The Way to a Man's Heart~ Basic Spritz #Cookies #recipes #goodeats

 The Way to a Man's ♥~

Basic Spritz Cookies

 My grandma makes these cookies around Christmas time, but they're a fine little nibble for the sweet tooth of your Sweetie!

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (I find that real butter works better than margarine)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract (or almond also works good)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375º

1. Place butter & shortening in large mixing bowl. Cream together on medium high speed.
2. Add sugar gradually. Beat until light & fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Add egg & vanilla; mix well using medium speed.
4. Combine flour, baking powder & salt in separate bowl. Add to butter/sugar mixture in 3 additions; mixing well after each addition. Dough will be stiff.
5. Assemble & fill cookie press with dough. Use desired disc.
6. Press cookies on ungreased, uncoated cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges. Do not overbake.

Yields: 6-7 dozen cookies.

 Sweets for the Sweet!

The Way to a Man's Heart~ Aunt Mary Lee's Yeast #Rolls #goodeats #recipes

 The Way to a Man's ♥~

Aunt Mary Lee's Yeast Rolls

This recipe comes from the kitchen of one my my great aunts. Though no longer with us, I think of her every time I make these. Finding the way to a man's heart is often through his stomach and a hearty buttery rolls can often do the trip. This is a recipe that does take time and is done in "parts."
 
Part 1: Mix together in cup and let set-
1 package yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup water
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 2: Bring to boil and set aside to mix with dry ingredients
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup water
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Part 3: Mix these ingredients-
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
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Part 4:

1. Mix boiled water & butter with dry ingredients
2. Add 1/2 cup COLD water
3. Add yeast water mixture
4. Mix well
5. Add 1 egg at end 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Once all ingredients are mixed, COVER (I usually use a warm damp kitchen towel that I've wetted and wrung out)
Let sit for 1 HOUR (it should double in size)
Place on floured surface and knead
Shape into sizes you like- be that folded/rounded rolls or, like me, I tend to make the cloverleaf pattern (cut well kneaded dough into even amounts of 3 small balls each and portion them out into lightly buttered/oiled muffin tins)
Cover again and let sit for 1-2 additional hours (I set mine inside the oven on the racks- though not with the oven on)
When ready to prepare
Set rolls aside (or take them out of oven if that's where the dough has been resting)
Preheat oven to 425º
Brush tops with melted butter
Bake for up to 30 minutes or so.

(It usually only takes about 12 minutes for my oven, so when attempting these the first time, you might want to bake in 10 minute increments until golden brown and done)

The longer they sit, the lighter and airier they should be. :)

Enjoy!

(especially good with beef stew or pot roast)

The Way to a Man's Heart- Lemon Drop Cookies #recipe #goodeats

The Way to a Man's ♥-

Lemon Drop Cookies

This is one my husband's favorite recipes, especially to fix at the holidays as part of our traditional treat buckets for family and friends and they're super easy to make. They are a very soft chewy cookie. In fact, though we use lemon cake mix, you could most certainly substitute a different cake flavor and come up with your own unique cookie, which I've thought about doing with chocolate cake or strawberry.

Preheat oven to 350º

Ingredients-
Lemon Cake Mix
1 Egg
1- 8 oz Cool Whip
Powdered Sugar

Directions-

1. With a mixer, blend together the cake mix, egg and whipped topping. It will have a thick fluffy and sticky consistency.
2. Using large Tablespoons, scoop the mixture into balls just slightly smaller than or around the size of a golf ball and drop them into a bowl of powdered sugar and coat them enough to handle and gentle roll them into a better ball, placing them on a cookie sheet a couple inches apart.
3. Taking a flat bottom glass, dust the bottom with powdered sugar and lightly press cookies out, leaving them about 1/2 inch thick. Bake 8-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them as they can brown quickly. They will also spread out a little more as they bake. They should be lightly brown around the edges.
4. Let cool a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet with spatula.

The Way to a Man's Heart- Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

This is probably the easiest recipe for peanut butter cookies I know of and they're melt in your mouth good.
These are good to throw together when you want something sweet but don't have a lot in the house that sounds good.

Ingredients-

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg

Directions-

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Mix together all ingredients and drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet
3. Press cookies slightly with fork to give a “criss-cross” pattern on top- not completely flat though- still slightly ball shaped
4. Bake at 350º for about 8-10 minutes

Taryn Raye's #SCENTsational Saturdays The Way to a Man's Heart- Easy Coconut Cookies

When I stayed with my folks last week, my mom made this ooey gooey easy coconut cookies and I just had to share the recipe today because it's such a simple recipe and because we're getting closer to the holidays and I'm just a smidge tired of talking about body wash and soap, so I thought...hey, why not share another new recipe!

Easy Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup All-Purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup Rice Krispies

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350º

1. Cream together the shortening and sugars
2. Add egg and vanilla, mix until well blended
3. Add flour and baking soda, until well blended
4. Add Rice Krispies cereal and flaked coconut, until well blended
5. Drop by spoonfuls onto foil lined cookie sheet
6. Bake at 350º for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown

You can use a toothpick to the center to test them. If it comes out clean, they're ready to come out of the oven. You can also add a drop or two of either almond extract or coconut extract along with the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla for an added burst of flavor.

Here's hoping my hubby will enjoy them as much as I did. Have a SCENTsational Saturday!

#SCENTsational Saturday- The Way to a Man's Heart- Meatloaf

The Way to a Man's ♥
Taryn's Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef

1 egg

approximately 1/2 cup Quick Oats

Salt & Pepper

Ketchup

1/2 small onion, diced fine

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350º-375º

Mix ground beef, egg, 1/2 cup Quick Oats (enough to make solid but not too much), diced onion, salt and pepper (eyeball it) and generous squirt of ketchup together until it's a moist yet firm loaf. Place in foil lined 9X13 to shape and flatten to thickness you desire. I usually pat it down to nearly fit the pan, leaving 1/2 inch to an inch around so that sides of meat are not touching foil. Usually pat it down to about an inch thickness.

Smear top with generous layer of ketchup and sprinkle with pepper. Fill dish with enough water to surround meatloaf- I do this to keep the meatloaf from burning on the bottom, plus I find it seems to draw the grease away from the meatloaf without detracting from the moistness or flavor.

Bake 45 minutes to an hour. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans or your favorite meatloaf side dishes.

(Seen served here with sweet peas, brussel sprouts and my Cheesy Bacon Tators)

Have a SCENTsational Saturday!