Cake Batter Sugar Cookies!

YUM

I found the easiest fastest yummiest little sweet treat recipe the other day; courtesy of Sallys Baking Addiction....

 I like her title for her blog as I seem to also have a slight addiction to baking....and now sprinkles too!

 These little gems are  "Cake Batter Sugar Cookies"

They're teeny, they're tiny, they're delicious!

Recently I've noticed the trend of "cake batter" in a lot of baking recipes. And hey; who doesn't like licking the cake batter during the mixing stages right off the spoon? (Please tell me it's not just me) 

 These cookies are tiny; and rich, and buttery and yes, cake batter-delish. The only thing I had a hard time finding was the butter extract; I had to go to Bulk Barn as it was the only place I found around here that carried it.

Side note: I love the Bulk Barn. Those of us in Canada that can't find things easily like corn meal, grits, soft wheat flour, buttermilk powder, butter extract.... THEY carry these things!! Yes! 

The only thing they don't have is "Bakers Joy" spray; which I love love love and can't get in Canada. Boo-ums.

(Maybe that's what I should ask for for Christmas...a case of Bakers' Joy,  a case of Jif,  lol...oh, and a Rebel DSLR Camera, and a pony......)

But I digress.

Sally's blog is a fab resource for lots and lots of fun recipes to try; and so far I've made:

 

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Now; I liked these; but I found they were  (gasp) too sweet for my taste. They involve actual cake batter in them; and next time if I were to make them I'd be sure to use semi-sweet chips - and I might use my whoopie pie pan cuz these lil fellas sure do like to spread as they bake. (Boy. Did THAT ever sound naughty!)

Birthday Cake No Yeast Cinnamon Minis

THESE were yummy. The best part? They were SO SIMPLE to make and since trying  This Recipe  

I've tried several variations including just cinnamon & sugar and butter and YUM. 

I just love using the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (we call them Pokas in my family it's a long story) AND they were on sale last week so I grabbed a bunch. :)

So go visit Miss Sally over at her Blog; but DON'T blame me when you immediately start craving sprinkles on everything and gain 15 pounds!!

Another Side Note:

A few years ago; I invested in a KitchenAid stand mixer (The Artisan One...ooOOoo) and I absolutely love it.

It's like when you sew and you get a serger; you wonder WHAT you ever did before you had one!!!

You can whip up cookies like these in oh, 10-15 mins or so and then be eating them 10 mins later.

Mine's the red one top left. They didn't have the Pink in the Artisan.

( If you don't have one, and you bake a lot; I'd say....do it. Go for it. Yes, it's a lot BUT - if you're going to use it all the time well then that justifies it. And; oftentimes you can find refurbished ones that are a fraction of the price; or even big box retailers have pretty good sales from time to time....anyway...this isn't an ad for KitchenAid. Sorry. I just love mine!)

This recipe is courtesy of Sally's Baking Addiction Blog;

Cake Batter Sugar Cookies
makes  24 adorable cookies - triple this for more people; these cookies are tiny and will go fast!!!

• 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
  1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp butter extract
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup colorful sprinkles
• 1/4 cup sprinkles, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat.  Set aside. Pour 1/4 cup sprinkles onto a plate to use for rolling.  Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Beat in egg yolk, butter extract, baking powder, and salt.  Add flour, and mix until a dough forms.  Dough will be thick. Gently mix in sprinkles.
Roll dough in teaspoon size balls.  Make sure that the balls are tall, rather than wide.  The taller the cookie dough ball, the thicker the cookie will be.  Roll the dough balls into the reserved sprinkles and bake for 9-10 minutes. Watch them closely at the 9 minute mark to assure they do not brown.
Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cookie rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

Finish it Up Friday Returns!

With my full time job and trying to keep the house walkthrough-worthy (we're selling it) it's been hard to get a lot of sewing time in...but here is my finish for this week!

Very Scary Halloween Patchwork Lap quilt!

I've had some of this skeleton & pumpkin print kicking around for awhile. 

I knew I wanted to make a Halloween quilt, because last year with the door opening & closing I froze my bum off waiting for the wee ghouls & goblins to arrive!

 

Vibrant oranges, greys, black and whites with a pop of purple here & there. That's the sun dappling the fabric; it's not that bright around the edges.

Very scary Halloweeny prints! Ghosts...bats...cats...eeeek!

All black back and scary black and white stripes for binding.....

And also, here's a sneak peek at some Christmas-Gifts-To-Be....

Yes! A Thomas the Tank pooshy pillow!

Quite a few WIPS on the go; a bunch of custom orders for the holiday season and some personal projects in there too.

Visit my Shop for more, including the Halloween Quilt!

Hearty Beefy Onion Soup

I must be really attuned to my Inner Furry Woodland Creature Instincts. That's gotta be it.

Why else as soon as Fall hits do I have this incredible urge to gather & preserve food for the winter?

So yeah, that must be it.

Last week was the Gumbo this week it's Soup. Warning; there may be more posts to come.....:)

This recipe is yummy, smells great whilst cooking, and is unbelievably easy. And especially take advantage of your local farmer's markets as fall staples are SUPER cheap right now. Perfect for chopping and preserving/freezing.

You'll need.: Large stockpot with lid, sharp knife, cutting board.

4-5 large shallots

4-5 large onions

1-2 red onion

2 containers beef stock (I used Campbell's reduced Sodium)

4-5 big ol' carrots

5 celery branches

Black pepper, hot sauce, garlic (all to taste)

Burnt Caramel sauce

cooking sherry

1/4 cup butter

3 tsp brown sugar (if you want more of a savoury soup, omit the sugar, but I like the layer of flavour.)

Prep:

Have all onions chopped in 'rings' about 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch wide.

Shallots chopped in rings 1/4 inch.

Chunky cut your carrots & celery.

Over medium-high heat, melt your butter. Add your shallots & onions, stir, put on lid. Reduce heat to medium if it starts to burn.

After about 5 mins, stirring occasionally, add a few dashes of caramel sauce, a good sousing of the sherry, and the sugar. Stir well, add lid. Watch and stir occasionally.

After about ten minutes, add the celery and carrots, again stir well. Add in the pepper, garlic, and a dash or two of hotsauce, stir well. Replace lid. If you haven't yet, reduce heat to medium.

After veggies have turned 'bright' (after about ten mins) add the stock; stirring well.

Bring it to a boil, with the lid on, and then let it simmer for a few hours. 

Before serving, reheat to medium & stir; the butter may be separated but as you reheat and stir it will go back 'in' to the soup. Serve with crusty bread!

Yes, it's THAT good!