Linzer Cookies

I gotta stop baking all these goodies. Or else dramatically increase the exercise.

These are some Valentine treats for my husband. he loves a good jelly cookie.

We had some homemade jelly that a "sweet" friend gave us for Christmas. So I had all the ingredients here at the house.

I naively thought these would be easy to make. I was sure I would be finished baking them before dinner.

I am way to old to be telling this story!

While browsing People magazine I see the pretty picture below and think mmmmmm those are cute and look yummy. My hubby loves the Pepperidge Farms Raspberry Linzer cookies These reminded me of them. This is a recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Having all the ingredients on hand I felt somewhat obligated to make them.

After letting the butter soften, I quickly mix the dough. As you can see in the picture below, it is a totally crumbly cookie dough. I was not concerned, I figured it would bind while chilling in frig for 30 minutes. Yeah it binded, like a hockey puck! When I tried to roll the chilled dough, it just crumbled. I was feeling extreme bakers frustration, I mean I followed the instructions to a T! I was ready to throw the dough!!

The internet is full of advice. So I Googled "crumbly linzer cookie dough". Apparently I was not the only person to face this challenge.

The advice that saved the dough was to not chill the dough after mixing. Since I already had formed a
puckdisk and chilled it, I warmed it in a glass dish in the oven for three minutes. Then I worked the dough directly on the counter, not holding it up in my hands. You can see the progress in the photo collage above. I also only ran the rolling pin over the dough once to smooth it. After I cut my cookie shapes with a cookie cutter, I used a spatula to place the cookies on the cookie sheet. (I used Reynold's Wrap non-stick foil on the cookie sheet)  
Then I chilled the cookies on the cookie sheet in the frig for 30 minutes before baking them.

Once I worked out my dough issues things moved along quickly.

I even felt some love for the cookies again.

Some more good advice was to cut the cookie tops and bottoms out at the same time so you had enough bottoms for all the tops you made......so you don't have to make a second batch of dough to make more cookie bottoms. Yeah that was some good advice I wish I had read somewhere!!

In consideration of chocolate lovers, I did a little drizzle.

This cookie story is turning into a cookie saga, so after putting a lot of time, effort, butter and sugar into these cookies (and not really feeling like giving the Barefoot Contessa a good review) we run to Costco for a few items and what do we see????? Giant Costco size Linzer cookies for $9.99!!! Seriously!! So of course we bought them...even though we have about three dozen homemade Linzer cookies at home. I mean we had to compare them to mine, right?? So after having a Linzer cookie comparison test we all agreed, they were both really good!!

This saga continues....I open up the Jan/Feb issue of Martha Stewart's magazine this morning and check out Martha's heart shaped cookies in the photo below.....I don't think she used a cookie cutter...and I think my cookies are cuter!! SShhhh don't tell Martha I said that!

Ok so below is a picture of the recipe. Click here to view Ina's Garten's Linzer Cookie recipe

 After I got over the dough drama, I definitely give these cookies 5 stars. They are delicious. With one cup of sugar and 3/4's of a pound of butter you can't go wrong. They ended up being a quick cookie too, I put that second batch together in just minutes.

So after all the time, energy and effort I put into these homemade cookies, what I realized in the end is that I better get up early and head to the gym tomorrow morning! Looks like extra cardio for me!!!

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 Ina Garten's Linzer Cookie Recipe

Pepperidge Farms Linzer Cookies

SHARING THIS POST AT:

A Stroll Thru life: 204th Inspire me Tuesday

Green Willow Pond: What We Accomplished Wednesday #42

Ivy & Elephants: What's It Wednesday #112

Common Ground: Be Inspired #176

Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays #157

Krafty Inspiration: Thursday Link Party #29

FRENCH COUNTRY COTTAGE: Feathered Nest Friday

The CSI Project: Hearts Only Challenge

It's Overflowing: Share Your Creativity party # 102

Easy Candied Cherry Fudge

Looking for a decadent Valentine treat? I have a winner for you.

This fudge is so luscious you will probably gain weight just looking at these pictures. But if you are going to indulge in some extra calories then this is the way to go.

Why is this fudge so yummy? Is it because it is so quick and easy to make? Just a few ingredients? Well it is yummy, quick, easy and it does have just a few ingredients. But I think it is the candied cherries that are the secret to this sweet delicious fudge.

