Sour Cream Biscotti

I love biscotti because of its versatility. You can have a few for breakfast or after dinner for dessert. It is also quite expensive to purchase at the store. The hubby and I were having a discussion this morning as I was getting ready to make some monkey bread out of biscuits. I was explaining to him that if I had to go to the store and buy that type of bread, it would be a lot more expensive than what I could make it for!  A popular brand, Nonni's, makes biscotti. It costs over $3.00 for eight. If I priced out the ingredients, I can say with almost 100% certainty that I can make a lot more than eight for $3.00!  I can't wait for Santa to come to our house Christmas Eve and "sample" some of the biscotti!! Hopefully, he will give it a 10 out of 10!  Maybe I'll make a few more for his reindeer :)

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with a large spoon until smooth. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix well again. On a lightly floured board (about one tablespoon of flour), divide the dough in half and then shape each half into a loaf that is 12 inches long and 5 inches across. Place one half on each of the cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf into 12 equal slices and place cut side down. Bake for another 10 minutes and then turn each slice over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and then place on wire rack to continue cooling. Makes 24.

Monkey Bread

Given how much I love cinnamon and sugar, I can't believe I have never made "monkey bread" before! There are bunches of recipes out there that involve making your own dough from scratch and using yeast, but given the hubby bought three cans of Pillsbury Grands!  biscuits earlier in the week and we already had a can in the fridge, I figured I might as well use up a few of the cans we had.  If you can believe it, all four of the cans of biscuits were a different "style!" Good grief. I adapted a recipe I found on the Pillsbury website. There are dozens  of variations of "monkey bread" on their website, but I went with the one that had 809 people rate it! I figured it must be the best one. It takes no time at all to whip this up and the baking time is only a half hour. So, you could have this on your table for breakfast or brunch in about an hour :) An added benefit, when this is baking it will make your house smell AMAZING! My "cinnamon" boy, Dominic, was hesitant to try this when I told him it was "monkey bread." Once I explained to him that it was cinnamon rolls with "frosting," he gobbled it right down!!!! We moms always have a few "tricks" up our sleeves. Now, if I could just get him to try brussels sprouts, my favorite veggie! LOL.

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 can (16.3 ounces) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle
  Buttermilk biscuits, refrigerated
1 can (16.3 ounces) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle
  Southern Style Buttermilk biscuits, refrigerated
1 cup light brown sugar,
  firmly packed
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12-cup fluted tube pan (also known as a "bundt" pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In gallon sized Ziploc-type bag, put the white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Open each can of biscuits (you should have 16 total). With a knife or a pair of kitchen shears, slice or cut each biscuit into four pieces for a total of 64 pieces. Put all the pieces into the Ziploc-type bag, close it up and shake until all of the pieces are covered with the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg mixture.  Arrange evenly in the prepared fluted tube pan.  In small bowl, put the brown sugar and the melted butter. Mix until smooth with small spoon and then pour over the biscuit pieces. Bake for 30 minutes or until the monkey bread is starting to brown. Let cool at least 10 minutes on wire rack and then turn pan upside down onto a serving plate. Serves 12.

Lemon Whippersnapper Cookies

My husband belongs to two gyms. One is across the street from the large university around here and the other is in a mall.  As you might imagine, the gym across the street from the university is mostly frequented by college students. Some people at that gym even call him, "sir."  Anyways, earlier this week, I was asking him, "so, have there been a lot of college students working out, since it's getting close to exam week?" He said, "yeah, I was showing those "whippersnappers" how it's done!" Well, okay then. I don't even know the last time I heard the word, "whippersnapper." Probably a LONG time ago. Just for the heck of it, I looked to see if there is such a thing as a "whippersnapper" cookie. Guess what? There is!  

I could picture my in-laws possibly using the word "whippersnapper" at some point in their lives, but my husband?!?! My mind immediately sped forward to the hubby and I sitting on our porch in rocking chairs, about 30 years from now, saying, "look at those young "whippersnappers" riding their bikes down the street!"  Try making up a batch of these festive looking cookies around the holidays. They are a welcome break from chocolate! Well, all righty then, I guess I better "skedaddle" now!! 

Ingredients

1 (15.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix

8 ounce container whipped topping,
  (like Cool-Whip), thawed

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup powdered sugar

In large bowl, put the cake mix, whipped topping and the egg. Mix well with large spoon and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for four hours. When ready to make, preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  In small bowl, put the powdered sugar. Roll into 28 equal sized balls. This batter is really sticky, so put a little of the powdered sugar on the palms of your hands - it makes it easier to roll. Roll each ball into the powdered sugar until well coated. Place on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cookies are set and just starting to turn light brown. Remove from oven and let sit five minutes before removing them to wire rack to continue cooling.