Recipes

To see the entire Out of the Block | Ice Cream Cone Cookie Cutter series, including pattern for felt applique block and how to make your own cookie cutters click HERE. 

I've tasted a lot of sugar cookies in my days, and I have to say, this is by far my very favorite. What makes it so special... a splash of lemon! And I'm a sucker for lemon. When I go to restaurants, I ask for "water with obscene amounts of lemon". Frankly, Tim teases that how I tip is directly related to how much lemon they bring me. I've had waiters bring out an entire lemon, and they watch as I squeeze every last drop of juice into my water. Basically, it's lemonade without the sugar. But I digress... we're talking cookies here! Anyway... these cookies don't make you pucker, they just have a subtle lemon favor that makes this the perfect cookie to munch with a cup of freshly brewed tea or a tall, ice cold glass of milk :)

If you are unfathomably not a fan of lemon, simply omit the lemon zest and substitute vanilla extract for the lemon flavoring. BTW... this was a Michelle discovery, and once again the student is the teacher :) This is the perfect dough to use with our hand-made tin cookie cutters!

LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, room temp
2 eggs, room temp
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpse flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest (grated lemon peel)
1 teaspoon lemon flavoring

Directions:
Blend butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, adding a small amount at a time to the mixture, blending well. Add zest and flavoring. Chill dough. On a well floured board, roll out a small quantity at a time to about a 1/4" thickness. Dough not in use should be kept refrigerated. Cut into shapes and bake on a lightly greased cookies sheet, for about 10-12 minutes at 375. Bake until set, but not brown. Sprinkle with colored sugars, before baking, or frost after baking. Dough can be frozen to bake at a later date.

LEMON SUGAR COOKIE ICING

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
food coloring (optional)

Directions:
Into small bowl, sift sugar and cream of tartar through a very fine sieve; add 2 egg whites and lemon extract. With mixer at high speed, beat mixture so stiff the knife drawn through leaves clean path.
(On humid days you may need to beat in more confectioner's sugar.)

Rolling out dough and cutting out cookies

Icing Cookies

Adding sprinkles

Ready to eat

Now it's the wee ones' turn!

Tasting testing before sharing with friends

All agreed... good enough to share with friends... as long as they could save a few for the family :)

Last month I shared a recipe for Kahlua and Butterscotch Liqueur. It has aged for a whopping 30 days and is ready for drinking, I mean gift giving :) Must admit we tried both. Can't very likely give something away without a little quality testing. Findings... although the Kahlua recipes SAYS it's ready to drink in 30 days, I learned from years of my dad making Kahlua... the longer it ages, the better it is. Although I would certainly drink a tumbler of the Kahlua on the rocks... even better if mixed with heavy cream... it will even be more yummy if it sits for a few months. So, I will try to show some restraint, and let our bottles age a bit more. On the other hand, the butterscotch liqueur is beyond yummy. And although I'm willing to bet it too will improve with age, I'm not sure it will stand a chance!

Of course, we couldn't send these off into the world without proper labeling. We found some wonderful Arched Labels #22809 from Avery. They have software to download at their site so you can customize your labels. The next challenge was to come up with a name. Since our last name is "Wise", we wanted to come up with a cute play on words. Tim thought back to the playground names he was called as a youth. Most were not "family friendly", so we chose "Wise Acre". Not a term you hear often today, but for you youngin's, a wiseacre is "one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness"... it's like calling someone a smart acleck.

So, we are now officially done with our holiday gifts. All of our kith and kin will be receiving our homemade liqueurs this year. Tim and I are hopeful that these libations not only warm the body, but the heart, too :) Although there are only 4 gifts under our tree this year, the ones for the grandbabies, it is indeed a glorious holiday season! We are now ready to turn our focus to simply enjoying time with the family and making a million new memories :)

We are trying something new this year... and I must admit I'm a little bit nervous. As a family, we decided that we wanted to simplify Christmas and focus on the joy of being together. So, for the first time ever, the adults are not exchanging gifts. Gulp and Yikes! I am not buying my babies gifts! Again, Gulp and Yikes! We can, however, make something small for one another... jars of jam, a tin of shortbread, or in our case, homemade liqueurs.

Actually, there is a reason we went this route. First off... I was going to make a "six pack" of unusual jams and jellies for each family. I had visions of jalapeno jelly, apple butter and tomato jam. Well, summer came and went with nothing to show for it! (Uh, I did get as far as to buy lovely tall canning jars... I'll be ready next year :) Anyway, I needed a Plan B.

My father helped me formulate Plan B. Soon after I was married, my father started making his own Kahlua. A month or two before Christmas, he'd make up a batch, and give a bottle to each family as a gift. He did this for many years, until his disease, frontal lobe dementia, robbed him of his normal routines. Sadly, as each year goes by, my dad slips farther and farther away from us. There is now little left of the father I knew, but I decided to carry on his tradition, thereby including him in our celebration, even in this small way.

So, with the help of my trusty sidekick, Timothy, we made a batch of Kahlua. I swear it was an accident, although I've been accused otherwise, but I miscalculated, and we made twice as much as we needed. Oops! Something tells me it won't go to waste! We also found and made a recipe for a Butterscotch Liquor that I can't wait to taste!