I have been making this Easy Chocolate Fudge for years. Happily following the recipe, you know if it ain't broke don't fix it. But my husband loves chocolate and cherries so as hard as I try not to think out of the box, there I was thinking hey I should add candied cherries and cherry extract to this fudge recipe. My husband (and his co-workers) have given me a big thumbs up! This is a go to Christmas or Valentines treat.

In the above photo is the original recipe. All I did was use cherry extract instead of vanilla extract. And then I added half a cup of chopped candied cherries. I really just cut the cherries into quarters, I didn't chop them.

I only made one batch of the fudge. I packaged most of it up to give away as valentine gifts. Apparently I ate more than my share of calories at Christmas, so no extra calories for Valentines! Dang it!!

OK OK I did eat 2 pieces. As soon as I finished taking these pictures though I wrapped the fudge up! It's dangerous! Check back later to see how I incorporated chicken wire into the gift packaging. I bet you didn't expect me to say that! Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate your visit!

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Have a wonderful day,

Sharing this post at:

Common Ground: Be Inspired #175

A Stroll Thru Life: 203rd Inspire Me Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays #156

Ivy and Elephants: What's It Wednesday #111

Green Willow Pond: What We Accomplished Wednesday #41

Edible Flowers

Have you ever eaten an edible flower?

Are you the first to give new things a try?

Or a bit wary, letting someone else be the guinea pig?

This past spring I threw some Nasturtium seeds in the flower garden. To be honest at the time I didn't know that they are edible.

Luckily all my friends did!

OK I was a bit wary to give them a gobble.

So all summer I enjoyed the bright blooms and the cool lily pad looking leaves.

  With these last blooms of the season, I thought I would celebrate with a cupcake.

 And the edible flowers.

 Let's be honest.....the flowers are pretty,

 but it's the sugary frosting we are all dreaming about!!!!

And that is what I ate, the frosting. I tried the flower but it just tasted like a flower!!! The frosting tasted like frosting, can you blame me? Actually I shared half with the hubby, but only because he was standing there waiting for me to eat the flower, which he didn't ask to share by the way. Not like the cupcake which he said, now we are sharing that, right?

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great day, Lori

I am linking this post to these parties:
Ivy and Elephants: What's It Wednesday #92
A Stroll Thru Life: 182nd Inspire Me Tuesday
Life on Lakeshore Drive: Party Time at A Bouquet of Talent #54
Common Ground: Be Inspired #157 Nature Inspired 
It's Overflowing: Show Your Creativity 9/21

For more info on Nasturtiums click here and here.

Recipe File

Welcome paper lovers! Today I have a cute recipe file to show you. I made this for a girlfriends birthday hoping that she would like the fun retro look of the paper. I know that she has many family recipes that she whips up regularly, so I thought this would be a useful gift for her.

   My friend Paula had given me the easel stand file awhile back. I knew it would be perfect for this project!

   I printed the word favorite on some cardstock and tucked it behind the metal bookplate.

   I cut the letters for the word Recipe on the Silhouette Die Cut machine.

  Plenty of pages for lots of recipes!!

   Below are some shots of different pages. I glued some pieces of scrapbook paper onto each page. I added a clip to each page so my friend can just clip the recipe to the file card. Or she can print the recipe directly onto the file card if she wants to. Always good to have some options.

Click on photos to enlarge

   Love all the cute graphics from this line of paper.

   In the photo below you can see the cute black and white paper clips I found at Office Depot.

  Below is a picture of the back of the recipe file. I tucked a few "bingo" cards into a pocket just for fun. I also brushed a layer of Mod Podge onto the front and back of the file for easy wipe off in case of a spill.

  I have learned a embarrassing blogging lesson with these pictures.....I took the pictures, mailed the recipe file off to my friend and then sat down at the computer and took a look at the pictures, well they are all way over exposed, much to bright!!! I did the best I could editing them but I don't feel the pictures really show the true colors of the paper I used. Always check your pictures before you mail the project off!! Lesson learned!!

My friend said she loved the recipe file, mission accomplished! How do you store your favorite recipes? I would love to hear what system works for you.

Thank you for stopping by and have a great day! Lori

All paper for this project was purchased at Paper Daisies.

I used the Cook line of paper by Ruby Rock-It.

Silhouette Die Cut Machine

Paper Clips from Office Depot

Paper Mod Podge