Cheery Cherry Pie Cookies

So, I needed to make a red and white dessert for my July 4th picnic.  I already had a can of cherries and was going to make a cheesecake and top it with them, too much work and time involved in that though. My sister was coming and loves cherry pie, I never made one from scratch and didn't want to buy one, so I came up with these cookies.  All I needed to buy was a roll of sugar cookie dough.  Everybody loves a sugar cookie so I knew they would be a hit at my picnic.  And so it goes, I created these little Cherry Pie Cookies.  This is how I made them -  

1 roll of sugar cookie dough, cut it in half then cut the halves into 12 slices.  Roll the slices into balls.

 I did not use liners in the first batch, I just greased the pan with butter, but I recommend using foil muffin pan liners, they were hard to lift out of the pan without the liners.  The liners made it easy and then I just peeled them away from the cookie.  Place a ball of dough in each cup.  Bake the dough for about 15 minutes.  Take out of the oven and fill.  My filling, I strained a little of the thick jelly off of it.  I put 3- 4 cherries in each cookie.

 Then I topped them with a crunchy oatmeal almond topping.  Mix 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter cut into 8 pieces.  Use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix the butter into the other ingredients so it is crumbly.

 Top each cookie with the crumbly topping and back in the oven for another 3 - 4 minutes until bubbly, crispy and browned.

 Remove from pan/liners and set on a parchment paper lined cooling rack.  Mix up the glaze - 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons of milk, depending on the thickness of the glaze, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.  Fill a resealable bag with the glaze and make a small cut at one end.  Drizzle over the cooled cookies.  Can you say YUMMY!

Oh, and look who moseyed into the yard because he smelled cookies! I guess he wants one.

Lightweight Breakfast and The Lemon Cookie

I am always battling the waist and having Hashimoto's Thyroiditis doesn't help. So, to help combat some of my cravings and to eat a little healthier I am always surfing the grocery store for low fat and low carb choices.  I am not much of a breakfast eater, if I do eat any kind of breakfast food it is usually more towards lunchtime.  All I have early in the AM is a cup of strong coffee and that will hold me over to late afternoon.  I know, I know, that's not good - you should eat like a queen at breakfast, a princess at lunch and a peasant at dinner, but hey I'm Italian we eat all day long! I love food and was brought up on the best so I will never turn it down, unfortunately.  Here are a couple of my breakfast choices

 (you know, that I eat near lunchtime). 

Thomas' 100% Whole Wheat Bagel Thins - 110 calories (whole)

2 Tbsp Philadelphia Cream Cheese - 80 calories

1 Yoplait Greek Style Yogurt - 100 Calories

1/4 cup of Bear Naked Fit Vanilla Crunch Granola - 120 Calories

All this for 410 Calories, and it's good for you!

Pop that bagel thin in the toaster oven, smear with the cream cheese and mix the granola into the yogurt, EASY! 

 Here is another choice

2 Eggo Nutri-Grain Low Fat Waffles - 140 Calories

1/4 Cup Carey's Sugar Free Syrup - 30 Calories

2 Thin Slices Bacon - 75 Calories (I buy pre-cooked and heat in microwave)

1 Cup of Skim Milk - 90

Toast up the waffles, heat the bacon and breakfast is ready in about 7 minutes

Only 335 Calories! And it tastes good, even the syrup, and I am NOT a sugar free girl.

My sister asked me to come up with a Lemon Cookie recipe so here it is: Line up flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, butter, eggs and lemons.  Directions are below.

I am kind of a grater hoarder, my family makes fun of me, I have every grater imaginable.  This one here is my micro plane.  I love kitchen gadgets, some do make the cooking process easier (and some don't).  The white thing is a lemon, lime, orange juicer.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt 

Zest the lemons and juice them

Cream the butter

This is what it should look like when mixed

Roll into a log and refrigerate

Slice

Bake

MMM... MMM... Good! Light and butter inside slightly crispy outside and full of lemon flavor.

  

Lemon Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sifted unbleached flour or all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp grated lemon peel

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 whole egg

1 egg white

DIRECTIONS

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  Cream butter in a bowl.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add lemon peel, lemon juice and the whole egg.  Beat well.  Gradually, add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until smooth.  Chill dough for 30 minutes.  Shape into a 1 ½ inch round log.  Wrap tightly in waxed paper and chill 8 hours or overnight.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut chilled dough into 1/4 inch slices and place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Brush with egg white and sprinkle with decorative coarse sugar, or nuts if you like (omit this step if you are going to frost them) .  Bake 10 -12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool on wire racks.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

NOTE: You will have lemon juice leftover.  You can frost these cookies if you like and the lemon juice mixed with 10X sugar makes a tasty glaze for them.  Combine until desired consistency.