Thanksgiving Sandwiches

I'm alive! Very much so.

I did not go AWOL exactly. I got a full-time job working in a High School as an aide for a mental health program. It is awesome but I am doing that on top of being a sign language interpreter and a captionist.

Needless to say, I have a lot on my plate. We all know I like to fill my plate up ;)

I don't have as much time to blog and cook like I used to but I hope to keep it up somewhat.

Yesterday was one of my most favorite days of the year...the first day of fall! I'm so ready for cozy sweaters, crock-pot meals and pumpkin spice lattes!

If anyone else is excited already for Thanksgiving, and just cannot wait, you oughtta try out a Thanksgiving sandwich. I actually made this months ago because I was spontaneously hit and overcome with a craving for a Thanksgiving dinner. That is not so easy to come by in the middle of May so I made this gem.

It tastes like the holidays. Trust me.

Thanksgiving Sandwiches
Dame Good

Ingredients:
Serves 6-8

Turkey:
1.5 lbs of turkey breast
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon thyme
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1 box reduced-sodium stuffing
1 can cranberry sauce
light mayonnaise
Wheat hamburger buns

Directions:

Combine all of the turkey ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 5-7 hours. Shred with two forks.

Cook stuffing according to box instructions.

Assemble sandwiches by putting desired amount of cranberry sauce on bottom bun, top with shredded turkey. Scoop stuffing on top of the turkey. Put desired amount of mayonnaise on top bun and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Reuben Dip

I consider myself a hard worker. So sometimes I surprise myself.

Like the other day, I was a little taken aback with myself when I got extremely annoyed that I had to park down the street from my gym and walk a few extra minutes....to the gym. That's crazy talk.

Just now I restarted the dryer for the third time because I don't feel like folding my laundry. Let's face it, I probably wont feel like folding it at all today and will have had the dryer running for the entire day. Again, crazy talk.

Sometimes laziness just creeps up on me I suppose.

Crock pots are good for laziness. You just throw everything in the pot and wait...

Easy peasy.

Also, I was feeling too lazy to take a decent picture but reuben dip isn't very pretty anyway.

Slow Cooker Reuben Dip

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) jar sauerkraut, drained
1 (8 ounce) package neaufchatel cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups shredded cooked lean corned beef
1/4 cup fat-free thousand island dressing

Directions:

In a slow cooker, combine the sauerkraut, cream cheese, Swiss cheese, corned beef and thousand island dressing. Cover, and cook on high for 45 minutes if you're in a hurry, low for longer if you're not, or just until hot and cheese is melted. Stir occasionally while cooking. Serve with cocktail rye or crackers.

Pumpkin Roll Bars

I have an intense itch to go shopping...

Unfortunately, I don't have the appropriate funds to scratch this itch.

Maybe it's the warm breeze outside right now or the sunshine that is giving me the urge to buy a bunch of spring-friendly clothes that are pastel/neon-colored and flowy.

My wardrobe is suddenly boring to me.

My only resort is to "fake shop"...which is essentially torture but I do it anyway. I obsessively add articles of clothing and various accessories to my virtual wishlist's as if I may magically inherit a large sum of money that I could apply to my urge to shop.

Here's hoping.

Pumpkin Roll Bars
From Sixsistersstuff.com

Ingredients:

Cake
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
1/4 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 eggs, pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and water until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin/butter mixture and combine until well blended. Spread about 2/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the pumpkin batter. Dollop the remaining pumpkin batter over the cream cheese batter and spread out as evenly as possible. Use a table knife to swirl together the cream cheese and top layer of pumpkin batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center of the pumpkin batter springs back when touched. Cool completely in pan, then cut into bars.

Easter Bark

Happy Easter weekend everybody!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday...with lots of food. Lots.

Ham. Candy. Lamb. Candy. Candy. All the above.

If you're still trying to throw together something last-minute and quick (much like myself) then this may be a good option for you. This takes about 5 minutes to whip together and look how festive it is!

It screams "Easter"! And "eat me, I'm delicious and all pastel-y"!

