Wednesday, April 28, 2010

My cookies!


I am so proud! After an hour of trying I finally got a picture of my cookies! This is a major accomplishment for me, the computer illiterate. These cookies were the result of an accident, I was making German chocolate brownies and accidentally opened condensed instead of evaporated milk. So, I had this extra milk, my mom found this recipe for these cookies off of the bake of a Betty Crocker measuring spoon package. I changed the recipe a little but you can go to Betty's website and see the original. Here is my new and improved recipe:

Fiesta Fudge Cookies (weird name I know, I said they looked like dirty snowballs.)

1/3 cup butter
6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 pouch 1 lb 1.5 oz sugar cookie mix
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar to roll the cookies in

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter and chocolate on High 1 minute. Stir; microwave on High 1 minute longer or until butter is melted and chocolate can be stirred smooth.
2. Stir condensed milk into chocolate mixture. Stir in cookie mix and cinnamon until well blended.
3. Using 1 level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, shape into 60 balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges lose their shiny look (do not overbake). Cool cookies on cookie sheet 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely. Store covered at room temperature.

Mine made 36 cookies, they said that they were supposed to make 60. I will make mine smaller next time because they are really rich. I also added nuts to the last dozen (for my mom) and didn't powdered sugar roll those. The powdered sugar really adds a nice sweetness. I hope you like them!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Leavenworth Trip!

So, this weekend Lindsay, Miss Ann, my mom, and I went to Leavenworth. For those of you unfamiliar with Leavenworth it is a mock Bavarian village right here in Washington. We started out the trip by me, my mom, and Kelly driving up to Puyallup to meet there with Lindsay and Miss Ann and drive together. Also, I got to squeeze in a piano lesson which I do whenever I can. Anyways, we got to Leavenworth and found our resort, which was really fun because it was more like an apartment! It had a master bedroom and bathroom, and a bedroom with two twin beds, a kitchen, living room (complete with murphy bed), and a deck. Lindsay and I took the master bedroom and let the adults sleep separate.

On Saturday morning Lindsay and I made Rhodes cinnamon rolls, they were the good kind that you have to let rise. We ate them both mornings because it made twelve. After that Lindsay and I took a walk around the resort which happens to be by a river. It was beautiful! We were surrounded by mountains and some were still snowy but the weather was nice and fairly spring-like. Then all of us left to go to the shops. We then shopped all day, because there is tons of fun shops. We went to lunch at a great Italian place called Visconti's they have amazing bread. (Lindsay knows this because I think she ate two loaves! :)) Lindsay and I bought matching freshwater pearl bracelets for $10 at the Pearl Haus. Miss Ann and my mom bought matching ones too, but they were different. We got dessert from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, where I got a delicious caramel apple. After that we went back to our apartment-thing, and played some Yahtzee. Then when it was time for dinner we searched around and then settled on a place called Gustav's. It was delicious! I had the Gustav burger which was like a regular sort of hamburger except for it had a giant piece of Canadian bacon on it and Swiss cheese. It was one of the best burgers I have ever had and it was only $6.50 with fries! When we went back to the lodge Lindsay and I talked and watched some What Not to Wear.

The next morning we packed up (which was easy because Lindsay and I had hung up all our clothes and put our stuff all neatly in the drawers which made it all a snap to get together.) and headed out. Oh! and we had to have a Bible study because it was Sunday. So, my mom lead us in exploring and telling some of our favorite characteristics of God. Mine was Lamentations 3:22-24, which tells of His compassion, mercy, and faithfulness. Then we were on the road. We made a stop at the Factory Outlets at North Bend, and did some more shopping. For lunch, we went to Los Cabos, were I tried arroz con pollo. It was super tasty, especially the mushrooms! Then we continued our trek back to Puyallup, where we then picked up Kelly from a friends house where she had been staying the weekend, then went back to Lindsay's where we picked up our car and headed back to Vancouver. It was a super fun weekend and we all had tons of fun!