The choices are endless. I have made a few batches of each cookie so far and will continue baking more this week.

Amish Sugar Cookies

From the kitchen of Joseph & Michelle Salerno

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup cooking oil
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Combine sugars, butter and oil, beat well. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight. Make into small balls and flatten slightly with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Do not over cook.

C.O.P. Cookies

Makes 1 batch • From the kitchen of Me and my Brother

Ingredients

1 cup Crisco (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package chocolate chips
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon vanilla

Directions

In large bowl, add all ingredients alternately and mix well. Using a teaspoon, drop dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 345 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies sit for 5-10 minutes - then, ENJOY :)!!

Chewy Noels

From the kitchen of Ellen Moore

Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter or margarine
2 eggs or egg substitute equivalent
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
5 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
confectioners sugar

Directions

Melt butter in small baking pan over low heat. Beat eggs slightly. Combine sugar, flour, soda and nuts. Stir into beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour mixture over butter. Do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until center is set. Turn out of pan onto rack. Cut into squares and dust bottom with confectioners sugar.

Grandma Olson's Parkay Cookies

From the kitchen of Grandma Tobe

Ingredients

1 pound Parkay (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour
green sugar
red sugar

Directions

Beat Parkay and sugar very hard. Add vanilla and flour. Divide dough into two parts. Roll each part into 10 or 12 inch long ropes. On two large sheets of waxed paper, place red colored sugar on one and green colored sugar on the other. Roll one cookie dough rope in red sugar and one cookie dough rope in green sugar. Refrigerate until ready to bake. When ready to bake, slice dough with very sharp knife into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees until cookies are lightly brown and set.

N.M. Cookies

Makes 112 • From the kitchen of Kinsey

Ingredients

2 c. butter
4 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
2 c. sugar
5 c. blended oatmeal
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1{8oz.} Hershey bar, grated
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 c. chopped nuts {your choice}
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar, and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375.

Parking Lot Cookies

From the kitchen of Melody Lawson

Ingredients

1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla (it's okay to spill a little bit)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups rice crispies
1 cup pecans
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix both sugars well, removing all lumps. Add shortening, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Mix well. Mix in flour (it�s starting to get thick). Mix in pecans and chocolate chips (getting thicker). Mix in oatmeal (very thick). Mix in rice crispies (use your hands, it's too thick for a spoon). Roll up into teaspoon sized balls and smash with fork. Place on bottom rack in oven. Move to top rack when bottoms of cookies start to brown. Remove before burning.

Seven Layer Cookies

From the kitchen of The Orndorffs

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup flaked coconut
6 ounces butterscotch bits
6 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Melt margarine and put in 13x9 pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over margarine. Spread flaked coconut over crumbs. Pour butterscotch bits over coconut. Pour chocolate chips over butterscotch bits. Sprinkle chopped nuts over all. Slowly pour sweetened condensed milk over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

"Santa's Whisker's" cookies

Makes 60 • From the kitchen of Meagan

Ingredients

3/4 cup Margarine
2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup finely chopped candied red or green cherries
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup coconut

Directions

Beat margirine with an elictric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half the flour, the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat till thourouly combined. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in cherries and pecans. Shape into 8-inch rolls. Roll in cocunut. Wrap in wax paper; chill 2- 24 hours. Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool cookieson a wire rack. Makes about 60.

I have fallen short again...I'm sorry

I have been busy the past few weeks gathering the Christmas decorations and stringing the lights for the holiday season. I have also been searching for new recipes to try. Well, I found a site that I have fallen in love with and it is perfect for this time of year. It is www.northpole.com . I have selected a few recipes to share with you that I have been preparing this past week. They have all been hits.

I'm still up...

making the second layers for my sister's surprise cake for Saturday. I have helped decorate the building today and been scanning pictures for the family reunion. I have the layers in the oven and was about to make the buttercream icing for the base coat and then start rolling out my fondant . I made the fondant hearts for the cake last night. I have some in white and black. The black ones almost look like marble. I think they are cute. I just hope I can get the top layer fondant black enough and smooth enough...i'm tired..lol.

