Operation Baking GALS Round 12

Thank you so much to all my wonderful baking GALS! If you are new to my blog, Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support) was started a little while ago by Susan of She's Becoming Doughmesstic and it has since grown in leaps and bounds. Every round, the bakers are divided into teams and each team is assigned a soldier. We then bake and ship care packages to our soldier and he/she will share the goodies amongst his/her unit. I've received a few thank-you letters and emails from our soldiers and it always makes me smile.

I hadn't lead a team in a few rounds, but I knew I had a group of awesome bakers that would come running as soon as I said "Go". I was searching around for a soldier when my friend Erica swooped in to save the day. Her friend is stationed in Afghanistan AND his 30th birthday is the end of September. What better reason do we need? Kenny is from outside of Boston and his wife, Diane, wrote the sweetest bio for us:

Kenneth (Kenny) is a Sergeant currently serving his second tour of duty with the US Army. He is currently stationed in Afghanistan, but was previously stationed in Iraq for a year. On Sept. 21st, Kenny will celebrating his 30th birthday making this a great month to send him tons of home-made goodies!

Raised in MA, Kenny grew up with his parents, Jerry and Jane, and 3 sisters, Sarah, Amanda, and Katie. He is the only one of his siblings to still live in MA, but he is still very close with all of them. When not serving overseas, Kenny now lives in MA with the 3 loves of his life- his wife Diane and daughters Ellie, age 7 and Maddy, age 2- whom he misses very much.

Besides his strong love for his family, Kenny also has a strong love of music and acting. As a musician, Kenny plays french horn, saxophone and piano. When home, he has also frequently acted with the Off-Broadway Players at UMASS Lowell, Newton Country Players, and Nashoba Players, where he met Diane! His most recent performances include Godspell, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Beau Jest, Proof, and several festival performances.

Kenny is proud to be serving his country and protecting its citizens, and he appreciates all the support he receives from those back in the States!

Now, c'mon...how could you not want to send this guy cookies? Luckily, I had a wonderful group of 14 bakers ready and willing to answer the call of Operation Baking GALS Team GO TERPS! Diane also told us that Kenny loves hermits and is trying to be healthy, so a lot of bakers sent him Mens Health magazines and kinda-good-for-you snacks. Here are some of their delicious care packages:

• Barbara B. sent oatmeal craisin and molasses cookies


• Karen C. sent peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, along with an assortment of mints, cards, beef jerky and homemade trail mix


• Ashley P. sent sugar cookies


• Erica S. shipped hermits, rice krispie treats and trail mixes


• Kara sent snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies, along with Goldfish, baby wipes, and other fun snacks


• Rachel N. sent a very creative package including brownies, wet wipes, instant coffee and lots of fun stuff for any women in Kenny's unit


• I sent hermits, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies
  

Karen's delicious looking care package!

My hermits

Rachel's stuffed package

Hermits

What a strange name for a cookie! When I first heard it, all I could think of was a little Hermit crab scuttling along the beach. Not so tasty, in my opinion! However, these Hermits are delicious. I made a batch for Round 12 of Operation Baking GALS because our soldier's wife said that he loved Hermits. I imagine he'll get about 14 different packages of Hermits, so I really hope he does like them!

A Hermit is a soft and spicy cookie (or bar, in my case), made with molasses, raisins, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. It's wonderfully comforting and familiar in the flavors, reminiscent of spice cake and molasses cookies, with a chewy texture. I made mine a little thicker than normal, so they took about 45 min to bake instead of 25. WELL worth it though.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar and spices. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and stir until well blended. Stir in molasses, raisins and walnuts (if you're using them.)

To make bar cookies: Spread mixture on cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Cut into bars while warm and let cool on wire rack.

To make drop cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Drop batter about 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

Operation Baking GALS - Round 7

Sorry for the late post! This round went out April 10th and all of Team Go Terps shipped out delicious baked goodies for our soldier, Steve. He's been stationed in Iraq since October and will be there for at least another year. I hope he gets all the treats and enjoys them! I sent out chocolate chip cookies and a batch of World Peace cookies, just for a little bit of irony.

Here are what some other fantastic Team Go Terps bakers sent out:

• Katie baked oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies and sent a great package of treats
  
  

• Shelly and her coworkers baked chocolate chip bars, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies

• Hilary (one of my sorority sisters!) sent out a batch of delicious cookies, and her husband Bryan was happy to help make sure they tasted right.
  
  
• Jess baked peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies, and sent them out with some candy and magazines
  
  
  

• Laura baked one of my favorites - chocolate chip cookies in a chocolate chip cookie!

