Best No-Fail Sugar Cookies Recipe

I hope December has been off to a good start for you! Tomorrow is our third son's twentieth (!!!) birthday and I'm in complete denial. Last night we whisked the two youngest down to Orlando to see For King and Country's Little Drummer Boy Christmas concert and it was amazing, though I'm feeling particularly tired and old today after getting home around 1 AM. We're not exactly go-with-the-flow type parents so this is a BIG deal for us, ha! And today we drove south again (but only an hour this time) to say goodbye to our other son's college roommate and friend who will be returning to NC for second semester, so of course I brought him sugar cookies.

Which is a good segue into... this recipe for easy, no-fail sugar cookies. They're soft and chewy, the dough is easy to work with, and it makes a lot of batches so you can divide the dough and freeze or chill the extra for later. The baked cookies also freeze well so you can thaw and decorate at a later time. You can freeze decorated ones as well, after they're completely dry, but personally I don't prefer them that way.

No-Fail Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened slightly

2 cups granulated sugar (I use slightly less and like it this way)

4 eggs, room temperature

2.5 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups flour (I use unbleached)

2 tsp baking powder

dash salt

*optional: dash nutmeg and/or cinnamon

Directions:

-In large mixing bowl (you will need a sturdy mixer) beat butter and sugar together

-Add eggs and vanilla

-In medium bowl combine flour, bp and salt

-Add some flour mixture to wet mixture, mixing together well

-Place in fridge to chill for ten minutes up to one hour (I prefer quicker chilling time)

-Scoop out some sough and roll out on a flour-covered surface to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick or your preferred thickness (thicker cookies will stay soft after baking, thinner ones will be crispier)

-Cut out cookies with your favorite cookie cutters and place on ungreased baking sheet (if your sheet is shiny or new, you may need to spray the pan or line with silicon or parchment paper; my sheets are well-used and now dark)

-Bake at 400 F for 5-6 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies and if you prefer cookie edges not to be browned or darkened

-Let sit on pan 1-2 minutes and gently place on racks to cool before frosting

Cookie frosting/icing: confectioner's sugar and water, usually about 2 cups sugar and 1-2 tsp water

I've been using small squirt bottles for frosting cookies for a couple years now and I'll never go back! To keep sprinkles corralled, place cookies to be decorated in shallow baking pans.

So go make some cookies, turn on the Christmas music, and get to decorating. These cookies make great gifts for neighbors and teachers, too. Enjoy!

Hello again! Happy December!

How's everyone doing??!! Life here is busy and mostly good. ;) In recent months I've come to realize that I really miss the world of blogging! Not the advertising/consumer/influencer type of blogging, but the good old fashioned kind of documenting our lives to have one day to look back on. So here I am!

Happy December 1st! Obviously this is a busy month for everyone, but we have two birthday kiddos in our family so it always feels a little bit "extra" as we celebrate that and get ready for Christmas. I actually need to get ready to head into my office soon but I'm taking the plunge and hitting "publish" before I go, ha!

In the spirit of the holidays and fun traditions, I'm sharing my favorite festive cookie recipes. I hope you enjoy them!

Ah that sweet little face! That was quite a few years ago now...

Holiday Chocolate Spiders

Mini Chip Shortbread Cookies - No Eggs!

I've gotta go but I'll post our favorite sugar cookie dough soon and then I want to talk fun traditions. I love hearing about everyone's special traditions!

Let's Talk Pancakes! Favorite Homemade Recipes!

  
I can hardly believe that this is the last week of January! I was going to do a weekend re-cap, but it would really only consist of a basketball game and an impromptu trip out for burgers for the kids last night, so maybe not, ha. Our lives feel kind of boring lately, as the weather just stinks so we're stuck inside most days (and we've given up shopping/trips to the store, etc for 90 days), and we're all a bit, well, grumpy. Homemade pancakes help. :)

The following recipe serves as a nice base for several other variations, and they taste SO much better than pouring powder from a box and adding water. Definitely worth the little bit of trouble to make them from scratch.

Favorite Pancakes

What You'll Need:

2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

dash salt

2 eggs

2 cups milk

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (plus more to cook them)

mini chocolate chips (or blueberries!)

