time off = time for baking

While spending lots of time around my parent's house, I took some time to try out some new recipes.

First up were these delicious Andes Mint Cookies found here.  The one thing you need to know about my family is we LOVE anything mint chocolate.  Some favorites are mint chocolate chip ice cream and York Peppermint Patties. As soon as I saw this cookie recipe, I was headed to the store to pick up the ingredients.  

I followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect.  Reviews from the family: "delicious" and "tastes like a soft thin mint". They were SO easy to make and will definitely be a favorite in the house.

The next recipe I tried was Luscious Lemon Delight found here.  This looked like it would be an easy, summertime treat and yesterday happened to be 80 degrees.   My family is also a big fan of lemon, raspberry, key lime and anything with that hint of tart flavor.  

I changed two things from the recipe. (1) My mom didn't have an 8x11 pan so I went with a 9x9. Overall I'm sure it tasted the same, but the layers were just a bit thicker. (2) I didn't add extra pecans to the top, just used 1/2 cup for the bottom layer. Reviews: "not lemony enough" and "too much lemon".  Go figure. I enjoyed it's refreshing taste and would make it again. 

We are driving back to Ohio later this afternoon. I'm looking forward to showing you other projects around the house that have been on the back burner during bathroom construction.

xo, Erin