The pleasure lies not in the cookies, but in the pattern the crumbs make when the cookies crumble

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients:

1⁄2 cup butter, softened

1⁄2 cup granulated sugar

1⁄3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1⁄2 cups flour

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Plus:

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars at high speed.

Add egg, vanilla, and beat until smooth.

In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mix well.

Preheat oven to 300° while you let dough rest 30-60 minutes in fridge.

In a small bowl combine topping.

Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball.

Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake cookies 10-12 minutes, NO MORE.

To grow a tomato or a pepper and prepare a meal from your labor and care is primordially satisfying

Sesame Pull-Apart Ring With Tomatoes and Feta

DOUGH:

1 cup milk⠀
2 packets yeast⠀
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon sugar⠀
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for dusting and rolling⠀
1 teaspoon salt⠀
1/4 pound butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces⠀
1/2 cup olive oil, for brushing⠀
1/4 cup sesame seeds⠀ ⠀

CHEESE FILLING:⠀

1 1/4 pounds shredded mozzarella⠀
3/4 pound feta⠀
1 tablespoon olive oil⠀
1 teaspoon salt⠀
1/2 teaspoon black pepper⠀
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes⠀
Juice of one lemon⠀
1 tablespoon chopped parsley⠀ ⠀

TOMATO FILLING:⠀

2 cups diced tomatoes⠀
1/2 cup feta⠀
2 tablespoons chopped parsley⠀
Zest and juice of one lemon⠀
1 tablespoon olive oil⠀
1 teaspoon salt⠀

To make the dough:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat milk to 110 degrees.

In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup milk, and sprinkle yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar over milk.

Stir to dissolve. Allow to sit and bloom for 10 minutes, then stir in remaining milk.

In a large bowl, add 3 cups flour, and make a well in the center.

Add yeast and the remaining sugar and butter. Stir until a ball is formed.

Turn ball onto a floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes.

Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it doubles in size.

Punch dough with fist and allow to rise again for 40 minutes.

While dough is rising, make the fillings.

In a small bowl, add mozzarella and feta.

Stir in olive oil, salt, pepper, chili flakes, parsley and lemon. Set aside.

In another small bowl, mix tomatoes, parsley, lemon, olive oil and salt and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half.

Roll each half of the dough into a large circle, approximately 15 inches wide.

Transfer to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.

With a bowl approximately 6 inches in diameter, mark the center of the dough by pressing the bowl down lightly.

Begin by placing the cheese dip into the center circle and making a ring around the outside of the circle.

Leave room between the center circle, outside ring, and edge of the dough. 

Roll out second dough round so it fits over top of the bottom layer.

Place on top of the filling and using the same bowl, place on dough and press down slightly. Using a fork, press the two pieces together to seal.

Brush entire top of dough with olive oil.

Cut edge into 16 sections by first cutting into quarters, eighths and then sixteenths. Lift and turn each section and press the outside point together and down with your finger to seal. Add 1 teaspoon of tomatoes to each petal and brush top again with olive oil. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the pull-apart is golden. Serve immediately.


If you're talking about how you promoted synergy in an organization, that could mean you just got everybody together for donuts twice a week.

Southern Donut Muffins


Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone muffin cups and grease the cups with non-stick spray.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.

Add the eggs and beat to combine. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.

Alternate gradually stirring a little flour and milk into the butter mixture, making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups nearly full.

Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale, golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle them. Serve plain, or top with a glaze or simple cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Enjoy!

I don't want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me.

One-Pan Pesto Chicken and Vegetables

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, sliced into strips
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil, chopped
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed, cut in half, if large
1/4 cup basil pesto
1 cup cherry tomatoes, yellow and red, halved

Instructions
    

Heat a large skillet on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, add sliced chicken thighs, season chicken generously with salt, add half of chopped sun-dried tomatoes - and cook everything on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, flipping a couple of times, until the chicken is completely cooked through.

Remove the chicken and sun-dried from the skillet, leaving oil in.

Add asparagus (ends trimmed), seasoned generously with salt, remaining half of sun-dried tomatoes, and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus cooked through.

Remove asparagus to serving plate.

Add chicken back to the skillet, add pesto, stir to coat on low-medium heat until chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Add halved cherry tomatoes, mix with the pesto and the chicken.

Add chicken and tomatoes to the serving plate with asparagus.

