Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I made cookies!! Yes indeed, I really did. Most of you who know me are aware that me and flour and baking don’t really get along so well. And they actually came out pretty spectacular if I don’t say so myself. (Oh but my family told me too, along with my book club members at our cookie exchange, and the kind folks at my seasonal post office job!)

I first tried this recipe back in November, but the cookies didn’t come out so great texture- and shape-wise because of my high altitude. So I did a bunch of research, prepared a double batch, and set to experiment on cookie dough shape, oven temps, and timing.

The original recipe comes from my foodie friend Jodi over at The Creative Life In Between. I’ll share her original instructions, along with my high-altitude adjustments for those of you who share similar climes.

If you are a lover of snickerdoodles and are always first in line for pumpkin pie, this is a perfect marriage of flavors. I hope you enjoy these as much as we have!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 1/4 cups flour
For rolling: 1/4 cup sugar + 2 tsp ground cinnamon, combined

Cream together butter and sugars with electric mixer. Add egg yolk, vanilla and pumpkin, and combine.

Add next 8 ingredients, followed by the flour, and mix until combined.

Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

Pumpkin Snickdoodle

Normal cooking directions:

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll and shape dough into golf ball sized balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place on baking stone or sheet and bake approximately 12 minutes until tops begin to crack. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking stone/sheet for an additional 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

High-altitude cooking directions:

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll and shape dough into golf ball sized balls. Place on baking stone or sheet and flatten the cookie with the palm of your hand to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch. Gently press into cinnamon sugar on both sides and place back onto the cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 9 minutes until tops begin to crack. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking stone/sheet for an additional 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

P.S. Happy Yule Y’all!! 😀

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

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Turkey, Lentil, and Mixed Brown Rice Soup ~ Food52 Community Pick!

Turkey Lentil and Mixed Brown Rice Soup

I’m happy to announce my recipe for Turkey, Lentil, and Mixed Brown Rice Soup was selected by the editors of Food52 cooking website as a Community Pick in their “Your Best Recipe with Thanksgiving Leftovers” contest!

Now I just have to make it to the finals and people can vote, but you have a chance to test it now and send in your testing notes! Unfortunately I omitted an ingredient from the ingredients list but it is in the instructions. I’ve asked the editors if they can fix that for me, as I can’t edit a recipe during an active contest. (It was 1/2 cup chopped onion in case you’re interested.)

Here’s a link to the selections:—> Food52 Community picks

And here’s a link to my original recipe that has a handy-dandy printable PDF! (Although you can also print my recipe from Food52.) —> Turkey, Lentil, and Mixed Brown Rice Soup

I plan on having a new recipe up this weekend too. Crazy weather here too for November today, sunny and mid-60s! Unheard of!

Giving Thanks

Forgive my absence these past couple of weeks. My parents are here visiting from Texas, and on November 19 they were in a single-car accident which left them both with fractured vertebrae.

After being released from the hospital, they moved into our home, as they are not able to climb the stairs to their second-floor condo that does not have a public elevator. (ADA, where are you???) Plus neither one can help each other get in and out of bed and with “those other necessities.”

I’m glad to say that they will both recuperate with time, and have been cleared to fly back to their home in Texas next Friday. I have a lot of planning to do to get them home with wheelchair assistance on the flights as well as in-home full-time care when they get back.

They are both in different back braces (mom’s fracture was T-12, dad’s was L-1) and mom is using a cane and dad a walker.)

I am giving thanks that they were not hurt more seriously in the crash, and that we have had the flexibility to alter our work schedules to care for them full-time in this interim.

I am giving thanks that I was also able to host a full-on Thanksgiving dinner for 12 special people in my life without having a complete melt-down and didn’t even forget the dinner rolls or cranberry sauce.

I am giving thanks for readers like you, who will hang with me in the interim. I’m hoping in another week or two to begin sharing more recipes made with love from my household.

I love you Mom and Dad! ❤

Thank you! ~ Kathryn

 

Happy Thanksbirthday!

A clever friend of mine wished me that today! Today I am celebrating both my birthday and Thanksgiving. We all have much to be thankful for, but today I am especially thankful for my wonderful husband who is building me a beautiful big kitchen in the house we are remodeling.

I do not have to cook today, as a very special friend’s sister is hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my family. I am very much looking forward to the feast tonight!

And look at what another special friend made for me:

Casserole Carrier

Yes, a very clever casserole carrier! Or in this case…

 

Pie Carrier!

a pie carrier! I made my grandma’s Texas Pecan Pie last night with true Texas pecans, shipped to me yearly by my mother in Texas. Thank you Mom!!!

Texas Pecans

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends.

Here is a link to the recipe: Texas Pecan Pie

Giving Thanks

Texas Pecan Pie

I am so thankful and grateful for all my wonderful friends and family, and for you my followers, who so kindly check into my foodie world now again. In a little over one month, I celebrate my first anniversary of this blog, which has become near and dear to me. So on this day of Thanks, I will share with you my very first foodie post, which was appropriately about Pecan Pie. Happy Thanksgiving my Friends! Texas Gold

Lemony Chicken with Artichokes and Mushrooms

Lemony Chicken with Artichokes and Mushrooms

While looking for my stuffing recipe for the Thanksgiving Turkey yesterday, I came across this recipe I had scrawled on a piece of notepad paper from a previous employer. Seeing as I haven’t worked there in upwards of 12 years, I’m going to guess this recipe dates back to the mid-90s. I do remember making it once and enjoying it, but for the life of me I don’t remember where I got the recipe. I titled it “Elegant Chicken Artichoke” but truth be told, it doesn’t look that elegant either in the pan or on a dish. But the flavors are fabulous and I hope you think so too. I paired this with rice cooked in chicken broth and some balsamic roasted Brussel sprouts. The sprouts were meh so will be bypassing that recipe for here.

Lemony Chicken with Artichokes and Mushrooms

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Ground black pepper
Mrs. Dash Original Blend
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or substitute
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 large green onions, chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
Juice of one large lemon (about 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons flour
1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and halved

Chicken Dish Just Out of Oven

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise, or alternatively, pound them to about a half-inch thickness. On a plate, mix the flour and paprika and add pepper and Mrs. Dash to taste. Dredge the chicken in the flour  and shake off excess. Heat a large skillet to medium and add the oil and butter.  Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on each side for about three or four minutes, remove and set aside. To the same skillet, add the mushrooms and green onions. You might need to add a little more oil and butter. Cook until the mushrooms have started to release their liquid. Add the flour and stir until a paste is formed, then add the chicken broth and lemon juice all at once. Whisk until the flour is dissolved and the sauce starts to thicken. In a casserole dish, place the chicken in one layer, then arrange artichoke hearts over top. Pour the lemony mushroom sauce over that, and cook in oven for 35 to 40 minutes until chicken is done. This was great served with rice, and there is enough extra sauce to serve over it too. The artichokes and mushrooms were very filling, so you could skip another vegetable or have a small salad if you feel you need another side.

Lemony Chicken Artichoke Leftovers