I had no intention of making these cookies. For the last two months it has been torture around here trying to shed the ten pounds I have gained since starting this food blog. Five pounds have been lost, but Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are not my friend! Continue reading
Filed under Cookies
I could not let another fabulous Sugar Coma happen without telling you about it. The first one I did was a blast! The wonderful Broke Socialite really out did herself. It was an unforgettable experience. If you are looking for a great way to spend some time with friends you should check out her future soirees. I promise that you will not be dissapointed.
Now here is a recap of my Sugar Coma! We met at Bradford’s on Bishop for lunch. Our Sugar Momma was Run With Tweezers who has a great blog . Check it out.
Note the bags in the back of the photo. Yes, those were ours filled with all kinds of goodies.
Dessert was provided by Peachy Treats and Pink Cupcake Dreams.
These chocolate cupcakes filled with caramel and Yummy.
We were swept away by Atlantic LimoGa which meant having no worries about driving or parking. We got to enjoy the drive and each other’s company.
1st stop Caryn’s Cakes
There is a bakery in Savannah, Georgia on Bay Street called B. Mathews Bakery. During the winter when it not as busy I have spent many Saturday afternoons enjoying a cup of tea and a chocolate cookie. Not just any chocolate cookie but one where the chocolate was so intense that I wanted to eat a dozen instead of just one. I have tried on several occasions to duplicate the recipe but I could never seem to get the same chocolate flavor. It is much the same flavor as in this flourless chocolate cake that I made last month.
Filed under Cookies, Cookies from scratch
This is why we did not have school last Friday. If you’re from the north I know that you are laughing, but 1/2 inch or more of this white stuff will shut us down for quite sometime. We head to the grocery store for bread and milk and whatever else is needed for being snowbound. It was beautiful while it lasted which was for exactly twenty-four hours. Just long enough for school to be called off for yet another day.
On Wednesday before the snow I demonstrated this to my class. With much enthusiasm on Thursday the classes baked their cookies to decorate on Friday. I heard them planning their strategy and who they were delivering their cookies to for Valentine’s Day. It would be their boyfriend, girlfriend, favorite teacher, or take them home to let their parents enjoy. But it did not happen on Friday! Then came our three-day winter break. Decorating Disappointment!!! Continue reading
Filed under Cookies, Cookies from scratch, frosting, Recipes, sugar cookies
What do you do for your honey on Valentine’s Day? I usually cook up something good! Our first Valentine’s Day after we were married I made GI Joe a pound cake in the shape of a heart and decorated it. I must say it was beautiful and he loved it. Why I chose this Valentine’s Day to decorate sugar cookies I do not know!! Oh yea, it was the front cover of Southern Living’s beautifully decorated cookies all perfect and everything. So I did get inspired to try these even though I am not wild about cookie decorating. After one cake decorating class I knew then it was not my forte.
The recipe for the cookies is a great one given to me eight years ago from Kelly T. one of my students. I love these cookies without the icing. Of course GI Joe loves the icing so I did both. Here is how it is done so get busy for your Valentine!
It is way beyond me that something this easy is so good! And for the life of me I should not keep any of these ingredients on hand. I honestly could eat the entire pan by myself and almost did last night but GI Joe saved the day and he ate the other half!
Yesterday was one of those days that you just want to stay curled up in a blanket by the fire. It was quite cold and rainy. I just wanted to stay home, but I had shopping to do. My niece, that is in pharmacy school, is getting married in June and next Saturday she is having her first wedding shower in Savannah. We picked up her gift and wouldn’t you know it they had Lenox Butler’s Pantry on sale. I have wanted it since the first day I set my eyes on it. Yes, I bought eight place settings and three serving pieces. Now if you know someone who wants Vintage Vine in beige, please let me know. I really need to unload it! GI Joe said,”Well, Happy Anniversary, Valentine’s Day and Birthday!” It is so worth it though.
