Try it Tuesday - Lemon Crinkle Cookies

For those who follow Straddling the Gap on Facebook, I have been saving lots of those "Facebook" recipes to test out on my family (and you!).  I tried this recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies a couple of weeks ago.  These are FAST to make because they only have 4 ingredients and allegedly, they are low fat.

WARNING - My attempts at food photography suck.  No, really.  I would steal the picture from the recipe on Facebook but that would be blatantly wrong (and you would know it).  So, here are my pictures.  In my defense on these cookies, they didn't even make it off the cookie sheets except to go in my family's mouths!  For whatever it's worth these cookies were very pretty - yellow and well formed.

Here's the recipe:

1 box lemon cake mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups (8 oz container) Cool Whip
1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar (enough to roll through)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine everything in large bow EXCEPT powdered sugar.  (I can confirm that, consistent with the Facebook recipe, the dough is sticky!)  Form dough into tablespoon size balls and roll in powdered sugar.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until edges are golden.  You might want to consider even a little longer if they aren't getting too brown because these cookies don't get crispy.  Allow to cool.

So, how did they do?  The recipe yields about 2 dozen cookies and there were none left when we went to bed that night.  They are chewy more than crunchy but they are lemony and yummy.  I always try to have a "takeaway" thought of how I could do a better job next time with this recipe.  For this one, I would try baking it a little longer.  I'm curious to see how much crunchier I can get these cookies without burning them.  

These cookies are so easy and great for a quick desert or after school snack.  Thumbs up from me!

cindy

Try It Tuesday - Rainbow Popcorn

Try it Tuesday is my opportunity to try a recipe or project, especially one I found on Pinterest.  This is one Mackenzie found on YouTube.  She was looking for "Bibble" which I still don't think we have ever found.  We did find Rainbow Popcorn.  If you like carmel corn, this is similar.

You need 2-4 cups of plain popcorn (no butter or seasonings) for each color (depending on how much color you want).  We used about 4 cups per color.  You can also add nuts (or other add-ins after the baking is complete).  You also need Jello, Caro syrup, granulated or brown sugar and butter.

Grease or spray non-stick spray into the bottom of a shallow dish, preferably a glass dish.  You can also line a pan with parchment paper, which will definitely be my preference next time.  Spread the popcorn in the pan and set aside.

Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn syrup.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Add 1/4 cup granulated or brown sugar and half of a 3 oz package of Jello, your choice of flavor (color).  Stir until caramelized, being careful not to burn.  Remove from heat and immediately drizzle over popcorn.  (Don't be slow, this stuff clumps very fast.)  You can toss it a little to coat as much as you can.

Bake in the oven at 250 degrees for 12-15 minutes, stirring a couple of times during baking.  Pour onto wax paper, spread out and let it cool.

The Jello flavors make it really fruity.  I liked combining the flavors - it was like Skittles.  You can store it in Ziploc bags and it will last about a week.

I think the first time you try a recipe it's a good idea to keep some notes about what you would do differently:
1.  I would use less popcorn for each color so you get more coated.
2.  Substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar
3.  Use parchment paper to line the pan for baking.  You can then move the parchment paper around to stir the popcorn during baking.
4.  Important clean up tip - pour boiling water to rinse/clean pans and spoons.  You will never be able to scrub this stuff from the bottom of your pans, but pouring boiling water into the pans will work very nicely.

Enjoy!

cindy