Tag: cookies

family

Cranberry salad

Andi

With Thanksgiving here and all the December holidays just around the corner, everyone will be cooking. But what if you aren’t great at cooking? You could just go grab some rolls or a fruit tray from the store and call it a day, or you could mix up the easiest cranberry salad ever made. So if you want to bring a homemade dish to the family gathering but aren’t super successful with cooking, I’ve got the solution for you.

Calling this a salad is a bit of stretch because it is anything but. However, it’s been Cranberry Salad as long as I can remember, so that’s what I’m calling it. My mother used to put this all in a blender and then stick it in the fridge for a day so it came out more like a jelly, but I kind of like the chunks of fruit in it. I open all the ingredients and add all of them to a large bowl.

1 Can Jellied Cranberry Sauce

1 Can Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

1 Can Fruit Cocktail

1 4oz package Walnuts

1/2 tub of Whipped Topping

Marshmallows (optional)

As I said, my mother would blend this all together but I don’t. It mixes just fine with a spoon. But, and I cannot stress this enough, use a plenty big bowl. If you want to use the pretty bowl that matches the other dishes, mix it in a big bowl and transfer to the pretty bowl when you are finished.

Now, my husband insists it has marshmallows on top. I never remember there being marshmallows and I’m pretty positive he’s thinking of something different, but this sugary bowl can’t get worse with more sugar, so I topped my bowl of “salad” with Marshmallows.

If you’d like to, make a day ahead and leave in the fridge, covered, for 24 hours. It isn’t mandatory, but it does firm up a tiny bit and may be easier to dish out.

This takes a grand total of about 10 minutes from start to finish, and will most likely be a big hit with every child at your dinner. Just be prepared for the sugar rush that’s sure to follow.

family

Pumpkin cookies

Andi

It’s still Fall, and I’ve still got pumpkin! I love a good cookie, and I of course love pumpkin, so I made some Pumpkin Cookies. For these cookies, in addition to the ingredients I also used a mixer, a cookie sheet and non-stick cooking spray, a spoon, spatula, my measuring cups and a glass bowl.

1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree

1 Egg Yolk

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cups Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

14 tbsp Butter

Preheat oven to 350°. My oven takes its sweet time warming up, so I have to do this right at the beginning or it won’t be warm enough when I need it.

In a mixer or large bowl stir together all ingredients except the butter, flour, and sugar. Once everything has been thoroughly mixed, add the butter, one little bit at a time and make sure it gets good and blended in. Then add 1/2 cup of the sugar, setting the other cup aside for later. Now for the flour, slowly add to the bowl allowing each bit to become fully incorporated. This part is where my spatula comes in handy. You know how sometimes when using a mixer stuff gets stuck up on the side of the bowl and doesn’t get together with the rest of the ingredients? Take that spatula and scrape the sides down to reintroduce it to the mixture. Flour does this a lot. After you’ve gotten all the ingredients made into a dough remove, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for about an hour. This step is not 100% mandatory if you are in a rush, but it does make handling the dough 100x easier.

Once the dough is chilled, remove it and grab that remaining cup of sugar. I spray my cookie sheets with a cooking spray to avoid sticking, in this case, that was a good idea. With a spoon, scoop out a portion of dough, roll it into a ball and dip it in the sugar. I put the sugar into a bowl to accomplish this. Then place on the cookie sheet, press down gently to flatten a tad, and that ball of cookie is ready to go. Repeat until you are out of dough.

Place in oven for 10-13 minutes. Once they get good and baked, remove and let cool, then enjoy!

This batch of cookies is a lesson in following directions. I read the description and it said, “pumpkin flavor that is subtle and sweet”. I thought “What? No! I want powerful flavor. I want the pumpkin to reach out and punch me in the nose!” So I scooped extra pumpkin puree into the bowl and stirred it up. They still turned out okay. They did taste good, and the kids ate them happily. Unfortunately they were incredibly dense and thick, more like a squash bread than a cookie. My kids got it all over their hands and faces because they were sticky. It was a mess. All of this I attribute to my winging the instructions and not simply following the recipe. So follow the directions, cookies don’t need extra pumpkin puree.