Lemon Brownies!

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As I have said before,  I love anything lemon and especially lemon desserts!!!  Therefore, a  "Lemon Brownie" sounded really yummy to me and it really is a great concept!!!  These are the perfect combination of tart and sweet and they disappeared fast at our house!!!    They are super easy to make and are made 100% from scratch!!!   We loved them!!!

Here is what you will need:

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

3 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. lemon zest

2 cups self rising flour***

1 tsp. vanilla

***you can use all purpose flour, just add 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt

Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar

3 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and beat until combined.  Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, flour and vanilla.  Beat until just incorporated.  You need about 4-5 nice size fresh lemons total for the brownies and the glaze!  

Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish liberally  with nonstick baking spray!   Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Place in the preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 25 -27 minutes.  Don't over bake!   Allow to cool completely.

In a bowl whisk together the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest to make a glaze!!!  Pour over the cooled brownies and spread evenly.   Allow to sit and set up a little for a couple of hours.

Cut in squares and serve!!!  

These are so yummy!!!  

Funfetti Cookies!!!

My mother has been making these yummy cookies since her grandchildren were little and she is still making them, because they all still love them.   She has a new great grandchild who I am sure will be ready to try these when she visits later this summer also!!!   

These are a simple cake mix cookie, but Mama sort of revised the recipe and made it better in our opinion.   These are so simple, the kids can make them with a little assistance also!!!  

Here is what you need:

1  (15.25 oz.) Funfetti Cake Mix

2 large eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. almond flavoring

sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine the cake mix, eggs, oil and vanilla with a large spoon.   Shape the dough into 1 inch balls.  A small cookie scoop makes this easy to do.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.   Bake for 12 -13 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove and allow to cool for several minutes before removing to a cooling rack or platter.

Stir together the confectioners sugar, milk and almond flavoring and brush over the tops of the cooled cookies.   Sprinkle with colored sprinkles!!!  

Yummy!!!  They disappear fast!!!  

Lemon Crinkle Cookies!!!

As I have said many times before, I love anything lemon, especially sweets and Spring just seems like a great time for sunshine lemon tasting treats!!!    These "Lemon Crinkle Cookies" are so easy to make and they taste wonderful!!!   My husband, could not stop eating them!   Here is what you will need:  

1 (15.5 oz.) pkg lemon cake mix

5 Tbs. butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine the cake mix, butter, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  I used the juice and zest from about 1/2 of a fresh lemon.    You can just mix this with a spoon.  Scoop out the dough and roll into a ball about the size of an English walnut.   

Drop each ball into the confectioner's sugar and roll around to coat each one.

Place on ungreased cookie sheets about an inch apart.  Do not press them down.  Bake for 11-13 minutes.  Allow to cool, then remove to a plate.

Be sure to get yourself one before you serve, because they disappear fast!!!  

Tori's Golden Graham S'mores Bars!

My sweet little cousin Tori, made these "Golden Graham S'mores Bars" and brought them to a family dinner!  These little things are delicious and a little bit addicting!   People couldn't quit eating them.

 They are also super easy and call for just a few ingredients and they are no bake, which makes them perfect during this heat wave!  Here is what you will need:

4 Tbs. butter

1  (10 oz.) miniature marshmallows

1 tsp. vanilla

1  (16 oz.) box of Golden Graham cereal

1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips, melted

In a saucepan melt the butter and marshmallows together until smooth and well blended!   Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.   Add all of the cereal and toss to evenly coat it!   Grease a 9"x13" baking dish.  Press the cereal mixture down evenly in the pan.   Drizzle the melted chocolate evenly over the top.  

Allow to cool for about an hour, then cut in squares and watch them disappear!  

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies!

  

I love making sugar cookies for the holidays!  It's something my son and I did together when he was  a little boy!  We had many great discussions over our sugar cookie projects!   I will never forget one year when we made some ornaments for our 'country Christmas tree' that looked like sugar cookies, but they weren't edible, they got hard as a rock and you put tons of cinnamon in them so when you hung them on the tree they gave off this great cinnamon aroma.   You put a hole in top of them before you baked them and then put a ribbon through it. 

At the same time we were also making a batch of edible sugar cookies.  We had them all out on the counter and table to cool and my brother-in-law stopped by the house.   He reached for one of the 'hard as a rock' ornaments and took a big bite of it before I noticed him.  My son's eyes got as big as saucers and he said, "Mama he is eating the Christmas tree ornaments!!!"    I was just glad he didn't break a tooth!   We all had fun over that one! 

