best cookies...ever

I can only take credit for finding them on Pinterest and taking the time to make em. This chocolate chip cookie ingredients are basic but you do interesting things like... browning more than a stick of butter on the stove, adding egg yolk, and stirring the sugar and butter for 30 seconds then waiting 3 minutes and then stirring again. The cookie was perfect. Here's a link to the recipe.  I also threw in peanut butter chips, peanut butter and walnuts to the remaining batter (far right stack of cookies). Another home run!  Let me know if you make these tasty rounds of joy.  

pop up breakfast - kid tip

Belle asks for them almost daily. "Mama, will you make pop up pancakes?" Can't blame her. They are so tasty if your fond of eggs and syrup. I nabbed this recipe from Make and Takes (see their pic). Here's the skinny on the recipe: In a blender mix 1/2 c milk, 1/2 c flour, 3 eggs, 2 tblspn melted butter, & dash salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400* in well greased muffin tins. Here's a gluten free version. We dump jam, butter and syrup on ours. Yum.

merry christmas baby

I am too creative and cheap to buy gift tags. So I went online and found some downloadable print and color Christmas Gift Tags, gave them to the girls, and let them add their special crayon touch. Very homemade, cute and inexpensive.

We also attended a kid's Christmas party. The hosts asked us to bring a canned food item for the local food bank and a dozen cookies per kid. At the party, we made tube sock snowmen, candy ornaments (I would not stop inhaling the gummy bears), and did some near the fireplace caroling with instruments. All of the cookies were spread out on a table and the kids walked around the table, choosing, eating and moving on to the next treat. The girls and I made and brought pink frosted shortbread cookies like Uncle Seth's and chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (we used organic chocolate chips and Trader Joe's organic peanut butter). The pink ones went the fastest but I am not sure they tasted the best. I loved the haystacks that Jayden and her mom brought. Here's the recipe. Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Bars

Janae's preschool had sibling day last week and the school cook showed us how to make pumpkin bars. She used raisins but those aren't a fav in our casa so we used chocolate chips. Yummy. Here's what you do. Takes only 10 minutes to prep. Preheat oven to 350. Grease one 9x13 pan. Mix all wet ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup oil or melted butter until well blended in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup of raisins or chocolate chips, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt into the wet mixture. Pour into pan and bake for 25 minutes. We had them for breakfast with milk. Dee-licous.