While trying to come up with ideas for what type of cookie to bring to a Taylor Swift themed birthday party, I tried to choose between Cowgirl Cookies or Smore's Cookies.  In the end, I decided to go with both!

  These cookies are more of a bar-type cookie.  They are very soft, and very sweet, so I would advise cutting them into smaller than normal portions!  They are very good, though, and that is the important part!   The only alteration I will make to them next time, and I will be making them again, is to crush up some extra graham cracker pieces and add it to the dough.  Other than that, delish!

Ingredients: 

1 package graham crackers, broken into squares
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
11 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  Arrange graham crackers to cover as much of the bottom of the pan as possible. 
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.   Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly.
Add flour minx to sugar mix and combine well.
Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows.
Drop by tablespoons over graham crackers and press down to cover and spread evenly.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. 

  A friend of mine's daughter was turning 10, and wanted a Taylor Swift theme for her birthday party.  Her request of me was to bring cookies.   I wanted to come up with a cookie that would somehow fit the theme, without taking too much effort, since I would be short on time to make them.  I decided on these cookies, which pretty much have that "everything thrown in" feel, and Smore's Cookies.   Both make me think of cowboys and cowgirls,  of sitting on hay bales around a bonfire in cowboy boots and skirts, of lightly strummed guitars while the stars twinkle overhead.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch or peanut butter chips
1 cup broken pretzel pieces

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the butter and sugars.  Beat until smooth.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Dissolve baking soda in hot water. 
Add baking soda water and salt to butter mixture and stir until blended.
Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing well between additions. 
Fold in the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and pretzel pieces.
Drop by tablespoons onto prepared pan and bake for about 10 minutes.

   I had decided on the menu plan to make chicken drumsticks for tonight's dinner.  As I went into the kitchen to get it started, I realized I had absolutely no idea as to how I wanted to prepare them.  I knew I wanted something tasty, not fried, and not horribly difficult to make.  I took a look around the kitchen to see what we had, and decided to try my hand at just throwing some stuff together that sounded good.  What I came up with was perfect!  I am pretty dang proud of myself, because it is very rare that I pull something out of thin air.  I am usually a play-it-by-the-recipe cook, and it's almost always from a recipe! 

 The chicken came out slightly sweet, but with a hint of earthiness and bite that made it easy on the taste buds.  (It looked pretty, too, but I had to take a picture with my daughter's Ipod, since the camera is currently out of the area while my boyfriend is away.)  Here's what I did, with a guesstimate on the quantities, since I just threw stuff in without measuring:

Ingredients:

• Package of chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1 pound's worth)
• 1/3-1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Dijon style mustard (or two very large tablespoons)
• The juice from one medium orange
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, crushed
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I'm a bit of a wuss with spicy... adjust to your taste!)

Directions:

1.   Arrange chicken in a baking pan.  (I used a glass 9x13-inch pan, and did not have any need to grease it.)
2. Over low-med low heat, stir together honey and mustard until melty and combined.  Add remaining ingredients.  Adjust spices as desired to suit your tastes.  *Note:  The sauce on the stove tasted much sweeter than it actually turned out on the chicken.
3. Once well combined, pour over chicken.  (I let mine sit, covered, for a couple hours, but I don't believe this is actually necessary.  I just already had stuff in the oven!)
4. Bake at 375*F for 45 minutes, or until meat no longer pink and juices are clear. 

I served this with rice and corn.  My kids actually both liked it!  Score one for me!

  I bought some zucchini at the store a week or so ago, and never figured out what I wanted to do with it.  Since I was having company over today, I wanted to have something a little sweet, but not overly so.  Zucchini bread entered my head, but then this recipe popped up on Pinterest and I figured it sounded good enough to try.  I am glad I did!   They turned out delicious!  My children and I are not big pineapple fans, but the pineapple lent just enough sweetness without being overpowering.  I may even add a little bit more next time!

 Ingredients:

4 eggs
1&1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup oil
1&1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup crushed pineapple
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1&1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1&1/2 teaspoons baking soda



Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well blended and smooth. 
2. Stir in zucchini and pineapple.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add gradually to egg mixture until completely combined.
4. Pour into greased or paper-lined cupcake pan, filling about 3/4 full.
5. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. 

I found this recipe at The View from Great Island.  Super easy to make.  Super delicious. 

Go there.  Read her blog post.  Look at her yummy pictures.  Then go make them. =)

Notes:  I left the wax-paper wrapped log in the refrigerator overnight.  I cut them the next morning.  They are very crumbly, but I just mooshed them together in my hands and flattened them out a bit and baked them for 13 minutes.  Yum.  You will definitely want a cup of coffee or glass of milk with them though!

I was in the mood to bake, and had a eensy bit of a sweet tooth.  While perusing Pinterest I came across this recipe at Just a Pinch.   It sounded delicious, and after reading the comments other people had made about its deliciousness, and realizing I had some oranges in there that needed using... I made it. 

*I should note, in case you didn't read through the comments on the recipe there, that people say you should definitely let this cool completely before cutting into it.  Otherwise, it crumbles apart very easily, and while still tasty, is not like eating a piece of bread. 

*Another note:  The original recipe at "Just a Pinch" states to use two pans for this recipe.  I used just one, as we like nice, large loaves.   That said, we then had to cook it for about 15-20 minutes longer, which caused the edges to brown significantly.  While this did not affect the taste really (it was still delicious), you could tell it was cooked longer, and the aesthetic value is not nearly as appealing.  Next time, I will follow directions and split it between two loaf pans.  

Ingredients:

1 8-oz box of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1&2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2&1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Grease and flour a bread pan. 

Mix together the cream cheese and shortening until creamy.  Add in the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, blending well between each addition. 

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk.  Batter will be thick and creamy.   Mix in grated orange peel.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Let cool for ten minutes, then sprinkle the orange juice over top.  Let cool completely before serving.

   Yep, another bread recipe.  But this one actually rises enough to be an actual sandwich type bread.  Many of them are too short to make a really decent sandwich.  This one fixes that.  It's good, and we ate it all up right away.  I'm actually considering making another batch today.  This recipe was found via Pinterest  at Annie's Eats.

I didn't get a picture of it cut, and for that I apologize.  Maybe if I do wind up making more today, I'll get an updated picture of that part.  I may even make myself a sandwich!







Ingredients

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1 cup warm milk

1/3 cup warm water

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp. honey

2 ¼ tsp instant yeast

Directions:

Put the rack in your oven at the lowest position, and preheat your oven to 200*F.  Once it's reached 200*, let it stay there for ten minutes, then turn it off.  Don't open the door.

Meanwhile, mix 3&1/2 cups of the flour with the salt in a large bowl of a mixer.  In another bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients (minus the remaining flour).  Start your mixer and slowly add in the wet ingredients.  Increase the speed to medium and let mix for about 10 minutes, adding a tablespoon of flour at a time as needed after five minutes to keep the mixture doughy and not sticky. 

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and put in the warmed oven.  Let double in size; about 40-50 minutes. 

On a floured surface, work the dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch thick and no longer than the size of your bread pan.  With long side facing you, roll into a cylinder, pressing the edges together. Turn seam up and pinch closed.  Place seam side down into a bread pan and press gently to touch all sides.   Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to double in size; about 30 minutes. 

Keep one rack in the lowest position, and another in the middle, and preheat to 350*F.   Place a pan of boiling water on the lowest rack (at least 2 cups worth).  Uncover bread and place on middle rack and bake for about 45-50 minutes.  Remove and let cool.