Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Hello, my name is Jen and I have a cookie-baking problem. My long list of cookie blog posts can attest to this. While Jacob and I do eat some of them, we force ourselves to get the majority of them out of the house. Otherwise, I'd probably just be rolling to work at this point.

As I've said before, I love it when I have an excuse to bake. Last Friday big event gave me the perfect opportunity. Aggie Ring Day takes a lot of help from staff in all different offices at work. With this past Ring Day being a little bit more hectic than the usual with the mid-day downpour, Kellie and I decided we'd bust out some Pinterest recipes to say 'thank you' to those that made the event possible. So, in addition to taking some of the Snickerdoodle Bread to work, I'll also be taking these bad boys: Soft Funfetti Cookies.

Funfetti cookies first came into my life when I was in high school. One of my friends, Megan, introduced me to the fact that you could turn funfetti cake mix into cookies. And, hello new world! I've never made them from scratch though, so this was a fun adventure. They're a nice mix between funfetti cookies and the really soft sugar cookies that you buy in the bakery section at the grocery store.

Funfetti Sugar Cookies
Makes about 20 medium-sized cookies. 

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)
2 teaspoons corn starch
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup colorful sprinkles

The "How-To"

Beat together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium high for about 5 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy.

Scrape mixture down to bottom of the bowl and add cornstarch, baking soda, and flour. Mix until just combined (about 1 minute).

Add the sprinkles. I've never used so many sprinkles in a recipe in my life! Hah!

Using a spoon scoop out dough and roll into 1.5-2" balls. Place on parchment paper on plate or cookie sheet and place in fridge for 2 hours so the dough has plenty of time to firm up.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat (I use a silpat). Bake the dough when it's COLD- this will ensure that the dough doesn't spread much when they're baking.

 Bake for 8 minutes. Don't overcook- the edges should NOT turn brown. Don't stress if cookies seem really soft when you remove them from the oven- they'll firm up as they cool and set.

Can't wait to share these at work! :)

Original recipe found here. 

Snickerdoodle Mini Bread Loafs

The fall semester started a few weeks ago, but the season just officially started Tuesday- September 23rd! Summer is officially over and the weather has been reflecting it! The past few days we've woken up to weather in the 60s and it was amazing. Unfortunately it has warmed up as the days go on, but we're enjoying it while it lasts!

With fall comes delicious pumpkin and cinnamon flavored goodness. And wouldn't you believe that there are enough fall recipes on Pinterest to keep a girl busy for a long time. But, I had to choose one to start with, so I found this great quick bread recipe and decided- let's do it! Once again, my coworkers will get a sweet treat tomorrow. :) 

Snickerdoodle Bread

Makes 4 mini bread loafs. 

Ingredients

1/2 tsp salt

2-3 tsp cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter- softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs- room temperature

1 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)

3/4 cup sour cream

2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 package cinnamon chips

Topping-

4 tbsp sugar

3 tsp cinnamon 

Directions

Cream butter, sugar, salt, and cinnamon until light and fluffy. I used my KitchenAid mixer on medium high for about 5 minutes to get it as fluffy as I wanted it.

Add eggs and mix well.

Add vanilla and sour cream. Mix well. I use vanilla bean paste if I have it. It doesn't change the consistency of the mix and also tastes phenomenal. :) Vanilla extract will work just fine too. 

Mix in flour and baking powder. 

Mix in cinnamon chips and set aside. 

Grease four mini loaf pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Divide batter evenly between four loaf pans. They should be about 2/3 of the way full. 

Mix topping cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on top of each loaf. 

Bake for 35 minutes. Stick a toothpick or knife in the center of loaf to test if they are done. If the knife/toothpick comes out clean, then they're done. 

Let bread cool before removing from pans. 

Delicious served warm with cold milk! Yum! :) 

Road Trips and Birthdays

This past weekend was a doozy! Friday was the first Fightin' Texas Aggie Ring Day of the school year. With over 3,500 students picking up their Aggie Rings, it was a busy day! But, as always, the look on the students' faces when they get their ring make it totally worth it!

The crowd right before the Ring Day yell practice.

Some of the Campus Programs team taking the obligatory Slovacek's sausage picture. 

