Strawberry and Creme Cookie Sandwiches

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By Christy

 

This week our topic was to bake something "pink", hence the inspiration to make these Strawberry Cookies and Creme Cookie Sandwiches. The cookies, not including the icing, are literally only 4 ingredients. I thought the cookies were SUPER good plain. They were extremely moist, had the perfect hint of strawberry, and the white chocolate, chocolate chips were the perfect touch! I did decide to take these cookies to the next step and I made cookie sandwiches with cream cheese frosting. In my opinion EVERYthing is better with icing on it! lol These cookies are like nothing I have ever had and are quite unique and different. I will definitely be making these again!


Cookie Ingredients:
Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Cake Mix (or any other strawberry cake mix)
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Crisco
1 cup white chocolate chips

Frosting:
4 oz softened cream cheese
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar




Preheat oven to 350. To make the cookies mix the cake mix, eggs, and crisco. The mix will be very thick but they bake up perfectly. Once batter is mixed, add the chocolate chips. Bake for 10 minutes or until they show signs of browning around the edges.

Let cookies cool.

While cookies are cooling make the frosting. Using a mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar until the icing is smooth. Simply put about 1 to 2 tsp on a the bottom side of the cookie and sandwich it with the bottom of another cookie to make a cookie sandwich.

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Run for the Roses Strawberry Oaks / Derby Cupcakes

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By: Sarah

If you live in Kentucky, especially in the Louisville area, the only thing on your mind since this past Saturday is DERBY DERBY DERBY! Since moving to Louisville back in 2005, this has become my favorite time of year.  Starting with the most amazing firework show (actually North America's largest), the city of Louisville celebrates the upcoming Derby for 2 weeks before the actual race on the first Saturday of May.  During Derby time there are so many fun things to do such as the free concerts on the waterfront, hanging out at the Chow Wagon, the Great Balloon Race, the Great Steamboat Race, and of course the celebration wouldn't be complete without the Pegasus parade.  I love how I can feel the city's excitement building the closer we get to Derby.  Once Derby week gets here, it's like the entire city shuts down to celebrate.  If you ever have the chance to go, jump on it!! It is definitely an experience of a lifetime!

Oaks Day is the day before Derby which is just as exciting and fun.  Since 2009, it has become tradition to wear pink on this day.  According to the Kentucky Oak's website, they encourage the "Pink Out" because it honors the official flower of Oaks, the stargazer lily.  Also, on Oak's Day, they have a special Survivor's Parade to honor cancer survivors.

In honor of the upcoming races, I decided to make strawberry cupcakes decorated by a rose.  The color of these cupcakes was inspired by the Kentucky Oaks while the roses are in honor of the Derby. You may have also heard the Derby referred to as "the Run for the Roses" which originated because of the blanket of roses draped over the winner.

How to Make a Rose

Inspired by the Wilton technique 

You will need tips 12 and 104, a coupler, and an icing decorating bag.   

1.  Create the rose base. 

Using tip 12, hold the icing bag straight up and push steadily while keeping the tip close to the cupcake.  Slowly lift the bag upwards while continuing to push steadily on the bag.  Release pressure once the icing is about 1.5 times the size of the 104 tip opening. Mine are usually about an inch tall.  

2.  Make the center bud.  

Using tip 104, hold cupcake with left hand and icing bag in right hand at 45 degree angle to the flat surface of the cupcake.  The wide end of the tip should touch the icing base slightly below midpoint and the narrow end should point up and angle slightly inward.  To make the tip, you need to squeeze the bag and rotate the cupcake while moving the tip slowly up and down. The icing will form a ribbon that will overlap at the top of the mound, then back down to the starting point.

3. Make the first 3 petals.

With the wide part of the tip touching the mound at about the middle and the narrow end pointed up and slightly angled inward, apply pressure to the icing bag and move the tip from up and down while turning the cupcake.  Continue 2 more times, making sure to overlap the ends, to complete the first 3 petals.  

