Snickerdoodles

Today has been a fabulously uneventful day.  Oh, I did a few things like watching lil' Adie for a few hours this morning and another lil' Lucy for an hour over lunch, and I got the computer programmed for Sunday's 2nd hour worship, and I made Snickerdoodles (see below), but other than that....I've been glued to my computer, reading the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman.  I can't get enough of her and her kids and her life.  She is soooo stinkin' funny.  And she's a great cook.  And she takes awesome pictures.  And I can't forget to mention that she's from Oklahoma - Pawhuska, no less!!  A mere hour from where my parents live!

When I knew the kids were about to come home from school, I literally had peel myself away from my  lovely lil' mac and get started on the Snickerdoodles.  My kids love them.  Mike loves them.  Anytime I ask them what kind of cookie they'd like me to make, it's these.  So, Clarky and I got a batch whipped up before the kids walked through the door.  I won't lie....they are pretty tasty!

Shara's Snickerdoodles
1 c butter
1/2 c oil
1 c sugar
1 c powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
4 1/2 c flour


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter, oil, sugar, and powder sugar in your mixing bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend well.  Add baking soda and cream of tartar and mix well again.  Add flour 1/2 cup at time until you've added all of it.  Mix well.  Drop by tablespoon size onto a plate and sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Oh, and before, I forget....in case you were wondering what we had for dinner....

leftovers :D

And nobody complained too much...

(though Cade did "mention" how wonderful his IHOP omelette was last night, as he was eating mac & cheese and a pulled pork sandwich with homemade bread...I'm not so sure he's mine, except for the small thing that he looks exactly like me and acts exactly like my dad, but still......)

Shara's Oatmeal Bars

What a day...an excellent day :D

1.  I got to sleep in!!
2.  I got to spend some time with my bestie...I really needed some girl time!
3.  I got to take a nap!
4.  The kiddos played really well together!
5.  We had homemade pizza!
6.  I got to make one of my favorite cookie bars for our Pizza with the Pastors Lunch tomorrow!

The only downer of the day was that Mike and I were supposed to go out on a date tonight.  And technically, we still could have gone, but both agreed it was for the best.  He'll be preaching tomorrow because our Sr. Pastor is under the weather, and we felt the time would be better spent on him preparing.  Oh well!  Thank goodness we made plans in advance for an early Valentine's date 2 weeks from now! :D

Here's those yummy bars:

Shara's Oatmeal Bars
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 c flour
3 c quick oats
1 c chocolate chips
1 c butterscotch chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 10x15 or half-sheet baking pan (13x18).  Combine sugar, brown sugar, and oil in mixer.  Mix well.  Add eggs and vanilla and make sure everything is combined well.  Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour and oats.  Combine again.  Lastly, add in chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.  Dough will be very sticky and thick.  Spread dough out into pan.  Dough will seem too stiff, but just keep working it out to the edges.  It really puffs up during baking!  Bake for 15 minutes or just until edges begin to brown.  Cool completely before cutting.

And I'm just throwin' this pic in because he's just so darn cute...I mean, look at those lil' freckles!  After his shower tonight, he went and fixed his hair all by himself.  He's already turning into a metro like his daddy :D  I had to hurry & snap this pic before he put his ninja mask on to take on Cader & Daddy....LOL

Shara's Oatmeal Cookies

Oh, how I love oatmeal cookies. The earthy cinnamon and oats, the chocolatey goodness of the slightly melted chocolate chips....mmmmm. This recipe is my collision of an old recipe that my maternal grandmother makes and another recipe I found on the internet. They're soft, chewy, cinnamony, chocolatey, yummy. Which is why I HAD to make them this afternoon! :D

Shara's Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c butter

1/2 c butter flavored shortenting

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 c flour

3 c quick oats

1 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, sugar, and pudding mix. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Make sure you eat a few right away, because they don't last long!

Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

Today is Brunch & Leftovers day. We had my version of bacon/egg mcmuffins for brunch and then leftovers from the week for early dinner. I fixed these yummy lil' sandwiches early this week, but saved it for today's post.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Cookie:

1/2 c shortening

1 egg

1 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 c cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c milk

Filling:

2 Tbsp butter, softened

2 Tbsp shortening

1/2 c marshmallow creme

2/3 c powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cookie: Beat 1/2 c shortening, egg, sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add milk. Blend slowly until mixed well. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

Filling: Cream butter and shortening. Add marshmallow cream and powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Spread in between 2 cookies to make a sandwich.

And, in case you were wondering, these are 2 of my favorite things in my kitchen (my KitchenAid, which I've had for 10yrs now and my blue spatula):

Parent's Choice Night

Since Mike and I get to choose tonight's dinner, we chose a sandwich. Roast Beef to be exact. And for the record, I chose it last night :0) I made 3 Packet Roast Beef in the crockpot and served it on some of my leftover Oregano French Bread, toasted, of course. My personal preference is to add a little cheese and some pickled banana peppers (but you won't find anyone else in the fam adding the peppers).

3 Packet Roast Beef

2-3 lb favorite cut of roast (I used tri-tip this time around, b/c it's what I had)

1 pkt Au Jus dry mix

1 pkt Italian dressing dry mix

1 pkt Mesquite Seasoning dry mix

3 c water

This is really difficult, so follow along closely: Take meat out of package and place in crockpot. Open all three packages of dry mix and sprinkle over meat. Add water. Place lid on crockpot. Set on low for 6-8 hours.

I personally like to shred the meat once it's finished, and since the flavor is so intense, I usually add more water to make the meat extra juicy :0) Makes for great dipping sauce!

Since I slaved over dinner all day, I thought I'd throw in an over-the-top dessert too. How about some cookies.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cup quick-cooking oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

However, don't do this....

When I took out my first pan of cookies they looked like this:

I couldn't figure out what I did wrong....so I went back through the recipe and realized I had forgotten the flour...oops!

These look a lot better, at least Clark thinks so :0)