Foodie Friday- Pecan Pie Bites

Mmm. I love pecan pie. This is a good way to taken it with you just about anywhere, but without the mess that a whole pie generates.

PECAN PIE BITES

INGREDIENTS

Cookie
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Land O Lakes® Egg (yolk only)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Land O Lakes® Heavy Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray 36 mini muffin pan cups with no-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter, egg yolk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat at low speed until well mixed.

Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls; place each into prepared mini muffin pan cups, pressing dough onto bottom and up one-third sides of each cup, creating a shallow cup.

Combine all filling ingredients in bowl; spoon 1 teaspoon filling into each cookie.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 10 minutes in pan on cooling rack.

Remove cookies from pans by running small knife around edge of cookie. Place onto cooling rack; cool completely.

Foodie Friday- Oatmeal Ginger-cream Pies

These are delicious with a steaming mug of your favorite winter drink.

Ingredients

1½ c. Rolled Oats
1 c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. salt
1 stick butter
½ c. granulated sugar
½ c. packed light-brown sugar
1 large Egg
Ginger Cream (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with racks set in the top and bottom positions. On a baking sheet, bake oats on the top rack, shaking the pan intermittently to prevent burning, until lightly browned, 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool, leaving oven on.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Stir in the toasted oats.
Fit 2 baking sheets with parchment. Roll dough, 2 tablespoons at a time, into balls, or use a #30 (1-ounce) ice-cream scoop; for each sheet, drop 12 balls 2 inches apart. With dampened hands, flatten each ball to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using the bottom and top racks, bake until cookies are lightly browned around the edges and set, 12 minutes, switching the baking sheets from top to bottom and rotating them from front to back halfway through baking. Remove from oven and let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frost the bottoms of 12 cookies with Ginger Cream, then top with the remaining 12 cookies.


Ginger Cream

INGREDIENTS

8 oz. cream cheese
⅓ c. confectioners' sugar
¼ c. finely chopped crystallized ginger

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the ginger.

The Girl Scout Cookie Story

So, last Sunday I was out at the grocery store. It's Girl Scout Cookie season here in Kentucky and there was a table of little girls and their moms selling them in the foyer. I usually order mine from one of my coworkers, but I more often than not pick up an extra box or two when I come across those tables. ESPECIALLY if the girls are actively selling (instead of letting the adults do it) and are polite. Well, this table was staffed by three of the cutest little Brownies ever. I was approached by a tiny, snaggle-toothed little sweetheart who lisped "Excuthe me, mith, would you like to buy our cookies?" I told her not right then, but I'd stop on my way back out.

I collected the handful of things I needed and made my way back out of the store. I couldn't resist, so I'd gotten enough cash back on my debit card to buy ONE box. One of the other girls saw me coming and ran over to ask, again, VERY politely, if i'd like a box. I said yes, went to the table, and told the adults that their Brownies were two of the politest cookie sellers I'd ever met and it would be an honor to buy a box from them. They were quite pleased to hear that and then this happened:

The third little girl walked toward a man on his way out and (still politely) asked him if he'd like to buy some cookies. He could have simply said NO, or No, Thank you, but this cretin instead chose to swear at a little girl who couldn't have been more than 7 years old. "No, I don't want no damn cookies. That fucking shit is too high."

Ok, y'all know me. I may not be that crazy about kids, but even I don't swear at them without a damn good reason, and even then, I usually swear at the adult responsible for them instead of the child. And seeing the way that poor little girl's face fell, I wasn't going to let that go. She ran back to her mom, close to tears, and buried her face in Mom's sweater. I signaled to both mothers that the boom was about to be lowered.

I walked over to the jackhole and said, "Was it really necessary to swear at a young girl who was asking you a question, using her best manners? Would you do that if your mother was here?" He began to stammer explanations, but I cut him off. Handing him my freshly purchased box of Samoas, I said "Please take these as my gift and hopefully they'll sweeten your attitude before you encounter anyone else." (I can't believe I gave away a box of Samoas, and to a jerk, no less) He stood there in stunned disbelief as I walked away.

I looked back over my shoulder (in case he decided to come after me or something) and he was on his knees by the table apologizing to the little girl he made cry. So apparently some people CAN learn.