Lofthouse-style Soft Sugar Cookies

Do you remember those fat, soft, pink-frosted sugar cookies you could buy at the gas station?

The ones that were the size of a small child?

You know what I am talking about...

Those ones.

Yeah, they were so goooood.

Well, you are in luck today.

Because they decided to pop in to say "hello."

Hey good-looking.

Yeah, I'm talking to you.

You're so cute.

So cute that I could just eat you up...

Woops. That wasn't supposed to happen.

It's the sprinkles' fault.

If they didn't make you look so pretty, I wouldn't have been tempted.

Yep, sounds like a good excuse to me.

Lofthouse-style Soft Sugar Cookies

makes 5-6 dozen cookies

For the Cookies:

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1½ cups sour cream

For the Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream

Food coloring, optional

Sprinkles, optional

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a little sticky, but that is okay. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1½ inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least two hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
5. Lightly flour the countertop and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cool cookies completely before frosting.
6. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at medium-high speed for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired, and beat until combined.
7. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles, if desired. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container.

These cookies are often referred to as Granny B's Sugar Cookies or Lofthouse Sugar Cookies

I found the recipe over at Two Peas & Their Pod. I just think their blog is so adorable :)

Yummy in my tummy.

Homemade Fig Newtons

Oh. my. goodness.

Every time I look at these guys, I want to make them again and again and again...

They are so addicting.

Ever since I joined the Pinterest team, I kept seeing recipes for Fig Newtons.

I glanced at each recipe, unimpressed by what I saw. Either there was too much sugar or they were made with white flour, or there was a bunch of butter in them.

Yuck.

Not my cup of tea.

So it became my mission : to come up with the perfect, most healthy, tastiest Fig Newton recipe on earth.

I couldn't do much else besides dream of making them.

And once I made them and took that first bite, I couldn't do much else besides dream of making them again.

Yep, winner winner chicken dinner.

Homemade Fig Newtons
gluten-free and dairy-free and vegan
Filling:

• 1 cup dried figs
• 1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (or 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice concentrate, just know that fresh is best)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon agave or honey

Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups brown rice flour (or blanched almond flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (normal iodized salt works fine too)
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup agave or honey
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. For the filling : blend figs in a food processor for about 30 seconds, until well chopped. Add lemon juice, vanilla, and agave (or honey). Process until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.
2. For the dough : in a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cornstarch, and baking soda. In a smaller bowl, combine agave (honey), maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix the wet mixture with the dry stuff. Refrigerate for one hour. 
3. Divide chilled dough into 4 parts. Between 2 sheets of parchment paper, roll out one part of the 4 pieces of dough into a 10x4 inch rectangle that is 1/4 of an inch thick. Spread 1/4 of the filling evenly down one side (lengthwise) of the rectangle. Fold the opposite side over onto the filling (making sure to fold the dough in half down the long side--"hotdog-style), resulting in a 10x2 inch bar. "Mend" the seam so the bar is symmetrical. Place on a baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper. Repeat with the 3 remaining dough pieces and 3/4 leftover filling.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 10-15 minutes (until slightly golden). Cool slightly. Cut each bar every 2 inches (making 2-inch Fig Newtons).

Get in mah belleh!

Decided to try taking a picture with a dark background.
I liked it...okay.
What I need is a nice camera.
Like this Nikon DSLR or this Canon one.
Early Christmas gift, maybe?

Look at all those Fig Newtons just for me...er, I mean for everyone!

Salad Towers

Think vegetables.

Stacked high.

Held together only by pressure.

And salad dressing.

Okay, so the veggies didn't stay up like they were supposed to...

The lettuce was squished to smithereens. 

And the salad dressing was soup by the end.

It was supposed to look like this...

But it ended up looking like this...

The exact replica, right?

Yeah, I thought so too...

I got the idea of making a "Salad Tower" after going to a really expensive awesome restaurant called Ruth's Chris Steak House. 

The food is delicious. The decor is classy. The service is great.

What's not to love?

I ordered the Sweet and Spicy Thai Salmon. Devin and his dad both ordered steak (of course, they're guys). Devin's mom ordered a salad.

The sides there are big enough to share with 3-4 people. Yeah, talk about awesome.

We ordered the Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach, and Broccoli Au Gratin.

And guess what we got for dessert?
Guess.
Do it.
Okay, you probably won't get it...but we ordered another side! Ha.
It was Steve's idea (Devin's dad). Apparently one time he ordered the Sweet Potato Casserole and got vanilla ice cream on top of it.
So we did too.
And it was ama.zing.

That was fun...but you don't want to hear about me eating delicious food, you want to get delicious food yourself.

Back to the good stuff.

Salad Towers.

Ruth's Chris' salad tower was called Ruth's Jumbo Chop Salad, and was comprised of: lettuce, spinach, radicchio, red onions, mushrooms, green olives, bacon, eggs, hearts of palm, croutons, bleu cheese, lemon basil dressing, and crispy onions.

Dev and I loved it so much that we wanted to make our own.

But we wanted to make it Southwestern-style, 'cause that's just the way we roll.

Here's all the fixins'... 

Lettuce, red onions, green peppers, red peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, bacon, eggs, sweet chipotle black beans, pepper-jack cheese, Southwestern-style ranch dressing, and crispy tortilla strips.

Sweet Chipotle Black Beans

• 1 (16 ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
• 2-3 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the black beans, chipotle sauce, and honey. Mix well. Stir in cumin, garlic salt, and basil. Place bowl in the refrigerator until chilled. 

Southwest Ranch Dressing

• 1/2 cup prepared ranch dressing
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

OR...you could make some from scratch, that would be cool.



Southwest Ranch Dressing (from scratch)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-2 tablespoons milk, depending on how thick you want it
• 2 tablespoons minced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced pickled jalapeño slices
• 1 tablespoon finely minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.
2. For best results, cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

So here's how it works...

Salad Towers
Makes 2 servings

• 2-3 cups chopped lettuce
• 1/4 cup chopped red onions
• 1/4 cup chopped banana peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped green peppers / red peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/8 cup chopped bacon
• 2 boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/2 cup sweet chipotle black beans (see above)
• 1/4 cup pepper-jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Southwest Ranch dressing (see above)
• crispy tortilla strips, for garnish (you can either make these yourself or buy them)

1. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, all veggies, bacon, eggs, black beans, and cheese. Stir in the 1/2 cup ranch dressing (or 1/4 cup if you are splitting the recipe in half, for one serving).
2. In a Measure-All Cup, shove in half of the salad mixins' (this cup will only hold one serving at a time). Place the cup upside down on a plate and press on the cup plunger to compress the salad. You will need to press REALLY HARD in order to make the salad stand as a tower. Don't be afraid to show that cup who's boss.
3. Slowly press down the plunger, while keeping the opposite end (clear plastic cylinder) on the plate. Then slide the plunger down as you slide the cylinder up. Be gentle, because the salad tower can collapse pretty easily.
4. Place a few tortilla strips on top, and voila! You have your salad tower.
5. Continue to make one more salad tower with the remaining salad stuff in your bowl.

fail.

so we tried it again.

Slowly releasing the beast...

Success!

Time to break it apart and eat!
Poor little guy...

We both agreed that this was one of the most delicious salads we have ever eaten. And I have eaten quite the variety of salads, my friend.

I don't know how Ruth's Chris made it so easily, because this was hard.
Note for next time: chop the lettuce into smaller pieces.