So, this Christmas, things will be a little different. Hopefully, as a family, we will take joy in our new tradition, simplifying, and perhaps add another tradition that has its roots in an old tradition started by my dad :)   

BTW... Before anyone asks... We bought our bottles and bottle tops online from Quality Wine and Ale Supply. We purchased the assorted wine bottle collection and the expansion stoppers. They look so pretty lined up on my cabinet!

KAHLUA – Makes 1/2 gallon
 
Ingredients:
2 cups boiling water
3 cups sugar
1/3 cup instant coffee
1 fifth 100 proof vodka
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (very important not to use imitation vanilla)
 
Directions:
Combine boiling water with instant coffee. As soon as the coffee dissolves, add sugar. Allow to cool to room temp. Add vodka and vanilla. Pour the mixture into a big bottle (at least 1/2 gallon jug) and cover. Set aside for at least 30 days. Shake the bottle each day. Keep tightly closed. 

BUTTERSCOTCH LIQUEUR – 1 Quart
 
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup brandy
1 cup 100 proof vodka
1/2 teaspoon butterscotch flavored extract
 
Directions:
Bring sugar and water to boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat stirring constantly. When the sugar water mixture turns clear, remove from heat. Cool to room temp. Add brandy, vodka, and extract. Pour the mixture into a 1 quart container and cover. Set aside for at least 30 days. Shake the bottle each day. Keep tightly closed.

Nothing beats that smell, or the sensation of eating a warm cookie with a tall glass of cold milk. Because of that, I usually only bake as many cookies as we plan to eat right away. Then, I form the rest of the cookies into balls, place them close together on a cookie sheet, and freeze them. When frozen, I throw them into a Ziploc, pop them back in the freezer, and remove just a few at a time when our stomachs are in need of a little tickling :) And while they are baking, sit back and enjoy the intoxicating aroma of fresh baked cookies... better than any scented candle you'll ever light :) For more on freezing cookie dough, read our article, The Magic Cookie Bag.

Over the years, my favorite cookie has changed. All the standards like peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies made with milk chocolate, and oatmeal cookies with pecans, have held that place of honor. Right now, my "favoritest" cookie is the Grape-Nuts Cookie. My mom first made these 20 years ago. She got the recipe off the back of a Grape-Nuts box. They are crunchy AND chewy! Yum! This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies. Enough to fill your house with the wonderful smell of fresh baked cookies many times. Enjoy!

GRAPE-NUTS COOKIES - Makes 6 dozen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) margarine or butter
2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 c. Post Grape-Nuts cereal
2 c. oatmeal
1 c. dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc.)

 
Directions:
Mix flour and baking soda in small bowl.
 
Beat margarine or butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed to soften.
 
Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.
 
Beat in egg and vanilla.
 
Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition.
 
Stir in cereal, oats and fruit.
 
Use a cookie scoop and place on an ungreased cookie sheets.
 
Bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
 
Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks.

What cookies are you munching on these days? If you'd like to include a recipe, feel free to include it in our comments! Always looking for my next favorite cookie, hehe!

I can't talk about summer without talking about Grandma Pearl. Growing up, I was blessed to have both of my grandmothers alive and well. But Bushia, my maternal grandma, birthed 13 children, my mom being #10, and by the time my mom was in high school, there were already grandbabies from older siblings running amuck! Not that Bushia didn't love us every bit as much as the first, we just weren't much of a novelty! Whereas, Grandma Pearl only had 2 children, my Dad being 6 years older than his sister, so when my older brother, Keith, was born, with me just 14 months on his heals, why, Grandma Pearl couldn't get enough of us!

In the summertime, we spent the night at Grandma Pearls, often. Because of that, so many of my summer memories involve her. If Grandma Pearl did anything beyond playing with us when we were over, she must have done it after we went to sleep... which was after the Tonight Show, which we watched in the pull-out bed, in her foyer, with the door to the street left open all night, so we could get a "nice cross-breeze". 

Today, I want to share her summer concoction, which in my mind's eye, is the absolutely BESTEST summer drink EVER! (Even beats a fruity Sangria or salty Margarita, in my book :) My children liked it, but didn't LOVE IT the way I did. So I didn't make it all the time. Besides, if I made it all the time, I'm afraid it would lose its "specialness". To this day, when I take a sip, I'm sitting out back in Grandma Pearl's back yard, watching her water her prize winning roses, and thinking "life is good". So, when I made up this batch, with the help of my grandbabies, I lifted my glass in toast to Grandma Pearl, hoping she is still mixing up pitchers in heaven :)

Best Summer Drink ... EVER!
1 can frozen concentrate lemonade
1 can frozen concentrate grape juice
1 can frozen concentrate cranberry juice

Mix them all together, adding the amount of water listed on the cans.



On a hot summer day, fill a tall glass with ice cubes, and pour yourself a glass. Find a nice, shady spot in your backyard, then take a sip. Nectar of the gods, right? :)

After Bug made up a batch, we took it outside. We poured the drink over ice. They took their taste testing seriously.

And the results? Two hardy thumbs up. Phew! You can bet we will be making more of it over the summer :)

What was/is your favorite go-to drink in the summer? Feel free to share a recipe in the comments :)