Pie crust cookies

I saw this recipe on Pinterst a few weeks back and I thought I would give it a try to see if I liked it enough to possibly make and take it somewhere. It was o.k., but not great. I can see where improvement could be make.

You start with two refrigerated pie crusts sprinkle a little flour on your board and lay out the first crust. slightly roll it to get rid of any wrinkle and make it lie flat (wish I could slightly roll my forehead and get rid of any wrinkles).

spray the top of the cookie sheet with a little baking spray and sprinkle with some finely chopped, dried, sweetened cranberries, finely chopped walnuts or pecans and some cinnamon and sugar.

Take the second crust and place it on top of the first covering the cranberries and nuts inside. Slightly roll them together until they form a single crust with the filling showing through. Spray the top with some more cooking spray and sprinkle additional cinnamon and sugar on top.

Then the fun part. Get out your cookie cutter (metal works best) and cut as many possible shapes from the pie crust round. You can wad the pie crust up and roll is out a second time if you need to.

The fun part! Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake like you would pie crust.

They turned out fairly good, but if I had them to do over (and I will do them over) I would brush on melted butter instead of spraying cooking spray, brown sugar and cinnamon instead of white (maybe even drizzle a tiny amount of honey, a little fresh orange zest would go a long way in this recipe. The cookies worked but the flavor was lacking. I am not sure if using homemade pie crust would be doable because store bought pie crusts are more resilient.

I have been busy lately and haven't had time to sit down and really think out a recipe and get it together with photos. The bf and I are expecting a (you fill in the blank), and so we are trying to settle or nest rather. Katsu is doing well, but has had his moments where we just look at him and shake our heads. The last episode involved him eating a plastic cone off his head...I didn't blame him, those are not a great fashion statement, but it caused me extreme stress and worry while he slowly but surely passed all of it. My daughter moved out so we have redecorated her old bedroom into my new office/sitting room. We still have a few things to acquire, but it is coming along really well. I refinanced my house, so it looks like the bank is stuck with me for the next 30 years give or take. So between my daughter moving, house refi, dog acting crazy you can see why I didn't have time. Looking forward to the next few weeks to get things completed...Samhain is just around the corner and in case I don't get back here between now and then I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Granola in a snap

I haven't made granola in a long time so I thought I should make up a small batch...for one I had oats in the pantry that needed something done with them and two well granola goes so well with everything from milk, yogurt to ice cream.

Into a large bowl pour in 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats. The dried fruit I added to the oatmeal was 1/2-3/4 cup large shaved flake unsweetened coconut, 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds and a handful of walnut pieces. Into a large measuring cup or small bowl add 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup a good pinch of salt, cinnamon, 2 Tlb dark brown sugar and a 1 tsp. vanilla extract or maple extract or whatever you think might go best with the dried fruit and nuts your adding and 2-4 Tlb of coconut oil. Mix this well and slightly heat if needed to melt the coconut oil. Pour this over your oatmeal, fruit and nut mixture and blend well. Make sure to coat all of the oatmeal. Spread the granola on a cookie sheet and bake in a 300 degree preheated oven for 30 min.? make sure you go in and check the granola and turn it making sure that it all becomes nice and golden brown. When cooled put granola in an airtight jar. It will keep for a couple of weeks...It won't last that long, but it could.

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Muffins

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Muffins Makes 6 servings Ingredients 1 cup mashed sweet potato (or pumpkin puree), 1 cup brown sugar, divided, ¼ cup canola oil (or coconut oil, but if you use coconut oil reduce to 3 Tlb.), ½ cup low-fat milk (I used almond milk), 2 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup old-fashioned oats (not instant), 1 tsp cinnamon, divided, ½ tsp allspice, 2 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt, 3 tbsp chopped walnuts (I used pecan pieces), Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin tin by coating with cooking spray. 2. Whisk together sweet potato, ⅔ cup brown sugar, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl. 3. In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, ¾ tsp cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, and salt to blend. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sweet potato mixture. Stir together until just moistened. 4. In a small bowl, combine walnuts and remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside. 5. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of the brown sugar-walnut mixture. Bake 15–30 minutes, depending on the size of tins, until toothpick comes out clean. 186 (give or take, it really depends on the size of the muffin) calories per serving (one muffin).

These muffins are dense and packed full of flavor. Enjoy your week.