Super Soft Sugar Cookies

I just made these for the umpteenth time for Valentine's Day.  I took some plates around to my friends that I visit-teach, and made a huge batch for my kids' Valentine parties at school.  A double batch makes SEVEN DOZEN.  They go so quickly because I always forget how addictive they are: one bite and suddenly there's a pile of crumbs on my shirt and in my hair and a half dozen are missing . . .

Double batch: time to bring out the Bosch

Roll into balls just smaller than a golf ball--20 on each cookie sheet!

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  This is my go-to recipe when I need to take cookies to one of my kids' classes at school . . . or on holidays . . . or when I am craving something delectably sweet . . .

I got these pie/cupcake carriers at Wal-Mart and I LOVE them.
I use three blocks to hold up the second "tier" inside--perfect for
a second grader to carry into school.  Here is a similar product:
Cupcake / Pastry carrier

Sweet Mollie loves to help "clean up"

Sweet Calvin loves to help "clean up" . . . 

Best Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting

It's an Easter tradition!  Except this year, I made it the week after Easter, because hashtag-life-happens!  I wouldn't have even made it, but Mollie and Calvin were disappointed aaaaaaaaaaand Allen's parents came to stay for the weekend . . . so a special dessert was just the ticket.

This is a NO FAIL recipe--it's always moist and delicious.  I keep it fully frosted in the fridge (or, let's be honest, in my cake carrier in the garage, because who has room for a cake in their fridge?) and serve it cold--it's just the best spring time dessert.

Mini Thumbprint Jam Scones

I fell in love with this recipe when I read about the baker Alice Currah in a beautiful magazine called Where Women Cook (which was a delightful birthday gift from my BFF, Cori, whose own scrumptious recipes are sprinkled throughout this blog).

Okay, true confession . . . maybe I liked the article about Alice, but drooled like a French Mastiff when I saw the delectable photos of the scones in said magazine.  See for yourself:

I knew these would be the perfect dessert to add to my "summer harvest" spread when I hosted book club at the beginning of August.

Summer harvest book club fare . . .
I love cooking for the ladies I love!

And guess what?  Everyone liked them more than rhubarb-raspberry pie made with rhubarb and raspberries I harvested that day, more than huckleberry buckle made with HOURS OF MY LIFE that I spent picking tiny-but-precious huckleberries, and even more than the apple pie made with three types of heirloom early-ripening apples (Red Astraiken, Carroll, and Goodland) that I picked from my dad's orchard just three days before book club and peeled and cut by hand because each apple is too uniquely shaped and sized for the peeler-corer-slicer.

That's how good these scones are.

I used my mom's Nanking Cherry jam/syrup (I make jam, but add a little extra water so it's more like a really thick syrup) as the jam in these scones, and that combination of cherries and almond glaze is so heavenly (this from someone who does not like cherry ANYTHING).  But I think it would also be perfectly delectable with raspberry or strawberry jam.

The recipe said to cut the disks into fourths, but I
cut them into sixths and I think they were perfect

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

It stopped raining just for book club!
The scones were the first dessert to disappear.
{PS- I like how you can see Brenda working
on the book club binder in the background}

I thought a cute retro fox was the perfect clipart to compliment this quintessential British confection . . .

"Swig" Sugar Cookies

Swig.  It's the name of the number one drink stop in St. George, Utah, which does land-office, drive-through business, year-round.

Swig has two locations in St. George

Here is a sweet article about how the drinks-and-treats shop opened.  Below is an even sweeter treat: their unbelievably delicious sugar cookie recipe, which I got from my bestest friend, Cori.  They are different than my super-soft sugar cookies, but just as good as!  My husband says he likes these ones better.  But my eight-year-old Brigham says, "I like the puffy soft ones."  Both are delicious--you decide.

The dough is easy to mix and not sticky at all

I love using my favorite milk glass (the one that looks like it came
from a Slimfast commerical) to press sugar down on the dough balls

  The signature way to enjoy a Swig cookie is a cold-from-the-fridge cookie that is frosted with room-temperature frosting, just before eating.  Since this frosting has a fourth-cup of milk in it, it's a bit smoother than other frosting recipes.  I wouldn't call it "runny"--but it's definitely not thick.  The hint of salt in the cookie, on the cookie, and in the frosting are (I think) what make the cookie so darn addictively delicious.  The first time I made these, we had all four dozen eaten within a 16-hour period.  Shameless.

Sour Cream Doughnuts

***This recipe is for use in a doughnut maker (the kind that works like a waffle-iron).  They are not deep fried and cannot be cooked successfully that way.***

I got my husband, Allen, a Babycakes mini-doughnut maker for Father's Day in 2011.  It's the gift that keeps on giving!  My kids love these doughnuts because I always let them decorate their own, and I love them because they're not nearly as unhealthy as real doughnuts, and about ten times easier to make (they're basically cupcakes in the shape of douhgnuts).

