The Cookie Girl is moving

Just a quick note. Cookie Girl Creations is moving!  There are a lot of changes that will be going on around here.  I am combining my two blogs into one and giving it all a face lift.  I will be moving Cookie Girl Creations to my other blog Frying Bacon Naked. I've wanted to do this for quite sometime and I am just now getting around to it.  This blog page will be up until I get everything transferred over and re-decorated.  There will be a lot of new and exciting recipes to come. I hope that my readers will go with me.  Just follow the cookie trail here...  Frying-Bacon-Naked.com 

Lot's of Love
XOXO
The Cookie Girl

Frozen Coconut S'mores

I just wanted stop in and share a great little recipe that I found in the August 2011 edition of Woman's Day Magazine.  It is a no fuss, no bake dessert that will be great for these HOT Summer days we are having.
Hope you Enjoy!

Frozen Coconut S'mores

Recipe Ingredients


6 to 8 graham crackers (the entire rectangle)

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped, plus more shaved, for serving

3 large egg whites

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup cream of coconut (not coconut milk)

Recipe Preparation

1. Line the bottom of a 9-in.-square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Place graham crackers in the bottom of the pan, cutting them to fit as necessary.

2. Heat 1/3 cup of the cream in a small saucepan until it barely begins to simmer; remove from heat. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the graham crackers. Freeze for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form; set aside. In a separate large bowl, using the electric mixer (no need to clean the beaters), beat the cream of coconut and the remaining cup of cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the coconut-cream mixture until fully incorporated.

4. Spread the coconut mixture evenly over the chilled chocolate and freeze, covered, for at least 6 hours or up to 2 days. When ready to serve, use the parchment overhangs to lift and transfer the s’more to a cutting board. Cut into 32 bars and top with shaved chocolate, if desired.

* When using coconut cream, it is best to open the can completely and stir to make sure it has not settled or separated. 

WooHoo!!! I love Surprises!!!

I have been waiting so very patiently for a wonderful little surprise to show up on my door step and today it arrived! Remember the apron swap that I joined? Well my SUPER SWEET swap partner sent me an awesome package full of so many things that I just love.  Her name is Madelyn and from reading her blog she really loves her fabric and all the great projects she does.

She sent me a beautiful apron, 2 spatulas that I was in so much need of, 2 lovely valentine dish towels, vintage tissues, hand sanitizer,quilted nail file, a super Moda Sweet Treat bag fabric and instructions aaaaannnd....drum roll please......a cookie cookbook and cookie cutters!!!!  Oh yes, I am typing with my mouth full of the soft peppermints that she included too. I love these things. I am always the one at the wedding reception filling her pockets full of the little pastel mints that taste just like them. Yum! :)

She knew just how to get to this Cookie girl's heart!  I can hardly wait to break open the book for some great recipes and get out my sewing machine to make my treat bag. I am so excited I do not know where to start.

(I had to take the picture my self so that is why my head is cut off.) LOL

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart Madelyn!!! I love everything!

Flirty Apron Swap

Good Evening to you all!  I hope that each one is doing well and warm and cozy in their homes tonight.  The fierce weather that has hit many of you is no doubt a hard blow to your daily lives. My prayers are going up for each and every family that has been affected.  As for us here in the south we are just wet and cold.  But I am looking forward to a soon approaching Spring.
I have been hard at work making a special apron for the Flirty Apron Swap that Shawnee hosts.  This will be my second one and I decided to jump in with both feet and make my first ever full apron.  I wanted to do something a little different and still vintage inspired so I started digging through all of my old aprons.  I found the winner and below is a little history of the original apron.

I have many of my great-grandmother's (Nannie's) aprons that she had made and one in particular is a favorite of mine.  I could not figure out what she would have used it for but I just loved the simplicity of it.  It is solid white and made from cotton sheeting material.  There are no pieces if you will. It is one sold apron with very small rolled hems, no pockets and short ties. It almost reminds me of something a nurse might have worn many years ago and with it being white it looks quite sterile. I decided to call up my sweet Mom and ask her if she remembered the apron.  Well, of course she remembered it! She told me my that Nannie had worked at a commissary kitchen making biscuits. That explained the solid white sterile look for sure and the size, looking like a dress, actually covers almost all of your clothing except the arms.  Neither of us could figure out the short ties though.  Maybe she just pinned it to her clothes.

