieces.
With a knife, roughly divide ground beef into 8 equal portions.
Roll each portion into a ball. Working with one ball of ground beef at a time, start flattening the ball in your hands, and then place onto a piece of waxed paper. Gently press the beef into a flat circle, about three inches or so in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. I usually make mine slightly thicker around the edges and when they cook, they'll end up relatively flat. Place on a plate or sheet pan to wait. Repeat with remaining balls.
Sprinkle patties with your favorite burger seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Preheat your grill to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or whichever temperature you like to grill burgers at). While grill preheats, lightly butter the cut sides of the buns and set aside. 
When grill is hot, carefully place patties on the grill surface, leaving about 1/2 inch between burgers. Close grill lid. Grill for about 3-4 minutes, or until edges are starting to set. Then flip burgers with a spatula to grill for another 2-3 minutes, or until burgers are done to your liking. 
Top with 1/2 slice of American cheese, if desired and grill with the lid down for 30 seconds, or until cheese is melted.
Remove patties to a plate. Place buns, buttered side down onto the grill. Close grill. After about 30-40 seconds, start checking for doneness. I like mine just toasted. Remove with spatula and serve with the patties and any toppings you like.
Makes 4 servings/8 sliders

Fried Baked Potato Wedges

Fried Baked Potato Wedges

I had intended to serve simple (and relatively healthy) baked potatoes with our burger sliders this evening for dinner, but then my husband said he had some errands to run after he installed my new hood vent over our stove. I had to try out the new hood, right? So I figured I'd have to fry something...like Onion Strings to go on top of the burgers. Well, since I was already heating the oil, and the potatoes were getting cold since I'd started them in time for an earlier dinner, the only logical thing to do was to fry the baked potatoes. You know, to heat them up. I was going to butter mine anyway, and the canola oil is actually better for me than the butter. So here you go. This is what I ended up with. They were fabulous. Try them. You'll like them.

Fried Baked Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

• 4 medium russet potatoes
• canola oil
• salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash, pierce, and lightly oil the potatoes. Place in oven directly on the middle rack and bake for about 1 hour, or until potato yields when gently squeezed with an oven-mitted hand.
Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool for about 30 minutes before you cut them. Cut each cooled potato lengthwise in quarters.
Heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of canola oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium high heat (stay on the medium side of medium high, as opposed to the high end). 
When oil is hot (try it out by dipping an end of a potato in there--if it bubbles immediately, it's hot and ready), carefully place as many potato wedges as will fit with a half inch space between. I like to start with the skin side down, so the white fluffy part does not stick. Fry until edges start to brown, and then with metal tongs, turn wedges on their sides until they are an all-over golden brown with deep brown crusty edges.
Carefully remove wedges to a paper towel lined plate and immediately sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining wedges.
Makes 16 wedges

Today I also fried up some onion strings after the potatoes fried.

Creamy (Not Pasty) Macaroni & Cheese

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Well, it's the Monday after my big day making desserts for a friend's actual BIG DAY. With the help of a dear friend, and by stepping on a few toes, I think I pulled it off: the desserts were delicious and pretty. Overall, I feel good about it. One thing I did mess up on, though, were my mascarpone frosting calculations. Somehow I ended up with seven 8 oz. containers of the stuff after all was said and done. So, I've started researching recipes that call for mascarpone. I've found a few good ones, but they will all take time (like the mascarpone ice cream that will be turned into some sort of tiramisu ice cream, which means I will be trying my hand at making ladyfingers as well). 
On my way home from my summer job (teaching a blogging class and Writers' Workshop), I actually had time to think. I was hungry, though, so I started thinking about lunch too. My thoughts of lunch and mascarpone collided, and it dawned on me that I've been going about my pursuit of the perfect homemade mac and cheese all wrong. I've been using recipes that call for making a roux with butter and flour, and then I end up with a pasty clump of inedible cheesy pasta-like stuff. I thought about my Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli. That sauce is creamy and doesn't clump. Of course, it always ends up soaking into the pasta and leaving very little creaminess, but at least it's not pasty. At any rate, I decided to base a mac and cheese on that method of sauce making, using a bit of mascarpone as one of the cheeses. I also had some Gorgonzola left from making Green Salad with Craisins, Gorgonzola, etc. 
So, what I did was what you see pictured above and detailed below. I'm happy enough with the results. It's tasty, but very, very rich. I have a "main dish" tag on it, but I think it would work better as a small side dish. Maybe even as a side dish for that delicious salad. Hmmmm...
Unfortunately my eating buddy, Ezra was not too impressed, so now I have a big bowl of pasta that I will be solely responsible for. For now, I've eaten plenty--more than I should have eaten, and I'll have to wait until I have some other mac and cheese lovers come over before I make it again. At least now I have a recipe I like. Almost as much as I like the mac and cheese from the blue box. I'm serious.
Note: I think you can use whatever cheese you have around the house. I just happened to have these three. I do think the mascarpone added to the creaminess, though. I'm no expert, but I liked it.

