Soft Gingerbread Cookies

{the essence of Christmas foods}
Sometimes when the outside world, looks like this:

  This is for real... probably shouldn't be taking pictures and driving at the same time in 6 inches of snow, but whatever... I lived.

... the first thing that comes to my mind is Christmas. And with Christmas, comes baking. Specifically gingerbread cookies. This was my first time making them from scratch. I was pretty impressed- me and cookies usually don't get along very well, but these were easy and relatively fool proof. Me likey! They were absolutely delish and super soft. My husby took them to work, and everyone requested more. I'll allow it!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 1/2 cups flour

Directions: 

In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. 

Beat in molasses, egg and vinegar [enter elementary school memories of your science fair volcano explosion here] [get it... baking soda and vinegar...] beat until combined and note the the bubbly-ness that occurs. Beat in as much of the flour as you can, and stir in the remainder until combined.

Cover and chill dough in the fridge for 3 hours or until firm and easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a cookie sheet, set aside.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to 1/8 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut into shapes and place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 5-6 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Cool on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire wrack. 

Here's the best part... DECORATING! Use basic powdered sugar icing to pipe and color (if desired) to decorate however you want! Go nuts!

A little Red Sox pride here... I couldn't help it!

Happy Holiday Baking!

  

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook 15th Edition

The World's Best Dinner Rolls

{nuff said}
I've been meaning to try these for the longest time, but the phrase 'making bread' has the up most negative connotation I can think of. Bread is yummy, yet labor intensive. Anyways, these truly do live up to their name. I've never tasted heaven before... until these babies came into my life. 
These were a part of our Thanksgiving dinner, maybe if you are looking for something to complete your Christmas dinner, yes?... But you don't really need a reason to make them, let's just be honest!

Ingredients:
2 cup whole milk (if you’re in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don’t use 1% or skim)
½ cup + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.)
2/3 cup warm (105-115-degree) water
8-9 cups all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Directions:

Combine milk, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I filled my sink full of ice cubs and set the pan in the sink. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.

Add beaten eggs. Beat again until combined. Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.
Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like play-dough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. These are absolutely fantastic... ask my FIL. He ate them all!


Source: Our Best Bites - World's Best Dinner Rolls

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

thanks everyone who entered to win  my first ever giveaway! I'm so excited, I almost can't contain myself!

the winner of the Scentsy Plug-In warmer is....

Allison Checketts!

Allison, let me know which warmer and scent you'd like! 

And Congrats!

Thanks everyone again! I hope to have more giveaways in the near future so keep sending me all the blog love! 

Last Chance!

Today is the last day to enter to win a free Scentsy Plug-In Warmer and free scent!

Leave me a comment and become a follower is all you have to do to enter!

Winner will be announced tonight at 9pm!

Very First!

{blog giveaway!}

You heard right, folks! Since it's Christmas (almost... December 1 counts...) and since I'm a really nice person... 

 I've decided to do a giveaway for a Plug-In Scentsy Warmer!

The giveaway starts now, and will end on Friday, December 2 at 9pm (my time) (so mountain time... duh). At which time, the winner will be announced.

You will have your choice as to which Plug-In warmer you'd like, here are a few of my favorites...

 Taro

 Boho Chic (currently behind my Christmas Tree... with Festival of Tree's burning...)

 Pop!

Groovy Green

You can check out the rest of the Plug-In's and all the other great Scentsy products by visiting my personal Scentsy website: http://kelseyfairbanks.scentsy.ca.

 Now, for the RULES:

  1. Like my Facebook Page and become a follower on my blog. 

2. Leave me a comment either on this post AND/OR Facebook letting me know you're a follower- It's that simple, kiddos.

  

Once again, the winner will be announced on Friday at 9pm. 

Good luck!

Ready...... GO!

 

Margharita Pizza

{pizza pizza}
I've always been so curious about margharita pizza, since it's obviously not made out of the alcoholic drink, it baffled my mind for the longest time. I also have to admit, I've never had fresh mozzarella before until I made this pizza. It was like heaven! I love cheese, but this was cheese x5! The combination of mozzarella, basil, and tomato sauce is genius. Pepperoni and pineapple has a run for it's money. Anyways, the recipe is farly simple. But lets always remember the rule with pizza... you can make it however you want. This is a great idea if you are wanting to switch things up for dinner tonight!

