Pieces of My Puzzle 12-1-13

 

Happy December 1st!

 

 

Sorry I have been MIA lately...to say life has been crazy lately

would be a major understatement.

 

But, I am back, and I will try

not to be gone so long next time

 

So...let's get too it!

 

 

 

Did everyone have a happy Thanksgiving?

 

I has a very blessed day.

 

We had breakfast with Mr. Cookie Puzzle's Mom, his brother and our

2 nieces and nephew.  Nothing like starting the day off right, with a

big family breakfast.  Spending time with my nieces and nephews is always a blessing, they

are growing up fast.  We got our bellies full, cleaned up, and played some cards.

 

After that, we packed up and heading to my sister's house for

Thanksgiving dinner with my family.

Again, it was a blessed event, my sister hosted dinner this year

in her new house, and she did an amazing job!

I ate way too much food, and she sent me home with enough

left overs to feed an army!

 

Black Friday.....well...we did not venture out in the crowds.

 

As I have mentioned before, I hate shopping, and shopping

in crowds is not my cup of tea.

 

So...that means I have no Christmas presents purchased yet.

 

What about you?

 

Are you one of those crazy organized shoppers who has everything done?

 

I am more of a last minute shopper type, make a list, run in and grab what

I need and get out of Dodge!

 

Not much baking or cooking took place this week.

 

I did have 15 dozen cookies that I delivered on Saturday, but

I forgot to take any pictures.  They were very simple mini cookies

with one color on them.  They were for a couple celebrating their

60th wedding anniversary!  Can you imagine being married that long?

 

Mr. Cookie Puzzle and I have been married 19 years in a few weeks, and

that seems like a life time!  I told him that I have now officially been with him

for more then half my life.  I guess I will stick around a few more years!

 

As for Christmas Cookies, well I have one set in my head that I want to make

this year. And after that, we will see how it goes.

Hopefully I will get them baked today, or tomorrow, or whenever.

 

I try to keep  things simple, and just offer one or two options

for Christmas each year.  My customers seem to be happy with this

arrangement, so why change it up?

 

Last year I offered these Nativity Cookies, and they were a hit.

 

Then, I thought maybe some personalized Stocking Cookies, the

kiddos always enjoy them.

 

Then...I also have to make candy..lots of candy.

Mr. Cookie Puzzle runs his own business, and every year

I make gift baskets for his business associates and the

companies he works with. Last years I put together

35 baskets....that is a lot of fudge, clusters, bark and other

goodies.  If I can get my act together, I will share my

recipes for BIG BATCH candy.

 

TV Time....well...lots of my favorite shows are on break,

so I have been spending my TV time watching mindless TV until they get back.

 

Last night Collin and I watched

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two.

 

Did you watch it?  Are you a fan?

ABC Family had a Harry Potter marathon on this weekend,

so I watched as many of the movies as I could, and recorded them for later.

 

So...that is about it...a long post about nothing really.

 

Just me...keeping it real....trying like crazy to keep my heard

above water.

 

Until next time...

 

 

Hugs!

 

 

 



Chewy Pumpkin Pie Pudding Toffee Cookies

 

Thanksgiving is one week away!

 

Are you ready?

 

I am!

 

I love Thanksgiving!

 

I love food in general, but Pumpkin Pie is my

favorite EVER!

 

Hold the Whipped Cream please.

 

Odd, maybe, but I want to tastes and savor

every bit of pumpkin and spice, and the

whipped cream just gets I the way.

 

Nothing gets between me and my

pumpkin pie!

 

These cookies are perfect if you are a

pumpkin pie lover.

 

No fork needed!

 

 

 

 

 

They are soft and chewy, and have a

great pumpkin flavor.

 

They get better as they sit.

 

When I first made them, I fell in love.

 

Then next day, we got engaged.

 

Then, on day three...we got married had 2.5 kids and a white picket fence.

 

So....I have to make more!

 

 

 

 

When I found the Pumpkin Pie Pudding in the stores, I

knew I wanted to make cookies, and I went

straight to my best friends Blog and found

this amazing recipe for

Simply the Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever,

make them...they are wonderful!