Since having a light dinner last night, I really wanted to go to downtown Villa Rica to Gabe’s. Their Bread Pudding is the best. Not wanting to venture out in the rain and cold, I stood in front of the pantry with the door open and all I saw was sweetened condensed milk and semisweet chocolate pieces. I told myself not to make those bad Chocolate Magic Bars, but myself did not listen.
Saturday I participated in one of a series of swanky soirees presented by The Broke Socialite. It was so much fun! I love doing this kind of thing. I guess that is why I do what I do!
As a Family and Consumer Science teacher (aka Home Economics teacher) I have participated in every kind of tour. This is just a short list: fabric plants, cookware plants, all kinds of restaurants including kitchen tours of Joel in Atlanta and Sensi at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, culinary schools, Julia Child’s kitchen, all kinds of homes from the Old Governor’s Mansion, Swan House and the Haye House. I have had high tea at the Ritz Carlton and at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. To get my point across I have done my share of tours and this one was about the most fun I have ever had.
We started out early at 8:30! We got our assignments to a brand spanking new Cadillac SRX driven by @Chatterbox. She was a wonderful driver entertaining us the entire morning.
Our first stop was No Mas Cantina for a wonderful breakfast buffet served with our choice of drink. I chose the Mexican Hot Chocolate which was smooth and creamy and delicious. Here are a couple of photos of what we enjoyed at No Mas Cantina.
Potatoes, Eggs over easy and Beans with Salsa
It was so good!
This is Helen writer of Sweet Tartlette. She is a pastry chef from France and she enjoyed the Sugar Coma, also. Check her blog out. Her photography is beautiful. I really enjoyed talking with her. Very sweet and ready to help anyone out.
Our second shop was Cacao Atlanta. On my! When I walked into the shop the chocolate aroma was heavenly. We got to sample their Hot Chocolate which was by far the best that I have even had topped with homemade marshmallows. I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. Take a look at all the chocolate. And another thing, Kristin knows chocolate!
Just feast your eyes on this place. Joli Kobe had the most magnificent pastries and cakes waiting for us when we walked in the door. Drool a bit over these.
Look at the detail here!
Now it has started to rain but just because we are in a Sugar Coma doesn’t mean we are going to melt. We are just getting started. We have two more stops then lunch.
This is the Cookie Studio. It is a cute little bakery with the kitchen out there for everyone to see. I loved this place. It so reminded me of the bakery where I grew up and spent almost every day after school trying to decide between the cream horns or the butter cookies for a snack. One thing that happened while we were there that I thought was funny. This older gentleman came in to pick up a beautifully wrapped package of cookies and looking around at the twenty four of us and said to me ” What in the world is going on here.” And I said, ” We are participating in a Sugar Coma!” I wish I had a picture of his face. He said , “OK.” Took his cookies and left.
Here is the menu above the cash register
Our last stop was also a cute bakery called Sweet N’Sinful. The owner had prepared lots of her cupcakes in miniature form just for us to taste. Of course she knew this was the last leg of our tour and we could be in a Sugar Coma! She had to go boxes which all of us quickly filled! Here are some more droolable ( is that a word?) photos.
We then traveled to Le Fai Do Do for lunch catered by Black Tie Barbecue. It was fabulous!! Even after tasting all the wonderful sweets all morning I can say it was one of the best catered lunches I have had. For starters we had a spring salad with strawberries and candied pecans with a wonderful dressing. Black Tie grilled two main dishes chicken and salmon fillets. My favorite was the salmon. Side dishes of rice pilaf and the most wonderful bok choy that I have ever tasted. It was to die for!!!
So that was my Sugar Coma. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.
Enjoy your cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Filed under Bar Cookies, Cake, Candy, Cookies, Cupcakes, Desserts, suger coma
We all have favorites that we love to eat and make during the holidays. This is one of my all time favorites. It is great tasting and very easy to put together. Just what we all need this time of the year. There is one problem. It is very hard just to eat one square!! I made these last night and found myself having a cup of coffee with two of these sweet morsels.