The key to good rolled sugar cookies that you can cut out, is getting a dough that is stiff enough to hold up and be able to cut, but still remains soft and cakelike after it's baked.  This is one of the best recipes I have tried for this.  It did take some experimentation to get it this way though.  Here is what you will need:

1  1/2 cups butter, softened

2  1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond flavoring

5  1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the eggs.  Add in the vanilla and almond flavoring.  You can substitute a tsp. of lemon flavoring for the almond for a bit different flavor.  They are both really good.  Gradually mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt.   Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Work with 1/4 of the dough at a time.  Place the rest in the fridge to stay cold while you roll and cut what you have out.   Sprinkle flour on a sheet of wax paper and roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick.   Cut the dough in with cookie cutter you have dipped in flour.  This helps the dough release.   This dough is a little sticky and it gets stickier as it warms up so you have to move fast.  If it feels sticky, spread it with a little flour on the surface.   Place the cut cookies on a cookie sheet cover with ungreased parchment paper about 1 inch apart.  

When all of the cookies are cut, place in the oven for 6-8 minutes.  These cookies do puff up a little, but as they cool they will come back down some.  This is what gives them their soft cakelike texture.  When they are just starting to brown, remove cookie sheet and allow cookies to cool completely. 

You can decorate with sprinkles or colored sugar which is applied before baking or an icing which can be colored to suit the season.  Here is what you need for the glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tsp. milk

2 tsp. corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond flavoring

Stir together until smoother and with a pastry brush, paint it on the cookies as a glaze.  You can add food coloring for whatever color you desire.   It looks shiny like this and sort of sets up as it dries! 

These are delicious and fun cookies to make for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day or Easter..really any holiday you want to make cookies for! 







Snickers Cream Cheese Brownies!

These "Snickers Cream Cheese Brownies" are a combination of three of my favorite things...chocolate, cream cheese and Snickers candy bars!  It just doesn't get much better!  These are so good, I need to not make them very often, because I will eat them until they are gone!  This is an easy brownie that starts with a brownie mix so anyone can make these and they will turn out great! 

These would make a wonderful Valentine treat for someone special! 

Here is what you will need:

1 family size brownie mix (19.5 oz.) and the ingredients called for (9"x13" pan)

14 fun size Snickers candy bars, divided and chopped

1 (8 oz.) pkg, cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the brownie mix according to the package directions.

Chop the fun size snickers in pieces and fold 1/2 of them into the batter.  Pour into a 9"x13" baking pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. 

In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese, egg yolk, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Drop by spoonful evenly over the batter. 

With a knife swirl the cream cheese with the brownie batter.  Don't over swirl or the effect will not look like a swirl and will just be all cream cheese. 

Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes. 

Five minutes before the brownies are done, remove from oven and sprinkle the top with  rest of the snickers bars.   The candy bars on top should just be partially melted.  Remove from the oven when done and cool before cutting into squares.  These are rich so cut the squares a little smaller than you normally would.





White Chocolate Cranberry Bars!

 These "White Chocolate Cranberry Bars" are a yummy, chewy cookie bar that is almost like candy!  They are especially festive for the holidays with the dried cranberries, but are good anytime!  These little bars are great for dessert trays or for cookie and candy trays for gift giving!  They are so easy, you can't get them wrong! 

Here is what you will need:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted

1  (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1  (12 oz.) bag white chocolate chips

1  1/2 cups dried cranberries (Craisins)

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs and pat into the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish.  

In a separate bowl mix the condensed milk, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, coconut and chopped pecans.   Drop by spoonful evenly over the graham cracker layer and then spread gently.

Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool and cut in squares.





Toffee Chip Bars!

 

These "Toffee Chip Bars" are a delicious bar type cookie that are so easy to make!  They are a perfect after school snack for the kids or an afternoon pick me up with a good cup of coffee.  I will warn you though, they are addicting and it's hard to eat just one.  Here is what you need for these yummy bars:

 

 

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup Heath Bar toffee chips

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

In a mixing bowl, mix together the brown sugar and flour.  Using a pastry cutter or two knives cut the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.   Remove 1 cup and set aside.

 

Add baking powder and salt to mixture in mixing bowl.  Lightly beat in milk, egg, and vanilla. 

 

When a smooth batter forms, pour mixture into a 9"x13" baking pan that has been liberally sprayed with nonstick spray or greased with butter.

 

Sprinkle the top with the reserved crumb mixture. 

 

Mix the Heath chips, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and nuts together and sprinkle evenly over the top.  The Heath chips can be purchased on the baking aisle in the area with the chocolate chips and such.

 

Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool completely, then cut into 24 bars.  Store in an airtight container.