Soft No-Roll Sugar Cookies

Once again, the Betty Crocker Cookbook has passed with flying colors. I have made cut out sugar cookies many times but never an unfrosted round simple sugar cookie such as this. I love this recipe! Quite fast and easy to throw together--even with the addition of oil and powdered sugar (two additions I don't normally see in a cookie recipe). The cookies were perfectly crisp yet soft and de-double-licious. Yum! I might replace Christmas cookies with this recipe. :D



1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 large eggs
4 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

In large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar, the powdered sugar, butter, oil, milk, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed or with a spoon until fully and evenly combined. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. In several additions, mix the dry ingredients into the creamed ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Roll ball sin sugar. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls about 3 inches apart. Press bottom of drinking glass on each ball to flatten to about 1/4 inch. Sprinkle each cookie with additional sugar.

Bake 10-13 minutes or until set and edges just begin to brown. Immediately remove from cookie to cool on a wire rack.

Crockpot Corn on the Cob

This is by far the simplest meal you could ever think of preparing. And not only that but cleanup involves...ummmm...throwing away the tin foil and putting your crockpot away. How awesome is that?! I had a thought the other day as I watched the weather forecast for the week. The temperatures were skyrocketing and taking humidity right along with them. I knew I didn't want to heat up the house by turning on the oven or even boiling water, but I had 4 ears of fresh corn I really wanted to use up. Then it occured to me--why not use the crockpot? And I'm so glad I did! Now, I'm not sure how many of you would consider corn on the cob a "main course" but in my house we did. And though I wouldn't serve it to guests, Kevin and I had no problem with this meal--especially topped off with the Black Bean Salsa and chips!

4-6 ears of corn
Remove husks.
Wrap individually in tin foil.
Place in a dry crockpot.
On high.
for 2-3 hours.

Butter and enjoy!

Garlic Deviled Eggs

These deviled eggs are not for the faint of heart. I set about making this lovely little appetizer in hopes of making my husband very happy. He loves deviled eggs! I do too! However, I have never made them before (which is weird actually) and I wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was for deviling eggs. So rather than search for the perfect looking recipe, I decided to make up my own. Risky, I know! The result is perfectly delicious for my tastebuds and I'm certain Kevin will be totally geeked about them too! But if you don't like spice you'll definitely want to limit the garlic. and the mustard. and the cilantro. :)



6 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/4-1/2 cup mayo (I used light Hellman's)
salt
pepper
paprika, for garnish
cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Place 6 eggs in a 3 quart saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil. Turn heat off immediately and let the eggs sit on the burner for 20 minutes. Drain hot water off and cover with cold water. Let cool completely and then peel the eggs. Cut eggs in half, lengthwise and scoop out the yokes into a small bowl. Combine yokes with garlic, mustard, mayo, salt and pepper until desired flavoring is achieved. Use a small spoon to fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and chopped cilantro.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I have been dying to try my hand at homemade cinnamon rolls for quite some time now, but I knew making them when just Kevin and I were home was probably not the best idea. :) So when six of my best girl friends were spending Friday night at our house I decided it was the perfect opportunity! Now, I realized far in advance that I was not going to be getting much sleep at this slumber party/reunion night so when I stumbled across Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls recipe I was pumped! Out of 250+ reviews his average star rating (1-5) was a five and everyone from novices to experienced bakers were raving about this recipe! I started the dough Friday evening and after rising and rolling and slicing they were put away in the refrigerator until morning. How perfect is that?! These were surprisingly simple to put together and absolutely fabulous to eat! I think everyone had to have at least 2 of these glorious rolls and couldn't stop talking about how great they were! Britt even said they were delicious and her mom makes the best cinnamon rolls! So don't be afraid! Try this recipe soon! Since I made no alterations to the recipe I am simply providing a direct link to the Food Network recipe card.

Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls