RECIPE: Gramma Helen's Sugar Cookies (my favorite cookie ever!)

I would like to introduce you to... the V-E-R-Y best cookie I've ever had!!! They are flaky and light and buttery and sugary... and THE perfect little cookie!

You'll want to make these for yourself... you can thank me later.

These are cookies are a family tradition ... my Gramma Helen bakes these every year at Christmas time. (And thinking back on Christmases at her house, when I was a kid, I could often be found sneaking to the pantry to find the large coffee tin that hid the extra stash...)


But let me digress for a moment... take a look at my small kitchen workspace. I keep all of my baking goods in that green basket. And when I get ready to bake I pull it out, along with my canisters of flour and sugar and what not. Immediately to the left of the basket is the sink (which is directly under the window). And to the right of the espresso machine is the corner of the kitchen where I have a marble block that holds the utensils, knife block, salt/pepper and cooking oils.

As you can see, I have VERY LITTLE counter space to work with. But I make the most of it.... I love the tiles: that old school pattern speaks to my soul. (And I'm not going to comment on how horrible the grout looks... I'm just not. That's another blog post altogether.)

So now that we have THAT out of the way... let's look at our ingredients.



BUTTER and SUGAR! Duh... canola oil, eggs, powdered sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla and almond extract, flour, baking soda and kosher salt.



When baking cookies I always start by combining the dry ingredients first. Always. I just like to get it done and get those ingredients taken care of and out of the way. This way... when it's time to add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients it's all ready.

Cream together the butter, oil and sugar...



Next? The eggs, almond and vanilla extracts...



... and in small batches, add all the flour and combine until well-mixed.



Then the dough gets chilled, for at least an hour. While you're waiting for the dough to chill call your Gramma/Mom/Aunt/Sister and tell her how much you love her.



The reason I needed to chill the dough is because of the next step.



Using the flat-bottom mug and the plate of sugar it's sitting on (above) I flattened each dough ball...





... until all of them were ready to go.



Into a 325 degree F oven... and 15 mins later...



Then you won't be able to resist yourself.





You can thank me later... after you call your personal trainer or join the gym again ('cuz you're going to eat so many of these that you'll feel guilty).

Now if I can just find an old coffee tin so I can stash these in the panty like Gramma used to... it'll be just like the good ol' days.

I love you Gramma... you rock!!!

(Note from Lori: this isn't your typical decorate-with-colored-frosty-and-sprinkles cookie. It's a VERY flaky buttery cookie that doesn't need any frosty or sprinkles. Just trust me on this one... )

Gramma Helen’s Sugar Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gramma Helen Haraldsen

Ingredients
1 cup butter
¾ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions
Cream oil, butter and sugar. Blend well. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Sift dry ingredients and add to mixture. Chill dough for at least an hour before baking.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Form in small ball (teaspoon size) or place on cookie sheet with teaspoon. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake 15 minutes or until slightly browned.





enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Gramma's rockin' the bierocks!

My Gramma ROCKS!!!

Here's why: she makes Bierocks !!! (Actually, to be honest, she rocks for way too many reasons to count... but today this is why I'm bragging on her...)

Let me tell you something about bierocks... they're delicious! That's all there is to it. She explains that she got the recipe from a friend. And I say "THANK YOU TO GOOD FRIENDS!"

She started by making a buttermilk dough - which she says is easy. (I'll have to take her word on that... because I've never made them before. One of these days I'm going to learn it for myself.)

Then the kneading begins...

















I love these hands... to me they represent the Proverbs 31 woman. Nothing could state it any better than that.





She explains that she knows it is done kneading when the dough feels like silk. Next step... letting the dough rise until it doubles in size.







For the filling? Ground beef, onions and cabbage...



By now the dough should be ready. So she got her aggressions out by punching down the dough... then she rolled it out, cut it into small squares, transferred a large spoonful of filling into the middle of the squares and closed up those pouches.















She transfers them to a slightly oiled cookie sheet and into the hot oven...





If only you could taste these (and smell this kitchen)!!! For the record, our family knows full well exactly how blessed we are to have this woman in our lives.



