Super Easy And Fast Cinnamon Buns

I"m going to be straight with you readers...I LOVE bread! I love homemade bread, homemade yeast rolls, scones and, especially, cinnamon rolls. Now, I'm not some high baker snob. It is NOT beneath me to crack open a can of cinnamon rolls when the moment strikes me. Heck, I even buy generic rolls, that just my way. However, nothing beats baked goods made from scratch. I do have my favorite recipes that I've tried over the years. I have one recipe from a 1960's baking cookbook which is very involved and takes hours, but the end result is worth it. Once in a blue moon, I'll indulge and a bake those. I've been craving cinnamon rolls, lately, but it's also 90 degrees (fahrenheit), so I need another option. 

This summer, I discovered an amazing recipe for homemade hamburgers buns. I found it after being dissatisfied with store bought buns and not being super excited to go to the store. The buns can be made in less than and hour! I know and they make gorgeous buns. I wish I hadn't deleted my photo of my burger buns, but this isn't so much about burger buns and more about how I made cinnamon buns, but I needed to include my story about burger buns, because it's important to the story.

So, after making the buns a few times and craving cinnamon buns during a heat wave, I decided to experiment and see if I could adapt the recipe for cinnamon buns. The end result was beautiful! So, you begin with the original recipe for hamburger buns, which can be found on the Taste Of Home webpage. I'll include the link here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/40-minute-hamburger-buns?keycode=ZPIN0414. Side note: I adore the Taste Of Home website and magazine. I have one of their cookbooks, and it is fantastic!

So, following the burger bun recipe up to the point where you form the dough into balls, here is where you use the dough for cinnamon rolls. Rather than forming the balls, I rolled the dough out into a 10x12 rectangle. Then, I added 1/4 cup melted butter and spread it over the dough. Then, I sprinkled 1/2 cup of sugar (white, but brown would work nicely). Next, I sprinkled ground cinnamon over the sugar and then topped it off with 1/2 a cup of raisins. Then, I rolled the doll into a log and cut the cough in eight pieces. I placed the buns onto a prepared cookie sheet, leaving enough space for expansion, and I covered the buns to rise for 8-10 minutes. Finally, I baked the buns according to the hamburger bun recipe. It was THAT easy! They came out beautifully, huge and tasty. You might need to bake a few extra minutes so the centers are fully baked, just keep an eye on them.

 I love recipes like this that are so versatile and can be adapted to use for a number of treats. If you need fantastic hamburger buns for a bbq, or you really want to impress your friends, make the hamburger buns, you won't be disappointed. I'm going to pull some out of the freezer to have for burgers tonight! Until Next Time~ Toodahloo!

Maine Girl Doesn't Like Lobster

Two weeks ago, my husband and I decided to take a day trip down to the coast. We felt that a trip to a coastal town for an overnight followed by a mini road trip up the coast, finding lighthouses would be fun. It was tremendously fun, but exhausting. Ever since childhood, I"ve visited at least one lighthouse each summer. The first lighthouse that we visited happens to be my favorite. It is at Pemaquid Point. I was very surprised to see so many seagulls present. It made me think of my mother, who is terrified of birds; I knew she would not be happy with this picture (above). When I was a child and a teenager, it was nothing or me to walk along the rocky edge, the huge granite the leads to the Atlantic was always fun to walk on, although I always used caution. Now that I'm older and disabled, I kept a safe distance. It didn't matter, I still enjoyed myself.

This is the lighthouse at Pemaquid Point, it is still open to the public to view. I didn't bother, since I've seen it so many times, and I still had a lot to do that day.

The next lighthouse that we visited was in Owls Head, you can almost see the lighthouse in the photo. I had a very hard time getting a picture of the lighthouse without snapping a random tourist in the picture, too. These lighthouses are very popular with tourists during the summer months. After visiting this lighthouse, we went to the lighthouse in Rockland, but I didn't get any photos of that. There were far too many tourists that would have landed in the picture. Also, the breakwater, leading to the lighthouse is a bit difficult for me to walk, so I really needed to pay attention to my steps and keep my eyes on my feet. That made it tricky when it came to photographing the lighthouse.

