Pecan Yummies

Today I have an easy & yummy slice & bake cookie to share. I love slice & 

bake cookies because you can make the dough ahead and keep it in the 

freezer for whenever you get that cookie craving. Then you just slice what 

you need and bake!

Today I tried to make my logs square instead of round. My round cookies 

always come out looking like a flat tire or something! What I did was shape 

the logs as best as I could before putting them in the freezer. I then left them

 in the freezer for about 25 minutes, took them out and reshaped them. 

The dough holds its shape better after chilling a bit.

After about 2 hours in the freezer, you can slice & bake. There's a 

cup of ground pecans in the dough and the cookies really have a nice 

nutty flavor! They didn't maintain that square shape after baking, but 

became more rounded at the corners. But who cares about rounded 

corners anyway? They are delicious!

Here's the recipe:

Pecan Yummies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup ground pecans

In the bowl of a mixer, combine butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour & baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix just until combined. Add pecans and combine. With floured hands, shape dough into 3 or 4 rolls (2 for larger cookies). Wrap the rolls in foil or plastic wrap and put in freezer for at least 2 hours. Slice about 1/4" and place cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Yummy! Enjoy!

Five Minute Chocolate Tarts and Tea in the Garden

Have you ever wanted to have a little tea party with your kids, but didn't because you thought it would be too much trouble? What if I told you that  while your tea is brewing, you could prepare some lovely little chocolate tarts?  I call these my 5 minute tarts because they are so quick and easy to prepare.

All you need is a box of ready made cookies, a small box of instant chocolate pudding mix, 2 cups heavy cream, and a bit of sweetened coconut for garnish! I had already purchased a box of Trader Joe's Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins, but any plain boxed shortbread cookie will work.

First, place the cookies on a baking sheet. Next mix together the chocolate pudding mix and heavy cream in a chilled mixing bowl with chilled beaters. Spoon this mixture into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D tip (or any other tip you like) and pipe ruffles or swirls of pudding mixture onto the cookies. Garnish with a sprinkling of coconut, or grated chocolate and a sugar flower. How easy is that?! 

Now you're ready for your tea party! Pour yourself a cup of tea....

smell the hydrangeas.....

admire the hibiscus......

pour yourself another cup of tea and relax!

Tea & Tarts in just 5 minutes! You've got time for that! Have a great day!

I'm linking today with Antiques and Teacups,  Rose Chintz Cottage,  Lavender Cottage, and A Delightsome Life. Happy Tea Party Tuesday!

Lovely Lemon Straws

As a Southern girl, I love my Cheese Straws! Those crispy

cheesy nibbles that you find at all the ladies' gatherings! But

there's another nibble that I adore, and it's not savory but 

sweet, and it's one of my teatime favorites - 

LEMON STRAWS!  

These delicious cookies contain both lemon juice and 

lemon zest, and I top mine with a drizzle of lemon icing!! 

They're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and 

just as fun and irresistible as their savory sidekick!

In order to make these you'll need a cookie press with a

star disc. I tried these first using a piping bag with a star

tip and burst 2 bags before deciding to switch to my cookie

press. The dough in this recipe is just too stiff for a piping

bag.

The cookie dough comes together easily, then you 

fill the cookie press with the dough and press 2" lengths

onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake cookies 

8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

 I made a simple lemon icing and drizzled it over

the baked and cooled cookies. So good!!

The lemon icing hardens after a few minutes, then you can

transfer the straws to a pretty dish, glass or cake stand.

I like to serve several of these lemon straws with 

teacups filled with a fresh fruit salad! Perfect!

LEMON STRAWS

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

zest of one organic lemon (or one lemon well washed)

yellow food coloring (I used 3 drops)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

For the icing:

2 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar), sifted

enough freshly squeezed lemon juice to

make a drizzling consistency

Directions:

With a mixer, blend butter and cream cheese

together, then add sugar a third at a time and

cream until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg, lemon juice, 

lemon zest and yellow food coloring. Add to butter

mixture until well blended.

Sift the flour and baking powder together and add

to the creamed mixture. Mix until well combined.

Fill cookie press with mixture and force 2-inch 

strips onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or

until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Combine icing ingredients and drizzle over

cooled cookies. Let icing Harden and serve.

Enjoy!

(This post was updated 4/21/18. The original

post date was 6/2/2012.)