Watermelon cookies

I was in charge of dessert for our Memorial Day family picnic. Again. I love to bake so this excites me. I was reminded of what I made LAST year for our picnic. I can't talk about this years dessert because I don't have a picture. My mom was getting something out of the cooler and when she went to put the dessert I made back in she accidentally dropped it but managed to catch it. The top still got messed up though and I had yet to get a picture so there isn't one :( But, I have a really great recipe WITH pictures from last year to share! The reipe comes from Amanda's cooking and I seriously saw this the day before I would need to make it and luckily had everything on hand!

Watermelon Cookies (From Amanda's cookin)

Don't be a dunce and forget to dye your dough before rolling out, cutting AND baking your first batch :)

Sugar Cookie Dough3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 tablespoon slices
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 drops red food coloring

1 cup miniature semi sweet morsels (I didn't have mini ones so I used regular ones...mini would be better!)

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons milk
green paste food coloring OR 15-20 drops green food coloring

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place butter slices, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and red food coloring in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed until incorporated. Don't be concerned if there are small lumps of butter still visible. Turn mixer down to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix well until no flour is left. Gather all the dough together using a sturdy rubber spatula.

Remove dough from bowl and separate into two batches. Place one batch between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4" thick. Repeat with the other batch. Chill in the refrigerator for two hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and have insulated baking sheets ready.

*Note: Insulated baking sheets are best for baking sugar cookies. If you only have regular cookie sheets, line them with parchment or a silicon baking mat.
Remove one batch of rolled dough from the refrigerator. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter.

Use a sharp knife to cut each circle in half. Place the halves on the baking sheet, about 1" apart.

Gently press miniature semi sweet morsels into each semicircle.
Bake for 6-8 minutes, checking after 6 minutes. Cookies will be slightly puffed but not browned. Do not allow cookies to get too brown or you'll have dry crumbly cookies. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

For each batch of cookie dough, after cutting out the circles, gather the scraps together and reroll them, place back in the refrigerator. Repeat until all dough has been used.

For the Glaze 

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients to form a glaze. You may add drops of milk to thin glaze if it is too thick.

Cover counter with wax paper and place cooling racks over the wax paper to catch drips. To decorate the cookies, roll the round end of the cookie in the glaze, allow excess to drip off into bowl.

Place cookies on cooling racks, excess glaze will drip through onto the wax paper. Wait for glaze to set before moving the cookies

Bumpy Cake!!

While doing some last minute holiday shopping this Memorial Day weekend I saw a bunch of these on display in my local grocery store. If you're from Detroit you know all about Sanders bumpy cake :) Sanders is a local chocolate and ice cream store/parlor that we have here. Their sweets are DELICIOUS! I have grown up with this cake as a part of so many celebrations. When I was a teenager my sister and I discovered that Sanders had concocted a 'bumpy cake' ice cream and we fell in love :) This cake is so great it even has its own Facebook fan page!  I don't know where I got this recipe from since I only have it saved as a word document with no credit given. Bad me. I had no idea back when I got it that I would want to share it. So, I did get it from somewhere online but I don't know where. There are several sites that have the exact same recipe so if you search 'Sanders bumpy cake' you'll come up with this recipe. I can't wait to make one this summer! The recipe gives you the Sanders chocolate cake instructions but I always just make a boxed cake mix. Go ahead and judge-it works for me and tastes fine!

I have two pictures of the cake. The first from the bumpy cake Facebook page of how it 'should' look. The second one is the only picture of one that I made. I of course took it the first time I made it :) I have since learned to be more patient and NOT to pour the frosting until it really is totally cooled. No matter how much I REALLY want a piece right NOW! :)

Sanders Bumpy Cake

For the Cake:
1/2 C hot black coffee or water
1/2 C cocoa
1/2 C oil
1 C buttermilk
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 C sugar
2 C flour

In large bowl, combine coffee and cocoa; beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add oil; beat for 30 seconds; add buttermilk; beat for 30 seconds; add baking soda; beat for 30 seconds; add salt; beat for 30 seconds; add vanilla; beat for 30 seconds; add eggs; beat for 30 seconds; add sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour; beat for 5 minutes. Batter will be very bubbly. Pour batter into greased (9x13 inch) pan and bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes.

For the Sanders Buttercream icing:
2 C butter
2 C sifted powdered sugar
2/3 C sweetened condensed milk
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

Place butter in mixing bowl, add 2 c. powdered sugar; mix at low speed to obtain smooth paste. Whip at medium speed, adding milk slowly and gradually, until light and fluffy. Using a very clean bowl and beater, whip egg whites until stiff while adding the 1/2 c. powdered sugar slowly. Mix this meringue slowly into the above mixture. Add vanilla and remaining 1/2 c. powdered sugar. This last amount of sugar can be doubled if stiffer icing is desired.
For the fuge frosting:
1/2 C buttermilk
1 C sugar
1/3 C dark corn syrup
1/3 cup cocoa
dash of salt
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter-divided
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
1 t vanila extract

Over medium-high heat, combine buttermilk, sugar, corn syrup, salt and half the butter. Bring mixture to a boil. When mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, remove from heat. Add remaining butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. This will have a "pouring consistency". TO ASSEMBLE CAKE: prepare cake as directed. When cake is cooled, place cake in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Prepare buttercream icing, then pipe them in stripes on frozen cake, 1 inch apart across the top of the cake. Return to the freezer for at least an additional 15 minutes. Apply cooled fudge frosting to top of cake, covering buttercream rolls completely. Return to freezer for several minutes or more to set