4.  More petals

Continue to make petals until you have covered the cupcake.  These do not have to be perfect, so no worries if petals aren't exactly where they should be.  

Voila! 

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Cowboy Cookies in a Jar - Party Favors

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Cowboy Cookies in a Jar Recipe

By: Sarah

For the past few weekends, my family been busy attending different parties and showers. I have to admit after being cooped up in the house for 9 weeks cuddling and loving on my new baby, being so busy on the weekends has been extremely exhausting. I know someone's going to have a case of the Mondays!  However, getting to spend time with friends and family has been totally worth it and the fun we have totally makes up for my sleep deprivation.

A couple of weekends ago,  my friend Lindsey and I threw a baby shower for our friend Bethany.  Bethany is expecting her first baby in May and I'm so excited!  She has the cutest round baby bump and you can tell being a mother comes naturally to her.  She even has that motherly glow people talk about.  I'm a little jealous of Bethany because while I was pregnant, all I got was the "pregnancy sweat" and cankles! I was like a human heater with no ankles!

For the shower, Lindsey and I put our brains together (aka skimmed Pinterest) and found several great ideas and inspirations.  Below is the recipe we used for the cookies in a jar in case you want to use them for your future party!

Cowboy Cookies in a Jar Recipe

Inspired by Bakerella 

Layer the following ingredients in a mason jar, packing each layer as you go:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cooking oats

3/4 cup m&ms

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

optional:  1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans (the amount you use will depend on how tight you packed the previous ingredients)

Tip:  I usually buy mason jars at Walmart or Kroger. They are much cheaper than the jars you find at craft stores. You can also customize this recipe to match your event with your choice of M&M color and/or using white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet.

On the jar, make sure to attach the following directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients in a large bowl and add:

1/2 cup butter (almost melted),

 1 slightly beaten egg,

& 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. 

Combine thoroughly. 

Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls & bake for 10 minutes.

 These were made with red and green M&Ms, perfect for Christmas!

If you would like a PDF of any of the labels I used, please feel free to email me. 

Enjoy a few pics from the shower! 

Yummy Goodies!

The top cake was a yellow cake filled with chocolate buttercream icing and the bottom cake was chocolate cake filled with Oreo buttercream icing. The H was made with white chocolate.

White chocolate dipped marshmallows  covered with sprinkles.

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

The gift table.

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Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

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by Cindy

I was going through my recipes last week looking for something to make for our oatmeal themed week and remembered this recipe that was being sent around by email in the late 90's.  As I remembered it, the cookies tasted fantastic, so I decided to make them again and share the recipe with you.  The cookies taste as good as I remember.  They are tender with a crunch on the bottom with gooey melted chocolate chips.  I'm a big chocolate chip cookie fan and these cookies are one of my favorites.  These were a big hit at the office too, and my tin was empty by 4 pm.  I did half the recipe and it made about 4 dozen or more cookies.  I used the small cookie scoop that looks like an ice cream scoop instead of rolling them in balls like the recipe instructs.  I watched them closely when they were cooking because I like a chewy cookie, so when the bottoms looked brownish and the tops started to brown, I took them out.  I didn't let them set on the cookie sheet very long either - maybe 3 or 4 minutes.  

I looked this recipe up on the Internet and found the story about this cookie recipe on urbanlegends.about.com.  The urban legends website tells it just like it was.  I've added the email that I received below which was on 11/23/98.  

FWD: Free Neiman-Marcus Cookie Recipe

This is a true story... Please forward it to everyone that you can.... You will have to read it to believe it....

My daughter and I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus Cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown "I'm afraid not." Well" I said, "would you let me buy the recipe?"

With a cute smile, she said YES". I asked how much and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I said with approval, "just add it to my tab".. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00". That's outrageous!!!

I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them that the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any POSSIBLE interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe - we absolutely will not refund your money at this point." I explained to her the criminal statutes which govern fraud in Texas. I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, we don't give a damn, and we're not refunding your money." I waited a moment, thinking of how I could get even,or even try to get any of my money back. I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250.00, and now I'm going to have $250.00 worth of fun."

