Monthly Archives: July 2013

Travel Theme: Sweet

Posted on by Laurie

Thank you to Where’s My Backpack for this week’s Sweet challenge!. This challenge is just to my taste. Enjoy!

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Fiesta Cookies*

Makes about 36 medium size cookies.

Soft, piped cookies lightly flavored with chocolate and spices, decorated with icing and nonpareils.

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/8 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter

3/4 c. + 2 T. confectioner’s sugar

1 lg. egg

1 t. almond or vanilla extract

1 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

Icing of your choice

Nonpareils

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together butter and confectioner’s sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. On lowest mixer speed, beat in dry ingredients and then chocolate.
  4. Using a heavy duty pastry bag fitted with a star tip, pipe cookie dough onto baking sheets, spacing cookies 1 1/2” apart. Cookies will not rise, spread or change shape while they bake.
  5. Bake for about 5 to 7 minutes or until set. Place baking sheets on wire racks and allow cookies to cool before decorating.
  6. Once cookies have cooled, decorate with icing and nonpareils.

Suggested shapes for piping: thick bars, stars, hearts, and wreaths.

 * Recipe from my cookbook, Confectionately Yours: A Collection of Cookies, Candies & Yummy Confections.

Back Home

Posted on by Laurie

Having been back in town for a few days now, I am beginning to get caught up on my work and on my gardening. Here are a few pictures that I took this morning. By the way, that’s not a smudge on the top photo … it is a cluster of Russian Sage which can be seen in more detail at the far left in the bottom photo. Ok, so now it is back to work for me! Have a great day everyone!

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A Word A Week Challenge: Unexpected

Posted on by Laurie

Thank you to A Word In Your Ear for issuing this week’s A Word A Week Challenge …Unexpected.

When visiting the Adirondacks recently, I was surprised to see how high the water was at the lake on which my relatives live – 3 feet above normal for this time of year. This photo is of a neighbor’s dock, or rather, where the neighbor’s dock should be; the dock itself is submerged under water.

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Views from Gore Mountain

Posted on by Laurie

I just returned from my annual trip to the Adirondacks to visit family. One evening we went to Gore Mountain for to see a local theater production – which was very fun, by the way – and to enjoy the views. I didn’t want to disturb the actors by taking pictures inside the tent, but here are a couple of pictures from near the top of the mountain. 

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

Posted on by Laurie

This is a house down the road from where I spent the summers of my childhood – as did my parents and aunts and uncles. It was old even when I was a little girl and old, I imagine, when my grandparents built their camps. It is built against a hillside and sits on the lakefront, a stone wall separating its front yard from the water. A paved road sits behind the house. I have walked down that road and passed this house countless times, wondering what it was like to live there when it was built. I know that there weren’t many houses around then – there weren’t many when I was a girl. Most of the houses there now – many bigger and all more modern – have been built in my lifetime. I think that is why this house captures my imagination so still. Amongst all the changes I have seen, it has always been there – a reminder of my past, all those walks, so many summers, so many memories, of people long gone and of how things used to be. More on this week’s photo challenge.

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4th of July Cheesecake Cupcakes

Posted on by Laurie

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An easy to make, fancy treat for the upcoming holiday!

Cheesecake Cupcakes

makes 12

12 Oreo cookies or Oreo Golden cookies

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

2/3 c. granulated white sugar

1/4 c. sour cream

2 lg. eggs

1 T. + 1 t. fresh lemon juice

2 t. vanilla or almond extract

whipped cream for topping

fresh strawberries, raspberries and/or blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers. Place one cookie in the bottom of each muffin paper.  (The cookies will be a little smaller than the bottom of the muffin cups, but they puff out during baking.)

2. Using a large food processor or an electric mixer, process or beat cream cheese and sugar until perfect smooth. Add sour cream and process or beat until well blended. Add eggs, lemon juice, and extract. Process or beat until well blended and perfectly smooth. Divide cheesecake batter between muffin cups, filling until almost full.

3. Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffy and set in the middle. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. (The cupcakes will sink in the middle as they cool.) Once completely cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

4. When ready to serve, lift cupcakes out of pan, remove muffin papers, top with whipped cream and fruit. Enjoy!

Notes: The cheesecake batter is the same batter that I use for my Miniature Cheesecakes in Confectionately Yours. Either recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen until shortly before serving, then decorated at the last minute.