Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

Here is a platter of cookies for a party that consists of 3 different recipes....
The Chocolate cookies are called Rolo Cookies, the top two sets of cookies are both Snickerdoodles. Since I didn't want to make a fourth type of cookie and I wanted to add some variety to the platter, I took melted milk chocolate and drizzled it over the top of the cookies. Finally in the middle is a Chocolate Chip Cookie. Both the Snickerdoodles and the Chocolate Chip Cookies came from mixes that can be made and given as a gift so the recipient can make the cookies themselves. All of the recipes are below.

Rolo Cookies- probably one of the best cake mix cookie recipes EVER!

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
Bag of Rolo candies
White sugar

Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs.
Take a spoonful of cookie dough and
wrap around an unwrapped Rolo candy.
Roll cookie in sugar and place on an
ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Leave cookies on cookie sheet for a
few minutes then remove from cookie sheet
and cool completely on a wire rack.


SnickerDoodles in a Jar (or in a bag, however you want to package it).

INGREDIENTS

* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Stir with a whisk, then place into a one quart canning jar.
2. Attach a tag with the following recipe to the jar:

Snickerdoodles
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup of butter and 2 eggs. Pour in the snickerdoodle mix, and stir until a dough forms. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be light brown. Cool on wire racks.

Cookie Mix with Candy in a Jar (cookies turned out very flat but the kids really like them)

An easy cookie mix recipe for holiday or any time gift-giving.
Ingredients:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* dash salt
* 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 3/4 to 1 cup small candies or chocolate chips

Preparation:
Sift together the flour, soda, and baking powder. Layer in a wide-mouth 1-quart canning jar, the sugar, the candies, then the flour mixture. Write the following instructions on a small handmade or purchased card and tie to the jar.

Cookies
In a large mixing bowl, beat 1 cup softened butter with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix in cookie mix, using hands or wooden spoon to blend thoroughly. Shape cookie dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place cookies on lightly greased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 375° for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Mini Paint Can

Only measure about 2 1/2 inches tall but it is so darn cute and fun. I took some patterned paper and wrapped only a single layer around the can since there wasn't much room for a lot of embellisments. Then on the top I cut two circles, one in black and the other in the same patterned paper. I punched out three flowers, 2 pink and one green from a coordinating paper that came in the same patterned paper pack. Layer the flowers on top of each other and pierce the center with a piercing too. This makes it easier to push the jeweled brad through the top. The brad goes through the center of all three flowers and the two different circle layers. Pull up on the flowers to add some dimension. Finish the can off with some adorable ribbon, fill the can with some candy or a piece of jewelry and then it is done! It took less than 10 minutes to decorate this small paint can.

Birthday Cake with a Marzipan Bow

Here is my daughters 7 year old birthday cake and what do you think she requested! A wedding cake!!! Seriously! Well, I didn't want it to be TOO elaborate, but still wanted it to be fun and special that would somewhat honor her request.

I started with a chocolate cake and made 4 cakes so that each tier had 2 layers. Covered the cake in pink buttercream frosting and then piped on some lacey accents. Finally, I had some ready-to-use Wilton Rolled Fondant (available at any craft store) and I made the bow for the top of her cake. The instructions were on the back of the box that the fondant came in. Basically you roll out the fondant into a thin sheet and then cut it into strips. Fold them in half, add a little water to adhere and start stacking them on top of each other, and then all of a sudden it becomes a bow...

Cream Cheese Chicken

2 frozen chicken breasts
1 can chicken broth
2 T. Butter
1 package of ranch dressing mix or italian seasoning mix

Place these items in a crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours.

Pull out cooked chicken and shred. Add it back into the crock pot along with

8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

Cook on high again for 30 minutes to an hour. Serve over steamed rice or cooked noodles. YUM!

Birthday Favor

We made these Birthday favors for my daughter Samantha's 7th Birthday. She took them to school to share with her friends. I started with a small brown paper bag and I cut off the top third of the bag to make them smaller, then used a Jumbo Stampin' Up Wheel and Real Red ink to decorate the bag. It makes it so quick and easy. The wheel just rolls right over the bag and there is no precision required.



Then I printed a "Happy Birthday Samantha" from the computer and cut them out. Pasted them onto a piece of Real Red Cardstock, folded the paper in half and stapled it on the top of the bag to keep it closed. And Voila! They were done! The bags were filled with a variety of goodies for the kiddies.

Mother's Day Cards

Here are the mother's day cards that I made this year for my dear sweet mother, and mother in laws. I wanted to have some sparkle so I added some glitter to both the flowers and the butterfly. They are essentially the same card, only differnt color scheme.