Sugar Cookies

I received a large bucket of 101 cookie cutters at a white elephant gift exchange a few days ago (actually my dad did, but I kidnapped it), and since then I've been dying to make sugar cookies! Today while browsing Pinterest, I came upon a super easy looking recipe which made it official: time to try the cookie cutters! I enlisted the help of my siblings (being home for Christmas break is great!) and we embarked on an adventure of cookie baking! This is by far the best sugar cookie recipe I've found, and it's super easy and quick! I changed a few things, and seriously, this is a keeper!
Originally found at In Katrina's Kitchen

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter, softened

1 cup of granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 egg

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Cream butter and sugar until smooth
3. Beat in vanilla and egg
4. In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff, you might have to finish kneading it by hand. No big deal. :)
5. Don't chill the dough! This is the best part, I'm too impatient for chilling dough anyway.
Divide it into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side, trust me, they are more yummy.
6. Bake at 350 for 6-9 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until they're firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy the awesome! Sorry my picture is ghetto, it was getting late and they're delicious without frosting anyway. But seriously, these cookies are perfect for decorating because they hold their shape really well, but they're not the nasty powdery cookies. Thank you, Pinterest, for once again guiding me to an awesome recipe.

Cake Mix Cookies/Homemade Oreos

What do you do when a ward social activity is coming up and you don't have much time or energy to whip up a fancy dessert (thank you, Finals Week)? Here is a yummy and quick idea!
Take a box of cake mix (my personal favorite is anything chocolate), 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I am usually a huge fan of olive oil, but in this case it leaves too strong of a flavor) and mix together to form a dough. Roll into regular cookie size balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 4-10 minutes at 350 and there you have it! The trick is to not overbake or they harden really quickly. Just give them time to cool and they'll be done.
Bonus: HOMEMADE OREOS! This is the recipe I reach for when I have leftover frosting. Just spread a spoonful of frosting between two cookies for a fancy (but super easy) treat!

Mushroom Chicken and Rice

Busy Sundays filled with Relief Society meetings and ward choir call for a super easy recipe composed of ingredients already in my pantry. So after a Google search I decided to try this lovely dish found here on Campbell's website. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, although I added a bit of garlic salt to the chicken while it cooked.

Cream of Mushroom Chicken 

Heat 1 tbs (I didn't measure it, I just poured a bit into the pan. No big deal) of vegetable oil (olive oil is my fav!) in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet. 

Stir 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup of water in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet (I cut it up into little pieces before doing this.) Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

See? How easy is that?! It was super delicious too, definitely a great comfort food for a cold winter day. My roommates and I rated it at a 7 on a scale of 1-10. :) I served it over some white rice (which I cooked with a chicken bouillon cube in the water to give it a bit more flavor) with a side of green beans. Yummy, I'll definitely be making this again. Thank goodness for Google searches!

Best Pie Crust EVER

Happy Thanksgiving! I absolutely love this time of year and being able to spend time with my amazing family and enjoy seriously delicious food is pretty much my favorite. :) And speaking of seriously delicious food, can we talk about pie? No awesome Thanksgiving meal is complete without a good pie or two or fifty. And in my family, I am (not to brag, but it's my title and I wear it with pride!) the pie master. This year my dearest mommy and I made three lovely pies: apple, pecan, and peach. After having done my research (Pinterest, how I love you) and finding some super great pie crust decoration ideas, we were ready to embark on a journey of creating lovely and delicious pies! It was really great. So enough talk, let's go to the recipe.

But first, let me introduce you to my favorite pie crust I made this year. Peach pie and roses. Yup. :)

Best Pie Crust. Ever.

2 1/4 cups flour

1 cup shortening (I'm a fan of Crisco's butter flavored shortening for this)

1 tsp salt

1 egg beaten

3-5 tbsp ICE WATER (This is the secret to flaky-awesomeness!)

Crumb flour, shortening (I buy it in stick form, it saves my sanity), and salt. Pastry blenders are my heroes when it comes to making pie crusts. Make a well and add egg and water. Mix just until flour is incorporated. Seriously, how easy is that? And it makes 2 shells! 

Finished pie crust ready for pecan filling. I halved the recipe for this one. 

And my other two pies: pecan and polka dot apple.