Easter Bark
Adapted from yourhomebasedmom.com

Ingredients

14 whole Golden Oreos, broken up.
1 C pretzels, broken into pieces
1 lb. white chocolate, almond bark or melts found in the bulk food section
1 C Easter peanut M & M's
1/2 C Easter pretzel M & M's
Pastel-Colored or Easter themed sprinkles

Directions:

Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 C of the M & M's onto the waxed paper.

Place white chocolate in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth. White chocolate melts faster and burns easier than chocolate.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula if needed to coat evenly.Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the chocolate while it is still wet. Do not let it harden.

Place cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces.

Store in air tight container.

Low-Carb and Low-Sugar Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I recently noticed something about myself.

It may be a combination of my OCD or the fact that I almost always feel overwhelmed but more than once a day it seems that I check my phone with the intentions of finding out the time only to realize a few short minutes later that I was not paying attention and did not in fact have a clue what time it was.

I feel like this isn't normal.

Someone help me.

Maybe I can blame Instagram. Yeah, Instagram distracts me.

See? Anybody have any ideas on how to justify taking random pictures of nothing and spending too much time uploading them using various fun settings and looks? No?

I'll work on it.

This here recipe is one that took a lot of work. I actually made it for Christmas.

Procrastination what?

I offered to bring dessert (shocker) and was told my uncle recently started a low-carb/low-sugar diet. I started racking my brain on how to transform a cheesecake recipe to fit his dietary needs.

I wanted to make something festive and my mind instantly went to this little "hole in the wall" Italian restaurant that man of mine and I went to months ago. I had this smoked gouda mac and cheese with sausage and we finished our delightful meal sharing a mint chocolate chip cheesecake.

Yeah, it exists.

But not so much in "recipeland" so I decided to come up with one myself...that's also low in sugar and low in carbs. I combined about 997 recipes online and prayed to the cooking Gods...

Pretty sure I held my breath the entire time but low-and-behold (is that the appropriate phrase? meh...) it worked out! It was a hit and nobody could tell it was not only reduced sugar and carbs but also reduced fat.

Merry Christmas to all!

Low-Carb and Low-Sugar Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Dame Good

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 ½ cups ground almonds (or pecans or walnuts)
1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons Splenda sugar substitute
4 tablespoons melted light butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Cheesecake:
3 (8 ounce) boxes neufchatel cream cheese , room temp
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
2 teaspoons green food coloring (or more if preferred)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
3 eggs
20 (1 g) packets Splenda sugar substitute or 1 ¼ cups Splenda granular
1/2 cup andes mint chips (optional)


Directions:

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" springform pan with cooking spray.

Place nuts in bowl of a food processor; pulse until ground into a meal. Add Splenda, butter and cocoa powder (optional) pulse to combine.

Transfer nut mixture to a 9" springform pan and gently press to form a crust on bottom of pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes Remove from oven and cool.

Cheesecake:
Mix cream cheese in mixer until smooth. Add sour cream. Add 1 egg at a time.

Add splenda, peppermint extract, green food coloring and mix until smooth. Add chocolate chips and mix until combined.

Spray that sides of springform pan with cooking spray and pour in cheesecake mixture. Top with andes mint chocolate chips. Place cheesecake in a larger pan with enough water so that the water goes up 1/3 to 1/2 up the side of your cheesecake.

Bake 38-45 minutes at 375 degrees until cheesecake is set.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

I finished reading "The Huger Games" series.

I am conflicted.

You see, every time that I finish a book or series that I really get into I go through a roller coaster of emotions.

It starts with an excitement...like "Alas! I conquered you" But the feeling of accomplishment is immediately followed by a feeling of mourning and grief...like "Wow, I am really going to miss you."

I love to always have something to read but I generally need a 1-2 day grace period to get over the last book I read and my strange attachment to the characters...it's like losing friends.

There are worse things to have problems with am I right? Growing a little too attached to fictional characters is only cause for minor concern.

Right?

Up next? "Water for Elephants"...once I get over Katniss, Peeta and Gale that is...

Wish me luck.

Until then, the other companion I like to turn to, aside from the carefully crafted personalities I read about into the wee hours of the night, is food. Particularly food that has sugar, or carbs...or anything to make me feel guilty about eating it. Because that's what you need when you are grieving the loss of your new friendships...to feel guilt.

