Holiday Baking - Family Favorite Sugar Cookies

I am finally feeling the holiday spirit and last night enjoyed making these yummy cookies!  This is a recipe I have adapted out of an old edition of the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Growing up that was our cooking bible.  Every time my mom or I wanted a recipe for something we ran to the cupboard and grabbed this cookbook.  I remember one time I wanted to make some extra money while we had a garage sale so I sold lemonade and cookies, surprising I know...  These cookies were the ones I made and they were such a hit I sold out before the sale was over! 

Don't let the oil distract you, they are incredibly buttery tasting and the oil only makes it that much easier.  I used canola oil but vegetable would work well.  Don't use an oil with flavor, like olive or peanut.

Quick Sugar Cookies with Oil

adapted from a recipe in Joy of Cooking

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground clove

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup cooking oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Sugar (sprinkles or turbinado sugar is best)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, salt & spices.
• In separate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
• Add flour to oil mix in parts, combining well after each addition.
• Scoop out 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
• Press a flat bottomed cup into dough to moisten, then dip into sugar and flatten cookies with it.  It will leave sugar on to and if it sticks, that just means you need to add more sugar to your plate so it will stick.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges just start to turn color.

Another cookie recipe I LOVE and Kyarah has asked about is the for Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies.  They are so delish, incredibly easy, and by Paula Deen so don't even think they aren't bad for you!

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

Hectic Time

As of now, I am not sure how much I will be posting this month, recipe wise.  I hope to be able to keep up but right now I am going through some things at work and I am trying to quelm a bit of anxiety that seems to be taking up much of my focus.  Sorry to all of my readers, all three of you, but I shall get to posting soon!

Live, Laugh, Love!

It has passed...

I honestly think I was disappointed in myself this year in regards to Thanksgiving dinner.  Everyone was happy with my wares but I feel I could have done so much better.  It could have been because I was mentally on vacation.  I took about 11 days off and didn't do much, loved it!  I will take it up a notch for Christmas, for sure!

I was also disappointed in myself for not taking a picture of the turkey but I was majorly stressing at that point to get all the food on the table that I guess I just disregarded it.  We had a traditional meal but no sweet potatoes, which was the biggest mistake.  I think maybe that was why I felt like I was missing something.  I won't be doing that again... 

Overall the turkey was yummy (but ready too early), the ham was delish (yeah we have both...), the mashed potatoes were fluffy, the green bean casserole was creamy, the mac n cheese was super, the cranberry sauce was fabulous, the gravy was ok (I really prefer fresh turkey gravy but didn't make it since the stressing was getting to me...), the rolls were warm, the stuffing wasn't that great (and I LOVE stuffing...), the pumpkin pie was good (but took way too long to bake), and spending time as a family was terrific.  So I guess overall it was good, just not as I have had in the past, miss my Mom's cooking but next year I shall do better!

Sorry for the short hiatus but I shall get back to clogging soon and I am thinking of doing a theme, maybe just start with A and see where it takes me... 

Live, Laugh, Love!