Get out the sprinkles, baby! Here's my long-time best recipe for rolled sugar cookies, made from scratch, sturdy enough for decorating, tender enough to eat. The all-butter dough is easy to handle, requires no refrigeration before rolling out and holds its shape during baking. Best of all, these homemade cookies smell and taste good, thanks to a heady blend of vanilla and almond extracts. Plus if you're in a rush, no problem, mix and bake an entire batch start to finish in just an hour, all ready for decorating, whether it's for Christmas, Valentines' Day, Easter, Halloween or my own claim to fame, family birthdays. Oh, the big smiles that happen whenever old-fashioned hand-decorated sugar cookies appear! And not just from kids! Just-Baked & Family-Tested. Fast & Flexible. Rolled in Powdered Sugar. Fun for Kids, Fun with Kids for Cookie Decorating Projects. Tender Enough to Eat, Sturdy Enough to Hold Kid-Heavy Frosting. Potluck & Party Friendly.

A New Master Recipe The Recipe: A new master recipe, this time for an oh-so-easy make-ahead breakfast casserole that flies together in 15 minutes. Unlike many breakfast casseroles, it's packed with protein but just a touch of cheese. Yes, it's Weight Watchers friendly and low-carb! Options for on-the-go portable breakfast-casserole muffins and individual ramekins. The Conversation: How a "whole foods" cook comes to accept the convenience and affordability of frozen hash brown potatoes. Have you accepted similar convenience foods? What works in your home? ~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~ A "Discovery": Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes The first time I reached into the grocery-store freezer for frozen hash brown potatoes, discordant bells clamored, if only in my head. Frozen hash-brown potatoes? Not Alanna! Clang! Crash! Bang! But let's back up a few months, shall we, to learn how I came to discover frozen hash browns? It all started last fall w

The Recipe: Who else knows that some times, often even, only a lemon cookie will do? I've been looking for "my" lemon cookie recipe for a few years now but finally, I've found it! Lemon Crinkle Cookies are so bright and lemony, really charged with lemon flavor. And they have that much-coveted chewy texture too. Join me in Lemon Heaven, anyone? The Conversation: Why we love to bake: instant gratification. PS Who wants the recipe for Lemon Frozen Yogurt too? It's a good one! Instant gratification. That’s why I l-o-v-e to bake. Cookies and cakes. Brownies and bars. Pancakes and pudding. But supper? Supper takes effort. Planning, even perseverance. Answers to pesky questions like, What’s in the fridge to build on? Is the meat is thawed? What’s the vegetable? Is there salad? Seven stinkin’ days a week. I get it, I do, why cooks create a regular recipe rotation. Monday Meatloaf. Tuesday Tacos. Wednesday Wings. Thursday Thai. Friday Fish. Saturday Steak.