12 Days of Christmas Cookies! Day 5

I AM D-O-N-E!!!! My last final was taken this morning! No more class, no more homework, no more reading, no more SCHOOL (for the next 5 weeks)! I'm slightly excited, if you can't tell. ;) To celebrate my "doneness" with school, I got in a nice workout, made some pasta, bought a vintage button up, and made some yummy cookies. Now I won't be posting about those yummy cookies, we will wait till tomorrow, but here are some other cookies that are equal in yumminess.

Peanut Butter Cup Blossoms. Oh, yeeeaahhh. Like those peanut butter cookies with the Kisses, but 10X better, cause it's a Reese's cup. Duh. And for the Christmas song, an all-time fave, Eartha Kitt with Santa Baby. Sing it, lady.

Peanut Butter Cup Blossoms

1 roll of peanut butter cookie dough or your fave p.b. cookie recipe
1 bag of mini Reese's peanut butter cups

I made my own dough.

Cause peanut butter is AWWWWEEEESSSOOMMMEEE.

I am notorious for adding more peanut butter than what the recipe calls for, see...

Those hands in the background? I've got the greatest friends. Ever. They unwrap p.b. cups for me.

And pose. Can you say, "Hand model." Nice nails, Kourt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1 1/2 in. balls and place into an ungreased mini muffin pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press Reese's cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies! Day 4

Ok, so here's the deal. I "attempted" to make cookies today, but they turned out terrrrible. So we are revisiting a tried, but true recipe from this summer. PB&J Thumbprint cookies! Cause what's Christmas without thumbprints? New cookie to come tomorrow, I promise.
And here's Andrew Allen with I Wanna Be Your Christmas. Super cheesy (seriously, listen to the lyrics), but sooo catchy.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies! Day 3

DDDAAAAYYYYY 3!!! Presenting oatmeal scotchies and Sufjan Stevens with Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!


Oatmeal Scotchies

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. Quaker oats
1 1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, and salt, mix well. Add oats and butterscotch chips, mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tbsps onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, remove to wire rack.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies! Day 2

Here's day two coming at you with a delicious shortbread cookie. (Btw, I turned in a final paper this morning and for the first time in my life I had the problem of writing too much. What the heck?)

To go along with the shortbread, here's Bing Crosby with, of course, White Christmas. Which I'm hoping and praying for and you should be too. :)


Heavenly Shortbread
adapted from allrecipes.com

2 c. butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream softened butter thoroughly. Slowly add sugar and vanilla or almond.


Sift flour and cornstarch before adding. Mix well. Press into an ungreased jelly roll pan.
Bake 30 minutes or until very light brown (I baked mine for about 25 minutes) . Cut into bars while warm.


Tip:
The next time I bake these I plan on adding a little more sugar and a little less flour. The dough seemed super crumbly, so I added a little bit of water.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies! Day 1

Finals week is here! I knocked one out this morning and now only have one more and a paper. WOO!

If you follow any other baking blogs, you might see the common theme of the "12 Days of Christmas cookies." Well, get ready for another. Now presenting the first ever "Spilt Batter 12 Days of Christmas Cookies." (cue the Christmas music) And to go along with each cookie I will present a fave Christmas song of mine. (And if you are one of those haters who despises Christmas music, "Bah humbug to you and yours.") That was harsh. Sorry. Here's Dean with Baby, It's Cold Outside. Cause, for reals, it is.


Our first cookie is an all-time favorite of mine and practically anyone who has eaten one. The mom of some high school bball teammates would occasionally make these and we would devour them on bus rides home from games. It's like a cross between a Whoopie pie and a giant Oreo. Super easy to make, only 4 ingredients! This also works wonderfully with yellow cake mix.


"Oreo" Cookies

1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2 c. shortening (I use Crisco butter-flavored)
2 eggs
1 can of white frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut shortening into cake mix in large bowl. When pea-sized pieces appear, mix in eggs. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls. Bake for 8 minutes. When cookies have cooled, spread icing onto flat side and make a sandwich with other cookie.

