August 2023 Needing to Keep The Blog Open!

 Google is cracking down on inactive blog accounts.  I must admit, I have'nt used this one in a few years!  So to satisfy Google and posting a recipe, maybe they'll leave this blog alone.

I may change the content from cooking (I already have a cooking blog ( Here ), to photography.  So, we'll see if the "hand" of Google passes over this blog to leave me to post, another day! 

Until then...

Instant Pot Yogurt...

Yum!!  Definitely thick and creamy!

I added home made granola and bananas

Do not use the rubber ring 

  It has different smells, like that pot roast you made...you don't want your yogurt tasting like pot roast!

The Recipe:

1/2 Gallon fresh whole milk (8 cups)
1/4 Cup store bought yogurt (what YOU like...I bought a small tube of Chobani
MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T HAVE SUGAR AND IT HAS ACTIVE LIVE CULTURES!
Read all the info on the back of your product.  There's a label.
1/4 cup Instant Dried Milk
Large Strainer
Cheese Clothe

Instructions:


Use sanitized utensils...clean!
In a large stainless pot (no aluminum) pour your milk, dried milk  (RESERVING OUT One Cup of the milk...set it aside...you'll use it after milk in pot cools.)
Heat up to 180* degrees ONLY!  Anything above will kill the culture...
Shut off heat and remove from burner.
Let it cool back down to 107* to 110* degrees!  NO LOWER...too cool for culture
NOW...take your store bought yogurt, scoop out about 3/4 cup into that reserved cup of milk and
whisk it thoroughly...no lumps!
Milk in pot at the correct cool temp?  Whisk in the cultured one cup of milk.
Stir well
Put in Instant Pot
Put on lid
NO RUBBER RING
OPEN THE VENT ON TOP
(We aren't going to pressure cook anything, so leave it open)
Hit the YOGURT button
It will say 8.00 hours
You're done...Walk away...Do Not Bother it or open it to peek at!
After eight hours, open up, get your strainer and cheese clothe...
I set the strainer over a large mouthed pot to drain over night, of it's liquid, called Whey.  Too much whey?  Soupy...Not enough?  Cream cheese...(Which is great too!)
Depends on how thick you want it.
I like it thick...and creamy...you decide!

You can either make this before bedtime OR early in the morning (I do early morning so I can wake up to cold yogurt the next morning)

Aftermath:
Enjoy!

Butterscotch Walnut Cookies...

These cookies turned out to be yummy little morsels!  With a hot cuppa coffee or tea...

See how they puff up?  Not what you're going for. 

Let them cool completely!!!

After about five minutes, they start to deflate...flatten out.

A little trick I learned when trying to keep your sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet...Crumble it up!  I usually wet it as well, squeezing out the excess water, opening it up and placing it on the baking pan.  Works great!

Perfection!  I also discovered, you need to make these cookies small.  The larger ones tend to break apart more easily since they're so flat.

Remember, let them cool completely before packing them up.  Since this is my own creation, I'm still experimenting  with the recipe.  Feel free to come up with your own using my base recipe.  Enjoy!

Ingredients you'll need:

Prep Time:  20 minutes
Cook time:  15 to 20 minutes
         Don't leave too long in the oven
Yields:   2 1/2 dozen small cookies

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 small egg
2 ounces of milk
1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla extract
2 sticks butter
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup  brown sugar, tightly packed
2 cups butterscotch morsels
2 cups chopped walnuts
 
Also need:

Mixer
Cookie sheets 
Parchment paper
medium sized ice cream scoop (if you have...otherwise, use two spoons)

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 degrees

Add all of the above ingredients (EXCEPT WALNUTS AND MORSELS)  to your mixing bowl.  Turn on mixer.
Beat at medium speed for at least two minutes.
NOW ADD WALNUTS and MORSELS!
Beat for about 30seconds until just combined.

Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  DO NOT place close together...they spread! 

Check cookies every 5 minutes or so to check on how brown they are getting.  They get puffy at first so don't worry.  When they bake a little longer, they'll flatten out more.  Then, when they are as brown as YOU want, take out of oven...and COOL ON THE PAN FOR AT LEAST 15 minutes before you think of moving them to a cooling rack!!!  

I baked mine for 18 minutes...You may like them at less or more time than we do...Up To You!
You can also use pecans and chocolate chips if you want... Mix the base recipe up any way you want!

Enjoy!
Donna

Sprinkle Pudding Cookies...

Welcome to my baking and cooking blog!  

If I bake it or cook it...I'll be posting the recipes here...

The cookie recipe for the above photo is...

For the ingredients you'll need:

3/4 Cup butter

1 Cup granulated sugar

1 egg plus one yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 (3.4 oz packet instant vanilla pudding)

2 cups regular flour

1/2 cup sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350F

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

 Beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes

Add in the egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt.

Mix until combined.

Now add in the Vanilla Pudding and mix for about 30 seconds.

TURN THE MIXER TO LOW!!

then, add in the flour...slowly...unless you enjoy cleaning the counter and yourself... ;o)

Lastly...add the sprinkles.

Mix about 30 more seconds until you feel they've been evenly mixed into the dough.

Now, using a cookie scoop OR just use a tablespoon, drop cookies onto parchment paper.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes.

Now the baking time will be at YOUR discretion!  If you like a softer cookie, start out at 10 to 15 minutes.  I prefer a bit more time on mine...18 minutes.

It's just up to you...just not less than 10!!

Hope you like these as much as hubby and I do!

Enjoy...  

Our Libby loves them...and I seriously think you will too!