**update**
**For fluffier pancakes, add a tablespoon or two of water and whisk lightly- I literally hold the mixing bowl under the faucet and turn on the water for a second.**
 

I've made these pancakes so many times I could probably manage them blindfolded. I've passed the kitchen torch, so to speak, to my boys, and each one can now make these on their own. I am very proud of their accomplishments in the kitchen!

Blend the dry ingredients into a large mixing/batter bowl; add the eggs and milk and whisk lightly. Add oil and whisk again until batter is smooth. Pour in some chocolate chips and fold in with a spatula- you can sprinkle more onto the pancakes themselves as they're cooking. I used to cook pancakes on a griddle, set at 375 degrees, in just a little bit of oil.  BUT our griddle died and I decided not to replace it because I hated cleaning it so much. So now I use a large fry pan on medium heat with a bit of oil for the kids, coconut oil for me. The more oil you use will result in a crispier outer layer, which some people in our household prefer. Easy enough to cater to. :)

Add berries, chocolate chips, diced peaches...or nothing at all, and they will be so delicious!

Here are some more yummy from-scratch recipes! They really only do require a few more minutes of your time, but we think they are SO worth it. Enjoy!

Easy Oven Puff Pancake with Fruit

 Better-For-You Cinnamon Apple Pancakes with Powdered Sugar "Sauce"

 Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes 

Now I'm hungry, ha! I have been dabbling in the world of paleo and raw eating, but I'm also a big believer in balance, so maybe my apple and hard-boiled egg can wait until tomorrow morning. ;) Happy Monday!

What's Up Wednesday :: May 2018

Hi friends! I haven't joined in a What's Up Wednesday with Shay , Mel and Sheaffer for a long time, so here ya go. Can't wait to read what's been up with YOU. :)

Even though we've got three full weeks left of school, summer snacks are on repeat over here!

Recipe 

The three below are in this post: Favorite Summer Snacks

This time of year always makes me a bit nostalgic, too. It makes me think about when the kids were little, and all the fun things we did. I really miss those carefree days!

Here is a post with a big round up of ideas and links to have fun this summer with little kids AND bigger kids:

Banish Boredom this Summer

We've had recitals and concerts and meetings and lots of this and that lately. Isabelle did a great job in chorus and playing the piano! I've been taking lots of long walks with Levi and meeting friends at the park to play. Then it was Senior Prom and gearing up for all the end of year festivities. I'm overwhelmed but excited.

Try keeping this one entertained throughout a very loooong recital! Whew!

 Here's the full post if you want to see more pictures- her gown is GORGEOUS!!

I'm loving all the time we get to spend outside now. It was such a long winter that it still feels SO good to just be outside again and see color. And I love how our landscaping is coming together! Every time I walk out and see how our plants and shrubs are growing, I just smile. It's been a lot of hard work, and we still don't have much actual grass- that's the last thing we'll be working on, but at least weeds are green, right?- but it looks so pretty and I just love it. 

The Columbine here just got added- aren't they the neatest flowers?! I'm going to do a full landscaping post soon, so check back!

And Isabelle discovered these babies by the pool! We have another family near our garage.

This corner is by our garage...it's really shaping up this year!

I'm dreading bills. Life with five kids is not for the faint of heart, ha. #truth #reallife

We've been working on being more intentional in our marriage this month, making time for one another in special ways, and having FUN. Marriage is hard, life is hard, raising teenagers and tweens and toddlers is HARD, and it's so easy to get swept up in all that hard stuff and before you know it, you kind of forget how to relax, laugh and just have some fun. And take-out. You can never go wrong with take-out and a movie.

For Rose and Ruffle, I've been a busy bee working on summer things. You can visit the shop using the link on the side bar or click here. I LOVE making sets for sisters, so if you see something you like, let me know!

Until last weekend, I'd felt like pretty much the ONLY person in the world who hadn't seen The Greatest Showman. And then to top it off, I didn't like it. I know, I know. So anyway, I watched it with Isabelle over the holiday weekend and liked it much better. Go figure...

