Zuppa Toscana

Last week I had read that Linda at Life and Linda had made a zuppa toscana soup and shared the link.

World Peace Cookies

Please join me for some World Peace Cookies in this first week of 2021!  These cookies are ones that I had read about several years ago and have been wanting to make.  The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Dorie's Cookies.  The cookies are very dark and chocolatey, and almost like a shortbread in texture. They definitely go well with a cup of tea, or coffee, if you prefer.   How did the cookies get their name??  It seems a neighbor of Dorie tasted one and gave them the name, being convinced that if everyone in the world ate one, there would be "planetary peace". 

I have a simple centerpiece on my kitchen table right now, which is so nice after all the Christmas decorations.

My darling daughter gave me this beautiful spoon for Christmas.  Isn't it beautiful?  She also gave me some Tazo Vanilla Bean Macaron tea, which was so nice with the cookies.

 

When Harper and Hayden spent the night, we made Snowmen out of socks, and when Ella came over we made a gnome out of a sock, by using the YouTube video on how to make a gnome in 3 minutes.  

As part of my Christmas gift, my daughter took me to a darling spot to have lunch and tea.  Just look at those enormous teacups, and we each drank two cups.  I had the Happy Tea and Coconut tea.  Molly had Earl Grey and the Coconut tea.  It was so special to have time for just the two of us!! What a gift!   

My son, Mike, who lives here with me, turned 40 on New Year's Eve!  He's here with Layla, my youngest son and daughter-in-law's dog.  They left for Colorado with Harper and Hayden on the day after Christmas, and Mike took care of Layla. 

Yield: 36

Author: Made by Kitty, but recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Dorie's Cookies

World Peace Cookies

These cookies are shortbread in texture but very dark chocolatey, and salty in flavor. They certainly put a smile on face.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 5 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 85% cacao), chopped (no pieces bigger than 1/3 inch) See NOTE

Instructions

1. Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda into medium bowl.
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth but not fluffy. Add both sugars, vanilla, and sea salt; beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended (mixture may be crumbly).
3. Add chopped chocolate; mix just to distribute (if dough doesn't come together, knead lightly in bowl to form ball). Divide dough in half. Place each half on sheet of plastic wrap. Form each into 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Wrap each in plastic; chill until firm, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using thin sharp knife, cut logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies appear dry (cookies will not be firm or golden at edges), 11 to 12 minutes.  I let the cookies rest on the cookie sheets for about 4-5 minutes.  Transfer to rack; cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Notes:

I actually used mini semisweet chocolate chips, because that's what I had, and they were plenty chocolatey, and I didn't have to chop the chocolate.

You can also freeze the logs for up to 2 months, which would be nice to pull out when you need to. Just let the log sit out to soften for a bit and then slice.

Thank you for your visit!  xo

I am sharing with:

Keep In Touch 

Full Plate 

All About Home with Debra 

All About Home with Amber 

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Meal Plan Monday

French Bread

Let's break bread together for tea time!  Isn't the potted rose plant that my neighbor gifted me for my birthday, so pretty?  The sweet cherub is hoping for Spring to arrive soon!

 

My friend, Colleen, gave me this March Royal Albert trio set, and I think it's such a pretty one.  

 I had four of my grandchildren over during Spring break and I was one  happy Nana!!! It was so nice to see these cousins together in my home.    We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, which is always a favorite. However,  before we went to lunch, we prepared the dough for the French Bread, and let is rise while we were gone.   Here they are rolling out their dough to make their twisted green and white St. Patrick's Day breads to take home. 

 Here are their finished loaves!   They took nibbles of their bread because it was hard to resist that warm bread from the oven, especially with Irish butter.  

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Yield: 2 -3 large, or 4-8 small size loavesAuthor: Kitty

French Bread

This bread is a cinch to make because it's done in the food processor. I often use this recipe for pizza dough, or I'll use the French Bread for French Bread pizza. I hope you'll try it.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 T. yeast
• 1 T. sugar
• 4 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1 T. butter
• 1 cup ice water

instructions:

1. Mix sugar & warm water together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on the yeast & let proof for about 5 minutes.
2. Put flour, salt & butter in food processor & mix with the plastic blade. Pour the warm water mixture down the food tube while running & let run until well mixed.
3. While running, slowly pour the ice water down the tube & let the processor run (and knead) until the mixture balls up. After it balls up, let it run another 45 seconds.
4. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover loosely & let rise several hours until it has quit rising. Punch down on a clean, dry counter & roll out into a rectangle about 12 x 16 inches. Now you can either cut it lengthwise into 2, for larger loaves, or 3 for baguette size loaves. You can also make 6-8 sub-style "hard" rolls. Cut 4-6 slits slits on the diagonal on the top. Cover & let rise until double.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I usually moisten the top of the bread. If you want a very shiny crust, you can brush with a beaten egg white. You can sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if you wish. Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
6. Let cool on wire racks.
7. Makes 2-3 large loaves, or 6-8 small loaves (these are great for meatball or Italian subs)

Created using The Recipes Generator

The kids also make bunnies from socks, which turned out so cute!  They love doing crafty things.  

 I had lunch with my daughter, and her three boys.  Cissy was busy with friends. 

I had my two youngest grands over for a Saturday visit.  Don't these sweet sisters look cute in their St. Patrick's Day outfits?  

Thank you for your visit!  xo

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Cooking and Crafting with J & J
Keep In Touch

Full Plate

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Chocolate Molten Cake

 Would you care to join me for some chocolate molten cake?  This dessert is so easy and incredibly fabulous!  I'm using a Vera Bradley blanket that my oldest son, DIL, and granddaughters gave me for Christmas.  Aren't the colors so pretty?  The roses are from my three grandsons who brought them on Valentine's Day, along with my daughter and Cissy, who brought a balloon, and a box of candy.

 My youngest son and DIL gave me a set of Royal Albert teacups one year for Christmas, and this is one of them.

Cissy made  these beautiful tuxedo strawberries this week.

 Harper and Hayden came and spent the night with me, and we had fun!

 Avery and Ella came over to do some crafts.  We made the snowmen, and below, we made the vintage Valentine girls. 

What a great Valentine week it was!  

Yield: 4Author: Kitty, adapted from Kraft

Chocolate Molten Cakes

These little cakes are so easy and I perfect way to satisfy your chocolate cravings.

ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (4 ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate (I weighed out 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 Tbsp. flour

instructions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.  (I used the convection setting, and lowered the temperature to 400 degrees.)
2. Butter 4 small custard cups; place on baking sheet.
3. Microwave chocolate and butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted; whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; mix well. Stir in flour. Spoon into prepared cups.
4. Bake 13 to 14 min. or until edges of desserts are firm but centers are still soft. Let stand 1 min. Carefully run knife around cakes to loosen; invert into dessert plates. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

NOTES:

Make Ahead:
Prepare batter as directed; pour into prepared custard cups, and cover.   Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before baking as directed.

Created using The Recipes Generator

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Cooking and Crafting with J & J
Keep In Touch

Full Plate

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Congo Bars

Let's enjoy some tea, along with a cup of tea, while it's still nice on my patio.  The fold-up tiered stand is one that I found at a thrift store for less than a dollar because it was broken.  My son put some glue on it and it was as good as new. 

I'm using one of my late, Great Aunt Kitty's teacups that she painted for me. 

 

This sweet girl still likes to come over after school one day a week to bake together.  She is a great little baker and put together the  Congo Bars in no time!

While the Congo Bars were baking, my son, Mike, had a stencil ready that he had carefully made, with a design and word of Cissy's choosing.  They had designed this the week before.  She carefully and patiently filled in the heart by dabbing a sponge brush so that no pink was visible.  It turned out cute, didn't it?  Mike has found that using regular acrylic paint in a tube works well on fabric and doesn't wash out.

Yield: About 36 barsAuthor: Kitty

Congo Bars

A friend of mine recently asked if Cissy and I had made Congo Bars together. I realized that I hadn't made them in years. My kids loved these bars, and they would be a hit at birthday parties.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups self rising flour (Cissy and I made our own...for every 1 cup of flour, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder)
• 1-12 ounce bag of chocolate chips (use 3/4 of bag in batter, and sprinkle the rest on top)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix the ingredients in order, saving the 1/4 of the bag of chocolate chips to sprinkle on top.
2. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
3. Let cool and then cut into bars.

http://www.kittyskozykitchen.com/2017/09/congo-bars.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

I was able to take out sweet Ella on a birthday dinner date, to celebrate her 7th birthday!!

If you're interested in joining the next teacup/mug exchange:

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J

Tea in the Garden

Share Your Cup

Full Plate

Foodie Friday

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Thank you for your visit!  xo

My Mom's 88th Birthday and Meeting Michele

 I recently went to Ohio to celebrate my Mom's 88th Birthday.  That's my sister, Amy, on the left with my Mom and I.  We took her to the Morgan House, and had a wonderful lunch. 

Isn't my Mom so cute?  She bought this pretty dress to wear for her birthday lunch, and then before I left for home, she gave it to me!

