Happy Birthday A.A. Milne!

Today is A.A. Milne's birthday. You may know him as the creator of Winnie the Pooh! I loved reading the story as a kid and still sit down and watch when I see it on t.v.

You can learn a lot from Winnie the Pooh. The stories are always heartfelt and full of wisdom.

My friend Karen over at Trilogy Edibles shared her cute cookies today and gave me the idea to make these! You should click over and take a look at hers! Aren't they cute?!
I just love all the wonderful characters in this series.

If you haven't read the book yet, you really should. It's a masterpiece. A truly wonderful tale of friendship.
To celebrate Winnie the Pooh day, I made these cookies and in true Pooh fashion I am sharing them with you!

You can win all the cookies pictured here. 1 dozen of my Vanilla Bean Cookies with Vanilla Royal Icing.
Just leave me a comment telling me what book or character has inspired you.  Maybe the first book you learned to read or the book your parents read to you or a book you read to your children now! It can be any book at all, it doesn't have to be a children's book.

Leave a comment below with an email address so I can contact you.
I'll draw a winner tomorrow afternoon or evening and get these cookies off right away!
SAP
Flour De Lis

Mint Chocolate Chip Cut-out Cookies

As promised, here is the recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies!

It took a little tinkering from the first attempt, but I am happy with the result.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cut-out Cookies

adapted from my Citrus Vanilla Bean recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4-1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 2 drops Americolor food gel coloring "mint" (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

    1. In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.

    2. Add egg, extract and food coloring. Mix well.

    3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

    4. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture in 2-3 additions. Mixing lightly between each.

    5. Add chocolate chips after the last dry mix addition.
    6. Mix all ingredients well, until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is soft but not sticky         

       to touch.

    7. Roll dough into ball and place on lightly floured surface.

    8. Roll out dough and cut into desired shapes.

    9. Place cookies on cookie sheet and freeze for about 10 minutes while oven preheats to 350 degrees.

    10. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on size.

    11. Cool cookies completely before decorating.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.

You can eat these yummy treats fresh out of the oven for a warm, minty, melty chocolate experience if you want. Or you can decorate them any way you like.

I did a few with simple white on white "lace". 

And than I got a great idea and decided to dip some of them in chocolate. I just melted some dark chocolate I had on hand, added a few drops of oil to give it a glossy, smooth shine and dipped my cookies right in!

If you go this route, let them sit on a bit of waxed paper for a few minutes until the chocolate sets and then you can enjoy! They taste a bit like thin mints. 

**A few people have asked, so I thought I should leave an afterthought here with the answer. I used Wilton Dark Chocolate candy-melts for this project( but I am sure most chocolate would work, including milk chocolate or semi sweet chips). I used about half the bag and about 1/4 tsp of vegetable oil. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe dish for about 1 minute to 1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds to prevent scorching. When completely melted, add vegetable oil and stir. This little bit of oil helps keep the chocolate from setting too fast and gives is a lovely shine. This does not change the taste of the chocolate and it will set normally. I hope you enjoy the recipe.**

SAP
Flour De Lis

Brown Sugar Bailey's Cut-out Cookies

If you are looking for a soft, sweet, delicious cookie recipe; maybe something a little different than your normal cookie recipe. And if you are not afraid to add a little booze to your cookies, this one could be for you!
The wonderful, talented and very sweet Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle shared her recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies awhile back and I couldn't wait to try it! Everything she makes is perfect, so I knew the cookies would be too!
The first chance I got to test out the recipe was for my sisters birthday, and since she turned 21, I decided to make the cookies a little different.
I added Baileys! I am a huge fan of all things creamy and Irish-y and Baileys falls into that category.

Here is the recipe I followed and a link to the original in case you want to give it a try too!

Brown Sugar Baileys Cut-out Cookies
Adapted from Sugarbelle

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP Baileys Irish Cream liquor
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and brown sugar.
2. Add egg, liquor and vanilla.
3. In small bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add about 1/3 of the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until mostly incorporated. Repeat with remaining dry mixture and mix until all the ingredients are blended. 
5.  Roll cookie dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
6. Roll cookie dough out on lightly floured surface and cut into desired shapes.