Proverbs 31:28a "Her children (and grandchildren) arise and call her blessed..."


I love you, Gramma! Thank you for teaching me ... thank you for loving me!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITORS' NOTE: Gramma just sent me her bierocks recipe... here it is!(updated 6/14/10)

BIEROCKS
Recipe courtesy my Gramma Helen Haraldsen

NOTE: This recipe is a 2-step process: 1) Make the biscuit dough and 2) Make the filling. So the

5 Way Buttermilk Rolls

Ingredients
1 quart buttermilk
12 cups of flour (approximately)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup shortening, softened (or butter)
3 packets of yeast
Flour
1 tablespoon salt
Canola oil

Instructions
Warm buttermilk in microwave (or in a double broiler on stove). Then add: sugar, baking soda, shortening and finally yeast.

Stir in flour (1 cup at a time) to make a soft sponge. (This will be very sticky at this point.) Add salt and more flour to make a soft dough that you can turn out on a counter to kneed. Continue to add flour (1 cup at a time) until dough is not sticky and kneed until it feels velvety in your hands. Put into a greased bowl (in a warm spot), cover with a damp cloth and let rise, punch down and let rise again. Keep in a warm place.

Filling for bierocks

Ingredients
3 pounds ground beef
1 ½ pounds onions, chopped
1 ½ pounds cabbage, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
In the meantime, cook ground beef and chopped onions until slightly browned and juices cooked down. Add salt & pepper or seasoned salt to taste. In a separate kettle cook shredded cabbage until soft. Add the cabbage to the meat mixture and stir all together.

This is where the two steps merge...

After the bread has risen the second time, punch down slightly, divide into 4 sections and roll out with a rolling pin as you would for cinnamon rolls. Cut the dough into sections about 5" square. Turn the meat mixture into a colander so any juices will drain away, Put 2 or 3 tblsp. of meat onto each square; bring up corners to center and press together. Pour some oil onto a cookie sheet; dip the bottom of the beirock into the oil and then turn over with the pressed edges underneath. You should be able to get 10 or 12 of these rolls on each cookie sheet. Let them rise. Bake about 30 min. in a 400 deg. over and enjoy.




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Monkey Muffins... aka mini-monkeys...

Approximately two weeks, 3 days, 1 hour and 37 minutes ago I found a recipe here: Pioneer Woman's blog. It changed my life... and I'd like to share it with you now.

I remember early mornings in my Gramma's kitchen... we would sit around the kitchen table, cut apart biscuits, drown in them in sugary-goodness and toss them into a bundt pan. Fast forward to 2009 and me sitting at my desk, reading the Pioneer Woman's blog and drooling on the keyboard... I-must-make-these-muffins! I just know it will take me back to Gramma's kitchen table... in a weird 21st century sort of way.

So, let's try out her reccipe... here goes nothing...

First we start with some butter, sugar and cinnamon...



Next we add some dough (you can use prepared dough, leftover dough, etc)... I cut up canned biscuit dough...



And then you just keep going...



Then you add more butter, sugar and cinnamon... too much is not a bad thing at this point of the process...



They bake in a nice warm oven for only 15 minutes... and as soon as you take it out of the oven, you pour some yummy icing on top! Do you hear the sizzle from the hot pan?!



And again, keep going...



Beautiful, eh?! I don't know how it happens, but the sugar and butter and cinnamon creates this crispy crust around the bottom of the muffin... and oh, I'm speechless.



Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy your Saturday morning...




RECIPE: Monkey Muffins
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
1 – 2 cans of refrigerated/canned biscuit dough, cut into thirds
Butter, softened
Sugar (or you can substitute light brown sugar as well)
Ground Cinnamon
Sweetened condensed milk

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add ½ teaspoon butter to muffin tins. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls (or cut refrigerated biscuit dough into thirds). Place three to four dough balls into each muffin tin. Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle on more sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until caramelly brown and bubbling. Remove from oven and immediately drizzle with plenty of sweetened condensed milk over the top of each one – about half a can per biscuit tray. Be generous!

Allow muffins to cool slightly – but they are best enjoyed warm…



enjoy your time in the kitchen...