Cinnamon Roll Cookies

I've only made these twice, but I LOVE them! They're a little bit more difficult to make, because you have to roll the dough like a jelly roll, but they are well worth it, believe me. I got the recipe from my Old-Fashioned Bake Sale cookbook.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Cinnamon Mixture
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Cookie Dough
1 cup/stick butter flavored shortening (I used margarine accidentally, and it works great)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For cinnamon mixture, combine sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.
For cookie dough, combine shortening and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Add to creamed mixture; mix well.
Turn dough onto sheet of waxed paper. Spread into 3x6-inch rectangle using rubber spatula. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons cinnamon mixture to within 1 inch of edge. Slowly roll up jelly-roll style into log. (If dough cracks, smooth with fingers while rolling.) Dust log with remaining cinnamon mixture. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
Slice dough 1/4 inch thick. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool on cookie sheets 4 minutes; transfer to cooling racks.
*makes about 5 dozen cookies

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

These biscuits are to absolutely die for! I LOVE them!!! They are just like the biscuits they serve at Red Lobster, which is my favorite restaurant EVER!!! But even if you don't like seafood, you'll like these. And they're super easy to make, especially on a tight budget! The recipe is a little modification of basic baking powder biscuits.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt (usually it's just regular salt, but for this recipe, use garlic salt)
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk (or less)
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese (you decide how cheesy you want them)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Cut in shortening. Stir in enough milk until the dough peaks. Stir in cheese. Drop by spoon fulls onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes.

Cheesy Baked Chicken Breasts

Okay, so last week I made the BEST chicken!!! I didn't take a picture of it, but I just had to share.

So, here's what I did:

thaw chicken during the day
preheat oven to 350 degrees F
sprinkle both sides of each chicken breast with onion powder, paprika, and garlic salt
set on baking pan
put a slice of cheese on top of each chicken breast
bake 1 hour

I served it with baked potatoes and green beans. It was delicious! I can't wait to have it again soon!

Lemon Bread

The other day, I needed to make a treat. I wanted to do something different. I like variety in many things, and food is no exception. So, I looked through my cookbooks. All of the desserts looked good, but they weren't quite what I was looking for. So, I looked at my different bread recipes, and this one popped out at me. I'm glad, too, because I loved it! I got the recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition cookbook.

Lemon Bread

1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine
2 teaspoons shredded lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x4x2 inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together the lour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside. In another medium bowl combine the egg, milk, oil, lemon peel, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 50-55 minutes. If desired, stir together the 2 tablespoons lemon juice and the 1 tablespoon sugar. While bread is still in the pan, brush lemon-sugar mixture over the top of the loaf. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before serving.

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

I know what you're thinking. Pumpkin pie in February? Yes, that's right. Lance's favorite dessert is pumpkin pie, and his birthday is in February. So, I made a pumpkin pie for him. I make my pumpkin pies from scratch. I cook up a pumpkin and puree it in the blender. I store it in 2 cup bags (standard amount for pumpkin pie) and freeze it until I'm ready to use it. The pumpkin pie recipe I use is from my Pillsbury cookbook, and the crust recipe I use is from my Where's Mom Now That I Need Her book.

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (2 cups) pumpkin
1 12 oz can (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten

Prepare pie crust one pie using a 9-inch pie pan. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, combine all filling ingredients; blend well. Pour into crust-lined pan. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F; bake an additional 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Just before serving, top with whipped cream. Store in refrigerator.



Easiest Ever Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cups cooking oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cold water or milk

Dump flour in an ungreased pie plate. Add oil, salt, sugar and stir well. Pour in water or milk. Mix with fork into stiff dough. Press into shape in pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for ten to twelve minutes or until pie crust is lightly browned.

Sugar-Crusted Lime Cake

So, Lance had a birthday last week, and we celebrated with a birthday dinner. For his dessert, he chose pumpkin pie, but I only had enough pumpkin for one pie, so in order for everyone at the celebration to get a dessert, I looked through my recipes and found this fun little recipe. It sounds super fancy, but it's really easy to make. The recipe came from my Pillsbury cookbook.

