Category: Dessert

Ready-to-bake cookies

Posted on by Jo Anne

Ok. I admit it. I buy the ready to bake cookies from Pillsbury. I will tell you that they don’t come close to homemade. And they involve little-to-no bonding time with my children. But I will have to give them their props when it comes to being able to provide what my kids think are a real home made treat in almost no time at all. Prep time is non-existent, and cleanup is minimal.

I don’t know about you, but I like my sugar cookies with a little crunch to them. Not overcooked, but a nice golden tinge to them, and a little crisp around the edges. I have come home on occasion, and had my husband present me with cooked cookies, from the ready-to-back package, and they were as pale as the precooked dough. Now I’m not saying he can’t follow directions. He cooked them exactly as long as the package says to. What I am curious about, is how many people like their sugar cookies that gooey. Chocolate chip cookes, definitely. Sugar? Not so much. At least for me.

I cooked a batch up today that were perfect. And now my kids know a perfect sugar cookie as well. Next is to teach them how to bake them from scratch…which are soooooo much better.

Nommy apply crispy

Posted on by Jo Anne

My break tonight consisted of a trip to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for my favorite fall/holiday dessert to make…Apple Crisp.  Admittedly, I’ve been making the same recipe for so long, that I don’t remember where I got it.  Certainly, both my immediate and extended families never made apple crisp for the holidays, so I have no clue where it came from.  All I know is it is yummy and delicious.

I start with about five to eight good sized Granny Smith Apples.  If you are in-the-know, you understand that using a nice tart apple like the Granny Smith helps to offset the sweetness of the crisp topping.  This is true of any baked apple product.  The only time I opt for a sweeter apple is when there is minimal sugar involved.  Anyway, so I start with the apples.  Core them; peel them; slice them.  Then toss them with some lemon juice.  The acid in the lemon juice will keep the apples from browning.

Truly the best part of the apple crisp is the crisp.  Top it with Breyer’s Natural Vanilla ice cream, and it’s a winner beyond measure.  The crisp is made of rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Now, the butter does not make it the healthiest dish.  However, butter will make the oats and sugar and cinnamon bake together into the yummy crispy goodness it is.  I usually make more than the recipe calls for because the crisp topping is the best.  Let’s face it.  You know it’s true.

I cook it, and then I serve it warm.  And as I said before, it requires Breyer’s Natural Vanilla ice cream.  Whipped cream doesn’t cut it with this apple crisp.  Ok, I suppose ANY vanilla ice cream would work.  But I’m partial to Breyer’s.  It has just the right level of “sweet” and that’s the truth.

After making my first apple crisp of the season, I start to think about Christmas Cookies.  And so, tonight, in the wee hours of the morning when I return home from work, I will commence the preparation of our first Apple Crisp of the season.