Pecan Butter Cookies

I love to bake! My love of baking is basically the downfall of any weight lose plan that I've ever been on....mostly because when you bake, you have to taste test! Plus there is always that one {or five} cookie that breaks that you just can't put on the serving tray. Anyway, last week my sister was down for a visit and she requested these cookies {Pecan Butter Cookies} because they are her absolute favorites. So of course even though I'm on a diet and don't need to be anywhere near cookies, I baked a couple dozen for her...and I maybe taste tested a few too:)

 This recipe is one that I tore out of a Martha Stewart magazine a few years ago. It was the Cookie of the Month....and after my first time making them I knew why they held that distinction! They are so yummy. They only take a few ingredients. And everyone LOVES them! I almost always make a double recipe of these cookies because they go fast!

Pecan Butter Cookies

{makes about 2 dozen cookies}

1 cup pecan halves of pieces

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Break pecans into pieces of give them a rough chop in a food processor. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until pale. Add vanilla and salt. With mixer on low gradually add floor, beating until just incorporated. Stir in pecans. Cover dough and refrigerate until firm or overnight. 

2. Drop 2 tablespoon scoops of dough onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until the edges of the cookies are gold, about 15 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Recipe from Martha Stewart

 These cookies are very delicate so you have to be extra careful when moving them from the cookie sheet to the cooling rack, or you may end up with a couple of broken cookies...and you may have to eat them yourself:)

 They look so pretty all dusted with confectioners sugar and stacked up high on a serving plate.

Do you love to bake as much as I do?

What is your favorite cookie to bake?

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Embroidery Hoop Easter Wreaths

My front doors have been bare since the week after Valentine's Day. For some reason I just couldn't get myself motivated to make something cute and springy to cover up my bare front doors. Maybe it's because I've been SUPER busy with a bunch of nothing....or maybe it's because the weather has been fluctuating between pouring rain and ridiculous heat {at least for March anyway}. Whatever the reason, I figured since we only have a couple of weeks until Easter I should get busy making something kind of spring like before I miss my chance and summer is here!

As I was walking through the fabric store last week looking for some fun green fabric for the Airstream, I noticed these oval shaped embroidery hoop. The first thing I thought when I saw them was that they look just like an egg...I guess that's about right since eggs are oval shaped:) Anyway, I stuck them in my tiny cart on top of with Eli and walked around the store for a while trying to talk myself into buying them. They were kind of expensive {about $13 each, though they did have smaller size that was only $8} to just hang on my front door for a few weeks, but after stumbling across some cute polka dot and paisley fabrics on clearance I decided to buy them and see what I could create.

 cute springy {clearance} fabrics:

 Start by laying out the hoops and cutting the fabric just a little bit bigger than the outside of the hoop.

 Then use a screwdriver to open up the hoop and place the fabric between the two pieces. Pull the fabric until it is smooth, and then tighten the hoop back up with your screwdriver.

 After you have the hoop tightened, turn it over and use a sharp pair of scissors to trim off the excess fabric. 

  Once you have the base of the wreath finished, you can embellish your egg shaped wreaths anyway you want! I created a couple of pennants with a pattern, a sharpie, and some coordinating fabric. Then I hot glued the pennants pieces onto a strip of raffia and attached that to the outside edge of the embroidery hoop. I also added a small sign that says "Happy Easter" with a flower rosette.

 These were really simple to make, and they are the perfect spring addition to my front doors! My favorite part about this project is that you can take the basic idea of an egg shaped embroidery hoop wreath and really turn it into anything you want for Easter!

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Wordless Wednesday: Puddle Jumping