Ring Day wrapped up around 8:00pm, after which I raced home and Jacob and I hit the road for Dallas (after stopping off at the nearby Walgreens to get aloe for my sunburn-ouch!).

September 22nd is Jacob's birthday, so to celebrate I got him tickets to the Texas A&M vs SMU football game in Dallas. I, not being the morning person, decided it would be a better idea to drive up to Dallas late Friday instead of Saturday morning. Anything to not have to wake up early on the weekends! :) 

We even managed to get pretty good seats- thank you, StubHub!

As expected, the Aggies beat SMU by a whopping 53 points! Final score was 59-3 and the Mustangs have yet to score an offensive touchdown this season. Yikes! 

There was a LOT of maroon in the stadium and after the impressive first half by the Aggies, the few students that did attend the game cleared out pretty quickly. 

The best part of the game may very well have been totally non-football related. Reveille was napping on the side of the field and when an SMU player missed a reception and was headed full-speed in her direction, Reveille's handler stepped between the player and Rev to make she didn't get trampled. The short video below basically shows it all... 

And, since everyone in Aggieland loves that little lady, it shouldn't really come as a surprise that her handler has become quiet the celebrity since the incident. 

After the game was finished, we relaxed at the hotel while watching more college football. With some pretty exciting games going on (Miss St. vs LSU and FSU vs Clemson) it was hard to decide what to watch! 

On Sunday we departed Dallas and headed to The Woodlands where we spend the day celebrating Nicole's 22nd birthday (her and Jacob share the same birthday). I even got to see little Miss Allison Mae walking for the first time and she's definitely on the move! I can't wait to celebrate her first birthday next weekend. :) 

Overall, it was a really fun weekend! We did a lot, had lots of fun, and got to see lots of friends. I think after this weekend though, we need another weekend just to recover and sleep. Alas, another week is upon us! 

Until next time... 

Football Season and New Recipes

It is September, which means the beginning of the fall semester and the start of college football. Our first football game was actually in late August, but it was an away game at South Carolina. This past weekend was our first home game at the newly half-renovated Kyle Field. The stadium, one season into its 450 million dollar renovation, is beautiful... and it's only going to get bigger and better.

Amazing photo courtesy of Jacob's fab photography skills.

On Saturday, the Aggies played Lamar University and, as you can imagine, it was a beat down. The Aggies won with a whopping score of 73-3! Can I get a "Whoop"?! We only had to wait through a two hour and fifteen minute weather delay before the game started. Worth it... totally worth it! The stadium was beautiful and Jacob and I had a great time. The only downside was climbing up to row 35 of section 516- this season is going to be rough! 

 A new semester also means trying some new recipes. As always, I've been busy on Pinterest, searching for fun new recipes. And who doesn't love cooking something new?

I've been eyeing a few different quinoa recipes, but really curious about what the hell quinoa actually is. So, just like a typical millennial... I Googled.

Random facts about quinoa according to Google:

• it's a seed and not a grain
• closely related to spinach and tumbleweed
• it's gluten free
• it's high in protein 
• it can be a good source of omega-3 fatty acids
• it's both nutty and grainy in flavor 
• there's a film on the outside that if you don't wash off before preparing, will make the cooked quinoa soapy tasting
• white, black, and red variations of quinoa exist

Weirdest fact about the food? The way it's pronounced. There's no reason that the word "quinoa" should be pronounced "keen-wah." Absolutely no reason. Nonetheless, I wanted to give a recipe a try. I love crock pot recipes too, so this one was kind of a natural fit. I threw all the ingredients in the crock pot on my lunch break and let it cook on low until I got home from work, when I cranked it up to high until the chicken easily tore apart. 

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili

Makes enough to feed about 8 people. So much chili! We had lots of leftovers!

Ingredients

1 cup of quinoa (don't forget to rinse!)

1 large can (28oz.) diced tomatoes

1 can (14oz.) black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can rotel

1 can corn (rinsed)

2 chicken breasts (frozen or thawed are okay) 

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

Prep

1) Throw everything in the crock pot. Easy, right?

2) Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-7. 

3) Use two forks to shred the chicken. Stir all ingredients together. 

4) Top with cheese, avocado, sour cream... or anything else that sounds delicious. 

The original blogger of the recipe said that leftovers thicken up by day two and you can put it in a tortilla for tacos. Yum!