90 Second Cookies

I absolutely adore Lauren Conrad. Like every other teenage girl in America I would gather with friends once a week to watch Laguna Beach and later The Hills. She's gorgeous, sophisticated, and she truly shows that nice girls don't finish last. I love that throughout the years she's never compromised her standards, and she's been able to avoid major scandal unlike some of the other celebrities of our day. She's well on her way to becoming the next Martha Stewart.

I check her blog daily, so when I found this recipe for 90 second cookies I knew I had to try it. I don't eat chocolate, so I substituted a few of the ingredients, opting for my beloved butterscotch chips instead. Try her recipe, or my updated version instead.

Ingredients: 
½ cup/100ml butter
¾ cup/87g + 2 tablespoons/30ml brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon/2 ml almond extract
1 cup/237ml whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon/2ml baking soda
¼ teaspoon/1 ml salt
½ cup/100ml oats
½ cup/100ml butterscotch chips

Cookie Dough Directions: 
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
2. Mix in eggs and almond. Continue to whisk.
3. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir well.
4. Lastly, add in oats and butterscotch chips and mix.

Cooking Directions:
1. Heat waffle iron. (Note: I suggest waiting until you've mixed up the batter since waffle irons can get too hot if left heating for too long, which will burn the cookies!)
2. Coat griddle with cooking spray.

3. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto each waffle square.
4. Close iron and cook for about 90 seconds (The first batch took about 90 seconds, but as the griddle got hotter they needed less and less time!)
5.Using a pair of tongs, carefully remove the waffle cookie from the iron and transfer onto an iron rack to cool.
6. Repeat, let cool, and enjoy!

These will keep for about 2-3 days in an airtight container. They are delicious with a glass of milk or even a big bowl of vanilla ice cream! I made these for a work function, and everyone devoured them up. They truly are divine. You can never go wrong with butterscotch (or chocolate) chips. So heat up your waffle iron and give them a try.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

I'm absolutely head over heels for a delicious cake. Pound cake is not only easy to make with simple ingredients, but it's also amazingly delicious! This sour cream pound cakes tastes great with a bottle of St. James strawberry wine.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
3 eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder

⅛ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Allow butter, eggs, and sour cream to stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Grease and lightly flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 

2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (162° C). In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating about 10 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition and scraping bowl frequently. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream mixture to butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. 

3. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on rack. 

This cake tasted yummy, especially after I frosted it with strawberry frosting. Pound cakes are a timeless classic that anyone can enjoy. Go ahead and make it, you won't regret it!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

It is said that the Mexican wedding cookie (also known as Russian tea cakes) originated with the Medieval Arab cultural and eventually made its way to the European and Spanish cultures where it was brought to Mexico from there. These cookies, with it's simple ingredient list and rich taste are a staple at traditional Mexican weddings. They are eaten as at the end of a wedding reception with the thought that the butters, sugars, and oils would bring about a happy life and a successful marriage.

Because the few ingredients included in this recipe are all items you probably have just laying around your house these cookies are the perfect thing to make when you're suddenly hit with a sweet tooth. Below is a simple recipe for these traditional cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
1 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces



Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 40 minutes.

3. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.



These cookies are simple and sweet without being too overbearing. The hardest part step when it comes to making these is waiting 40 minutes for it to bake in the oven! Perfect for serving at a gathering of friends, or even just snacking on a few while curled up with a good book, these Mexican wedding cookies are great for any occasion - not just weddings!

Oatmeal Scotchies

There's no big surprise that I love to bake, and since I don't do chocolate, butterscotch chips have become my major addiction. They're absolutely delicious and taste great with everything! 


Summer is approaching and that means countless barbecues, dinner parties and picnics. Which means a new cookie recipe is in order. I found this recipe for these delicious oatmeal scotchies from the Nestlé website, and with a little tweaking this recipe turned out phenomenally! Mark loved it so much that he couldn't stop eating them and all the cookies disappeared that very day. 

Ingredients: 

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 11oz. package  Nestlé Tollhouse Butterscotch Chips


Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

3. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

These cookies are absolutely scrumptious and perfect for every occasion. They go great with everything from a hot cup of coffee to a nice, cold glass of milk. Try them, you won't be disappointed!