Lemon Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup colored nonpareils

Lemon Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon peel. Combine flour and cornstarch, gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or until easy to handle.
2. Shape into a 1 3/4 inch diameter roll, roll in nonpareils. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm.
3. Unwrap and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 F for 9-11 minutes or until set and edges are slightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
4. In a small bowl combine icing ingredients. Spread over cookies.

Review: These cookies are so refreshing and delicious! I think they look so pretty with the lavender sugar I used to roll them in - they make me want to host a tea party and serve them at it :) You can use any color of sugar that you want.
When I told Paul I'd made these cookies he asked if they were healthy cookies. My response? "Why yes, they are. They have fruit in them."

Tip: You will need to buy one large lemon - that will give you enough lemon peel and enough juice for these cookies.

Big Mo's Bread

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 and 7/8 cup Warm Water*
4 Cups Flour
2 Tbsp Oil

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Mix yeast sugar and water and let stand to the side to rise and bubble.

Mix flour, salt and oil then add yeast mixture.

Knead dough until well mixed, it will be sticky -oil your hands to handle dough cleanly.

Place dough in oiled bowl, cover and let sit until doubled in size.

Punch dough into two separate loaves and place on well oiled tray to resume rising.

Brush top with egg white and sprinkle with desired seasoning.

Let bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, until crust is a rich golden brown.

*2 cups water can be exchanged for:
1 cup water and 1 cup milk and 1 extra tbsp oil. Cheese can also be added for addition flavor.

Review: The fact that we finished off one loaf of bread in five minutes should tell it all :)

Curried Carrot Spread

Curried Carrot Spread

Ingredients

3 cups sliced carrots (I used whole baby carrots, worked fine, less work!)
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained*
3/4 tsp. salt


*Without googling it does anyone know what cannellini beans are? I didn't. And neither did three different people at the grocery store. A quick google search revealed that they are just white kidney beans, but since I didn't have those I used Purple Hull Peas since I had them in my pantry. I don't know what difference cannellini beans would make, but the Purple Hull Peas taste good :)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan cook carrots until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in curry powder and Cumin.
3. Transfer carrots and onion mix to food processor, add beans and salt. Process until smooth.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Finnish Pasties

Pastry
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut oil (called for lard)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 tablespoons cold water

- just before rolling it out I had to add a little bit of milk to it to make it roll-able!

Filling
3/4 lb ground beef
2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon cumin*
1/2 teaspoon chili powder*
1/2 teaspoon salt*
dash of pepper*
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce**

* I added way more than it called for, and I think it could've had way more added to it!
** The barbecue sauce didn't do a whole lot for it - it worked well in a meatloaf I made last week, but in this it didn't blend well, so I wouldn't add it again. I'm not sure what should replace it tho!

Directions:
1. Combine pastry ingredients. Chill dough.
2. Combine filling ingredients in another bowl.
3. Roll out dough into circles - I used a bowl to get my shape. Make sure it's rolled flat!
4. Put a bit of filling on one side of each circle - you don't want to over stuff them.
5. Fold over the other side of the dough circle over the filling.
6. Dip a fork in water and seal the edges by pushing the fork down. Cut away any extra dough.
7. Prick the top with the fork to let steam escape.
8. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for about 40 minutes.

REVIEW:
Paul and I both loved this! I was impressed with the pastry dough - I wasn't sure how it would work using coconut oil instead of lard, but they turned out just fine.
As I noted above the BBQ sauce really didn't work, although it wasn't bad either. When I make it again I am going to be looking for something else to add.
I used about half the dough and made 5 pasties. Then I got lazy and decided not to finish making any more :) But I think there is more filling than there is dough, so you may want to cut down on the dough, or plan something else to do with the filling. I am trying to think of a way to make it into supper tonight :)

Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta

Tomato & Mozzarella Pasta

Ingredients:
Pasta
Butter
Grape Tomatoes
Mozzarella Cheese
Salt
Pepper
Oregano

1. Boil pasta. When cooked drain and place in a dish.

2. Add butter, salt and pepper to pasta.

3. Add cubed mozzarella and halved tomatoes to the top.

4. Sprinkle with oregano.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnabon-like Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 ox package vanilla pudding mix (and milk to make it)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6+ cups flour*

*I needed to add almost a cup extra of flour!

Filling:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Mix water, yeast and sugar together until dissolved. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl prepare pudding mix according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt; mix to blend well.

3. Add yeast mixture and blend. Gradually add flour.

4. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until double. Punch down and let rise again.

5. Roll out on a floured surface. Take 1 cup of butter and spread over surface.

6. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, sprinkle over top of buttered dough. Roll up tightly and cut every two inches with a sharp knife.

7. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart, lightly press each roll down. Cover and let rise again until double. Bae at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove when they start to look golden - don't over bake!
Frost warm rolls with a cream cheese frosting.

REVIEW: These are truly amazing!! My best friend discovered this recipe when we were like 14 years old ... we were convinced they were the way to a mans heart. Must be true - we're both married :)

Iced Cafe Mocha

Iced Cafe Mocha
Combine 1/2 cup ground coffee with 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder. (I used the Special Dark Chocolate)
Using a coffee maker brew with 4 cups of water.
Stir in 1/4 cup* sweetened condensed milk, then refrigerate.
Serve over ice.

I read 1/2 cup the first time I made it, so made it with twice the called for amount of sweetened condensed milk. Mmmm. I'd recommend you double it too ;) But I couldn't bring myself to lie to y'all and change the recipe.