National Cookie Day

Today is National Cookie Day!

How could I not celebrate this holiday?  With 5 kids at home I would be in big trouble ignoring such an important holiday to kids.  Yeah.. it's for the kids.

Today we will be making an old favorite.
(We use lots of peanut butter but any nut butter can be substituted, we are just lucky enough not to suffer from allergies)
Peanut Butter Noodle Cookies (No Bake)
Chocolate Oatmeal Refrigerator Cookies (No Bake)
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Italian Pastry cookies (Hubby's 94 yr old Grandma's recipe)
I want Snickerdoodles but only because I have the patience to wait the hours while the dough rests.

What cookie is your favorite?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love the first day of December.  Every year I get a sudden desire to bake cookies and watch Hallmark movies. Sorry, hubby, for the 20 movies on the DVR at the moment. I promise I will watch them..eventually. 

This year some of the cookies we will be baking are The Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate chip cookies, Italian Pastry Cookies recipe from Hubby's Grandma the Sweetest Grandma in the world ,and Snickerdoodle Cookies.

We put our Christmas Tree up last night. It's an artificial tree. it was time we upgraded from our 2ft tree.  The kid's are so excited to decorate the tree as a family this weekend.  Make it a day of holiday fun. Time to browse pinterest for a fun crafts.  We will bake cookies and more mini pies with the kids. Make popcorn and watch holiday movies together.

During our holiday festivities this year, I will miss having a fireplace the most.  We have only had a gas fireplace so it was to pretty to look at more than for practical use.  A real wood burning fireplace is a requirement for my dream home.  It's just not Christmas without burning something.  Maybe we can get a fire pit for the back yard.  Make Smores over an open fire and drink hot cocoa.

I love the holidays because my husband loves to sing Carols.  He sings and really brings out the festive mood in the house.  I leave the singing to him to keep the festive mood from souring. It reminds me of the day many years ago when we had just finished decorating our tree.  Lauryn 3 at the time grabs our hands and starts singing o Christmas Tree over and over and over.  It was really cute how much she loved that tree we had decorated with our safety ornaments. White yarn puffballs on a loop.  It looked like our Christmas tree was waiting for a snowball fight.

Escape the winter chill with Blizzard.
Warm cream blends to black in a sophisticated ombre
as enchanting snowflakes fall upon the base and scalloped dish.
Elegant and chic, Blizzard is the perfect holiday ornament.

Today was also the first day that the beautiful Blizzard warmer is on sale.  I want one for my birthday. I have to have a reason or hubby starts calling me the crazy warmer lady. It's on sale for the month of December too.   I love the snowflake details on this warmer are beautiful, between cut-outs and the etchings.  The warm glow emitted from this warmer adds to it's wonderful appearance.

Paired with it's delightful Scent of the month Comfort & Joy. Comfort & Joy is a scent blend of spicy, familiar woods married with surprising white florals, pure citrus, and just a nibble of gingerbread for a winter fragrance that’s anything but ordinary.  I have been warming this in my house for a few weeks with my special preview kit I get as a consultant.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

This is a delicious version of an old favorite of mine.  I came up with this yummy variation one day before a party for Lauryn's class at school.  These cookies ended up being an irresistible craving all throughout my pregnancy with Maxx.

You can make these cookies using any of your favorite recipes for peanut butter cookies and adding a thumb print of jelly before cooking.  When they are done baking and given a chance to cool the sweet jelly turns into a sticky gooey center.  I prefer using strawberry jelly, being a purest myself.  Feel free to use any type of fruit jelly you like. The fun in baking is in the experimenting.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup Peanut butter (creamy)
• 1/2 cup Vegetable shortening
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 TB milk
• 1 TB vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups All-Purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• Strawberry Jelly

Directions

1. Heat oven to 370 °
2. In a large bowl cream together the Peanut Butter, shortening and brown sugar.  Mix in the Milk and Vanilla, beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Beat egg into mixture until just blended.
3. Combine the All-Purpose flour, salt and baking soda.  Add it to the creamed mixture at low-speed.  Mix until just blended.
4. Make 1 inch balls of dough. Flatten them in your hand, using your thumb to leave an indent in the top. Be sure not to crack the sides.
5. Place the cookies on the cookie sheet.  Using a spoon drop a spoonful of Jelly onto the center of the indent.
6. Bake at 370° for 10 to 12 minutes or until just beginning to brown.  Cool for 2 min on the baking sheet.  Remove cookies to foil surface to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Noodle Cookies (No Bake)

This caramel like cookie was very quick and easy to make. It was a huge hit with my kids as well. Before even finishing her first cookie my 4 yr old worriedly asked me if I had made more. When I told her we do have more and we can even make another batch this weekend. She jumped into the air like a little happy leprechaun. Then she sweetly adds, " I love you mom.. you are the best mom ever. " I'd have to say this cookie was a success.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Noodle Cookies


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 1/2 cups chow mein noodles

Directions

1. Bring sugar and syrup to a full boil in a heavy pan. Stirring occasionally. Remove from heat at once.
2. Stir in the peanut butter and mix well. Turn the chow mein noodles into the peanut butter mixture. Mix thoroughly to coat the noodles.
3. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper or a greased cookie sheet.
4. Let the cookies set for at least 15 minutes.

Variations

You can add more noodles 1/2 cup at a time for a more crunchy cookie. Stirring well to coat all noodles between additions. Substitute the creamy peanut butter for a crunchy type for even more crunch.

What are other additions would you add to this cookie?

Chocolate Oatmeal Refrigerator Cookies

I loved this recipe as a child and now love to make it with my children. I always come to this recipe on days when I am craving some chocolate sweetness, but just the thought of running the oven in the middle of a hot summer day has me cringing.

This is the simplest recipe. There are many other recipes that add chopped nuts, raisins or even coconut.  Try your own versions and let me know how they turned out. Happy No-Baking!

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup Cocoa
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 3 cups Quick-cook Oatmeal (Quick-cook oatmeal is essential here. Or they just don't set up)
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (optional)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan combine the sugar, cocoa,  butter and milk. Mix it well.
2. On medium heat, bring to boil for about 3 minutes.  Stirring constantly. (to prevent grainy cookies make sure the sugar dissolves before moving on to next step.)
3. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, and vanilla until smooth.  Add the oatmeal and mix well.
4. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Finally drop the mixture by rounded spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let it cool for 30 minutes.  Or the mixture can be placed into a greased 9x9 pan and cut once cooled.

Just don't try to make these on a rainy day.  The high humidity will ruin them every time.  One more bonus to living in the dry heat of the SouthWest.