Tie Cookie Packaging Ideas

Here are two simple packaging ideas for the Tie Cookies for Father's Day.

The first is to wrap the cookie in a self-sealing cellophane bag and add three alphabet cookies down the side to spell "DAD."

The second idea is to wrap a tie cookie just like a tie from the department store by placing it in a small cardboard box lined with tissue paper. I made my own box by following Origami instructions I found online. Here is the link.

Tie Cookies For Father's Day

These tie cookies make a sweet Father's Day gift and you don't need a special cookie cutter to make them. 

Just draw and cut a tie shape out of a sheet of heavy duty paper to make a template and you are all set to go. You'll have fun decorating these because you can get creative with the colors and patterns. 

And, Dad will surely enjoy eating them.

Here's how to make them:

Place the template on your rolled out cookie dough and use a knife to cut around it.

Because you are dealing with just straight lines, the cutting goes quickly.

Lay the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake.

The cookies after baking.

Cut out a few more templates and sketch a few designs. This step isn't necessary but very helpful.

Outline and fill a tie cookie with flood consistency royal using a #2 tip.

Using medium consistency icing and a #2 tip, add stripes in another color.

Again, using medium consistency royal icing and a #2 tip, add more stripes in a complementary color.

Also add a few stripes going in the opposite direction.

A tie with just white stripes also looks good.

Here's another design.

Using just three colors, you can come up with quite a few designs. Experiment and have fun.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

My daughter Eleanor adding condiments to her veggie burger.

I used to buy frozen Veggie Burgers in the store until I figured out they were easy to make myself and tasted so much better. There's no hard recipe, just cooked veggies, white beans, oatmeal and eggs blitzed in the food processor. Honestly, every time I make them, they're one of a kind because I use different veggies and seasonings.

Last night I made a tasty batch using cooked frozen corn and green beans, sweet onion and seasoned it with chili powder and Italian herbs.

It never hurts to make extra Veggie Burgers because you can bake them and then individually freeze them for a quick meal. Then all you have to do is pull one out of the freezer and heat it in the microwave for a minute or two. I also sometimes forgo the bun and dice one up to top a green salad — mmmm.....Veggie Burger Croutons!

In the food processor is 1 cup of cooked corn, 1 1/2 cups of cooked green beans, 1/2 of a diced sweet onion, 1 can of white beans, 1 1/2 cups of old fashioned oatmeal and 2 eggs. I also seasoned the mixture with chili powder, Italian herbs, sea salt and black pepper.

Here's the mixture after processing. Its texture resembles a thick muffin batter.

Prepare a sheetpan with a greased sheet of parchment paper. Scoop 1/2 cup blobs of the mixture onto the parchment and use your fingers to gently pat them out into even-sized patties. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, flip the patties and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes or until the burgers are firm and golden brown.

Add your choice of condiments.

Enjoy!

Homemade Gluten-Free Bread

This gluten-free bread comes together as easily as a recipe for quick-bread and it's soft, flavorful and slices beautifully for sandwiches.

My daughter Una couldn't wait for my latest batch to cool completely before cutting herself a slice and declaring it "delicious!".

Gluten-free bread is expensive to buy and making it yourself might seem too when you initially buy your ingredients, especially the xantham gum that costs $13.99 for an 8 oz. package.

In the end though, the price of the natural thickener and stabilizer is really no big deal since you need just 1 1/2 teaspoons to make a loaf of bread. Xantham gum is a necessary addition since it holds the bread together and keeps it from being crumbly. That pricy 8 oz. bag will last a very long time.

Adding up my costs, I estimated that one homemade loaf of gluten-free bread costs just under $3 to make, definitely less than buying a loaf which averages $5.

I used a combination of millet and rice flour in the recipe since the millet's texture is soft like wheat flour. Experimenting with just rice flour tasted fine but created a grainy texture that for me screamed gluten-free.

Instead, I aimed to develop a recipe that didn't taste like a diet compromise and I believe this is it.

Gluten-Free Bread
(makes 1 loaf)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup millet flour
3/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds (optional)


Heat the milk in the microwave until it is warm, this takes about 35 seconds. Add the sugar and yeast to the milk and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture set for 5 minutes until it begins to bubble and grow.

In a mixer bowl, whisk together the millet flour, rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum and salt.

Gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, mixing it on low speed until it comes together.

Add the eggs and oil and mix on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the batter is very smooth.

Leave the batter in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

After rising, give the batter a stir.

Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and pour the batter into the pan. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter evenly in the pan. If you want to use sunflower seeds, this is the time to sprinkle them evenly over the top of the batter.

Cover the loaf pan loosely with greased plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 to 40 minutes or until the dough is just to the top edge of the pan. Also, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the bread for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.

Coming Soon...Gluten-Free Bread

I'm in the process of developing a recipe for Gluten-Free Bread. My goal is to devise a simple to make and tasty sandwich bread for a friend who is on a gluten-free diet. 

Stay tuned....

Gluten-free bread ingredients.

Chili Cheese Dogs

Today's meal — A chili cheese dog with green beans and baked apples.

We served Chili Cheese Dogs at the Wednesday Community Meal today and the guests loved them.

We made the chili that topped the hot dogs from scratch from lots of cans of donated beans and a few large cans of tomato sauce. Then we added minced onion and spices —salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and cumin. All it took was a little simmering and we had a delicious homemade chili.

Just a few cans of the donated beans that we used to make homemade chili.

The finished chili. Doesn't it look good?

For vegetarians, we topped the toasted hot dog buns with just the chili and added a generous helping of cheese.

About a half hour into the meal, we realized the chili wasn't going to go as far as we needed so we opened some more cans of beans and sauce and were able to quickly extend it and make it last.

Part of the fun of volunteering is the challenge of figuring out how to make do with what we have and have enough to feed everyone. We never know how many people will show up for our free meal and we've never had to turn anyone away.

We served 295 meals during our two hour service.

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

These Green Tea Shortbread Cookies are exotic, pretty and full of flavor.

Making them using the slicing method, instead of rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters, makes them especially quick and simple to whip up.

I love that the rich green color of the cookies comes naturally from the addition of three tablespoons of Matcha powder. Packaged with a homemade tag, these sturdy cookies make a sweet gift.

Here's the recipe:

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies
(makes 5 to 6 dozen 2-inch cookies)

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Matcha powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 turbinado sugar (for coating the cookies before baking)

In a large mixing bowl whip together the butter, Matcha powder, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Add the granulated sugar and whip again until light and fluffy.

Butter and Matcha powder in the mixing bowl.

The butter, sugar and flavorings creamed together. All that's left to add is the flour.

Finally, add the four and mix until well-combined and a soft dough forms.

Divide the dough into thirds and using plastic wrap, shape each into and even-sized log or rectangle. Place the wrapped dough into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line sheetpans with parchment paper.

Place the turbinado sugar on a clean surface and roll the dough, one log at a time into the sugar, gently patting the sugar into the dough.

Slice the logs into 1/4 thick cookies and place on the sheetpans, leaving at least 1-inch between them.  The cookies will increase in size during baking.

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown.  Let the cookies cool on the sheetpans before transferring to a cooling rack.