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

I found a recipe for lemon straws the other day which sounded fun. I've heard of cheese straws of course, but lemon straws? I had to try!

I found the recipe here. The recipe includes cream cheese and the cookies turn out somewhere between crispy & soft.  They are nice and lemony with lemon juice and zest in the mix. You need a cookie press with the disc for making the straws, which I didn't have so I ended up using my piping bag with an open star tip, and they turned out fine.

They tasted really good, and how could they not with 2 sticks of butter! I did have one hiccup with my cookies, though. I was in a hurry, and instead of measuring out exactly one tablespoon lemon juice, I just poured in the juice I had extracted from my lemon half, which may have been 2 tbsp or so. As a result, when my cookies baked, they lost alot of definition and didn't turn out as pretty as they started.

I also added 2 drops of my yellow food coloring (paste) to the dough and before baking I dusted the cookies with sanding sugar for some sparkle! I thought they turned out lovely! They look so sweet in my vintage bird egg cup! Now I'm thinking.....vanilla straws, key lime straws, chocolate straws....oh my, the possibilities! 

Thanks for visiting today! Have a great weekend!