Creamy (Not Pasty) Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound pasta
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 1/2 cups grated medium or sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 2 teaspoons corn starch 
• 4 teaspoons cold water

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package instructions until it is al dente. Pour much of the water out into the serving bowl (this will warm the bowl so your mac and cheese stays warm longer). Pour pasta and remaining water into a colander and allow pasta to drain in the sink while you prepare the cheese sauce.
Put a large pot (I use the same pot I used for the pasta) over medium heat and melt the butter. Add chopped garlic and allow garlic to soften as you add the black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir. Add milk, stir, and bring milk to a simmer. Add the Gorgonzola and whisk to melt cheese. Add the cheddar cheese and whisk some more. Then whisk in the mascarpone and whisk until smooth and all cheeses are melted. 
Add the drained pasta back to the pot and stir with a spoon until liquid comes to a simmer. At this point, quickly mix the corn starch and cold water, pour into the pasta mixture and stir with a spoon until sauce is thick and coats the pasta.
Drain the hot pasta water from the serving bowl, and then pour the macaroni and cheese into the serving bowl.
Enjoy.
Makes 5-6 large servings or 10-12 side dish servings (in my opinion)

Yummy Dill Dip

Dill Dip

I'm sure my mom got this recipe from someone else, but I got it from her, so I'm giving her credit. This is a fabulous, and I mean fabulous dip that goes with just about anything you want to dip: veggies, pretzels, potato chips, tortilla chips. It's a nice change from the typical ranch dip, and the way I make it here it's pretty salty, which I probably shouldn't enjoy so much, but I do. The original recipe calls for Bon Appetit Seasoning, but since I didn't have that, I just used celery salt, and it tastes just fine.
Enough said. Try it. It's delicious.

Dill Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 1 tablespoon dehydrated minced onion
• 1 teaspoon celery salt (or Bon Appetit Seasoning)
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients until combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour until ready to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Serve with fresh cut vegetables, chips, or pretzels.

Makes 1 3/4 cup dip

I may have added too much salt to this batch...

Easy Coconut Cake

Super Easy Coconut Cake

I first had this fabulous coconut cake at a staff dinner at our principal's home. It was this crazy potluck, where our principal provided pizza for everyone, and the rest of us were supposed to bring desserts. Neat idea, right? What we ended up with was a super gluttonous spread of just about every dessert imaginable. This cake, though, is what got my attention. I don't even like coconut, but it just looked so yummy, and people were just digging in with a spatula. So I took a little bit just to taste it, and oh my gosh. It was one of the best cakes I've ever eaten. I'm not a huge cake fan (no pun intended), but this one was a keeper. It's so easy, that the original recipe just calls for you to mix the cake right in the pan. It's moist, tender, sweet, creamy, and coconutty. So, so good. The only complicated thing about this recipe is that you have to let the cake cool for an hour in the refrigerator. Definitely a crowd pleaser and the perfect cake for a potluck. Thanks, Wendi for one of the best cake recipes ever.
Note: I've also tried making a cupcake version of this cake. They're cute, but I think it tastes better this way.