Ingredients:
Fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil leaves, whole
Your favorite pizza sauce
Pizza dough (you can make your own, or use store bought)
Italian seasoning

Directions:
Preheat your oven to the dough's specifications. Like all pizza, roll your dough out to desired thickness and size, and place on baking sheet or pizza brick. Spread with a thin layer of sauce... then add some more sauce, and spread it around. Slice up your fresh mozzarella, as thin as possible, but thick wont hurt either I suppose. Place cheese slices around on top of the pizza. If you like your pizza super cheesy you can place them closer together. Next, lay basil leaves on top of cheese, again you can use as much or as little as you'd like. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Bake for time specified with your dough, and enjoy! 

Good Mood Tostadas

{comfort food in a taco shell}
I don't even know what the heck tostadas even are, but they look like open faced tacos to me. And I love tacos. So immediately, of course, I loved these! They were pretty easy to assemble, and oh so delicious for a week night. I highly recommend them to anyone. They did actually make me feel better after a long hard day at work!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable, plus more for frying
1 pound ground beef
One package taco seasoning (plus water for the seasoning)
Pinch of Salt
1 can re-fried beans
6 small tortillas (corn or flour)
1 recipe Yes, I Make My Own Salsa

All the fixings you like:
Lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese
Guac
Sour cream

Directions:
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring to break up any lumps, until browned, about 6 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon off any excess oil from the skillet. Stir in the taco seasoning and water and cook for 1 minute. Scrape the meat into a heatproof bowl, cover and set aside.

Assemble all your condiments so they are ready to go. Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in the skillet over moderately high heat. Test the temperature of the oil: when a drop of water sizzles on the surface, using tongs, place 1 tortilla in the oil. Fry, turning once, until golden grown, about 1 minute. A flour tortilla may bubble a bit, but it will flatten out after frying. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

To serve, spread each tortilla with re-fried beans, then top with a few tablespoons of ground beef and desired condiments. Ta-da!

Source:
100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know

Streusel topped, Cream Cheese filled Pumpkin Muffins

{oh yes, i went there}
Truth be told, these pictures were taken a while ago... I'm just THAT lame. Nonetheless, they are still amazing and you should just stop looking for another pumpkin bread recipe right now. This is, hands down, the best recipe I've ever put into my mouth. Ever. Pumpkin bread is my #1 favorite food, and I've tried many different recipes. This one is my absolute favorite! You can use this recipe for pumpkin bread with small or large loaf pans (50 minutes baking for large loafs) or cupcakes/muffins... you could probably even use a bundt pan. It's pretty versatile!

Ingredients:
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cup white sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Cream Cheese Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted



Directions:
Make the cream cheese filling: For the Cream Cheese Filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla, and stir to combine. Form the mixture into a 12-inch log on a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it, and freeze it for at least two hours.

Make the Pecan Streusel: In a medium bowl, use a fork to combine the flour, sugar, pecans, butter, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F, and line muffin pan with muffin tins. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. 

Remove cream cheese from freezer, and cut into 12- 1 inch cubes. Scoop a small amount of pumpkin batter into the prepared muffin tins, placing one cream cheese cube on top. Add a little more batter to cover cream cheese, should be no ore than 2/3 full. 

Sprinkle with streusel, and pop them in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Store in an air tight container. 

 So freaking good... and can I just add, these make GREAT gifts to neighbors and friends- perfect for the holidays!


Source:
Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread - Allrecipes.com
Browned Eyed Baker - Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins with Pecan Streusel


 

Yes, I Make My Own Salsa

{Yup}
Not sure if you knew about my new book... "100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know", It's amazing! Everything I've made from it has been easy and has turned out fantastic. Have you heard of Engagement Chicken? I haven't tried it yet- ya know, since I'm not really interested in being proposed to again, but it sounds yummy! Anyways, so I got this salsa recipe from my new cookbook- and was it good? If you're asking if my husband ate it with nothing else but a fork, then yes. I guess that means it was good!

this picture was taken with my iphone

Ingredients:

4 large plus tomatoes, halved

1/2 small red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 jalapeno pepper, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh lime juice

Directions:

Remove the pulp and seeds from the tomatoes then cut them either into small cubes or large cubes depending on how you like your salsa. Cut the onion up as well, I like mine very small. In a serving bowl, combine the tomatoes and onion with the cilantro and jalapeno. Mix well and add salt and pepper and lime juice to taste.

