Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. salt
2 cups yellow crisco shortening (NO SUBSTITUTIONS!!!)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1- 1 1/2 bag(s) MILK chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together in mixer.  Hand stir milk chocolate chips.   Measure onto a baking sheet with an ice cream scoop.  Bake at 375 for 10 min (check might need 2 more min).  Take out when still a light color.  Do not over bake.  This makes a ton of dough.  I freeze them in balls on a cookie sheet then put them in ziplock bags and bake a dozen at a time or how ever many I need.  They are like a sugar cookie/ chocolate chip cookie mix.

Bourbon Chicken

2 large chicken breasts

2 T oil

1 t minced garlic

1/4 C pineapple juice

1/3 C brown sugar

2 T ketchup

1 T apple cider vinegar 

1/3 C soy sauce

1/4 t red pepper flakes 

1 T cornstarch mixed with 1/2 C water

Brown chicken in oil.  Mix everything together (except corn starch and water mixture) until saucy and well combined.  Pour over chicken cook until boiling.  Add corn starch and water mixture. Cook until sauce starts to thicken.  Serve over rice.

Salted Caramel Frosting

Salted Caramel

1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1.  Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in large saucepan.  Cover and cook over medium heat for three minutes.
2.  Remove lid and increase heat to medium-high.  Do not stir from this point on but swirl the liquid around so it doesn't burn every few min.  Cook until it reaches an even golden color.
3.  Remove from heat and pour in heavy cream.  It will be very hot and bubble up.
4.  Stir in the butter, lemon juice, and salt.  Mix well.
5.  Measure 1 cup of caramel into a 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup.  Set aside until cool, about 20 min.
6.  Extra caramel (apx. 1/4 cup) can keep in the fridge up to a week.  Use on apples or ice cream.

Salted Caramel Frosting

2 sticks butter at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
2 1/2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup salted carmel (recipe above)

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.
2. Add 2 cups powdered sugar.  Mix well.
3. Add salted caramel and beat until combined.
4. Add additional powdered sugar until the frosting tastes sweet enough to you.  Careful not to add too much.

This is great on chocolate cake or brownie cupcakes!

Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup oil
2 cups very warm water
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix everything together until you have a thin batter.  Pour the batter into two round or square cake pans sprayed and dusted in flour.  Bake at 350 for 25-28 min or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Great with Salted Carmel Frosting!!!

Bunny Buns (from the Friend)

This recipe comes from the April 2011 Friend magazine. Our family first made them last year for Easter and did them again this year. Delicious!

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup milk, warmed not quite to boiling

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

5 1/2 cups flour, sifted

Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 teaspoon butter

Directions:

1. Wash hands with soap and water.

2. Sprinkle yeast in the warm water and set aside.

3. In another bowl, blend milk, sugar, shortening, and salt. Cool until lukewarm, then add eggs, water with yeast, orange juice, and orange peel.

4. Stir in flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough. Let stand for 10 minutes.

5. Knead dough 5–10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover bowl with a clean towel and put it in a warm place. Let dough rise for 2 hours, or until double in size. Punch dough down and let stand for 10 minutes.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough into strips 1/2 inch wide and 14 inches long. Roll between hands into rounded snake shapes. Cut one strip into pieces 1/2 inch long, and roll into balls.

7. Place one long piece of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over the other end. Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop.

8. Cover bunnies and let rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until nearly double in size. Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 12–15 minutes.

9. For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, and butter together. Frost bunnies with the glaze while they are still warm.

No bake Lemon Cheesecake

No-bake Lemon Cheesecake

Serves 12 to 16

Let the dissolved gelatin mixture cool down for a few minutes, or the gelatin will seize when combined with the filling. We tested our cheesecake with several store brands of lemon sandwich cookies; all worked well.

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

1. 10 lemon sandwich cookies, broken into pieces (about 1 1/4 cups)
2. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3. 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

CURD

1. 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. Pinch salt
4. 2 tablespoons lemon juice
5. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6. 1 tablespoon heavy cream

FILLING

1. 1 envelope (2 3/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
2. 1/4 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
3. 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened
4. 3/4 cup sugar
5. Pinch salt
6. 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS

1. MAKE CRUST Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Process cookies in food processor until finely ground. Add butter and zest and pulse until combined. Press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake until lightly browned and set, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, at least 30 minutes.
2. MAKE CURD While crust is cooling, whisk egg, egg yolk, sugar, and salt together in small saucepan. Add lemon juice and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick and puddinglike, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cream. Press through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl and refrigerate until needed.
3. SOFTEN GELATIN Combine lemon juice and gelatin in small bowl and let stand until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
4. MAKE FILLING With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Slowly add cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and ¼ cup curd, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until smooth and airy, about 3 minutes.
5. CHILL CHEESECAKE Pour filling into cooled crust and smooth top. Following photos, pour thin lines of remaining curd on top of cake and lightly drag paring knife or skewer through lines to create marbled appearance. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours. Remove sides of pan. Serve. (Cheesecake can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

LAYERS OF LEMON FLAVOR

An extraordinary icebox lemon cheesecake requires more than a squeeze of lemon.

1. LEMON SANDWICH COOKIES Instead of the standard graham cracker crumbs, we used crushed lemon sandwich cookies for our crust.

1. LEMON JUICE AND ZEST Divide and conquer—we added 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice to the filling and 1 teaspoon lemon zest to the crust.

1. LEMON CURD We mixed tangy, homemade lemon curd into the batter and swirled extra on top of the cheesecake.

CHEATER'S CHEESECAKE

Homemade lemon curd can’t be beat. don’t have the 15 minutes it takes to make it, though? You can find jarred curd in the jam section of the supermarket. But be forewarned: all brands are not created equal. The only one we can recommend is Wilkin and Sons, which captures the taste of real lemons and is creamy enough to use in our lemon icebox cheesecake (you will need 1/2 cup). Just so you know: it costs about $9.

SWIRL SHOWSTOPPER

Remember what Grandma said? Pretty is as pretty does. AtCook's Country we generally agree with Grandma. Just this once, however, we don't think she'd mind a fancy effect. Making a swirl with the lemon curd on top of the cheesecake is absurdly easy and awfully impressive.

1. Use a measuring cup to pour the curd in four thin lines on top of the cheesecake. Drag a paring knife or skewer perpendicularly through the lines to create a marbled design.