I missed last’s week’s Sundays in the South installment. For the first time in over a month my mister had a Sunday afternoon off – so we enjoyed that time together. I usually don’t get on the computer when he is home – because I want to be about doing life with him, not blogging. So, what I need to get better at is writing blogs and posting them to be live on those days that he is off – that way I would still be posting regularly.
The Fall is always a time of celebration for our family and this time we are including a family vacation and the boys and I are taking a trip to Little Rock. With celebrations comes food.
And today, Sundays in the South is brought to you by a new food for me: I just finished reading my latest edition of Southern Living, and I saw a Dutch Baby (which is an oven pancakes). I have everything – so I am going to head on into the kitchen to make it. We will see how it turns out!
Bring on the Fall! The weather hasn’t changed that much from last week, but the feel in my kitchen certainly has. Earlier this week I made some of these: some friends and some little misters in our home devoured these.
They are all gone.
I had never made a snickerdoodle until I lived with one of the girls I discipled (while she was in college). She loved snickerdoodles. And the fun thing is – that as I read the directions, I read them wrong, and it turned out I like it better and now this recipe is my tried and true snickerdoodle. Snickerdoodles are so easy and if done right they are perfectly soft and chewy for days. We just had the last of these at lunch and they were still chewy. Success!
And seriously – one of the things that can make any bad day better for me is buttercream. I love it – a true Hero! 🙂 But, it is also a bear to get perfect. If you get your butter too soft – forget it. I think I added too much pumpkin to mine trying to achieve the perfect pumpkin flavor – but below I’ve changed the recipe some. I hope yours turns out better than mine.
Food is such a way to minister to people. Especially the lonely.
The widows. The lonely. The Shut-ins. How do we interact with these people on a regular basis? I have to admit I fail at this miserably – but I desire to get better at it. One way we did this as a family recently is by taking cookies to some widows on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to make some cookies and then deliver them. I knew the boys would bring a smile to their faces (I was right on that account) and cookies are always delicious!
I read some invaluable posts by my friend Brian Croft over at Practical Shepherding. I won’t re-hash them here, but encourage you to go read these:
There are more at his site – just go search widows and you will get many posts to read and implement. Brian and his wife, Cara, have years of experience living this out – not just writing down ideas.
One way that I’m going to be doing this is by writing letters. I’ve asked my husband to get a list of the widows in the church and each week I want to write to one widow, pray for her by name, and if the time allows, visit her with my children and husband. Visiting widows is very out of my comfort zone. Aging is something that is hard and makes us examine our own mortality and the end of our lives. It is also hard to know how long to stay, what to say, how to sit there with them if they aren’t coherent, or if they are really sick. But, Jesus said to go to the sick and minister to the widows. And I also know from years of experience – ministry is not easy. But, still needs to be done.
Delicious cake like cookie with buttercream frosting
Ingredients
1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 egg
⅔ stick of unsalted butter
⅓ cup whole milk with 1 tsp white vinegar
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ tsp kosher salt
Frosting;
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cup sifted powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
milk or heavy cream to your consistency likeness
2 drops red food coloring
Instructions
Combine dry ingredients
Cream wet ingredients.
Spoon onto greased baking sheet to make BIG cookies (should get 8)
Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until done.
Let cool
Make buttercream. Pipe unto cookies.
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Here is a simple cookie recipe that you can use as you minister to widows in your church. A plate of cookies is always good. If for some reason they can’t eat them, they most likely have caretakers and they will enjoy them!
How do you care for the widows in your church or community? Enjoy the cookies!
This week will be different because of a Grain-Free 4-Day Detox (stay tuned for more on that) and a holiday and some ministry opportunities coming for the weekend. I really do love using my love of cooking for ministry opps – everyone loves food, right?
Monday: Making something similar to this pork roast and serving it with sweet potatoes and sautéed apples. Think cracker barrel.
Tuesday: Sautéed seafood with taco seasoning – think Taco Tuesday – with a salad (my husband will more than likely have it with a tortilla and cabbage).
Wednesday: Cabbage and Kielbasa. I’m trying to win my husband over with this meal. It is something I loved when growing up and now I’m just making it because I had the kielbasa on hand and needed a cheap meal.
Thursday: DATE DAY! Since our marriage retreat got cancelled a few wknds back, my hubs took the day off and we are doing us-stuff. That includes conversation, coffee shops, and lunch date!
