Brownie Refrigerator Cookies

If you want cookies that taste like chocolate fudge or fudgie brownies - this would do it - I don't normally make cookies from mixes but this seemed so easy and I'm always interested in refrigerator cookies that I can roll in to a log and freeze for later baking by just slicing and baking.

The recipe only had 3 ingredients - I added 3 Tbsp oil because there was no way that was going to hold together to form a log. Now, this recipe is from a vintage book and the boxed brownies were smaller back then but I was still curious.

I made a dozen, and froze the rest of the log to add to cookie trays - I rolled this, and wrapped it in one of the paper towel tubes - I decided to roll this in to a smaller log knowing that the fudge flavor would be very rich - I wanted the cookies small enough to pop in to your mouth.

Soft on the inside; crispy on the outside - I toasted walnuts before I added them to the mix.

BAKED CHEESY ZUCCHINI BITES

Excellent new treat which my husband is going to devour. I must triple the recipe next time! My neighbors gave me several very large zucchini so I googled and found this recipe which I'll share the link below. These are very easy to create – I used my spiralizer on the zucchini, and then chopped the noodles fine from there. I squeezed the zucchini with a tea towel. After I let these cool on the pan for a few minutes, I was able to just pick them up from the parchment paper – no sticking – I did not even need a spatula to lift these. The bottoms were a perfect crisp brown as were the sides and top. I followed the directions, and these were excellent.  I will be making these again. I appreciate the tip on freezing them as I will give that a go.

Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

My neighbors gave us several very large zucchini.  I always chop these and store in freezer bags for soup in the fall and winter.  I wanted to try some new recipes today.  I will still store the zucchini for soup ingredients due to the large amount we received.   The house smells so good.  

Oh My Goodness! I just made this, and this is chocolate fix heaven. This is very rich so I can only do one slice today, but this will be terrific with coffee in the morning. I’m sharing the recipe link on my facebook page to let everyone know that this is a keeper.    I used my spiralizer on the zucchini, chopped the noodles in to tiny pieces; scooped on to a tea towel,  and squeezed any remaining liquid.

This just fell out of the pan:  

Very easy to create - I followed the directions on leaving in the pan for 15 minutes 

• Cool for 15 minutes, then run a thin spatula or knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread.
• Cool for another 15 minutes, then invert the pan onto a serving plate. Slice and serve.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread link

Apricot & Cream, Pineapple & Cream, Raspberries & Cream Streusel Squares

Crust:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Filling:  

1 jar (12 ounces) seedless preserves or jam 

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup walnut halves, chopped

Preheat oven to 350.  For crust, place butter in microwave dish and microwave on high 1 minute or until melted.  Add flour and powdered sugar; mix until crumbly.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the crust mixture for topping.  Sprinkle remaining crust mixture evenly into bottom of bar pan; press down to an even thickness.

For filling, combine jam and flour in small bowl; mix until smooth.  Spread jam mixture evenly over crust.

For topping, place cream cheese in small microwave bowl and microwave on high at 30 second intervals until softened.  (my cream cheese was soft after the second time of doing this for me, here in Indiana)  Add powdered sugar; whisk until smooth.

Attach open star tip to decorator bag; fill with cream cheese mixture.  Pipe cream cheese mixture in diagonal rows, 1 1/2 inches apart, onto jam layer.  Chop walnuts.  Combine nuts and reserved crust mixture; sprinkle evenly over topping.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until edges re light golden brown.  Remove from oven; cool completely.  Cut into squares

Yield:  32 squares.

Tips:  I used a larger cast iron dish due to having 3 different types of preserves which I wanted to use up because I had the opened containers in the refrigerator.  I  just put the one with the most in the middle of the dish and the other two on opposite ends.  

You can put this in a 9 inch baking pan and if you feel like the crust is too much for it - use a larger pan - the crust is melt in your mouth delicious so no worries if it is thick.  I like thinner crust so I used a larger dish.

a Beautiful walk

Jim is a landscaper, and sometimes clients will ask him to dispose of shrubs; trees, flowers, etc, and replace with something else. We have several acres of property; most of it is surrounded in trees - lots of shade. He will bring home the plants, and try to save them. He looks for patches of sunshine, and that is where they are put. I walked around the property this morning to see what some of his projects were. Colors popped up in all sorts of places, and it was a relaxing, beautiful walk. One of the plants actually spread (wind or creature) and is now growing out of a pile of logs; leaning out from the trees to grab the sunlight.

Marmalade Bites

This recipe is from a  newspaper clipping I found in an old cookbook I inherited from my late mother in law. She put a small note saying these were from the early 1900's.  The paper clipping  was worn and brittle so while copying it to save it, I decided to try these.  This called for orange marmalade, which I used, but you can use any flavor based on the taste of these cookies.  When you first smell and taste these, you are reminded of a meringue cookie.  The cookies are very soft and delicate, and are more cake like.  These were delicious hot out of the oven,and the next day after sitting in a covered container.  The smell is amazing.  This recipe makes a lot, so I froze some of the cookie dough by dropping spoonfuls on to a dish, flash freezing and then dropping the little nuggets into a ziploc freezer bag.   I used a 1/2" cookie scoop and a 1" cookies scoop; I preferred the size, and taste of the 1/2" scoop.  The 1/2" scoop can get you about 50 of these cookies.  These are very soft coming out of the oven; you definitely want to either use foil on the cookie pan with shiny side up, and spray with oil; or use a silicone liner, because they will stick if you don't - think honey like cookies.