• Diana made Oatmeal Raisin cookies, Honey Shortbread stars, and homemade granola bars
  
  
  

  Thank you again to all my fantastic baking gals!!!

Operation Baking GALS - Round 7!

Hey Blog Readers!

I'm leading another team for Operation Baking GALS and I would love it if you could sign up! We'll be baking for Steve, a soldier stationed in Iraq since October. He will be there for at least a year, working border patrol. Steve and his team would really appreciate your homemade goodies and notes. Let's thank these troops for their hard work and for their sacrifices.

To join:

1) Go to http://www.bakinggals.com/ and create a new account

2) Go to Round 7 Teams and sign up for "Team Go Terps"

3) Wait patiently for a message from me with Steve's mailing address

4) Bake and ship anytime between April 1-1o

5) Bring a smile to Steve's face

Easy as pie! Well, okay, no pie because that won't ship well. Easy as cookies!

Operation Baking GALS: Team Go Terps!

Wow. That is all I can say about my amazing Baking GALS team of 25 fan-freaking-tabulous bakers! I put the call out to some friends, a few message boards, and of course, on Facebook and we put together the biggest Baking GALS team of Round 5!

Our soldier is Brett, and his sister, Lindsay, was part of our baking team as well. Hopefully, Brett has started receiving some of the packages by now, and I'm sure he is one popular guy. Brett, if you're reading this, keep an eye out for about 25 packages in all! They'll be coming your way (wherever that is) for the next few weeks, so enjoy!

To all my wonderful bakers - THANK YOU! I was so excited to receive such an enthusiastic response from friends. I know that Lindsay truly appreciates your hard work, and I know that Brett will, too, as soon as he opens that first box. Thank you to all of your kids, as well! Many of you sent me adorable pictures of you baking with your little munchkins, so good job kids!

Here are some of the oh-so-awesome, often imitated, but never duplicated, bakers of Team Go Terps!

• Lindsay B. baked brownies, cookies and mini-cupcakes and sent along a can of frosting and sprinkles for decorations
  

• Kate L. and her daughter baked cookies and sent a whole care package
  
  
• Sara E. baked and decorated oatmeal cookies, and then had her students bake snowman cookies
  
  
• Kim G. baked gingersnap cookies
  
  
• Melissa D. and Shauna baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
  
  
• Michelle O. baked gingerbread cookies, cranberry-lemon cookies and a great care package
  
  
• Jessica T. made fruit loop candy, puppy chow, and Rice Krispie treats
  
  
• Alicia W. and her adorable helpers baked brownies and sugar cookies
  
  
• Colleen C. baked peanut butter and sugar cookies
  
  
• Cara baked Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies and Spicy Baked Pretzels
  
  
• Shelly G. baked a huge assortment of cookies with her family

• Sheri W. baked Oatmeal Scotchies and Glazed Pecans

• Laura S. baked snickerdoodles
  
  
• Courtney R. baked snickerdoodles, M&M cookies and Swedish almond cardamom cookies
  
  
• Emily E. (and Owen) baked cookies
  
  
• Kari S. baked cookies

• Ginny S. baked gingerbread cookies
  


• Elena H. baked chocolate chip cookies, jam thumbprints and whole care package
  
  
• Megan G. baked chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies
  
  
• Amy S. baked peanut butter cookies and Christmas swirl chip cookies
  
  
• Rachel N. baked Ritz cracker cookies, chocolate PB chip cookies, sugar cookies, Nutella cookies, and snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodley-doo & Operation Baking GALS

It's time for the next round of Operation Baking GALS! I wanted to offer the soldiers a good cookie variety so I made Mandel Bread, Granola Grabbers and I tried a new one, Snickerdoodles. There are a ton of Snickerdoodle recipes out there, and the majority of them call for shortening, but I just couldn't do it. I finally found one with butter on Recipezaar and it had a ton of great reviews. They were SO spot on.

I didn't think there was much to Snickerdoodles. Sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon-sugar, right? WRONG! It's much better than a sugar cookie. It's got a slight tang from the cream of tarter and the texture is crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. The tops are a little cracked after baking and it's a very pretty, classic cookie. I hope the troops like them!

The dough is super sticky, so be sure to chill both it and the baking sheets. They spread really easily so keep the dough chilled and the balls small. While one batch was baking, I kept the dough and my second baking sheet in the fridge, rotating them as needed. Also, it helps to wet your hands to roll up the sticky cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1.5 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS cinnamon

3 TBS sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350, rack in middle position. Cover your baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Mix the butter, sugar and eggs together until creamy. Combine flour, cream of tarter and baking soda together in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Chill the dough and your cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Mix 3 TBS sugar and 3 TBS cinnamon together in a small bowl. Scoop 1-inch balls of dough and roll between your hands (think walnut size). Coat the cookies by rolling them around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on the ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Enjoy with a big cold glass of milk!

Operation Baking GALS - you know you want to!

We're all signing up for Round 4, and we'd love more bakers! If you love to bake, but don't really know what to do with all the leftovers, or if you're looking to do your good deed for the day, visit http://www.bakinggals.com/ and sign up. You don't even have to be a talented kitchen goddess! If you can make mix brownies or break n'bake cookies, we want you :-)

It's so easy and it makes the soldiers so incredibly happy. Once you've registered on the Baking GALS site, you can browse through the Teams and pick whichever one you want. The team leader will email you with the mailing information.

This round is going to ship b/w Oct 30-Nov 6. It's only about $8 to ship, and you can fill the package with all sorts of fun Halloween or Thanksgiving related stuff. Some of the soldiers don't have any family to send them care packages, and this might be the only contact they get from home.

C'mon...you know you want to!

http://www.bakinggals.com/

Operation Baking Gals

I am so efficient! I knew that I needed to bake cookies for my group in Operation Baking Gals and I needed to do a TWD rewind from the list, since I wasn't able to make Creme Brulee. I figured that I would do a TWD cookie recipe from the past and ship that along with my other cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and my favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Chocolate Chip cookie. Things didn't turn out exactly how I had planned, but overall, I'm very pleased.
I will post my failed attempt at Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread tomorrow, because Tuesday is Rosh Hashanah and I won't be posting :-)

First things first - Operation Baking Gals! I am so excited to be a part of this group. There were too many teams to choose from, so I just did "eenie meenie miney mo." Mature, right? Honestly, it didn't matter who I was baking for...I was just happy to be doing it. I made two new recipes for the troops and they both turned out deliciously! I wanted to give them a fall flavor since it's nearly October here and they will miss the lovely change of seasons and all that fall brings. This recipe got the best reviews on allrecipes.com, and it's great! I also wanted to include a tried-and-true favorite, chocolate chip cookies (CCC), but with a twist! This one features pieces of already baked CCC mixed into the dough, and then baked off as a CCC in a CCC. And who doesn't love more chocolate?

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Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Chocolate Chip Cookie

This recipe is very meta, as my sister-in-law says. I came across the recipe during some blog surfing and I knew I had to try it. It just takes the yumminess factor of CCC and turns it waaaay up. I found it in ....and a cookie for dessert, and it originally came from the cookbook, Big Fat Cookie.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar (I used dark brown)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until blended, about 1 minute.

Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixer.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute.

On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.

Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop 10 heaping tablespoons of dough 3 inches apart onto one of the prepared baking sheets.

Set aside the remaining dough.

Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned but the centers are golden, about 13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Break the cooked cookies into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Add the pieces to the reserved dough and mix on low speed to distribute them evenly, about 10 seconds. Drop heaping tablespoons of new dough about 3 inches apart, and bake for about 13-15 minuted, until browned but still soft in the middle.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies - from allrecipes.com

Whenever I think of fall, I think of pumpkin/spicy flavors and smells. I wanted to bake something like this to give the troops a taste of fall. The cookies are moist and cakey, with a lovely spice flavor. The pumpkin isn't as intense I wanted, and while the chocolate is a really good addition, I think it overpowers the pumpkin and spices. Next time, I'll leave out the chips and add more walnuts. Also, when I do make these again, I'll substitute a cup of applesauce for the cup of oil (eek!). This recipe also makes a boatload of cookies. Seriously, the batter just kept going and going...

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add pumpkin, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat on medium speed until well mixed.

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.

Bake for 13-14 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.

Cool for 2 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

I followed the packing instructions on the OBG website and carefully packed the cooled cookies in between layers of paper towels and apple peels, and then taped and labeled my containers. I also included some packages of gum and single serve fruit punch drink mix. I hope the cookies make it over there okay and I hope that they enjoy them!

Operation Baking Gals

I've joined yet another online baking community - this one is for a great cause! Whether or not you support the war in Iraq , there is no denying that the troops deserve our gratitude. They serve this country with honor and I am happy to help from my tiny kitchen. A fellow blogger, Susan, of She's Becoming Doughmesstic, started this baking group that bakes every month and sends the treats to different units stationed overseas, in order to thank them and help boost morale.
I just joined and will contribute my baking to a group at the end of September. I figured that would be a great time because it will be Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) and I can send some sweet New Year goodies to the troops.

If you would like to join Operation Baking Gals, just visit them and sign up! We can always use more treats for the troops.

**The next TWD recipe is on it's way...**