I got sick of the dough, and thought I'd go on the loaf.

Cauliflower Center Turkey Loaf

1 small cauliflower (about 1 1/4 lbs.)

Salted water

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 egg

1/4 cup catsup or chili sauce

1/3 cup soft bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Dash pepper

1 lb. lean ground turkey

Tips: A straight-sided soufflé dish, glass or ceramic, is the ideal baking dish for this meatloaf.

Preparation:

Rinse cauliflower. Remove and discard leaves and lower part of core. Place, stem end down, in 1 inch of boiling salted water in a deep pan.

Cover and steam for 5 min. Drain. Place in greased, deep 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-quart baking dish.

Cook onion in heated butter until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Beat egg in a medium bowl. Mix in catsup, bread crumbs, garlic salt, and pepper. Then lightly mix in onion mixture and ground turkey.

Mold ground turkey mixture evenly around sides and top of cauliflower.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 to 50 min. or until turkey is well browned and cauliflower is tender when a knife is inserted to test it.

Let stand 5 min., then cut in wedges to serve.

Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Stuffed Garlic French Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 baguette
½ tablespoon oil
1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 oz) bag baby spinach leaves
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 green onions, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 cloves of garlic
minced Parmesan cheese, grated, on top
Fresh basil leaves or parsley, torn, on top

DIRECTIONS

Cut the baguette into 4 pieces.

Use a long knife to cut out the insides, leaving some bread along the edges.

Pull out the loose bread to leave hollow bread quarters. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add in the artichoke pieces and cook for one minute.

Reduce heat to medium, add in the spinach, and cook until wilted, turning often.

Mix in the cream cheese and mozzarella, and let it melt entirely.

Fold in the green onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Stuff the baguette quarters with the spinach and artichoke dip, using a spoon to help pack the dip.

Once the bread is stuffed, transfer it to a cutting board.

Line up the quarters so that they fit together as they did before the baguette was cut.

Slice the baguette into slices that are approximately 1" thick.

Tear a piece of heavy duty foil that is about 5-6 inches longer than the baguette.

Slide the baguette slices off of the cutting board and onto the foil, keeping them together.

In a small bowl, combine the butter and minced garlic.

Loosely cover the top and microwave for a minute, or until the butter is fully melted.

Brush the garlic butter over the baguette, allowing some to drip down between the slices.
Make sure to get all of the minced garlic on top of the bread.

Wrap the foil around the bread and bake for 15 minutes.

Unwrap the bread and bake for 5 minutes, or until the top browns slightly.

Remove from the oven, top with parmesan cheese and torn basil or parsley leaves, and serve warm.

I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.

Fraunces Tavern Carrot Tea Cake

INGREDIENTS
4 medium carrots, trimmed and peeled
Butter and flour for prepping the pan
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
Whipped cream for serving

CAKE NOTE: You can cook the carrots until soft and then mash and strain them of juice as would have been done in the old days. Or you can cook the carrots until they just begin to soften, let them cool, and grate them using a cheese grater to get streaks of carrot throughout the cake.

PREPARATION
Place the peeled carrots in a saucepan with 1" of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and, when boiling, reduce the heat to medium and let the carrots simmer until they begin to soften, 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off the water. Let the carrots cool in the pan.

Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10" springform pan, shake out the excess flour, and set the pan aside.

Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat until creamy, about 1 minute.

Add the eggs, one at a time, until they are smooth and satiny, 4 to 5 minutes of beating in total. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and fold into the batter with a wooden spoon. Set aside.

Grate the cooled carrots to yield 2 cups. Fold the carrots into the batter. Turn the batter into the prepared pan, and place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and unfasten the collar of the springform pan. Run a knife underneath the cake to free it from the bottom of the pan, and place it on a serving platter.

Slice and serve warm with the whipped cream.

If I have to be typecast, I'd like it to be as Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln Cake


1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

3 cups flour (cake or pastry)

2 tsps. baking powder (double-acting)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped, blanched almonds

1/4 tsp. salt

6 egg whites

Cream butter and sugar lightly.

Sift flour and baking powder together and add alternately with milk (to the first mixture).

Add well-floured nuts, then vanilla.

Fold in stiffly beaten whites of eggs, to which salt has been added.

Bake in three layers (9" or 8" pans) in moderate (350˚F) oven.

Ice with boiled icing, to which add 1/2 cup candied pineapple and cherries, chopped fine.