Hello From Denver

I kept waiting for someone else to get started because I hate to be the first, but I will just jump in and say Hi.  I'm Tracy, a stay at home mom and I live in Denver, Colorado.  I have two kids and a little surprise bundle of joy coming at the end of May.  I think this blog is a great idea.  Thanks Jessica for inviting me to join in.  I thought I might start off with a recipe that I love! It's not my own recipe, I got it from a friend and I wish I could give credit to the person who came up with this fun idea.  I think it has been passed around a lot.  Anyway, these cookies are a huge hit at birthday parties and baby showers.  They do take a little bit of time, so if you decide to give them a try, my suggestion is to make them the day before you need them.  They are a lot of fun!  Enjoy!

Play Dough Cookies

INGREDIENTS

. 3/4 cup butter, softened

. 3 ounces cream cheese

. 1 cup white sugar

. 1 egg

. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

. 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

. 1 teaspoon baking powder

. 1/4 teaspoon salt

. assorted colors of paste food coloring

. 24 lollipop sticks

DIRECTIONS

1.  In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.

2.  In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms. Divide dough into fourths. Tint each with a different food color. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Working with half of each color, shape dough into 3/4 inch balls and for each cookie place 1 pink, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 orange ball together to make 1 large ball. Shape into a 12 inch long roll (like a snake), starting at one end, coil roll to make a 2 3/4 inch round cookie. Place cookies 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Carefully insert lollipop sticks into bottoms of cookies.

4.  Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.