Lemon Drop Cookies

I found this recipe on a bottle of Crisco Vegetable Oil and made only a few slight changes. You can find the original recipe online here.

The cookies are very light in flavor and texture. One of the changes I made was to use lemon juice instead of lemon extract. Perhaps the extract would have given it a stronger flavor. Either way, these cookies will melt in your mouth.

Lemon Drop Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup warm milk
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray cookie sheets with baking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Beat in shortening on low speed until completed mixed. Add egg, milk, and lemon juice and mix until blended.

Using small cookie scooper, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned. Cool completely on cookie sheet on wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat the above ingredients. Add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired. Spread on top of cooled cookies.

Yields: about 2-1/2 dozen cookies

Chocolate Butterscotch Chewies

You can substitute caramel topping for the butterscotch topping in these cookies.

Chocolate Butterscotch Chewies

 

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cup oats
1-3/4 cup flour, divided
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter, melted
1-1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup pecans, chopped (or pecan chips)
1 cup butterscotch topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine oats, 1-1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Melt butter and stir into oat mixture.

Reserve one cup of oat mixture. Press remaining mixture in bottom of pan. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Sprinkle with chips and pecans. Mix butterscotch topping with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Drizzle over chips. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake 18-22 minutes.

Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate Ice Cream Cups

Here's a fun little way to serve up some ice cream this summer.

Chocolate Ice Cream Cups

Ingredients:
ice cream
Hershey kisses
Mini muffin cup liners


Place the Hershey kisses in a microwave-safe bowl. You'll need about three kisses for each mini muffin cup. Melt the chocolate until smooth.


Using a clean paintbrush, coat the inside of a mini muffin cup liner with the melted chocolate. Refrigerate mini muffin cups until chocolate hardens.


When you are ready to serve, peal the mini muffin cup liner off the chocolate. Use a large cookie scooper to scoop ice cream into the cup. Serve immediately or freeze.

Marble Brownies

These brownies didn't turn out as moist as I would have liked, but I did enjoy the combination of white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate on top.

Marble Brownies

Ingredients:

3 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 ounce unsweetened chocolates

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9-inch pan with aluminum foil. Leave some foil over the edge for handles. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, melt the 3 ounces of semisweet chocolate, 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate, and butter for one minute on high. Add cocoa powder and stir. The butter should be all melted, but the chocolate won't. Microwave another 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

In a large bowl, combined the sugar and salt. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the eggs, stirring after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Place flour and baking powder into sifter and sift into mixture.

Spread in pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle semisweet chips and white chocolate chips on top. Bake one more minute. Then use knife to swirl the two types of chocolate on top. Use foil handles to lift brownies from pan.

Ginger-Pear-Lime Jello

I made this as a side dish for Easter dinner, but you could easily add Cool Whip and call it dessert. This recipe is adapted from the Kraft Under-the-Sea Jello Salad.

Ginger-Pear-Lime Jello

Ingredients:
1 large (15 oz) can of pear halves
2 cups boiling water
1 large box of limo Jello
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Dice the pear halves and save the juice.

In medium bowl, stir the boiling water into the jello and salt. Continue stirring for two minutes until jello is completely dissolved. Mix in pear juice, lemon juice, and lime juice.

Pour two and a half cups of jello mixture into clear 9x13 baking dish. Refrigerate for an hour. Jello should be partially set but not firm.

Beat remaining jello mixture and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in diced pears and ginger. Spoon over first layer.

Refrigerate at least four hours before serving.

Raspberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

Cupcakes are good, but cupcakes filled with something sweet are even better.

Raspberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Lemon cake mix with ingredients listed on box
Raspberry Pastry and Cake Filling
Cool Whip

Tools:
Melon baller
Decorating bag

Bake the lemon cupcakes as directed on the box.

Use the melon baller to scoop out a portion of the top center of each cupcake. Save these scooped-out sections.

Mix some of the raspberry filling with the Cool Whip. Place the mixture into a decorating bag and pipe a small amount into the hollow section in each cupcake. Replace the scooped-out portion.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes as usual.

Easter Cupcakes!

Happy Easter! This post will probably reach you too late to enjoy this year (unless, of course, you're Greek Orthodox and celebrating next weekend), but I thought I'd share anyway. You can always keep it in mind for next year. :)

Easter Cupcakes

There are actually two different designs here. The one requires coconut; the other requires a special decorating tip.

Method #1: Green Coconut Grass

In a small bowl, place the desired amount of coconut. Add a few drops of green food coloring and then toss like you're making a salad. Continue tossing until the green dye has spread as evenly as possible.

Ice your cupcake with white icing. Sprinkle some green coconut on top to be your "Easter grass." Then add a few jelly beans or chocolate candy eggs.


Method #2: Green Icing Grass

Tint your icing green. Fit a decorating bag with Wilton tip #233. (This tip has many tiny openings on top. It's good for making grass as well as hair.) Put your icing in the bag and hold your bag directly above your cupcake. Squeeze and pull up quickly. Release the bag after a short squeeze, and you'll have a little tuft of grass. Continue all over the top of the cupcake and then add your jelly bean or chocolate candy eggs.
If you want a fun way to display them, you can add some colorful plastic grass around the edges like I did in the photo above. Just don't let your guests eat the plastic grass. :)