So Sweet Your Teeth Will Hurt GIVEAWAY!

This week I am doing the "Single Parent" thing because my dear Mr. Cookie is out of town working. My sweet daughter and I miss him very much as we are not use to him being gone but there is a happy ending to this week because we are going to pick him up Saturday. He is in my second home, The Great Smokey Mountains. I have spent more time there than any other place in the States. As a little girl we would go at least two times a year. I would always travel with my Grandparents and my Aunt Tam, who is more like a sister. Once I got into my teenage years and above it was just me and Aunt Tam mostly. Now that I am married we do not go as much but this weekend I am packing our bags and taking off to the wonderful Smokey Mountains.

Now for the part you are going to love.....A GIVEAWAY so SWEET your TEETH will HURT! :)

There is a little shop called the Country Candy Kitchen in Pigeon Forge. It has been open since 1982 and I go there every single time we visit. You can smell the sweetness before you even open the door. They make the sweetest old fashion candies and salt water country taffy. They still use the copper pots and wooden spoons to make the taffy and the taffy pulling machine that is so fun to watch. They call it the magic machine. It was built in 1918 and is used everyday.

Since I will be making a stop into the candy shop I thought I would share some super sweet candies with you. I will be giving away a great combination of old country candies including salt water country taffy. Yum Yum! I will also be including homemade jams and jellies and a heart warmer filled with lavender and peppermint.

Now...here is what you need to do to enter.

1. Leave me a comment on your favorite old fashion candy and taffy flavor.

(1 entry)

2. Follow me and leave me a comment that you are doing so.

If you already follow me, this counts too.

(2 more entries)

3. Post this giveaway on your blog and link back to me.

(3 more entries)

4. Post my cookie club banner on your blog

(4 more entries)

That is a total of 10 entries you can get. WooHoo!

I will be posting a photo of all these things once I purchase them.

The contest will end on Friday, March 13th.

Good Luck to you all.

Cookie Club Recipe #4~ Ranger Krispies

You and your kids will ♥ love ♥ this cookie recipe. It is very kid friendly and great for them to make with you. Use your imagination and do variations with the recipe. I know I will. :)

Ranger Krispies

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/3 cup shortening

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups Rice Krispies

Variation: Add 1 cup miniature chocolate chips to batter with cereal.

1. Heat oven 375 degrees. Use Baker's joy on cookie sheets or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, and shortening; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and blend well.

2. Combine Flour,salt, soda, and baking powder in separate bowl and blend.

Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in cereal and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire racks.

High Altitude (above 3,500 ft.) Decrease baking powder and baking soda to 1/2 tsp each and bake as directed above.

Check out this SWEEEEET cupcake giveaway over at Sweet Tea Diaries. She has a super cute blog too. Go say Hi and enter to win.

I will be posting another giveaway from the Cookie Girl soon. Stay tuned to see what all is up for grabs. The Easter Bunny is on his way!

Say Cheeeeeze!

As I begin this post I just want to thank each and every one of my followers and bloggy friends for all the comment love you give me each week. You are great!


Now down to some exciting news.....I FINALLY got a new camera. Yippeeeee!!!! It is an Olympus Evolt 510. Yep, that's right! A Big Girl Camera as my daughter would say. I am really excited about it and have a lot to learn about using it. Any helpers out there?
I love photography and can't wait to get some really great photos around town of the historic attractions as well as my baking creations. I have even thought about redoing my kitchen and using picture of cookies that I have made to decorate. What do you think?

Of course I could not do this post without giving you my first picture from my new camera.

Tada!

This is a picture of my Lime Sugar Cookies from this weeks recipe. Looks yummy doesn't it.
Well....They are. If you haven't tried them yet, you really should. They have a tangy lime flavor and a sweetness from the confectioners sugar. I am very proud of my picture too. :)

So I am off to find more recipes, more things to photograph, and a little R & R.

Enjoy!
XOXO

Cookie Club Recipe #4

I am so happy for the weekend. I have been sick all week with a virus and finally feel really great today. I did not make the cookies for this week but Suzi over a Savy Suzi made them and they were a big hit with her kids.
Spring is really around the corner and I am so ready for it. Old man winter can surely pack up and go away. So this week I have a really yummy Spring recipe for cookies that will get you in the mood for chirping birds and flower blooms. It is from my Martha Stewart cookie book but with a Cookie Girl twist.

