After School Activity {Helpful Cookie Tip}

It can be really hard to get a few moments by yourself after the kids get home from school to get dinner going.  Anyone who's been in the room with a child knows that, but especially parents.  But I have a sweet solution to help out once or twice a week.

Cookies!

Well, not these particular ones. 












But why not let your little ones sit down at the kitchen table, where you can keep an eye on them without having to hover, and decorate their own cookies?  It should give you those 30 minutes after work and school for you to get dinner going.

The kids will love it and you will too.  Almost no screaming guaranteed!

Here's how to make it easy on yourself:

1.  On a day you have time, say, the weekend the kids are visiting Nana.  Make up your favortie sugar cookie recipe.  Or cheat, because who's gonna tattle on you--the kids are gone! - and buy the pre-made dough.  Resist the temptation to eat them.  It will be difficult, as stated before, no one will tell on you. 

2.  After the cookies are cooled, freeze the cookie shapes in a plastic container, separated by sheets of wax paper.

3.  Up to a week in advance, make some glaze icing and store it in the fridge, covered.  Again, you could buy the store bought kind of cookie decorator icing or if like me, you have buttercream already frozen too.

4.  Then, when the kids come home (and of course have done their chores and their homework because kids always do what their told), pull out a couple of cookies for each child from the freezer.  You could also pull them out the morning of the activity before you rush out the door.  That is, if you can remember to make Suzy put on shoes, Tommy to stop being grouchy and screaming he doesn't care if his teeth fall out, he's not brushing, and you to have actually taken the curlers out of your hair.

5.  Pour the icing into decorationg bags with tips or snip off the edges of Ziploc bags.  Put some sprinkles in separate little bowls.  You don't want those dirty kid fingers in the big containers of sprinkles.  They pick their noses with those fingers.

6.  Tell them to go to town decorating! On wax paper of course. 

7.  Make dinner without crying over the fact that the kids are doing something without you.  Praise God!

While you are eating dinner with the family the cookies can "dry" and then everyone can eat one for dessert. 
Voila! 

It works.  I know.  I've tried.  I always save the broken ones (and a few nice ones too) for the niece to decorate.  She gets the biggest kick out of this.  (You can do the same with mini-cupcakes too!  They also freeze!) 

Hope your day is delicious with this cute tip!

Strawberry Sugar Cookies {Recipe}

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here in the South!  So many people's lives have been turned upside down that my problems seem practically insignificant.  Blogging about dessert seems silly when they're are so many suffering.  But then I remembered that dessert can be a release for so many of us.  Trying out new recipes can be a sweet release for many. 

Not only that, but I promised to share my strawberry sugar cookie recipe with everyone.  Plus, I've been baking up a storm lately and I love sharing the pictures!  Last week I did a full dessert table for 80 people in 3 days!  (No, I did not sleep.)  This week, I'm gearing up for moving (it was postponed) and getting things in order for a wedding cake tasting and another dessert table on the 11th. 

So without further ado, I wanted to try making strawberry sugar cookies after the success of the lemon ones.  And in case you couldn't tell, that recipe is so easy to cater to a variety of flavors.  I'm thinking next time I'm going to try cherry.

Ingredients:4 cups of unbleached flour (remember you can trade this out if needed)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 box of strawberry cream pudding mix.
1 teaspoon of strawberry extract
*(optional) a dab of pink gel food coloring to make them  a bit pinker

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and strawberry extract, one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Add a dab of food gel color if desired.  See the before and after food color below.

Mix dry ingredients a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  You can use your clean hand to help incorporate if needed. 

Then roll it out between wax paper as previously mentioned here.  Refrigerate until firm.  I left mine overnight. (This does make the dough edges more crumbly, but I just don't cut my cookies right at the edge until I've remixed and re-rolled it.)   Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes for soft cookies and 11-13 minutes for crisper cookies.*  This makes 2 dozen or so cookies, depending on size.  Keep them chilled, just like I've said before, to keep them from spreading or losing shape.  Your cookies come out PERFECT if you do this.  You may have to pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes after cutting them out if your kitchen is hot; with weather like this lately, almost everyone's is.

*If you are serving your cookies soon, then I recommend closer to the 8 min. mark.  If you are doing them in advance, like a week or two, then make them crisper and they will soften over the week or two in a sealed container on the counter.  If they are too soft they can be more difficult to decorate due to their delicateness. 

I cut some out for a baby girl theme and put those in the freezer to decorate later. 

The others I decorated with a blue and orange theme I was doing for the dessert table along with some vanilla and chocolate ones.  I had a friend of my husbands come and take professional pictures of the table, but I don't have them back yet.  (insert tear drops here)

Plain Jane, simple camera at home about 2am the day of the dessert table.

Fancy Cannon camera (borrowed from my mom) on site at the dessert table.

I really hope you give these cookies a shot.  Make a batch and give them to someone who could use a smile.  You never know how much a delicious gesture can brighten someone else's day.

April Showers Bring May Flowers...{Wedding Sugar Cookies}

This was supposed to be posted last week but blogger was down.  I've got a lot of blogging to catch up on!


If April showers bring May flowers then what do May flowers bring?  June weddings!

I love weddings.  The flowers, the dress, the CAKE, the favors that are shaped like little cakes!

I wanted to be a do it yourself bride, but I had so many people telling me it was going to be too hard and too much stress that they talked me out of it.  I wish they hadn't because there are so many ways to save time and money far enough in advance that you have no worries.  Dang it.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off the last 48 hours, having to remind people what to do and where to be.  Oh well, I still have my prince.

So if you want to save some time, money, and still add your unique touch (or you want someone else to do it for you) to a wedding reception or a bridal shower, here is a lovely idea.

Purchase a wedding cake cookie cutter.  I got my from a local craft store, but you can purchase yours from many online shops.  It was 99 cents.

Mix up and  bake your favorite batch of sugar cookies or other decorating cookies, along with a batch of royal icing. 

It's easier to assemble everything you'll need from the start.

Then begin decorating!  My favorite decorated cookie was this plain white one I added embelishments to.  My dress was actually ivory so I might add a bit of tan if that is the case for you, depending on the shade of the actual cake. 

Fun, huh?

The undecorated cookies can be stored after baking in the freezer for a month.  Just thaw completely on cooling racks before decorating.  The decorated cookies can keep well packaged for 2 weeks.  Also, I stuck some in a plastic container for a week in the fridge (accidently) with some cupcakes.  I had to eat it when I opened it.  They tasted fine.  The icing was still just as pretty and the cookie seemed to be the same softeness.  Just make sure your refridgerator doesn't add condensation to the top of your plastic lid covering them and you should be ok. 

Happy decorating!  And happy 2 year anniversary to my best friend and my prince.