Recipes: Presidential cookies

Because I am one of those old boring moms I read old boring magazines while I work out. My new favorite is Family Circle. Remember old and boring. So anyway I ran across the presidential cookie recipes and decided we would have a family taste test and help determine the election (the magazine claims that the bake-off has determined every election since it's start in 1992 except one).

So I put on my apron and decided that we would dive into the the world of cookie politics.

The first recipe I made was the Michelle Obama cookie called- Mama Kaye's White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies, named after the Obama girl's godmother. 

*full disclosure, we did not put the walnuts in the recipe as I do not believe in nuts in cookies unless they are macadamia nuts.

Now here are things that I liked about this recipe:

1- It made 8 dozen cookies. When I mentioned to a friend that one of recipes made 8 dozen cookies they were sure that was the Ann Romney "Mormon" recipe. 

2- It has mint chips which gives the cookies a nice mint after taste. 

3- They are the most buttery and melty "ist" cookie I have ever eaten. 

4- My brother did not believe that these were the Obama cookies because they were not healthy. 

That same day I made Ann Romney's cookie called simply-M&M's cookies. 

Things I liked about this recipe:

1- This is a good hearty cookie. In fact Christian broke it up and ate it in a bowl with milk the next morning for breakfast. 

2- Double dose of chocolate and then added peanut butter

3-There is no flour, not that I am anti-flour I just thought it was cool. 

So yeah they were super awesome. Now to read how the "election turned out head on over to our family blog to read the results. 

Oh and here are the recipes:

The Obama Cookie

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 stick Crisco butter-flavored solid vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup each white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and mint chocolate chips (or Andes mint pieces)
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract.

2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in flour mixture. By hand, stir in white and milk chocolate chips, mint chips and walnuts.

3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The Romney Cookie

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (such as Karo)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 ounces chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup M&M's candies

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream sugars, butter, peanut butter and corn syrup on high speed until well combined. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla extract.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together oats and baking soda. Stir into peanut butter mixture until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and M&M's.

3. Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets (about 9 per sheet). Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Apricot Jam part 1- Epic Failure

My friend Mandy once told me that she didn't read so called Mommy blogs because they just turned into a "look how great I am" and "my house and family look like they climbed out of a Pottery Barn catalog."  Well I will be the  first to say that I am great and my house and kids are no where near a Pottery Barn catalog, in fact I took my kids to the doctor today and discovered everyone of them had mud on their legs. So here it is Mandy, a post you would never see on a mommy blog. A blog of epic failure.

I love canning. I find it fun and in an odd way rather relaxing. There is one thing that has always eluded me though- jam. I tried to make peach jam a couple of years ago, and it didn't go so well. I didn't  attempt again. This year though I was going to try. So when we were at the farmer's market on Saturday and we got a great deal on apricots I decided that it was time.  So I came home with 29 pounds of fruit and started my research. Here is the problem, no one tells you how to can in bulk. 

So we started with the delicious fresh apricots...

And then we mashed the fruit.  And yes that is a a box of jell-o, my cute neighbor swears by it in her jam.

Since we were using the pectin recipe we started cooking down the fruit. 

And when that reached a boil we added 20 cups, yes 20 cups of sugar!

And let it cook some more.

We followed the recipe and took it off the stove once again it boiled and so we pulled it off and put it in the jars.

Yeah, there is no jam. We have eight quarts of syrup.

There are a few things I can still try and I will attempt them in the next few days, but until then who wants pancakes?