Jam Dream Cookies

These cookies have gone by many names over the years, jam dream cookies, thumbprints, Brian's cookies, Nathan's cookies, Andi cookies, and the list goes on.  Craig even tried to get them named "Craig's Cookies" for a while because they are his favorite, but that just got confusing because our family associates a different recipe with the name "Craig's Cookies."  Anyhow, I initially received this recipe from Sandy Wells years ago, and shared it infrequently, until now.  You see, I was out of town and without my recipe box a few weeks ago and really wanted to make these cookies.  I thought for sure I'd have a post about them on my blog and could retrieve the recipe that way, but was out of luck.  So, when I made some this evening I decided I needed to post ASAP so I would never be in the same dilemma again.  So really this post is kind of a selfish one, but hey, you get to benefit as well!  

Ingredients:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1 cup salted butter (NOT MARGARINE, NOT SHORTENING, BUTTER ONLY)

1/2 tsp almond extract

Jam (I prefer strawberry freezer jam)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1-3 tsp water

Directions:

Combine the first four ingredients until they form a smooth, paste like dough.  Roll one tablespoon quantities of dough into ball and place on an ungreased cookies sheet.  Make a dent in the center of each cookie and fill with jam. (I put my jam in a ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the corner and squeeze it into the dents.)  Bake at 350 F for approximately 10 minutes or until the edges just barely begin turn turn light gold.  Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack.  Combine the last three ingredients to form a glaze and drizzle over the cooled cookies.  (I use a ziploc for the glaze as well.)  Enjoy!

These cookies have a longer shelf life than other cookies and work great if you want to send someone a treat in the mail. 

 

My First Wedding Cake

My little brother married his sweetheart Fang yesterday in the Jordan River Temple in Utah.  It was a lovely wedding and I'm so excited for them and to have a new sister!  Anyhow, I made the cake and the wedding bouquet and was pretty proud of them so I thought I would post them and boast a little.  I wasn't too nervous about the flowers because I have made multiple bouquets it the past.  The only scary part was that I made it with tulips and I had never worked with tulips before.  Also, the day I needed to go and buy the flowers was the same day as BYU's graduation and two local high school proms, so I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get what I needed, but thanks to the ladies at Best Buds on Canyon Road in Provo I was able to get everything I needed!  The cake on the other hand was a much scarier experience.  You see, I have never made a wedding cake before.  I made a practice cake last week just to make sure I wasn't going to fail completely, and then when it came to making the real thing, a kind and patient friend who knew what she was doing came over to the house and helped out (that's most likely why it turned out so well).  I had also never transported a cake before and I knew we were going to be driving through the I-15 construction mess and was afraid that we'd ruin a layer in transit.  We were blessed and made it to the reception without any cake disasters, and once I put it together and got it decorated I was finally able to take a sigh of relief.
The past few days have felt like I've been running a marathon, but it was all worth it.  Everything was so nice, there were no major disasters, and best of all my brother was able to marry his wife for time and all eternity and I was able to be there with him!