National Craft Month - March 28- Treat Thursday Family version

The brother and sisters had been teasing me about Treat Thursdays. So I baked cookies on Thursday just for them. Sugar Cookies for the sister and Chocolate Chip Cookies with walnuts. They loved them! The sister quickly claimed her sugar cookies and the brother put some of the Chocolate Chip Cookies in his freezer. We did have to stop at the grocery store for the ingredients I use regularly and weren't in his pantry.  Here's my favorite  Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and it uses butter Crisco. I add a bit more flour to keep the cookies softer. By following the recipe, you can bake the cookies so they are crisper.

 It is from Crisco's website. Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Sugar Cookies are a family favorite and it is not on the net yet. I'll have to find my copy and post it later.  My sister had her husband scan her copy so we could have it at my brother's house. 

Isn't technology great??

National Craft Month - March 21 - Treat Thursday

Every Thursday  I take treats to the school where I work. I do this because I love to bake sweets and make food. But if I make treats at home, I eat them all and my hubby might eat one. So, I make something I enjoy and share the rest at school. I set the treats out at the staff lunchtime and whoever wants one can enjoy them. Usually it is cookies or cupcakes. Once a month, I make a chocolatey bark treat.

This bark is easy!! Start with a cookie sheet. Sprinkle nuts, chocolate chips, broken animal crackers, broken pretzels, raisins, marshmallows, sweet cereal, whatever you have on hand. Melt a big bag of melting chocolate like Wilton melting disks and spread over the goodies. Shake on some sprinkles and let it all cool. Then break into small pieces and store in an air-tight container. I used to measure the ingredients but now I just throw them on the cookie sheet. For this St. Patrick version, I spread chocolate first then I dropped some melted green disks and finally drizzled white melted disks over it all. The teachers and staff love this treat!! I had a bag of pretzel rods so I dipped the ends in the melted chocolate and drizzled green and white chocolate over it and added shamrock sprinkles.

Wed. night crafting

Sketch #94

Wednesday nights is baking night for Treat Thursdays at school and I finished the treat early. I baked blueberry muffins!  I had time to make a sketch and I picked #94 to create.

I used papers from DCWV Flower Shower stack and a a sheet of yellow with white dots by Making Memories. The little squares were cut from the DCWV paper and pop-dotted. The sentiment was from the coordinating sticker set of the stack. I added a bit of ribbon and a bow. And it's done. I crafted a dozen like this and have 6 more to finish up. I did a few with the yellow as the base and the striped paper as the strip near the bottom. 

Tea Time

I recently found a magazine titled TeaTime on the newsstand at the grocery store. I read the magazine and then sent subscriptions as gifts to 2 family members who really enjoy tea. In the issue I had purchased were cards to order a book about having teas for special occasions.

The book included lots of recipes for scones, butters, cakes, savories, sweets, soups and salads. Each menu for the occasion had the type of tea you should serve. It is a slim book but the recipes use everyday items mostly and seem easy to make. There are several recipes I would like to use for Treat Thursdays. The book really makes me want to have a tea party!! The photos were very pretty. I ordered 2 of the books and hopefully the family member will invite me for a fancy tea soon.

Treat Thursdays

I really like to bake. Cookies, cupcakes, breads, cakes. But if I bake it, I eat it all! Oh, my hubby will have a few cookies but not many. On Wednesdays, I bake something good and take it on Thursdays to school for the staff to enjoy. On Treat Thursdays, they have enjoyed my favorite coffeecake - Tennessee Blueberry Coffeecake, a new recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes ( I even made a batch using Splenda, which folks thought were as good as the real sugar recipe), and lots of different cookies. A few staff have missed out on the treats and have lamented that fact. I have learned to bag a few treats in little snack bags for some of the people who get the school in the afternoon. Everyone looks forward so much to Treat Thursdays that I have people asking on Mon or Tues. what the treat will be on Thurs. Sometimes, the treat will be holiday theme such as the green eggs and ham cookies for Dr. Seuss's Birthday/Read Across America or the Pecan Praline Cookies for Mardi Gras day. Sometimes the treat is whatever is in my pantry that I bake something with. I baked sugar cookies from a Costco mix but added a bit more vanilla and some dried orange peel. The staff was impressed with the easy cookies. Some of the recipes are family favorites from my old Betty Crocker Cooky Book and cookbooks on my shelves while other recipes are found online.

The green eggs and ham cookies.

Thick fudgy brownies.

Pecan Praline Cookies