Crisps and Cookies

With each new day and each new recipe I'm all the more convinced that baking is the perfect way to bless other people. Baking is a way to serve. Baking is a way to show love, care and compassion.
For the past four years I've been asking God to use me. I've felt so useless just stuck at home, trapped in an unpredictable body with unpredictable nerves. I've wanted to be a giver, doing for others and serving people in a way that would show the love of Christ. I've cried out to God and begged Him to make me useful for Him.
At first I thought He wasn't listening or didn't hear me because my health just worsened and my life became more limited. The ways I used to serve and give can't be part of my life in my physical state. As I've watched my life become reduced in so many ways I've faced moments and seasons of frustration, feeling that God was leaving me out to dry.
But then something happened. I found that God could use me right here at home, in my own kitchen. All I had to do was bake and I could start sharing blessings.
Isn't it amazing how God is working even when we feel like He's gone silent? For years I wondered what God was doing with my life and how He would ever make anything out of it given my physical condition. But He doesn't need me to be in perfect health to be busy in the kitchen. He just needs me to have a willing spirit.

Today my spirit has been very willing. So willing in fact that I baked up two different desserts for two different crowds.
First off was a Blueberry Peach Crumble (or Crisp). These seasonal treats were for some of my favorite church ladies who came over for a luncheon. I baked up my crumbles/crisps in individual ramekins and topped them with vanilla ice cream. I love individual sized desserts, they are special and, of course, cute! The golden brown, bubbling crumbles topped with a heaping scoop of refreshing ice cream were truly the perfect dessert for an August afternoon.
The days second adventure in the kitchen was for my all my nieces and nephews. Those kiddos are growing quite accustomed to my daily dessert delivery. But seriously, what kid wouldn't like a new dessert delivered every afternoon to their doorstep? Especially when it comes hot out of the oven and contains chocolate chips.
The recipe I used for my cookies is the infamous Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie. To be honest I'm not sure if the recipe I used is the legitimate "top secret original recipe." I saw some conflicting opinions on what goes into the famed cookie but, either way, these cookies were a big hit. I choose a recipe that didn't use oatmeal (a controversy in the blogging world) and went for a recipe that used instant coffee powder. I baked them at 300 degrees for about fifteen minutes. At first I was reluctant to bake them at such a low temperature for so long but reviewers all over the internet swear by this method so I gave it a go. I'm so glad I did! The cookies were moist, a little puffy and slightly crispy. They turned golden but not burnt. The cookies looked like little balls of baked doughy perfection and everyone who tasted them agreed.
Let's just say that the Neiman Marcus cookie is famous for a reason. I think they just became by go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Way to go Neiman….or Marcus. You came up with one seriously scrumptious cookie.

For today's recipes check out these sites...
For the crumble/ crisp: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/blueberry-peach-crumble/
I followed this recipe almost precisely except that I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the fruit base. I'm a cinnamon lover. The scent… the taste… I just can't get enough cinnamon in my life.
For the cookies: http://neimanmarcuscareers.com/story/recipe.shtml
Didn't change a thing! Absolute perfection.

Mini Brownie Ice Cream Cupcakes!

