Pink Cookies

Happy February! I am sharing an old family recipe this week that's perfect for Valentine's Day, my grandma's pink cookies. They are light meringue cookies topped with a chocolate drizzle. The cookies are tinted a beautiful pink. The taste is light and airy and they literally melt in your mouth. I chose not to mix in chocolate chips this time as I was topping them with the melted chocolate drizzle. I much prefer the chocolate chips for the texture they give to the cookies. If you prefer you can leave out the food coloring and they are just as delicious, just not as festive :)

Pink Cookies

Author: Grandma Morrison

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 drops red food coloring

Handful or two of chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 225 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or do as my grandma did and cut a brown paper bag to fit the tray, just don't use it for high temp cooking!).

Get out your mixer and beat egg whites with salt until stiff and peaky but not dry.

Slowly add sugar 1/4 cup at a time while beating continuously. The mixture will begin to get a bit stiffer.

Now mix in vanilla and food coloring and gently fold in chocolate chips (if using).

Dough will turn a pretty pink color, if you want a deeper pink or red, add more food coloring.

Place dollops of dough on lined baking sheet (or pipe them on if you want a specific shape).

Bake cookies until firm but not browning, the cookies shouldn't wiggle if you touch them, should take between 5 and 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cookies in there to dry out for six hours or overnight.

After cookies have dried out, drizzle with melted chocolate and top with sprinkles if desired.

Have a sweet day!

Linking up to rook #17, Dollars and Cents

Coconut Cream Eggs

Tired of Cadbury creme eggs yet? Ok, me neither, at least not the caramel kind. However, I would like to encourage you all to add a new sweet to your Easter candy repertoire AND one that you can make yourself! Coconut Cream Eggs, think Mounds Bar but way better. Better for a few reasons, no preservatives, weird add-ins, etc. the filling is way creamier than a mounds bar, and they are smaller than Mounds bars so you can eat more ☺. I have problems coating things in chocolate, they never seem to look as perfect as I want them to, so my eggs are not all perfectly egg shaped. They are more oblong and randomly sized, which is due to the fact that I was in a hurry and didn't take time to mold the cream cheese/coconut mixture the way I should have. So be sure you give yourself a bit of time if you are a perfectionist. If not, don't worry they'll still taste fabulous!

Coconut Cream Eggs

Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup flaked coconut

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon shortening

In a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar and coconut. Refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours or until easy to handle.

Using hands dusted with confectioners' sugar, mold rounded tablespoonfuls of coconut mixture into egg shapes. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 2 hours or until slightly firm.

Melt chocolate chips and shortening. Remove eggs from the freezer a few at a time; dip into chocolate mixture until completely coated. Return to waxed paper; refrigerate until hardened.

I drizzled mine with colored frosting. I used this recipe. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3 dozen.

Happy Spring!

Linking up to Tatertots And Jello, Sweet Tooth Fridays, Just Something I Whipped UP, Meatless Monday, Motivate Me Monday and Under the table and Dreaming

Irish Potato Farl

Oh. my. gosh.First of all, Happy St. Patricks day! I wanted to try a traditional Irish Recipe for my St. Pattys day breakfast this year, little did I know it would be the easiest recipe I have ever attempted, .and seriously one of the best things I have ever tried. Behold, Irish Potato Bread Farl. Apparently it's a breakfast staple in Northern Ireland a part of something called an Ulster Fry. An Ulster Fry, according to Wikipedia, is a full Irish breakfast, usually fried (go figure), consisting of bacon, eggs, sausage, soda bread, and potato farl. Now, I have never been to Ireland, but apparently they eat quite well! The Potato Farl is delightfully crisp on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. It reminded me a bit of a less oily hashbrown, but a million times better. I messed with the recipe proportions because I only had three little potatoes left over, which yielded 1 1/3 cups mashed potatoes. The recipe source I used said that the amount of flour can vary, just add bit by bit until a soft dough forms. A good rule of thumb is use half as much flour as potato. So, for example, I had 1 1/3 cups mashed potatoes, so I used a scant 2/3 cup flour. The finished product is supposed to be savory and is often served with onions and mushrooms. But I like my breakfast on the sweet side so I topped it with butter and syrup.

It was delightful, and, dare I say it, I liked it better than pancakes! And that is something because I LOVE pancakes! Next time you have mashed potatoes, definitely set a few aside for a hearty potato farl, and Happy St. Patricks day!

Irish Potato Farl

from foodista.com

Ingredients

2 cups hot boiled potatoes

Scant 1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter + more for griddle

While hot, mash potatoes well with salt and butter. Gradually work in flour in smaller increments until a soft dough forms. Dough should be a little tacky but workable.

Divide and roll/press into a circular shape about 9″ and 1/4″ thick.

Cut into 6 or 8 ‘farls’ (wedges). Grill in a hot, greased griddle or pan until well browned on both sides.

