Yesterday was my birthday. I loved that it was on a Sunday this year. Why? Because that meant I spent the morning at one of my favorite places...Platte Woods United Methodist Church. I love my church and I love the welcoming place it is. I spend a lot of time there and am involved in many different activities. That's what you have to do if you really want to feel like your church is part of your family. So many people told me "Happy birthday" and that made my birthday very happy. Since this weekend was Annual Conference for the UMC, our lead pastor had video taped her message which was another outstanding one from her series Rooted about the history and our "roots" of John Wesley and the Methodist Church.
I spent several hours the day before making two treats for the Cafe Treats - one sugar-free treat and one just "regular", a.k.a. a sugar treat. I didn't have to spend much time in the "Cafe" since Volunteers Melissa and Jay were serving the coffee. They volunteer once a month to make and serve the coffee and they include serving the Cafe Treats as part of their responsibility. It was great because that meant I could greet the people as they were coming into the service which is another thing I do at church that I love so much. I used to tell my fellow colleagues before I retired from teaching that I wanted to retire and be a "Wal-Mart Greeter" because I love shining my smile and making people feel welcomed.
I went by the Cafe at one point after Sunday school to see how things were going and Jay told me my Cream Cheese Cookies were really a big hit. They had even given away the little ones I had made. We then had a brief discussion about the recipe.
My friend Janice makes these cookies often since they are a family favorite and often requested for family get-togethers, but I don't think I have ever made them before. I have eaten hers so I knew they were good. It was easy to make them sugar-free since it uses a cake mix and I just substitute a Zero-sugar yellow cake mix. I bet the Zero-sugar devil's food cake mix would make good ones also. I don't think Janice has ever made any chocolate ones. I didn't use the devil's food cake mix because I knew two other volunteers were bringing treats made with chocolate. I do like to have a variety of treats.
I ended up eating a light lunch so that I could enjoy a piece of cherry cheesecake I saw at Roxanne's, our favorite place to eat on Sunday after church. I ate part of it and then took the rest home to finish later in the afternoon. It was not a disappointment. Granddaughter Madison called me to wish me a happy birthday and then later our first born called me and we talked about an hour. We had a chicken sandwich for supper and watched some television. All-in-all not a bad birthday.
CREAM CHEESE COOKIES
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 package yellow cake mix or devils food cake mix (I used a zero sugar yellow cake mix so that the cookies would be sugar-free)
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Cream the butter and cheese
til smooth.
Add in egg yolk and vanilla and
blend til mixed scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the cake mix 1/3 at a time; mix well.
If mixer is used, add the last part of cake mix by hand.
Chill dough 1/2 hour.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
(Cookies do not spread as they bake.)
Bake 8 to 10 minutes until delicately browned.
Cool cookies before removing from the cookie sheet. (I waited a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.)
No comments:
Post a Comment