Violin Cookies... sound so sweet!

Cookies for my Henry! He had a violin graduation yesterday and played beautifully! Sweet music to my ears! We brought a sweet treat for all to share...

The kids went crazy over these cookies!

They practically attacked me to get to them -- I just love that!

I love cookie-eatin' smiling faces saying... MMMMM!

Jasimine Pearl

So I wanted to try something new and was thinking savory cookie. I've recently enjoyed the most awesome pot of Dragon Pearl Jasmine Tea at one of my favorite local Chinese restaurants, Ying's Tea House and Yum Yum, in Clintonville. Ever since I've been crazy about the stuff. While drinking my Jasmine Pearl tea at home I thought how nice it would be to incorporate that flavor into a cookie... so I gave it a try.

I started by infusing some butter with the tea. 

 

It took a while for the leaves to unfold but after around five to ten minutes on low heat the they began to loosen up and the aroma was just amazing! I needed to find a recipe to try out my new butter. I found some savory recipes that looked interesting but I wanted something really buttery. So I ended up with something more along the lines of a shortbread recipe. 

After chilling the dough I rolled it into ropes and then cut the ropes into one inch logs. I rolled the logs  in poppy seeds and black sesame seeds before I popped them into the oven at 325 for about ten minutes. 

Here they are! 

 The Jasmine flavor turned out great! It was a bit subtle at first. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, as I took my first bite, but I felt surprised that I wasn't able to detect the Jasmine right away. As I finished the cookie, however, the flavor began to emerge and it was very nice. Definitely there without being too strong or too subtle. I'll be trying this one out on family and friends.

French Macaroons

Here is my first attempt at French Macaroons. Not too bad. I've been wanting to try them for some time and, although it felt a bit intimidating,  I was up for the challenge. The family loved them! The strawberry flavor went over big! I will definitely be trying them again and again!

I found a lot of great links when searching for recipes and inspiration! There are lot's of good tips out there! I love seeing what other people are baking up!

Watermelon Smiles

This week I decided to make Watermelon Smiles for the Dublin Farmer's Market. I also made my Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip! Yummmmm...

                                            WOW!  Now there's a awesome Watermelon Smile!
 

                                                        Here's what I got at the market!

Dublin Farmers' Market

My first day at the Dublin Farmer's Market for the season was Wednesday. Went great! With all the rain we've been having I felt like I needed some sun... sun babies that is! Sorry no pix of my big fat chewy choc chip--sold out like that! The kiddos liked the sun babies but don't tell them they were whole wheat! Had chocolate cut-out's too with strawberry icing and shaped like pink ribbons. All the proceeds went to Race For The Cure. No pix of those either -- should have taken pics before they disappeared! Looking forward to next week! Maybe I won't spend all my profits of the other venders this time!
                                            
                                                Sun Babies

The Plant Fest

Ly-Ly's helped kick off the Olde Worthington Farmers' Market  with the Plant Fest May 7th. There were plenty of plant-themed cookies to go around -- even a little something for Mom on Mother's Day!