I hope you all enjoy them...

Lime Sugar Cookies (Lime Flowers)

2 cups AP flour, plus more for work surface

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs. finely grated lime zest

1 1/2 sticks butter (room temp.)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

( I will use key lime juice)

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Directions: Sift together flour,baking powder,and salt into a bowl.

Put granulated sugar and lime zest in a separate bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add butter, and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla and lime juice. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flower mixture.

On a lightly floured work surface, halve the dough. Flatten each half into a 10 inch disk, and wrap each in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Working with one half at a time, roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with a 3 inch flower cookie cutter or cookie cutter of choice. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining disk.

Wrap scraps in plastic. Freeze 30 minutes, re-roll and cut.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until cookies are set, 12-13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on wire rack. Before serving, sift confectioners sugar over cookies.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

Cookie Girl Notes: I will be using key lime juice. I am going to forgo the freezing step and use my cookie press instead. I will chill the cookies before I bake them.

Eight Amazing Years

Tuesday, February 17th marked eight wonderful years of marriage to Mr. Cookie. I just don't know where the time has gone. It was just like yesterday I was walking down the aisle to Unchained Melodies with butterflies in my tummy waiting to become the wife of the most amazing man you will ever meet.

It is funny how I reminisce and remember every little detail of our wedding day, right down to the moment he carried me through the threshold of our first home. I still miss that little place and all the memories that were made there.

So for our anniversary this year I wanted to go to the Georgia Aquarium and see the fish....sort of :) I really wanted to meet Martha Stewart who was going to be there signing her newest cookbooks. Being the wonderful man that my husband is he happily agreed to take me.

We got up early Tuesday morning and had mmmm...well, breakfast. We then left the house house and headed to the great ATL. An hour and half later we arrive at the aquarium and make our grand entrance toward the Ocean Ballroom where Martha was waiting to see ME. Okay, Okay...maybe not me personally but she was there. We actually waited and waited and waited for about two hours in line. Luckily we got there early enough to get a good place in line. There were hundreds of people behind us. The picture only captures a small amount of them.

We were even entertained by the beautiful Beluga whales the whole time. We were all served milk and cookies during the wait which for me was like Heaven! Helloooooo..I am the Cookie Girl.Yep...this is me! 100% Guilty with Dark Chocolate on my fingers and a smile on my face!

After the long wait....did I mention my AMAZING husband stood in line with me? Yes he did Girls....I just love him sooooooo much. There were reporters there with cameras taking pictures of the crowd. Once they saw Mr. Cookie and I they completely forgot everyone else and we were swamped with flashing lights and microphones......well, that is only half true. :) They did take our picture and ask us some questions about our Anniversary. Who knows if they made it into the paper. I would say Martha's picture took a little more precedence over ours.

Finally.....the doors opened and the line was moving very quickly. I was so excited but really contained myself for Mr. Cookies sake. Once we got close enough to the door they told us that we could not get a personal picture with Martha but we could take pictures from the line. Bummer!


I did have an idea though. There were two of us so Mr. Cookie could snap a picture while I was keeping Martha occupied with my Cookie Book. Woo Hooooo! I am so freakin' smart! LOL
Not really....but he was able to get a quick shot of us. Darn I should have looked at the camera.
Yes...those are real fish behind her in the aquarium!
Martha was very nice and soft spoken. She really is a beautiful lady. She complimented on my necklaces saying they were very pretty. I replied quietly with a thank you. I told her it was nice to have met her and she of course being the polite lady she is ,said it was nice to meet me as well.
I wish that we could have had tea or something after the signing but I just could not wait on her all day. :)

After all of this Mr. Cookie and I took a tour of the Aquarium gazing at all of the beautiful fish and sea otters. We got a couple of pictures of each other at this water fall that uses reclaimed rain water. Pretty Cool I thought.

The aquarium wasn't as big as I had thought. We finished up and headed out about the same time Martha did. Nope, no romantic dinner for us either. I had been feeling a little dizzy and nauseated all morning and on the way home it escalated into a full blown stomach virus. Yep...I did the most horrible thing ever....upchuck in the car. Ewwwww! Finally we made it home and my wonderful Mr. Cookie has been nursing me back to health ever since. I spared you the Gorey details...Trust me! You will thank me for that part.
All in all, it was a great anniversary DAY!

Thanks Honey for all you do. You are the LOVE OF MY LIFE!

I love you!