Howdy!

Welcome to the first stop of the Cookie Swap Blog Hop! 

If you are visiting my blog for the very first time, I'd like to welcome you and invite you to take a look around. There are lots of interesting little tidbits here and there – cooking, scrapbooking, silliness and observations about parenting, landlording, and life in general. 

Be sure you read all the way to the bottom of this post.  There is a bonus recipe as well as the links to all of the other blogs in the Blog Hop.

But, I know you are really here for the cookies…

So, I won't keep you in suspense any longer!

My cookie is called "Santa's Surprise"  (the complete recipe is at the end of this post)

It's a yummy concoction made of peanut butter, brown sugar and the "surprise" inside:

Now, let's get baking! (or mixing, as we must do before we can bake!)

In a large mixing bowl you will combine 2 sticks of butter (I used one salted, one unsalted), 1 cup of creamy peanut butter, and 1 cup of light brown sugar (sounds good already, doesn't it?)

Next, add in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Mix and add 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

You will end up with a nice dough like this:

Then, cover your dough and let it chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.

After it's chilled thoroughly, take the dough by teaspoon-sized pieces and flatten into round circles.

Place one Snickers mini on top of the dough circle and shape the dough around the candy. (your hands will smell so yummy when you are done!)

Place each ball of dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on a cooling rack. 

Note: you will want to let them cool before you handle them too much. I put them on parchment paper on the cookie sheet and I slide the entire sheet of parchment paper onto the cooling rack.  This allows the "gooey" insides to cool and set. If you pick them up too soon, they break open – and, then, well, you have to eat the evidence!

IF you want to go all-out, drizzle them with some melted chocolate. They never last long enough at my house for me to do this, though!

I hope you enjoy!

Now, it's time for the next recipe! 

Here’s the list of blog hop participants.  I invite you to make the next stop at Relly's blog: Scattered Poppies, or you can browse the other cookie recipes at the other sites:

• http://www.scatteredpoppies.com/
• http://www.littlelifeofscrap.blogspot.com/
• http://web.me.com/xnomads
• http://www.evalyn.typepad.com
• http://mypixelatedoasis.blogspot.com/
• http://livelifeandscrapit.wordpress.com/
• http://www.beglorious.blogspot.com/
• http://www.deanabirks.com/
• http://amberls365.blogspot.com/
• http://mylifesingredients.blogspot.com/
• http://purplecrazymum.blogspot.com/
• http://www.cupcakequeenworld.blogspot.com/

And, here's the complete recipe, without my commentary and photography:

Santa's Surprises

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag Snickers Miniatures

1. Cream butter, peanut butter, brown sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Slowly, add eggs and vanilla (mixer should be on low)
3. Add flour, baking soda & salt.
4. Cover and chill dough 2-3 hours.
5. Divide dough into teaspoon-sized balls. Flatten into circles.
6. Wrap dough ball around Snickers mini.
7. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325F for 10-12 minutes.
8. Cool on wire rack.
9. Drizzle with melted chocolate (optional).

Oh, and here is a BONUS RECIPE.  I just discovered this from a friend… it is TO DIE FOR (especially if you like cookies!)

Oreo Ice Dream

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1 large tub of Cool Whip whipped cream (I never said it was low fat!)
1 package of Oreo Cookies, crushed

Mix all three ingredients in a LARGE bowl.  Place in freezer to set.

ENJOY.  (and you WILL enjoy.  it is "awesome," according to the pre-teen in the house)

I can't wait until tomorrow.

Want to know why?

I will give you a hint:

I have been craving a pound cake lately.  One in particular – my great-grandmother's lemon pound cake.

Last night, I remarked to my husband that I couldn't understand why my overwhelming desire to have a slice of pound cake hadn't caused a cake to materialize on my kitchen counter.  He looked at me like I'd lost my mind and gently suggested maybe I should just make one. (duh)

So, that's what I did this afternoon… at the same time I helped one kid with her homework, waited on the other princess perched on the couch "feeling wotten" and watching cartoons… and answered emails, IM's and kept up with what was going on in the world of work.

I guess, then, that it should've come as no surprise when my cake was a little onery when it came out of the oven. I mean it's not like it had my undivided attention while it was being created.  Heck, I'm not even sure it had much of my attention at all. I have made this recipe so many times I think I could make it in my sleep.

We were dashing out the door to go to Girl Scouts when I thought I'd better at least turn the cake out of it's pan.  It didn't release right away so I left it upside down on the cake plate and off we went.
Three hours later when we finally returned home…. the cake hadn't budged. 

In case you didn't realize this already, this was a bad sign. Uh, oh.  Time to dig out the plastic spatula of doom and prise the cake from the pan.  (I really hate doing that because I'm always afraid I'm going to ruin the cake  – ruin? hah!)

I prodded.

I poked.

I shimmied.
(the cake)

I shook.

I pounded.

Nothing.

sigh.

I got a chopstick out and ran it around the insides of the pan. 
Flipped the cake again. 

I heard that soft "whump" you hear when the cake falls.  Okay. Now we're gettin' somewhere.
But the pan still felt heavy…
What the heck?
I turned the pan over.
ACK!
Half of my cake was still in the pan!
OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!!

I don't think I can remember the last time this has happened.  FOREVER.  And that is saying something considering I probably bake 2-3 cakes a month at least.
My darling, sweet, loving husband asks, "Did you remember to spray the pan, honey?" smirk, smirk, chuckle, chuckle.  <grrrr>

"YES, I did."  And I'm sure I did. I remember the can of spray oil giving out its last gasps as I greased the pan.
I have no clue what happened. Maybe I let it sit too long. Maybe not long enough. Maybe not enough oil.  Who knows?
But I do know one thing for sure.  I'm really, really, really glad that this wasn't a cake I was making to give to someone.
It's one ugly cake.  Seriously ugly.

But, on the bright side?  It tastes awesome.
Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try. Once you do, you will be spoiled for all other pound cakes.

Grandma Achord's Lemon Pound Cake

3 cups white sugar                         1 cup sour cream
2 sticks butter
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 eggs             3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract                       1 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp almond extract

Cream sugar and butter. Add sour cream and extracts.  Add eggs, one at a time. Add flour and baking soda slowly. Beat only long enough to get flour mixed in well.
Pour into greased tube or bundt pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour 20 min.

We usually don't ever get around to it because we gobble up the cake so quickly, but Grandma always made a glaze by mixing a few teaspoons of lemon juice with some powdered sugar (about 2 cups) and drizzled it over the cake.

I made some bread this weekend.  I found a recipe for Portugese Sweet Bread. It sounded too good to resist.  

I had planned to show you pictures of it after it came out of the bread machine.

There was one small problem.

My family gobbled it up. (the nerve!)

Before photos could be taken.  (next time I will take the pictures first)

But, if you like making bread at home, I would highly suggest you give this recipe a try. It rivals some of the "high end" breads at the grocery store in flavor and texture.  And the best part is, you know exactly what is in it. No chemicals, no artificial flavors or preservatives. 

My kids NEVER eat my homemade bread.  They devoured this one and told everyone we saw today how good "mommy's bread" was.
So, take it from my kids. It's worth trying out.

Recipe can be found on AllRecipes.com