M&M Cookies

Valentine's Day is coming up, so why not do some baking to get in the spirit?

 

The original recipe is from http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/ and I will be going back there for recipes!

Yield 36 cookies. Bake @ 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup butter, softening
-1/2 cup shortening
-1/2 cup sugar
-3/4 cups brown sugar
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-2 1/4 cups flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-M&M's

Directions:
 
Mix together the butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Mix in the vanilla and eggs. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until well mized. Using a spatula, fold in the M&M's.

 

 

Scoop small balls of dough onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges. Cool and move to cooling rack.

 

Enjoy!

 

brown.

Ooey-Gooey BlueBerry Muffins

 

 

These muffins were delicous. Moist, fluffy, and oh so fresh. The picture can't do it justice, as these were so overflowing with berry goodness! :) They do have a few steps, but totally worth it!

 

 

Original recipe from Just Another Day in Paradise http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2012/02/streusel-topped-blueberry-muffins.html

 

Makes 16. Bake @ 425 degrees.

Ingredients:Streusel Topping
3 Tablespoons white sugar
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
4 Tablespoons softened butter

Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/8 cups sugar, plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon water
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

 

To start, mix together the sugars and flour in a small bowl for the struesel. Cut the butter into little blocks, then add to the mixture and stir with a fork until it looks like crumbs. Set aside.

 

Next, place ONE cup of blueberries, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of water in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat or until the sauce thickens. Stir with a potato masher or fork. (should take about  minutes)

 

Set that aside and let it cool.

 

Add together the eggs, butter, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and sugar one at a time in a large mixer bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add into the wet mixture.

 

Slowly fold in the remaining blueberries with a spatula.

 

Line a muffin pan with muffin/cupcake liners and spray with Pam. Fill each one up about 3/4 of the way. Add in a little spoonful of the sauce and swirl together.

 

 

Looks yummy!



 

Next, add the struesel topping.

 

Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes! They will look a little runny, but that's how you want them to be!

 

Set them on a cooling rack when done baking and enjoy!

 



 

Cake Mix to Cookies

Another lazy day.

Maybe I should rename my blog to "The Lazy Girl" because this will be my third post about using a box mix to make something different, and better in my opinion, without getting out all the stuff to make it truly homemade.

This is so simple and the results were great- I don't know what it will take for me to actually make cookies from scratch again! 

Ingredients:

-1 Box Cake Mix

-2 eggs

-1/2 c oil

Yep! That's it! Just mix it all together, then plop them onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, then let cool before frosting.

For the frosting, I was in no mood to make the buttercream with eggs, and all that jazz, so I just googled up an easy, fast frosting recipe. Here's what I came up with, from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sugar-cookie-frosting/

Sugar Cookie Frosting

-4 cups confectioner's sugar

-1/2 c shortening

-5 Tbsp milk

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-food coloring

In a large bowl, cream together the confectioner's sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food if desired. 

Doctored-Up Jiffy Corn Muffins

Today was a cold day. Schools were out because of ice and bad roads. We had a yummy pot of chili, and I wanted to make some cornbread. Simple, I thought, just a Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix! But then I got to thinking how I could "doctor it up!"



Super simple and just two extra ingredients!

Ingredients:

-1 Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

-1 egg

-1/3 cup milk

-1/2 cup cheese

-3 Tbsp melted butter

Mix all ingredients together and fill muffin tins halfway-two thirds full. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Viola!

Box-Mix to Homemade

I decided to bake something. I was not feeling the whole "butter, flour, sugar, baking soda, etc" thing and decided to go with a box mix. 

After remembering the very popular pin on Pinterest of how to make a cake-mix from a box taste homemade, I immediately went to it. 

After reading some comments I came up with this:

-1 box of cake mix
-add one extra egg
-double the oil 
-limit water to one cup
-instant pudding mix

I put all the ingredients into a bowl, stirred it, and popped them in the oven. Bake at 325 for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

After letting them cool, I frosted them and added some sprinkles. 

Please submit any questions, comments, or suggestions!

DIY Jewelry Holder

Materials:
-one picture frame with no back
-burlap (I bought 1/2 a yard, depends on how big frame is)
-"Cup" Hooks, 7/8" (number varies on how many necklaces you want to hang from it)
-staple gun
-scissors
-drill (optional)

I bought a 10" x 14"

To begin, I cut the burlap to fit the frame. I laid the frame on top of the burlap and cut an inch in on both the top and bottom, left and right. (use a Sharpie to mark)

After the burlap was cut, I used the staple gun to hold it onto the frame. IMPORTANT: Make sure you staple the inner part of the frame, not the very back. I had to redo mine because the earrings wouldn't go in, otherwise the wall would have blocked it.

Lastly, I spaced the nine hooks I had and drilled a tiny whole. It's optional if you want to use a drill or not, but it will make it a lot easier to get the screws into the wood. Again, mark with a Sharpie.

Final Product!

Please leave questions or comments for me to answer! Hope it works for you! :-)