Recipe Review - Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies

I am totally one of those people that keeps a long list of pumpkin recipes all year long, and for some reason, it only feels appropriate to make them in the 2 month window of October and November. Since I buy my pumpkin in a can, it really is a silly thing, especially since I struggle every year between the family favorites and the new things to try. This recipe is a little bit of both, having adapted it from another fall favorite. I hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients - 1 c unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 c sugar, 1 egg, 1 c canned pure pumpkin, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 c flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1-12oz bag white chocolate chips* (~2 c)

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla, beating to combine. Then, add the remaining dry ingredients, except white chocolate chips. When thoroughly mixed, stir in the chips.
Drop these by the spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, rotating the whole cookie sheet half way or 10 minutes through the baking time. Cool before storing. *I think these would be excellent with butterscotch chips, or a combination of butterscotch and white chips, as well. You can't go wrong with either I imagine.

Christmas Cookie Cutouts

I love baking, so making Christmas cookies, while it can be tedious, is a natural extension of what I do. Here are a couple batches we did this year. I do a few other cookies as well, but these butter cookie cutouts are always the artsy fun ones!

Bells a' Ringing

I cannot believe that in four days, it will be Christmas. Thankfully, I'm ready.. well, nearly. I still have to menu plan and grocery shop for Christmas Eve. That day's events are typically at our house, and I never know what I'm making until the last moment. Shopping done and packages wrapped, cards mailed and cookies baked? Check! Christmas Eve meal? Not so much.. Anywho, for today's lunch, I used our bell cookie cutter, as I'm still determined to use all my cutters by Christmas. Join me in the challenge!

Orange bell pepper, fresh peas, Naturebox Far East Rice Crackers, peppermint mini marshmallows, homemade Scotch Shortbread, chocolate bell, pomegranate seeds, and a turkey, mustard, and havarti 'bell' sandwich with cucumber and pomegranate decorations.

I have to share the shortbread recipe, too. It is my grandma's recipe, and one of the simplest, most delicious cookies. We make them every year, without fail. I hope your family enjoys them too!

Scotch Shortbread 
Ingredients - 1/2 lb butter, 1/2 c sugar, 2 c flour
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add flour, and mix just until combined (will be crumbly). Press into a rectangle or circle onto an ungreased cookie sheet. The dough should be uniformly thick, even the edges, roughly 3/4" thick. Prick all over with a fork. We do it like a grid, so we have prescored lines to cut the cookies on. Bake at 325 degrees for about an hour or until just golden. Cut in squares while still warm. Let cool completely to store! Yum!

Don't forget.. there is still time to join in on the Christmas Cookie Cutter Challenge linky too. Thanks for visiting and sharing!
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A Wreath Lunch & Crispy Mint Bark

Today's Christmas Cookie Cutter Challenge for me was the wreath cutter. This happens to be one of those cookie cutters that hangs out in the back of the drawer year after year, but I think I have a new found respect for it. Turned out pretty cute, I think, and it definitely has cookie possibilities.. for next year..

Red bell pepper, green olives, carrots, strawberry jello, kiwi 'wreaths', kale, and a grilled ham and swiss sandwich w/ provolone bow.

We also made some crispy peppermint bark, from the blog, Everybody Likes Sandwiches. We pulverized our candy canes in the food processor, though, which made for a pink bark. Still yummy, pink or not! Melt 500g GOOD white chocolate, then add 12 crushed candy canes and 2 cups of crisp rice cereal. Spread it on a wax lined cookie sheet and refrigerate to set. Break into pieces and you have some airy, sweet, crispy, minty goodness to enjoy!

Now for that Cookie Cutter Challenge business... It's your turn to join the challenge by linking up your post using any Christmas or winter themed cookie cutter! Be sure to check out other contributor's links, leave comments, and share the love! To participate, please either use the button below or link back via text. Thanks for sharing and be sure to watch for the rest of the Christmas Cookie Cutter Challenges! The challenge and linky will be open until Christmas day, so link up anytime between now and then! Thanks for stopping by and participating!

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Recipe Review - Cherry-ettes

I love cherries! Fresh, frozen, in pastries, in cookies, and recently, in bread. In fact, I have more of that bread in the oven right now! And, one of my favorite cookies that we do for Christmas every year is the Cherry-ettes. I have no idea from where they originally came, but my family has had them as part of our regular holiday fair for as far back as I can remember. It helps that they are simple to make, pretty to look at, and so so yummy. If you try them, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Cherry-ettes

Ingredients - 1 cup unsalted butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp almond extract, 2-1/4 cup flour, and 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries. For the glaze, you'll need an additional 1 cup powdered sugar, 3-4 Tbsp cherry juice (from the jar), and 1 tsp vanilla.

