pecans

Butter Pecan Cookies

Calling all crispy cookie lovers! This cookie is for you. And so easy, too! One bowl, one spoon. All you need is a working oven and you can do it! The perfect recipe for beginner bakers and also for any occasion. Easily doubles or triples If you need more. So let’s go! Start your ovens…

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, beat or stir together butter, sugar and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour and salt until dough is formed. Stir in pecans. Form into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press down gently with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on how big you make them. Edges should be browned. Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Cowboy Cookies

I call these Everything Cookies, but since most people know these as Cowboys, there ya go! These are chocolate chip cookies that have decided to eat everything else in the pantry 🙂 Super delicious. What’s good about this recipe is you can add or not add anything you want. Don’t like coconut? Fine, leave it out. Want to add raisins? Sure, go ahead! So, come on! Start your ovens…

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick oats (or old fashioned rolled oats)
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and oats. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together oil and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk well. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Add nuts, coconut and chocolate chips and stir until everything is incorporated. Place dough in fridge for about 10-15 minutes.

I like my cookies on the bigger side, so with a 1/4 cup, drop cookie dough on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes depending on size. Let cool on cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Monkey Bread Recipe

 

Butter. Cinnamon. Sugar. If only these were the three foods we needed to survive. Luckily, they all come together in what is called Monkey Bread. Mmmmmm. I made this for my family on Christmas morning last year and it was so good, it will definitely be a new tradition for us. Monkey bread was easier than I thought to make, too. There are no crazy ingredients, so if you bake regularly, you probably already have them on hand. The best thing about this recipe, is you can put it all together the night before you bake it. Perfect for Christmas morning or if you have early morning plans. All you need to do when you wake up is stick it in the oven. So let’s go…

What you will need:

9 inch greased bundt or tube pan

To make the cinnamon sugar:

3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

To make the dough:

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup warm milk
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter melted

First, make the cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl, stir all ingredients together, set aside. Next, in a small bowl (I used a glass cereal bowl), heat 1/4 cup of water in microwave until warm, not hot (or you can just use warm tap water, whatever is more convenient for you). Sprinkle the yeast over the water, stir, and let stand about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), add salt, sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, milk, egg and yeast mixture. Beat until blended. Add flour, one cup at a time, until everything is incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead about 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Cut (or pull) dough and make 1 to 2 inch balls (see picture). Roll each ball in 1/2 cup melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar mixture and place in pan. Once all the dough is used, sprinkle any remaining sugar and drizzle remaining butter on top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, take pan out of refrigerator and set it on your counter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack for about 15 minutes before inverting onto serving plate. Enjoy! Seriously, so divine 😉

What it looks like right out of the oven