10 April 2012

Almond Pudding Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting


Have you seen Million Dollar Rooms on HGTV? It's a show where they showcase (you guessed it) rooms that cost a cool mil to build.

Because, you know, spending a million dollars on a room is totally reasonable.

Now, I can kinda understand spending that much on, say, a pool area. Maybe a garage or media room. Pools and movie equipment are expensive, especially by rich people tastes.

But last week I saw an episode that included a million dollar closet.

Yes, I just said a million dollar CLOSET. That, it turns out, is worth at least five million dollars if you include the contents.

Because the closet was inspired by Coco Chanel. And, as the owner of the closet points out, Chanel purses ain't cheap.

Neither, apparently, was the $30,000 18-karat gold chandelier.

Or the $10,000 rug with the Chanel logo.

Or the hand-crafted wrought-iron staircase (yes, I said staircase; for the two-story 48,000 square foot closet) copied from the mirrored Chanel staircase in Paris. She really wanted to do mirrors on her stairs, but she couldn't get them to bend, darn it. What a waste.

Of course, the closet has more space than she needs right now. "I need to go shopping!" she chuckles.

But hey, she lets people take tours of the closet for charity. Gotta give back, right?

{Seriously, I am not making this stuff up. You can watch the episode here. The closet is in the last five minutes of the show.}

Want to see something that doesn't cost a million bucks?


Almond Pudding Cookies with a Brown Sugar Frosting. Is there anything in that sentence that doesn't sound good?

I made these for a friend who helped me out a lot when my parents were sick. She loves almond and almond extract and had given up chocolate for lent. I did some searching and came up with this recipe. They are the perfect "thank you" cookie. They're soft and chewy, sweet and almondy. If you like almonds, this recipe is for you!


Totally worth a million bucks for a fraction of the price.

**Hey! I'm participating in a sweet auction today benefiting The House of Mews. Want to bid on some yummy treats from some of your favorite bloggers? Head on over to visit Erin at The Spiffy Cookie and bid!**

Almond Pudding Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting

by Crazy for Crust
(Cookie recipe adapted from Chef in Training, Frosting adapted from Eat's Well with Others)

Ingredients
    For the Cookies:
    • 1 ½ sticks butter
    • ¾ cup brown sugar
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon almond extract
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 2-1/4 cups flour
    • 1 cup chopped sliced almonds
    For the Frosting:
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons milk
    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • ½ teaspoon almond extract
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 1 cup (or so) sliced almonds, toasted
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
    2. Whisk together baking soda and flour and set aside.
    3. Cream together butter and sugars. Add the pudding package and beat until well blended. Add eggs and almond extract. Slowly add the flour and mix until just combined. Stir in almonds.
    4. Roll into 1” balls and place on your cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
    5. To make the frosting: combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved into the liquid, just a few minutes. Remove from heat and add almond extract and powdered sugar. Stir until no lumps remain. Frost cookies quickly; this frosting tends to harden fast. Top immediately with toasted almonds and let the frosting harden.
    Powered by Recipage

    Enjoy!




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    08 December 2011

    Almond Toffee Bars


    As a food blogger I rarely make the same thing more than once. Am I alone in this?

    I can't post chocolate chip cookies over and over, can I? Unless it's a new version of a chocolate chip cookie...but then that wouldn't be making the same thing, would it?

    It would be like breaking some sort of blogger law. At least that's what I tell myself anyway, so I can be okay with making new things and not repeating recipes.

    There are very few things I make over and over again. These bars are one of them.

    I make them every year for Christmas. They have a crust, need I say more? And not just any crust...a shortbread crust. And almonds, my favorite nut. And toffee. And sweetened condensed milk.

    Are you drooling yet? I am.

    Unfortunately I made these for a potluck at school. Which means I didn't eat any. So maybe I'll have to make them again.

    They are good straight from the freezer, not that I'd know anything about that.

    And they're good if you try to thaw them in the microwave. (Shhhh....please keep my secret.)


    Wow, okay. I need to stop looking at these pictures. This coffee and pack of pop tarts next to me is so not doing it for me right now. See what I go through for you people? :)

    Only one week left in the 12 weeks of cookies...



    Print Friendly and PDFAlmond Toffee Bars
    Recipe adapted from Land o’ Lakes

    Ingredients:
    1 ½ cups flour
    ½ cup powdered sugar
    6 ounces sliced almonds (1 package)
    1 cup cold butter
    1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
    1 (8-ounce) package milk chocolate toffee bits
    1 egg
    1 teaspoon vanilla

    Instructions:
    1.       Preheat oven to 350°. Combine flour, sugar, and ¼ cup of almonds in a medium bowl. Cut in butter (I use a pastry cutter) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Line a 9x13” baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Press butter mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
    2.       Stir sweetened condensed milk, toffee bits, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour over hot, partially baked crust. Top with remaining almonds and continue baking 23-27 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely and cut into squares.

    Yield: 36 bars







    This recipe may be linked with:
    MondayMingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of DessertsTuesday2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party (Mrs. Fox's Sweets) Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  ThursdaySweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh), Sweet Temptations (Talking Dollars and Cents). FridaySweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate). SaturdaySweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). SundayA Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), Moms Crazy Cooking

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