Snickerdoodles

Some day, when my kids are older, I will open a bakery.  Every day, I'll get to create all kinds of yummy things and it will be wonderful.  Cakes with fancy decorations and pies with decorative crusts, cookies in fun shapes and bars in unique flavors. 

Since there is no time for that now, I'll have to be content with baking just a few things throughout the week for Doug and the kids.  There is a "famous" Snickerdoodle recipe that is baked constantly in my house.  When ever my husband is scheduled for surgery and I ask him what he wants, this is what he requests.  Knowing that he will be unable to eat for days (or weeks!) I can't NOT make them.  

Neighbor children check our "cookie dome" to see if there are Snickerdoodles to be enjoyed and sometimes are disappointed to find only chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin.  One of my sons has a friend who loves these cookies almost as much as my husband.  Every time he spends the night, he asks my son if we have any of THE cookies. Usually there are a couple of dozen of them in the freezer and I have witnessed these boys eat them frozen!  The combination of butter and shortening gives them a buttery flavor and a perfect, milk-dunking crispiness.  Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles: 

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
(1/4 cup sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine sugar, butter, and shortening.  Add eggs.  Mix in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  

Shape into 1" balls.  Roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture and place 2" apart on un-greased cookie sheets. 

Bake 10 minutes (these cookies don't look quite done, even though they are!).  Cool completely before removing from sheets.  

Favorite Christmas Cookies

Each of my boys has their favorite cookies that they love to bake or decorate with me at Christmastime.  We made Brodie's favorite cookies---Green Holly Cookies.  They probably have a fancier, official name.  My mom called them wreath cookies, as they are supposed to be shaped into little wreaths.  (This takes far too much time and effort to be worth it since they will be gobbled up quickly!  They are just as pretty and yummy as holly leaves.) 

This recipe was given to my mother by my dear preschool teacher, Miss Jean, when I was three years old.  My mom made them every year after that and my boys and I do the same.  Ellery will join in the fun some day, but this year she was much more interested in sneaking Red Hot candies to share with her Daddy, than actually helping with the cookies.

 

Green Holly Cookies

1 Package Marshmallows

4 Tablespoons of Butter

6 Cups of Corn Flakes

Green Food Coloring

Red Hot Candies

Melt marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan over low-medium heat.  When completely melted, add enough green food coloring to tint the mixture a deep green color.  Remove from heat and stir in the Corn Flakes.  Mix and stir until the flakes are completely covered in green goo.  

Work quickly to prevent the mixture from hardening and drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Place three Red Hot Candies on each clump to resemble a holly leaf (this part is great for kids to help with and my boys' favorite step).  Allow to cool and harden slightly before enjoying. 

Because Baking Bread Takes A Long Time...

I like baking bread.  My family likes eating bread.  The problem, however, is that baking bread takes a long time.  I begin my day reading God's Word, having coffee with my husband, homeschooling my children, reading emails, loading the dishwasher, wiping up muddy paw prints from my dear Golden Retriever, changing diapers, vacuuming up muffin crumbs, and sorting laundry.  By the time my brain catches up and I think about baking bread to go with our dinner, it's late afternoon and by the time I finish mixing, letting dough rise, shaping and baking, it will be bedtime before our bread is done.


Which is why I am thankful to have found the "60-Minute Dinner Rolls" recipe from Phyllis Pellman Good's book, Fix-It and Enjoy-It Cookbook.  As promised, these dinner rolls bake up quickly and easily, even when a two-year-old, dough-tasting little girl is my co-chef.  They aren't the most wonderful dinner rolls I've ever tasted, but on a Thursday night when I've had the kind of day that makes me question whether or not I'm really awake or if I'm dreaming, they will do.  My husband and 2/3 of my children like them, which is success in my opinion!  


Here is the recipe:


60-Minute Dinner Rolls (Makes 2 dozen)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 cups flour


In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar to warm milk.  Stir to dissolve.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Cover and let stand in a warm place for 15-20 minutes, or until double in size.  Form 24 rolls, each the size of an egg.  Place on greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!