Girls just wanna have fun. Cyndi Lauper had it right back in the 1980's. Well, she had some things right. Not her hair style but that's a whole other story.
But back to the fun.
In that fun-filled spirit today I baked up little mini brownie crusts for little mini ice cream cakes. This dessert is seriously fun! Exactly what I want. I would like to tell you that I played Cyndi Lauper's #1 billboard hit while I baked these little mini brownies but I would be fibbing and I'm not into that. I believe honesty is the best policy. But I can honestly say that these little treats are enjoyable to create even without a soundtrack of feminism in the background. Feminism is another thing I'm not into. But again, that's another story.
So, the mini ice cream cakes. You might be wondering what recipe I used, where I came up with the genius idea and how they turned out. First of all, I did not dream up this tantalizing treat without the assistance of Pinterest, my favorite place to scour for clever ideas. Joy the Baker provided inspiration for my little cupcake, brownie, ice cream cake delicacies. You can find her blog and this particular recipe at  http://joythebaker.com/2009/04/brownie-bottom-ice-cream-cupcakes/.
For my own personal miniature cupcake, brownie, ice cream cakes I used a different brownie recipe. That can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-brownies/. These brownies are highly recommended with over five thousand reviewers putting in a good word for the little cocoa bars. I felt quite safe using the recipe and was not disappointed. They turned out perfectly. I baked them in my lined muffin tin at 350 for about eight minutes. They were perfectly cooked through without being too dry or too moist. The perfect base for the rest of my cake treat!
After allowing the brownies to cool I scooped out ice cream onto the tops of my partially filled cups. I chose mint chocolate chip, peanut butter cup and chocolate chip cookie dough as my ice creams. I filled six different cups with each ice cream making a grand total of eighteen cakes. I refroze the cakes while I made the chocolate topping Joy recommended. After putting on my chocolate top (working quickly so the ice cream didn't melt, just as Joy advised) I put the treats back in the freezer until serving time. Then, last but not least, I cheated and used a prepared whipped topping. No whip cream from scratch tonight. I guess you could say that purchasing the whip topping was more fun!

Today my tasters were a house full of kids and adults with seriously intense sweet teeth! The personal sized ice cream cakes were a hit with young and old.
Here's a heads up to any parent who might feed this treat to their child, have them eat it outside! These decedent desserts are seriously messy. I recommend a plate underneath and a handful of napkins (or Viva paper towels) at the ready.

Today I learned that sometimes it's just fun to prepare a cute, miniature, special treat for sugar loving loved ones. And girls just want to have fun. So my advice for the day is, ladies, scoot on into the kitchen and bake up something adorable and definitely something fun! Oh, and turn on some Cyndi Lauper while you're at it!

Sugar Cookies

Christmas time isn't the only occasion for a crisp, light, frosted sugar cookie. Turn that cut-out Santa into an ice cream cone and you have the perfect summer time cookie treat.
Today's fun in the kitchen goes back to the basics and what could be more basic than a sugar cookie? The ingredients are simple but the result, when done correctly, is perfection. The wrong kind of sugar can create a dense, heavy cookie. Too much flour and the cookies won't crisp. And if the icing is too thick or too sweet the cookies will leave the taster with a mouth full of sticky sugar. One cookie will be one too much.
But when the classic cut-out sugar cookie is baked to a golden brown with a slight crisp along the edges and then topped with the perfectly sweet and light icing, cookie perfection is attained. That classic, unadorned cookie can't be beat.

My Mom has always instructed me to find one particular kind of sugar cookie recipe. She doesn't have a go-to recipe to hand down on a worn and tattered index card but she still manages to direct my sugar cookie recipe selection. Go for the confectioner's sugar. With that advice as my guide I bring you this cookie recipe from AllRecipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Marys-Sugar-Cookies/). I followed it precisely, chilling the dough for about two hours. The dough was easy to work with, didn't crumble and didn't feel overly sticky.
After about seven minutes in the oven at convect 350 my cookies were a perfect golden brown - crisp edges and not too puffy. I topped them with a simple icing of about two cups confectioners sugar with two tablespoons milk and one teaspoon vanilla. Those measurements are just an estimate. I didn't measure. I used the instincts of my inner baker to guide my icing preparation.
Of course, the best part of baking sugar cookies is the fun of decorating them with assorted colors and little sprinkles. Mom and I used our not-so-professional tools of toothpicks and small butter knives to put the finishing touches on my crispy treats.
The exciting verdict is that these cookies turned out tasting as good as they look. So that makes them cute and delicious, the perfect cookie combination!
Today's baking foray was a success and a great reminder of not only a basic cookie recipe, but a basic principle in life: Mom knows best. Whether it is choosing a recipe in the kitchen or putting together the recipe of life, my Mom is my most trusted guide and constant voice of wisdom. Where would my baking be without her?