Warm Toasted Marshmallow S'more Bars How to Decorate Cookies with Royal Icing - Top 10 Tips I’ve had many questions regarding decorated cookies since I began 7-ish years ago, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite decorating tips I’ve learned over time. By no means am I an expert, but I hope you find my top 10 suggestions helpful. There are so many ways of decorating cookies; you can cover them with fondant, rainbow sprinkles, delicious melted chocolate… I could go on, but one of my favorite ways is to flood a cookie with royal icing (flood icing). I’ve got an in-depth tutorial here, which goes over how to flood in detail. How to Flood Cookies with Royal Icing – Top 10 Tips 1. 2. Drag a butter knife through the surface of your royal icing and count to 10. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. These are just a few of my favorite tips which would have helped alleviate some frustration had I known them when I first began decorating cookies. Happy cookie decorating! xo, Marian Related Content
Raspberry Cheesecake Bars I’ve realized that cream cheese seems to have some strong magical power over me these days. See? It got me again, the cream cheese. And you know what? I’m really glad for that. Because these bars, THESE BARS. They are GORGEOUS. Just imagine a piece of heavenly cake where cream cheese meets raspberries, almonds and coconut and you might get some distant drooling idea what I’m talking about. To know perfectly what I mean you have to – HAVE TO – make them. You’ll be happy, I’m tellin’ ya! These are the ingredients. 1. 2. 3. … it resembles crumbs. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. … and using a spoon or an offset spatula (if you are a big girl/boy) spread the mixture… … to achieve smooth and even surface. 12. 13. 14. … and even out the surface. ( I placed the preserves into the microwave oven for a couple of seconds to make the mixture warmer and more liquid.) 15. Mix them with one cup coconut. 16. Like this. 17. 18. 19. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours before cutting into bars. Store in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars There is a deli near my house that makes the most amazing chocolate peanut butter bars. I have been trying to come up with a copycat version of them for some time & this recipe is pretty much it. I thought they would be a great dessert to make for the bake sale, as chocolate/peanut butter desserts are very popular & these are super simple & don't require any baking! To begin, grease a standard sized brownie pan with non-stick cooking spray & line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang {for easy removal}. 2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar, a 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter, & 1 3/4 cups of smooth peanut butter. Beat until smooth, then dump the mixture out into the pan, and press down into the bottom, making it as level as possible. 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, and 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate {chopped} in a double boiler, or heat-proof bowl set over simmering water. Stir occasionally to combine.
not martha - tiny gingerbread houses, a few variations Earlier I made gingerbread houses meant to perch on the edge of a mug, but I wanted to work on a few more things. First, since these are meant to be eaten I wanted to cut down on the amount of royal icing. I still used it to assemble the houses, but to get sugar decorations to stick to the roofs I decided to use simple syrup. I heated one part water and one part sugar and let it bubble for a while on the stove just so it would thicken. Second, I added a chimney. I think it turned out very cute, though I found that the taller chimneys looked incongruous, so I’ll stick to very short chimneys. Third I decided to see what whole happen if I moved the door shape, the part that fits over the mug, off to one side to allow more of the house to hang on the outside of the mug. Last I wanted to see if it would work out using sugar cookie dough.
Gardening as an Anarchist Plot Do-it-Yourself Absinthe. A companion bed of herbs and vegetables: I planted a thick bed of herbs and vegetables. After selecting the main ones I wanted, I added a few plants purely for their value as companion plants: e.g., horehound for the tomatoes and yarrow for the herbs. Salted Chocolate We’re watching our friend’s cat right now, and it’s a lot of fun. Kramer and I want to get a pet so badly, but I just don’t think that I have the time, energy, or, frankly, money, to take care of an animal the way I would like to. For now, though, it’s just fun to pretend to have a pet for a week. His name is Eddie and he’s pretty funny. I’ve never had a cat before, but Kramer grew up with them so he’s more accustomed to their behavior than I am. My dog at home, Tessa, is always so interested in what you’re up to and even sleeps under the covers at the foot of the bed, which I love and miss so much! These bars really do taste like Twix, and I’m not even exaggerating. Your ingredients. Combine your flour, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Cut your cold butter into cubes and add to the flour. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until a course mixture forms. Mix in the water and the egg yolk until combined. Spread the caramel over the baked shortbread crust.
Toffee White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies I love oatmeal cookies and I think they’re perfect for the holiday season. They’re very versatile; you can add almost any combination of things to them. I decided that toffee and white chocolate chips pair together really well, so I thought, why not throw them into some oatmeal cookies? Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugars, then add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Add in the flour gradually. Fold in the oats, then the white chocolate chips and toffee bits. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased and/or lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden and set. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a bit before moving to another surface to finish cooling. Enjoy! Toffee White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Cook time: Total time: Serves: 30 cookies Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
HOW TO GROW GIANT ONIONS .Written by featured author, Margaret Robinson To many gardeners the sight in August of a bed of very large onions just reaching maturity is a treasured satisfaction of a job well done. This achievement can be reached by even the new gardener given the correct soil, preparation and of course the important, correct variety. Preparation of the soil should be started as soon as the previous crop has been harvested, but never when the soil is too wet, for this breaks the soil structure, this work is best done before Christmas. To achieve top results the onion bed should be a well open site with good drainage, trench approximately. 18in (45cm) deep, fork the bottom of each trench if solid. First scatter the haulms in the bottom of the trench and mix the fertiliser and manure into the trench topsoil. January is a very important month, for this is the month for the sowing of the mammoth onions, they are, a long season onion therefore sowing should be done during January and February.
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie Cups When Natasha from That’s So Yummy offered up this guest post on Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie Cups, how could I possible resist?! Especially when accompanied by this description “…a chocolate chip cookie layered with creamy cheesecake mixture, then topped with fresh whipped cream and sprinkled with mini chocolate chips.” Yum! Read on for the full recipe & step-by-step details from Natasha! INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP BOTTOM LAYER 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 large eggs 2.5 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips INGREDIENTS FOR CHEESECAKE TOP LAYER 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese (16 oz total) 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract mini chocolate chips INGREDIENTS FOR WHIPPED CREAM 2 cups of heavy cream 1/4 cup confectioners sugar ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS: mini chocolate chips optional: mint leaves for garnish Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F.
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Baked in a Skillet - Recipe (Oh Nuts Blog) You’ve had milk. You’ve had cookies. You’ve probably even had milk and cookies together. But I’ll bet you’ve never had milk and cookies like this. Allow me to introduce you to the skillet Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookie, also known as My New Best Friend. Skillet Cookie Recipeyield: 8-12 cookie slices or one big ole cookie for a big appetite! Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup (6 oz) butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 large egg, room temperature 2 tsp vanilla extract 1.5 cups chocolate chips1.5 cups chopped walnuts or pecansvanilla ice cream, to serve (optional) Oh yes! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the softened butter and the two sugars in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Scrape down the paddle and the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the egg and vanilla extract. Add those dry ingredients you mixed earlier, and turn the mixer to low speed.