Happy 4th of July!! - "Firework" Cookies

Happy 4th!  I know, I know, I haven't posted in FOREVER!!  I've been kinda busy, but I have a ton of things lined up that (hopefully)  I can get posted soon.  Today though, I want to post with these 4th of July "Firework" Cookies.  They're really easy to make; this post will basically focus on the decorating part.  (for the cookie/frosting recipes go to my baking page and scroll all the way down.  the cookie recipe is under "Christmas cookies" but it's the same thing :) )

You will need one recipe of the sugar cookies (baked and cooled) and one recipe of the buttercream frosting (leave 1/2 white and dye 1/4 red and 1/4 blue)

1/2 the frosting should remain white, while red and blue should be 1/4 each.  (the red and blue look like they have more because it spread out when I stirred in the dye ;) )

To decorate these cookies, you first frost it like you normally would with the white frosting (leave about 1/4 inch at the edges) then put your red and blue frosting in separate decorating bags.  Place a dot of one color in the center of the cookie, then put a ring around it with the alternating color, then another ring, and so on.  (shown above)  You can put at many rings as you want depending on the size of your cookie/your own preference.  I put 3.

Next, using a toothpick, start in the center and drag outward through the frosting.  Do this 4 times (kind of like dividing the frosting into 1/4s)  When this is done, do the same thing between each line, only start on the outside edge and drag inward.  The cookie should look like this (above)

Continue like this until all the cookies have been decorated! (the cookie in the center above was one of my "experiments" :)  I simply put more lines to give it a more tye dyed look)

I also made a flag minus the stars because I ran out of white.  It also doesn't have 13 stripes, but at least you can tell what it is :)

I also did these after I ran out of white.  It was the same thing, just with red and blue.

I was making these with my sister, Corinne, and these are the ones she decorated!  (above)

Hope you enjoyed and Happy 4th!!

Cinnamon Rolls - Yet another of Life's Pleasures :)

Sooo... I'm thinking that maybe I should start a thing called "Life's Pleasures", you know, with the apple pie, sugar cookies, and now cinnamon rolls?  Definitely makes sense, what do you think?  :)  Whatever, anyway these cinnamon rolls have NO YEAST which is super awesome because you don't have to wait like five million hours for the dough to rise, and then rise again, and again and all that - and they still taste A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!  Get the recipe on my baking page ;)

 

Ok, this picture doesn't exactly do these justice - I didn't have any cream cheese for the frosting so I made a powdered sugar glaze.  When you've got the real deal on there, these things look like mini Cinnabons!!

 

 

I demolished the first one within about 10 seconds ;)  In defense, it was my dinner... I was hungry!  :)  Comment with a favorite dessert or recipe if you want to see it next

 

Homemade Apple Pie - Another one of Life's Pleasures :)

Ok, here are the promised apple pie pictures :)  I'm telling you, I am NOT an apple person - not one little bit of me is - but I LOVE this apple pie!  It takes forever to make, but it is totally worth it!!  Trust me, I know - I was willing to go to bed earlier than usual on a school night just to get back up at 11:00pm to eat it, since it takes so long to cool.  However, I decided to just eat it for breakfast the next morning instead :)

Remember - the recipe is on my baking page; here the photos are labeled by steps so you know what it should be looking like as you go along.

Step 1 - I usually don't have problems with pie dough, but for some reason this one took me forever to get right.  You have to be really careful not to rip it, otherwise you end up having to start over.  And trust me, that's not fun at all!!

Leading up to step 2 - Peel, core, and slice (really thin) about 7-8 apples.  If you really don't like doing this, or it takes you a while, I suggest doing this part then putting the apple slices in a large bowl with some lemon juice then putting in a covered bowl in the refrigerator while you take care of the pie crust.  After the pie crust part is completed, you can then move on to the next step. 

Still leading up to step 2 - After peeling the apples, they need to be cored and sliced really thin.  To do this, I used an apple slicer thing first - that took care of the coring and part of the slicing - then I sliced those larger slices into several small, thin ones.  It is a lot easier to do and doesn't wear out you patience as much :) 

Step 2 - Mix the apples with all your dry ingredients (well, and lemon juice).  If you put your apple slices in lemon juice in the refrigerator earlier, you just want to put a little bit more in, not much - do not exceed the 1 tbsp though, be careful! 

Still part of step 2 - (actually, I just realized that where I posted the recipe, this is step 3.  However since step 2 is preheating the oven, this is going to be step 2 on this post)  Put the apples in the pie crust.  I love this step because it means you are about to put the pie in the oven, then it will bake, then it will come out, then you will eat it  :)  Where is says to mound it a little in the middle, it means to just make the apples a little higher there, so it's not so flat.

I'm pretty sure this is also still part of step 2 - Cover pie with second piece of dough, then trim, fold, and crimp the edges.  You also need to cut some vent holes in the top.  I did a little design, but that's just me :)

Finally, the pie goes in the oven.  In a way, this is one of the worst parts for me, lol.  It means that not only do I have to wait for it to bake, but I also have to clean up my mess while it bakes.  Oh well, at least it passes the time :)

Rotate it like halfway through baking.  The two different colors is just a shadow on the back half, I promise it didn't cook weird or anything!!

Finally, it's done!!  Now it just has to cool for 4 hours...

The recipe says it's basically done when "the juices are bubbling through the top".  I think this counts!!  My mouth was watering sooo bad...

Since it had to cool for 4 hours, I ate it for breakfast the next morning.  IT WAS SO GOOD!!  

The center.  The reason the pie has to cool for so long is to let the filling coagulate.  Otherwise, it would be a huge gloppy mess when you cut it.

We took care of half that pie in less than a day.  It's that good.  Then again, it is another one of life's pleasures... :)

Sugar Cookies... One of Life's Pleasures :)

Ok, so sugar cookies may seem like one of the most simple kinds of cookies - but they (and the cookie dough!!) are one of my favorites.  I mean, with all the butter and sugar in them, how much better can they get?!  :)  The recipe is already on the Baking page - under "Christmas Cookies" or something because I posted the recipe when I made them at Christmas - but I wanted to post some pictures here since I made them again tonight.

This is what the cookie dough should look like - if it even stays around long enough to get a chance to see it :)  At my house, it seems like we eat as much cookie dough as we bake!!  :)

The five short minutes it takes for them to cool feels like a loooong 5,000,000 years.  Especially if you just stand in front of them and stare at them the whole time. 

Getting closer...

It took long enough!! :)  But anyway, here's one of life's pleasures - check out the Baking page for the recipe!!