 Here's a picture of my chicken salad, with a side garden salad with a fresh strawberry dressing.  We each had a pot of tea, and I chose Blackberry Sage, Mom had Apricot, and Amy had Wild Blueberry.

Look who showed up to meet us!!  My friend, Michele, from The Nest at Finch Rest, surprised us!!  I had texted Michele to tell her where we were going, hoping that she could come by.  Michele and I have always wanted to meet in person.  Of course, we already knew each other well from blogging, but meeting in real life was such a treat.  My Mom and sister loved Michele right from the start, and she stayed and had a pot of tea with us.   Michele was too kind and brought my Mom a gift that she had made, with the instructions to open later. 

Here's Mom at home,  opening her gift from Michele.

The gift was a darling pitcher (which my mom collects) with a pretty floral arrangement.  Wasn't that sweet of Michele?  I placed it on my Mom's nightstand.

 My Mom always wants me to make her an angel food cake with her favorite Speedy Meringue Frosting.

Singing Happy Birthday to this sweet lady!  

My Mom and I had a day to spend together because my sister had to work.  I was down in the basement doing some laundry and this quilt and sham set was calling to me.  I brought it up to see if mom would like to change out her quilt on her bed, and she did.  It gave her a pretty summery feel to her room.  The green quilt at the foot of the bed was found down in the basement, too. Yes, it was such fun shopping the house! 

One evening we did the fun tiles that my son, Mike, and I had done this summer with the grands.  My nephew, Shane, joined in for the fun project.  He was so sweet and asked to create one together with his grandma.  the bouquet of flowers behind Shane were a gift from him to his Gram.

Happy 88th Birthday to my beautiful Mom, sitting on her pretty patio.  I was so happy to be able to share her birthday with her!

Now I am off to Breckinridge, CO, to vacation with my youngest son, Kevin, DIL, Kristen, and granddaughter, Harper.  

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J

Tea in the Garden

Share Your Cup

Foodie Friday

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Thank you for your visit!  xo

Campfire Cookies

 We were busy at Cooking Camp this week and made Campfire Cookies.  I thought I'd have a little treat with some  ice tea in my late Beloved's camouflage mug, and used my oldest grandson, Connor's,  Fisher Price lantern from when he was little, as some fun decor.

 

 Here are three of the kids busy at decorating.  Yes, it gets messy in my kitchen, but don't those smiling faces look like they're having fun?

 We let Harper decorate some cookies at the little table.

 She's so careful in putting those sprinkles on her cookies, too.

 Here's Riley with his plate.

 Caiden looks quite pleased!

Cissy is ready to take hers home, and enjoy them later.

To go along with our campfire theme, the bigger kids used the wood burning tool, with a safety guard that my son made, and did a great job on their magnets.  The "Too Spicy" was done by my son because little Harper always puts up her hand and says "too spicy" when she doesn't want to eat something that she doesn't like!

 My other two granddaughters, Ella and Avery came over the next night and were able to make some campfire cupcakes.

 They tried their hand at creating some of the tiles that we did the week before, and loved doing that, too.  Ella is clutching her little Amigurumi bear that I crocheted for them, with the requirement that when they look at their them, they remember  that I love them.

Yield: 24Author: Kitty, as seen on an ad on foodnetwork.com

Campfire Cookies

I saw these cookies in a picture and thought how fun they'd be for the kids to make. You can make your own recipes or use store bought. We don't judge!

INGREDIENTS:

• Sugar Cookies, homemade or slice and bake or pre-formed and baked
• Vanilla buttercream, homemade or store bought, tinted green
• Mini Tootsie Rolls, for the logs
• Malted Milk Balls, crushed for the dirt
• Gummy Bears, in red, yellow, orange, white, for the flames
• Mini Pretzel Sticks, for the sticks for the marshmallows
• Mini marshmallows

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Bake your sugar cookies, and let cool on wire rack.
2. Tint the buttercream a green color for the grass, and spread on the top of the cookie.
3. Crush the malted milk balls to be used as dirt, and sprinkle around the outside edge of the cookie.
4. Place three Tootsie Rolls in a triangle on top to be used as the logs.
5. Place some of the cut up Gummy Bears in the middle of the "logs" to resemble the flames.
6. Add a mini marshmallow on the end of three mini pretzel sticks. At this point, you can actually toast them, or just leave them un-toasted. Place them around the logs.
7. Enjoy your Campfire Cookies!

http://www.kittyskozykitchen.com/2017/06/campfire-cookies.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:

Tuesday Cuppa Tea 

Cooking and Crafting with J & J

Tea in the Garden

Share Your Cup

Full Plate

Foodie Friday

Dishing It! & Digging It!

Thank you for your visit!  xo