Sour Cream Cookies

UPDATE: Emily made these and I loved her variation on the frosting.

Emily said: "If you like my hieroglyphic cookies, here's what you do: add more milk to thin the Browned Butter Icing, be too scared to brown the butter and just melt it real good, and use a Ziploc to make random squiggles/cave paintings. And then give them to all your favorite people that don't know Japanese."


Cool, no? Thanks, Emily!

The original recipe is below.

I got this recipe from my aunt Lisa, who made them for our bus tour for my grandparents 50th anniversary. I had never had them before, but these cookies are GOOD.

I think they must be the softest cookie I've ever had. Because when I accidentally left them sitting on the counter for too long, I expected them to be dried out and hard - but they were still as soft as when they came out of the oven!

1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream

Cream butter and brown sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla. Sift dry indredients together and add alternating with sour cream to creamed mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. (I do 7 or 8). Cool and frost. Makes 6 dozen.

Frost with Brown Butter Frosting.

Brown 3 tablespoons butter, add 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon milk, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Beat until smooth. Be careful not to brown the butter in the frosting too much. :)

Originally posted 11/14/06 without picture

Thanks

Today marks 3 months since I added sitemeter to my site to keep track of how many visitors I'm getting here.

Even as infrequently as I post, I'm getting a good amount of traffic.

So, thanks to everyone out there in cyberspace for the support. My family (okay, mostly my dad) can't believe I have that much site traffic.

("I mean, I know you have friends, but who are all these people?!")

Love you Dad. :)

M&M Cookies by color

Baby shower, anyone?

You could use specific color M&Ms to make these cookies fit any special occasion.

School colors
Holiday colors
Baby showers

Anyone have any other ideas?

A Beautiful Spread

It's all about Presentation.

Sometimes knowing how to serve your food makes all the difference.

So here are some pictures from a recent gathering I attended where the food looked as good as it tasted. Enjoy!

Cute Birthday Cake Idea

Neccos candy make darling polka dots.

Use Those Cookie Cutters

Use those cookie cutters and rock those little scout's worlds.

My sister made these when my brothers received a scout award. I should know which award it was, but I am still learning. (Primary President and Stake Primary President, don't listen)

Someone more versed in scouts, please help me out here.

To make these, start with brownies, then work your magic with the cookie cutters, frosting and powdered sugar.

Or it just might be that my mom is the only person in the world who has cookie cutters in these shapes.

Ego Boost, Kitchen Edition

My enthusiastic 3 year old watched me make dinner last night.

"Wow, Mom! You're the best cooker ever!"

I think this child might have been born to our family for the sole reason of giving me compliments.

Bacon

I was feeling generous a few days ago. I thought it would be nice for my family to wake up to the smell of bacon. Because this never happens at my house.

They woke up alright, but instead informed me that it smelled like smoke and that the smoke hurt their eyes. You're welcome.

But Kevin said it smelled really good so I'm going with his opinion. Which means a lot because the first time I made bacon after we got married I insisted that the bacon be crispy, instead of slimy.

And we ended up with grey bacon ash.

So really, if it did smell like bacon smoke and bacon ash, Kevin of all people would know. And he said the bacon was good.

Orange Chicken and Spring Rolls

Now, I'll be up front with you from the get go. This is not a homemade recipe.

But the point is, my family thought it was. They raved about it. They all thought it was so good my husband wondered aloud why I had never ever made Chinese in all of our married life together. Which is the reason I'm posting it up here.

I figured they knew it was from a box. But they didn't. I kind of burst the bubble when I pointed to the empty boxes on the counter.

[photo credit: dinnersonme.blogspot.com
This is the same brand I used.
She also had a recipe for additional sauce to spoon over the rice.]

So we loved the orange chicken. The white steamed rice with it was a tasty combination. The spring rolls were a hit, but I didn't realize they were fried so I would try a lower calorie option next time.

Even my picky three year old believed us when we told him they were chicken nuggets with the ketchup already on.

Thumbs down on the Rice a Roni Fried Rice. Which we probably could have guessed before hand, but I like their chicken flavor and I really like their spanish rice with the tomatoes in it so I figured I would give it a try. Won't be making it again.

I got the orange chicken and spring rolls from Costco. It was fast, it was easy, the family scarfed it.

With leftovers I added a little water so it wouldn't dry out as I heated it and it ended up making a little more sauce, enough to spoon over the rice. It was really good this way.

Semi-homemade at it's finest. My only tip is: put away the boxes and take full credit for the meal.

Spike Chicken Salad

Spike Chicken breasts
1-2 heads Romaine lettuce
purple onion
black beans
tomatoes
croutons
olives
parmesan cheese
Light Ranch Dressing, or dressing of your choice

Prepare your Spike Chicken. I can't get enough of this stuff. It's just too easy and way too delicious.

While the chicken is cooking, make a bed of romaine and top with tomatoes, onions, blacks beans, olives, and croutons according to taste.

Slice the chicken into thin strips, about a quarter of an inch wide. Lay chicken across top of salad. (I used a whole breast for each adult and less for the kids.)

Top with parmesan cheese and Light Ranch Dressing.

Yummmmm. Feels and tastes like a restaurant salad. Serve it up with some cold lemonade and you'll have a refreshing summery dinner.

I made the salads up on each plate individually and just set the premade salad in front of my family when it was time to eat.