Bumble Bee Cookies

These are THE best!!!!! They are basically molasses cookies. My grandma used to make these, and I can't seem to make them like hers!!! :)




I know this doesn't look the greatest, but this is what it looks like all mixed up. I just pulled it out of the frig and am ready to roll it out!


Flour your counter top and your dough and get ready to roll! :)


Marble rolling pins are the best!!!


Roll a little thinner than you would the sugar cookies


It's hard to tell when these are done! I went through about 3 pans before I figured out just how long I need to keep them in there for!
Oh how I wish I had a scratch and sniff picture for ya'll! These cookies smell absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!


Ready to frost!


Drop them in the frosting/glaze...



Pick up and let the extra frosting fall off


YUMMY!!!! :P


These are sooo good!! I don't always frost these, but 9 times out of 10 I DO frost them!!!


I don't normally put sprinkles on these either. Grandma wouldn't have... BUT, you can change some things, right? Plus, I did put sprinkles on for the kids! :)


Bumble Bee Cookies

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup Brer Rabbit molasses
1 cup shortening (Crisco)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soda in 1/2 cup hot water
1 egg
5 (3 1/2) cups of flour or enough to make a dough that can be rolled.

Mix all ingredients together.
Chill. Roll thin. Bake at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
Frost


*You don't have to use Brer Rabbit molasses, but they taste more like my grandma's if you do! :)
I never add 1/2 teaspoon ginger, not a big fan of it, so I do a little less than 1/4 teaspoon.
Start off with 3 1/2 cups flour and then add 1/2 cup until you get up to 5 cups. You may not need the full 5 cups to get it to the right consistency.
Depending on how thin you roll the dough, it can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes for baking them. You can't really tell when they are done since it is a dark dough, but you don't really want them crunchy. They are better a bit soft. :)

Orange Taffy

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm!!! Oh my, this stuff is G-O-O-D!!!!!!!!


I found this recipe, well, a peppermint taffy recipe, and didn't really want peppermint, so I experimented. I decided to try orange. I had some orange oil and sounded good!




Sugar, corn syrup, salt and vinegar


Stir until it comes to a boil


Slowly add the milk




Stir consistently


Keep stirring until it reaches firm ball stage (this took about 10 to 15 minutes)


After you've put the coloring and flavoring in, place in a VERY well greased pan to cool


Once cool, start to pull! My hubby stepped inside so I could take some pics! Or because his taffy that he was pulling was getting too hard, so he stepped inside to warm it up :)


Pull it and twist it and, well, I think you get the picture!


Notice the 2 different colors of orange? The longer you pull it the lighter it will be, the lighter the taffy, the better! Don't get me wrong, they are both good, but it is sooooo much better the lighter you get it! Also better to pull it when it is cold, so outside in the winter is best! :) (Make sure you butter your hands up REALLY good or else the taffy will stick to your hands!)


Orange Taffy

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
4 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon orange oil
food coloring to make orange (red and yellow)

Butter a 15 x 10 pan, set aside. In a heavy large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. SLOWLY add the evaporated milk: cook and stir until candy thermometer reads 248degrees or firm ball stage.
REMOVE from heat, add the oil and colorings. Make sure you keep your face away from the mixture because the odor is very strong. Pour into prepared greased pan. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
With well-buttered hands , quickly pull until firm, but pliable, the color will become lighter. Pull into 1/2 inch rope and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place on greased cookie sheet.


* I use Country Kitchen oils. It's a really AWESOME candy/cake supply store in IN. What a FUN store!! I could TOTALLY go broke in there!! Can't wait to go home so I can go in and visit and get more flavorings!!! http://www.countrykitchensa.com/Index.aspx )
I also didn't add all the salt, maybe half of what it calls for.
Also added a bit less than 1/2 cup evaporated milk.
Also the recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon flavoring, and I doubled it and tasted JUST fine! :)
I also use my kitchen scissors to cut this. I have a pair that I use ONLY for food.
My hubby helped me pull this taffy. It's pretty hard to pull after a while, but he saved me and got it nice and light! It is also better to let it sit in your mouth for a minute or two before you start chewing. If you don't, you will have some super sticky teeth!
This is my first time making taffy, can't wait to try again! :) More flavors, yummy! :oP

Frosting

This is the frosting that I used for the sugar cookies. I also use this to frost cakes. I don't always use this one for frosting cakes.
This is SUPER easy and very good!




Half the powdered sugar and part of the milk, kinda crumbly


All done, nice and creamy


Buttercream Frosting

6 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cups melted butter
1/4 cup shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine 3 cups powdered sugar, melted butter, shortening and 4 tablespoons milk. Beat in bowl with electric mixer until smooth, but it will be a little crumbly. Add remaining powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk at a time. To make it the consistency you want it.