Chocolate Ganache

This is a recipe I ran across while looking for wedding/anniversary cake ideas. It looks and sounds good.

To make ganache, hot cream is poured over chopped chocolate (semi sweet or bittersweet) and the mixture is stirred until velvety smooth. The proportions of chocolate to cream can vary depending on its use, but the basic form is equal weights of chocolate and cream. Dark, milk, or white chocolate can be used to make ganache and different flavorings can be added such as liqueurs and extracts. Butter, oil, or corn syrup can also be added when a dark shiny glaze is desired.



Ganache Recipe:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
1 tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional)

Note: Truffles can also be made with Ganache. Truffles are just small balls of chocolate that can be rolled into cocoa powder, powdered sugar or toasted chopped nuts. You can use your hands to form the truffles, or else a melon baller or small spoon. Make sure the chocolate ganache is well chilled before forming into balls. Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen for a couple of months. They are delicious and a great way to use "leftovers".



Ganache:

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur.
Makes enough ganache to cover a 9 inch (23 cm) cake or torte.
To Cover a Torte or Cake:
Note: If covering a cake with ganache that is to be refrigerated, make sure the cake is cold before covering with the ganache. This will ensure that the ganache does not dull when stored in the refrigerator.
Brush any loose crumbs from the cake and place cake on a wire rack. Put the wire rack on a baking sheet. In this way if the ganache drips it will end up on the baking sheet, which makes clean up easier. Using a cake spatula, cover the sides and top of the cake with about 2 tablespoons ganache. This is called a crumb coat and seals in any cake crumbs so that your cake will have a smooth finish. Refrigerate cake for 5 minutes to set the crumb coat. If you have any air bubbles or crumbs in your ganache, pour through a strainer. To cover cake, pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake, to create an even coating of ganache. If there are any bare spots on sides of cake, cover with leftover ganache. Strain leftover ganache to remove any crumbs. At this point the leftover ganache can be refrigerated until cold so you can make truffles. Or it can be whipped with an electric hand mixer or whisk and then piped.

Sorry...

I am so sorry I have gotten behind in my posts. Just so much going on around here with school being out that I have just lost interest in posting new recipes. Plus, I am now hooked to Facebook and its many games,especially Farmtown. If it was only that easy on the real farm..LOL.

I have a family reunion coming up on September 5 and my mom and dad's 40th anniversary is September 7. Then John has a birthday on September 6...man am I gonna be busy baking then. I am making my sister a birthday cake this weekend. I will have to take pictures and post them before six months passes again. Oh course, all these are surprise cakes.

For the family reunion, I am planning on making a family tree cake. I have bought the fondant and all ingredients I am gonna need. I think I am making it as a sheet cake and then making the actual tree of fondant. I will post more on that idea when I take the pics of the finished product. I am looking forward to this challenge as I have never made anything out of fondant except the one wedding cake.

Birthday cakes

I had to make 3 birthday cakes back in May and they were all for the same day.Daniel wanted a skateboard, Steven a race car, and Taylor wanted the flip flops again. Well, you can see for yourself how they all turned out.

Rainy Days are here again...

Today, my eight year old was plundering thru the pantry for snacks and decided he wanted to make cookies. He started piling pans and bowls and ingredients on the counter for us to make his favorite...M and M cookies. Instead of the M and Ms we used white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts....YUMMY !!! He put spring colored sprinkles on one pan and left the other a they were.

TOILET CAKE

This was so fun to do!! A neighbor just turned 44 yesterday and his wife wanted to surprise him with a special cake....well this is it..

16 LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 box chocolate cake mix
2 sticks butter, softened
7 eggs
1 1/2 c. water
1 c. plain flour

ICING:

1 box confectioners' sugar
1 stick butter
2 tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cake ingredients and bake in 350 degree oven. Grease and flour pans, bake in thin layers for a few minutes.
Let butter soften. Mix icing ingredients until smooth. Spread on warm cake.