Almost Done...

I'm writing to you from the comfort of my warm bed this morning (or afternoon...) Still in my PJs, finishing up my bowl of cereal and watching reruns of Top Chef: All Stars. An excellent morning, to finish out an excellent week. I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH CLASSES! Hallelujah! Just two finals and a paper stand in my way of sweet, sweet Winter Break freedom. I cannot flippin' wait to go home.

There will be lots of ball playing...

Hanging out with friends...

Playing the Wii and getting super pissed, cause it happens, especially Mario Kart...

(please do not let my game face frighten you and excuse the boxer PJs)

Eating too many crescent rolls...

Sledding and ice-skating (hopefully!)...

And tea parties with the niece.

And of course lots of baking! I've got a list going and can't wait to get started on it. I will most definitely be making these apple bars again when I go home.


Don't they look delicious?! I LOVE the crust and crumble topping on these babies. Sooo buttery, sooo good.

Apple Streusel Bars
adapted from Lovin from the Oven

Crust/Crumble Topping-
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. real unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Apple Filling-
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 sliced, peeled baking apples (I used Granny Smith)

Glaze (optional)-
2 c. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.
Grease 9X13 or 9X9 pan. Gently pat about 2/3 of crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish.

To prepare filling, combine flour, sugars, and cinnamon.


Toss with apples and spread apples onto prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over apples evenly and bake for about 40 minutes or until crumb topping is lightly browned. Cool completely.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, extract and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Place glaze in Ziploc bag and cut off very small portion of one corner. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Ambition=Brownies

I have a problem. My problem stems from this...there are times where I see something or think of something and decide, "I will learn to ______!" Or "I'm totally going to ______!" The blanks can be filled with everything from learning another language (Haitian-Creole, "Bon Swa!") to participating in a triathlon (The latter WILL happen, mark my words, eventually...) Filled with enthusiasm and eagerness, to do/learn ______, I go out and buy all necessary equipment, tools, books, etc, any and everything that will help me accomplish my ambitious goal. But then I start to loose interest in my goal and I don't give it a second thought. I hate this. And I tell myself not to do it. Well, it's happened again.


Now, now, I did not go out and just buy a guitar, don't be jumping to conclusions. This has been sitting at my 'rents house, not being picked up or played.

Yes, my newest goal is to learn to play the guitar. It's definitely not easy, something I'm really going to have to practice, but I can proudly say that I now play a pretty mean D chord. (Pat of the back.)


I'm also developing nice calluses.

I'll let you know how this whole guitar thing works out for me. In the meantime, you should check out these brownies.


I can honestly say that I have never had nor made homemade brownies. My siblings and I kick it "box style." You know, Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines. We are particularly fond of the ones that come with fudge icing. Mmm....fudge. I've actually always been a little intimidated to make brownies from scratch and well, the boxed brownies are so dang good. However, this recipe is super simple and painless. And delicious. Joy knows what she's doing.


These brownies are BOMB.


And homemade. People will love you.

Old School Brownies with Fudge
adapted from Joy the Baker

1 2/3 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. cocoa powder
3/4 c. butter
2 Tbsp. strong coffee or water
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 chopped walnuts
1/4 c. chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan, 2 8-inch round cake pans or a 10-inch round cake pan.
Combine butter and cocoa powder in a small bowl and place over a simmering pot of water. Make sure the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Add the coffee or water and stir to melt the ingredients.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Add the vanilla. When the butter and chocolate have melted and come together, slowly stir the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Fold in the nuts, saving a small handful for the top of the brownies if you like.
Pour the batter in the pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips and remaining nuts. Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on which pan you use. Keep an eye on the oven, checking the brownies every few minutes. (I used 2 8-inch cake pans and the brownies were done around 16 minutes.)
Remove from the oven, cool and cut into bars.