Thursday, March 18, 2010

Spring Cookies + An Update from Abbie


I've taken these sweeties to baby showers, birthday parties, family gatherings, girls' nights, game nights, and luncheons. They always get rave reviews. Last night my friend said, "These are so good! Much better than dessert pizza." That's exactly what I was going for - the yumminess of dessert pizza, but making them easy to serve and easy to eat. And who doesn't love to eat something pretty?

Ingredients:
  • 1 (16 oz) Pillsbury sugar cookie dough roll*
  • 1 (8oz) package of neufchatel cheese (cream cheese's thin sister)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp lemon juice + 1 tsp
  • 6 strawberries, cut into eighths
  • 12 blueberries
  • 1 kiwi, halved and sliced
  • 1 banana, sliced

Directions:

*Pillsbury has always given me the best cookie for this recipe. I've found homemade are just not tough enough to handle the toppings.
Make the cookies, but don't follow package direction exactly:
Preheat oven to 325-350.
Cut them into 1/4-1/3 inch slices (1/2 will be too big).
Use a dark cookie sheet if you have one, and lightly grease it - I use cooking spray.
I bake them for about 7-8 minutes, it's good if they're a teeny bit crisp.
Let cool completely.
Frosting:
Mix neufchatel cheese, sugar, vanilla, and 2 tsp lemon juice until nice and smooth.
The fun part:
Frost cookies and decorate with fruit! Add a dab of lemon juice to each banana slice to keep them from browning. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
Tip: serve the same day. They'll get a little soggy if you refrigerate overnight. Sometimes I'll bake the cookies the night before and prep the frosting and fruit, so I can assemble quickly the next day.

Recipe probably should be doubled because you'll eat five before you serve them.

Happy Spring!

P.S. Remember this?

I did it! I finished the chart!
Thank you thank you thank you for all the support! I can honestly say that this Bloom community is helping me become a better mother.
Also, a few of you said that you wanted to make a chart. Did you? I would love to know all about it.

7 comments:

Jonesy said...

Abbie--
Congrats on your accomplishment!!! I'm curious to know what changes have come over your home since starting it. So often I think we begin tasks, finish them, but forget to analyze what has happened as a result. It deserves another great post from you!
Oh, and cookie fruit pizza that you don't have to cut? Genius.

Sassy Salsa girl said...

Looks good, and easy. This is one I will definitely have to try. ;D

Bloom said...

First of all, yum. And gorgeous.

Second, three cheers! I am so proud of you! How do you feel? Do you still feel like you have to really stop and think and control yourself before you are tempted to yell, or do you feel like it's turned you into a softer discipliner? Just curious. I'm only a couple of days back on the wagon, myself.

-anne

Headle said...

Those cookies are BEAUTIFUL Abbie!!! I love your creative twist of making fruit pizza cookies! I can't wait to go pick up some fresh fruit and get started :)

Your chart is an inspiration!! You are such an awesome example of achieving anything we set our minds to through humility, faith and focused resolve. Seeing this chart FILLED UP to the BRIM with REAL EFFORT demonstrates that we can overcome, to a large degree, the various weaknesses we struggle with. To SEE your progress is such a powerhouse reminder to me. Thank you!

Heather said...

Such an accomplishment! What a great example. I think it's awesome that you really wanted to make the effort, I'm sure your home and kids feel much better. I am going to do this! Such a creative and fun way to reach a goal and better yourself.

Gorgeous cookies. I want one right now...! I'll have to make these for sure.

Joan said...

Abbie: Your chart inspired me in a different way. I wanted to do one for eating well...I got lazy and didn't make the chart but I kept a tally in my notebook for every day that I ate well. I could have one small treat a day..but really just kept it simple. It was me against myself (or shall I say the hungry, insatiable monster within myself!?)
Thanks for inspiring me :)
I'm proud of you for accomplishing your goal!

Andrea said...

My husband's favorite dessert is fruit pizza, so I'm excited to try the mini versions!

Also, your no-yelling chart is so inspiring. I think every parent has one or more of those big flaws that we didn't realize would be a problem for us until we had kids. What a fun way to tackle yours! I definitely have a few parenting issues to work on and I love the idea of creating a cute chart to motivate myself to do better. Thanks for the inspiration.