And that's all folks!

100th Post Fondant Cake!

{It's pretty much a big deal}
I sat down last week to edit and post all these great recipes I have, but haven't had any spare time to share with anyone... when I saw that the next post was going to be #100. I yelled across the room (cuz that's how it's done these days when I'm on my computer on the couch, and husby is on the other computer across the room with headphones on) and told him it was going to be #100- and he totally flipped out! I was beyond surprised, I was expecting the usual "yeah, okay whatever" that I normally get... but no! He gets up and is all excited, and tells me I can't just do any ol' recipe I have (even though I have about 10 that I haven't blogged about yet), and insists that I do something spectacular. 
Well spectacular was a little too advanced for me, haha! Realty hit me, and I decided to do something that I actually KNEW I could accomplish without a meltdown in the kitchen. I have wanted to do a cake with fondant for a long time, but I was so afraid of destruction, that I put it off for a really long time- it only seemed right to try it for such a stupendous occasion such as this.

At first, I wanted to do a two tiered cake... mmm... but then I did some research on how to successfully put a tiered cake together and decided I should aim a little lower since I haven't done anything like this before. I mean, cooking and baking is one thing... but mechanics?! Ahem, um, no. That had the words EPIC FAIL written all over it. So here we have it. A simple 8 inch two layer cake, complete with fondant.

the above picture is taken with my iphone... btw.

So obviously, it's not perfect. I wasn't expecting it to be. After all, it was my first time using fondant, ever. There are a few cracks.. one side I tore a huge hole and the frosting started oozing out all over the place. I tried to patch it up, but you could definitely tell it was there! I'd say though, I did pretty well! It was a tad dry as well, but I know for next time what it should feel like. The decoration is simply just piped on using my favorite chocolate frosting...

Mmm... So good! It was free hand, so yeah... it's definitely not perfect, either. I'm pretty proud of myself though! In case you are wondering, I used a regular box cake (gasp!) because I was more anxious to use the fondant and eat my frosting... plus I think cake mixes from boxes are pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, happy 100th to Easy Peasy! Thanks for all the comments and blog love! Here's to another 100...

Hot Dog Mummies

{mummify your dogs}
First off...

I have many reasons for not updating since JUNE. But no one really cares, as long as I'm back, right? That's what I thought.

So I've seen these done a thousand times, but only until my cousin Adrian made me a superb cookbook which included this fun recipe, did I actually try it. I first tried it a two Halloweens ago. I made them with my own recipe for pizza though... It was gross. I don't know what I was thinking. So this year, I decided to go with something I knew I liked- Pillsbury croissants. This recipe would be especially fabulous for kids! And of course, particularly amazing during October. (But let's be real- you can eat them anytime you want.)

Ingredients:
6 hot dogs (or the like)
1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Very carefully open and unroll the dough, doing your absolute best not to tear the crescent rolls into serrated segments. The dough will have a serrated break horizontally halfway through the dough, go ahead and separate the dough into two equal portions. This sounds more complicated than it actually is. Lay the two dough pieces flat, and cut each portion into 6, 1 inch strips. Wrap two strips around each hot dog, squishing the meeting ends together, leaving a space at one end of the hot dog for the face. If the dough happens to tear along the serrated lines, just squish it back together.

Bake on a non greased baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and the hot dogs are slightly bubbly. Use mustard for the eyes, and wa-la! 
 

What I'm craving...

I just wanted to show you all some things I am dying to make...

Turtle Brownies from The Curvy Carrot

Tortellini Pasta with Bacon, Broccoli and Basil from Cookin' Canuck

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins with Pecan Streusel from Brown Eyed Baker

Pineapple Bacon Burgers from Our Best Bites

Taco Pizza from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

I wish I had all the time in the world and could just eat and eat and never get full, so I could make all of these TODAY!

Add 'browsing food blogs' to my list of things I shouldn't do while hungry...

Happy Friday!



