The Best Ever Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Well you know how I feel about recipes that call themselves "the best", I have to try them.  I was looking for a cookie I could make to take to St Louis for our Christmas in July display.  I had to have the best for Santa.  I will show you pictures from our display and show you my cookies.  But back to the recipe.  What I liked about this cookie was that the outside was nice and crisp but the inside was still soft.  It wasn't a cookie that you felt you were going to break a tooth on. If you like butterscotch and or oats you need to try these cookies.  They were easy to make and I bet you have everything you need in the pantry.

These cookies were so good.

 Use old fashioned oats in this recipe.

 Start with 2 sticks softened butter

 1 cup brown sugar

 1/4 cup sugar

 Mix and whip that well.  I heard on one of the tv shows to whip your butter and sugars for about 2 minutes.

 Add 2 eggs

 1 teaspoon vanilla

 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

 1 teaspoon cinnamon

 1 teaspoon baking soda.  It also included 1/2 teaspoon of salt but my butter was salted so I didn't add the additional salt.

 3 1/4 cup old fashioned oats.

 Now add the butterscotch chips. It's okay if you sneak a couple

 Mix all that up really well.  The dough will be stiff.

 This is my small cookie scoop.

 Scoop up the dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

 When you get you cookie sheet ready place in a preheated 350 oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

 Remove from oven and let sit on the sheet for an additional 5 minutes.

 Then enjoy.

 Santa enjoyed them.

This is our Christmas in July display we set up last weekend in St. Louis.

The Best Ever Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies Recipe

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1 bag butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake 8-10 minutes.

Oven Roasted Sugar Snap Peas

I know it is a little out of season for sugar snaps but they sure are good.  I bet some of you are wondering what sugar snaps are.  It's just a fancy name for the pods that English peas come in.  They are picked before the peas get large enough to shell.  I don't know about you but I really like them fresh and raw with a little Ranch dip.  Makes for a good snack.  But back to the recipe.  I don't know about other store but Publix usually has this in the little bags of snack veggies.  Give them a try especially when they put them on sale.

I will confess something here.  I made these peas a couple of night before but used the bigger English peas and they burned and were not real good.  So back to the store to get the pea pods and sugar snap peas.

 I used two of the small packages of pea pods.  I have one of snow peas and one of sugar snap peas.

 Trim the ends and wash well.

 Drizzle about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over them.  Toss well to make sure all are coated.

 In another bowl add about 1/2 cup panko

 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

 Some fresh ground pepper

 Sea Salt

 Mix the cheese and panko well and then add some of the pea pods.  Make sure they are coated well.

 Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place in a preheated 400 oven.

 After 10 minutes take them out and turn them.  Put them back in for another 10 minutes.

 Then remove from oven and enjoy.

This is the leftover chicken and rice casserole I shared a couple of days ago.  It was good leftover too.  I don't think I have found a veggie that I haven't liked roasted.  Yes roasting does heat up the kitchen a bit but it is a great way to introduce veggies to the family.

Oven Roasted Sugar Snap Peas Recipe

Sugar snap peas
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup panko
1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400.  Bake for 10 minutes and then turn and put back in for another 10 minutes.

Does it Work 4

Here I am again trying a home tip.  I was watching one of the cooking shows on the food channel Saturday morning and she gave this tip.  So I couldn't wait to try it because it could really come in handy.  I can't wait for you to see this tip and try if for yourself.

 Here is the tip.  When you have fresh corn you know how hard it is to get all the silk off the corn.  Any of you that get the silk caught in you teeth will love this tip.  She said buy a cheap soft toothbrush and brush the silk off the cob.  So I bought a cheap toothbrush to leave in the kitchen just for this purpose.

 Now a lot of the silk had already been removed from this corn. Thanks Elves.  But there was still some in there.

 It's hard to show you how to use the toothbrush and take pictures.  If you hold it in your hand and brush.  You use it like you would other veggie brushes.  I actually think this one did a better job.  I have had the brushes that are made for corn.  This was .99 and did a much better job.

Did it get all the silk? No.  But nothing ever does. This is a very cheap way to get the job done.

Arnold Palmer Cupcakes

Last summer we were introduced to the Arnold Palmer tea by our summer houseguest.  So when I saw the recipe for these cupcakes I knew I would need to make these for his visit.   I saw the recipe around the Masters tournament and since we don't watch golf around here I saved it for later. The lemon flavor in these cupcakes is really nice.  It is not too tart.  I will admit I have never made tea for cupcakes before.

They turned out so pretty.  I know it isn't football season but this plate holds a recipe of cupcakes and fits well in my fridge so it always comes out when I make cupcakes. 

So to make these cupcakes you start with a lemon cake mix and 2 tea bags.

Boil 1 cup of water.

Add the tea bags and let them steep for 5 minutes.  Then put the tea in the fridge and let cool.

I am going to go ahead and make by cream tea for the icing now too to let it cool before I need it.  These are the ingredients for the icing.

1/2 cup whipping cream

Heat the cream on the stove and then add the tea bag and let it steep for 5 minutes.

Then put the cream in the fridge to cool.

Now for the cupcakes.  Start with the lemon cake mix.

Add the 1 cup of tea to the mix.

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

Add the eggs

Mix well.  It has a darker color to the batter due to the tea.

Fill the cupcakes. Place in a 350 preheated oven and bake 18-20 minutes.

These turned out so much better than my last cupcakes.  Let them cool before icing.

To make the icing start with 2 sticks softened butter.

6 cups powdered sugar.  Add a little at a time and mix well between additions.

1 teaspoon lemon extract.  How do you like my new measuring spoons?  They are Mickey hands.  Some friends brought them to me from their Disney trip.  So now I have a little Disney in my kitchen.

Add a little bit of yellow coloring to make the icing brighter.

Add the cooled cream

Mix well.

Get the cupcakes ready for icing.

I used a large pastry tip that is open.  Fill the bag and start icing.

They really turned out pretty.  If you were going to make these for the Masters you could put a little golf ball on top.

Store in the fridge.  Set out a few minutes before you are ready to eat.

Arnold Palmer Cupcake Recipe

1 cup water
2 tea bags-  Boil water and steep tea bags for 5 minutes.  Cool
lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350.

Icing
1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)
1 tea bag  Heat cream on stove and steep tea bag for 5 minutes.  Cool.
1 cup softened butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
yellow coloring