Four Ingredients Equal Butter Cookies

I made these on Saturday.

They were Recipe #2 in my Real Farmwives of America and Friends in the Kitchen project with Gooseberry Patch. I'm cooking from Christmas Kitchen cookbook and when I've shared 10 recipes from it, I am giving away a copy right here on my blog! Woo Hoo.


 I've decided that I gravitate towards recipes with five or less ingredients! Fewer ingredients equal less chance of me making a mistake. These cookies only have 4 ingredients...yes, just 4.

I didn't take step-by-step photos because there were only a couple and all of the ingredients were white (well, the butter was light yellow) so photos wouldn't have been too exciting.

I actually halved the recipe because I only had two sticks of butter and didn't really want 4 dozen of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies sitting in my kitchen all weekend because I would be compelled to eat all of them.

Grandma's Butter Cookies
1 lb. butter, softened
1 c. cornstarch
1 c. powdered sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour

Blend all ingredients together (I sifted the dry ingredients before adding them to the butter); divide into 2 logs. Wrap in wax paper; refrigerate overnight. Slice logs into 1/2-inch thick; cut each slice into quarters (I overlooked this step...oops). Arrange on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on paper towels. Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

A couple of notes:

• I'm not sure how thick the "logs" are supposed to be. I like very specific instructions so this step stressed me out.
• I'm not sure how to judge the cookies "done." I left them in until they were lightly brown around the edges.
• I could eat an entire bowl of this cookie dough...I usually have a strict "no eating unbaked cookie dough" rule, but I'm a sucker for butter and powdered sugar...Divine.

Despite my concerns about the unknown, the cookies turned out to be delicious.

They truly are wonderful just as they are...butter cookies. However, I am a firm believer that chocolate makes EVERYTHING better, so I melted up some Ghirardelli  60% Cocoa chocolate chips...

...and dipped the cookies. Either way the cookies are winners in my book. Definitely going to add them to the list of "cookies to make at Christmas" and they are a great option for a "non-chocolate" cookie.

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Thank You to Those who Serve

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest



"Those things which are precious

are saved only by sacrifice."

 

-David Kenyon Webster

U.S. Army Officer and Writer

Simply Smores Cookies

I had some mini chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge and decided to bake them up tonight and make my own ice cream cookie sandwiches.

Then I saw these...

via

...and I knew what I had to do!

Mine weren't nearly as pretty and fancy as Martha's, but they were delicious and oh so simple to make.

I started with already baked mini chocolate chip cookies. I just made four but you can do as many as you want at a time. I turned my oven to broil and let it heat up.

I put a quarter of a square of dark chocolate on top of two of the cookies and left the other two plain just to see if the chocolate chips were enough chocolate.

I didn't have any jumbo marshmallows so I used Marshmallow Fluff - a spoonful on top of each cookie. Then I popped the pan in the oven for a couple of minutes...just keep an eye on them after about a minute and a half because they toast quickly after that!

They were DELICIOUS. I definitely liked the ones with the added chocolate piece better but I ate all four of them.

I didn't abandon my idea of making mini ice cream sandwiches...

There are now a dozen of these babies inividually wrapped in my freezer waiting for me!

I'm linking up to Show Us Your Life at Kelly’s Korner.

More Random Shots from My Phone

I am feeling a bit random this week.

So here's another installment of "Random Shots from my Phone."

While typing that last phrase, I imagined it being said in the booming announcer's voice like "Random Dancing" on iCarly. Yes, I love iCarly. Sue me.

Can you read what the tire cover says on this photo?

It says "Home of Champion Dachshunds." Love it.

Saw this as I was driving in town last weekend.

Yes, that's a bale of straw in the back of that station wagon.

Then there are these photos. I took them while on a business trip to Hamburger University...yes, there is such a place. It's McDonald's headquarters near Chicago.

Can you tell a common theme in the pictures?

Yes, all the women are enjoying some fast food. These were in the hallways of the hotel that adjoins Hamburger University. Sorry about the quality, I used my Blackberry and the hallways were a bit dim.

Hope you enjoyed this edition of "Random Shots from My Phone."

Quick Cheese Bread: Easy and Kid Approved

Doesn't that look good?

It tasted just as good and the best part was that it was super easy to make with 5 ingredients! Perfect for Sunday supper with the family.

Earlier this month I told you about an exciting new project over at Real Farmwives of America (RFOA)...





Real Farmwives and Friends (have to add in the friends because as you know I'm neither a wife or a farmer) is a collection of wonderful women - many I know in real life and some just through the wonderful world of blogging - who blog about their lives on and off the farm. I'm honored to be a part of the group.

Well, we decided to team up with Gooseberry Patch to feature their cookbooks on our blogs! I think there are about 20 of us who will be cooking out of DIFFERENT Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and then giving away a copy of the cookbook on our blogs.

If you want to help choose which cookbook other RFOA ladies cook from and give away, head over to Real Farmwives of America and vote!

This is the cookbook that voters chose for me...

It came in the mail this weekend and I jumped right into it and chose my first recipe...Quick Cheese Bread.

What I really liked about this recipe is that it only had 5 ingredients and they are all staples in my pantry and fridge.

Here's what it looked like before going into the oven.

Here's what it looked like after it was out of the oven.

I baked two loaves, the one on the left was in a silicone bread pan and the one on the right was in a metal bread pan. I think that explains the difference in color...well it might have been that I used cheddar cheese on the top of the first loaf and a colby/monterey jack combo on the second one. Who knows. They both tasted delicious.

I took them to my sister's house along with two dishes of baked ravioli to feed the masses on Sunday night. My two oldest nephews loved the bread and my 7-month-old niece enjoyed it too!

