Autumn Swirl Cookies

Or as the author named them, "Party Cookies".

I renamed mine since I did them in fall colors.

The recipe is from the book, Carrot Cake Murder, by Joanne Fluke.





I am a big fan of the culinary mystery genre.





Since my job revolves around catering and I like to cook, I can relate to all the food/catering references. Most culinary mysteries also print the recipes they write about and I often make a recipe or two from the novels I read. I think it adds to my overall enjoyment of the book.

The first cookie I decided to bake is a very rich butter cookie.

You make the buttery dough and then divide it into 4 blobs. (I think "blobs" is more descriptive than the term "sections", so I shall continue to use "blobs" throughout my descriptions of these dough bundles.)


You toss one blob at a time back into the mixer to add the food color.

As it turned out, I could have only made two blobs because I decided to only use two colors--orange and brown.
I used these Wilton colors, which I was very happy with. The colors held up well in the baking process and produced nice vividly-hued cookies.
Each blob is divided into 8 smaller blobs.
Then rolled into long ropes.

The ropes are then stacked in fours, alternating colors. The end will look like this: You then roll it up in waxed paper, patting it a bit to even it out, so it's almost the same size all the way down. Then it needs to chill. I stuck mine in the freezer for about 30 minutes because I wanted to get them done last night. The last batches had been in the freezer for about an hour and, I think, those were the best.
When removed from the freezer, the log was nice and firm and I cut it into sections.
Each cookie was dipped into sugar on both sides. I sprayed the cookie sheet for the first batch only. On my next four trays I only put 12 cookies to a sheet. They really spread out!

Here they are all packed in a tin. I think the recipe made a little over 4 dozen.
I thought these cookies were very good. On my first batch I cooked them 11 minutes. It was not enough. I added minutes on each batch. I ended up cooking them about 15 minutes and I liked those best. The cookie was nice and crisp on the outside with a softer buttery interior.

If you click the recipe, it will get larger.


The heroine of this book runs a bakery. The book has a number of recipes that sound good. On her website, the author publishes recipes from her books that you can print out. The one she has now is for Red Velvet Cookies, which were also in this novel. I plan to try them next.

This Magazine is a Bargain--so Why Did I Throw it in the Garbage?

Traditional Home. I used to get this magazine. Today I got an offer that I almost could not refuse.
Three years for the price of one! But how much is it? I grabbed three papers before I caught a glimpse of a price-- $14.97................but wait............look closely...........plus postage/handling.
So how much is the P/H? I had to spend more time rummaging through the pile until I finally found the paper with the real price - PLUS $5.00. Notice that no place does it actually say $19.97.

They like to play the little game of trying to make the consumer think it's less than it really is.

Why?

I think $19.97 is a great price. Had they stated that to begin with, I would have subscribed because I am a sucker for a good mag price.

But now I had to toss the whole thing in the garbage.

It's the principle. I simply refuse to buy a magazine that tries to hide its real price. If everyone would do that, they would stop that irritating practice.

I got the same offer from another magazine last week and I took that one. It was $19.99, but it stated the full price up front. No games.


I like that.

Jean,if you are out there, do these leaves look like your hollyhocks?

Update: Jean never sent me hollyhock seeds! She sent me foxglove seeds. That's why these leaves look different than the hollyhock leaves I googled!

I Had a Carrot Filled Weekend

No, I wasn't picking them from my garden and canning them.

I was shredding them the old fashioned way. Boy, that grater is brutal to fingers. I stopped way short of the end to protect myself.

Then I turned those shreds into these yummy muffins.
I also baked some for dinner on Sunday.

And all I weekend I was reading this:

Don't you just love the burnt orange cover on this book? It's so very fallish. I need to get back to it now to find out who the killer is.

Have a great Monday.

