Patriotic Sprinkle Cream Cheese Cookies

Patriotic Sprinkle Cream Cheese Cookies

I saw Patriotic Swirled Cheesecake Cookies on the blog, Yellow Bliss Road and decided to bake them this morning for Memorial Day. I added red, white and blue sprinkles and reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup. The cookies have a wonderful flavor from the cream cheese and are soft, chewy, and moist while the sprinkles add some crunch. See recipe and directions below.

Patriotic Sprinkle Cream Cheese Cookies

Close-up of Patriotic Sprinkle Cream Cheese Cookies

Patriotic Sprinkle Cream Cheese Cookies

 Yield: 3 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup Granulated Sugar

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (I use King Arthur)

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt

So yummy!

Each cookie has its own design

The cream cheese make these cookies a true star!

1/2 cup, 1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened

8 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature

2 Large Eggs, room temperature

See the pretty red, white, and blue sprinkles

So much color and sprinkles inside too!

Cookies are cooling on wire rack

Cookies cooling on wire racks

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 cup Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles

Blue and Red Gel Food Color

Cookies just taken out of the oven

These cookies are so pretty!

Cookies ready to bake!

Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium speed; about 1-2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.

Add sugar and incorporate until light and fluffy; about 1 minute.

Dough is colored

Red, white, and blue sprinkles

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.

Add egg and mix just until incorporated.

Add vanilla and mix until combined.

Turn mixer to low speed and slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated.

The dough has sprinkles now

Sprinkles incorporated

Flatten dough, add the sprinkles and press them into the dough 

Separate the dough in three bowls, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Once the dough has chilled, add the blue food color in one bowl and red food color in another bowl.

Line counter space with wax paper.

Use plastic gloves and take dough in your hand and roll until the blue has fully covered all of the dough. Repeat this step for the red dough.

Take one of the dough balls and flatten it out a bit (see photo) and add 1/3 of the sprinkles. 

Cover it with wax paper (see photo) and press the sprinkles into the dough.

Take the wax paper and cover the dough and press into it so the sprinkles stick

Roll the dough over the sprinkles like a burrito

Take burrito shape and roll in your hands until the sprinkles have been incorporated

Take the dough and shape it to look like a burrito (see photo), and then roll the sprinkles as you form a ball.

The dough will be sticky.

To make the marble-like effect, take 1/2 tablespoon of each color (see photo) and place it on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. I do 8-10 cookies per baking sheet.

Once you have the dough balls on the baking sheets, take each one into your hands and gently roll together.

Repeat until you are done forming all the cookies but be careful not to mix the colors too much.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Use 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon to form each ball

Here is a close-up of 3 balls; gently roll in the palm of your hand to form a cookie

Form 1/2 tablespoon ball for each color and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Cookies should just start to brown on the bottom and be light on the top. My cookies baked in 13 minutes.

Wait about 3 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the Patriotic Swirled Cheesecake Cookies recipe, visit:
https://www.yellowblissroad.com/patriotic-cheesecake-cookies/

-Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce

Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce

If you love to BBQ this sauce is one for you to check out! Texas based Briggs True has a stellar Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce that delivers on taste. The sauce has 3 out of 5 peppers on the bottle with a mild but spicy heat level that is just right. I made baked chicken wings using this BBQ sauce and the flavor was superb. Briggs True offer BBQ Sauces, Hot Sauces, Texas Mustard Sauce, Seasoning Rubs, and Jams & Jellies and I recommend you try their products.

Chicken Wings with Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce

To make the chicken wings, I patted them dry with a paper towel, seasoned both sides with kosher salt, and put them in a large ziploc bag. I added 1 cup of Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce and sealed the bag making sure the sauce coated all the wings. I let the BBQ Sauce marinate in the fridge for a few hours. I heated the oven to 375 degrees and baked the wings for one hour turning them over at the half hour point. Please keep in mind oven temperatures vary so adjust time accordingly.

Yummy wings with Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce

Some of the ingredients are: tomato concentrate, Bourbon, distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar, bacon flavor, salt, onion powder, cayenne powder, natural Hickory Smoke concentrate, garlic powder, anchovy puree, etc... This BBQ Sauce is rich and features bold flavors and makes outstanding wings. Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce would also be great on ribs, brisket, burgers, and steak.

Briggs True Spicy Bourbon Bacon BBQ Sauce

For further information, visit:
https://briggstrue.com/

Like Briggs True on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BriggsTRUE/

-Allen/Two Frys

Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning

2 Gringos Chupacabra Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning

For the last few years, Allen and I have used several products from 2 Gringos, and can honestly say we love to cook our meats with their seasonings/rubs. Some of the products 2 Gringos offer are: Rubs, BBQ Sauces & Marinades, Texas BBQ Beef Jerky, Sausage, Salsas, Pork Cracklings, Tortilla Chips, and more... I made chicken thighs with Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning for dinner the other night and the chicken was packed with flavor and was so good! Chicken thighs are my favorite part of the bird. The dark meat is juicy and more flavorful than its healthier counterpart the chicken breast, and you can either cook it with the skin and bone-in or boneless skinless, which is what I did in this recipe.