Like this cheesecake.

This would make a grand companion right about now.

Unfortunately, it did not last me that long.

These coconut M&M's will have to do.

(Don't mind the blur...one can only hold so still when they are excited to eat something)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
From Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages neufchatel cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared reduced-fat graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup reduced-fat frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Lightened Brown Rice Jambalaya

It is Fat Tuesday.

My kinda day.

I have never personally experienced Mardi Gras nor do I tend to participate in lent but an excuse to be fat? Sign me up!

Is it sad that I just learned why they call it "Fat Tuesday"? Yeah, sometimes I am rather clueless.

But for those of you who are like me and never thought about why they labeled this day "Fat Tuesday" but simply accepted it as a legitimate reason to stuff your face...well...it is because tomorrow is "Ash Wednesday" and people tend to give up something (oftentimes it is food that is so darn good to your mouth but not so much your health)so therefore people shovel food into their face like their is no tomorrow...

Might as well not be if you can't enjoy chocolate, margaritas, jalapeno poppers and cheesecake...

Just my take on things.

If you ask me "Fat Tuesday" sounds like my standard Sunday...aka my "cheat" day.

Sometimes...just sometimes...I take it a little overboard.

Meh.

In honor of Mardi Gras, I decided to make me some jambalaya. And since I have been craving it, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist indulging in a large bowl (especially considering that the day is named "fat" and all)...so I decided to go a lighter route.

You can't even frickin' tell.

I like mine extra spicy so feel free to play around with the spices and hot sauce. I also prefer my jambalaya with just sausage and sometimes chicken so I left out the shrimp. Its easy to add it though...just toss some in about 10 minutes before the cooking time is up and you're all done when the shrimp is pink :)

Lightened Brown Rice Jambalaya
Adapted from Lowcaloriecooking.about.com

Ingredients:

8 oz. smoked turkey sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch coins
8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

In a large dutch oven, cook the sausage and chicken over medium-high heat until browned. Remove and set aside.

Add the canola oil to the pan, and cook the celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic for 3-5 minutes, until tender. Add the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, thyme and rice, and cook 3 more minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and ground red pepper.

Cover, and cook 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Add the shrimp, and cook 3-5 minutes longer, until the shrimp is bright pink.

Serves 8

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

Duh.

As much as I want to say it is only a Hallmark holiday and as much as I truly believe one shouldn't need a holiday to show someone you care...I do appreciate the excuse to get into "cheese" mode and do something cute.

I firmly believe that being thoughtful and showing someone how you feel about them should happen frequently...on Holidays or on your average plain ol' day. BUT...yes, there is a BUT...I will accept the Hallmark holiday as an excuse to have a nice dinner and eat a lot little chocolate.

That man of mine and I are making dinner together tomorrow. We did it last year when we made that lovely salmon meal and I kind of like the idea of making it a tradition to make a nice dinner together.

It is usually me doing the cooking so it should be nice to work on a meal together...and I think stuffed shells is just perfect for that.

In other news...I have a confession.

I know this is going to set me apart from all that is normal but I am not the biggest fan of red velvet.

Ok. Ok. Hear me out. It is really just a mild chocolate cake with some vanilla that tastes like food coloring. Yes, the frosting (if it is cream cheese) is da-fricking-bomb but the cake for me has always been "eh".

Yeah, I know. I have heard that I am crazy once or twice.

That man of mine happens to love red velvet...as do the other inhabitants of his man cave so I decided to suck it up and make him/them some of these brownies...

That I can't stop eating.

What the?

It must be the use of dark chocolate rather than cocoa and my lack of control when it comes to cream cheese.

Yeah, that must be it.

Long story short? These brownies are the exception to my "red velvet rule"...and The Cheesecake Factory's red velvet cheesecake (again...the cream cheese is totally to blame there).

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Adapted from SweetPeasKitchen.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp red food coloring
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8-oz neaufchatel cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is this real life?

I mean is Christmas really in less than a week? And I only have about 25% of my shopping done?

Crap.