I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus... for free..She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this" I said, "Well you should have thought of that before you ripped me off", and slammed down the phone on her.. So, here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250.00 dollars for this... I don't want Neiman-Marcus to ever get another penny off of this recipe....

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Recipe may be halved)

2 cups butter

4 cups flour

2 t baking soda

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups brown sugar

5 cups blended oatmeal (measure and blend in blender to a fine powder)

   24 oz. chocolate chips

1 t salt

1 8 oz Hershey bar (grated)

4 eggs

2 t baking powder

3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

2 t vanilla

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs 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 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.. Have Fun!!!

This is not a joke - this is a true story... Ride free citizens!!!! This isn't some stupid chain letter either.. pass it on.. if you don't, you won't die or get dumped.. you'll just do the world an injustice...

Thanx...

 

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The Best Oreo Cheesecake Recipe

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by Cindy

Wow, spring is here with the first real warm weather we've had this year.  This is my favorite time of the year, and a good reason to live in the Midwest - seasons!  I love all the flowering bushes and trees.  I miss my daffodils that grew everywhere at my Kentucky home.  I used to go out and cut handfuls and handfuls of daffodils.  They always started blooming in February, even if just barely.  I can't imagine them blooming in February this year since it was so cold.    The yellow forsythia and daffodils are just now blooming in full swing here in southern Indiana.  Sadly, I don't have any daffodils, but I did plant a forsythia bush last year and it's blooming brightly right now.  

If you are going to enjoy the outdoors and still want to have a great dessert, then a quick and easy recipe would come in handy.  This recipe is just that.  It's a simple recipe and doesn't take too long in the kitchen.  If you love Oreo cookies, then you'll love this cheesecake.  Oreo cookies are one of the top selling cookies,  and there are many recipes that use them.   The crust is made of Oreo cookies and the cookies are blended into the cheesecake too.  With the added sugar, it doesn't have as strong a cream cheese flavor, so if you want a more traditional tasting cheesecake or just don't want the added sugar, then don't add the sugar.   I think it would be great either way.  

Ok, I just ate another piece and wanted to add that this is a very rich dessert, so keep that in mind when you decide whether to add the sugar.

Crust

16 Oreo cookies, crushed

3 T melted butter

Pie Filling

1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup sugar, optional

6 Oreo cookies, crushed

Topping

6 Oreo cookies chopped or crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Put the 16 Oreo cookies into a gallon size plastic bag and remove all of the air before sealing it.  Crush the cookies by using a rolling pin.  Make sure there are no large pieces of cookie remaining.  Place in a mixing bowl with the melted butter and mix thoroughly.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.

With a mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth and then add the sugar and vanilla until well blended.  Add the condensed milk and continue to mix until smooth.  Add the 6 Oreo cookies and mix until blended.  Pour over the crust.  Omit the sugar if you want a more traditional tasting cheesecake. 

 Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.  Cooking times vary so check after 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't overcook.  Cool the cheesecake for at least 3 hours.  Sprinkle with 6 crushed or broken up Oreo cookies before serving.

