Lemon sugar cookie bars with a lemon glaze

I made a lot of chocolate treats last week, so today, i made lemon sugar cookie bars with a lemon glaze.  I never made a lemon glaze before.  I think it came out ok!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into a measuring cup
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.  Ina. Bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.   Add eggs, juice and extract.   Blend in dry ingredients.    Mix well.  Press evenly into prepared pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. 

While bars are cooling, make glaze. 

  • Glaze ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cups sugar
  • 2 tbs milk
  • 2 tbs lemon juice

Directions – in a pot, combine all ingredients.  Cook over medium it, stirring occasionally until mixture boils.   Boil and stir 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add lemon food color if you want.  Gently pour and  spread over bars.  Let set. 

  Cut and store in covered container.

Nfl week 2 Sunday – hostess cupcake cookies

Well, I get to enjoy a stress free NFL Sunday,  as my Bills played and beat the Lions on Thursday night.  Josh Allen and the offense have looked pretty good.   Defense needs to be better, but as New DC Jim Leonard pointed out this summer – new defensive scheme, some new faces, it’ll take some time.  So i will go along with our new DC.

Rob asked for a hostess cupcake type of treat.   I suggested cookies instead of cupcakes and he was on board with that.  They are topped with a marshmallow fluff filling, chocolate frosting, and a squiggle,  that is more of a line bc I can’t decorate worth squat.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbs corn syrup (or honey)
  • 1/2 cup bread flour
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 tbs malted milk powder
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt

Dirsctions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs. Vanilla and corn syrup or honey.  Blend in dry ingredients..  scoop put 1/4 cups of dough and form tall mounds.   Bake 11 to 13 minutes,  no longer.  Cool comoletely.

  • Marshmallow fluff filling ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup fluff
  • 2 -3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk

In a bowl, combine, butter and fluff, blend in powdered sugar.   Mix in vanilla and enough milk to get consistency you want.

  • Chocolate frosting ingredients
  • 1/3 cup butter melted
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 to 2 tbs milk

Directions – in a bowl, comnbine melted butter and cocoa.  Blend in powdered sugar and enough milk to get the consistency you want.  You may need to add more powdered sugar and/or milk.

  • Squiggle ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar (or more)
  • 2 to 3 tsp milk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar.  Add 2 tsp milk and vanilla. You may need to add more powered sugar and/or milk to get the consistency you want.  Blemd well.  Scoop into a zip lock sandwich bag and cut out a small triangle in one of the bottom corners.  I placed the bag in the fridge for a half hour to help it firm up.

Assembly !

Top one cookie with fluff filling

Gently top with chocolate frosting

Top with a squiggle.

Store in covered container.

Go Bills.

Double chocolate chocolate chip heath bits cookies

I realized a had a bag of heath toffee baking pieces and wanted to bag with them (i have a lot of stuff and sometimes forget what is in my baking stash).  So I thought they would go nicely in a chocolate chocolate chip cookie. 

The cookies use melted chocolate chips and baking cocoa.  They also use a combo of all purpose flour and bread flour, but you can use entirely all purpose flour if you choose.

Remember to scoop your flour and cocoa from your containers so you get the right amount.  I recommend chilling the dough for a few hours before baking.  And preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup chocolate chips (melted in 30 second increments until you can stir them smooth)
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbs bread flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup heath bits
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs.  Blend in melted chocolate.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips and heath bits.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Chill a few hours.  When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stagger cookies on sheet. 

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.  

Store in covered container.

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cookies

I went with a doubleheader of lemon treats today.  These are lemon cookies with lemon frosting.  Simple and puffy and tangy/sweet. 

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.   I used 1 cup of bread flour and 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, but you can use entirely AP flour if you want.   Also form doughs into high mounds and chill a few hours before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup crisco (i used butter flavor)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 11/2 tsp lemon extract
  • 3.4 oz instant lemon pudding mix
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs, lemon juice and extract.  Blend in dry ingredients.   Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and form tall cylinders.  Chill in fridge in a covered container for a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stagger cookies on sheet.  

Bake 11 to 13 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs lemon juice

Directions – in a bowl, blend ingredients.  Frost cookies. 

Store in covered container.