I took this wonderful apron and used it as my pattern  and of course added my own little touches, longer ties, a pocket, a ruffle and lots of color.  It took me a little longer than expected to get it all together but I am very proud of the results.  I hope that my swap partner likes it as much as I do.  I also included a few tuck-ins to make it a sweet valentine gift to remember.

Enjoy the pictures and don't mind the cheesy blonde in the photo it's just me. :) I hope to see you all back here soon.

It's SNOW good to see you...Happy New Year!

Well, Well, Well....How in the world are you?  Me?  I am doing just fine, thanks for asking!
How long has it been? Oh, seems like years doesn't it? Well, It has ONLY been about nine months since I last posted anything.  I seem to have lost track just a bit and left this little blog unattended. 
Can't say that much has really gone on since the last post that is blog worthy but Hey! it's a New Year so HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! 

 We have had one heck of a snow for the south.  Although we did not get out and play much due to our lingering sickness I did manage to get a few nice snapshots. 

I personally like the goofy little snowman.  It took every bit of energy we had left in us to get him together but I think he turned out quite cute. He even shows up in the dark due to all of the reflectors and glowing golf balls my husband used on him. (Take note of the eyes, mouth and buttons) 

 GO GATORS!!!

I know this post is quite short and I do hope to have some that are more interesting along with new recipes and pictures throughout the year.  For now I bid you farewell and hope to see you around soon.

The Cookie Girl

What can you make with $5 ?

I was reading a fellow blogger's post yesterday Laura of Decor to Adore, and in it she was making these cute dish towels for her kitchen. As I read a little further I realized that it was a challenge that she was doing. A $5 challenge to be exact. It all started over at Living with Lindsay and the challenge is to make a Springtime craft using items from the dollar store and spending only $5. I thought it was a pretty neat idea and Laura came up with some awesome ideas.  So I decided to head out to the store and see what I could find. I knew that I didn't have long to make something and I actually think I may have missed the deadline for entering the challenge but I wanted to do it anyway and share it with you. Here is what I bought and also what I used from home to make my craft.

       

Can you guess what I am making?   An Apron!!! I love aprons and I always have good intentions to make them but never find the time. I love to hang them in my kitchen for seasonal color and decoration. Especially my vintage aprons.  They make the feel of the kitchen very comfortable just having them hanging around.  Aprons always have a story to tell even this one. It was really simple to do using dish towels for the apron and a flower to make a removeable pin. And Yes it all came from the Dollar Tree along with some fabric and supplies I already had at home.

Now before I do this tutorial for you I have to say that I am not the best seamstress in the world nor a great teacher so please be kind if you do not understand my directions. Sewing still confuses me. LOL

I started with four dish towels and attached them side by side with a simple straight seam. I did carefully match up the bottom of the towels to keep it even all the way across. Having it un-even at the top doesn't matter because it will be cut anyway.

Once they were all sewn together I cut about 5 inches off the top to even up the seam and get rid of some of the unwanted length.

I then ran a couple of loose stiches across the top so that I could gather the material easily.

Using my contrasting fabric that I had on hand  I cut out the waiste band and the ties.

The measurements for these are as follows:

Waistband  10"W x 20" L

2-Ties, each 10" W x 24" L

I then folded each piece in half and pressed with an iron. I then folded them in half again and pressed once more. I opened the fabric pieces up and folded each side in to form what looks like bias tape.

I sewed each side seam of the ties to each end of the waistband.

Then I attached the waistband over the top of the apron and pinned it in place.

Starting at the end of one of the ties and using the zig-zag stitch I stiched all the way across the tie, through the waistband and to the end of the other tie.  I went back over the top too just for the fun of it.

To make my big flower pin, I removed the stem and the center of the flower. I attached a yo-yo that I had made and a vintage button with a needle and thread. I then glued down the edges with my hot glue gun. I attached the pin to the back with my glue gun too. Voila!!! Pretty Spring flower.

Once I put it all together it was really a pretty Spring Apron to make.  Not too bad for a quick $5 project.

So HAPPY SPRING EVERYBODY!!!!