 

But, I changed it up a little, as just like whipped cream,

I am not a huge fan of chocolate and pumpkin.

 

So I added chocolate toffee chips, they add a little sweetness, creaminess and crunch.

 

Perfection!

 

 

Chewy Pumpkin Pie Pudding Cookies

(adapted from Simply Sweets by Honeybee)

Printable version

 

2 3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt
 1 cup unsalted butter {softened} *
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla {I used Mexican vanilla}
1 small {3.4 oz} pkg instant pumpkin pie pudding mix
2 eggs
1 {8 oz} pkg Milk Chocolate Toffee bits
 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour,baking soda and salt. In the bowl of your mixer add the butter, sugars, vanilla and pudding mix and beat until smooth and creamy. Then beat in the eggs until combined well. Add the flour mixture. Stir in the toffee bits. Drop about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Yield approximately 3 dozen cookies depending on how big you scoop them. I used a #30 scoop {2 tbsp} and got 34 cookies.

 

 

This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here





Turkey Cookies for the "Kids Table"

 

 

 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

 

It will be here before you know it.

 

 

Don't tell the retail stores that, they

have skipped right over Thanksgiving, and

went from 4th of July right to Christmas.

 

Halloween and Thanksgiving have been

moved down the holiday food chain,

next year, they will be as popular as

Flag Day and May Day.

 

But...I love me some Thanksgiving!

 

Some of my favorite Thanksgiving memories

revolve around the

Kids Table at Thanksgiving Dinner at my

Grandma's house.

 

Our Kids Table, was banished to a small

room off the kitchen.  No fancy table cloths

no cloth napkins, no center pieces.

 

Just a card table and some "chairs".

I say "chairs" because they were often

times not chairs, but step ladders, wooden spools,

lawn chairs, boxes, whatever we could find.

But we always had fun.

  

 We also did not have

decorated cookies on our plates,

I think they would be so cute

at the kids table. 

 

 

 

And then, just to keep the little

ones busy, add an edible

food marker.

 

 

 

And have them write what they are

thankful for.

 

I made these cookies using a number eight cutter

and a simple leaf cutter.  They are easy to make

require few colors, and sure to be a hit this Thanksgiving.

This post might be linked up at the link parties found Here

Pieces of My Puzzle 11-17-13

Happy Sunday Blog Friends!

This week was much better then last week...as it was my Birthday on Friday!

I took the day off of work, and spent some "me" time.  I sent Mr. Cookie Puzzle off to work, took
Collin to school, and set off for a day all to myself.  I did what ever girl loves doing.

SHOPPING!

Guess what, I don't like shopping!  It sounded like a good idea at the time, but after 4 hours, I was over it.

People annoy me!  Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude and all anti-social, but people just get on my every last nerve.  You know the ones....they stop in the isle to look at stuff and don't move to the side.
They shop with their children, which I know has to be done sometimes, but really lady, it is 1 pm, your child is tired and hungry, they don't want to be at Kohls, TAKE THEM HOME!

Then there are the super rude clerks.  Is it too much to ask for a smile?

At the 3.5 hour mark I was just over it...I ran through the drive thru at McDonalds and came home.

And what did I get?  I came home with three blue shirt and some lip balm.  Exciting right?

Actually, I HAVE to tell you about the lip balm I got.  You know those little balls of lip balm at the check out at Walmart?  Well...they have always intrigued me a little.  What is inside that ball?   Does it work?  What does it smell and taste like?  Well..since I was my birthday, I though caution to the wind and got one!

As soon as I got in my truck, I opened up that little ball of wonder! OMG!  LOVE IT!

Eos Smooth Sphere Lip Balm

Here is the wonder that is inside.

 

It smells AMAZING!  Works to smooth your lips.  Lasts a long time.  Totally addicting!

 

*This is NOT a paid advertisement, this company has no idea who I am, I just love the product*

 

 

Moving on from the exciting birthday of blue shirts, bacon double cheeseburgers and lip balm, what else is exciting this week.

 

 

TV Time.

