BUTTER COOKIES

These big 4" cookies are crispy, light as a feather and full of butter-y goodness. They are too fragile to ship through the mail, but straight out of the cookie jar, they are melt in your mouth perfection.

1 1/4 cups butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 egg YOLKS
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 TABLESPOON of vanilla extract

Cream the room temperature butter and granulated sugar with your stand mixer. Once smooth, add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well in between each addition; beat in the vanilla.

Mix the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar, and add this mixture to the butter mixture, one cup at a time. Mix well.

Cover and chill the dough for about 30  minutes.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and roll them in granulated sugar.  Place on an UNgreased cookie sheet (3" apart)and flatten slightly.

Bake in 350° preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden.  Recipe makes 3½ dozen cookies.

Rolling dough into 1" balls, will give you 4" cookies, so leave lots of room between each cookie ball on the cookie sheet.

 

Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

I found this quick, easy, delightful recipe on the For the Love of Cooking web site. It makes one dozen super moist, super chocolate-y, super yummy cupcakes. This recipe is going into my "5 star file", that is for sure.

 

 

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup BOILING water

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.

Sift together all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, oil and vanilla and beat together with an electric mixer until combined.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the boiling water, mix until just combined but smooth.

The batter will be very watery looking, so don't be alarmed.  Pour the batter evenly into the paper liners.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. Remove from oven and cool before frosting.

Do you have a craving for chocolate?

Give this a try, they are great.

CINNAMON ROLL CAKE (5 STAR!!)

Oh my goodness, this cake is beyond perfect. It has that wonderful taste that you only find in the "center part" of a good cinnamon roll (does that make sense?). The first time I tried it, I was compelled to close my eyes and savor it in complete silence...it was THAT good.

The cake is quick and easy to make and it is one of those great recipes that tastes good (even better) on day two and three (if it lasts that long).It would be a big crowd-pleaser for ANY occasion.
 

 

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 TABLESPOON baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (see note)

Put the above ingredients in the food processor and process until the mixture looks sort of like wet-ish sand. Remove from food processor and place in mixing bowl.

To the above mixture, add:

3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 whole large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix everything just until smooth, do not over mix. I did this with an electric mixer on low.

In a different small bowl, combine 1 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, set aside.

Grease and flour a 9" x 13" GLASS baking dish. Put half of the cake batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle it with 2/3 of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture, then top with the other half of the cake batter. Gently swirl a small knife through the batter, making sure that you don't scrape the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the top of the 2nd layer with the final 1/3 of the brown sugar-cinnamon.

 

 

 

Bake in a preheated 325° oven (yes, that is 325°) for 50 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean (don't over bake).

Remove from oven and let the cake sit for 15 minutes, then drizzle frosting glaze over the top of the hot cake (leave the cake in the pan).

GLAZE

2 cups confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whisk till smooth and drizzle over hot cake.

Keep this cake in the baking dish, just make sure you cover it tightly with plastic wrap AFTER it is completely cooled.

This cake is beyond moist and delicious on day two and three.

NOTE: The recipe calls for butter flavored Crisco; I have no idea how the batter/cake would turn out if you used something else, (sorry).