Toaster Oven Challenge: Easter Cookies

I have a Moffat 1500 Gourmet from the 1960s that we inherited when we bought our bungalow.  It has this really cool eye level broiler and it's crazy old.   Anytime a new friend visits our home, eventually they ask about the broiler and the oven.   I'm quite sure that it's not very energy efficient so I am undergoing my very first toaster oven challenge.  Anything that I have ever made in the oven will have to go into the toaster oven instead.  My first challenge?  Cookies in the toaster oven.

I used my tried and true sugar cookie recipe (click here for the full recipe).  The only thing that I changed with the recipe was the bake time.   The original recipe requires you to bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes at 325F.  I baked them in the toaster oven for 20 minutes at 300F and turned the tray halfway through.  If you have a high end toaster oven, you probably won't need to turn the tray.

I made these cookies last year for Easter and the kids loved them so I decided to make some again for Joshie's friends at school. 

If you only need to make a small batch, don't freeze the dough.  Roll the dough, cut your shapes and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Pop the sheet in the freezer.  Once frozen, transfer the unbaked frozen cookie to an airtight container.  Whenever you want a fresh cookie, just take it out of the freezer, pop it in the oven, and you have a nice tasty cookie.

This time Baby Bunny helped me make the cookies.  It's so nice to have 2 helpers but it's also a lot messier.

Here's the finished product!

The bunny ones will be for his school friends.  All we need to do now is pop them into little treat bags, include a label, and some stickers.

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Valentine Sprinkle Cookie

This year I wanted to make something for Joshie's friends at school for Valentine's Day. I didn't want to buy more chocolate because I think we're on chocolate overload.   The kids love gingerbread so I made a gingerbread dough.  However, if you're short on time, just buy a plain sugar cookie from the grocery store and decorate it.

Here's how you do it:

Start with some cute sprinkles.  These came from a company called Wildly Delicious.

Then you:  1.  Get a cookie  2. Decorate with royal icing  3.  Dip in sprinkles  4.  Admire your handiwork

Then you let it sit.  I usually do these at night and let them sit overnight so they are completely dry.

I made mine 2 weeks ahead so I froze them.  To freeze, place them in an airtight container between wax paper.  To defrost, just take them out and leave at room temperature.
 

I also decorated some without the sprinkles.

 Then packaged them up in little zip bags and labelled them

And there you have it!  A nice treat for the j/k class.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Resolutions?

OK... so I admit this post may seem a little late since we are now mid-January. The whole family has been sick with either a cold, flu, or a combination of the two. I didn't even have time to think about New Year's resolutions or to even look back at my 2012 resolutions and tally up what I did or did not do.

But we are slowly on the road to recovery so it's time to look back and forward.

Last year I wanted to:

1.  Refinish my mom's chair.  Right now it's sitting in my basement, just waiting patiently to be reupholstered.  I know exactly where I am going to put it (in our piano room) but it just needs to get done! FAIL!  I did nothing with this other than buy some fabric and new foam.  But I am thinking of starting it this week.
 
2.  Work out once a week.  My doctor would be appalled that my goal is one day a week...  But really, it's an achievable goal.  Um... I guess it depends on what once a week looks like.

3.  Enroll in a class.  I am enrolled in classes but the classes are for the kids, not me.  So my goal is to enroll myself in a special interest class, or maybe an exercise class.  My sister and I have been doing Sunday yoga classes so I guess that covers #2, 3, and 5!!!!

4.  Go on dates with hubby.  The kids have taken over!  But they will be a little bit older next year and hopefully won't mind if we skip out for a night here and there.   We did try to do this but when I count it out, I still think we went out alone less than 5 times this year.  Definitely an upgrade from 2011!

5.  Start doing a "sisters" or "friends" night out.  Why?  Because maybe by then, the kids will be in the same bedroom and can put themselves to sleep.  Hahaha... in my dreams, right?   This one still needs work!

 This year, I think I need to keep the same resolutions but add two more to the pile.

6.  Take time for myself and not to worry about the small things.  This means exactly what I wrote.  I am juggling a lot of stuff and so I need to prioritize more and spend time on the things I love vs things I don't.  I have been spending less time on social media as it's been a time waster and I don't love it!

7.  Sew things I want to sew!  I've been doing some sewing that is unrelated to my ETSY shop.  It's been good for me to sew for my enjoyment.

That's it for me.  Do you have any resolutions for 2013?