Alphabet Soup

It's been ages since I've actually participated in the Cookie Carnival , but this month I swore I was going to jump back in!  We were given the choice of two different cookie recipes (or both) but the one that I really wanted to try was the Apple Butter Cookies .  But then, I was presented with a dilemma.  Do I use the apple butter I picked up at a local orchard, or the pumpkin butter that I found at World Market?  The pumpkin butter won out, this time.  I mostly followed the recipe, although I used all-purpose flour instead of pastry flour.  The recipe calls for "fancy molasses" and I didn't really know the difference between types of molasses.  I'm not sure how reliable it is, but I found an explanation here  and another here .  I didn't have any fancy molasses, and wasn't going to go on the hunt for any, at least not today.  I did, however, have plenty of unsulphured molasses in the cabinet, so that is what I used.  The...

This month's cookie for the Cookie Carnival was Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze , a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis (who is just too darn pretty -- it's not fair! LOL). I don't believe I've ever made a cookie with ricotta in it before, but it was good! The texture was almost like a dense cake, and it reminded me a lot of my Nanny's Pineapple Cookies (I'll have to post about those some day!!). My parents were over for supper, so I whipped these up for them to taste-test for me. My dad tends to like lemon-flavored things, so I figured he would be a good test subject. I will admit that I didn't make the glaze for it -- I took a poll and everyone agreed I should just skip the glaze (I think they just didn't want to wait that long to try one!). I would deem this recipe a success. The lemon was pleasant, but not overpowering. Instead of the two tablespoons per cookie, I just did a heaping tablespoon of dough per cookie (so just slightly smaller). I s...

I'll just cut to the chase -- these are good!! LOL Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies are the recipe of the month for the Cookie Carnival . Man, what a choice!! I have been told to get these out of the house; D loves carrot cake, and these are that good! He's afraid he's going to eat them all, heehee. These are technically sandwich cookies. I wound up with an odd number of cookies, so of course I had to eat the extra. They are darn good without the filling, for the record. The filling is simple - cream cheese and honey blended together (I admit, I added some cinnamon) and the honey adds an interesting touch. If you are making these for a crowd, I would recommend making at least two batches -- one only makes about 12-14 sandwich cookies. As I mentioned before, they are quite delicious even without the filling. Excuse my while I wipe the crumbs off my chin... Also, if you haven't checked out the February Round-Up from the Cookie Carnival, you should!! INSIDE-OU...

So, yes I've joined another baking event! I can't help it...they're just so much fun. This one is all about cookies! Kate at the Clean Plate Club hosts a monthly event she calls the Cookie Carnival. This is my first month to play, and the recipe she chose was chocolate fudge cookies with toffee and dried cherries from this book . Now, I'll admit, I was a little...timid about trying this recipe. I mean, chocolate, cherries and toffee?? Sounded a bit odd in my opinion. Oh my how I was wrong! Well okay, it still sounds odd, lol, but it sure tastes good!! I couldn't even wait for one to finish cooling down before taste-testing it, so the chocolate chunks were all warm and gooey in the middle. Yum!! I am heading up the hospitality committee at the elementary school this year, and we are having a treat day for the teachers tomorrow. I thought this would be the perfect thing to send! Here's the recipe, and make sure to wipe the drool off of your keyboard! Too bad we ...