MKEFoodies Bake Sale 2014

Today(Saturday) is the #MKEFoodies Bake Sale for Cookies for Kids Cancer. The bake sale is at the Hudson Business Lounge in the Historic Third Ward, from 1 - 4 pm. Please stop on out and pickup some great baked goods from area food bloggers, bakers, chefs and the like.

I baked a lot of treats for this year - some of my classic favorites and some new ones.

All of my bags have my business card attached to them and the recipes are below with my tweaks.

100 Good Cookies - I make this cookie every year and it's the cookie I always remembered my grandma having around her house. The batch truly makes 100 cookies, because you need to keep them small as they are rich.

Mint Chocolate Chip Grinch Cookies - I picked up some mini mint chocolate chips at Simple Life Country Store. So instead of 3 oz of chocolate chips and 3 oz of mint, I did 2 regular and 4 of the mint. I also added Rumchata instead of the Creme de Menthe as I used what I had in the house. I think it was a nice addition.

Gum Drops - This is another treat I remember my grandma making for the holidays. She used to let them dry out in her cellar and my brother and I would sneak down there and eat a few before Christmas, but we weren't smart enough to hide the wrappers so we were caught. I decided on Raspberry and Green Apple and they are delicious!

Shortbread Sandwich Cookies - The recipe says these are Kit Kat cookies, but I find them tasting more like a shortbread with chocolate in the middle. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate as that's what I had at home, but they were still delicious.

Oreo Cream Brownies - These are FANTASTIC and my new favorite treat. It's dangerous that I now know how to make Oreo cream! They were a little more complicated to make than I thought, but they are 100% worth it with the end result.

I hope you can come out and support the cause tomorrow. The Third Ward is also having their Holiday Sale, so it's another reason to come check out the sale and get other holiday shopping done!

100 Happy Days: Week 9

This "cold-cough-aching-wheezing-hives-whatever-I-have" is still here to stay and definitely putting a damper on my happiness. But I'm trooping through and still doing my best to be a part of the world. I have never been this sick for this long, but I think it's finally on it's way out! Dr.s just say it needs to run its course, but it's starting to feel like last winter with the "polar vortex" - never leaving!

Anyways, I did have some great happy moments that I want to share with all of you. 

Day 60:

Allison Art House had a Ladies Night Out event and I attended with my friend Tiffany. I found great unique gifts for some of the ladies in my life. I love this shop. Watch for more on it on my blog soon. PS - I won the door prize too!

Day 61:

Dinner with my parents at Matteo's. This is one of my favorites in Waukesha and although I wasn't feeling the best, quality Italian food near a roaring fire definitely helped me feel better. And I got to see many pictures of my parents' trip to Paris. Win, win. 

Day 62: 

I spent Saturday cooking all day and watching Netflix. I made two soups and my grandma's specialty cookies with a few tweaks for ingredients I dind't have. More on the soups and cookies to come. As for the Netflix.....Gilmore Girls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 version), Pocahontas and more Gilmore Girls. 

Day 63: 

I didn't post this on social media but I think it's important to post now. My mom and I went to Wine & Dine in Milwaukee and tried many new eats and treats. We found my mom a few more cocktails that she would like and I found a few restaurants I have to try. Time with my mommy is always time well spent. 

Day 64:

This quote definitely got me through the day. With me still dealing with this cough, I will laugh at just about anything to help cheer me up and I love sleep right now. 

Day 65:

Flowers - a way to a girl's heart and happiness. I was completely surprised by this delivery.....to my work. It showed the person really cares to remember where I work and send me a little something special. These definitely helped flip around my day and week and I am forever grateful for this thoughtful gesture. (Let's just say that someone was raised right!)

#100HappyDays

#MKEfoodies Bake Sale 2013

Today is the #MKEfoodies Bake Sale for Cookies for Kids' Cancer. We have a new location this year in the Historic Third Ward at the Hudson Business Lounge. The sale goes from 1 - 4 pm, but if it's anything like in years past, we will sell out quickly - which is an amazing feat!

Many members of the #MKEfoodies group and others in the community bake scrumptious treats to donate to the organization. Everything looks so great and the room smells heavenly when all the treats are in. Santa will even be making an appearance for the children of all ages to enjoy and take pictures with.

Bake sales are held across the nation for Cookies for Kids' Cancer and some corporate sponsors have jumped on board to up our earnings for the organization. OXO has pledged to match bake sale proceeds dollar for dollar up to $100,000 and Glad Corporation will match all donations in the month of December up to $25,000! So every dollar counts THREE TIMES! 

Here are the wonderful treats that I have made and the recipes that go along with them. Pinterest helped me find a few recipes that I wanted to try out this year and I pulled a few family favorites as well. 

Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cookies - I found the recipe on this blog but modified it accidentally. I followed the cake box directions instead of the recipe they provided and they still turned out. And I bought miniature Reese's instead of mini Reese's and had to chop mine into 4 pieces before putting them in the recipe. They still taste wonderful!

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies - Another recipe from Pinterest that I just had to try. You don't need quite as many oreos and I made my cookies a lot smaller so I got 36 cookies instead of the 15 the recipe says it makes.. 

Applesauce Gum Drops: My grandma would always have these for Christmas Eve but because she would make them weeks in advance, my brother and I would sneak into her cellar and steal a few. We were never smart enough to hide the wrappers so she always knew but never cared. 

1 - 6 oz. box of any flavor Jell-O (I used Strawberry and Lime for my two batches)
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Mix all ingredients together in a 1-2 qt. kettle over medium-high heat and stir continuous until it boils. Continue stirring while boiling for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a 9 X 5 greased (cooking sprayed) loaf pan. Set on a flat surface until firm. 

Then, rim pan with a knife and cut into long even strips. Place long strips on a lightly sugared cookie sheet or pan. Cut strips into squares (1/2 inch) and make sure all sides are sugared. Set out to dry for at least 1 week turning daily. 

100 Good Cookies: Another cookie that was passed down to me from my grandma. These cookies were one I remember my grandma always having in her cookie jar. The batch makes 100 or more if you make them smaller and because they are a rich cookie, you do want to make them rather small. 

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup margarine
1 cup oil
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup coconut
1 cup oatmeal
3 1/2 cup flour

Mix in sugars, margarine, oil, egg, salt, baking soda, vanilla and cream of tartar. Slowly add flour until dough forms. By hand, mix in Rice Krispies, coconut and oatmeal. Drop by small spoonfuls onto a non greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 - 10 mins or until lightly browned. 

*Consider adding 1 cup butterscotch chips to half the batch for an even sweeter treat! 

If you can't make it to the Bake Sale, consider making a donation online to Cookies for Kids Cancer  online. Every bit helps those that can't help themselves against cancer. Maybe someday we will live in a cancer-free world.