One final box from my summer bucket list needed to be checked. My husband convinced me to try a lobster roll. Now, I should explain, I've never had a lobster roll before. I know that might sound strange, considering I'm a New England girl. However, growing up, I was never big fan of seafood. The occasional whitefish is okay, but I don't like shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, oysters, squid, octopus, and most certainly NOT lobsters. I know that sounds terrible for a lot of people. I have tried lobster several times throughout my life and I've never liked it. So, I thought that I would give this a try. The last time that I'd tried eating lobster was back when I was in college. Since my husband made the lobster roll sound so alluring, I decided to try it out. The Maine lobster roll is a VERY popular summertime treat. We searched a few towns and looked online to find a reasonably priced lobster shack. We located one that was nearby and made our way to it. I was very happy to see that it didn't have a huge line, so I would need to wait long, I was hungry. I stepped to the window and placed my order.  I had a bit of a palpitation when I saw that the sandwiches were $15.00 each! I've never spent that much on a sandwich before. However, since this was meant to be about an experience, and less about lunch, I let it go and decided to enjoy myself. After we were handed our lobster rolls, we sat on a bunch that overlooked the harbor and began our picnic.

 My husband delighted in his sandwich the moment he sunk his teeth into the mayonnaise/lobster blend. The crispness of the lettuce crunching between his teeth made it all seem so delicious. So, I took a deep breath and took a bite. With the Mr. looking on, eagerly awaiting my reaction, I chewed. He asked me what I thought of it. I grinned and nodded my head, but he could tell that it was a nightmare, for me. I was determined to enjoy the lobster roll; it was $15.00, after all. After consuming about $7.00 worth of the sandwich, I handed the rest to my husband, who was more than happy to eat the lobster roll. So, it wasn't the sandwich or the lobster shack that made it that was at fault. I just don't like lobster, it's gross. I love whoopie pies, blueberries, potatoes, red hot dogs, and Moxie, but I just can eat lobster. I hope that doesn't make me any less of a Mainer. Sigh.

Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Not Enough Hours In The Day

I love these sweet, tiny wildflowers.

As the title of this posts states. there never seems to be enough hours in the day. Summer months contain the longest days of the year, and yet I need more time. The problem is, I get tired very easily. which was a huge problem when I worked at an elementary school, I was always worried that I would fall asleep on the job. That is not a good thing to do, obviously, but when you've had a head injury like mine, sometimes sleepiness becomes as much a part of your life as learning to adapt to a weaker body. The big problem is, I am a very determined woman who wakes up each morning and sees all the tasks that I want to complete in order to keep a household running. This summer, for instance, I have my own veggie patch ( rather than relying on my fathers) and that takes up time, even more so the yard. I have a large yard, which needs to be manicured, regularly. I have completely overcome my fear of lawnmowers and I actually find mowing the lawn to be very relaxing. However, all of that takes a lot out of me and by the time I'm done, I need to nap. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's my reality.

The sun made these look brighter, but they are such a pretty pink.

 The problem with napping, is that it cuts into a very important time of day, time when I could get more tasks done. However, if I ignore the need to nap, I pay the price. I work had in the winter, but even more so in the summer, as that is the time in which I prepare for winter. Also, soccer season is back and that is a busy time and it will get even busier, once school starts in the fall. Whats a woman to do? Like I said, there's just not enough hours in the day.

My new favorite cookbook.

Yesterday was very busy. Today, I've taken it easier, as I'm recovering from yesterday. However, that did not stop me from mowing part of the lawn, even though I mowed another part, yesterday. I also need to make a jambalaya and bake gluten free cornbread before tonight's soccer game. After which, I have to go grocery shopping. Tomorrow, might be s lighter day, and it will be a Friday, so that's a plus! Lately, I've been doing a lot of baking, using recipes from my trusty Maine Rebekahs cookbook. I love this cookbook, the recipes are old and they remind me of classic recipes that my grandmother would have used. Although, I am not a fan of the recipe for whoopie pie filling. The whoopie pie recipe, itself, is perfection, but the filling, not how I'd do it. This is why you adapt recipes to your own taste. So, the next time I decide to make whoopie pies, I'll remember to use another recipe for iling that I prefer.
My garden is now providing me with many greens. We;ve been using our lettuce a lot and, the other night, we cooked some swiss chard....it was delicious! I can't wait to try the kale! We also have a tremendous amount of tomatoes coming, which will be fantastic for blt's and panini; especially when paired with fresh basil. When the tomatoes grow plump, I'll take pictures and share them as part of a garden update. I hope your summer is treating well. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Putting In The Garden