Friday: Chocolate-covered strawberry pop tarts for Valentine’s Day breakfast, Crack Cookies to take to some widows for VDay – more on that later as well, stay tuned – and then my hubs cooks me a rather awesome steak each year on VDay and with it we are having roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus. Don’t know about dessert yet. We shall see.
Saturday: Having some friends over for a brunch on Saturday morning. These rolls will grace the table. This sparkly beverage. And a delicious quiche. Keeping it simple. But, delicious. And about friends and conversation and a pretty tablescape.
Last week was New Years, and on the second day of the new calendar – I started on my journey of cooking through Jenna’s recipe journal on Eat Live Run.
I hung out with a friend and her daughters for a play date, convo day mixed with yummy cookies. Jenna’s recipes give me creativity and allows me to try new foods and cooking techniques. It will definitely be a culinary adventure this year.
These oatmeal cookies were small, thick and chewy. I added more milk and some cinnamon to the buttercream but that was the only alteration to her recipe. We had fun and they were all gone in two days.
The taste of summer. Bright fresh citrus in the form of red grapefruits. Pretty pinkish color throughout these delicate, sponge-like cookies. Perfectly shaped into sea shells – which is another favorite of mine in the summer – the beach. These cookies are perfect!
I borrowed a madeleine pan a few weeks ago from a friend at church. Then I realized today that I had accidently not juiced a red grapefruit – then I hopped off the couch and ran to the kitchen to make these. Glad I always have butter and eggs.
As long as you follow the directions and spray the pan – these are really fool-proof cookies and the entire plate will disappear shortly!
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 of a grapefruit – zested
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Glaze:
powderered sugar
fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
In a mixer, mix together eggs, sugar, and salt for about 8 minutes on low-medium speed until thickened. Then add the vanilla and zest. Then the flour until well-combined. Finally, add in the melted butter.
Well grease your madeleine pan (I used pam). Use a cookie scoop to get the batter in the molds. Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes, depending on your oven. Let cool slightly, pop out of pan.
Mix glaze until you get your desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cookies. Enjoy!
I got to bring something to a birthday party this past weekend and had most of the ingredients for these, so I went with a new recipe. I liked the crisp in them and of course the addition of a little hershey’s chocolate on top.
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup rice krispies
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
mini hershey bars
Tools: mini muffin pan, small cookie scoop, stand mixer, measuring spoons and cups, spatula
Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix dry together and add to wet. Fold in cereal and chocolate chips.
Spray muffin pans and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Makes approximately 30. Remove from oven when done. Immediately put 1/2 of a miniature hershey bar in the top. Let cool completely.
Deep chocolate with york peppermint candies and a mint buttercream filling. Yum.
I took a hint for the cookie from The Novice Chef and then made it my own. Thank you!
Here you go: great for kids of all ages…
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup York mini candies (the ones that look like m&ms)
Cream wet, add dry. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Let cool completely.
1 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 t milk
2 t peppermint extract
Cream butter for about 5 minutes. Add in sugar and keep beating for about 5 total minutes. Add in milk and extract. Beat a little more till light and fluffy.
Then put buttercream in between 2 cookies and enjoy!
Oh, bring on the holiday season. I love baking for things during the holidays…trying new festive recipes that get out of my kitchen in a hurry. These will be gone tomorrow! 🙂 And I did much better on tasting them than the buttercream sessions earlier in the week.
I found this recipe on :
Pomegranate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup pomegranate arils
Cream butter and sugars, add egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture. Fold in oats and white chocolate. Fold in (gently) the arils. They will pop, but you want them to pop in your mouth, not in the dough.
Spoon onto sprayed cookie sheets and bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
Enjoy the pop of tart and the creamy goodness of white chocolate and the chew of oats. These are definitely a holiday winner!
Finally bought some Nutella when my parents were here over the summer. Got around to using it tonight for these yummy cookies.
Chocolaty – with a hint of hazelnut goodness known as Nutella.
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of Nutella
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
Cream, then combine dry. Fold in chips. 350, greased cookie sheet, small cookie scoop, 11-12 minutes depending on cookie sheet and other variables. Mine cooked perfectly at 11:30, but check it the first time around at around 10 to see how far you have to go to get that perfect doneness.
Enjoy.
