As I have mentioned before…

I enjoy baking!!

Cookies,

Desserts,

Breads,

Pies,

and yes…even

Cakes!

As long as I do not have to ‘fancy-pants’ decorate one.

(No matter how hard I try, I am horror-story terrible at that!)

Look at these two adorable ‘fancy-pants’ cakes shown below!

(No horror-stories being told about these, giggles!)

Baked by Fuhrman’s Cider Mill & Bakery.

My love for baking was primarily why I began the monthly Year of Cookies post, in hopes of sharing a year of cookie stories with you!

So…“Where have those posts been?” you might ask.

They’ve been tucked away, like a secret recipe, in my blogging draft-folder!

The time to bake has continued to present itself, but the time to tippity-tap-type has been much more difficult to come by!

And that is why I have decided to smish-smash together the past several months worth of:  The Year of Cookies!  

Fingers-crossed they mix up well and we don’t end up with a frightful mess!

August

Because my grandmother’s birthday is in August I was inspired by her family-famous Banana Bread and began a quest for a fabulous banana cookie!  The first one I tried, while yummy, was not comparable to the standard or texture of my gram’s delicious bread.  The second attempt hit the mark and was so quick to pull together I forgot to take photos, giggles! Here’s a few from the web-site  where I discovered the recipe and I promise, mine looked very much the same!  Be sure to click on the link for this wonderful recipe to bake a batch of your very own!

September

The month of September’s cookie was made with two very special people in mind who we would be visiting.  Before we caught our flight I baked up a batch of one of their very favorites to bring along!

The Snickerdoodle!

The ‘tasting’ part required some special helping hands once we arrived!

October

With fall in the air I pulled out one of the safest recipes I know….the pumpkin cookie!  I’m not sure if it’s fail-safe because of the easy to follow recipe or the simple fact of who doesn’t love a pumpkin?  Truly, these cookies are loved by everyone!!

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extrac

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Drizzle glaze over cookie, (optional.)

FOR GLAZE:
Combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

And the last of the

mish-mashed

smish-smashed

(missing) Year of Cookies posting:

November

Cookies are always a delightful treat…no matter the shape or size!

Gobble-Gobble!

(Giggles.)

And that’s why I always suggest…rolling out the dough to cut out some Tom-Turkey’s for everyone!

Baker/blogger Bridget Edwards says that this is THE all-time,

go-to,

never-fail,

made thousands-of-’em,

sugar cookie recipe for decorating.

And I couldn’t agree more!

Once I discovered this recipe I threw all my other sugar cookie recipes away!

It requires NO CHILLING!
The dough can be frozen!
The baked cookies can be frozen!
The decorated cookies can be frozen!
And more importantly, it’s yum-yummy!

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 c sugar (Bridget uses sugar that she’s stored vanilla beans in, but my sugar’s not that fancy-pants.)
2 sticks (salted) butter, cold & cut into chunks
1 egg
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling.

Roll on a floured surface to about 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick, and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets (I recommend freezing the cut out shapes on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

And I do so verily hope you will find a cookie,

just right for you,

in this mismashed-mix of baking glee!

nibble, nibble, nibble…

crumbs on the plate.

nibble, nibble, nibble…

it’s almost too late!

Hurry-Up!

Or you’ll miss the last bite

of something that is great!

hugs n’ blessings to all the bakers preparing their treats before the end of another year!!

Life’s biggest challenges can be cured with a little love, prayer, and some milk & cookies.