i didn't bake a thing this week, so....

i will reach deep into the bowels of my blog to give you a few suggestions. i have been such a slacker this week, well some what one. i have been inundated with school projects with my 7th grader. heaven help me and her, too. anyway, here are my top three picks....enjoy.

1. hands down our family favorite.....soft and spicy molasses cookies

2. crazy and ultra decadent....monkey bars

3. and one i need to revisit....sugar crinkles

Week 8 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

This is week eight, isn't it?

lemon chess pie

well, once again, i didn't make cookies. i made pie, a crappy one at that. i made food network's lemon chess pie. see, doesn't it look good?

well, it is not. it is sooooo sweet it is inedible. i threw it in the trash can. well, not really, i hovered for a few seconds, then threw it back into the fridge instead. who wants it? remember the scene in coal miner's daughter where doolittle lynn tried to eat loretta's pie? it was like that, except it wasn't salty, it was sickeningly sweet. if you wanna check out the recipe anyway, you can find it here.

okay, i did make some gingerbread last weekend with the kids and have one pic of a gingerbread apple. the kids really enjoyed the recipe, but i didn't think it was so good, not enough spice for me. i like mine to bite.

it would have been a lot cuter if i had remember to put the green sprinkles on the leaf! oh well...

enjoy.

 Week 7 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

gingerbread snack cake

okay, so this is not a cookie, but it could be a cupcake, little loaf or even a small bundt cake for gift giving. i was in the mood this week for some gingerbread and guess what? i can not find my copy of martha stewart's gingerbread cake anywhere, not even the net. guess what, again? you may think i am joking, but her recipe is actually dang tasty. why the sarcasm? well, i tend to find that ms. stewart's recipes quite frankly, stink. i love her, but her recipes not so much. instead, i found a quick and easy gingerbread on the food network website. i made it. it is okay, but not as good as the queen's. it is moist, but not enough bite for me. honestly, i doubt i would make it again, but if you prefer an easy listening gingerbread as oppose to an heavy metal one, this is it. you can enjoy yours in the elevator and i will mine in the mosh pit.

you can find the recipe right here. enjoy

ps-a lemon sauce, caramel sauce, buttermilk syrup or even some vanilla whipped cream would have added a nice touch, but i didn't do it. my bad.

Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

mini pumpkin muffin bites

i am not sure where i got this recipe, but it must be off the net. i have it jotted down on a piece of paper and stuck among a pile of recipe print outs and rip outs stuffed into my kitchen cabinet. you know, open the door and a downpour of paper showers on your head or open the door with one hand, as the other holds the papers, stacked cook books back! got one of those yourself?

anyway, i guess you could call these pumpkin muffin bites or something like it. i was calling them doughnuts, but they are not, really. i baked them in my mini muffin tin, not my doughnut pan. oh wait,  i don't have a doughnut pan like this one. it is on my wish list, a girl can dream can't she? oh, dreams do come true. i got the microplane and a whirly pop to prove it. anyway....

these little babies turned out great. they are quick, easy and taste yummy. my entire family liked them, but caroline loved them. they are that good. i do think next time i might up the spices a tad. i would like a bit more of a bite myself. here is the recipe that i used and feel free to call them whatever you like, pumpkin holes, pumpkin balls, pumpkin rug balls, pumpkin porch balls, etc....

mini pumpkin muffin bites

preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray two mini muffin tins

sift together the following:


1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
heavy pinch of cloves
heavy pinch of ginger

in another bowl whisk the following:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk

Mix the dry into the wet ingredients. fill you tins just to the top. bake for about 10 minutes or so. you can check with a cake tester, toothpick or your finger. let cool a few minutes.

now melt a three or four tablespoons of butter in a bowl.  in another bowl mix sugar and cinnamon together to your taste. i go heavy on the cinnamon myself. dip the tops of the bites into the butter, then into the sugar mixture. you are done. easy. enjoy.
 
ps-these were fab-u-lous with a hot cup of coffee. oh yum.

EDIT-i just thought i would take a second to explain the suggested names of pumpkin rug balls and pumpkin porch balls to you, so you would not think that i was too nuts. years ago my sister in law's late mother made a batch of meatballs for her large family. it was a holiday gathering, so lots of folks. she dropped the entire pan on the carpeted floor, picked them up, washed them and fed the crowd. every year after, her kids requested her famous "rugballs". she is my hero.

the porch balls, well actually, it was basically the same thing, but on my front porch and different sister in law. they were dang tasty.  enjoy.
 
Week 5 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: 

nutella brownie bites

it is week four of the 12 weeks of christmas cookies and i made the simplest little treat for which i can take absolutely no credit. i made these....

i call them nutella brownie bites. i saw the recipe over at tracey's culinary adventures, one of my favorite places to visit. she is always up to something good over there. i have been eyeballing her flat roasted chicken, but that is another post. anyway, she calls them simply nutella fudge brownies and they are all of three ingredients! they are so easy to make, bakes in a flash, moist, flavorful and would be a delicious addition to any christmas cookie tray. i know they were a great addition to today's cup of coffee. you can find the recipe here. thanks tracey for sharing with us this nutella infused gem. now if you want to get technical....

four ingredients, if you count the whole hazelnut i stuck in half of my bites. yum. enjoy.

ps-off on a decade overdue trip to ikea today. check back in later. go make these, now!

Week 4 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

chocolate cake mix cookies

i know, i know, terrible picture, but truth be told,  i was just not in the baking mood this week, so it depicts my mood....crappy.
i did manage to whip up my required baked good for the 12 weeks of christmas cookies and you know what? they are not only easy, but dang tasty. the recipe calls for one cup of chocolate chips, but i subbed white chocolate chips because caroline loves the unchocolate flavor. they taste like a little chewy, moist brownie. i would definitely make them again. i found the recipe here.

okay, off to see if i can get happier. enjoy.

Week 3 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

ginger scones

for the second week of the 12 weeks of christmas cookies i opted to make epicurious' ginger scones and i am glad i did. these ginger scones, unlike last week's cookie flop, are good. they were a little frustrating at times and i know i over handled the dough a bit, but overall they turned out pretty dang tasty. the scones were not exactly the prettiest ones i have ever made or seen. i was getting so irritated with the dough that i haphazardly cut them out with my biscuit cutter. when i began, the dough was too dry, then sticky, then soft and generally ticking me off! i was loosing my patience, so i just plopped them all onto my silpat and threw'em in the oven. well, i let them get too brown, oops, no harm done.

can you can see the candied ginger? i purchased a bag from trader joe's and boy howdy, does it have a bite. i diced it on the tennie weenie side. there is not only a great ginger kick, but a tart lemon punch, too. well, more like a lemon tickle from lemon zest. what a great flavor combination those two are, wow. you know, i would make these ginger scones again. truthfully, there were pretty simple and....

i like'em. enjoy.

Week 2 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

chocolate chunk mocha cookies

well, not quite. my family nixed the idea of the mocha frosting, so let's call them chocolate chocolate chunk ugly cookies. this is my first week of the 12 weeks of christmas cookies with some of my fellow food bloggers. i made a bad choice. the cookies are good, very chocolaty, moist, but boring and ugly. they came out of my southern living christmas cookbook and you can find the recipe online here. they got the highest rating from the sl's test kitchen, just not mine. maybe you can do a better job. enjoy.

maybe the frosting would have helped....


Week 1 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: