Mmmmm...COOKIES!

It may surprise you to learn that on Mother's Day I cooked all afternoon.  Really! I know I was supposed to be taking it easy, but all my son wanted to do with me was bake something.  I had a real hankering for a cookie and 5 ear-marked recipes in my Clabber Girl cookbook so we got out our ingredients and got down to business.

These cookies are SO simple.  I have made them a few times and each time I add a little bit here and there to change them.  I am going to post the original recipe, as it was written by Clabber Girl.  Feel free to make changes as you see fit but try them once, you will see they are pretty darn good as the recipe is written!

Hawaiin Cookies
2 C AP flour
2 tsp Clabber Girl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 C shortening
1 1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp imitation almond extract (safest for our nut allergy house)
1 egg
3/4 C crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 C shredded coconut, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt;set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream shortening, sugar and extracts.  Beat in the egg until mixture is fluffy.
Blend in the pineapple and flour mixture.  Drop by teaspoonfuls 3 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with coconut.
Bake for 20 minutes.  This should make 4 dozen 2 1/2 inch cookies.

Craft Beer Week on ATKS....

It's that time again! Time to preview what I have in store this week on Around the Kitchen Sink Radio!
I have a jam-packed show this week and 2 very special guests.  This is American Craft Beer week, so who better to have on than the owner of SunKing Brewery in Indianapolis

I am also excited to get a chance to chat with Tamre Mullins of Girls Pint Out.

Tamre Mullins is the founder of Girls Pint Out, a nationwide sisterhood of beer drinkers. Her love of beer began in 1999 studying abroad in Germany with a hefeweizen and she never looked back. The idea stemmed from attending local beer events and seeing a lack of women or attending "because my boyfriend brought me." The concept of Girls Pint Out is to provide educational events to give women the opportunity to learn about beer in an environment that is welcoming, undiscriminating, and promotes learning. Girls Pint Out is not a drinking club. Social events are mixed in to try out new establishments, hang out with the guys (who get quite jealous of girls only events!) and meet new people.  Through monthly events and online collaboration, women involved with Girls Pint Out have the opportunity and resources to become active the in the beer community. 




I will also be sharing a few of my favorite recipes involving some of my favorite Indiana brews.

Flank steak marinated in Bad Elmer's Porter

Flank steak with SunKing Osiris marinade

Beer Braised Pork Chops with Pears

Sunlight Cream Ale bread pudding

Please show some love to my wonderful sponsors!

Listen to ATKS here:

Winners Drink Milk....

The roar of the engines, the cheers of the crowds, just close your eyes and imagine you are at the Indianapolis 500.  Just do it for me.  I have been there and this is what I remember from race day.  That and the people watching, but that is a post for another time!

Something I am not sure many people know about is the 70 year tradition of the winner drinking Indiana milk after they cross the finish line.  Every year the winner toasts their win with an ice cold bottle of milk handed to them by their team owner in Victory Circle.  This handoff is steeped in tradition and is quite a process in which 2 Indiana Dairy farmers are selected every year to participate.

As a proud Hoosier, I am excited like every one else is, to welcome visitors to our beautiful state this Memorial Day weekend.  My son was born 13 years ago on race day, right as the call for "Ladies and Gentleman, start your engines" was made. So you see, this is a special weekend in our family.

Because I am a supporter of Indiana Dairy , and I love giving things away to my friends, they have kindly given me 2 tickets to the Indianapolis 500 Race, held on Sunday May 27, 2012.  I  appreciate that they asked me to be a part of educating my readers about Indiana's healthy, nutritious milk and give away tickets to this fabulous event at the same time! I am SO excited to share the 'Greatest spectacle in racing' with one of my readers!

This giveaway will run from Wednesday May 16 at 6 am EST until Monday May 21 at 11 pm EST.  This giveaway is open to anyone, but obviously you have to be able to travel to the race.  The tickets will be mailed directly to you by Indiana Dairy.
Please follow the rules stated in the rafflecopter.  The winner will be notified via email and have exactly 24 hours to respond.  If the winner fails to respond in the allotted time another winner will be chosen. So please make sure your email address is listed in your comment below.
These tickets were given to me by Indiana Dairy to offer in a giveaway on basilmomma.com.  All opinions are my own.

For more information about Indiana Dairy visit their site HERE
Visit their Facebook Page
Follow them on Twitter and follow their stream using hashtag #WinnersDrinkMilk
For more information about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway click HERE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Perfect Peach Pies.........

Sometimes I pick the strangest times to take on a cooking or baking project.  Last Wednesday night I decided that what I really needed to do, instead of working on my show, was start a batch of dough for mini peach pies.

I was really craving it and I thought, worst case-I would make it and the next day the craving would pass and I could just freeze the dough.

This was not to be.

So, the next night, 3 hours before I was to go live on the air, I was in the kitchen.  Rolling out dough, hot and bothered.  I needed these pies to turn out.  I needed to know that I could pull this recipe off perfectly.  See, the last time I made them it was a disaster.  The dough didn't turn out, the filling leaked and it did not bake evenly.  I fed it to the fish in my pond ;)

So as I stood there in the kitchen, practicing my opening out loud, I finally was able to pull off these pies.  They turned out perfectly.  Plus, I got a lot of thinking done.  I think better in the kitchen.

Recipe adapted from Clabber Girl New Classics Cookbook 2012

Fill in the Blank Filling Pies
Use the filling of your choice here.  I have used apricot, apple and fresh strawberry.
8 ounces of cream cheese, diced (do not use low fat. It will not turn out. TRUST ME)
1 C unsalted butter, diced
2 C AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Clabber Girl Baking Powder. This is all I use, use what you have :)
1 beaten egg (egg wash-1 egg with a bit of water, beaten)
1 C of filling or preserves of your choice


In a mixer or food processor, blend the butter and cream cheese.  Add the flour, salt and baking powder.  Pulse until the dough holds together.  Remove from the processor onto a sheet of plastic wrap, shape into a disk, wrap and chill 1 hour or overnight.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut into squares or circles with a diameter of 3 inches.
Place a tsp of filling or preserves in the center of each.  Brush remaining edges with a bit of the egg wash.  Fold in half then using a fork, crimp the edges to seal.


*You can dust with sugar (I did-Sugar in the Raw) or ground nuts (Nut allergy here)


Place the baking sheet on the upper rack of the oven.  Bake until lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes.  Cool and if desired, dust with confectioners sugar.


This should make 30-40.  I am sloppy so I only made 22. PLUS, 1 large one for me!


Listen to Around the Kitchen Sink HERE:

Mother's Day Radio....

Mother's Day Shout Out!!

Do you have a special memory of your mother? Do you have a funny story to tell? A kitchen mishap, a recipe gone wrong, a special 'food' that only MOM can make?

Well, if so then YOU are just what I need! I need some of you to call in to share your stories on Around the Kitchen Sink Radio on Thursday May 10 at 11 PM EST.

The number to call in is: 877-864-4869. I would LOVE to see the phone lines light up with your calls!

I will also be sharing the recipe to one of my husbands favorites from his childhood: Rhubarb Buckle Bars!
You can find this recipe here

Listen to ATKS here!!