Apple and Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't know about you, but I love the combination of apples and peanut butter! There's just something about the sweet crunchy-ness of apples, and the salty creamy-ness of peanut butter that makes them go well together. This week on the calender is to make a batch of cookies. So what about having apple and peanut butter in a cookie? That's just what we did!

 

These apple and peanut butter cookies are super easy to make. I used my mom's peanut butter cookie recipe,  which is really just peanut butter and sugar (plus a few more things!), and store-bought apple pie filling. You could definitely make your own filling, but we just had some on hand, so I decided to use that.

 

After you roll the cookie dough in the sugar, you can press them down in the center, or make the classic criss-cross top with a fork. They will puff up a bit in the oven, but they'll go down when you take them out.

 

Top with a spoonful of apple pie filling and there you have it! A yummy batch of apple and peanut butter cookies.
Do you have any food combinations that you love? What about trying them in a different way, like cookies? Leave a comment and let us know!

 

 Enjoy your apple and peanut butter cookies!!

Toffee Bars

The latest event on the calendar is to make a sweet snack. While these homemade toffee bars are more of a treat than a snack, they're definitely sweet! They're so easy to make because of the surprise ingredient, which also makes them crunchy and salty. It's the perfect sweet and salty toffee bar!

You need:
35 saltine crackers (surprise!)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
About 1 cup of chocolate chips, depending on taste
About 1 cup chopped nuts, depending on taste. These can be any nut or combination of nuts that you want!

1. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and lay the crackers down in a single layer. (I made about half of the batch in the pictures.)

 

2. Heat the butter and sugar on the stove until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. (Don't forget to ask an adult for help if you need it!) Boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Spread over crackers.

 

3. Bake for 7 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle with chocolate as soon as it's done. When the chocolate's melted, spread it over the crackers. Sprinkle with nuts and let cool.

 

4. Break or cut into pieces.

 

What are some of your favorite things to bake? I like making sweets, but I also like to try new and different recipes. It's always fun when a new treat works out!

 

Enjoy!

Baked Donut-muffins

For school yesterday, I had to make donuts. (I really love my school!) So I found a recipe, added a few things of my own, and made baked donut-muffins! We don't have a donut pan, so I just made them in a muffin tin. But that worked well, because I could fill them with frosting. But you can make these in a donut pan too!

 

You need:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Frosting  (I used a really soft buttercream)
Sprinkles

1. Mix everything together, and bake at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes if you're using a donut pan, or about 25-20 minutes if you're using a muffin tin. Be careful not to over bake, or they will get dry.

 

2. Let cool.

 

3. Cut out a cone from the top of the muffin, then slice off the tip of it.

 

The muffin should look like this.

 

4. Fill with frosting!

 

5. Put the 'lid' back on.

 

6. Add a bit more frosting to the top,

 

add some sprinkles,

 

and enjoy!

Do you like to bake? Or maybe you like to create in a different way. We'd love to hear about it! Leave a comment to let us know.
Whatever you like to do, if this is your first time or hundredth time making donuts, we hope that you enjoy!


Printer- friendly version
Baked Donut-muffins


You need:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Frosting (I used a really soft buttercream)
Sprinkles

1. Mix everything together, and bake at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes of you're using a donut pan, or about 25-20 minutes if you're using a muffin tin.

2. Let cool.

3. Cut out a cone from the top of the muffin, then slice off the tip of it.

4. Fill with frosting.

5. Put the 'lid' back on.

6. Add a bit more frosting to the top, add some sprinkles and enjoy!

Valentine Treats

Yesterday's calendar event was to make a special meal for your family. We didn't make a whole meal, but we did make a few treats! But first we had to get the table ready.

 

Then Marissa added a rose. We wrapped ribbon around an empty spool to make the vase. It turned out to be cute!

 

Sophie threw some ribbon curls around.

 

Jo wanted to help too!

 

A few more flowers.

 

Then setting the table!

 

Add some napkins and spoons,

 

cupcakes and ice cream,

 

and enjoy!

 

Did you make a special meal or treat for you family? Do you have a favorite Valentine treat? Or do you like to make paper valentines? We'd love to hear about it!
Whatever you do, we hope that you enjoy your Valentine treats!

Oven Pancake Recipe

Do you remember the oven pancakes that I made a while ago? Well, I made another batch last night, and thought that I'd post the recipe!
Oven pancakes are some of the easiest pancakes that you could make. They need only three ingredients: flour, milk and eggs. You can also add a spice to the top before baking, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or anything else!

