Cooking Thursday

Last week I made these cute hedgehog cookies with Cassie.  Shaping the bodies before baking them took a little time, but finishing them when they were baked was quick.  They have a nice hint of almond flavor and are a fun treat.

Hedgehog Cookies

1 1/3 cup flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
8 tablespoons butter, softened
pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon oil
chocolate sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl beat together butter, egg and sugar.  Stir in flour, cornstarch, salt, vanilla and almond extracts. Dough should be soft to touch but not sticking to your fingers.

Form small pieces of dough in a ball.  Stretch one side of the ball to make a pear shape, slightly flatten the point to create a muzzle for the hedgehog.
Place on cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes. Cooking time varies, keep an eye on them so the little muzzles don't burn.
Allow the cookies to cool.
Melt the chocolate chips and oil together.
Dip each cookie into chocolate, about 2/3 of the way up, holding it by the muzzle. Shake excess chocolate off and place on waxed paper.  Shake chocolate sprinkles over the melted chocolate.
Use a toothpick dipped in the chocolate to place 3 chocolate dots on the face for eyes and nose.
Allow to cool.  I placed mine in the refrigerator to let the chocolate harden.
Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Weekend Fun

It was a nice weekend here with some unusual activities going on!
Here's a few photos of what we did.

First I have to show you this cute little pillow that came in the mail Friday.  It came from my friend Janice who blogs at Prims By The Water. Janice shares lots of primitive decorating things and beautiful counted cross stitch projects.  She has a store where she sells items, many of which she makes, like this flag.  I was thrilled to get this and am proud to display it! Things like this are extra special because every time I see it, I will think of Janice.

Shortly after I got home Friday, Laura, Aaron and girls came over for supper.  The girls were spending the night, and Laura and Aaron were helping Bob with a big dig!

We're having an egress window installed in a bedroom downstairs.  A 5 foot hole had to be dug in preparation. Bob had started this earlier, and Laura and Aaron had come another night to dig.  At this point, it was about 3 1/2 feet deep. Here's Bob and Aaron getting started on this night.

At some point, Laura changed placed with Bob and starting digging too.

The girls were having fun playing in the backyard and occasionally checking on the progress.

They agreed to pose for a picture on the bench.

The hole is getting deeper!

And after lots of hard work, it's 5 feet deep!  Now we are praying we don't get any big rain storms before the company comes to install the window on Wednesday, so the dirt doesn't wash back in.

When we were done, we found the girls playing a game on the porch.
Laura and Aaron went home to shower after all that hot work.  We were so appreciative of all their help!
We took Alaina and Ruby out for ice cream and had a fun night and more fun on Saturday.