 

They announced the new cast of VH1's Couple Therapy this week.  Some people that I don't know, and then some of my trash TV blasts from the past. Jon Gosselin, from Jon and Kate plus 8.  This should be interesting.  I am secretly hoping that he will spill even more dirt on his ex-wife Kate, because we all know we don't know all the evil she did to him and their children (hello mommy dearest), but you know she slapped a big ole gag order on him, so I am betting we will get stupid crap about his new relationship...BORING!  And then we get the ever present Love Me, Notice Me, Do me, Farrah Abraham, from the original Teen Mom.  What is crazy, is that she is coming on the show by herself.  Uh, dude, it is called COUPLES Therapy, you are not a couple, why are you on this show.  Don't get me wrong, I can not stop being utterly appalled at all her craziness, but really VH1, COUPLES only please!.

 

Oh...and a show that I can not wait to see, Breaking the Faith, on TLC.  Confession, I have a ever so slight obsession on the FLDS topic.  I have watched many shows, documentaries, new reports, read many books, and I am still appalled at the nightmares and tragedies that go on within this "church".  I have a feeling that this might be a little like Breaking Amish, kinda sorta maybe made up, but I will be watching, I have to, I can not help myself.

 

American Horror Story!  How does this show get better and better each week?  Hank is a witch hunter.  Misty is a witch, but NOT part of the same coven.  Madison is back in the land of the living.  Misty is "growing" Myrtle back to life.  Cordillia is finally "seeing" what Hank really is.  Fiona has cancer.  And OMG...rumor has it that Stevie Nicks is doing a guest spot.  LOVE her!  Fleetwood Mac, BEST BAND EVER!

 

 

Moving from TV to Books.  I finished The House of Hades!  Rick Riordan is the master of the cliffhanger, and this book was no different.  I am DYING thinking I will have to wait a year to find out what is going on with Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Nico.  I started The Throne of Fire, the second book in the Kane Chronicles...4 chapters in and I love it!  Collin...well, he is a reading machine, he finished the third book in the Kane Chronicles, The Serpents Shadow, and has moved onto Atlantis Rising by T. A. Barron,  not sure what it is about, but he is loving it so far.  Mr. Cookie Puzzle, his newspaper obsession continues, nothing new there.

 

 

This week on the blog I shared some awesome biscuits,

 

 

Melt in Your Mouth Biscuits

 

and some SciFi cookies

 

 

SciFi Cookies.

 

 

Next week I will have some Thanksgiving cookies...and  yummy Pumpkin Cookie Recipe.

 

Until next time

 

Hugs

 

 

 

 

 



 

SciFi Cookies

Remember when I told you that I had the chance to make
Birthday Cookies last week?

Well....I did....Star Trek cookies!

But before I get to those cookies,
I want to share cookies I made
LAST Year!

For the same birthday boy, well, man actually,
but when you have  birthday, I think you can
be called a boy!

Erica wanted cookies for her Dad's Birthday.

He is all about SciFi.

Not just any SciFi, she wanted the
1950's type of SciFi.

So...I busted out the cutters and did the best that I could.

I made some iconic "alien" cookies,
using an Easter Egg cutter.

 

 

 

 

And some "planets" using a circle.

 

Not sure which planets these are..

but I liked how they looked.

 

And SciFi Cookies are not

complete without that

classic blue rocket.

 

Or a UFO, which I made by using a football cutter combined

with a small circle.

 

 

After all...all aliens need a UFO.

 

 

 

I was happy with how they turned out

to me, these are all

Vintage SciFi, but then again

I am no expert!

 

 

 

 

 

Now...fast forward to this year!

 

Last week to be exact.

 

Again, Erica wanted cookies for her dad's birthday.

 

This year, she requested Star Trek.

 

Now, about all I know about Star Trek is

the "Live Long and Prosper" phrase, so

I needed a little help with these cookies.

 

Thankfully, a quick Google search took me to

the ever talented Sweet Adventure of Sugarbelle.

 

I found This tutorial, and using a star and circle

cookie cutter, I was able to make

Star Trek Cookies.

 

 

 

 

Until next time

 

 

Live long and Prosper!