Easy Coconut Cake

Ingredients: 

• 1 box white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 cups shredded coconut, divided
• 7 oz. cream of coconut (found in the liquor section, but it's non alcoholic)
• 1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed in the refrigerator

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix the cake mix, eggs, oil, water, and 1 cup coconut until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly in the pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs.
Remove from oven and poke surface every 1/2 to 3/4 inches with a meat fork. Open up your can of cream of coconut and stir well to break up any solid parts. Pour 7 oz. (or so) of the cream of coconut evenly over the hot cake. With the back of a spoon, spread the cream over any parts that didn't get poured on.
Allow cake to cool a bit before moving to the refrigerator to cool completely (about 1 hour).
Mix the thawed Cool Whip with the other 1 cup coconut and spread evenly over the top of the cake. 
Refrigerate until ready to serve, and then be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.
Makes 1 cake, or 12-24 servings

Gluten Free White Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Gluten Free Cupcakes

I'm not even sure what to say about this recipe. It's just a white cake recipe where I subbed Better Batter GF flour for cake flour. Maybe it's the cake enhancer that pushed them over the edge, but they're not quite what I was going for.
The cupcakes taste good according to me and my gluten limited son. The texture, though, is somewhat strange to me (and to him, although I don't think he could quite articulate it). It's almost as if they are too moist. Moist is desirable in a cupcake most of the time, but when you chew these cupcakes, they almost taste underdone. The tops and bottoms are well-browned and it looks well baked, but it is so moist and soft that it turns a little doughy in your mouth. I think some people like that, but I am not one of them.
We'll have to see if Max chooses to eat any more of these. That will be the true test. For now, I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with all of these cupcakes. 

Gluten Free White Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup Better Batter Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer (optional)
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, whole
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 batch buttercream frosting (recipe below)
• sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 26-28 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix all of the dry ingredients on low speed. Add the soft butter and mix until it all looks like wet sand.
• Add the egg whites, one at a time, and then the whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
• In a small bowl, whisk the milk with the vanilla. Add this mixture, 1/3 at a time, to the batter. Beat 1-2 minutes after each addition, until fluffy. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Transfer batter to a large zip top bag. Carefully seal the top and twist a top corner so that the batter is forced into the opposite bottom corner. Cut about 1/2 inch off the corner. Squeeze batter into each muffin cup to within 1/2 inch of the top. Do not overfill. With a wet fingertip, smooth out the top of the cupcake a little so it doesn't bake with a point on top. Get out another pan and put some liners in even if it's only for one or two extra cupcakes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then with a butter knife or offset spatula, remove cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• While cupcakes cool, prepare the frosting.
• Frost cupcakes however you want and sprinkle with sprinkles, if desired.

Makes about 26-28 cupcakes

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4-6 tablespoons milk

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and vegetable shortening to combine. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons milk. Mix on low until sugar is incorporated. Then beat on high until well blended and fluffy. If the frosting seems too stiff, add more milk, a tablespoon and then a teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

GF Cupcake right out of the oven--it's puffy

GF Cupcake after cooling--kind of shriveled

White Cupcakes with Whipped Mascarpone, Raspberry, and White Chocolate

White Cupcakes with Whipped Mascarpone, Raspberry, and White Chocolate

Cupcakes. I'm not much of a cupcake maker. I mean, when I want to make some for my kids' birthdays, I'll just buy the boxed stuff. I know, I know. Most other things I'm all about making it from scratch, but Betty Crocker and the Pillsbury Dough Boy make it so easy.
I've been asked, though, to make desserts for a friend's wedding. I can't make box cupcakes for that, so I went to my trusted KingArthurFlour.com and got this recipe. I don't use the King Arthur Cake Flour, believe it or not. I just use the Swan's Down stuff. I also changed it up by adding the LorAnn Princess Cake and Cookie Emulsion because of its slightly lemony flavor. I like it, and I hope Anna does too. These cupcakes have a nice crumb, but aren't too delicate. They're almost spongecakey, but not quite. The sweetness of the cupcake, the white chocolate, and raspberry jam are nicely balanced by the mascarpone and whipped cream frosting. Even though I'm not normally a fan of the "white chocolate-raspberry" cliche, I'm good with this cupcake. I've "tested" about three or four of them so far, so it's safe to say that I really like them.
Please note that one recipe of the mascarpone frosting isn't quite enough if you like a large amount of frosting on your cupcakes. This frosting is barely sweet, so it's nice to load these up. For the wedding I'll be making like 200 of these, so I'll be making lots and lots of the frosting. Wish me luck.

