You're the Snicker to my Doodle

Here it is. The long awaited "catch-up" post!! Get yourselves ready for two scrumptious recipes!! The lemon-coconut frosting....aaaaaaannnnddddd....SNICKERDOODLES!!! I am so happy for two reasons. First: Sharing these recipes is like sending little bits of joy into a world. Second: I made and ate said recipes :)

This frosting recipe really was a bit of an experiment. I started brainstorming by a typical icing base-powdered sugar and butter. Add honey and milk and a squirt of lemon and you are well on your way. The frosting this way was delicious...but needed something. Coconut, shredded sweetened coconut.

1/2 cup   butter
1    TBS  honey
3    TBS  milk
*combine these ingredients in a suacepan over medium heat. When simmering remove.
2+  cups  powdered sugar
*When contents of saucepan are simmering, remove from heat and sift in powdered sugar.
*Add squirt of lemon to taste
*Add coconut (as much or as little as desired. We put in about a cup)
I found that adding the lemon required adding more powdered sugar to thicken the frosting.



This tasted fantastic over a strawberry cake :)

...
!!!!!!!!
The best cookies deserve the best names. And how can anyone say that "snickerdoodle" is not the funnest and coolest name for a dessert??

Fer realsies though. I LOVE snickerdoodles! If made right, they top chocolate chip AND peanut butter cookies.

Not even joshing you on this one.

I mean, one of my favoritethings to do is make snickerdoodles and sit by a fire. In fact. I think I'll be taking the snickerdoodles I just made and going to sit by the fire with some hot chocolate as soon as I'm done posting! ...well maybe it's a bit warm for that here in sunny San Diego on a March afternoon...but still, don't think I'll be sharing these!!

Snickerdoodles
1       cup           shortening
2                           eggs
1 1/2   cups         granulated sugar
2 3/4    cups        all-purpose flour
1         tsp           baking soda
1/2     tsp           salt
2         tsp           cream of tartar
*cream shortening, sugar, and eggs together
* in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.
*mix wet and dry mixtures together.
BAKE @ 350°F for 8 min. 

~The baking part is always the tricksssiest part of this cookie. Don't leave them in too long or they'll be too hard and stiff. You might have to experiment a bit to find the perfect timing for your tastebuds :)

Happy snickering to you!
~Molly Marie

Recreating Glory

So. Confession time. Man vs Food makes me feel like I can take on anything! Most of my family gets grossed out watching that guy eat...me? Yeah, sometimes it hurts me to watch him...but other times he inspires me!!

Adam traveled to San Antonio in a rerun that was shown recently. And this particular time watching the episode, I was inspired to bake.

I was inspired to attempt a recreation of glory...otherwise known as the cinnamon rolls from Lulu's Bakery and Cafe.

 (skip to 1:15 for the glory)

Now. As a disclaimer, I did not actually make a 3 1/2 lbs cinnamon roll. I DID however, make some pretty ginormous ones! Aaaaaaannnndddd. THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!! Can you guess what recipe I used?? Just take a wild guess, and if you have no clue, you need to read my previous posts. :D

**SPOILER** 

I used the best bread recipe in the world as the roll part.

THE LIFE OF A CINNAMON ROLL

starring: a ginormous cinnamon roll

directed by: Molly Marie

Prior to Baking

In the Oven!

Beautious!

The frosting looks fantastic! :)

It's not 3 1/2 lbs...but it's close!!!!

It seems to have a heavenly glow...

The last bite

Bread recipe can be found at: Our Best Bites

for the filling:

1/2    cup    butter

1       cup    brown sugar (firmly packed)

3-4   TBS   gr. cinnamon

for the frosting:
2       oz   cream cheese
1/4   cup  butter
1      cup  powdered sugar
1/2    tsp  vanilla

The very essence of heaven. No joke. I wouldn't lie to you.

Enjoy!
~MollyMarie

The Pathetic Copy of Danny's Dinner Rolls: Attempt One

My uncle recently moved to Australia. Now, this is a sore subject on a couple accounts. Firstly, WHAT?? That is like the coolest thing I can't be a part of!! I WISH I could live in Australia. I mean, making friends with koalas, kangaroos, and all manner of marsupials, who wouldn't want that?? My little cousins, Hannah, Ben, and Lizzy (all under 12 years old!) get to live in another country!! haha...but really not so much a haha but a sighing no fair. Secondly, I have no money and therefore can't visit. Thirdly, my Aunt Rachel is like the sweetest most creative person ever...and secretly I was planning on asking her to help with my wedding cake. It would have been the envy of everyone! But alas...her being in Australia for at least the next 5 years makes that a wee bit impossible. I just hope she'll be able to make it over to the US to see me get hitched! (...but...I'm not even dating anyone right now...so who knows, maybe the wedding cake will never be a problem!)

And finally, the most pressing matter of my uncle's moving is Thanksgiving. On this holiday, my Dad's family all gets together for a lovely and delicious feast. Present at this feast, in all their golden and delectable glory, are my Uncle Danny's dinner rolls. THEY ARE FANTASTIC! And this year, the possibility of getting them is slim (here is an appropriate place to shed a few tears and feel sorry for me). SO...

I decided I would attempt to recreate them and make sure a little piece of Danny, Rachel, Hannah, Ben, and Lizzy graces our Thanksgiving feast. I can guarantee, if my first attempts are any indication (like, I killed the yeast and accidentally used rancid oil. yup great start. so great that i'm not even going to post pics), that these dinner rolls will be a meager replacement...so I'm just going to call them "the Pathetic Copy of Danny's Dinner Rolls". haha. I'm not posting the recipe...it's his recipe after all...but maybe someday when i ask permission, he'll let me give it to you guys :)

Nutty for my Peanut Butter

My family is completely, 100% entirely, and unashamedly addicted to peanut butter. There I've said it. And it feels good to admit! Phew. I mean seriously. We devour at least 3 large tubs of the creamy goodness every week. It's peanut butter though, right?!?! It's HEALTHY!!! So I feel no tinge of guilt for the recipe I'm about to share. Just remember, peanut butter is healthy. Just repeat it to yourself like I do and I can guarantee that you will eventually feel better. That feeling may or may not be directly linked to the DELICIOUS and FANTASTIC praises your taste-buds will be singing to the peanut butter fairy after the first bite of one of these cookies!

We make these cookies ALL THE TIME! 

Our house smells wonderful. <--one of the most appealing reasons for taking up baking!

Peanut Butter Cookies

½             cup        shortening

½             cup        peanut butter

½             cup        sugar

½             cup        brown sugar, packed

1                                egg

1 ½         cup         all-purpose flour

½             tsp         baking powder

¾             tsp         baking soda

¼             tsp         salt

(OPT: throwing in a good 1/2 cup of chocolate chips never hurt anybody!!)

Mix shortening, sugars, peanut butter and egg. Blend thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, b.powder, b.soda, salt). Stir Flower mixture and shortening mixture together.

Preheat oven to 375deg. Roll dough into 1 ¼” balls set 3” apart. Flatten criss-cross style with fork (dipped in flour). Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake: 10-12 minutes.

It should clue you in to how utterly addicted we are when I tell you that we ALWAYS triple this recipe!

~ Molly Marie

PS: I've been trying to get more professional looking photos. It's difficult. I don't have a great camera and it's hard to snap a picture before munches and crunches leave none of the subject left...what? I don't know what you're talking about! ...I never contribute to the cookie theft...