My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Recipe:

In mixer cream together:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup margarine

Then add:

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well.

Add and mix well:

1 cup powdered sugar

In seperate bowl combine:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture.

Place in fridge overnight or for a few hours. This dough is very sticky so if you want to cut out shapes then keep in fridge as long as possible and use a lot of flour.

Roll out dough on floured surface and cut out shapes.

Or roll in balls and flatten with bottom of a floured drinking glass.

Oven: 350 degrees and bake for 10-12 min.

FROSTING:

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

After a long hunt and several hundred calories later, I've decided that these are my favorite sugar cookies. They are lite and crispy. The powdered sugar in the dough makes them melt in your mouth, the cream cheese frosting doesn't hurt either! YUM!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Recipe:

Combine in Mixer:

1/2 cup vegtable oil

4 oz unsweetened chocolate (melted then cooled)

2 cups white sugar

2 tsps vanilla

Then mix in:

4 eggs one at a time

In seperate bowl combine:

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients slowly to mixing blowl.

Form in ball, wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350

Form small 1 in balls and drop in a bowl of powdered sugar. Coat ball completely.

Bake 10-12 min.

These cookies were a little crispy on the outside and then

chewy-fudgey-brownie-ish on the inside. Delish!!!

Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwhiches

Recipe:

Mix until combined:

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

1/2 cup white sugar

Then add:

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

Beat until smooth.

In seperate bowl combine:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture.

Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap and put in fridge for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

The dough is extremely sticky so I think it would be hard to cut out shapes from uncooked dough. I spread the dough on a baking sheet, about 1/4 inch think and baked it for about 10 min. I let it cool for just a few min and then cut out the shapes before the cookie was completely cooled. Once all the way cooled you can break the shapes out with a spatula (the left over crumbs would be good crumbled over ice cream!). The ice cream sandwhich molds I got at Sur la Table but you can probably just smash some icecream between two cookies if you want. Do the instructions make sense? Let me know if you have questions and I will try to explain myself better! This gingerbread was so good, by far my favorite recipe! I loved it with vanilla bean ice cream but they are delish just plain. Perfect for the holidays!

Apple Custard Tea Cakes

(Apple slices pressed slightly into batter)

Recipe:

To make custard:

Blend over medium heat

1 1/2 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Stir constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil.

Remove from heat, cover surface with plastic wrap, cool completely.

In mixer, on low, beat:

6 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cups self-rising flour

1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix

3 tbsp milk

Once mixture is combined, turn speed to medium and beat until mixture is

changed to a paler color.

Line muffin tin with 12 baking cups.

Divide half the mixture among the baking cups.

Top with small amount of custard, then add on top the remaing cake mixture. Smooth batter over custard with the back of a spoon.

Slice finely one large, unpeeled apple.

Top cakes with apple slices, pressing them slightly into the batter.

Bake about 25-30 min or until lightly browned.

Melt 2 tbsp butter then combine

1 1/2 tbsp sugar and

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Brush hot cakes with melted butter,

then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Serve warm or cold.

YUM!

(Out of all of these recipes, my mom said that these were her favorite!)

Carrot Cupcakes

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375

In a large bowl combine:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (or ground)

In a mixer combine:

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tbsp plain low fat yogurt

1/4 tsp vanilla

Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture.

Add:

1 1/2 cups grated carrots (a food processor works great for this!)

Line muffin tin with baking cups, fill cups 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 min or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

FROSTING:

8 oz. cream cheese (room temp)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange zest (optional)

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350

Lightly coat 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter

In a bowl mix:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

In a mixer combine:

2 large eggs (at room temp)

1/3 cup water

Mix until well blended then add:

1 1/2 cups sugar

Blend well. Add:

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend well.

Add the dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend until smooth.

Add 1 cup chopped walnuts (you can toast them if you prefer)

Mix until evenly distributed.

Bake for 55-65 min. until bread is firm to touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I love the spices in this bread! The cloves are my favorite, the smell is amazing!

Banana Caramel Cakes

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350. Line 6 oversize or 12-hole standard muffin tin with paper baking cups.

In mixer beat:

6 tbsp butter (room temp)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

Mix until light and fluffy

In seperate bowl combine:

1/2 cup self rising flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp allspice

Combine dry ingredients with butter mixture.

Then add:

2/3 cup overripe banana

1/3 cup sour cream

3 tbsp milk

Divide mixture among cups.

Bake large cakes about 25 min, small cakes about 20 min.

Cool completely

Remove baking cups from cakes.

Beat about 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, until fluffy and forms stiff peaks.

Fold in 3 tbsp caramel sauce into cream

Cut cakes horizontally into 3 slices (or in half for small cakes)

Re-assemble cakes with a layer of caramel topped with thin slices of banana. Top with caramel whip cream.

Use vegtable peeler to grate dark chocolate over cakes.

If you don't want to put the banana and caramel sauce in the middle, these cupcakes are really good just plain, kind of muffin-y.

YUM!!!