About a month ago, my father pulled into my driveway with a rototiller in the back of his truck. He very kindly tilled a nice patch in my backyard so that we could start a veggie garden. I already have numerous perennial flowers and flowering bushes along the side of the house. I also dug up some of the irises from my parents' yard and planted them along my back fence and around a tree. The flowers really take little to no effort to maintain, aside from a bit of weeding here and there. What I really wanted was a nice veggie garden. I love the idea of being able to walk into my backyard and fetch my own fresh produce. I love the idea of knowing what went into growing my veggies and knowing that they were picked only when they were absolutely ready to be plucked. I also like being able to save a lot of money on my grocery bill, while providing nutrient-rich veggies for the family.
We've planted squash, onions, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, swiss chard, kale, cabbage, green beans and sunflowers. I also hope to plant a winter garden, in the fall. We will enjoy many salads, BLT's and a variety of casseroles.  I selected greens that I knew would be plentiful and grow easily. I hope to make pickles and fresh salsa, as I also have a miniature herb garden.

Those coffee canisters are bottomless. They are being used to support the tomato stems, as they grow.

Each morning and each night, my husband checks the garden to monitor its progress. I check in on it, mid-morning and mid-afternoon when I water it. It's amazing to see how quickly everything is growing! I'll be even more excited when I start to see blossoms on the plants. It is very relaxing, spending time in the garden. My mother always told me how much time her father spent tending to his garden when he wasn't at work. I can see now, why he enjoyed it so much. I'll keep you updated on the progress of the veggie patch. Hopefully, I'll be able to share some recipes of the tasty dishes that I make with my garden delights. In the meantime, I have a few craft projects that I've been working on. I'll share more about that at another time. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

The Great Artisan Bread Experiment

I bought this online and neither the seller, nor the online store sponsor me. I just thought I should point that out before there's any sort of confusion. I DID get this discounted for an honest review, but I was not paid to feature this item in my blog. I just happened to use it to make delicious bread. I will admit, that I really liked this and I am glad I got to try it out.

If you've read a few of my posts, you might have observed that I have many hobbies. One of the more obvious of which is baking, but another hobby of mine is reviewing products. I like testing products out; most of which, I get at a discounted rate in exchange for my testing and reviewing the product, honestly and fairly. I have a lot of fun with this, and it allows me to write for an entirely different genre. So, when I have the opportunity to combine hobbies, I'm more than delighted. Recently, I acquired a banneton basket, which is a wicker basket used for proofing bread dough. After searching Pinterest for artisanal bread recipes, and making my own additions to the recipe, I had delicious bread.

When I first found the recipe that I wanted to use, I was very excited. It only had a few ingredients, and it claimed that I didn't need to knead it! However, once I started making the bread, I soon discovered that it was a two-day job, as I had to mix the batter and let it rest overnight, When I finally returned to the dough, it was far runnier than I'd expected. So, I added more flour and kneaded it (I couldn't help myself). Then, I let it rest in the banneton. I lined the basket with a tea towel, to prevent the dough from sticking. After a few hours, it was ready to go into the oven.

According to the recipe, the dough had to be placed in a Dutch oven, with a lid and baked in the oven for 25 minutes. Then, I had to (carefully) remove the lid and bake the bread for an additional 10 minutes. I was very nervous about this. I wondered if my herbed bread would even come out. After all the work that I put into it, would all be wasted? However, once I sliced into the bread, I soon found perfection. It tasted just like the fancy bread at the grocery store. It made fantastic toast and was outstanding with fried eggs for breakfast. When my husband first tried it, he said that it was chewy, but I explained to him that it was meant to be that way. He loved it. So, for my first time baking artisanal bread, I really lucked out with the recipe that I used. It was super basic. I added sage, rosemary and thyme to the mixture. Had I any parsley, I would have added that, too. I think this would be great with Herbs de Province added. I've been dipping this in lovely herbed olive oil and it's dreamy. I think that I might need to make herbed olive oil, this summer, perhaps some herbed vinegar, as well.

The other day, we put in our garden. we're still adding more vegetable plants. As my father plants vegetables in his garden, whatever has left over, he brings to us and we're planting those, as well. I hope the veggie garden works out this summer. Already, our flowers look gorgeous. The lilacs have come and gone, but now the peonies, irises and lilies are blooming. Keep an eye out on my Instagram and Tumblr pages for pictures of my flowers and my latest baking experiments. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Spring, Luxurious Spring

The past couple of weeks have been super busy. The school year is winding down, the track meets are nearly done, we just had the spring concerts, a wedding is coming up (FAST) and gardening is in the future. While all of this was happening, I found myself first dealing with seasonal allergies and then I developed a nasty cold, which I'm at the tail end of. I will be happy when it finally goes away. However, I don't let it bother me too much, as the weather has been fantastic. It is so nice to be able to have the windows open, to have fresh air and to not have the furnace on. Outside my window, I see green grass, leaves on the trees, lilacs blooming, peonies waiting to open and dandelions...everywhere!