     7. I always, ALWAYS place my cut cookies on a try and place them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking. I've never had cookies spread and lose their shape with this tip.
    8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, while cookies chill in the freezer.
    9. Bake for about 8-11 minutes depending on the size of your cookies and your ovens quirks.

    10. Cool cookies before decorating.

You simply must try these cookies! They are heavenly! The sweet, caramely flavor of brown sugar is enhanced by the creamy, sweet addition of Baileys. 

It's cookie magic :)

SAP

Flour De Lis

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Cookies

I made these tonight and thought I would share the recipe here.  If you already have all your cookies made for Santa, that's okay. You can try them later. And you'll want too! They are easy and delicious.
I mean the name says it all!
Three delicious ingredients = one super delicious cookie!

I started with a simple peanut butter cookie recipe and tweaked it just a little.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Cookies
Adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 (11oz) bag Kraft caramels, unwrapped

2-3 TBPS milk

1/4-1/2 cup chocolate melting wafers, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. 
3. Beat in eggs.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
5. Stir into batter.
6. Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Slightly flatten each ball with the back of a spoon or with you fingers. 
7. Bake for about 9 minutes. Until cookies crackle slightly. Watch closely, do not over-bake.
8. Let cookie cool completely
9. Melt caramels and milk in microwave safe bowl. Stir until smooth.
10. Melt chocolate melts in microwave and stir until smooth.
11. Spoon a small amount of caramel onto top of each cookie.
12. Drizzle chocolate over cookies.
13. Let rest until caramel and chocolate are set.

I hope you enjoy these yummy treats as much as I did. We'll be sharing them on Christmas with all the other goodies.

Happy Holidays :) 

I think Santa will enjoy these too!
We made a special plate just for him.

SAP
Flour De Lis

Christmas Wish Cookies (Update)

So far I've shipped off 7 boxes roughly 12 dozen cookies for the Christmas wishes!
I am so thankful to all the wonderful people who opened their hearts and shared their stories with me!
I've had lots of fun along the way!

Here are pictures of some of the cookies I've made so far.

Lots and lots of cookies flying out of here daily! 4 more boxes to ship out on Monday and than I'll finally get to packing! Only a few more days until we move to the new place!

Yay!

SAP
Flour De Lis

999 Facebook Fan Giveaway Sneak Peek!

I know you are wondering what I'll be giving away when I reach 999 "like" on Facebook. Right?.
I kinda teased you and said it would be AMAZING!
I love all of these things! They make cookie-ing easier and prettier and lots of fun!

The is prize package will include all of the following,

SAP

Wilton Decorating Basics Lesson Plan

Wilton Flowers and Cake Design Lesson Plan

Wilton Gum Paste and Fondant Lesson Plan

These three books have so many wonderful tips and guides! There are step by step pictures for the all the techniques you need to know. If you don't have them already, you need them!

4oz Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste

This stuff is the BEST! There is no comparison to flavor and quality for baking. It's the only vanilla bean paste I use.

Plus 100, yep 100 cookie cutters! I don't have a picture of them, but they might be these ones here, it's hard to tell 

They are a set of assorted plastic cutters, but not from Wilton. So a lot of mystery cutters :)

We only have 175 fans to go until we get to the giveaway, so please help spread the word! 

Plus I am bound to add a few things I find here and there during the wait, so the prize will probably be ever better!

If you're not a fan on Facebook yet, what are you waiting for? Head on over here and join the fun!

Flour De Lis

Thanksgiving Cookies

Here are a few more pictures of all the recent Fall cookies.

I made three trays of these for Thanksgiving, but my camera battery died after this picture! And it was Thanksgiving, I had too many other things to do!

Lots and lots of little acorns!

Fall leaves

A few little Gingy's for each platter! I love gingerbread!

 Mmmmmm pie! Pumpkin, Key Lime and Chocolate Cream! All on Citrus Vanilla Bean cookie

Don't they just look good enough to eat!

SAP
Flour De Lis