BAPTIST POUND CAKE ICING

1/4 box light brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 stick butter

Cream together and pour over cake while warm. Cover with pecans if desired.

OLD FASHION THIN LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 box yellow cake mix

CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

2 c. sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 tsp. butter

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured pans. Dip 2 serving spoons of batter in each pan. Bake 2 layers at a time at 350 degrees until brown. Repeat process with remaining layers. Bake only a few minutes as the layers will be thin.
Prepare frosting by mixing all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Let come to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for about 3 minutes. Turn heat down and let simmer. Cool. Stack cake layers like pancakes, spreading frosting between each layer. Spread remaining frosting on sides and top of cake.

SPECIAL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Servings: 36

"Ideal buttercream for frosting and borders."

Ingredients:
2 cups shortening
8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract
6 fluid ounces heavy cream

Directions:
1.Cream shortening until fluffy. Add confectioner's sugar and continue creaming until well blended.
2.Add salt, vanilla, and whipping cream blend on low speed until moistened. Add additional whipping cream if necessary (up to 2 ounces). Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

BROWN BUTTER ICING

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoon water

Directions
In a small saucepan heat 1/2 cup butter over medium heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies.

Yield: Enough to ice 5 dozen cookies

ST. PATRICKS DAY PISTACHIO CAKE

1 white cake mix
1 c. oil
1 c. water
3 eggs
1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding mix

Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in 9 x 13-inchpan.

FROSTING:

8 oz. Cool Whip
1 pkg. pistachio pudding mix
1 c. milk

Mix well. Spread over cooled cake.

MAMA'S POUND CAKE

This has become my favorite pound cake recipe. I borrowed it from Paula Deen.

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter,plus more for the pan
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon fne salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350* F

With a mixer, cream butter and shortening together. Add sugar, a little at the time. Add eggs, 1 at the time, beating after each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to mixer alternately with milk, starting with flour and ending woth flour. Mix in vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I have made a butter and powdered sugar icing and topped it with that and it was so good.

GIANT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at the time, beating well.

Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Spread in a greased 14 inch round pizza pan. Bake at 375 * for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cookie in pan on a cooling rack. Decorate as desired. ( I also do this in a 12 x 2 heart shaped cake pan or cookie pan. Can also use as a sheet cake or cut shaped cookies from it.)

ALMOND JOY CAKE

1 box Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix


FILLING:

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
24 large marshmellows
1 7oz angel flake coconut

Combine milk and sugar: add marshmellows and heat until melted. Add coconut. Pour over cake while hot.

TOPPING:

1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter ( 1 stick)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (I use sliced almonds too)

Mix sugar, butter, and milk. Bring to a boil and add chips. Stir until melted. Add nuts. Pour over cake. Just like an Almond Joy candy bar.

RED VELVET CAKE AND ICING

This is my favorite recipe. I do this in small and large heart shaped pans and top with white icing and am going to use fondant this time.

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter flavored cooking oil (I use butter flavored Crisco)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 1ounce bottle red food coloring plus 1 bottle buttermilk or water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup buttermilk

Cream sugar and eggs together. Add cooking oil and margarine. Mix. Add red food coloring and fill bottle with buttermilk or water and add to above mixture with vanilla. Mix well. Sift flour,cocoa,salt, and soda together. Add alternately with 1 cup buttermilk to above mixture. Pour into 3 square cans which have been greased and dusted with flour. Bake at 350 * for 25 to 30 minutes.

ICING:

1 box confectioners' sugar
1 8oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1/2 cups walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together and ice cake after it has cooled. Refrigerate after first day.

(I personally haven't tried the icing. I like to use different icing.)

Sorry I have fallen and haven't gotten back up.

I feel so ashamed that I didn't even post recipes and pics that I made for Christmas. I really went all out this time too. I guess after the wedding cake, I just lost track of time. I do want to add some recipes that I have been making. I am making a heart shaped red velvet cake that I am going to add fondant to. It is in the oven right now. I am gearing up for Valentine's Day around here.