BUTTERMILK COOKIES

Are you craving a delightful treat for the holidays?  This recipe is one of our family favorites.

Buttermilk cookies

These cookies may become your family favorites too! This recipe makes a ton of cookies, and they are so light and fluffy.

Easy recipe - just allow time for the dough to chill and for baking several batches.  

Good cooks know to set out all the ingredients before you begin to mix so you make sure you have everything you will need.  I use Crisco shortening in this recipe because it always seems to work best. I've tried other brands and the cookies just don't turn out well. I also keep Saco powdered buttermilk on hand because I just don't use up a quart of buttermilk at a time and this recipe only calls for 2 cups.  

Use your mixer to cream the shortening and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the other ingredients mixing well. After the cookie dough has chilled for an hour, preheat the oven to 350. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet.   Bake just until they have a tinge of golden brown.  Remove from the cookie sheet and allow them to cool completely before frosting with a simple powdered sugar icing.  

If you have any left over cookies after the first day,  keep these cookies stored in the refrigerator between layers of wax paper.  

If you need any help baking these yummy cookies, let me know! Or if you ask really nice, I'd even bake and mail some to you if you are reluctant to bake them yourself!

Enjoy!

Sweet…spicy…a little nutty…Cake!

Reminds me of me! We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve others through God’s Gathering dinners at Bolivar United Methodist Church. This gives me the chance to try out new recipes! We were invited to bring cakes to help with this Wednesday’s meal so I searched for something interesting and new to me. I found this spice cake recipe and tweaked it a bit. Then I chose to top it with a broiled topping another something I’ve never tried before. The directions said to spread the topping evenly over the cake, but that wasn’t working too well. I put it under the broiler for about a minute – watching as the directions said. As soon as it started to melt a bit, I took it out smoothed it evenly then returned it to continue cooking. I pulled it out about every 30 seconds after two minutes to see if it was burning or what. The bubbles were changing consistency and then I discovered how lovely a broiled topping is! It changed to a darker caramel color and there was that smell! Wow! If I could pack this up and bring it to you, I would. You should have seen it, but I don’t know how to post pictures without my Dayna Bug here to do it for me! Also wish I had that great scratch and stiff app for my computer too. So instead, as soon as it was cool I put it in my car. It made a great air freshener and a delicious dessert when I delivered to church. Try this, it’s good!
Sweet, Spicy, Nutty Cake
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ginger
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
½ cup shortening
3 eggs
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking pan, 13x9x2 inches. Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl. Blend ½ minute on low speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until wooded pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. While still warm top with
Butterscotch Broiled Topping
¼ cup soft butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped nuts
2 tablespoons milk
Mix thoroughly butter, brown sugar and nuts. Stir in milk. Spread mixture evenly over warm cake. Set oven control at broil and/or 550 degrees. Place cake 5 inches from heat; broil about 3 minutes or until topping bubbles and browns slightly. (Watch carefully – mixture burns easily.)

How do you handle agitation?

We had so much fun at Youth Group on Sunday night talking about agitation and shaking jars of heavy cream. It took about 45 minutes of agitating to make butter. We had plenty of time to talk about things in life that agitate us and how we need to ask for the Lord’s help in dealing with those things. But if you think of it, bliss follows agitation like a rainbow follows rain. So for a bit of bliss…we ate fresh baked bread with butter, honey and/or jam. Also, as a result of making butter from cream, I was left with a bit more than 2 cups of buttermilk. I shouldn’t have been surprised that using real buttermilk versus the powdered version (I keep powdered on hand for this recipe) made for fluffier, tastier cookies. Nothing like the real thing for real goodness! Enjoy! I can make and ship these to you – for a fee of course. J

BUTTERMILK COOKIES

1 cup shortening 4 ½ cups flour
2 cups sugar 1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups buttermilk with 1 tsp. soda mixed in
Beat shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add other ingredients and mix well. Chill 1 hour. Drop on lightly greased or non-stick cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350º. Cool and frost with powdered sugar icing.