Chicken Thighs with 2 Gringos Chupacabra Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning

Pat dry both sides of the chicken thighs with a paper towel and then season each side with a little salt and a generous amount of Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning. Then add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a skillet on medium-high heat and cook the chicken thighs for about 15-20 minutes flipping them over half way. The chicken was tender, juicy and tasted great with this poultry seasoning.

Chicken Thighs with Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning is so so good!

Chicken to me is like a blank canvas and seasoning such as Cluckalicious is a great way to make it a flavorful and memorable dish for your family. Using Cluckalicious really elevated the chicken thighs and I look forward to trying it on turkey legs and on other chicken recipes.

Cluckalicous Poultry Seasoning is delish!

If you want your chicken to stand out, I wholeheartedly recommend 2 Gringos Chupacabra Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning. It will not disappoint.

2 Gringos Chupacabra Cluckalicious Poultry Seasoning

Enjoy!

For further information, visit:
https://www.2gringoschupacabra.com/

Like Chupacabra Rub on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ChupacabraRub

-Sophia/Two Frys

Aleppo Pepper Sauce Volcanic Peppers

Aleppo Pepper Sauce By Volcanic Peppers

Aleppo Pepper Sauce from Volcanic Peppers is a mild/medium heat hot sauce with rich flavor. Aleppo Pepper Sauce is great to cook with on beef, chicken, pork, and fish. I baked halibut and seasoned each fillet lightly with extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper, with a generous coating of Aleppo Sauce. I topped off the fish with a sprinkling of fresh lemon and it complimented the Aleppo Pepper Sauce flavor. The fish turned out great. I also used Aleppo Sauce on burgers and recently on my homemade macaroni and cheese and the sauce added a smoky peppery taste.

Aleppo Pepper Sauce By Volcanic Peppers with baked fish

The flavor profile not the heat level is the high point of this Volcanic Peppers Sauce. It is not a very spicy sauce so any level of spice lover can enjoy it. With Aleppo Pepper Sauce it is more about the flavor. I am always impressed with the flavor of sauces created by my friends at Volcanic Peppers.

The sauce has a slight raisin or fruit flavor like an Ancho Chile Pepper. The Aleppo Pepper is named after Aleppo, a city along the Silk Road in Northern Syria. It has gained popularity as an Eastern Mediterranean Spice in the United States. The Aleppo Pepper pods are the key ingredient in this Nebraska made sauce. Some of the other ingredients in the sauce are: onions, garlic, tomatoes, lemon juice, black pepper, and tumeric. The ingredients create a burst of flavor when cooked with or used as a condiment in your favorite foods.

Aleppo Pepper Sauce By Volcanic Peppers tastes great on baked fish

I am impressed with the flavors and versatility of Aleppo Pepper Sauce and recommend this sauce from Volcanic Peppers to add to your pantry. I advise you use Aleppo Pepper Sauce in a mild/medium heat level recipe to experience the warm flavors in the sauce. My wife is not a big fan of extreme heat and enjoyed it with our baked fish due to the rich flavor and great taste. I love this flavorful mild sauce, so keep up the great work Volcanic Peppers! Volcanic Peppers also make a vast variety of hot sauces in all heat levels from mild to very extreme sauces, spice blends, condiments, and more.

For further information, visit Volcanic Peppers:
http://volcanicpeppers.com/

Like Volcanic Peppers on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/VolcanicPeppers/

-Allen/Two Frys

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies

Last year I baked a Kentucky Butter Cake and we loved it. I saw Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies on the Cookies and Cups blog via Pinterest and wanted to try the recipe. It tastes just like the cake version. The cookies are moist, tender and melt in your mouth, and the glaze is divine. I ate 2 right after I glazed the cookies while the cookies were still warm. The only things I adapted in the recipe is using unsalted instead of salted butter, and increasing the salt from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. I urge you to try this recipe. See recipe and directions below. Enjoy the Kentucky Derby and if you are there live, lucky you!

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup Granulated Sugar

3 cups All Purpose Flour (I use King Arthur)

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 cup, 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened

2 Large Eggs

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed; about 1-2 minutes.

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies

Pouring the glaze over the warm cookies

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.

Scrape sides of bowl once again.

Turn mixer to low speed and slowly add the flour mixture and mix until dough is formed.

Using an ice cream scoop take dough and roll into balls and space 2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 14 minutes. Do not over bake.

My cookies baked in 14 minutes.

Start checking the cookies after 11 minutes since oven temps vary and adjust baking time accordingly. The cookies should be slightly golden.

Pouring the glaze over the warm cookies

Glazed cookies!

Glaze
Ingredients
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

1 tablespoon Water

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Powdered Sugar sprinkled over the glaze; look at this yumminess

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan over low-medium heat.

Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat and let set to thicken for 5 minutes.

Stir.

Use a tablespoon and pour over each cookie while it is warm.

Sprinkle a dusting of Powdered Sugar if desired.

For the Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies recipe visit, Cookies and Cups:
https://cookiesandcups.com/kentucky-butter-cake-cookies/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys