Visions of Gingerbread

Oh me gee! I seriously have been meaning to post a lot more frequently during this month!! There are so many fun fun fun fun fun things happening that I could honestly have something new to post about each day!! BUT that's kinda the problem! I am so busy there aren't enough hours in the day to blog like I want.

Since I'm pressed for time, I won't update you on the gingerbread wars quite yet. I want to do that justice...so. What I'm going to do, is tell you about the Christmas Spirit. A lesson I learned through this year's gingerbread house.

I, as you will know if you read previous posts, love gingerbread houses. They are FANTASTIC. And so, naturally, I was very much looking forward to making a crazy cool one for the gingerbread season! Alas. It was not to be. The visions of gingerbread beauty and gumdrops which danced in my head were not to be.

Though still a bit saddened at the outcome and truly trying to see the inclusion of my brothers as a wonderful family bonding time...I give you...

this year's gingerbread house.

She's a real beauty ain't she? Hold on, got some more pictures for you...

The fact that my brothers had such fun making the gingerbread house was really great. I'm happy when my family if happy. And honestly as far as family gingerbread houses go, this is a rather good one. Crazy, insane, and not aesthetically organized. . . but still good.

Jon is quite the decorator. And the wall he and Joe did is very. . . .colorful and Van Gogh like.

 I guess I just wanted my gingerbread house to be a bit more. . .organized. And with a lack of the gingerbread man crime scene we ended up with. Classic boy's touch.


But I can say this. When I look back, I'll remember that this is really what Christmas is about. NOT the crime scene lol but the fun and loving aspect of the Christmas season. So I didn't get to have the perfect gingerbread house I was looking forward to. BUT for the past couple years no one really helped me with the decorating when I wanted them to. This year, Joe and Jon helped and had a lot of fun. That's more valuable than a good-looking gingerbread house and I'll take it!

Culprit still at large

As a side note...I went walking the Christmas lights!

Yes. Where I live we have the BEST Christmas lights! I just had to take a picture by a Super Mario Bros themed house. It was a must.

I hope to blog again before Sunday...but if I don't...

Have a Wonderful Christmas!! Remember that without Christ, there is no Christmas!!

~MollyMarie

THANKSGIVING!!! the day of reckoning...

Thanksgiving FINALLY came!!

Last night was spent in the kitchen...and I mean ALL last night...AND ALL yesterday morning...or as I so intelligently called it a few days ago "last morning." (Yeah. I got teased for that one! But the more I think about it...the less wrong it sounds lol. I may just go with it haha.)

As you may have guessed. . . . I didn't go to Magic Mountain. My responsible side won out. But I'm glad I chose to stay home. Not only did I finish the rolls, which turned out splendidly, I went to class, which was super good because even though the teacher said that not coming wouldn't penalize people. . . we ended up learning A LOT! I'm pretty sure that if I had missed, I would have come to class Monday and been completely and utterly lost. BUT I went and so I'll be great and good on Monday :) Also. I ended up making cookies!! Peanut butter for my Mom and sugar cookies for Thanksgiving night.

 ADORABLE right?!? haha follow the link to see where I originally got the idea! Only thing I changed is due to laziness! Instead of using icing for the beak and feet and M&Ms for the eyes. . .I just stuck a candy corn on for the beak and used some leftover candy from my gingerbread kit for the eyes. It doesn't look quite as good as the original, but I'm still pretty happy with them!
http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/2009/10/thanksgiving-treats.html

 

Yeah check out my other post
 for the recipe and better pics!
nutty for my peanut butter

BUT I KNOW THAT YOU ARE WONDERING ABOUT. . . . . .  THE ROLLS!!!!

Well. Here they are :) My babies. . . . 

 There are sooooo many. I think I've made my quota of rolls for the next decade!! lol. But I did enjoy perfecting my own roll recipe!








Only a few of the batches...

They LOOK SO GOOOOOOOD!!!! And they taste even BETTER!!! Huurrraaaahhh for perserverance and hardwork! Go Me...and of course all those who helped me succeed!

We'll see how it goes!!
MollyMarie

PS: I wrote this BEFORE our Thanksgiving Feast...But IT WENT SPECTACULAR!! My next post will include comment on people's reactions and on just Thanksgiving stuff :D

Oh my GOODNESS!!