Shopping, Baking & Healthy Chicken Fingers

The other day I was introduced to a family of online shops that I did not know existed. Or at least I did not know about all of them. I was completely amazed at the 200+ available sites to shop from carrying everything from kids bedding to cookware.  As I began searching through the CSN sites my first stop was of course at the bakeware and dinnerware.  I was so excited when I saw my dishes on there. They are by Signature Houseware. I was even more excited when I realized they carried the accent pieces to go with them. So get ready for an upcoming post where I will be doing a review on the baking dish in my plate pattern. 
I am excited to see what creative ways I will be able to use it and share with you.  I will definitely be purchasing more pieces from them as well as searching their kids bedding for my little princess a  room makeover. 
Oh My, So many projects going on at one time here at the Cookie Girl's home. Will I ever finish them all? I ask myself why I add more to the mix but I just can't help myself. So once again, I add this extra baking project to the list today. I am off to make a birthday cake for my Father in Law's 70th birthday.  I am pretty lost on what I will do for the decorations but I am sure something will come together. I will post about it later if I survive from NOT eating the frosting. :)
Before I enter into the baking zone  I would like to leave you with a healthy recipe that you can try this weekend.  I promise that you will like it.  Here you gooooooo.......

Baked Chicken Fingers

4 - 5 slices of Double Fiber Bread (dried out and ground into bread crumbs)

2 Tbs. Italian Seasoning (I use the Herby Organic Seasoning)

2 Tbs. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 pkt. Good Seasons Zesty Italian Dressing Mix

1/4 c. Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Tbs. Water

1/2 C. MCT Oil

3 Medium Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (about 2 lbs.)

2 egg whites

I can't believe it's not butter Spray

Directions: Dry out your bread slices by placing a bakers rack on a cookie sheet.

Then laying the bread slices on top of the rack and bake in a 200 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the bread is dry to touch.  Process the bread in a food processor to get a  small crumb texture.

 Add the Italian herbs and parmesan cheese and mix together.

Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts and cut into strips the size of chicken fingers.

Whisk together the italian dressing mix, vinegar, water and MCT oil until completely blended.

In a bowl, add the chicken and dressing mix. Marinate this for about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil.

Pour the bread crumbs into a shallow pie plate.

Whisk 2 egg whites in a seperate pie plate.

Dip each chicken stip into the egg whites and then roll in the bread crumbs to coat. (they will not be coated completely. This is okay. )

Place the strips on the lined baking sheet.  Spritz with the butter spray.

Bake for 20-30 minutes turning the strips half way through.

Serve on a salad or with veggies. You can even use these for appetizers with a great dip.

ENJOY!!!!

Breaded Chicken Fingers

I Heart Valentine's Day!

Ahhhhh Yes! Valentine's day is so very close. I love this special holiday. All of the pink and red makes me giddy like a little school girl waiting for that little paper valentine from the dreamy blue eyed boy in the seat beside her.  Do you remember those days when everyone swpped their valentine cards at school? Those days have since past but the sweet memories linger. Now that my little Princess is getting older she will soon get to make those memories with her school friends and I can't wait to help her make the cutest little valentine for that dreamy blue eyed boy.  Shhhh....don't tell her daddy I said that. He has decided to keep her under lock and key until she is 30!!!
She is only 4 and already stealing hearts. She just performed in her first ballet recital this past weekend and made hearts melt with her smile. Okay...she made my heart and her daddy's heart melt. Can you tell we are proud parents?  Here are a few pictures of her on stage. No stage fright at all.

(By the way, I married that dreamy blue eyed boy and he is still dreamy and Oh so wonderful.)

Okay, I got a little off  the Valentine subject for a second but I could not resist sharing my pics with you.

Since this is such a "SWEET" holiday for me  I would like to share with you a couple of treats that I made to celebrate.  There is nothing like peanut butter and chocolate together. Don't you agree? One of my all time favorite treats is the Reese cup. They have the Double Peanut Butter Hearts out for Valentine's. Yum!  I think I can do one better than that. How about Peanut Butter Brownies covered in chocolate? Oh, Yeah! That's the ticket. Just wait until you see what I did with the scraps. :)

It all started with this recipe...

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

1 cup AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

6 Tbls. butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla flavor

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8 x 2 in. square pan with bakers joy or Non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.

Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 mintues or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely. Turn out onto a piece of waxed paper to cut into shapes if desired.

 Cut out the brownies

Melt your chocolate morsels in the microwave. (DO NOT GET WATER IN THE CHOCOLATE)

It will seize up and ruin the chocolate.

