I'm officially 1/6 of the way through all the recipes; it only took me 1 1/2 years. Hey, that's ahead of schedule. My goal is to make 52 batches a year; thus ending this challenge in the year 2023. If I stay on my current schedule I'll finish in the year 2020.
Batch #103
Cream Cheese Filled Cookies
Mike tried these cookies and said, "They taste like they have a cream cheese filling"; so I think the these cookies are aptly named (btw, Mike liked the cream cheese filling, this got 5 smiley faces).
These were kind of fun to make, though involved. All the batches in today's post came from the slice and bake chapter (remember, I'm trying to knock out some recipes from these more complicated chapters). It's a regular cookie, but after baking, I immediately put an indentation in the cookie, then topped each cookie with this cream cheese filling. Then after they're all cooled, I topped it with a chocolate drizzle. Just a word of advice, don't put hot chocolate in a plastic baggie. Or if you're using a plastic baggie to pipe chocolate, don't use the off brand name. I had holes popping up all over that bag, chocolate everywhere.
Batch #104
Chocolate Coconut Neapolitans
These look fun, and they weren't too bad to make. Split the dough into three, add red food coloring to one, coconut to another, and chocolate syrup to the third. Then layer each section into a loaf pan and freeze. After baking these, I dipped them into melted chocolate so they'd get that hard chocolate covering on it, yum! Another 5 smiley from Mike; I'm not as free with my 5 smiley face ratings.
Batch #105
Chocolate Icebox Pinwheels
These look fancy, and they are. Pinwheels are hard to make. With this one I had to divide the dough into half and color one half with chocolate. Then I had to divide the halves into fourths and make eight triangular logs. Alternating 2 chocolate logs and 2 vanilla logs in order to make a circular log. A perfect circle they did not make. Very yummy though.
Now, I'm taking a break, at least a week long break, unless something comes up : )
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
A day in the life...
I've been trying to figure out how to establish a wider audience for my blog. One friend said I should contact Taste of Home (the editors of my cookbook) and market it to them. However, I've come to the conclusion that I should not be a professional writer - let alone a professional blogger. I've been finding lots of ways to distract myself from the actual writing of the blog. That friend that suggested I get a bigger audience - I've been "researching it" for about four months now. It wasn't a quick easy answer, so I'm still "researching."
Also, I have three cookies to write about (I made two of the batches two weeks ago), but I keep finding things that need to be done. This morning, there was nothing on my to-do list other than write blog. So far I've gone for a walk, gave Joey a bath, took pictures of Joey, sorted Joey's clothes, worked on my abs, got a haircut. Did you know Facebook changed again? Yeah, I know that news is a few days old, but I only ever check FB on my ipad, and it didn't change on my ipad. I don't check FB on my computer because I hate my computer. It's new. I did not get it by choice. Did I mention already how my son spit up all over my MacBook Pro? I now have a windows laptop. The reasons we went with ASUS (imagine that word dipped in loathing) - 1 - they're less expensive, so when Joey spits up all over this one, won't be as expensive to replace. 2 - my scrapbook program doesn't work great on Apple. 3 - I'm getting a Apple laptop from work in the fall (it won't be mine, but it'll be mine for nine months of the year). But I hate Windows! Like just now, I was just typing away and all of a sudden, I was typing in the website address box - what's that about. Earlier, when I was shopping on Amazon (yeah, I did that today too), I was about to confirm my order and it just restarted - I had to do the whole order over again. Also, if I brush the mouse pad, the menu screen pops up. Moral of the story - MacBook Pro is worth the money. I cannot wait until September (only for that reason); I'm enjoying my summer.
Okay cookie #100
#100 Chocolate Macadamia Macaroons
Oooh - someone just texted me -
Had to find my phone. Shoot, my friends (Tanell and Megan) can't come over tonight for game night. That's what else I did today - try to arrange a game night.
Anyways #100
shoot - Joey's waking up. That boy does not nap. We do the whole same routine everyday - and everyday after about 30 minutes of napping in his crib, he decides he's done. But he's not done, he's still crabby - so after much much much time of trying to convince him that he's still tired, he falls asleep in his swing. I work on him napping from about 12-5 everyday and usually only get him to sleep for 1.5 hours of that time.
Okay, back from feeding Joey.
#100 (for real this time) Chocolate Macadamia Macaroons - or as Mike's cousin calls them - baked no bake cookies. Shoot, I said I would facebook her the recipe - better do that before I forget.
Okay so like no bake cookies basically - coconut, macadamia nuts, sugar, cocoa, flour and salt - - then egg whites, corn syrup and vanilla - baked. Then after cooled, dipped in melted chocolate. Very good and I don't even like macadamia nuts.
Made these for my sister-in-law's birthday
#101 It was my brother in-law's birthday as well. We went down to Indiana (not for their birthday, but for the 4th). I hate when I ask someone what their favorite cookie is and I'm told - they're not picky. Just tell me some ingredients you like. My sister-in-law did that. She knew what she liked. She got a cookie that she really liked. My brother-in-law "donated" his cookies to a family party. If I was told what he really liked, I bet he would've kept them.
He got a cookie from the Cookie Cutter Delight chapter (I have to use up some of these recipes).
Apple Cutout Sugar Cookies
I'm not so great at the rolling out part, I always roll too thin. This is a sugar cookie with powdered sugar/corn syrup icing. Mike said it's like a cracker with icing on it (I rolled it to thin). I gave my brother-in-law this cookie because he loves our mother-in-law's Christmas sugar cookies. Just a tip - don't try to make a recipe of something someone loves that someone else makes - just go with something totally different - you'll always lose.