Fried Mozza Sticks

{fried cheese. totally american}
I was craving mozzarella sticks one night, but of course, all my favorite frozen food isle American delicacies are hard to find here. Instead of restaurant inspired appetizers they have a million different flavors of perogies. So naturally I figured it couldn't be that difficult to make my own. And guess what. It wasn't hard at all!
These were were so amazing! They only took a few minutes to make. They were warm and crispy on the outside and ooey gooey cheesy on the inside. Paired with some marinara dipping sauce and they are unstoppable!

Ingredients:
1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs (Panko is great, too just add a little Italian seasoning)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
8 string cheeses, cut in half

Directions:
In a large deep skillet, heat up enough vegetable oil to nearly submerge the cheese sticks. About 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Heat over medium to medium high heat- be careful not to burn down your house. Get three seperate bowls ready, and fill one with your flour, one with your egg and water mixture, and one with your bread crumbs. Get out a plate for when your friend mozza sticks are finish frying.

Take one cheese stick and roll it in the flour. Enough to coat. Then coat it in the egg mixture, and finally, roll it in the bread crumbs. Make sure to fully coat the cheese otherwise it will melt out between the crust. You can double crust them if you feel so inclined. Repeat with remaining mozza sticks. Once your oil is hot, fry for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a spatula and place on plate until all your fried mozza sticks are done. Serve with marinara sauce if desired.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

Banana Berry Brownie Pizza

{there is fruit on it so it's healthy, right?}
If you didn't already know this, you do now. Sugar cookies and I have issues. I've only made them successfully once in my life and luckily for me, I blogged about it. I've come to terms with it, and so should you. I saw all these super yummy fruit pizza recipes amidst my daily recipe browsing, but my better judgment told me to not even try to attempt a sugar cookie crust again.
So then I decided I should make the crust out of something much easier, and something I knew I could make no problemo. Brownies! What's better than chocolate? Nothing. Nothing is better than chocolate. I'm not really into citrus fruits mixed with the chocolate taste so then I had to come up with super yummy fruits that go really well with chocolate.
Bananas. Strawberries. Raspberries.
I'm sure there are others but that right there had me drooling. So off I went to the kitchen to make this delish of a brownie pizza! Go me!

Ingredients:
For the brownie crust:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup all purpose flour

"Sauce"
4 oz cream cheese, softened (about half a brick)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Toppings:
Strawberries, sliced
Raspberries
Bananas, sliced
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (for drizzling)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray, set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil: sugar, water and butter. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stir until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and stir until completely blended together. Then add flour and baking soda, mix well. Spread brownie batter on to pizza pan, making it as smooth and even as possible. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, and the edges are slightly crisp. Let cool.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat again until combined and smooth. Spread over cooled brownie crust.
Next, cup your strawberries and bananas. You can arrange them however you want. Don't be afraid to get creative. Hey, you can even just dump them on it and it will still look amazing! Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. 

 Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

The Best Key Lime Pie [and bars] Ever

{when life gives you... key limes}
Oh my heavens, friends. This pie is hands down, the MOST amazing Key Lime Pie. I can't over hype it enough! I got asked to bring a key lime pie to my friend John's, birthday party. I was really excited because I actually have never made my own Key Lime Pie before. Almost all the recipes I researched all included a million eggs- which I grimace at the thought of. I'm not a lover of eggs. We can thank some kind of custard for that. 
Anyways, this recipe has only three ingredients. Three! I love that this pie is so light and creamy. Perfect for summer! It doesn't take long to bake, making it even more summer friendly. You can alter the amount of lime juice you use to your own tastes, you can even add a little zest if want to really pump up the lime flavor. You can't go wrong, kids. This pie will change your life!

  (ya like the vintage look? I do. I thought it was fun for a fun summer recipe)

Ingredients:

Pie filling:

3/4 cup key lime juice

3 cups sweetened condensed milk (about 2 cans)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lime zest, optional

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed Graham Crackers

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

Juice limes. This can be quite tedious, but so worth it. You'll need about 20 key limes (those are the little limes, not the big ones). What does 20 limes look like? This...

Watch out for all the seeds. Set lime juice aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 inch round pie plate with cooking spray, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust, and stir together with a fork until moistened and crumbly. Lightly press the graham crumbs against the bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake for about 10 minutes, set aside. 