Also, random. Because I am often random. Has anyone else watched the Food Network show "Sweet Genius"? It's like the pastry chef version of "Chopped" (which I love me some "Chopped". Anyways, I love the idea of this show and was so excited about it until I got a whiff of the host.

God, is he not irritating to anyone else? When he's judging (which why is he the only judge anyway? lame) he'll pause for what seems like 20 minutes and then sputter out some random word, totally unrelated to food, between his awkwardly puckered lips.

Ew.

I mean he'll "mysteriously" declare that the bite he just had was "melancholy" or "electric" and its like wtf is that supposed to tell me about how that tastes?

(disclaimer: those aren't his exact word choices but yes, they are that weird)

Thanks for ruining what could be an awesome show for me weird dude. Thanks.

I'm sure he would probably say these cookies are "inspiring", "sedating" or "awakening" but I'll take that. I think. Because they are yum.

I had some pumpkin pudding in my pantry and replaced a tablespoon or two of the flour with it for some more moisture. I suggest you do the same. You wont be disappointed.

Unless of course you don't like deliciously moist cookies that last for days.

In that case, you best go somewhere else.

Cuz you're weird like that "Sweet Genius" dude.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

Pumpkin Oatmeal and Cranberry Cookies

It is December 13th and I am still on the pumpkin train.

I don't plan on getting off. Ever.

I'm one of those crazy people who thinks any holiday includes pumpkin-somehing-or-another. I tend to buy enough cans to feed a small country in the beginning of fall and you would think that by the time Christmas rolls around I would be sick of pumpkin after making 4 loaves of pumpkin bread, 6 types of pumpkin cookies and a handful of pumpkin cheesecakes.

But no. Never. Pumpkin and are are forever the best of friends.

Pumpkin never lets me down.

I'll admit it. I actually have a small panic attack when I see that I am down to two cans of pumpkin in my pantry. Panic I tell you.

This recipe, on the other hand, is more fall-like. What is more Thanksgiving than cranberry+pumpkin? Nothing...unless you throw stuffing and turkey in the mix. Then you have an awesome sandwich.

That's another story.

Pumpkin Oatmeal and Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Low-fat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanksgiving came and went.

Like woah.

I can't believe December is 2 days away. Snow...I'm not ready for you.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and a long lazy weekend.If you're at all like me, you go into hiding on "Black Friday". I love me some bargains but I can't withstand enough patience for a standard trip to the mall.

But I love Thanksgiving more and more with each year that passes.

I celebrated Thanksgiving with Shawn and his family, who I love. Who make me feel so welcome everytime I go there. I'm very lucky that they are so wonderful.

I did faint on Thanksgiving morning.

Yep, right on the living room floor.

The memory is a little fuzzy to me but I remember waking up to the smell of pancakes...yes, pancakes. As much as I love staying in bed I couldn't ignore the visual of light and fluffy pancakes soaking in butter and dripping with glistening sugary syrup. If I weren't so dehydrated from the one two three four too many vodka diets I had the night before. I decided my disheveled hair and smeared "makeup'ed" face wasn't worth the fuss and raced up the stairs into the kitchen. Immediately, had that "I got up way to fast" feeling and remember trying to escape into the living room. I remember not being able to see and then waking up to very concerned looking faces.

My bad.

Guess I was really too excited about the whole stuffing my face and having the excuse that it was for the sake of a holiday excuse.

I may have eaten an entire pound of stuffing. When I was younger, I hated the stuff. Now, I can't get enough. In fact, I could go for some right now.

I'm sad Thanksgiving is over, but Christmas is coming and it is my favorite holiday so I suppose I'll manage.

If anyone has any leftover pumpkin in their fridge but can't fit into their jeans because of Thanksgiving, these cookies might be an excellent thing to invest that pumpkin in.

They are a little more crunchy than your average cookie, but the flavor is there and the guilt is not.

Sign.me.up.

Low-fat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg white
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with non-stick silicone baking liners or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice; stir to blend. In another bowl,whisk the sugars, butter, egg white, pumpkin puree and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smooths
out.

Drop by level spoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets.

Bake 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them stand 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pans to cool on wire racks.