The Mills

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

I just made these cookies from The girl who ate everything for a baby blessing sunday!

Coconut Lime Swig Cookies

Ingredients

5¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup coconut oil
1¼ cup granulated sugar (plus ¼ cup reserved)
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 teaspoon coconut extract
2 eggs

Coconut Lime Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,
softened
½ cup butter
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest
2½ teaspoons coconut extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tarter, and salt.
Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, coconut oil, sugar (1¼ cups), and powdered sugar.
Stir in the 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 teaspoons lime zest, and 1 teaspoon coconut extract. Mix in eggs.
Slowly add in flour mixture until combined. Roll the dough into golf sized balls and place onto a non stick cookie sheet or use a parchment line sheet.
To give the cookies their signature rough edge, dip the bottom of a glass into the reserved ¼ cup sugar and press
onto the cookie ball to flatten the cookie. You still want the cookie to be thicker so don't press them too thin.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom is lightly brown. The tops will not brown. The cookies stay soft so do not over bake. Cool completely.
To make the coconut lime cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, lime juice, lime zest, 2¼ teaspoons coconut extract, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar. Beat until creamy. Frost the center of each cookie. Garnish with additional lime zest if desired.
Swig keeps their cookies in the fridge. This isn't necessary. In fact, I like mine at room temperature. These are better the next day when the frosting has softened the cookie.

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2016/06/coconut-lime-swig-cookies.html#1hPfjT2QIJUJl1cF.99

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

These are another one of our go-to cookies we make, it makes 24 cookies enough to fit on 2 trays! Their so addicting, about 90% of our recipes come from Our Best Bites, Kate and Sara know what their doing. Check them out at ourbestbites.com - Lyns

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Recipe by Our Best Bites, inspired by Martha Stewart

1 chocolate cake mix (we prefer Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
2 eggs
12 large marshmallows
1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, eggs, and shortening in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and mix until well combined. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear done but are still soft in the center.

While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half. When the cookies have baked, remove the pan from the oven and place a marshmallow half on each cookie, cut side down. Return the pan to the oven for about 2 minutes. Remove from oven and very gently push each marshmallow down. Allow to cool completely and repeat with remaining cookie dough.

When the cookies have cooled completely, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add melted butter, vanilla, and evaporated milk and beat on high until smooth, light, and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to an icing bag fitted with a large tip and swirl onto the cookies. Makes 24 cookies.

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is the Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from the Levain Bakery in NYC, I just don't add the walnuts, my family and I agree these are, our favorite choc chip cookies now! I've had a bunch of friends ask for recipes I've been making lately so I thought it'd be easier to break out our old blog and just add them here, hope you enjoy -Lyns

Author: Si Foster, A Bountiful Kitchen
Makes: 8 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter cut into tablespoons
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cake flour 1½-1¾ cup all purpose flour* see notes
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 cups walnut halves
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips* see notes Order Ingredients

Instructions Pre heat oven to 400 degrees and set rack in middle of oven. Place butter into bowl and turn mixer on low. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Add sugars and beat butter until smooth on medium speed. This should take about 1 minute. Mix until the butter pieces are completely blended with the sugar and is no longer visible in pieces. Add the eggs and beat on medium just until incorporated with butter and sugars, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer off. Add the cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse the dry ingredients on low until the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together. Pour the walnuts into the batter all at once. Pulse the batter 5-6 times. Pour the chocolate chips into the batter and pulse again 5-6 times.

Pour the batter out onto a clean surface. Fold the dough together a few times until all of the chocolate chips and walnuts are mixed into the batter. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces about 6 oz each. Use your hands to shape cookies. Do not use a cookie or ice cream scoop. The cookies are meant to be roughly shaped. Do not flatten the dough. Bake 4 cookies per pan, for 11 minutes on regular bake or 400 convection bake for 8-9 minutes.

The cookies are done when the top is a bit golden and the bottom is also golden. Do not over bake. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes -It is important to let the oven fully heat up. Turn it on for at least 15-20 minutes before baking. -I use 1 cup Cake Flour and 1¾ cup AP flour. You may try using 1½ cups AP flour. I found the dough to be too sticky. If you have issues with the cookies flattening out, use 1¾ cups flour.

-If you do not have cake flour, try using All Purpose flour. 2½ cups should work. When purchasing Cake Flour, look for it on the upper shelves of the grocery aisles. Cake Flour is usually found near the regular (All Purpose) flour, cake mixes or with other baking items.

-I buy chocolate chips in bulk and scoop my semi sweet chips out of a jar. This recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate chips. Most bags of chocolate chips are 11-12 oz or closer to 1½ cups of chips, which will work for one recipe, no need to open another bag of chocolate chips.

-I use food handlers gloves to shape the dough, and also weigh the dough balls on a scale. Each dough ball is approx 6 oz.

-These cookies freeze extremely well. After cooling completely, place cookies in a large ziplock bag or small sandwich size bags. Place in freezer. When ready to eat, either let thaw, or wrap in paper towel and microwave for about 15-18 seconds. The cookie will not have a crisp exterior after being frozen, but will still be moist and taste fresh.

-In the recipe it says to turn the batter out onto a clean surface and mix the chocolate chips and the walnuts together by hand. I do not do this step. I add this to the recipe because it is shown in the video. I simply fold the dough a couple of times with a spatula in the bowl to make sure all of the walnuts and chocolate chips are distributed.

-Dislike walnuts? You may add additional chocolate chips or try increasing the All Purpose flour by ¼ cup.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Kindergarten Rodeo

Averys Kindergarten Rodeo was today at school, she had to take her stick cow to ride. It was so cute, they roped cows, did line dances and a flag race all while on her stick cow! I mostly recorded it but I did happen to snatch a few photos.

Easter 2014

Egg hunt at home

Finding Eggs at Grandmas

Avery's stuff from the Easter Bunny

Lots of Eggs

Easter Dress

Ave drew a picture for the Easter Bunny

Cousins

Our favorite thing to do for Easter is to plant Jelly Beans the night before and they grow into suckers the next day!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico February 2014

Trevor and I went to Mexico with our cousins. This was our first time leaving Avery since she has been born. It was hard to leave her with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a blast though. We flew in to Cancun and drove an hour south to our all-inclusive resort on the beach. It was so pretty and hot. We ate the best tacos!