Sugar cookie sandwiches

These spread  out a little larger than i would have preferred, so i made them into half cookie sandwiches.  Next time I will form the dough into tall mounds to see if that helps.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also chill the individual doughs for several hours before baking.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Scoop out 1/4 cups doug.  Roll into balls, roll in extra sugar.  Chills several hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.    Stagger cookies on sheet. 

Bake 14 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 to 5 tsp milk

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Add enough milk to get consistency you want.  Frost between 2 cookie halves or on top of cookies. 

Store in covered container.

Nieman Marcus chocolate chip cookies

This is one of those urban legend recipes.   Where a customer asked for a recipe from a Cafe and the employee said for two fifty.  The customer thought it was 2 dollars and 50 cents and the employee meant two hundred fifty dollars.  So the customer gave their credit card not realizing their different understanding, was charged, got mad,  and got even by passing the recipe on to everyone they knew.  

My friend’s mom gave me this recipe years ago (she knew it was not a true story, but shared with me due to my love of baking).  So here is is.

I was in a bit of a hurry, so i didn’t finely pulse the oats or hershey bar enough. Plus my blender is new and I am not sure of some of it’s limits.

I combined bread flour and all purpose flour.  You can use entirely AP flour of you want.  Freeze the chocolate bar and then gratinf it makes the grating process easier.  I also chilled the individual doughs overnight to keep them puffy.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups oats, finely ground (i used quick, but old fashioned likely would be fine too)
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 4 oz chocolate bar, grated
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients and oats.  Fold in chocolate and chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill several hours.   When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Line a cookie sheet with parchment t paper.  Stagger on sheet like below.

Bake 13 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.  

Store in covered container.

Peanut butter cookies stuffed with chocolate peanut butter

Continuing my run of cookies stuffed with stuff, I present  butter cookies stuffed with chocolate peanut butter. 

You must bake these frozen, directly from the freezer to keep the chocolate peanut butter inside.  Remember to firmly pack your brown sugar into your measuring cup and scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup crisco
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Directions – scoop out tbs of chocolate peanut butter and freeze a few hours.  After a few hours, make your dough.   in a bowl, cream crisco,  peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.   Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.

Divide in half and flatten each half

Place one tbs of frozen peanut butter on one half

Top with other half

Seal edges.

Place in a container in freezer for a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Once oven is preheated, take cookie doughs out from freezer and stagger on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake 15 to 16 minutes, no longer.

Cool completely and store in covered container.

Peanut butter cookies stuffed with mini Mr. Goodbars

I had a bunch of extra mini mr goodbars and came up with the idea of stuffing them in peanut butter cookies.

It has been hotter than hell here the last 5 days, so i froze the dough to prevent too much spreading while baking.  

Remember to firmly pack your brown sugar into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also, spoon your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup crisco
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour

In a bowl, cream crisco, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.   Blend in dry ingredients.   Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. 

Divide into half. 

Place a mini Mr  goodbar on one half. 

Top with the other half

and seal edges. 

Freeze a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stagger cookies on sheet.  

Bake 15 minutes.( No longer.)

  Cool completely.  Store in covered container. 

Sugar cookie bars

I am bringing in sugar cookie bars today, but I did not bake them today.  It is over 100 degrees so turning on an oven is not ideal.  So what i did was bake a couple of treats when it was cooler and froze them.  These are one of those treats.  They can also be celebratory treats for the USMNT’s win over Bosnia Herzegovina last night to advance to the round of 16 at the world cup.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 7 tbs vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 6 tbs powdered sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter, oil,  sugar and powdered sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Evenly spread into pan.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.  

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbs milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, blend butter and powdered sugar.  Add milk and vanilla.  Frost bars.  Store in covered container in fridge.

Lemon blondie bars with Lemon glaze

Another lemon treat, this time, lemon blondies.   Made in an 8×8 pan, with lemon glaze.   Tangy, yet sweet.  Very soft too!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag so you get the right amount.  Also, Preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs lemon extract
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions  – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper or tin foil and spray with pam.  Set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and extract.  Mix in dry ingredients amd lemon juice.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs.  Cool completely.

  • Lemon glaze ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • Enough water to get consistency you want.

Ice blondies.  Store in covered container.