In a large bowl, add all ingredients for the pie filling. Mix with a whisk until creamy and smooth. Go ahead and give it a taste... feel free to add more juice and/or zest if you feel so inclined. Pour into crust, and bake for 5-10 minutes. You should start to see tiny pinhole bubbles form on the surface and burst. Do not brown.

Take the pie out of the oven, and set it aside. Once it's cooled, place in the refrigerator for a couple hours. 

Garnish with whipped cream (homemade of course) and sliced limes, if desired. 

I got a little carried away with taking pictures... my bad!

You can also make a great bar rendition, which is great for larger crowds and sure to please everyone! Just follow the recipe the same as above, only using a 13x9 inch square pan instead.

Thanks for reading! Please remember to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Source: allrecipes 

Ferrero Rocher Cake

{please don't droll on your screen...}
I went on this Ferrero Rocher kick, and then it just hit me. I should make it into a cake. I searched and searched for something comparable, just so I could see how other people made this cake. I don't mean to brag, but as far as my search went, I found zero Ferrero Rocher cake... just cupcakes. So... yeah

This cake was super easy, and more importantly, delicious. I only got one piece, and my dear husband got NONE! It went THAT fast! I was really proud of myself after making this cake. I love to see myself succeed, and I feel like I'm really making progress in the whole baking field. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 recipe for Chocolate Cake (here is a great one I can't wait to try from Our Best Bites)
1/2 small tub of Nutella
About 20 Hazelnuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to your recipe specifications. Prepare cake batter, as per directions. Pour batter into a sprayed 8 inch round spring form pan, or whatever round pans you may have in the kitchen. Bake as per directions. Let cool.
While you are waiting, go ahead and make your frosting. Here is my absolute favorite chocolate frosting recipe. Mmm, it's so good... but I don't mean to brag.
Once your cake has cooled, cut the cake in half to create two layers, or if you are using two pans, you can just ignore that part. Very carefully spread the Nutella on top of the bottom top half of the cake. Take the top part of the cake and place it on top of the Nutella frosted part of the cake. Frost the cake with your chocolate frosting, make sure you don't use up all the frosting if you are planning on decorating more.
I'm not an expert on cake decorating, but this is the best way I can tell you how to get the nuts on the side of the cake. Take a small handful of nuts, and spread them from you finger tips to the center of your palm. Quickly lay your hand up against the side of the cake, trying to get as much of the nuts to stick as possible. It'll be messy, but it works.

Repeat until you have the desired amount of nuts on your cake. You can take the remaining chocolate frosting and pipe a fun design on the top of the cake. The world is your oyster. Slice it up and eat it all!

Don't forget to leave me a comment! Oh man I'm craving Ferrero Rocher now.

Raspberry Shortbread Dreams & Mother's Day Tribute

{a taste of raspberry heaven}
The one thing I hate about a casual work place, is that I check my email, and in my email I get about 5-10 recipe updates a day. I of course, have to open the emails and read them. All my will power then goes out the window and I can't help but browse the entire site. Without that lack of will power however, I wouldn't have found these little dreams of cookies. They are pretty dang easy, and super tasty. Feel free sit yourself down on the couch and eat the entire batch. No judgments here! 

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (vanilla would taste divine as well)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (or any kind of jam you fancy)

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 to 3 tablespoons water or milk

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in almond extract. Gradually add in flour and mix until a dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Take the end of a wooden spoon or your thumb, and make an indent in the center of each cookie. Fill with jam.
Bake for 14-18 minutes. Let cool.

Make your glaze, should be drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cookies and devour!

And because it's Mother's Day on Sunday, I'm giving my awesome mom a huge shout out! 

In September of 2010, my mom was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. She underwent chemotherapy along side a heavy dose of radiation treatment. In January of this year, we learned that it had spread and therefore, became terminal. This Mother's Day is especially hard for me to be away from home, because it may just be my mom's last Mother's Day.

Without my mom, I don't know that I would know how to cook. She taught me everything I know by example. She got me my first cookbook. She is truly an inspiration to me and I dedicate all my cooking endeavors to her. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Thanks for reading!