HEY!!! GUESS WHAT???????

I re-tried Danny's Dinner Rolls!. . . . . . . . . . . .AND. . . . . . . . . . . .the recipe WORKED! Haha. Apparently, someone wrote the recipe down wrong. Too much salt. So now, my lovely blog readers, I can make Danny's Dinner Rolls. I am not going to sugar coat the raisin too much, so I have to say, I actually like my new roll recipe better. . . but these are still so very very delicious.

Eh. The phone camera doesn't capture the full essence of the magnificence of these beautiful rolls. . . . . . .I think I'm going to invest in an actual camera! The food must look as good as it tastes!

So. Even though Danny's Dinner Rolls won a whopping three times. . . . I emerged VICTORIOUS!!! :D

Keep living, keep loving, keep baking!

~MollyMarie

Cookie Monster's Got Nothing On Us!

I know. Shocking...it's not a bread recipe....please pick up your jaw ;) They're chocolate chip cookieeeeees!!!!!!

How is it possible to have a baking blog and NOT include these lovelies?? It's not. So I'm including them! They are just as tasty as can be and they are sooo easy to make! We make them in quadruple batches. Yup. We go big.

Don't they look mighty fine??. . .despite the less-than-spectacular photography. . . .

They are just the greatest...and they go super quick at my house!

               CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

                    2/3    cup    shortening

                    1/2    cup    sugar

                    1/2    cup    brown sugar

                      1               egg

                      1     tsp.    vanilla

                   1 1/2  cups   all-purpose flour

                    1/2    tsp     baking soda

                    1/2    tsp     salt

                    1/2    cup    chopped nuts (opt.)

~Mix shortening, sugars, egg and vanilla thoroughly.

~Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting.

~Stir dry ingredients together; blend in to wet mixture. Mix in nuts (completely optional. In fact I recommend leaving them out!!! But to each his own haha ) and chocolate chips (now these guys are a MUST! I mean, they ARE chocolate chip cookies after all...but uh, maybe I do leave them out occasionally...or substitute butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips...or candy)

~Place in rounded tablespoons on an un-greased cookie sheet, pressing down slightly.

~Bake @ 375 deg. for 8-10 minutes or until "delicately browned" (that phrase just sounds soooo delicious, doesn't it??)

YUMMY!! You will NOT REGRET MAKING THESE!!!

~Molly Marie

The Pathetic Attempts #3 ...and a new approach

Fail. Fail. fail fail FAIL.

Only word to describe my experience. 

See? They rose this time, at least. And the taste was good...they just...weren't Uncle Danny's. Or maybe my brain and tastebuds have glorified the memory of those rolls. Either way, these rolls just did NOT cut it. It could be due to the fact that the rolls are cursed...and only Danny can recreate them. More likely is that the recipe was produced by request and came from roll-making that was primarily by "feel". So since my Uncle is in Australia, I haven't been given the Roll Initiation. There hasn't been a "showing me how" rather a "look at the recipe and flail miserably in the land of fail" kind of attempts.

SO.

I have decided to perfect my own roll recipe. And I am well on my way....

Exhibit A:

DELICIOUS!!!!! And I don't even care if I sound conceited.

They aren't perfect yet...but they are pretty darn close. And they'll only get better. Thanksgiving is looking promising!

These babies were huge. And a big success with my family.

Next step is to try them out on other people until they become PERFECT!! Time to think of a name for these delightful delectables...suggestions??

~MollyMarie

The Pathetic Attempts #2

I tried again!! So pros: I didn't use rancid oil (everyone is safe) and I didn't kill the yeast. They actually rose!! woohoo...but the cons: they aren't the beautiful rolls I want. They taste a little yeasty still and they didn't rise as much as they should have. I MUST be doing something wrong. I WILL FIGURE IT OUT!!!!!!!

I mean, they're good. Don't get me wrong. They are edible and not bad. But when I'm involved, "fine" is just not going to cut it!! By Thanksgiving they WILL be perfect or I'm not bring them haha. I have areputation to uphold.

Here's a picture:

(Sorry the picture quality is so bad. I don't have a camera right now...so a phone shot is all I could get!)

I'm not giving up!! Soon, you'll have a professional looking photo of delicious, perfect, fluffy, and anything but pathetic dinner rolls. Just you wait!

~Molly Marie

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...