Cookies!

So, at the end of last year I offered up a couple dozen decorated cookies in an auction my office was conducting to raise money for the Empty Stocking Fund.  Great cause and we raised a ton of $$!

Anyway...the winners of my auction item came calling a few weeks ago.  They wanted me to create some decorated heart cookies for their daughter's first birthday celebration.  Pink and Orange were the colors.  So...off to working on their request I went.

First off, I had a bad experience this year at Christmastime with my old cookie press, so I took my happy self off to Amazon.com to buy another.  Boy am I happy with it.  No more threading and trying to get the thing in the perfect spot to start gunning away.  This puppy just takes off from the get go and makes some great looking cookies.  You can find the press I bought HERE.

Second, I was off to find another spritz cookie recipe.  I really love my old recipe, but it was time for a new one.  I searched until I found one that fit the bill.  Here is my new recipe, Lemon Butter Spritz Cookies from Taste of Home.  They are light, a little lemony, perfect crumble.  LOVE it.

So, then came the decorating part.  How did I want to do it?  I tried one batch using an abstract method of drizzling bright pink and orange over light pink cookies.  Didn't like it....ditch it.

Next I thought, I'll make up some royal icing* and outline the cookie in white.  Then I colored some thinned out royal icing bright pink and some of it orange.  I thinned a bit more white and off I went to fill them in.  I used a skewer to swirl the icing and VOILA, a masterpiece is born.

I think the recipients of these cookies are going to LOVE them.  I know I do and they're super tasty too.



*  For my royal icing, I used 2 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbs of sifted confectioners sugar and 1 1/2 Tbs of meringue powder, 1 tsp of lemon extract and 5 Tbs of cool water.  I beat it with my hand mixer on medium low for about 5 min and then on high for another 5 min.  You want a nice peak on the icing.  I put some of that in a piping bag with a small round tip and piped the outline on the cookies.  For the rest of the icing that I used to flood the cookies, I added another 1 1/2 Tbs of water and beat it again until smooth.  I spooned about 5 Tbs into two separate bowls and tinted to the color I wanted.   I used an Ateco color for the pink and Wilton for the orange.  I then put that icing into two squeeze bottles which I think are easier to work with when flooding cookies.

Recipe time!! Hawaiian Chicken Burgers

So....I've been on my diet for well over three weeks and I've lost a little over 10 pounds.  I'm now working some carbs back into my diet and branching out into some more recipes.  I have been fasting from Facebook and I think I may have replaced my infatuation with it with a new fascination with Pinterest.  The other day I came across a recipe for the most delish sounding burgers, Hawaiian Chicken Burgers.

Shooter had to work late tonight so I ran by the store, picked up groceries and then picked the Todder up from day care.  Ran in and started dinner.  These are the most juicy burgers.  I grilled up some pineapple to top them with and melted provolone cheese over the tops.  I spread a little bit of dijon mustard on the buns and I think it really added a nice tang. 

I also baked some sweet potato fries and it turned into a great alternative to the traditional burger and fries.  Give them a chance and try these amazing burgers tomorrow!

I think I might be a bit crazy

Okay....so bad things happen with I'm being a couch potato with my laptop on my lap and the TV on.  Bad things....like, I order really cute stuff from Ideeli.  Bad stuff....like I decide that my couch potato self needs a real kick in the butt and I order something call the P.I.N.K Method.  Yea...I was watching the doctors and they talked about how much weight you can lose and that you lose the bad weight....that stuff they call visceral belly fat.....and I caved and ordered it.

Today is day one of my P.I.N.K reset.  Basically that means that I eat nothing but veggies and a little protein and will become a farting machine in about 12 hours.  I'm supposed to lose something like 5-10 pounds in the first two weeks.  We'll see.

My church is also doing a Daniel Fast so the start of my diet works beautifully with this....they're very similar.  As part of the Daniel Fast, I've also decided I'm going to fast Facebook for 21 days.  It's day one and I'm thinking I might have been a bit crazy to do that.  I have, however, made a decision to pray for my friends, family, church family and community every time I think of filling time with Facebook nonsense.  So far it's working.

I look forward to seeing what the next 14-21 days brings my way!!