A week ago, I was given a surprise wedding shower. It wasn't expected, but I did know that it was in the works. Although, it was a surprise, it was a nice surprise. My cousin organized it and she did a wonderful job. When I came home, after a nature walk with the dogs and the Mister, I found my aunts, sisters, cousins, mum, future relatives and my bestie all in my kitchen and dining room. The house was decorated with lots and lots of flowers. It was a wonderful time.

Little bouquets, held in jelly jars, were placed throughout the downstairs of my home.

They lasted for well over a week! It made me think of "Anne Shirley" who loved to overwhelm her home with wildflowers.

Outside, the flowers are everywhere. From tiny blue flowers....

To fragrant apple blossoms.

When I visit the lake, the loons are keeping a safe distance, but a close enough to observe.

Look at how much my plants have grown! I can't wait to start my veggie patch, if only the two local groundhogs would keep a respectful distance.....

So, that is what I've been up to, lately. Once things calm down I will resume my reading and I'll be sharing what I've read and my thoughts on the books, once I've read them. Well, once things have calmed down and the Orphan Black season finale airs. This season has been insane, I think it's the craziest season yet! Yes, once all of that happens, I can go back to being a summer book worm...the new season of Pretty Little Liars will begin soon, but that is just one show. I can work with that! :) I will keep you posted. Until then~ Toodahloo!

Spring Cleaning and Crafting Pt. 1

Now that spring is here, I'm finally seeing buds on the trees, I have been spending my rainy days crafting and working on home improvement projects. The race is slow, but steady and with the unpredictable weather, it's a cat and mouse game.  Some days, I get outdoor work done and other days, I get indoor work done. I am, admittedly, ambitious. I tend to write up long lists of tasks and projects to complete. I am learning, though, to not try to get these entire lists done in one day.I really want to beautify the already gorgeous yard, start a veggie garden, decorate the inside of the house, craft, prepare for next winter, plan a wedding, and do all the everyday stuff, like baking and cleaning, too. Again, I'm learning to NOT try to get it all done in one day, I've been finding a tremendous amount of inspiration on Pinterest....

I began this project, last year, and completed it this month. I know that it was inspired from a Pinterest pin, which may have been art inspired by Pottery Barn; it was so long ago, I can't remember. Here, I took a large scrap sheet on panelling board and glued an assortment of paint sample chips onto the board.

After taking a break for a year, I finished gluing the sample cards onto the board. Then, I made a monogram template. I used an old cereal box and free-handed the letter. Then, I cut out the shape and taped it to the board.

After that, I carefully painted the letter "B" with black acrylic craft paint, making certain to not get under the template.

The end result was a fun piece of wall art that cheers up an empty space on my dining room wall. 

This is an entirely different sort of craft project. Here, I made small fire starters. In the winter, we burn wood to heat the home. On damp days, I often have a difficult time getting the fire to catch. So, I decided to make these, ahead of time, and save myself some frustration this winter. I squirrelled away some toilet tissue rolls and dryer lint. In know that sounds a bit like an episode of Hoarders. However, I figured that since I'd throw this out anyway, why not make some use for it. So, I collected my dryer lint and kept it in a bag. Once I had enough cardboard rolls, I cut them into smaller bits.

I lined the cardboard rounds onto a cookie sheet and stuffed them with the dryer lint. After which, I melted some paraffin wax, that my mother hand on hand, and I poured the wax onto the dryer lint. I know this seems very odd, especially since it will be months before I'll even use these. However, I know that once summer comes around, I'll be busy gardening and I won't have time for this. I'm trying to prepare for winter ahead of time; this way, I'll be set once the cold weather returns. For now, I have these stored away in a box. Once winter arrives, it will be one less thing for me to worry about. 

I will be continuing to prepare for the colder seasons, periodically, between now and the fall months and I'll post about those projects as I work on them. For now I'm focusing more on spring time projects and preparing for the summer months. I have more crafts that I have been working on, but it would have made this post far too long; which is why I'm posting a part two to this. Between now and the next post, I'll be crafting, baking and diy-ing even more.and I'll have much to share with you all. Keep an eye out on my instagram and tumblr page for posts. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Fuzzy Distractions

Last week, I fully intended on writing a few posts about Spring diy projects and a craft project that I'd been working on. I had the photo uploaded and edited, and then this fuzz ball came into my life. I was at my desk, beginning my work when the Mister set out to pick up one of the kids from track practice. Being that it was Spring break, this was late in the morning. Just before he set off to complete this errand, he found an ad online for free kittens, local, and time was limited. I figured he might send a message and get some sort of response by the end of the day, When it took him longer to come back from picking up the kiddo, I began to wonder. One hour later, he came home with this delightful kitty in tow.