Add the first 6 ingredients in a bowl, and knead by hand to form a dough. Add in the cherries and mix in gently. Really, by hand is best, but use your mixer on low if you'd like.
The original recipe had you making large teaspoon sized balls by hand, but I use a cookie scoop, which is so much quicker and all the cookies end up pretty uniform, but it's up to you. Place balls or scoops onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 15-17 minutes in a 350 degree oven, just until the bottoms are golden. Let cool before frosting.

To make the glaze, just mix the 3 ingredients, adding more juice to thin to your liking. This is meant as a glaze, so it will be a bit runny. Of course, if you want it thicker, it's easy to adjust with more powdered sugar or vice-verse with more juice. Dip the whole cookie's top in the glaze and set out on waxed paper to set.
Be warned.. it will make pink puddles of icing around the cookies, but they will set up. I'm sure you could glaze them and set them on a drying rack to drip onto a tray too, but I don't mind the pink goo.. as it pools around the cookie and, as it dries, it seems to help 'glaze' the bottoms of them too. I let mine set out overnight and have never had an issue. That's it! Then you enjoy, including all the bits of set up glaze on your wax paper.. man is it yummy with vanilla ice cream. I must admit, I've literally been caught licking the paper after the cookies are put away. Yum!

Scarecrows!

So, we've spent the last couple of days reading scarecrow books and completing a ton of scarecrow worksheets, so what better way to wrap it up than a scarecrow lunch? Oh, and we made butterscotch haystacks today, too. Yum! These are staple 'cookies' in our Christmas baking extravaganza, but they often go overlooked on the holiday platter. This year, it just made sense to make them for the fall, as they seemed more appropriate for that holiday. Hopefully, they can get their proper respect on the Thanksgiving dessert table... if they make it until then, that is.

Chicken salad (recipe to come), Swiss cheese, butterscotch haystack, orange bell peppers, and white/rye bread scarecrow boy with American and Swiss cheese accents.

Our lunch was based on the book, The Little Scarecrow Boy, by Margaret Wise Brown. But, we made ours 'the little CuteZCute scarecrow boy'! I think he turned out awfully cute. We used the main cutter for the head and hat, then the frog face cutter to make the mouth and ears. We packed it all in our EasyLunchBoxes!

I also decided to get a bit more organized with our worksheets and themed projects. Before I knew it, I had tons of printouts for scarecrows. Gah.. wait until you see Thanksgiving. My poor kid will be working on them well into Christmas. I'll be posting a bit more detail on how I'm organizing these sorts of things from here on out (hopefully), but in the meantime, I at least want to mention a couple folks I found inspiration and materials from. Thanks 1+1+1=1 and 2 Teaching Mommies.

Butterscotch Haystacks 
I know there are versions out there with peanut butter, peanuts, chocolate, raisins, etc., but ours are simply 2 ingredients, and they are perfect! You need 1 bag of butterscotch chips, which I strongly advise you splurge and get the name brand of, as it makes all the difference. You also need 1 large can of chow mien noodles. Most of the time, I just buy the big bag of chow mien and 2 bags of chips, though. Perfect! Melt your chips using whatever method you prefer. Stir in the chow mien to coat. Drop by spoonful on wax paper to let set. Store covered, and keep in a cool, dry place. Yum!

In this lunch...

3 Lunches to Go

Oh me oh my, did I stumble on a cookie fantasy when I found these chocolate chip cookie cups with almond butter cream! Thank you Family Fresh Meals for sharing it! I will be hanging onto the almond butter cream for other applications, too, like to eat with a spoon cupcakes! Wow!

Today, I stuffed those goodies in mama, daddy, and the little one's lunchbox! You can bet they were the first things missing at lunchtime!

 

Mama's Lunchbox - almond buttercream chocolate chip cookie cups, carrots, blueberries, and a wrap of smoked turkey, swiss cheese, roasted red peppers, mayo, and romaine lettuce.

Daddy's Lunchbox - Orange, mozzarella stick, almond buttercream chocolate chip cookie cups, and a wrap just like in Mama's lunchbox.

In these lunches...