With Sprinkles on Top

I call my grandma “Omi”. And I have “inherited” her recipe book. Her Christmas cookies were legendary and I’m pretty excited to have all of her recipes in my gritty little hands. My grandma is still alive, but Alzheimer’s has taken its toll on her, so she doesn’t remember much and she certainly doesn’t bake like she used to. The best part about making these cut-out cookies was that my apartment was instantly filled with the smell of my grandma’s house – it was wonderful. Many people say that out of all the senses, scent conjures up the strongest emotional response. I definitely think this is true.

I couldn’t wait until Christmas to make her cut-out cookies, so I decided to celebrate all things spring instead.

Omi’s Sugar Cookies
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2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon nutmeg*

Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients gradually. Chill the batter overnight or for at least 4 hours. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350F until golden (in true fashion, my grandma didn’t give a specific baking time. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes).

*The nutmeg definitely gives these cookies a distinct flavor. Mike’s comment after trying one was “wow, these are really good, but I can’t put my finger on what tastes different”. It’s the nutmeg. And you either love it or hate it. My mom is not a fan, so my grandma would always bake a separate batch of “Jeanne’s cookies” – sans nutmeg.

Omi’s Frosting
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons scalded milk
3 cups (or more) powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients together besides the powdered sugar. Gradually add the powdered sugar until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.

Allow me to present one of the most delicious and easy-to-make treats imaginable:

Pop overs! They are not sweet and are usually served as a breakfast food or as a dinner roll of sorts — just eat them with a little butter. They are best when they are fresh out of the oven — I won’t even eat them the next day because they lose their magic by that point. The only downfall to making pop overs is that you need a special pan in order to do so. I found this one at Amazon, but I’m sure you could check Target, Williams and Sonoma, etc as well. And I know what you’re thinking, “do I REALLY need the special pan for this?” Yes. Yes, you do. Because of the way they bake, pop overs literally pop over the pan. So yes, buy the special pan. You will thank me.

Here is the recipe that my mom has had for years.
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2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 425F. Mix the milk, flour, and salt. Add one egg at a time and mix. Grease the pan you bake them in with non-stick spray or butter. Fill the 3/4 full and bake for 30 minutes. Makes 6 pop-overs.

Simple, huh?

I must say, this cake really is the BEST chocolate cake EVER. Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Cake
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1 box Devil’s Food chocolate cake mix
1 package Jello instant chocolate pudding (don’t get the sugar-free or fat-free version!)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix everything together except the chocolate chips. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into 9″ cake pans. Bake approximately 45 minutes – or until a tester comes out clean. Easy recipe, huh?

BEST Buttercream Frosting
1 cup Crisco shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar slowly and continue creaming. Add salt, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Blend on low until moistened. Beat on high until fluffy.

Recipe credit: http://www.kevinandamanda.com

If you’re like me, you sometimes feel conflicted between your sweet tooth and salt tooth (is salt tooth the right term? who knows). On the days that you have this taste bud struggle, make a batch of these cookies. They have salty potato chips AND sweet butterscotch morsels! Perfect combination!

Potato Chip Cookies
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1 c. butter flavored shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 c. crushed potato chips
1 c. butterscotch morsels

1. Cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually beat into the mixture. Stir in the chips and butterscotch morsels.
2. Place tablespoon-sized balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375F.

After a much needed baking break, I’m baaaack. My marathon week of baking for Valentine’s Day wore me out. ;) But I thought I’d make a batch of peanut butter kiss cookies today. The recipe is super easy and if you like peanut butter, these things are PERFECT.

Peanut Butter Kisses
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~ 40 Hershey Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Remove foil from Kisses.
2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well-blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a Kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool cookies on wire rack. Makes about 3-4 dozen.