Looking at the recipe last night I could not believe how long I had been making them. I got the recipe one Thanksgiving at my Dad’s. My step mother always made them for Christmas. On the back of the recipe I had written sizes of my nephews 2T and size 8 so that I could pick them up a couple of things for Christmas. They are both young men now. One in his last year of residency and the other is running a farm! Time flies!!!
If you are watching your weight DO NOT make these bars!! They are so good you cannot stop yourself.
This recipe is from my friend Debbie. She is a great cook and is always bringing something good to school. I e-mailed her and said, ” I want that recipe for whatever you brought to school last Christmas. I cannot remember what’s in it . I just remember that it was delicious.” That gave her alot to go on. We are lucky to get this with that kind of information. In spite of my memory Debbie came through for me.
All right so I am baking these bars with very limited time. It is 10:00 and I have to take them to my tennis match by 2:00. Everything that could go wrong does. I pulled out the cake mix and the use by date had expired by 2 weeks. Just for me I would have used it, but with my luck no telling what would have happened!! Now a trip to the grocery. Thanks goodness I pulled out everything else that I would need including the pan. Oh, wait there is NO PAN. Forgot I had thrown it away. Just for your information don’t make lasagna in an aluminum pan because after so many years the tomato sauce will eat holes in it. So GI Joe is off to the store to buy a pan and a cake mix. He does not shop. He knows nothing about baking pans. After 15 minutes on the phone we settle for the heavy duty Wilton pan. Just remember that when you are baking in a dark pan to turn the oven down 25 degrees. I didn’t!! Almost burned! I did make it to my match on time with the bars and they were enjoyed.
Thanks to Debbie for the recipe . Here it is for you to enjoy, too.
1 stick of melted butter
Butter Recipe Cake Mix
1 egg
1 cup chopped Pecans
Mix with wooden spoon
Place in a 9 x 13 in. pan
Spread in the pan
1 box powdered sugar, 2 eggs, 8 oz cream cheese
Mix with mixer
Pour on top of cake mixture
When using a dark pan like this one make sure that you lower your oven temperature by 25 degrees. I failed to do this and they were very nearly burned!!!
Park Avenue Bars - Wonderful !
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!
Park Avenue Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 in. baking dish. Mix by hand the cake mix, 1 egg, melted butter and chopped pecans. Press down into bottom of greased baking dish. Set aside. Mix well in mixer powdered sugar, 2 eggs, and cream cheese. Pour on top of crust . Bake about 40 min. (until the top is golden brown). Cool before cutting.
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
These nutty fingers hold a lot of memories for me. The first road trip that I ever took with GI Joe to Dallas, Texas I made these little sweet things to eat on the way. That was the start of a real romance! Almost every vacation, tennis tournament or TDY it was a given for me to make them.These little morsels of butter, flour and nuts just melt in your mouth and I am not exaggerating at all. So easy to make you can do it blindfolded and with one hand tied behind you. So get in the kitchen right now and put these little babies together. Here’s how you do it.
Nutty Fingers
Mix all the ingredients together. Shape into small balls or fingers. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Roll in powdered sugar. After cooled roll in sugar again.
I can tell you these are not going to last very long on the cooling rack. I cannot control myself and end up popping them in my mouth as I roll them in the sugar. They are so good!!!
I took these to serve at my tennis match in these cute little foil papers, but the picture is blurry so I will not embarass myself. Just use your imagination and think about how cute they were in those little foil papers.
Happy Cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Here are the pictures to guide you along:
Soften butter and plain flour in a mixing bowl
Add 5 Tablespoons of powdered sugar
Add 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped pecans
Mix together with wooded spoon
Shape and ready to bake
Out of the oven
Roll in powdered sugar - TWICE
Cool on cooling rack
The Teacher Cooks 