Oreo Fun Facts:
 100th Birthday: March 6, 2012
 Birth year: 1912 -- the same year the South Pole was discovered,
and the Titanic sank.
 First sale: The first Oreo cookie was sold in Hoboken, NJ, where
Oreo was originally packaged in bulk tins and sold by weight. Back
then, grocers paid USD $0.30 cents/lb for Oreo.
 Namesakes: Oreo has a street named after it – Oreo Way –
formerly known as West 15th Street between 9th & 10 Avenues in
New York City where the first Oreo cookie was made at the original
Nabisco bakery.
 Design: The first Oreo cookie was embossed with a thin wreath on the outer edge, with the Oreo
name on the plain surface in the middle.
 Sales: Oreo is the world‟s favorite cookie and the best-selling cookie brand of the 21st century,
with $1.5 billion in global annual revenues. Kraft Foods is the proud custodian of Oreo, and Oreo is
one of the company‟s 12 “billion-dollar” brands.
 Global Reach: Oreo cookies can be found in more than 100 countries.
 Biggest Markets: Rank order based on 2010 data: U.S., China, Venezuela, Canada, Indonesia,
Mexico, Spain, Central America and the Caribbean, UK and Argentina.
 Fastest Growing Markets: Rank order based on 2010 data: France (recently launched),
Australia/New Zealand, Chile, China, Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, Taiwan, Morocco, Mexico and
Hong Kong.
 Twist, Lick, Dunk Ritual: 50 percent of all Oreo eaters pull apart their cookies before eating, with
women twisting them open more often than men.
 Bakeries: Kraft Foods is the world‟s largest biscuit baker. And Oreo is made at 21 bakeries
around the world.
 Oreo fans: Oreo has a Facebook community of more than 23 million Oreo lovers around the globe,
representing 200+ countries and dozens of different languages. Oreo ranks among the top five
brand Facebook pages in the world.

For more Oreo facts go to:
http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com/sitecollectiondocuments/pdf/Oreo_Global_Fact_Sheet_100th_Birthday_as_on_Jan_12_2012_FINAL.pdf

recipe adapted from

Shawn Scarborough

http://shawn-scarborough.hubpages.com/hub/Best-Oreo-Cheesecake-Recipe

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Chocolate "Carrot" Cupcakes

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By Christy

This year for Easter I was inspired by Wilton's Chocolate "Carrot" Cupcakes. If you click on the hyperlink, Wilton gives you awesome step by step instructions for assembling these cupcakes. Sarah, Mom and I have all taken Wilton Cake decorating classes. Michael's and JoAnn Fabrics both host Wilton classes and I think they are great. I highly recommend them if you have some spare time and have a love for baking. 

If you can't tell it is supposed to look like a carrot sticking out of dirt and I thought they were absolutely adorable. These were one of the choices for Nashville BCB's Easter Cupcake order and they got rave reviews. I realize Easter has now come and gone but if you have a spring themed party or garden party these would be a great idea! 

I did follow the decorating steps listed on the Wilton Website but I used my own recipes.

Ingredients:

Devils Food Cake Mix made per the box instructions

1 batch of buttercream icing

1 batch chocolate buttercream (recipe listed below)

1 cup Chocolate Cookie Crumbs

Orange and Green Gel Food coloring

Chocolate Buttercream Icing:
1 cup softened butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp of salt (if you used unsalted butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tables spoons whole milk or heavy cream

Whip the softened butter in the mixer for 2 minutes until the butter is smooth and glossy. With the mixer on the lowest setting, slowly add the powdered sugar. Sift the cocoa and slowly add the cocoa to the icing. Mix until well blended. Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the vanilla, salt and milk/cream. Continue to beat the icing for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

** if you think your icing came out to dense, add 1 tablespoon of milk/cream. If you want the icing to be stiffer add powdered sugar until it reaches the consistency you desire

To assemble Chocolate "Carrot" Cupcakes:

Use your favorite Chocolate Cake recipe or use a Devil's Food Cake mix made per the box instructions for cupcakes. Let cupcakes cool completely and then frost with a thin layer of chocolate buttercream icing. While the icing is still fresh and hasn't crusted over yet (within 5 minutes of frosting them) sprinkle cookie crumbs all over the cupcake. Once the icing has set, take a parring knife and cut a cone out of the center of the cupcake. To ensure a clear cut, wipe the blade for a clean knife after each cupcake is cut. Take 3/4's the buttercream icing and mix in orange food coloring until the icing gets to the color of your choice. Use Wilton's website for additional instructions if necessary but use an icing bag and tip to fill the cone hole in the cupcakes. Keep the pressure hard until the icing raises over the top of the cupcake. Take the remaining 1/4 of the buttercream icing and mix it with green food coloring until you reach your desired color. Using the proper tip, make "leaves" on top of each of the "carrots".

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