She was (is) so tiny, with a wee tail and a squeaky meow. She was a bit frightened and needed to be held a lot. The rest of my day, I had her on my lap as she napped and although I tried to get some work done, my efforts were thwarted by this cuddle bug.

We threw lots of names around, trying to think of the most fitting name. Then, one of the kids suggested "Freya," after scouring Google for goddess names. That named felt like the perfect fit for the kitty. After a weekend with her, the name has proven to suit her, perfectly.

I did manage to pull myself away a few times to do some shopping and to rake up a yard, but that was only because we left her in the care of one of the kids. She is still growing more comfortable with the dogs. The smallest of which is having the most difficult time adjusting to the new family member. The other day, I found her hiding on top of my cookbooks. I think she might have been trying to escape the curiosity of the canine dwellers.

As I compose this post, she is curled up on my, lap resting quietly, and I am finally able to complete some tasks. Once she's bigger, she'll be more independent. Hopefully, she'll prove to be an excellent mouser (the whole reason for getting her); if her play activity is any indication, the mice should quiver in fear........

That is what is going on in the land of Lady Toesocks. The rest of the week will include more crafts and more posts about the diy projects that I completed, last week. The weather is looking much better and there will be more outdoor work and more baking happening, too. I'm sure I'll tell you all about it! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

I Made A Kitchen Chalkboard!

Now that Spring is here I've been itching to do some housework. While it's still far too cold to do any yard work or work on my front porch, it was in the 30's today, I can still spruce up the interior of the home. The other day, I began working on touching up some of the paint that has chipped away throughout the house. Then, I decided that I really wanted to have some sort of message center in the kitchen. We do have a bulletin board, of sorts, but I wanted something different. After being totally incapable of finding my roll of cork, I decided to just have a chalkboard. The entire project was completed using materials that we already had around the house!

Since I am not handy with a saw or a drill, I had the mister construction the board bit. It already looked like a chalk board, even without the paint. Then, I spent the bulk of the weekend in a minivan travelling up north to see choral competitions. So, this had to wait until I wasn't exhausted anymore.

I first began my painting stage by painting a layer of chalkboard paint on the inside surface of the board. We did tape off the edges of the frame so that I wouldn't accidentally get paint on the it. 

I had to allow the chalk paint to dry between layers; this is when I painted the frame.

After a suggestion from the mister, I found a phrase that I liked on Pinterest and I painted that on the sides of the frame. I used white acrylic paint for this step.

After everything had dried, I "distressed" the board. I first used sandpaper to wear down some of the edges and to rub off some paint. Then, I used brown shoe polish to rub onto the exposed wood, I also smudged it over the white letters and on the sides of the frame, in order to make it look aged. I really like the way it worked out. I especially like that everything was made with materials that I already had (besides the shoe polish). Now, I can post what's for dinner and we won't have to answer the question "What's for dinner?" Also, if there's a school event coming up, we can write it on the board to remind ourselves. That is one crafty project down with many more to go. I will keep you updated as I complete more projects, Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Flying By The Seat Of My Pants: I'm Terrible At It

Ordinarily, I live my daily life with a structured schedule. This is a practice that I have maintained since college, and this is because it is the most efficient and productive way for me to succeed. In my earlier college years, back when I was still a teenager, I still had that teenage mentality where it was okay to put things off until the last minute, to not be fixated on the small details, but to roll with the punches. I lived my school life with the confidence that everything would somehow work out, without much thought, planning or effort. I thought that it was totally beneficial for me to stay up all night and write a 30 page paper the night before it was due, because my thoughts would be cohesive and I was more interested in knowing what was happening between "Felicity" and "Ben" during waking hours, than to figure out how to use terrain analysis of arid climates in agricultural planning.

As I went further on in school I was more and more involved with school clubs and organizations. So, careful planning became paramount to my scholastic success. That was when I began making lists. I made chore lists, assignment lists, and activities lists. I even drew little boxes beside each listing so that I could check off a task as I completed it. This gave me a sense of accomplishment and it helped me with time management, It also helped me to see how to weigh out the importance of each item.