* I don't measure the shortening, I just take a fork and dig in until I get about 1/4 cup. I sometimes just put all 6 cups of powdered sugar and about 5 tablespoons of milk, mix it all up and then add a little bit of milk at a time until it's the consistency that I want it.





These pics are the ones the kids helped us with... As you can see they got a little happy with the frosting and the sprinkles!!! :)

Give This Christmas Away

Can you believe that it is almost Christmas? Man, 5 days away! My kids are super excited! But we are trying to remind them WHY we celebrate Christmas! That it isn't about getting, but about giving. Here's a song from the new Veggie Tales, Saint Nicholas.
What are you going to do this year to Give Christmas Away?

Sugar Cookies

Yummy is all I'm gonna say! This is actually my mom's recipe. I remember making these pretty much every Christmas. After I moved out, I pretty much make them every year as well. For some reason, this year these taste EXTREMELY good! Not sure what I did different, or if anything? :)
I didn't have a chance to make any frosting, so will post that later when I get that part done!






As you can see by looking at the beater, this makes alot!


Yummy! (I saved some for Curt in a roll, it's in the freezer... Wonder how long it will take him before he notices it? :)) Cover and put in frig overnight.


Sprinkle some flour and get ready to get messy!


I make the dough into a ball and then roll it in the flour so it covered in flour


I am not sure just how thick I rolled these, but you don't want them super thin. And then again, you don't want them too thin...


All ready to bake!


All done! Nice and golden brown, perfect! I can't wait to try one of these scrumptious cookies!


Bottoms of the cookies, what it should look like! :)


YUMMY!!!! (Must get the Wii Fit out for sure now!!! Ate a couple too many! Happy to say that none of the "men" got away, but we did have some snowflakes that melted and a couple shooting stars... :oP)

These are good without frosting, but are SUPER good with frosting! I usually make my own, and when I do, I'll get the recipe I use up here. I am going to let the kids help me frost them, so will be fun to see how they will turn out! :)


Sugar Cookies

Cream these ingredients together:
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Once mixed together and nice and smooth, add:
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (see bottom on how to make your own)
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

Mix until nice and creamy, then add:
7 1/4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

It will be kinda stiff. Chill, works best if chilled overnight.
Roll and cut out and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.


*You can cut this recipe in half if this is too much. Or you can cut them all out and put the baked (unfrosted) cookies in the freezer for another time. OR, you could make rolls of this dough and wrap in waxed paper. Just cut and put on pan and bake.
You can just sprinkle sugar over the tops of these if you don't want to frost, but they are oh so good with frosting!
I don't always add the salt either.
Sometimes I just use regular 2% milk. You can also make your own buttermilk by taking 1 cup milk and then add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes and viola, you've got your own buttermilk! But like I said, you can use regular milk too.
Will post the recipe I use for frosting when I make it up tomorrow. Or I hope to make it up tomorrow! :)

Crunchy Peanut Butter Balls

Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate? Hmm, yummy! These are absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!



Peanut butter and butter


Peanut butter and powdered sugar


Shh, don't tell anyone I used these!!! :)


I ended up putting it on a piece of wax paper and got my hands dirty and mixed it with my hands


Mmm, lookin' pretty tasty, but not quite finished!


Oh here it is, melted chocolate!!!


Drop that delicious peanut butter ball into that melted chocolate goodness!


Use a fork to shake off the extra chocolate


Finished product, well, almost. I put them in the freezer for about 5 minutes to harden up!

I had some leftover chocolate, I can't just throw it away, and I can't possibly eat all of it, or I would need more than the Wii Fit this week... Hmm... what to do with it? Ah, I found some oreos...


YUMMY!!!!!


Here's the finished product after getting them out of the freezer... Hmm, looks like somebody tried one, I wonder who that someone is? Won't mention any names, won't mention the fact that hubby wasn't home and kids were in bed taking a nap...


The oreos


I had leftover crushed peppermint candies, so I sprinkled some of the oreos with the crushed candies...


Looks like someone got ahold of this one too!



Crunchy Peanut Butter Balls

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup shortening

In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and peanut butter together. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar. Stir in the cereal. Shape into 1 inch balls, refrigerate until chilled.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave on high until chocolate chips are melted. Stir until smooth.
Dip balls into chocolate and place on waxed paper lined pan.
Refrigerate until set.


*I used coconut oil instead of shortening when melting the chocolate. ALSO, make sure you heat the chocolate chips for 30 seconds and then stir, keep doing it for 30 seconds until melted and nice and smooth.
You can also drizzle melted white chocolate chips over the peanut butter balls to make them look more "pretty". I couldn't because I didn't have any and NO time to run out and get some! Next time!
You can also omit the rice cereal and just keep it "smooth".
I put them in the freezer for about 5 to 10 minutes to set up instead of the frig. Goes quicker if you are in a hurry!
Same thing with the oreos.