Oven Pancake
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a few tablespoons of butter in a pie plate, then place in the oven to melt.
2. In the meantime, mix together all of the ingredients, until well blended.
3. Take the pie plate out of the oven when the butter has melted, and pour in the batter. Top with a spice if you want. Bake for about 12 minutes. The edge sometimes puffs up, so don't worry if your pancake looks a bit like a balloon!
4. Take out of the oven and slice. Let cool, then drizzle with maple syrup, or anything else that you like on pancakes!

These are so easy to make, and after a few times, you'll know the recipe by heart! Do you have a favorite breakfast recipe? Or just a favorite anytime recipe? Leave a comment and let us know!



Enjoy!

Celebrating Girlhood Presents...

Christmas e-book!!

Have yourself a merry little Christmas as you join Marissa, Robin, Sophie and Jo as they get ready for the holidays, bake yummy treats, and read the Christmas story. There are plenty of fun recipes, activities and crafts to do, like making sugar cookies, puzzles to work through, and making gifts for both your doll and for you! 

The e-book can be purchased at the e-book page, and I will email it to you as soon as I can!

Merry Christmas!!

Oven Pancake

Oven pancakes are a family favorite around here. They are super easy to mix up, and taste great with almost anything on top!

 

We usually make them in pie plates, but I decided to try and make doll-sized ones in muffin tins.


 

They didn't turn out quite like I thought, but they still tasted good!



And my dolls enjoyed them!

Mini Oatmeal Apple Crisps

Remember the mini caramel apples that we made last month?

 

We had so much fun cutting out the apples, dipping them in the caramel, and finally eating them. But when you're done cutting up the apples, you still have apples left over. Now, you could just eat them, or you could make mini oatmeal apple crisps!

 

They were really good, and the perfect treat to make with the left over apples. Here's the recipe!

Mini Oatmeal Apple Crisps

1 pkg instant oatmeal (if you have flavored ones, you could use those here too! I used cinnamon flavor)
1 1/2 tsp softened butter + 1/2 tsp
pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg
Apple bits

Set aside 1 tbls of oatmeal for later. Then mix together the rest of that and the 1 1/2 tsp butter. Pat into mini muffin cups.

 

Slice up the apples into those.

 

Then mix together the rest of the oatmeal that you set aside, the 1/2 tsp butter and the spices. Crumble on top.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Then let cool and enjoy! We drizzled some caramel over some of ours, but you could use anything that you would like.

 

You can also mix it up a bit. Use different spices, try other toppings, or even use another filling. Be creative! You can make almost anything.

 

Have fun!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Stale bread is really just another excuse to make another dessert. And in this case, bread pudding!

 

Because it's fall, I thought that it would be fitting to make a pumpkin one. Personally, I would have preferred more pumpkin spice, but you add yours to taste. And so without further ado, here is the...

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

5 cups cubed bread (I used bagels)
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (more or less)
pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree

1. Butter an 8x8 inch pan, then place the bread inside.

 

2. Whisk up the other ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

 

3. Pour the milk mixture over the bread. Let soak for about 20 minutes, mixing occasionally.

 

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

 

5. Serve. Yum!

 

A bit of milk or cream helps to cool it off, and a squirt of whipped cream on top adds the finishing touch! (That, and I added a pinch of pumpkin pie spice as well. :))

 

Have you made any autumnal treats lately? I hope that you enjoyed them!

Homemade Apple Pie

One of the great things about homeschooling is all of the fun activities you get to make! Last week we made an apple pie. We even went fancy with the crust. :)

 

You need:
Pie crust
About 6 apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbls flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of nutmeg

1. Peel and thinly slice the apples. But remember that they do shrink when they bake, so don't cut them too small!

 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the crust).

 

3. Pour into crust. Place the other crust on top. You can do the criss-cross top like we did, or you can just drape the crust on top and cut out slits or whatever else you can think of! Just remember to have openings in the top!

 

4. Bake at 425 for about 15-20 minutes, then place foil around the edges. This can be very tricky, so be sure to have help. The foil keeps the edges from over-browning, or burning, while the rest of the pie bakes.

 

5. Bake for another 20-25 minutes. Let cool.
6. Cut into slices and serve.

 

 

Enjoy!