So. So. Good.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Linking up at Prairie Story Recipe Swap, Full Plate Thursday with Ms. Helen, Designs By Gollum, Family Friendly Friday's, I'm Lovin It, Everything But the Kichen Sink, and It's A Keeper Thursdays.

Perfect Drop Sugar Cookies

This is my go-to sugar cookie recipe. I don't enjoy rolling and such ,so I love that this recipe produces beautiful delicious sugar cookies with less work. Yes, I'm lazy, let us move on... The cookies come out of the oven with lovely cracked tops and you can easily make them holiday ready by rolling them in colored sugar or sprinkles before baking (as I did with these). I wanted to make the cookies with a valentines theme so I rolled them in red sugar and topped them with caramel filled chocolate heart candy. Chocolate and caramel and sugar cookie. Yes please.

Cracked Sugar Cookies

From allrecipes.com

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 cup butter

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

24 Caramel Filled Chocolate Heart Candies (I used Palmers)

1/3 cup red sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper .

Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

Add flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

Stir, use hands if necessary to get dough to hold together.

Form dough into walnut size balls, roll in colored sugar and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Don't flatten. Bake 10 to 11 minutes, until tops are cracked and just turning color.

Remove from oven and gently press a candy into each cookie.

These cookies make me happy!

Happy Weekending!

Brown Sugar Streusel White Chocolate Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Cranberries were on sale for a dollar a bag at Safeway yesterday! I am not the proud owner of 5 pounds of cranberries.. good thing they freeze well! You can expect to see many cranberry recipes in the coming weeks. I am starting off with a brown sugar streusel white chocolate cranberry cream cheese coffee cake. Whew.... longest name ever, but it's so chock full of good stuff! I used a recipe borrowed from Alicia's Homemaking, a lovely blog with lots of good recipes and home making tips. To her recipe, I added fresh cranberries and white chocolate chips. I also decided to try it topped off with streusel. The streusel got a bit browner than I like. But the end result was a crisp, buttery brown sugar coating that goes great with the creamy cake. and OH MAN the cake is good! Super creamy thanks to the cream cheese and studded with juicy cranberries and sweet, milky white chocolate chips. Delicious overload and the perfect way to use up your left over cranberries, right??

White Chocolate Cranberry Coffee Cake (shortened title)

Recipe Adapted from Alicia's Homemaking

Makes 2 Loafs

1/2 cup butter

8 ounces cream cheese

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips (depends how much extra sweetness you want)

1 cup cranberries

(I gave mine a quick chop, but you could use them whole too) tossed with 1 tablespoon flour and a sprinkle of sugar (so they don't sink to the bottom)

Streusel topping

1 stick butter (softened a bit)

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar, butter, cream cheese and eggs together in a large bowl. Add vanilla, salt, and baking powder.

Gradually add in the flour, keeping the mixture smooth. Add milk.

Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips.

Pour into greased, floured or sugared (I sugar my pans) pans, dividing batter in half.

For the topping, mix together butter, flour, and brown sugar until they have the texture of wet sand.

Sprinkle over the batter covering completely.

Put cakes in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

*Note: The streusel turns very dark brown (I used dark brown sugar), but it caramelizes and gives a lovely crunch to the cake. If you are not a fan, by all means, make the cakes without the streusel and they will still be delicious :)

Happy New Years (I know I'm a little early),

Starbucks Style Maple Nut Scones

Happy day after Christmas! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and were able to relax and enjoy friends, family, and delicious food! I was up in Canada with my sister, brother in-law and nephew. It was COLD! My first white Christmas in a long time. What better way to start a chilly morning than with a hearty scone? I particularly enjoy Starbucks scones, my two favorites are their cinnamon chip scones and the maple nut scones. I recently acquired the "Top Secret Recipe's" cookbook, it is chock full of delicious restaurant knockoffs, including several recreations of Starbucks' baked goods. This recipe for their Maple Nut Scones is spot on! The addition of maple flavoring gives the scones and frosting rich flavor and the pecans and oats add a hearty crunch. Now all I need to do is figure out how to make a killer homemade latte....

Maple Nut Scones

Recipe from Top Secret Recipes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cold butter

1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 large egg

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup half-and-half

2 teaspoons imitation maple flavoring

Maple Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

4 teaspoons half-and-half

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Use a pastry knife or a fork to cut the cold butter into the dry mixture (I use a cheese grater and grate the butter in, much easier in my opinion!).

Stir in the chopped walnuts.

Use an electric mixer to combine the egg, brown sugar, half-and-half, and maple flavoring in a medium bowl.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and blend with electric mixer until firm, then use your hands to mix the dough until you can form it into a ball.

Pat the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1 1/4 inches thick. Shape the dough into a rectangle, and then cut the dough into 12 small triangles.

Arrange the triangles on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or just until the scones begin to turn light brown on the edges.

As the scones cool, combine the icing ingredients in a bowl.

When scones have cooled, spread with icing.

So tasty...

Where's my latte?