White Cupcakes with Whipped Mascarpone, Raspberry, and White Chocolate
     --Adapted from KingArthurFlour.com

Cupcake
Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup cake flour
• 2 tablespoons King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer (optional)
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, whole
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons LorAnn Princess Cake and Cookie Emulsion (original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract)
• 1 cup or so of raspberry jam
• white chocolate ganache (recipe below)
• 1 batch of mascarpone frosting* (recipe below)
• 24-26 fresh raspberries for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 24-26 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix all of the dry ingredients on low speed. Add the soft butter and mix until it all looks like wet sand.
• Add the egg whites, one at a time, and then the whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
• In a small bowl, whisk the milk with the vanilla and Princess Emulsion. Add this mixture, 1/3 at a time, to the batter. Beat 1-2 minutes after each addition, until fluffy. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Transfer batter to a large zip top bag. Carefully seal the top and twist a top corner so that the batter is forced into the opposite bottom corner. Cut about 1/2 inch off the corner. Squeeze batter into each muffin cup to within 1/2 inch of the top. Do not overfill. Break out another pan and put some liners in even if it's only for one or two extra cupcakes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a center cupcake comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then with a butter knife or offset spatula, remove cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• While cupcakes cool, prepare ganache (recipe below) and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Prepare mascarpone frosting (recipe below) and then set in the refrigerator to wait.
• When cupcakes are cool, either cut an "x" in the middle, all the way down, or carefully cut a diagonal slice in the cupcake while keeping the paper intact.
• Place raspberry jam in a piping bag with a smallish tip. Pick up a cut cupcake and gently squeeze to open up the sliced area. Then squeeze a small amount of jam into the cut of each cupcake. 
• Spoon about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of cooled ganache onto the top of each cupcake.
• Pipe frosting onto the tops and top with a raspberry. *Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I was only able to frost 18 cupcakes the way you see above. You'll have to either use less frosting to cover all of them, or make 1 1/2 recipes of the frosting to frost them all.
• Keep refrigerated until 30-45 minutes before serving.

Makes 24-26 cupcakes.

White Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces white chocolate broken up into pieces

Directions:
Place white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan until it comes to a simmer. Pour hot cream over white chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Allow ganache to come to room temperature before assembling cupcakes.

Mascarpone Frosting
Ingredients:

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix the mascarpone and sugar on high until completely blended. Add whipping cream and mix on low until cream is mostly incorporated into the cheese/sugar mixture. Then whip on high until stiff peaks form.
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with your favorite cupcake frosting tip.

Relatively Seedless Raspberry Jam

Relatively Seedless Raspberry Jam on a Buttermilk Biscuit

This is how crazy I am...
 A church friend has asked me to make desserts for her upcoming wedding. I've decided to make Nanaimo Bars, Shortcake Biscuits with Warm Berries and Whipped Cream, and some White Cupcakes with Raspberry, White Chocolate, and Whipped Mascarpone. Look around this blog enough, and you'll notice that I don't make cupcakes very much. Therefore, I'm having to do a little experimenting. Today I made a practice batch of cupcakes and for the raspberry filling, I boiled some berries, strained them, boiled it again with sugar and a cornstarch slurry, cooled it, and injected the resulting mix into the cupcakes. Well, although the cupcakes taste great, the raspberry "filling" made the cupcakes mushy in the middle. Not tasty. So then I decided I need something thicker and less liquid to squeeze into the middle of these cupcakes. Raspberry Jam. Well, I was not about to use store-bought jam in these special cupcakes. 
I looked up a recipe and found a simple one with no pectin at Epicurious.com. It only had two ingredients. Score. So, at 8:30 on a Saturday evening, I went to the grocery store to collect the materials I lacked for making jam. And I bought some buttermilk so I can make some biscuits in the morning to try this new jam.
The original recipe on Epicurious was not for seedless jam, but since I'm going to use this for a wedding, I thought it needed to be seedless, right? So, this is what I came up with. We'll see how it tastes in the morning, and I'll have to try it out in some cupcakes too, just to make sure it works the way I think it should. For now, I'm pretty proud of myself for having decided on and executed this little adventure in about two hours. I won't be so proud of myself if it doesn't work out, but for now, the jars are sealed and cooling, and I am ready to do a little relaxing.
*Update: The jam turned out just about perfect. The consistency is just what I was going for, but it's so sweet. Next time (if there is one), I'll use less sugar and maybe add some lemon juice just to make it a little tart. This jam will be fine for the cupcakes, though. Whew!

