Baking My Way: Lemon Tea Cookies

Ingredients:

Yield: 3 dozen

Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar

Filling

• 2/3 cup icing sugar
• 3 teaspoons lemon peel, grated
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Prep Time: 1 1/4 hr
Total Time: 3 hrs

1. In large bowl, Beat butter, 1/3 C powdered sugar, and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until well blended.
2. Stir in flour until dough forms.
3. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes
4. Heat oven to 350°F Shape dough into 1" balls.
5. Place balls 2" apart. Press thumb into center of each ball to make indentation.
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove to cooling racks and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
8. In 1 qt saucepan, heat all filling ingredients over low heat about 25 minutes, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened.
9. Cool about 15 minutes.
10. Fill each thumbprint with rounded 1/4 tsp filling. Sprinkle 1 T powdered sugar over cookies.

Don't they look great? These cookies made it to Marshall's all time favorite's list so that's saying something!

Recipe Source

Making Vanilla

So for Christmas my mom got me this make your own vanilla jar. It came with the vanilla stocks and the cut jar and it's super simple.


All you need to do is cut the beans length wise and add vodka. You have to seal it and let it sit for 4-6 months and then you have vanilla! I thought that was a seriously cool idea!
A little expensive to start it out (I think she paid $5 for the jar) especially considering I made the mistake of using Marshall's Gray Goose instead of getting something cheaper (I only had a little bit of Smirnoff so I used that first) but you can just keep refilling the vodka as it runs out so I thought this was great! I'll write again and post a picture in 6 months when I know how well it works and how good it taste. I'm curious if it's going to turn dark like normal vanilla extract.

Cooking Goal: Cheesy Garlic-Herb Bread

Oh yum! This would be a great party snack!! Or something a little different for a wine & cheese

Check out the recipe at Our Best Bites

Health Tip of the Week: The Good & Evil of Coffee

My husband recently decided (after watching Dr. Oz) that he was going to cut back on the coffee. He said he was going to cut down to one cup a day (I later learned that he had been at 3-4 a day). I was really proud of him, and I really appreciated it because I don’t really like the smell (and the breath!) and I could tell it was affecting him.

With him cutting back I decided to see how bad drinking that much coffee really is and here is what I found.

Though not 100% harmful, coffee is not entirely innocent either...

Health Risks:
- In men with Hypertension there is a significant rise in blood pressure after just two or three cups of coffee.
- As a stimulant coffee can be addictive and could cause jitters and anxiety when consumed in large amounts
- Coffee can also stain teeth, giving daily users a yellowed smile.
- Men who drink five or more cups of coffee a day may have cardiac trouble.
- Coffee drinking leads to Pancreatic Cancer.
- Researchers suggest that caffeine may delay conception, increase the risk of miscarriage and slow fetal growth.
- Many specialists suggest that pregnant women should eliminate caffeine altogether. Caffeine has the negative effect on calcium metabolism. Women who consume more caffeine lose more calcium through their urine and have less dense bones and may lead to Osteoporosis. In postmenopausal women, it leads to increased risk of hip fractures.
- Those who drink more than three cups of coffee (or other beverages equivalent to that quantity of caffeine) have disturbed sleep. The effect of bad sleep during the night may lead to all kinds of diseases.
- When a person drinks a coffee or tea on empty stomach, the caffeine present in such a drink is absorbed in different forums and circulated all over the body causing symptoms of Hyper acidity, which may lead to indigestion, giddiness, burning sensations etc.
Coffee Consumption Facts:

- One cup of coffee is equal to two cups of tea. (i.e. caffeine available in one cup of coffee is equivalent to the caffeine available in two cups of tea.)
- Caffeine consumed from three cups of coffee still has stimulating effects up to eight hours later. Research subjects who say that they can drink coffee before going to bed and still sleep well, actually don't sleep as well as they think, when there are tested in the lab.
- We don't actually get the energy and stimulation from coffee, but we get a feeling of stimulation and the energy in question is obtained from our own body. In effect it is only a mental satisfaction.
- Generally coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages (e.g. soft drinks) keep a person awake for a long time. So a lot of athletes and distance runners take it to help with their speed and energy levels.
- Caffeine can (at times) be used to eliminate headaches and as a laxative.
I’ve never been a coffee drinker, and never intend to start so I have to admit I have a bias. But love it or hate it we can’t ignore what it does to our health.

Baking Goal: Pineapple Cream Cheese Braid

Doesn't this look great? I don't bake a lot of things with yeast, or bread like things but I want to start and I can't wait to make this!

Check out the recipe at Flour Me With Love

Baking My Way: Bourbon Brownies

Wow is this one good!!

I cut the recipe in half and use Disaronno instead of bourbon (simply because I didn't have any) and wow was it amazing! It's a serious dessert with some wonderful tastes! I will for sure be making this one again! I think it would be great for a dinner party where you want something easy to make but with a more adult flavor.

Ingredients
BROWNIES
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter
2 tablespoons water
1 (6-oz.) pkg. (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3 to 4 tablespoons bourbon

FROSTING
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
1 oz. (1 square) semi-sweet chocolate, melted, cooled


Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8 or 9-inch square pan. In medium saucepan,combine sugar, 1/3 cup margarine and water. Cook over medium heat untilmixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir inchocolate chips and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add eggs; beat well. Lightly spoonflour into measuring cup; level off. Add flour, baking powder and salt; mixwell. Stir in walnuts. Spread evenly in greased pan.

Bake at 350°F. for 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centercomes out clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Drizzle bourbon evenly over top. Coolcompletely.

In small bowl, combine powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons margarine, 1/4 teaspoon
vanilla and enough milk for desired frosting consistency; beat until smooth.
Frost cooled brownies; drizzle melted chocolate over frosting. Let stand
until set; cut into bars.


Recipe Source

Easy Key Lime Cheese Cake Ice Cream

Another recipe where I couldn't find one that I liked (I.e. I didn't want to use eggs or have to buy special ingredients) so I made my own!

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lime Jello powder
1/2 cup cheese cake pieces (You could also use a combination of cream cheese & sugar, making sure the sugar is devolved )