No Berries (sorry), but Cake/Brownies/Sugar Cookies and Delicious!

I've made fun cakes before, but this was the stinkin' funnest thing ever! So I had to pass it on. This is sugar cookie fries, and cupcake/brownie "hamburgers" which are so stinkin' delicious! The idea is on http://www.bakerella.com/ in the cupcake section. She made them for Father's Day, I made them for my husband's birthday, so I chose to make a big one too, it's about the size of a real cheeseburger.

These were easy and fun, and bakerella has a template for a fry holder, and tray, etc. too. I did my own by looking at hers because my printer wouldn't work. Anyway, for the burgers, you make yellow cake cupcakes, and a pan of brownies. The brownies you cut into circles the size of the cupcakes using a biscuit/cookie cutter. Then you slice the cupcake in half, insert the brownie, do red/yellow/green frosting, put the top on, and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top! It's easy and doesn't require much patience at all!!

Sugar cookie fries, with frosting dips. The fries are so cool! I recommend cutting them just under an inch wide and cutting them in half after they cook because the cut texture really helps with the fry look! See bakerella for further instructions.

So cool! I think I'll do them for my son's school treats for his birthday if he's allowed to bring some in!

Amost Oreos

I think these are better than oreos!

1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
3 T water
3 T oil
1/2 c cocoa

Preheat to 400. Combine ingredients. Form into balls and place on greased cookie sheets. Flatten and bake 6-8 minutes. While they cool, make the filling.

Filling:
1 c shortening
about 1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c water

Beat shortening. Add one cup sugar, vanilla, and water. Beat, add half the sugar, beat, add the rest, beat again.

Make into sandwiches.

Rolled Sugar Cookies

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

My kids and I made these for a Christmas party we attended. They turned out perfect. We frosted them with cream cheese frosting which was an amazing combination!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3 cups wheat, 2 cups white)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Caramel Pumpkin Cookies

These are my absolute favorite pumpkin dessert. They literally just melt in your mouth. Please don't ask me how many I've eaten this weekend. I won't ever tell.

Cookie Ingredients:
2 c. shortening
2 c. white sugar
2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg. mini chocolate chips

Caramel Icing:
6 T. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
8 T. milk
2 c. powdered sugar (maybe more)
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions
1. Cream together shortening, white sugar and pumpkin in very large bowl. Add eggs (one at a time) and mix well. Sift together twice; baking soda, cinnamon, salt & flour in separate bowl. Add to pumpkin mixture & mix well. Mix whole bag of mini chocolate chips in with wooden spoon.
2. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. I like to make mini cookies rather than big ones, so just a regular spoon drop works great. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or no longer gooey.
3. To make frosting, cook butter, milk & brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over warm cookies.

Pumpkin Cookies

These are so yummy and easy, and they are lowfat! I know it sounds weird, but I promise it works.

1 spice cake mix
1 small can pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips (mini are super cute for these)

Mix the cake mix, dry, with the pumpkin until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Rich's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Asking me to choose my favorite recipe is way too hard, so I chose one of my favorites. This is THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe EVER. And I especially enjoy it because Rich makes them for me. He has them down to a science. They meet every qualification: soft, chewy, chocolatey. Ahh. They are so good. But here's the catch...you MUST follow the directions precisely or they will not be extraordinary.

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

ALL IMPORTANT RULE: Use a wooden spoon and stir everything by hand. Absolutely no hand mixer or Kitchen Aids allowed!!!

Mix all wet ingredients together; add dry and stir until just moistened. Add chocolate chips very last. Drop by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for around 11 minutes. Watch the cookies---when they start getting browned on top and are no longer shiny, take them out but WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT OVERBAKE!

It may take some experimenting to get them just right. And maybe if you're lucky you can get YOUR husband to make them for you! :)

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Milk Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I know a lot of you already have this recipe. It's the same one I brought to the very first Recipe Exchange night. But it wouldn't be "Husbands' Favorite Recipes" month if I didn't add this. This is by far Mike's favorite thing that I make.


Cream together:
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. butter or margarine
1 c. peanut butter
2 eggs

In separate bowl combine:
2 ½ c. flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt


Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Add 2 c. (1 package) milk chocolate chips. (They aren't as good with semi-sweet.) Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Bake at 350° for 9 to 12 minutes depending on whether you like them soft or crispy. I take them out after exactly 9 minutes because I like them REALLY soft.