What a Picturesque Location for a Post Office & A Healthy Dessert

I just happened to have my camera in the car when I went to the post office--a plain Jane unadorned old building that I've been to hundreds of times. This time I took a few moments to appreciate the beauty of its location. In fact, I got right out of the car and walked up to and on that bridge to take pictures.
It seems like such a waste to use property with a view like this for a post office that has no windows facing this side. A much better use would be a big house with lots of windows that I could live in! :)

What made me turn into the post office in the first place was the view on the backside. Any idea what this is?
If you live in a cold-weather state, you probably recognize this huge pile of road salt. It reminded me to enjoy the beautiful weather today, because it won't be long before this salt is dumped by truckloads on to the cold, icy roads of my county.

I made the most delicious healthy dessert (now there's an oxymoron) and it was way too easy.

I put a good-sized spoonful of brown sugar and a splash of diet 7-up in a ramekin then added a red Anjous pear (artfully striped). Not only does the removal of a few strips of skin look pretty, but it gives a place for the spoon tip to cut easily through when you are enjoying this seasonal delicacy.
I baked them at 350 for about 1.5 hours.

The liquid caramelized and---oh, boy, it was good!

Now that I am remembering the experience, I want more. I will have to ask DH to buy some more on his grocery shopping trip later this morning.

Oh, Dear, The White Phlox is Blooming

That means this flowering season is almost at it's end!

I have a lot of white phlox--just like I have a lot of everything that likes to bloom in my harsh conditions. After years of gardening, only the tough survive. When you have as much space to fill with flowers as I do, you go with those that flourish in the conditions you provide. Phlox seems to like it here, so I grow a lot of it. I like that my purple phlox just finishes as my white begins to flower. I would have shown more pics of the white phlox, but I walked outside to get some and as I brushed against the big Sedum Autumn Joy
a hornet flew up my Green Acres gown and stung me right in the knee! OUCH!! It hurt! It's been years since I have had a bee sting. That is the one downfall to Sedum Autumn Joy--the bees love it when it's in it's light pink stage. There are at least a dozen bees on each plant.


Other than a stroll or two through the gardens, I have not been outside much for the past week. Instead I have had the urge to change a few things in my living room. I've been wanting to do a flowers/plaids/stripes mix for some time now (like 18 years! It's about time I finally got it done).

Last spring I made a striped valance and last week I finally found fabric and made the lined plaid panels.

Did you notice that rooster that I bought at the Farmer's Market in early August?

I really find something pleasing about that candle-holder guy. He was sitting in the dining room and I grabbed him for a centerpiece. Over the weekend, I brought this table back up from the basement. It used to be a brass & glass table. I decided I no longer liked it and it's been in the basement for about a year. Saturday I took it outside and painted the brass black. Now I like it again.

Anyway, back to the curtains...........
After I had them all made, I did not think the valance and the panels worked together quite as nicely as I would have liked. I decided to use the same fabric from the panels to make Sparkle Jars-inspired rosettes to go around all of the buttons on the valance.

I had a couple of pieces left over and used them as sofa/loveseat backs. I think that worked to force a connection between everything. I now have these rosettes on five windows in my home. I just love them. Thanks again, Sparkle Jars!

It's Labor Day -- What better way to Celebrate than to Work?

O.K. I hear all of you saying that you can think of many more enjoyable ways to spend your Labor Day.

For me, it's just part of working in the hospitality industry. I work every Labor Day. I only had to work 5 hours anyway. Of course I also worked 4.5 hours Sunday.........such is life...the Big Kahuna has no sympathy for people who whine about working.

I did get to enjoy Labor Day. We had our annual party at DH's brother's home yesterday afternoon. It's a tame party...lots of good food, good company and conversation, and a few alcoholic drinks...I did not have any, but they always have beer, wine coolers, etc. Nobody over indulges....maybe that's because our local priest always comes to the party! LOL. I did notice that he had a few beers.

I took a coconut cake which actually turned out pretty good and everyone seemed to like it. I was happy about that since everything I bake lately seems to flop.

Heitagehunter left me this comment:
I just had a oriental poppy bloom, it has just open today. About a month ago I had one bloom but it was not formed correctly this one is small but very pretty.
I have had been growing oriental poppies for 15 years and have never had this before.
First of all, I would like to welcome you, Heritagehunter. Thanks so much for taking a moment to comment. It is interesting to know that I am not alone in my first time Oriental poppy rebloom. It must be some weird weather phenomena. Mine bloomed a couple of days ago and the bloom was smaller than normal. I noticed today that one of the other 3 buds is drying up.

