2010 Graduation

Last week, my baby cousin Zak graduated from PCHS in the middle of the pouring rain. Zak hates attention, so when it came to a graduation party, he actually had to agree to allow a party to take place at his house, under the condition that it would not be labeled a graduation party. He called it a "Barbeque and Bring Zak Money" party, and his mom opened all of the cards for him. Aunt Skeeter asked me to make the cake for the get-together, but Zak didn't want his name to be on the cake since it wasn't "his party." I made my standard white cake with buttercream, and even made some matching cupcakes. The colors are the school colors for the University of West Alabama, which is where he will be moving in the fall. He received a nursing scholarship to UWA, which is so awesome! We are all so proud of him, even if he didn't want his own party, and we know he will do so great at West Alabama.

Congrats, Zak! You deserve it!

Fried Oreos

Sounds fattening, right? Well, they are, but they are sooo worth it! These were the last treats that I made for our camp-out, and I had to make a bunch of extras to leave at home for my dad and brother.

Instructions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 400 degrees. Mix together 2 and 1/2 cups of pancake and waffle mix with about 1 cup of water. If you want the batter to be slightly thinner, add a little bit more water.

2. Once the oil has reached the right temperature, dip each Oreo (you will use about 24 cookies) into the pancake batter, then drop them into the hot oil. I worked with about 3 in the fryer at one time.

3. When the batter is golden brown, use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the fried Oreo from the oil and place them onto a paper plate covered with 2-3 paper towels. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then dust with Confectioners' sugar.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Spicy Aztec Cookies

This is another cookie modified from a cupcake recipe. My friend, Korri, wanted the Aztec cupcakes for our camp-out, but I decided to make a cookie version, instead. These cookies are very different, and some people are scared to try them if I tell them that they have chili powder in them. The spice doesn't really hit you until a few seconds after you have bitten into it, and the combination of chocolate and cinnamon is actually very tasty. You can also adjust the amount of chili powder you add to the cookie if you want a more/less spicy flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup self-rising flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chili powder

3 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In an electric mixing bowl, beat the butter, light brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract until blended well. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and chili powder. Reduce the mixing speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture just until incorporated. Turn off the mixer and add white chocolate chunks to the dough, stirring with a rubber spatula.

3. Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto the cookie sheets, spacing them two or more inches apart.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven, and allow to cool about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Margarita Cookies

This weekend, my friends and I decided to camp out at Daniel's house to celebrate everyone being back in town from college. I told them to make some food requests and I would bring some goodies to snack on. Nikki requested margarita cupcakes, but I figured that the cupcakes wouldn't do very well out in the open, so I decided to look for a margarita cookie recipe. I found this one over at Smitten Kitchen and decided to give it a try.

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup Confectioners' sugar

2 large egg yolks

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons tequila (I used one teaspoon Jose Cuervo Premium tequila, and one teaspoon Jose Cuervo Premium margarita flavored tequila)

Grated zest of 2 limes

2 cups self-rising flour

Coating:

1/2 cup clear sanding sugar

2 teaspoons flaky salt (I used regular table salt)

Instructions:

1. Beat the softened butter in an electric mixing bowl with the paddle attachment until creamy. Add the Confectioners' sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth. Beat in one of the egg yolks, followed by salt, tequila, and lime zest. Reduce the mixing speed and add the flour just until incorporated. Do NOT over-beat. I only used the mixer for about 20 seconds after I added the flour, and then I used a rubber spatula to mix it the rest of the way.

2. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, gather into a ball, and divide it into two. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes or more, remove the dough from the fridge and roll into logs that are about 1 inch - 1 and 1/4 inches thick. I ended up having to divide each of the halves again, then rolled the fourths into smaller logs. Re-wrap each log with plastic wrap and place back into the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, prepare the sugar/salt coating. In a bowl, whisk the remaining egg yolk until it is thin enough to be a glaze. Spread the salt and sugar onto wax paper or a cutting board. Remove the dough from the fridge, brush with the egg yolk, and roll through the sugar and salt.

5. Slice the logs into 1/4 inch thick cookies, and place on a lined cookie sheet, spacing each cookie about 1/2 inch apart. *Don't forget to line the pan with parchment paper. I forgot, and you'll see how that turned out..*

6. Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before removing them from the pan.

As you can see, I forgot to add parchment paper to the pan. I was only able to save about 30% of the cookies :( They were pretty yummy, though! I might tweak them a little bit next time, though, because they were a teensy bit dry. But all-in-all, the flavor was very good.