Easy Sugar Cookies, the Old Fashioned Way

   Back to school yet again! This week I came with Sugar Cookies, which actually sold pretty quickly! They do also look like little snowballs, hence the nickname. This picture here was the first time I made these, right around the holiday season. And the nice thing about these cookies is that you can top them with any type of candies, I just used sugar on these. Peppermint would be good for the holidays, and I will have another recipe for that! But that is waay in the future, and right now we are in the present. And the present tastes good with these cookies!!
   I found this recipe in the old Betty Crocker cookbook one day, and decided to try it. And oh my goodness how simple, yet delicious they were! I just had to share them with the family, which scarfed them down in one sitting. It makes about 2 dozen cookies, which goes fast when you are in a family of 8; the three dogs included! I just can't get over how simple they are as well, something that can definitely be made quickly, for a sweet craving or a last minute bake sale.

Alright, so mixing everything up to the butter should make the dough look crumbly like this. It doesn't have to be perfect, you just have to make sure the butter is well incorporated.

Then you will mix in the egg,vanilla, and milk. Mix well! This will make the batter look more dough-y, while giving off that wonderful sugar cookie smell that makes you want to eat just the batter! But don't worry, the cookies will taste even better!

And since this is an older recipe, of course you have the choice on whether or not to roll the dough and make shapes. If not, just refrigerate it for 15 minutes, then roll into little balls by hand! Too bad I don't have any cookie-cutter shapes, or I would totally make them! Not really sure how that would work out either, I have definitely never made cookies into any shape other than a circle. That's basic, and I like basic.

Yay for baking time! Just remember that whatever shape your cookies are before baking, they will be that same shape (just fluffier) after you pull them out of the oven. I like to sprinkle a little sugar on top, mostly for texture but also for presentation! Then just stick the pan in the oven and viola you have yourself some wonderful little snowball sugar cookies!!!

Recipe:

3 cups Flour

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 cup Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Butter

1 Egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons Vanilla

3 tablespoons Milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

3. Cut up butter into chunks and drop into flour mixture. Mix until crumbly.

4. With a fork, stir in the egg, vanilla, and milk until well incorporated.

     ***If you aren't rolling the dough, chill for 15 minutes, then skip to step 6

5. On a flour-ed surface roll out your dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes.

6. Place dough on prepared baking sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes, or until the edges have a light brown color. Cool and enjoy!

Try this recipe? Tell me how it went down below!

Apple Crisp

Alright, peach season is over...time to bring on the apples! Every year my family and I go up to apple hill to get apples to can them! And boy is homemade applesauce yummy! The whole process is fun too!!
   But this isn't what I made this fine summer night! We actually had some store-bought apples that nobody ate, so Laurie cooked them. Then she asked me to pull out our old Betty Crocker Cookbook (picture edition, 1956) to see if there was a crunchy recipe we could put the apples under/over. Well, just my luck, I found this wonderful apple crisp recipe!

And let me tell you, it is absolutely amazing! Very easy too!! Now, Laurie had already cooked the apples with some cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg, but if you would rather not cook them you can just place them in the baking dish. That is what you should do in the original recipe, which I will place down below. But, if you wanted to flavor your apples, just cook them in a pot with some sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg!

Here are the apples, all nicely cooked! But, if you don't have a lot time or would rather un-flavor the apples, just cut them up and put them in the baking dish. Make sure you peel and core the apples, as well as cut them up. Both slices and cubed apples work fine, it is purely based on preference.

Then, you will make the topping! Just mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter into a medium sized bowl until crumbly. This is where the crispy top comes from! It is very simple, and almost a fail-proof recipe. I mean, someone out there might find a way to mess it up, and I would congratulate them. Just kidding, I'm not that mean!

Then you will want to crumble the mixture onto the top of your apples. It doesn't have to be perfect! And, seriously, before and after you bake it the topping will look the same!! The only way you can tell that it is done is if the topping is more of a golden brown color, and is crispy and hard-ish. I mean, if it was completely hard it might just be burnt and burnt doesn't taste so good!

But, stick this in the oven and let it cook for a while. And when I mean a while, I mean you can watch your favorite tv show, clean the kitchen, or even make a dinner! It will take a while for this to bake to perfection! And oh my goodness does this make the house smell amazing! This is definitely one of those desserts you wouldn't mind smelling forever!

Then, viola, it is done! This dessert is best served warm, and a little side of ice cream won't hurt either! If it isn't eaten right away, you can put some saran wrap over it and store it on the counter, it doesn't need to be refrigerated  But, if storing, don't do it for more than a couple of days, because then the topping will get soggy and a little gross. EW!

Recipe:

4 Apples; peeled, cored, and sliced

2/3-3/4 c Brown Sugar

1/2 c All Purpose Flour

1/2 c Rolled Oats (Quaker Oats are fine)

3/4 tsp Cinnamon

3/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/3 c Butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease an 8" pan (either square or round works).

2. Place the sliced apples in the baking dish, set aside for now.

3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients until it has a nice crumbly texture to it. Crumble over the apples.

4. Place dish in oven and bake 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown with a crispy texture. Serve warm for best results.

Try this recipe? Tell me how it went down below in the comments!