Using a spatula, cover the bottom of the brownie with chocolate and place on bakers rack chocolate side up. you can place them in the freezer for a couple of minutes to speed up the drying process.

This is a messy process but worth it.

Now cover the sides and top of brownies with chocolate.

Place back on the bakers rack and into freezer for a few minutes.

You can leave them as is or add a little more to dress them up. I used white chocolate to decorate them.

store them in a single layer in an air tight container. You can package them seperately for gifts too.

I had a lot of left over brownie pieces too. I've always been taught, "Waste not, Want not".

So I took a little time to make some brownies pops. Here's how.

I used my food processor to make crumbs and then added a little cream cheese frosting to it.

I forgot to take a picture of the brownie mix as I rolled it into balls. But that is what you do. Just roll it into 1 1/2" balls. Place on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet and freeze for abot 15 minutes.

I used white chocolate to cover them . I melted the chocolate in the microwave and added a little marshmallow and coconut flavored oil to it. (It was so good)

Remove the balls from the freezer and insert sucker sticks into each ball. Dip into the chocolate and gently tap and swirl to remove excess. You can add sprinkles like I did or get a little more creative.

Here is the finished product with a few heart shaped chocolate lollipops added in.

My inspiration came from Bakerella. If you haven't seen her creative pops you should really check her blog out.

As Always....Enjoy! And Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO

The Cookie Girl

Yeast Dough and Cinnamon Buns

So I wanted to make some yeast rolls today. This isn't something that I do often and I don't exactly have a great recipe for them yet. I did find a simple yeast dough recipe and altered it a little to suit my taste. I did everything as I thought I should and my yeast rolls turned out okay. Not the best, but okay. A little heavy for me really. I had a lot of dough from this recipe and did not need that many yeast rolls so I said to myself, "Self! Let's make some cinnamon buns." So we  umm...I did! Mini ones at that and surprisingly enough they were AWESOME. Might I even dare to say a close runner with the all time favorite CINNABON. Okay that's a little stretch.  I love CINNABON!!!
Here's how it all breaks down....

Yeast Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups hot water (not boiling. This will kill the yeast)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold water

2 (.25oz.) pks active dry yeast

6 cups AP flour

2 eggs

Directions:

Combine the hot water and butter together then add your sugar and and salt and stir well.  Add the cold water and yeast and stir to dissolve (about 5 minutes)

Add 3 cups of flour and mix until well blended. 

Add the 2 eggs and the remaining flour and mix until completely combined.

note: I did all of this in my Kitchen Aid mixer and then transfered the dough to a greased glass bowl and turning to coat the dough.

Fill a pan with hot water and place it on the bottom rack of cool oven. Place the bowl of dough above the pan and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size. This is called proofing.

Once the dough has doubled in size punch it down, cover and let it double in size again. About 30 minutes for this second process.

For the Cinnamon Buns:

1 stick butter (softened)

4 Tbs. Cinnamon

1 1/2 c.Brown Sugar

Nuts (if desired)

2-9x12 Baking pans

Parchment paper

Cooking Spray

In small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well.

Spray baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

On a generously floured surface, turn out the dough and sprinkle with flour. Knead the dough about 9 or 10 times and form a round or an oval in my case of the the dough.

 Separate the dough in half. You will have two batches of cinnamon buns. 

With one half of the dough, begin rolling it out into a rectangle shape about 1/2 inch thick. (mine is not but I wasn't going for perfection here.)

Once you have your rectangle. Brush or spread on about 1/4 cup or 1/2 stick of the softened butter.

Spread 1/2 of the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the dough.

Begin rolling the dough up into a log shape as pictured.

One you have the log shape you are ready to cut. Use a sereated knife for this process. Make your cuts about 1 inch apart to form these mini buns or a little larger if you like.

Place the buns in the baking pan about 1/2 inch apart.

Cover and set aside while working on the second pan.  Repeat the above process.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake your cinnamon buns for 30-40 minutes.

Glaze:

1 stick of butter (softened)

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

3-4 Tablespoons milk

Combine the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt together until creamy. Add the milk a little at a time for an easy spreading consistency.

After your buns have cooled for about 10 minutes in the pan, spread the glaze over top.

You can serve these warm or even cooled down. I am eating them while posting this recipe with my morning coffee. :) It's great to have leftovers!

YUM!

YUM!

YUM!