The doughnut-maker came with a recipe book and the little fork-gadget that helps you remove them neatly from the pan.  I love getting it out especially when my kids have friends over, or when nephews and nieces come to visit.  It's party food, but not the kind that keeps you on your feet in the kitchen all day.

Slide the fork in to lift the doughnut out

You can barely see the little holes
after you remove the fork

You can buy doughnut mixes for this kind of appliance, but I have found some great recipes that work well and are even tastier.  My first recipe is my favorite: Sour Cream Doughnuts.  The thing I like about them the most is that you can easily add fruit (or mini chocolate chips) to the batter.  I added huckleberries for my daughter's fourth birthday party--it was the grown-up dessert and we all ate them without any frosting.  Delicious.

It's easy to get the batter in if you pipe it with a plastic bag . . . 

 . . . or you can just use your smallest measuring cup
and pour it into each hole

I usually give each kid their own plate and knife, then let them go to town with frosting and sprinkles.  My favorite combo is a sour cream doughnut with chocolate frosting and peppermint sprinkles.

This was our first time using the Babycakes
with cousins in 2011!

My son Brig, sprinkle-shaking

Just think of how much was on the doughnuts . . .

Baby Cal loves plain sour cream baby doughnuts!

You can always dust with powdered sugar
if you don't feel like making frosting

Cori's Frosted Brownies

These have been favorites of mine since I was a teenager. And they are ridiculously fast and easy to make.

My best friend Cori always whipped these up when she needed a quick dessert, and it was my favorite thing to have at her house (she is waaaaaaaaaaaaay older than I am).  Now I whip it up for my company and kids' friends when I need a dessert quickly, deliciously, and chocolate-ly satisfying.

My almost-five-year-old, Mollie
{She likes the brownies more when I add sprinkles}

You know how sometimes food tastes better in your memory than it does when you try it again years later?  This is not like that.  I can't believe the only chocolate ingredient is cocoa powder--these are so rich and satisfying.  If someone tells you you can't make brownies as good as "from a box," . . . RUN.  That is patently FALSE, and these brownies are the proof.

Plus, why not put frosting on your brownie?  Live a little.

These brownies will have a perfect, light brown crust when
they are  finished baking. Let the pan cool before frosting.

Perfect dessert for a neighbor gift or thank-you!
Include the recipe and write a note on the back.

If you think this is good, you should check out Cori's other contributions.  Two of my all-time favorite dinners are from Cori: Oven-Fried Chicken Monterey and Chicken Parmesan Magnifico.

Best Yellow Butter Cake & Fancy Chocolate Frosting

This is my very favorite cake.  Though I love chocolate cake a great deal, I think that baking a beautiful, moist butter cake with rich chocolate frosting is prettier, tastier, and just maybe a little more sophisticated.  It's what I want every year on my birthday.

I originally got both the cake and frosting recipes from Martha Stewart, but have adapted the directions (Read: most Americans do not have such frivolous things on hand as parchment paper), and cut the frosting recipe by a third.  Since there is still plenty of frosting for FOUR layers, I shudder to think of the frosting-to-cake ratio before this reduction.

But Martha gave me a great formula for frosting four layers.  Maybe it was obvious to everyone else how to cut each cake in half and then stack and frost them in the most aesthetic way, without your frosting getting gummed up with crumbs and one side of the cake being much higher than the other (I speak from experience).  You layer the cake in this order: one of the cake tops on the bottom (top up), frosting, then a cake bottom, (bottom side up), frosting, the other cake bottom (bottom side up again), frosting, and finally the second top (top side up) goes on top before you frost the whole thing.  It turned out beautifully.

Cake for breakfast the next day?  Maybe I did.  So?

Other cake tips:
1- Take the time to bring your butter and eggs to room temperature, which will allow you to get more air into your batter and frosting.  Set both out on the counter the night before.
2- The cake flour really does make a difference (it's more finely milled and can hold larger amounts of fat and starch without collapsing).  You can make a cake flour substitute with 3/4 cup flour plus two tablespoons of cornstarch.  That said, the cake you see in these photos was made with only all-purpose flour.  It was still delicious.
3- Always let the cake cool in the pans on a rack!  It will release so much easier if you don't try to rush it while it's still warm.
4- Try not to eat all of it yourself.  But if you do, don't be ashamed.  Sometimes you just need cake.

My daughter Mollie loves anything that involves using the pastry
brush.  She did a very thorough job, and I love it that she wants
to wear her Lowe's "Build and Grow" apron when she cooks.

Just before entering the oven . . .

Parchment paper? No thanks.

The finished product on my favorite tablecloth

It's hard to make this only on special occasions.
I want it every week.

Satisfied customers!