Last Week's Recipe :)

It was a busy week. But I did make it to Bible Study on Thursday, and I did make cookies. I actually made them the week before and had them in the freezer, because these cookies freeze really well. They are so good and so simple. If you like peanut butter and chocolate, this is a recipe you will want to try.

Cracker Cookies

1 box round buttery crackers (Ritz)
1 small jar peanut butter
1 lb. almond bark
12 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine almond bark and chocolate chips in a 9x13 glass pan. Once oven has reached the right temperature, turn the oven off and put chips/bark mixture in the oven to melt for 30 minutes. Whiles it’s melting, spread peanut butter between crackers, sandwiching two together. Stir bark and chips to blend. With kitchen tongs, dip cracker sandwiches in chocolate mixture. Place on waxed paper and chill. Can be frozen.

A Most Eventful Day!

On Friday, October 16th, we catered a customer appreciation lunch for True Colours Day Spa & Salon.
A fall color theme was the backdrop for Honey Pecan Chicken Salad with cutout leaf bread, Smoked Salmon Spread on crackers with cucumber, Fresh Tomato Napoleons, The Infamous Grape Salad and Pumpkin Pie. We thanked the staff with a personal bottle of coffee and an individual cookie.
While I was hosting this event, the REAL EVENT of the day was happening just a little north, as Kellee and Scott were welcoming a new baby daughter into their family. Priscilla Gail Zweifel is a most precious, perfect, tiny baby girl.

Bible Study Baked Goods

Thursday evenings we have Women's Bible Study at church from 6:30 to 8:00. We have a great group of ladies that attend on a regular basis and we have come to the conclusion that no Bible study is complete without baked goods and coffee. So, Laura and I, being ones that like to bake, have taken advantage of this opportunity by bringing some of our old favorites to share and to try out all the recipes that have been piling up from the newspaper clippings and the torn out magazine pages. Look for a new recipe from one of us every week! Here is what I made last week and they were great.


Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Orange food coloring

Preheat oven to 350o. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

To make the cookies, in a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a second large bowl, combine shortening and brown sugar. Use an electric mixer to meat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Add half the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the other half and mix again.
Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 tablespoon mounds, arranging them 2 inches apart. Bake for about 14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
While the cookies bake, in a medium bowl combine the butter and maple syrup. Use an electric mixer to beat until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla and mix well. Add the powdered sugar and mix well, beating until fluffy. Add the food coloring and beat until uniform. Set aside.
Once the cookies have baked, cool them on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, pipe or spread frosting on them and decorate as desired.
Cookies should be refrigerated in an airtight container. Serve at room temperature.

“Picture Perfect” 18th Birthday!

My daughter Tasha, who loves photography, chose this theme for her 18th birthday party. Her collection of old cameras and flea market picture frames mixed well with the bright purple and green colors. The menu included simple meat and cheese finger sandwiches, tortilla rollups, grape salad and a dessert assortment of brownie pops, rice krispie pops, candy bags and of course cupcakes. The bottled soda was a hit with the teen crowd. They also enjoyed the “photo booth”, donning hats and scarves as they posed for the camera. With Rock Band and a “chip bar” in the basement and a “Movie Theater” with candy counter upstairs, the group had plenty to keep them busy. Tasha reported it was a great night – picture perfect!

Pepperoni Tortilla Rollups
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz. pepperoni, cut into small pieces
10 medium size tortillas

Mix together cream cheese and sour cream
Stir in shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni
Spread onto tortillas, rollup, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight
Slice and serve.

Everyone Loves Cupcakes

Laura's daughter Tasha had her 18th birthday party on Friday night and of course we had to go all out. Tasha picked the colors, green and purple and the theme, cameras/ photography. Here is what we came up with for the cupcakes, which were funfetti with cream cheese frosting.

Heavenly Lemon Angel Cake

Here is the recipe for the cake we served at the baby shower. It came from a packet of cards I got at a Pampered Chef party where the proceedes from the cards went towards cancer research. It was great for our little girl themed party and it fits right in for Breast Cancer Awareness Month too!



5 drops red food coloring
1 package (16oz) angel food cake mix
3 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups thawed frozen fat free whipped topping
1 package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Preheat oven to 350. For cake, add food coloring to amount of water specified on package. Prepare the cake according to package directions. Pour batter into a 9x13 pan. Bake on center rack 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown, cracked and slightly sunken. Remove from oven; invert on cooling rack and let stand until completely cooled.

Poke holes in cake about 1 ½ inches deep with a large fork.
Zest lemons to measure 1 Tbsp lemon zest and juice lemons to measure 1/3 cup juice. Combine sugar, juice and zest and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over cake, spreading evenly. Let stand 30 minutes or until set.

Top cake with whipped topping and raspberries. Serves 15.

Check out these other pink products from Pampered Chef.