Happy Monday! Oh, who are we kidding, Monday sucks. Bake these tonight and tomorrow will be a little bit sweeter. However, Monday can be a day of renewed energy and motivation. It provides a fresh start and an opportunity to set goals and make plans for the week ahead. Many people use Monday as a chance to start a new exercise routine, commit to healthy eating habits, or tackle a big project at work. Some even view Monday as their favorite day of the week, as it marks the beginning of a new cycle of productivity and progress.
Now’s a good time to start!
What we’re serving – Sweet pumpkin dip
Makes 5 cups, 32 servings [aka a LOT of dip!]
Ingredients
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 15-oz. can of solid packed pumpkin
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp all spice
- In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar until smooth.
- Gradually mix in the pumpkin.
- Stir in the spices until smooth and blended.
- Chill until serving.
Vanilla Wafers
Adapted from this recipe Ezra Pound cake Makes about 65 cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Blend sugar, salt and butter together until smooth with an electric mixer.
- Add egg yolks and vanilla and blend until smooth.
- Add flour.
- Divide dough into 4 portions and roll each into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
- Wrap each log in saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least an hour.
- Once chilled, slice each roll into slices 1/4 inch thick.
- Place slices on cookie sheet [NOTE: these don’t spread so you can place them pretty close together].
- Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.
- Let cool and then dip them into your delicious pumpkin dip.
Note: These cookies are not your traditional in-the-box vanilla wafers. They are definitely a cookie, and they’re sweeter than the boxed kind. However, the dip plus the cookie is not overly sweet so don’t worry about a sugar overload. Not that I ever do anyway.