Here's the complete recipe:

Quick Cheese Bread
2 c. biscuit baking mix
1-1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. milk
2 T. butter, diced (I used my Fair Oaks garlic & parsley butter, yum.)

Combine baking mix and one cup cheese. Whisk eggs with milk and mix with dry ingredients; mix well. Turn batter out into a well greased 9"x5" loaf pan (I used lots of Pam). Dot with butter and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Makes one loaf.

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Another Random Monday

ONE

Remember my sandals post last week? I went Kohl's early Saturday morning and did a bad, bad thing...

I bought three of the sandals that I drooled over online, plus another pair that were just $13.99 (20% off).

I might have even bought the same style in two different colors...

TWO

I had a few comments on my poppies post last week asking how my mom started her poppies.

Here's what she said, "Donna down the road gave me a start and I planted them. See how much they spread?" Hope that helps!

THREE

Guess what came in the mail on Saturday?

Over the next 3 months, I'll be fixin' at least 10 of the yummy recipes out of this great cookbook as part of the Real Farmwives of America in the Kitchen project with Gooseberry Patch. Stay tuned for the first recipe soon and a giveaway at the end of my cooking expedition.

Disclaimer: Gooseberry Patch gave me two Christmas Kitchen cookbooks, one for me to use and one for me to give away on here!

Amazing What You Can Find

Baby Sister came over to help me clean my house today.

It's amazing what you find when you start cleaning...

Remember our family vacation to Disney last summer?

I found the Photopass case in one place and the Photopass CD in another, of course!

I have no idea where I got this cow cookie cutter (probably from a trade show along with handfuls of pens and notepads) but I know who I'm giving it to...here's hoping I see Jent on Monday!

Guess my godparents DIDN'T get their Christmas card with the note that I made a donation to their alma mater (the same college my mom went to) instead of buying them a gift. Oops.

And then there's the work camera that was in the bottom of a suitcase I took on a business trip earlier this spring...the same camera that I SWORE I gave to a co-worker and never got back! Double Oops!

All of this was discovered downstairs...who knows what I'll find when I tackle the piles of clothes and stuff upstairs!

Frustration Equals Pizza

I don't go to the grocery store very often.

My cabinets are normally full because of my hoarding deal-seeking tendencies and my icebox, I mean fridge because I'm not 80 as my sister points out, usually is stocked with the essentials...eggs, cheese, milk and Coke Zero.

However, tonight I decided to head out to my local grocery around to cash in on some deals they had going.

First, let me tell you that I am NOT my best at night...I'm totally a morning person.

Second, let me tell you that I am NOT a big fan of the "buy 10 items, get $5 off your bill" deals. I always seem to mess it up somehow.

Third, let me tell you that I don't shop with a list so that means disorganization and impulse buying.

Fourth, let me tell you that I had to go to the service desk twice before I got my bill right and I still think a couple of items rang up higher than they were marked.

So, I ended up coming home with a carload of groceries and this...




And when I got home, I added a Coke Zero with this in it...




Thank goodness that I stocked up tonight so I don't have to do that again for a while!

How to Waste an Hour or Three

A couple months ago, I bought an iPad.

It's great.

It's so light and easy to take on the plane.

It's makes it easy to check my e-mail...all three accounts.

I can read books on it. I can blog from it. I can Tweet from it. I can edit documents on it.

But guess what I normally do on it...

Yes, play games.

I would like to say that I sit down and just play a 3-minute game of...

But once I give it a shake, I can't seem to stop...20 games later and I may be able to put it down.

I also love me some Mahjongg.

But there is one game that totally sucks me in each and every time I start it up. I hate to follow the crowd, be one of the herd, one of many. But I just can't help it. I'm in love.

I have to admit that I quickly made my way through the free editions and broke down bought both the Seasons AND Rio versions of the game...darn those iTunes gift cards burning a hole in my pocket!

Wanna know something fun about the Rio edition...it has monkeys, just like the ones in the movie! So fun!

That reminds me...I have to go...Angry Birds my dirty dishes are calling me.

Wordless Wednesday: Poppies and a Puppy

On a rare dry and slightly sunny day, I looked out my parents' back door and saw these...

Poppies are my favorite flower and I love how Mom planted these on the spot of our old playhouse.

I turned away from the poppies and realized someone wanted some of my attention too.

Also linking up to Wordless Wednesday over at Pinke Post.

The Perfect Summer Sandal

My wardrobe consists of black, gray, white and more black.

So one way I try to incorporate color in one of two ways...through cardigans and through shoes.

Towards the end of last summer, I found the cutest pair of Simply Vera sandals at Kohls.

Aren't they cute? I wore them all the time...can you tell?

I wish I bought two pairs of these...maybe three. But I didn't so obviously I'm in need of a new pair for this summer.

I really want another pair of cute flat sandals in a fun color. However, I'm also in need of a higher heeled black sandal to wear with my longer pants.

So I found these...

Old Navy

And these...

Kohl's

I found the ones above in blue...I love them.

Kohl's

I love, love, love these. I think they are going in my shopping cart very soon.

Kohl's

Now, I don't really need brown sandals, but I found some that I may just have to go try on at Kohl's.

Kohl's

Kohl's

I'm not sure if I love or hate these but I'm definitely going to try them on.

Kohl's

I usually find great shoes at Shoebuy.com but I did some searching for sandals in different colors and this is the only ones I even like a little bit and I can't decide if they are cute OR too old-lady...thoughts?

Here are a couple other pairs that I'm really wanting too...

Where do you find shoes? Do you shop online?

Do you like one of the sandals above? Need your thoughts!!