Relatively Seedless Raspberry Jam
    --Adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 8 cups frozen raspberries
• 4 cups white sugar

"Special" Equipment:

• 3 pint size canning jars with lids and bands
• 2 large stock pots
• metal rack for bottom of one stock pot (I used a steamer basket--not ideal, but it worked)
• silicone spatula
• potato masher
• large strainer
• large heat-proof bowl
• metal spoon
• canning jar lifter (recommended, but not absolutely necessary)

Directions:
Wash jars, lids and bands with hot, soapy water. Dry with a clean paper towel. 
Place metal rack into the bottom of one of the stock pots and fill with water about one inch above the rack in the bottom. Set burner on low and place the three jars on the rack. If they don't want to stand up straight and they're bobbing, you can add another jar in there just to create balance.
In the other stock pot, pour the frozen raspberries and put on medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes, using a potato masher to break up the berries. Remove from heat.
Set your strainer over a large bowl. Pour hot smashed berries into the strainer in batches, the size depending on how much your strainer can handle. Use the silicone spatula to stir and smash berry pulp through. Occasionally scrape the berry pulp off the underside of the strainer and into the bowl.
When you can't seem to get any more pulp into the bowl, scrape strainer bottom one last time, dispose of seeds, rinse the strainer, and repeat with another batch of hot berries. Repeat process until all berries have been strained.
Put the rinsed strainer over the now empty stock pot, pour berry pulp through one last time to remove as many seeds as possible. A few will sneak through. If you don't want ANY seeds, you might need to look up another recipe/method.
You should end up with about 5 cups of juice/pulp.
Set the stock pot back on the burner on medium-high heat. Bring berries to a boil again. Pour sugar into berries. Stir with silicone spatula as mixture comes to a boil. Boil on medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until a clean, cool metal spoon dipped in yields a thick drippy syrup.
Now, you can either ladle the jam into the prepared jars (to within 1/2 inch of jar lip) or you can pour the hot jam into a glass spouted measuring cup and then pour into the prepared jars (to within 1/2 inch of jar lip). 
Wipe off any spilled jam from the lip of the jars. Set lid on each jar and then place rings on top and tighten just enough to keep lid in place. Do not tighten snugly. 
Bring the water in that pot to a boil, cover, and boil for about 3-5 minutes. (This is where my jam making knowledge falls apart). 
After boiling, remove cover and carefully (very carefully) with the jar lifter, remove jars to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Makes about 3 pints

Mini Crisp Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Mini Crisp Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Most great cookies taste even better when morphed into a mini version. I made a batch of Crisp Sugar Cookie dough and make half of them into these cute little one-bite cookies, and the other half into Sugar Cookie and Dove Chocolate Sandwiches. Both are awesome, and both will be made again.
I've been blogging so much about sugar cookies lately that this seems to be all I have to say about this particular variation. Enjoy!

Mini Crisp Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened, but cool
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup rainbow nonpareils

Directions:

· Preheat oven to 325°F.

· Cream butter and sugar.

· Add vanilla and egg. 

· Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.  Mix completely, but take care not to over mix.

· Line a 7x11 inch brownie pan with wax paper or parchment paper. Spread dough evenly into the lined pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
· Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

· After dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Remove dough from pan by the edges of the wax/parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Cut long strips of dough so that you'll be able to cut dough into tiny squares, about 1/2-inch strips. Cut each strip into 1/4 inch slices. (If dough seems to be crumbly, wait about 10 minutes for it to warm up a little bit before completing the cutting.)
· Pour nonpareils onto a plate. Start with just enough to make a single layer on the plate, and be careful when pouring because the little guys bounce off pretty easily.
· Take little dough squares/rectangles one at a time and press gently into the nonpareils. Then place sprinkle side up on parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with more dough squares, leaving about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches between squares. (You can also place several little squares all over the nonpareils and then transfer to the baking sheet--it's faster that way, working in batches, if that makes sense.) Place unbaked dough back the refrigerator between batches--the dough gets too squishy when it warms up to room temperature.