I've been reading some YA novels for fun, okay, so it was one, and the rest are parenting books, Christian living books, and devotionals. I try to read more for fun but I always end up going back to my practical, driven ways. Ugh. ha ha

Still listening to that soundtrack, along with the rest of the world. And ColdPlay- I've been on a huge ColdPlay kick these days. When I get moody thinking ahead to how our life is going to change when Ethan leaves for college in the fall, that music is a good fit, ha.

Soon enough it will be swimsuits and cover ups all day long, but for now I've been living in dresses or denim shorts with cute tops. Our mornings are still quite chilly, so I start the day with a light sweater or cardi.

And for the record, no, I am not expecting another baby- I don't know why that dress is looking like that! Oops!

Oh yeah, and outfits like these. :)

Hopefully this weekend will be full of swimming and BBQing, but it's most likely going to become party prep for me- so many details!!!

And then the first week of June will be Ethan's last week ever of high school. It feels so surreal. I mean, wasn't I just graduating from high school like a couple years ago? There are awards ceremonies for him and Jonah, other special events, Bill's birthday, and then graduation. Jam-packed for sure!

Favorite summer salad?

Easy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

And fruit salad of course! I can never get enough fresh fruit in the summertime. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you found some inspiration...have a super rest of the week. :)

Favorite Easy Summer Snacks

The verdict is out on whether or not we'll be seeing the sun today, but it's fairly warm and feels nice, so I can deal. :) Yesterday was kind of gross and wet, but Saturday was gorgeous- we were outside all day, just the way it should be.

As the temps begin to climb, I'm thinking ahead to summer snacks, and I thought I'd share some our favorites. They're yummy and EASY, so a total win-win!

The only challenge with these homemade pops is waiting for them to be ready!! I try to remember to make some at night so they're good to go the next day. I know lots of people use paper cups with sticks, but I prefer our little pop molds. Here's what I do: combine one small container of flavored yogurt with equal parts plain greek yogurt, add some additional fruit, chopped up, and place into pop mold. No need to mix or blend, just stir by hand. They are SO good, and they feel like such a treat for breakfast on those super hot, muggy mornings. ;)

For a quick and easy afternoon pick me up, I dab some cottage cheese or cream cheese onto a wheat cracker and top with fruit. That's it! So simple but quite filling and yummy!

Of all our easy summer treats, this one is the most requested. The photo below shows chocolate graham crackers but I prefer the regular golden ones- break into halves and add a small dollop of yogurt, any kind you like. I use Yoplait or Stonyfield regular kinds. For some reason, greek yogurt just doesn't taste quite right with these treats, and it freezes differently so the texture seems off. Go figure. DO NOT PUSH the cracker top down, just place it on top of the yogurt, then pop them into freezer for a couple hours. Make sure they are flat in the freezer, too. So, so good! 

Favorite Easter Breakfast and Brunch Recipes

Even though the ground is still covered with snow where we live, Easter still represents all things Spring and sunny and brand new. I think that is the point, after all. Jesus made all things new. What a beautiful gift!

Since we are at a different church this year, with a much different schedule, I'm not entirely sure how our breakfast is going to go down, ha. And then the pastor mentioned that there will be All.The.Carbs offered at the service we attend, so I don't really have a plan yet. And I LOVE breakfast and brunch foods, so I don't think I can quit them. Maybe we will just be eating all day long. There could be worse things. ;)

These are the recipes I make over and over again- they've become such a part of our family traditions that I cannot think of one without the other. First up is this Crumble Coffee Cake- it doubles and freezes superbly, too.

Perfect Crumb Coffee Cake Recipe HERE

Another staple is Make-Ahead blueberry French Toast Bake: my very favorite! 

hmmm, I can't find a picture of it finished- this is right before it goes into the oven the next morning...

 Recipe HERE

Easy and delicious quiche:

 Recipe HERE

I often make a special treat or a decorative cake for the day as well. I've got to be honest and say that the last couple of times I've made these have been a complete disaster....I don't know what's going on!! I can't find the picture now, but I remember taking one as proof- they still tasted fabulous but they looked terrible!

 Copy Cat Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs Recipe HERE

This year I may make some healthier fudge instead, since I make it with peanut butter. It is SO rich and yummy!

 Semi Paleo Fudge Recipe HERE

The sun is shining and word on the streets is that our temps may reach 50 today!!!! Hooray!!!!