COOK: Irish Cream Chocolate Cookies

 I made these cookies for St. Patrick's Day this year and they were amazing!  The flavor really develops as they sit, so I'd suggest making them a day before you are going to serve them.  

I used white chocolate to dip, drizzle over the cookies, but I think semi-sweet or dark chocolate would be just as yummy.  I added green sanding sugar to the chocolate to making them more festive, but you can skip it, or use an other color to match your event.

Irish Cream Chocolate Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (packed)

1/3 Cup Irish Cream (I used Saint Brendan's)

1 Egg (room temperature)

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

Topping:

2 Cups White Chocolate Chips

Colored Sanding Sugar

Preparation:

Set oven to 350 degrees, prepare cookie sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats.  

In either the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large bowl, cream butter, then add sugars and continue to cream until fluffy.  Add in irish cream, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until completely combined.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and cornstarch.  Add to wet mixture slowly while mixing.  After everything is fully combined let cookie dough set for 5 minutes.  

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets using a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop or regular spoon.  (I have these scoops and love them!)  gently flatten balls so that they are about 1/4-1/2 inch tall.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, the edges should have just barely started to crack.  Take cookies out of oven and let sit about 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Melt chocolate chips either in a double boiler, or in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until fully melted.  Dip cookies into chocolate, or drizzle over the top, add sanding sugar before chocolate sets.  Cookies can be stored in a plastic container or zippy bag for up to 7 days.

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COOK: Perfect Flaky Pie Crust

Pie crust is an art. I tried so many different recipes, some used a teaspoon of vodka, my Grandma Burk's "fool proof" recipe used cream of tartar...all of them were either impossible to roll out or tasted horrible.  I had resigned myself to using store bought (and there is nothing wrong with that!).

I decided to try one last time, only because my pie fillings are always from scratch and darnit, I wanted to tell people that it was all homemade!  (Aside from milling the flour, churning the butter, growing the apples, etc...)

Dustin was almost a year when I finally perfected my recipe and he helps me make pie dough every year, it's our thing and I love it!

Perfect Flaky Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Flour (plus more for dusting work space when rolling dough)

1/2 Cup Cold Unsalted Butter (cut into small pieces)

1 Tablespoon Sugar (Omit if using dough for savory pie)

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

3-4 Tablespoons ICE COLD water

Preparation:

Note: I use my Cuisinart Food Processor with the regular cutting blade (do not use the dough blade!), but if you don't have a food processor you can use a dough cutter in the beginning and then kneed/mix by hand, or in a pinch use two butter knives to cut in the butter.

In the food processor pulse the flour, cold butter, sugar (if using), and salt until it forms coarse crumbles.  (Sorry, we forgot to take a picture at this point!)

Slowly add water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, while still pulsing, once the dough comes together in a large ball it's done.  

Remove dough from bowl and wrap loosely in plastic warp, put in the fridge for 30 minutes, up to 48 hours.  (If it's in longer than 30 minutes take it out before you plan to roll it out so it gets a little warm, but not room temperature.)

Set dough ball onto a well floured surface, press down so it's a very fat disc shape and then push your knuckles into the sides.  

Now, start rolling it with your well floured rolling pin, roll about three times in one direction, then move and roll out in another.  You want the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick in the end.  

Once it's large enough to fit your pie plate, with at least 1 inch overhang on the edges roll onto your floured rolling pin (or wine bottle if you don't have a rolling pin!) and transfer to your pie dish.

After pushing, gently, into pie pan cut off any excess that is more than about an inch overhang.

Fold excess under to make a thicker crust on the outer edge.  (Does that make sense?!?!)  

If you are making a no bake or custard pie you'll want to "make the edge pretty" at this point.  If a no bake pie you you need to pre-bake the crust  line the inside of the crust with foil and fill with cheap dry beans or rice, and then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  

If you are adding a top crust do that before finishing the edges.

You can crimp with your fingers, as I did, use a fork, bottle cap, melon baller..check Pinterest for all the pretty ways to finish your pie crust!

If making a filled pie, pot pie, or custard pie follow instructions included with the filling for baking temps and times.  

I have an amazing Pumpkin Pie Custard recipe as well as a Dutch Apple Pie Filling recipe if anyone is interested.

Let me know if you have questions!  

Happy Holidays!

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FUN: Toilet Paper Roll Crafts

I love decorating for every holiday or season.  I think the DIY decorations are the best, I always make the kiddos put their name and the year on them, because I know I won't remember years from now, but I'll still use the decorations.

One of our favorites is decorating toilet paper rolls and wine corks.

We made bunnies for Easter, snowmen, reindeer, and trees for Christmas, jack o'lanterns and spiders for Halloween, and love bugs for Valentine's Day.

If you use toilet paper, just save the roll when you change it.  The same with wine corks.  So easy, right??!!??

We usually paint the roll/cork, then decorate.  We have used paint, Sharpie pens, felt, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, ribbon....

It's so easy, and super cute!

If you are using wine corks and want to cut them just put them in a pot of water, bring to a boil, remove corks with a hot pad and cut with a bread knife, (or any serrated knife), easy-peasy!

You can find a lot of ideas on Pinterest, I show the kiddos but tell them I want them to use their imagination and make it their own.  I love knowing that years from know I'll have these decorations and can show my grandkiddos what their parents made, and I hope my kiddos will make decorations with their kids.

I save all of the decorations in shoe boxes (aside from Christmas, then we have multiple plastic totes), the kiddos love getting the decorations out and seeing what they did "when they were young" in Little Miss B's words.

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