Note:   Keep the dough in refrigerator at all times - it really does help

Marmalade Cookies

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup marmalade

Preheat the oven to 350.  cover baking sheet with foil, shiny side up.  Coat the foil with vegetable spray or use a silicon liner.

Sift flour, salt and baking soda

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment.  Add eggs and vanilla. Add sifted dry ingredients and combine.  Add marmalade.  Let dough rest 5 to 10 minutes in the refrigerator. (this step is important, the dough is very soft and sticky - you must let it sit in refrigerator between baking batches)

Drop dough by teaspoons on baking sheet.  These do spread.  Bake 15 minutes (the recipe called for turning them after 7 minutes but these were way too soft; I tried that with the first batch and they tore apart while trying to scoop them up due to how soft and sticky they were, so I let them bake as is for the entire 15 minutes until light brown).

Place baking sheet on a rack and let cook for a few minutes.  Transfer to cookie rack to cool completely.  These are very soft as you lift and place on racks; these cookies will become firer as they cool.    Store between sheets of was paper in a covered container.  

I always consider the recipe a win if Jim does not suggest an alternate idea for next time.  He said these are delicious and he ate quite a few.  They are very rich.  

Feed Us!

First thing in the morning - this is what we see when we open the door

Cart Wheels

Cart Wheels

It's like eating mini blueberry pies - these would be yummy with apple pie filling. These melt in your mouth

I had pie filling leftover from the mini cheese cakes I made earlier this week.

This recipe called for making 6 balls from all of the dough. I'm guessing that is why they called them wheels. I used a scoop and made bite size because I knew the blueberry pie filling would be messy so I wanted to save a step of cutting with a fork and scooping; also licking the plate, by making bite size instead.

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp milk

pie filling

Cream the butter and confectioners' sugar in a mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add a mixture of the flour and baking powder; mix well. Stir in milk. Shape into 6 balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Make an indentation 1 3/4 inches wide and 3/4 inch deep in the center of each. Spoon about 2 Tbsp pie filling into each indentation. Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for several minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

I made icing with powdered sugar, vanilla and milk; I added a bit of the blueberry syrup to change the color. The next time, I'll stick with white. Drizzle icing over top of cookies.

I toasted walnuts, chopped them and sprinkled over top

This is from a vintage 1990's cookbook called: A Taste of North Carolina

inside of one cookie

Butter Garlic Fresh Green Beans

A friend brought over a bag full of fresh green beans from his garden. I had to try them in the Instant Pot

Butter Garlic Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans

2 -4 Tbsp butter

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

----------I use rosemary pepper, and a salt blend I buy from SAMS

Add 1 cup of water to Instant Pot. Add in green beans, garlic, butter and salt & pepper to taste.

Place lid on IP to lock position and make sure valve is set to sealed position.

Low Pressure 4 Minutes (less if you want them more crunchy)

These were not super soft at this time frame - they had a slight crunch, but not crispy crunch.

Manual Release or Quick Release

Drain the beans.

You'll want to taste this and possibly add more salt, pepper, etc.

Bacon would be a fun, and tasty addition to this dish.

I'm going to add some Parmesan cheese to the top of these right before I serve them.

Spaghetti Squash in Instant Pot

Those little red mitts that come with the IP? Hand savers! I use these when scraping out the spaghetti squash as it is super hot and soft; it falls apart easily so you end up burning your hands (when you're in a hurry) I shared this recipe a few months ago - here it is again

The steam function on the IP is perfect for Spaghetti Squash. There was no waste! The strands just fell out of the cups. I used a fork to pull them out.

I put a cup of water in, (you can add pinch of salt also but my add ins added enough salt) ; added the rack, cut the squash in half and scooped out seeds. (some people put the whole squash in but I like to get the seeds out ahead of time so I don't have to fish them out afterwards)

Lay the squash cut side facing down (facing water)(because you want it to drain) - lock lid, make sure pressure vent is closed; select steam for 7 minutes, I let it natural release for 5 because I was busy with the other dish and then quick release. I used tongs to quickly pull each half out in to the dish as they were so soft - they would have fallen off quickly; let sit for a few minutes and then tip the half and scrape out the strands with a fork. I then emptied the water in IP and turned on saute function; I added a couple pieces of bacon and cooked till crisp - pulled those out - or you can add a few Tbsp s of butter -- add a few sliced mushrooms, chopped scallions, etc to the IP ; turn off IP; added the squash to all of this and crumbled the bacon on top; immediately pour in to a bowl - added Parmesan cheese. 

Very very happy with this

As always, play with the time. Find what works for you

Cracker Party Mix

Cracker Party Mix

Cracker Party mix

1 package (12-16 oz) oyster crackers

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk dressing mix (dry)

1/4 tsp. lemon pepper

1/2 to 1 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 to 1 cup veg. or olive oil

(I used slightly less than 3/4)

Preheat oven 250

Mix the ranch mix with oil. Add rest of ingredients. Pour over oyster crackers which I had spread out on a cookie sheet and stir/toss. I do this part on cookie sheet because I use a large spatula to toss the mixture and scrape /scoop ingredients off the bottom of pan to toss with crackers.

Bake 15-20 minutes

This has a light garlic taste -if you like heavy taste of garlic, you will want to add more. This was perfect for us for snacking and it would also be good added to a bowl of tomato soup.

Lazy morning

vegetable mini quiches

vegetable mini quiches - this is what Jim and I do on a nice weekend morning - great way to start the day - listening to the birds and watching the creatures play - will share recipe later

morning coffee break