#102 Orange Slice Cookies
I joined a Mom's meet-up group - not that I'm ever actually available to go to their events. They always have things in the morning (that's when kids are awake and not crabby I've learned), but I coach tennis in the morning, so alas. However, they had a pot-luck picnic - so naturally, I brought cookies (from the Big Batch Bonanza chapter). Orange Slice cookies - yes, cookies that have those orange slices in them. I don't understand why the store sells bags of just the orange slices and no bags of just the green slices, or the red slices (my personal favorites). It's like Starbursts selling a whole bag of just yellow or orange starbursts - nobody likes those - everyone likes the red and pink starbursts.
Anyway, the cookies were a hit - well, at least with one person. Mike told me though - when one person specifically goes out of their way to say how good a cookie is, then at least 3 or 4 other people thought that too, they just didn't say it.
Okay - now all caught up. Of course I know I'm making another batch tomorrow for Grandma's birthday and another batch for the softball potluck this week - wonder when I'll get back to blogging about that.
Also, I have three cookies to write about (I made two of the batches two weeks ago), but I keep finding things that need to be done. This morning, there was nothing on my to-do list other than write blog. So far I've gone for a walk, gave Joey a bath, took pictures of Joey, sorted Joey's clothes, worked on my abs, got a haircut. Did you know Facebook changed again? Yeah, I know that news is a few days old, but I only ever check FB on my ipad, and it didn't change on my ipad. I don't check FB on my computer because I hate my computer. It's new. I did not get it by choice. Did I mention already how my son spit up all over my MacBook Pro? I now have a windows laptop. The reasons we went with ASUS (imagine that word dipped in loathing) - 1 - they're less expensive, so when Joey spits up all over this one, won't be as expensive to replace. 2 - my scrapbook program doesn't work great on Apple. 3 - I'm getting a Apple laptop from work in the fall (it won't be mine, but it'll be mine for nine months of the year). But I hate Windows! Like just now, I was just typing away and all of a sudden, I was typing in the website address box - what's that about. Earlier, when I was shopping on Amazon (yeah, I did that today too), I was about to confirm my order and it just restarted - I had to do the whole order over again. Also, if I brush the mouse pad, the menu screen pops up. Moral of the story - MacBook Pro is worth the money. I cannot wait until September (only for that reason); I'm enjoying my summer.
Okay cookie #100
#100 Chocolate Macadamia Macaroons
Oooh - someone just texted me -
Had to find my phone. Shoot, my friends (Tanell and Megan) can't come over tonight for game night. That's what else I did today - try to arrange a game night.
Anyways #100
shoot - Joey's waking up. That boy does not nap. We do the whole same routine everyday - and everyday after about 30 minutes of napping in his crib, he decides he's done. But he's not done, he's still crabby - so after much much much time of trying to convince him that he's still tired, he falls asleep in his swing. I work on him napping from about 12-5 everyday and usually only get him to sleep for 1.5 hours of that time.
Okay, back from feeding Joey.
#100 (for real this time) Chocolate Macadamia Macaroons - or as Mike's cousin calls them - baked no bake cookies. Shoot, I said I would facebook her the recipe - better do that before I forget.
Okay so like no bake cookies basically - coconut, macadamia nuts, sugar, cocoa, flour and salt - - then egg whites, corn syrup and vanilla - baked. Then after cooled, dipped in melted chocolate. Very good and I don't even like macadamia nuts.
Made these for my sister-in-law's birthday
#101 It was my brother in-law's birthday as well. We went down to Indiana (not for their birthday, but for the 4th). I hate when I ask someone what their favorite cookie is and I'm told - they're not picky. Just tell me some ingredients you like. My sister-in-law did that. She knew what she liked. She got a cookie that she really liked. My brother-in-law "donated" his cookies to a family party. If I was told what he really liked, I bet he would've kept them.
He got a cookie from the Cookie Cutter Delight chapter (I have to use up some of these recipes).
Apple Cutout Sugar Cookies
I'm not so great at the rolling out part, I always roll too thin. This is a sugar cookie with powdered sugar/corn syrup icing. Mike said it's like a cracker with icing on it (I rolled it to thin). I gave my brother-in-law this cookie because he loves our mother-in-law's Christmas sugar cookies. Just a tip - don't try to make a recipe of something someone loves that someone else makes - just go with something totally different - you'll always lose.
#102 Orange Slice Cookies
I joined a Mom's meet-up group - not that I'm ever actually available to go to their events. They always have things in the morning (that's when kids are awake and not crabby I've learned), but I coach tennis in the morning, so alas. However, they had a pot-luck picnic - so naturally, I brought cookies (from the Big Batch Bonanza chapter). Orange Slice cookies - yes, cookies that have those orange slices in them. I don't understand why the store sells bags of just the orange slices and no bags of just the green slices, or the red slices (my personal favorites). It's like Starbursts selling a whole bag of just yellow or orange starbursts - nobody likes those - everyone likes the red and pink starbursts.
Anyway, the cookies were a hit - well, at least with one person. Mike told me though - when one person specifically goes out of their way to say how good a cookie is, then at least 3 or 4 other people thought that too, they just didn't say it.
Okay - now all caught up. Of course I know I'm making another batch tomorrow for Grandma's birthday and another batch for the softball potluck this week - wonder when I'll get back to blogging about that.
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