7 Cookie Ideas for Mother's Day

How many times has your mom made cookies for you? Well, it's time to repay the favor...and show her that you were paying attention in the kitchen.

Plus, if you're really sweet, she might even share.

Here are seven of my favorite cookies for Mother's Day. 

Before you say that you can't decorate cookies with royal icing, one involves buttercream and another a pourable glaze. See? I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. I can dispense mom guilt even if I didn't give birth to you.
(This is getting weird.)



*click the links for how-to's and recipes*

1. Gold Chevron Stenciled Thank You Cookies: Don't let the stencil scare you. In fact, you could skip it completely and just make the floral thank you cookies. I wish I would have said more "thank you's" to my mom. Here's your chance.

2. Wonder Woman Cookies: Kisser of Boo-Boo's, Wiper of Noses, Driver of Carpool, Teacher of All Subjects, Fixer of Science Fair Tri-Boards (or entire projects), Chef of Tacos and Fish Sticks, Keeper of the Household (my husband will laugh when he reads that one), Coordinator of Playdates, Volunteer at All School Functions, Packer of Lunches (ugh), Planner of Parties, Shopper of Groceries (remember when that was fun?!?), Folder of Laundry, QUEEN of the Castle. Yep, Wonder Woman.

3. Painted Rose Mom Cookies: You'll only need one color of icing for these and next to no artistic skills. Trust me...I paint about as well as I scrapbook, which is to say I'm terrible at it.

4. Buttercream Yellow Rose Cookies: These are probably the quickest to make out the bunch. They are SO, SO good.

5. Sugar Cookie Bars with Strawberry Glaze and Sugared Flowers: Bar cookies...love them. The sugared edible flowers are just so beautiful. How often has your mom been able to EAT her flowers on Mother's Day? You can find edible flowers in the fresh herb section in your grocery store.

6. Lattice Sculpted Rose Cookies: These cookies make a statement. The 3-D roses and leaves are made using silicone molds and fondant. I'd actually love a dress in this pattern. Very girly, very sweet.

7. Scallop Dot Rose Cookies: Scallops, and dots, and roses...oh my! With a few simple techniques, you can have these cookies decorated in no time. Play with the colors or shapes...hearts would be adorable, too!

Oh! And if you have Decorating Cookies Party, don't forget to check out the Seed Packet cookie set. Those would be SO cute to give a garden loving mom or nana! ♥

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Cinnamon Sugar Waffles with Cinnamon Peanut Butter Maple Drizzle

Over the past couple of months, we've gone from a pancake family to a waffle family. (It would probably sound more impressive to say we've gone from a 5K family to a marathon family, but...we'd rather eat waffles than run.)


Once I discovered that leftover waffles taste so much better reheated than pancakes do, they've become a staple breakfast around here. Freeze the leftovers, pop them in at 350° oven, bake for 10 minutes. Perfect.


Cinnamon-sugar toast is such a comfort food for me...we had it so many mornings growing up and it really reminds me of my mom. That's one of the many reasons I love Land O' Lakes® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread. It spreads beautifully right from the fridge and brings back lots of childhood memories.


I decided to use the spread to make Cinnamon Sugar Waffles. You'll really get a triple shot of it as the it's in the waffle batter, spread on the warm waffles, and in the cinnamon peanut butter maple drizzle. Do NOT skip the drizzle. Oh my gosh.


This recipe makes about 9-10 nice, thick waffles. Once they come off of the waffle iron, you'll put them in a 200° oven while you cook up the rest. This way, everyone can eat at the same time, and the time in the oven also helps to crisp them up a little bit.



Cinnamon Sugar Buttermilk Waffles 
 {makes 9-10 large waffles}

Waffles
2 eggs
1/4 cup Land O’ Lakes® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread
3 TBSP light brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 & 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 & 3/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Maple Drizzle 
 2 TBSP Land O’ Lakes® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

For topping
Land O’ Lakes Cinnamon® Sugar Butter Spread
powdered sugar
cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 200. Coat a waffle iron with vegetable oil and heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs well. Whisk in the Land O’ Lakes® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread and brown sugar until well mixed. Add in the vegetable oil, vanilla, and buttermilk; whisk until combined. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the mixture the wet ingredients, whisking just until combined.

Scoop the batter onto the heated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions. Once cooked, place directly on the rack of the warmed oven. Re-coat waffle iron, if necessary, and continue cooking the waffles.


Once the waffles are cooked, make the drizzle. Melt the Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread with the peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Stir in the maple syrup until combined. Keep warm. Remove waffles from the oven. Spread with Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread. Spoon the drizzle over the top and sprinkle on powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar.

Ah, these could almost make me into a morning person.

*Disclosure: Bake at 350 has partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversations blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

Sweet on Trader Joe's Saturday: Grahams + Chocolate Almond Spread

We're bringing you a two-fer today! Two reviews for the price of one!
(If only Trader Joe's would let us buy our treats that way!)

Today's review is of Trader Joe's Honey Graham Crackers AND Cocoa Almond Spread.

TJ's graham crackers are made without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. They come in a 14.4 oz. box and packaged in sleeves, like other brands of grahams. The box costs $2.99.


Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread can be found in a jar near the peanut butter. The 10-ounce jar costs $3.99.


A mom's (my) take: Let's start with the graham crackers...they're light, crispy, with just a hint of sweet. I like these better than the grahams I've been buying at my regular grocery store. Now, to the cocoa almond spread. Similar to Nutella, this is a smooth spread made with chocolate and nuts. This one is a bit thicker than Nutella, with more of a peanut butter-like consistency. Sometimes Nutella can get oily...not so with this spread. The almond flavor is subtle, but definitely noticeable. I loved this spread on the graham crackers...and even MORE straight from the jar with a spoon. (Not coincidentally, every spoon in our house is now dirty.) This might be something I can never again be without.
Overall rating:
Honey Grahams: 5 of 5 stars
Cocoa Almond Spread: 5 of 5 stars

A teenager's (kiddo's) take: The graham crackers, to start, definitely provide a nice base for the spread. The texture is lovely; however, I'm not a big fan of the "slightly sweet" graham crackers as my mom is. I prefer graham crackers with a more substantive taste. The spread was my favorite out of the two items. The almond flavor hit hard at first (which I love), but was soon overshadowed by the luscious chocolate flavor. As with all spreads, you have to proportion it correctly to get the perfect amount: not too thin to where you can't even taste it, but not so much that it is overwhelming.
Overall rating:
Honey Grahams: 4 out of 5 stars
Cocoa Almond Spread: 5 out of 5 stars



Trader Joe's Honey Graham Crackers and Cocoa Almond Spread: add these to your TJ's shopping list...and buy more spoons. ;) 

Read all of our Trader Joe's sweet treats and dessert reviews!