I finally got to use some of that curly grass in a flower bouquet(s) on the table I did yesterday.

I think it makes a great accent.

On my way home from work today, I noticed that pretty blue weed flower was blooming along the roads. As soon as I got home, I changed clothes and headed out to get some.
I added them to my centerpiece. Last year someone told me the name of this wildflower, but I can't remember it at the moment.

I am planning to relax the rest of the day.

We will have a nice dinner of grilled chicken breasts, fresh corn, summer squash and tomatoes from the Farmer's market, and fingerling potatoes.

I hope you are all having a nice Labor Day.

I had a Tulip for Dinner

I was alone for dinner tonight, so I decided to fuss a little and came up with a new twist on a simple ham/cheese sandwich.


This fussy sandwich is not really something that my dear husband would appreciate, so tonight was the perfect time to make it.



Some people can't imagine doing something like this just for themselves. I think I deserve a little something special -- and if nobody else is going to pamper me, then I have to do it myself!

Doesn't this look much nicer than two pieces of bread cut in half?

It was very quick to do.



I used a tulip cookie cutter to cut the bread, ham and cheese. then I stepped out on the deck and cut some chive stems.

I washed and dried them, then searched the refrigerator for something to accent the sandwich with. I was looking for olives, but didn't have any. I decided sweet pickles would work. I just cut them into leaf shapes.

The orange plate was a nice background. I had to have a medium dark plate--white would not show off the flower and a dark plate would not show the dark green leaves.

I put a few potato chips around the plate....gotta have that chip crunch with a sandwich.

I ate my light dinner while reading a book on Halloween decorating.


It was a most enjoyable meal.

Banana Bread in a Canape Pan

Remember that post I did recently about kitchen gadgets I couldn't live without? These gadgets. I said I was going to use at least one of them in September. Last night (even though it was still August) I decided to use one of the canape bread pans to make banana bread.

I pulled 4 bananas from the freezer.

Don't worry about their looks. This is truly a case where beauty is only skin deep. They are fine inside. Because they are still frozen, I use rubber gloves and a small paring knife to peel them.

I popped them in the microwave after they were peeled so they would thaw. Then I went about making my banana bread. I read that the batter must be thick for these pans, so I was happy to see that mine was. I sprayed the pan liberally with nonstick cooking spray. I had to guess at how full the pan should be. .. about 3/4 was my guess.
I put the round caps on each end. On the bottom end I did put some foil, just in case it leaked. Then I put the pan on another pan (again to catch any possible leaks). Oh, in case it flopped, I made the second loaf in a regular bread pan.
I was not sure how long to cook it in the cylinder pan. I decide to check it at 35 minutes.

I am afraid of what I might see, so I slowly lift the top (wondering if it might explode) since both ends are capped and there is no hole for air to escape.


I am just thrilled! It has risen to the top (so my 3/4 guess was right on) and it's nicely browned at the edges.
But just to make sure it's done, I checked it twice with a metal skewer...It seems perfect. I could hardly wait to take it out of the pan and slice it into those pretty little scalloped rounds. I am mentally planning some type of stacked banana dessert on top of my orange flower plates.

I turned it over and was so excited to see it slowly slither out with no sticking. My gosh, this is all working so beautifully! I wonder why have I waited 10 years to use these pans.

And then it happens............about half way out of the pan.....

.........PLOP! PLOP! PLOP!

A big bunch of goo oozes out

I could have cried. The entire center is still raw batter. I stare a moment thinking I should have known it was too good to be true. Nothing I have baked in the past three months has turned out. Then I scooped it back into the pan and stuck it back in the oven for another half an hour.

When I finally took it out and let it cool, it looked like this. The center still was not cooked. I just cut a few rounds from each end and threw the rest in the garbage.

It's a good thing I made one in the regular loaf pan. At least I have something to show for my efforts.

I may try these pans once more. Maybe they should be lying down when I put them in the oven and not standing on end. If anyone out there knows anything about them, please let me in on the secret!