Sugar-Crusted Lime Cake

2 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
2 tablespoons lime juice

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray; sprinkle lightly with flour. In a small bowl, combine egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all remaining cake ingredients; beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Gently fold stiffly beaten egg whites into batter. Pour into sprayed and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 27-35 minutes. In small bowl, combine topping ingredients; mix well. Spread over hot cake. Cool.


*If you run out of lime juice, lemon juice is a great substitute. I also didn't have a real lime, so there was no grated lime peel, and the cake still turned out delicious.

Ann's Browniess

This brownie is a basic, delicious brownie recipe. If you don't want anything too extravagant, or you don't have special ingredients, this is a good recipe for you. Sometimes it's nice to get back to the basics. This recipe is from the cookbook that my sister made for me when I got married.

Ann's Brownies

Beat together:
2 cups margarine
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
Add 2 teaspoons vanilla
Add 4 eggs, one at a time
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups nuts (optional)

Spread in pan and cook for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.



See! Super easy and yummy!

Lemon Drifts

The other day, I looked through my cookbooks for a new recipe, and I found this one. It is a lemon bar recipe. I have another recipe for lemon bars, but I like this one much better. They turned out a lot tastier. This recipe is from my "Where's Mom Now That I Need Her" book. This book is great, because not only does it have recipes, but it has tips on cleaning, first aid, and hygiene.

Lemon Drifts

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cups lemon juice
5 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter, powdered sugar and two cups flour together until smooth. Spread into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Beat together eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice, five tablespoons flour and baking powder until well blended. The mixture will be thin. Pour over top of baked crust. Continue baking for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and cut into bars.

Homemade Pizza

So, the other day, I made homemade pizza. I had a little mishap, because the recipe I usually use for crust calls for cornmeal. Well, surprise for me, I'm out of cornmeal! So, since I had already started soaking the yeast, I decided to improvise. I used a different recipe for Italian Breadsticks instead, for the crust. It turned out really good, except for one thing. I forgot to add in the sugar before I mixed everything up, so some parts were a little sweet, but it still tasted pretty good. Anyway, here is the recipe. I also modified it a bit, so that it would be better for crust. If I had done the last half of it, it would have been a bit overpowering, I think. This recipe is from my Pillsbury cookbook.

Italian Breadsticks

1 package active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water
2 to 2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon water
1 egg white
Sesame or poppy seed

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in 2/3 cup warm water. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, garlic salt, and shortening; blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in an additional 1 to 1 1/4 cups flour to form a soft dough. Place dough in greased bowl, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, 30-40 minutes. Grease 15x10x1 inch baking pan. On lightly floured surface, knead dough about 10 times or until no longer sticky. 15x10 inch rectangle; place in greased pan.

If you want pizza crust, skip the rest of this paragraph, but if you want breadsticks, cut dough into 12 strips starting with 10 inch side. Then cut strips in half crosswise, forming 24 sticks. In small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon water and egg white; beat slightly. Brush over sticks. Sprinkle with sesame seed. Cover; let rise in warm place, 15-20 minutes.

To make pizza, for sauce, I spoon canned tomato sauce mixed with pizza or Italian seasoning to taste onto dough. Then I sprinkle desired amount of cheese (I usually use cheddar, but mozzarella is standard for pizza), then put on desired toppings. Add toppings before cooking.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Uncover dough. Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping

I came across this recipe when Lance told me to do something with the leftover coconut flakes from his coconut marshmallows. I looked through my recipe books, and I found this. It is from my Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary edition cookbook.

Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 recipe Broiled Coconut Topping

Grease an 8x1 1/2 inch round cake pan, set aside. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Spread Broiled Coconut Topping over warm cake. Broil about 4 inches from heat for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm.

Broiled Coconut Topping:

Beat 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine until combined. Stir in 1 tablespoon milk. Stir in 1/2 cup flaked coconut and, if desired, 1/4 cup chopped nuts.