It's Not Too Late!

One of my favorite Christmas traditions as a kid was making our gingerbread house each year with my mom and brother.  This is the third year I have made one with my kids, and although Christmas is just days away, it's not too late to make one!  

1.  Assemble your supplies:

Easy gingerbread:

2 3/4 C flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

2/3 C molasses

1/3 C brown sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 C oil

1 egg

Mix, roll out with a rolling pin, use some paper templates to make a front, back, two sides, and two roof pieces... here's where you can get as creative as your little heart desires :)

Bake pieces at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes

Easy Royal Icing:

3 egg whites at room temperature

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 lb. powdered sugar

use a mixer to really fluff it up, use icing bags with a simple decorator's tip to apply it to gingerbread (if you don't have these, a thick Ziploc with a tiny hole cut in the corner will work)... and although this icing is technically edible, it dries rock hard... perfect for gingerbread house glue!

2.  Assemble some adorable helpers

3.  Use the glue to stick on whatever candy you have... a great way to use up Halloween or Christmas party candy!

4.  Glue the pieces of the house together with the icing, and enjoy the finished house as part of your decor for a few days... and if your kids are anything like my brother and I were as kids, they'll enjoy prying off the stale candy after Christmas.  Man, kids will eat almost anything.

Crazy Cake for my 3.5 Gal

Growing up, we always celebrated half birthdays.  It is still one of my most favorite traditions.  Even as an adult, on February 15th, my mom delivers half a birthday cake and frequently a gift card that is equivalent to my age (such as $31.50).  When I was seven, I got Valentine Barbie, which was pretty rad.

Today is Sweetpea's three and a half birthday.  We're having spaghetti and meatballs, her favorite, and we baked together today.  Have you ever baked with a three (and a half) year old?  Not the easiest usually.  However, today was an exception.  I let go of trying to make a "pretty" cake, because really I'm probably the only one in this household who cares how it looks, and went for fun.  We used this recipe from my friend Julie, who grew up making this with her family.  The best part about it?  Super easy, and only uses the baking pan and measuring cups... which makes for an easy clean up!

Crazy Cake (a la Julie)

You will need:
* 3 C flour
* 2 C sugar
* 1/3 C cocoa
* 1 tsp salt

* 2 tsp baking soda

* 1 tsp vanilla
* 2 tsp white vinegar
* 3/4 C vegetable oil
* 2 C water

In a 13x9" pan, use a fork to mix dry ingredients.  Make three separate wells.  In one well, pour vanilla.  In second well, pour vinegar.  In third well, pour oil.  Cover all with water.  Use a fork to blend.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

And done.

You probably have all, or most, of these ingredients in your kitchen right now!  When it's done, top with your favorite icing (we're using a simple butter cream) and enjoy!  And I forgot to mention, we threw in about half a box of junior mints right before baking, just because we're crazy like that.  So delicious!!

Happy Half Birthday Sweetpea!  You are so loved!

FYI for those of you keeping track... still pregnant.

Cookies in a Pinch

Okay, this is seriously the most simple peanut butter cookie recipe ever. You probably have the ingredients in your kitchen right now. Goofball and Sweetpea helped me test this one out because I was skeptical too at first.

What you'll need:
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky
1 cup sugar, plus a little more for rolling
1 egg

That's it, seriously.

Get to it:
1. Heat oven to 375, stir together peanut butter, sugar, and egg
2. Roll dough into little 1-inch balls, roll balls in sugar to coat, place onto cookie sheet
3. Press each ball down with a fork to make a good, old fashioned crisscross design
4. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies just begin to brown a bit on the edges.

I'm enjoying a warm one as we speak, happy baking :)