In recent months, I've come to rely on tools such as, my daily planner, my "to do list" app, my laptop calendar and my smart phone calendar. These tools help me to plan meals, school events, writing assignments, etc. The calendars are great because I can type it all in and the computer will remind me of when something is scheduled to happen- my phone does the same thing. However, last week I took a break. I didn't fill out my daily planner. It felt weird, like I was playing hooky. I felt lost, like I didn't know what to do with myself. I never felt like I was getting enough done and I lost my sense of accomplishment. This was anything, but liberating. I managed to make a grocery list, make meals, go to school concerts and indoor soccer games. However, a lot of my writing just happened whenever I thought to do it, often nearly forgetting. The other night, I woke up at 1 am and was convinced that I'd forgotten to do something that was important, that I missed some deadline. I was wide awake making a mental list of everything and finally coming to the conclusion that nothing had been forgotten, I had just lost my confidence after I took a break from my organization.

All of this started when I went into my hobby room and saw my book shelves; I realized that I couldn't remember when I had last curled up with a book and read until I was exhausted. I grabbed the book The Paris Wife, a book that has been on my shelf, unread for a couple of years. I fully intend to read the book, it was apparently a best seller, but I wouldn't know, I've been booked!

Then, there's all the distractions around me. I see a small pile of dishes in the sink and I want to wash them, the dogs are acting like mischievous monkeys, there's laundry that I want to put to dry, there's a craft project that I want to complete, then there's youtube....why not watch some Grace Helbig or some Mirandasings?

Even though I'm still managing to get things done around the house and I've made it to school functions most of my work is not as I'd normally do it. The experiment has proven to me that I am okay with being an overly organized nerd. Being organized is what works best for me, and if it makes me look uptight, oh well. Without my method of planning, I am not my best version of myself. Lesson learned. I'll keep you updated on that craft project that I mentioned, earlier.
Until then~ Toodahloo!

Soft And Chewy Molasses Cookies

So, hello there! I'm sitting at my kitchen island, watching the train go by. I'm cuddled up with a fluffy blanket and a hot cocoa is at my side, as I've been cold all day. For some reason, I've been very cold lately which is odd, considering we've been experiencing warmer weather. This week, I've been baking a lot. I'm trying to improve my gluten free goodies. If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you would have seen the gluten free cheesy crackers that I baked today. Earlier in the week, I baked amazing oatmeal bread for the gluten eaters of the household (I'm a glutenvore) and last night, I made homemade gluten free granola bars. I used to make granola bars all the time, never considering that they were gluten free. These granola bars are a breeze to make and are more economical than buying gluten free granola bars. I will share the recipe the next time I make them! (I'm not yelling, I'm just really excited.)

Last week, I baked molasses cookies. I love homemade cookies; my favorites being chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and molasses cookies. In a post that I wrote a few years ago, I mentioned an old recipe book that I had, where old hand written recipes from the 1940's - 1950's had been collected. This book contains a handful of molasses cookie recipes. So, I combined all of my favorite elements from a few recipes and made my own recipe.

The Recipe:

Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar

1 cup molasses

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs (1 egg if you want less chewy cookies)

1 tbsp. baking soda

1/2 cup strong black coffee

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp. cream of tartar (or Bakewell Creme)

3 cups flour

- In a mug, combine the hot coffee and the baking soda and set aside.
- Cream the sugars, the shortening and the butter until fluffy. Then, add the molasses and egg(s) and mix until combined.
- Slowly add the flour, alternately with the coffee mixture, until a dough is formed.
- Refrigerate for one hour.

Initially, I tried rolling out the dough and cutting the cookies, but they were too soft. So, I used the drop method, instead!

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spoon small mounds of dough, six at a time, on a lined cookie sheet. The cookies spread, so it's best to give them adequate space.
- Flatten each mound slightly and sprinkle with white sugar.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!

I stored these in a cake safe, they were too chewy to place in a cookies jar. These didn't not last very long in my house, we all love cookies! I've recently decided to incorporate more baking in my week. Homemade bread and cookies are so much tastier! Not the mention, they are better for you and cost a fraction of the price of store bought baked goods. The kitchen always smells fantastic! I always post photos of what I'm baking on Instagram and I share them on Twitter and Tumblr. I will happily recipes on this blog as well! If you're on  any of the social sites that I mentioned keep and eye out for my pics. You can find me by clicking on the link on the side of my wall. If you try making these cookies, share your photos and tag me, I"d love to see them! Until then~ Toodahloo!