Snickerdoodles

We got a new cookbook! "1001 cupcakes, cookies and other tempting treats".  We needed new recipes to make this week and Snickerdoodles are one of Ryan's favorites cookies. So I gave Ryan the book and told him to choose something to make and those are what he chose! They called for a few ingredients that we didnt have so we made a special trip to our favoite spice store "Penzey's".

SNICKERDOODLE RECIPE:
1 cup butter, softened                                                     
3/4 cup superfine sugar (regular sugar works great too)   
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract                                                       
3 cups all-purpose flour                                                  
1 tsp baking soda                                                            

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt

CINNAMON COATING:

1 tbsp superfine sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Mix butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. In a seperate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Stir in until mixture becomes thoroughly combined. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and refridgerate for 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Grease/spray cookie sheets. For the cinnamon coating, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll dough into balls (about tablespoon size) and roll in the sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheets evenly spaced out. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5-10 minutes and transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy with milk!

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Famous Hamburgers-Minnesota's Famous: Lions Tap!

These Burgers are to die for! We have to go here everytime we visit Minnesota, or for at least one of our family birthdays. My favorite is the California Burger with bacon and cheese. You also gotta add on a side of fried onions (almost burnt), a basket of french fries, and a pitcher of root beer. This completes the entire Lion's Tap experience! Ryan likes to order the Mushroom Swiss Burger...wait, you better make that a double! We enjoyed going this time with Grandpa and Grandma Melling to celebrate Amy's 22nd birthday.

Summer Jam Making

We have made jam in my family for years. Grape, peach, strawberry, and now cherry! This was the first time though that I was able to learn the process from my mom. We visited my family up in Minnesota for 9 days and during the week, Micaela came over and we learned how to make cherry jam! There is the amazing invention-the cherry pitter. Without this thing, we would have to use a knife to pit every single cherry. Way too much work! So Ryan, Micaela and I spent the morning pitting cherries, and after lunch time, we started making the jam with Mom. You use the basic canning ingredients: Sugar, fruit, and Sure-jell (this is what makes it thick). We also added a bit of lemon zest for a kick of freshness. You also must boil the jars and lids for sterilization. It was so much fun, we intend on continuing this tradition at home here in Colorado :) Thanks mom!

Sherbet Watermelon

This is an easy summer time treat I used to make when I lived at home. It was for my birthday one year. So one of the weeks this summer that was in the 90's, we decided to make this watermelon!  All it is, is Sherbet-Rasberry and Lime. You have to let the lime sherbet melt just a bit so that you are able to mold it inside of a bowl. Leave an open center so that you can put the raspberry in the middle. And I would say mix in about a cup of chocolate chips to the raaspberry sherbet for the watermelon seeds! Let it freeze fully for a few hours, then flip the bowl upside down and let the watermelon fall out. Cut and enjoy!