· Bake at 325°F for 12-13 minutes, or until cookies are a light golden brown almost all over.

· Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Makes about 14 dozen mini cookies

Mini Crisp Sugar Cookie & Dove Chocolate Sandwiches

Mini Crisp Sugar Cookie & Dove Chocolate Sandwiches

Yep. The sugar cookie kick continues. These ones are inspired by Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies. I'm not saying that these cookies take like the Milanos; they're just sort of along the same lines. My son Ezra wanted to buy a bag of Milanos and I just couldn't bring myself to do it because they were almost $3.00 for a bag. I spent almost that same amount on a bag of Dove Dark Chocolate, and I made these. Actually, I made these and I made some little crisp sugar cookies with sprinkles. All of this is for our church potluck tomorrow, and I made the sprinkled version for the kiddos (and me) and the chocolate sandwich version for the adults. One recipe of dough, two types of cookies. I do that a lot. You know, only put nuts in half the chocolate chip cookies so as to please everyone. It usually keeps people happy. And these cookies are making me happy. I'll definitely be making these again. You should try them too. They're good.

Mini Crisp Sugar Cookie & Dove Chocolate Sandwiches 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened, but cool
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 bag (9.5 ounces) Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, unwrapped 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable/canola oil

Directions:

· Preheat oven to 325°F.

· Cream butter and sugar.

· Add vanilla and egg. 

· Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.  Mix completely, but take care not to over mix.

· Line a 7x11 inch brownie pan with wax paper or parchment paper. Spread dough evenly into the lined pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
· Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

· After dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Remove dough from pan by the edges of the wax/parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Cut long strips of dough so that you'll be able to cut dough into tiny squares, about 1/2-inch strips. Cut each strip into 1/4 inch slices. (If dough seems to be crumbly, wait about 10 minutes for it to warm up a little bit before cutting.)

· Place little dough squares about 1 1/2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 325°F for 12-13 minutes, or until cookies are a light golden brown almost all over.

· Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
· Make two large wax paper or parchment paper pastry cones (see photo below and/or watch How to Fold a Parchment Pastry Cone).
· Melt chocolate and vegetable oil in a double boiler until chocolate is about 3/4 melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Pour melted chocolate into the two pastry cones. 
· Fold top of a cone over to contain the chocolate. Snip a bit off the end (about 1/8 inch) and squeeze a blob of chocolate within 1/8 inch of the edge on the bottom of a cookie. Place chocolate side up on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Top with another cookie so that the bottoms are both on the inside next to the chocolate. Repeat with remaining cookies, being careful to match cookie sizes as much as possible.
· Allow chocolate to set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Makes about 7 dozen cookie sandwiches

Wax paper pastry cone--this is a small one.
You'll want the cones for this recipe
 a bit larger than this.

Cut dough. I ended up with squares and rectangles.
Next time, I'll have to spread the dough more evenly in the pan.

Lego Clone Trooper modeling to demonstrate
the size of these cute little sandwich cookies

Soft Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Soft Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Soooo...I guess I'm still on this sugar cookie kick. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law tried my ombre sugar cookies, and said they'd prefer them more soft than crisp. I baked the next pan of ombres a little less time, and they were met with approval. I figured, though, that by using a little cream cheese, I might achieve an even more desirable texture. I like what the cream cheese does to chocolate chunk cookies and snickerdoodles, anyway. We'll see what they say later, but for now, these are a nice soft, buttery sugar cookie. The thing I like about them is that they're not eggy like some soft sugar cookies I've tried. I bet they'll taste good with frosting too.
Anyway, that's all I've got to say about these. 

Soft Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened, but cool
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup (or so) rainbow nonpareils 

Directions:

· Preheat oven to 325°F.

· Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar.

· Add vanilla and egg. 

· Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.  Mix completely, but take care not to over mix.
· Divide dough in half and form each half into a log and wrap in parchment or wax paper. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
· Carefully pour enough nonpareils onto a plate to make a single layer. Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices. Press one side of each circle of dough into the sprinkles and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, sprinkle side up.
· Fill the pan up, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake at 325°F for 12-13 minutes, or until cookies are a light golden brown almost all over.
· Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies