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Kayaking in Florida with Julie and Gordon, Adventure, Food and Fun Blogging

Julie Barefoot

Gifts of Julie Barefoot Cookies

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The Gift of Bellissima to All

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On Our Way…..

Gordon and Julie

Our March 2021 Still Covid Shy Kayaking Adventure

with our Children and their Partners

Veronica, left. Brodie and Mackenzie, right.

Gordon and Brian, Weeki Wachee Springs Kayaking

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We hadn’t spent much time with our children and their partners over the past year because of the Covid Pandemic so we wanted to treat everyone to a Kayaking Adventure with us and just spend the day with each other Kayaking and Eating and just Being Together. It is tough getting 6 people’s schedules in sync but we did carve out this day to be together.

This is a favorite kayaking spot of ours except that this year they lost their contract all the way to Roger’s Park and we are picked up half way in between in vans and brought back to our starting location. That cut our Kayaking Adventure down by 2 1/2 hours here. It was a big disappointment to us which is why we also rented Kayak’s from another company for the afternoon.

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Veronica Picked out her Paddle

Click Here For: Weeki Wachee Kayak Rentals

This kayak rental is located on the same property as the Weeki Wachee Mermaid Park. It is very convenient parking with bathrooms and changing rooms where you check in. It really is ideal!

Here is their address:

6131 Commercial Way

Spring Hill, Florida 34606

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We’ve Launched

Gordon Ready for Action

Mackenzie Ready for the Day

Brodie Going Backwards 🙂

Veronica and Brian Ready for Their Day Too

(Veronica had never been kayaking before and didn’t want to be in one by herself so she and Brian are tandem here.)

This was before the downpour started.

It was nice and overcast with a few sprinkles.

There weren’t a lot of kayaker’s out this day which was nice. It was mostly just us. Although a bit hard to see, the water was clear and it was just nice being out in nature with our family.

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Me, Heading Downstream…..

Taking a Selfie of Those Behind Me

We Didn’t See a Lot of Wildlife

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Our Family Having a Nice Peaceful Day

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We did encounter a storm, hence the gray rain jacket.

Swept Away….. 🙂

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“Everybody Hurts”

(Hey, it’s not an adventure if the day is perfect.)

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Our Second Kayaking Adventure of the Day

(Always Bring a Change of Clothes)

Veronica took this photo of us as we were passing her and Brian by.

I love that it was spontaneous and it captured us at such a great time in our day.

The rain storm had stopped and I was able to make presentable my rain soaked hair by combing it with a fork, just like Ariel, The Little Mermaid. No one had a comb for me to borrow. Thanks for the inspiration Ariel. And it was also Brian’s idea. 🙂

We Are All in Tandem Kayaks Here

This is my favorite photo of all of us kayaking. Veronica and Brian on the left, Brodie and Mackenzie on the right. They were talking, laughing, planning, and I loved hearing all of it from behind. 🙂

We have more photos of our day down below that I wanted to share with you…

..but now it’s time to talk about FOOD!

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The Breakfast of Kayaker’s

Bear Naked with Dried Blueberries and Milk

Coffee and Juice as Well

Starting off the day the right way!

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Our Kayaking Picnic Foods

This day was not just about Kayaking together, it was also about the FOOD!

Gordon and I created a great menu for our lunch. We are a Food Family and to all of us food has great meaning. Not just to provide sustenance, but to create a memory as well. Hopefully, a delicious one!

We of course, wanted to create a menu that would fit with our day and here it is:

Snack of Red Grapes

Snack of Sweet Ramen Nut Mix

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Lunch

Our Manatee Salad w/ Mermaid Dressing

Topped with Blueberries, Blackberries and Raspberries…

Kale, Chicory, Broccoli and Farro….

Our Mermaid Dressing

We kept the Mermaid Dressing on the SIDE so as not to make the salad all soggy.

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We also wanted to make these breads to go along with our meal.

Dill Weed Greek Bread

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Everyone’s Sweet Treat for the Day

Julie Barefoot Cookies

Chocolate Chip and Pink Yogurt Toes

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Also Julie’s Mermaid Jewels

Aren’t They Beautiful?

A Mermaid’s Sweet Treat

This was my gift to Veronica and Mackenzie.

Something sweet for these two special sweet girls that I love so much.

Made with lots of Candy Melts, Nuts and Yogurt

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My Mermaid Jewels

Gifts of Mermaid Jewels for my Girls

(All Recipes are Down Below)

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Our First Kayaking Adventure For The Day

Launched From Weeki Wachee Kayak Rentals

It started sprinkling fairly quickly upon us.

The weather was also a bit cool.

Brian was a pro and Veronica took to it very easily.

We were so proud of her.

Gordon Working The Go-Pro

TIP: Whenever you go Kayaking always remember to have plenty of water with you. It goes without saying to wear Sunscreen and even Sun Glasses when it calls for them. Also a nice hat. Brian, Veronica and Mackenzie weathered the rain storm better than I did because they were wearing baseball hats.

Because I carry expensive cameras with me when Kayaking I make sure I have a waterproof container to place them in if it does start raining. Protect your equipment.

We knew it might rain so Gordon and I brought rain jackets with us just in case.

Glad We DID! But, we Still Got SOAKED!

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Brodie is our Comic Relief and kept singing “Everybody Hurts” over, and over, and over and…

A Lovely Grey Day

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With our first kayaking adventure behind us:

It was at this point when we had our lunch except it was still raining a bit so all ate in our cars. I wanted us all to have a nice picnic but things don’t always go according to plan.

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After Lunch…

Gordon and Brian Shopping for a Used Kayak

At most of the Kayak and Canoe Rentals they do sell their older Kayaks and you can pick one up for quite a cheap price. You may need to do some repairs yourself but if you know what you are doing it is a steal to buy one.

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Our Second Kayak Rentals for the Day

Can’t you just hear some banjo in the distance right about now??

Did you hear a pig squealing? Cause, I’m pretty sure…. 🙁

Everyone is Tandem Here

By our second launch of the day some of us had changed clothes, (me and Brodie), and the rain had stopped.

It was still a bit overcast though.

Gordon and I are in the lead and we are headed toward Roger’s Park except from the opposite way that we normally would.

I do so Love Gnarly Trees

In the past we kayaked this way except coming from the opposite direction.

We are headed toward Hospital Hole.

The weather cleared up and the sun came out and it ended up being a great afternoon.

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We saw this little bridge and wondered what was through it?

And we found out.

This is where all the millionaire’s live!

They have the more secluded area of the spring.

We Came Across a Flock of Ibis

And Even Spotted Big Foot!

(We looked into renting the Big Foot house and it’s $350.00 a night.)

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It was during our second kayaking that I noticed Brian was sinking and taking on water. We told them about it and luckily we came across a very shallow area of the spring where Brian and Veronica got out and dumped the water out and noticed there was a screw loose so Brian tightened it back up and then he and Veronica traded places and she got in the back this time. So, you will notice in some of these photographs that Veronica and Brian are switched up in their seats.

This Was My Favorite Property Along the Spring

What a Beautiful Spot to Just Sit and Think

I LOVE the Elkhorns

A Cormorant Swimming By

Love the Manatee Mounted Above

Mackenzie Giving us Directions on Where to Go

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There are rows and rows, of homes and homes, all over the spring.

A lot of them are rentals.

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Most of these homes whether they be rental or not all seem to have their kayaks and boats. This is the life along Weeki Wachee Springs. 🙂

Brodie and Mackenzie on the Home Stretch Back to Where we Started

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With our second kayak experience behind us we promised everyone that we would buy them dinner at The Upper Deck. It is a favorite restaurant of ours. The food is good and always hits the spot after a day of kayaking.

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The Upper Deck Restaurant

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The Upper Deck and The Kayak Shack

There are many places where you can rent kayaks.

This is Rogers Park

It is located directly across the spring from The Upper Deck. It has playground equipment for the kids and public restrooms. People can also park here and launch their own kayaks for the day.

Here Gordon and I are passing the park on our right to turn in our kayaks at where we started which is on the other side of the park.

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Dinner From The Upper Deck

(Everyone decided to just take it home with them. We were all still a bit Covid Shy.)

Grouper Cheeks on my Lap on the Way Home

And When We Got Home……

We Feasted!

Smothered Groupers

Clams and Grouper Basket

More Grouper Cheeks, Conch Fritters and something I cannot remember.

It was a wonderful day! We were happy to see each other and enjoyed our kayaking adventure together. The downpour will be something we will always remember, along with all the delicious foods we ate that day. Happy to share our family times with you.

Julie and Gordon

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Recipes Start Here:

Sweet Ramen Nut Mix

(This is the Snack that we created for when we needed something sweet and salty between meals.)

This was the best mix we have ever created and eaten. 🙂

Packaged in 6 Individual Containers for 6 Special Kayaker’s

Ingredients:

3 Cups Pecans

3 Packages Ramen Soup Noodles, Crumbled

1 Cup Cashews

1 Cup Special K Red Berries Cereal

1 Cup Almonds

½ Cup Sunflower Seeds

½ Cup Blueberry Craisins

½ Cup Pomegranate Craisins

2 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds

½ Cup Sesame Sticks

1 tsp. Ground Red Cayenne Pepper – or to taste

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Himalayan Salt

2 Cups Honey

Cooking oil spray – we used Pam

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Nuts and Seeds

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Get out a Large Mixing Bowl

Add the Pecans

Ramen, Crumbled, and Cashews

Adding the Special K Red Berries serial.

Now the almonds…

And the sugar.

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Hawaiian Sea Salt

The salt will bring out the sweetness of the sugar and later the honey.

Tip: If you spray the measurement glass with a touch of cooking oil, the honey won’t stick to the glass and slide right out.

Adding the honey.

Fold all the ingredients together using a rubber spatula also sprayed with some cooking oil spray.

Spray the parchment paper with some Pam as well.

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Spread the ingredients evenly over both pans

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Adding the Ground Red Cayenne Pepper to taste.

A Nice Sprinkling

Place the pans into a preheated 350’F oven for about 10 min

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Here I am adding more sesame seeds to the mixtures and using the spatula to toss all the ingredients well.

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Place them back into the oven for another 10 min. or so.

Adding a Bit More of This or That

(It’s up to you.)

While the nut mix is still hot, add your Craisins to the mixture and combine all the ingredients well.

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Let the ingredients cool on the pan before tasting it… trust me, it is worth the wait.

Sweet, Salty, Crunchy, Delicious

Ready For The Picnic

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Our Manatee Salad with Mermaid Dressing

I Julie, wanted something beautiful and healthy to eat for lunch that looked like it would be eaten on a picnic by a group of mermaids all sitting along the shore with their Manatee friends floating close by. Colorful, tasty, and nutritious. This is a Kale, Broccoli, and Red Chicory Salad with Farro, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Pecans.

Here Gordon is starting to assemble our salad….

But first:

It’s time to make the Farro.

Farro is an ancient grain that has a nutty flavor. Similar to Quinoa. It is a very healthy grain.

Just Follow the Package Directions

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Here Gordon is adding some Hawaiian Sea Salt to season the Farro.

Cooking Away

When done strain the water out and set aside.

Gordon made the Farro the day before we assembled our salads and kept it overnight in a airtight container in the refrigerator.

Broccoli, Chicory and Kale Drying

Washing the Blueberries

Washing all the vegetables and fruits.

(The olives and peppers you see above are not in this recipe. They will go into our Greek Breads.)

Time to Assemble the Salad

Roasting Pecans in a 350F oven for about 10-15 minutes. They will top the salad. Just remove them about half way through and shake the pan so that they flip over. The roasting brings out the flavor.

The body of the salad is assembled.

Now it’s time to place the salad into your container’s and then top with your blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Also, your pecans.

Ready for the Picnic

Next, we just need a dressing. 🙂

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Mermaid Dressing

A Most Delicious Vinaigrette

Our Dill Drying

Ingredients:

2 Heaping Tbsp. Shallots – finely diced

~2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

~2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

~2 Tbsp. Mirin

~2 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Grey Poupon Mustard

1 tsp. Our Homemade Black and Brown Mustard

(If you would like the recipe for Our Homemade Black and Brown Mustard:)

Click Here For: Pork, Sausage, and Mustard

2-3 Tbsp. Organic Agave in The Raw – to taste

2 Tbsp. Fresh Dill – finely chopped

1 ¾ Cups Olive Oil – I used some from the country of Jordan!

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Slice your shallot in half.

Chop finely as shown.

What I do not use in this dressing, I will put in my eggs in the morning.

Add your Red Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Mirin to a ¼ measuring cup.

Then add your White Wine Vinegar and pour it all into a large glass jar with a lid. I add it to a specific measurement, so I can try to keep track of how much I use as you want three times as much oil to vinegar.

Now, add your diced shallots to the jar.

We wanted more salad dressing, so I added more vinegar to the jar.

Here, I am adding our homemade Black and Brown Mustard.

The mustard will help to emulsify or help to combine the ingredients keeping them together as oil and vinegar will not want to mix together or stay mixed together without it.

Now, add the agave to taste.

Adding around three times the oil to the vinegar.

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Tightly seal the lid and shake the ingredients together well.

Slice up the fresh dill.

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Add it to the mixture and shake again.

Taste the mixture and add more ingredients as needed.

I thought it could have been a little sweeter, so I add more Agave.

The Dressing is Made

Now it is time to pour it into individual containers for our picnic lunch.

Such a Nice Addition to our Manatee Salad

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Dill Weed Greek Bread

We made a version of this bread years ago and it was such a hit with us that I wanted to recreate it to go along with our picnic. I knew that I wanted Dill to play a big roll in the taste as well as the presentation in the bread. Kind of like some sea grass or sea weed you would find here in Florida.

Sliced Kalamata Olives and Sliced Banana Peppers

You want to drain both into a colander to remove the liquid.

Place onto Paper Towels to Dry

(Ignore the other vegetables and berries in the photo above.)

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Lemon Pepper, Olive Oil

(You can use any that you like.)

Pizza Dough, Feta Cheese, and our Kalamata Olives and Banana Peppers

Take out a baking sheet and drizzle some Olive Oil onto it.

Here Gordon used one of my Mermaid Brushes to spread the Olive Oil around the baking sheet.

(It is actually a make up brush that I never used before.)

Take some of your All Purpose Flour and spread along a clean surface.

Then, take out one of your Pizza Dough’s and place some of the Flour on it so it’s not too sticky to handle.

Here Gordon flattened it onto the surface and added some Lemon Pepper to it. He didn’t use a rolling pin. He just flattened it by maneuvering the dough outward with his fingers.

Then he added some of our Kalamata Olives…

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He then added some of our Banana Peppers…

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Now Crumble on Some Feta Cheese

Perhaps Another Dash of Lemon Pepper

You now want to start to enclose the filling with the dough.

Just Keep Maneuvering it Until it Forms a Ball

Now Drizzle Some Olive Oil onto the Dough Ball and Distribute all Around

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Now For The Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

(The whole wheat tasted better than the white pizza dough.)

Sprinkling Some Lemon Pepper

Now we repeat what we did above except we will make this one a little different.

In addition to the Kalamata Olives and Banana Peppers Gordon is adding a sprinkling of a powdered Queso. This was a delicious experiment. 🙂

Now Time to Enclose

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Brushing With Olive Oil

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Fresh Dill Drying, Greek Seasonings, and Lemon Pepper

It was at this point where I pointed out to Gordon that he had forgotten the Dill.

So, he opened the bread and crammed some of the Dill inside.

He also added some Dill to the top of the Pizza Dough.

He then drizzled some Olive Oil over top and a sprinkling of Greek Seasoning and Lemon Pepper.

Now Into a 350F Oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Remove From the Oven…

Let Cool…

And Then Slice Away…

The whole wheat bread sliced better and tasted better. I believe that Gordon had placed too much filling into the other bread and it sort of fell apart.

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Making The Mermaid Jewels

This was so much fun and creative. It would be such a hit at a child’s birthday party.

I mainly used Yogurt Chips but I do have a few bags of Candy Melts here that I did use.

I did do my best to try and “healthy” this up even though that is pretty much impossible. 🙂

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers

Colorful Bags of Candy Melts

Colorful Containers of Yogurt Chips

Macadamia Nuts

And Various Candy Sprinkles

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This is a project where you can just use your imagination and make it what you want of it. You don’t have to use Graham Crackers or Macadamia Nuts. Use whatever you like. And make them whatever colors that you like as well. Just have fun!

I chose these colors because to me they looked like something a mermaid would like.

You need Baking Sheets for this project lined with Parchment Paper.

You Also Need Lots of Microwavable Bowls

In this batch I placed my Graham Crackers on top of Parchment Paper.

I then placed the Candy Melts and Yogurt Chips into the bowls.

I believe that the Candy Melts packaging had Microwave instructions but if they didn’t then just place into the microwave and cook on high for about 1 minute. Then remove and stir together. Then place back into the microwave for another 30 seconds or longer. Remove and stir again until the candy is all melted. Repeat if necessary.

This actually went quite quickly.

You can see the purple melts on the left that aren’t totally melted yet.

When melted, I then just drizzled and plopped the candy onto my Graham Crackers as if I were doing a painting.

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Now For The Yogurt Chips

The Pink Yogurt Chips melted much more runny than the White Yogurt ones.

While the Candy Melts were still soft I added some Candy Sprinkles.

Amethyst, Gold, Pewter

When you have finished your creation then set aside to allow to harden.

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White Yogurt Chips

The best consistency that we could get from these chips were a melted blob which worked well with what we did here.

The Macadamia Nuts

On this Baking Sheet is some Parchment Paper.

We then spread the melted White Yogurt Chips into an oval shape.

Then quickly sprinkled some Macadamia Nuts all around and a little bit of colorful Sugared Sprinkles.

This Hardened Quite Quickly

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White Yogurt Base w/ Colorful Toppings

Again, it’s just the melted White Yogurt Chips spread on to a Parchment Paper lined Baking Sheet and then topped with the remaining melted Candy Melts and Yogurt Chips.

A Masterpiece 🙂

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Last One

I think by now it’s pretty self explanatory.

This has to be one of the most fun things I have ever made.

It was very easy, pretty, artistic, and delicious!

Just Allowing Everything to Harden

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Now It’s Time to Assemble our Gifts

I just broke everything up into nice sized chunky pieces.

And then placed them into airtight containers.

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I just added some pretty flowers and ribbon. 🙂

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Julie Barefoot Cookies

The Gift of Julie Barefoot Cookies

My alter ego is Julie Barefoot and I wanted to make these cookies to give as gifts to all.

These are actually quite easy for a rolled out cookie. I originally made these cookies into alligators:

But, I also made a batch without the green food coloring and froze the dough.

Here is the Recipe

Ingredients:

8 oz. Unsalted Butter, Softened (I used KerryGold)

1 Cup of Confectioner’s Sugar

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

Pinch of Salt

2 t. Vanilla Extract

3/4 Cup of Mini Chocolate Chip Morsels

Pink Yogurt and Chocolate Morsels for the Toe Nails

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When the Butter has softened then place into the bowl attached to your mixer and blend on a low to medium speed until creamy. Now add the 1 Cup of Confectioner’s Sugar to the Butter and mix on a low to medium speed until well blended.

Now add your 2 teaspoons of Vanilla Extract and blend together.

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In another bowl mix together the 2 Cups of All Purpose Flour and a nice sized Pinch of Salt.

Whisk that together.

Although I don’t have a photo of it, you want to add this flour and salt to the mixing bowl, mixing as you go a little bit at a time until everything is well blended.

Now add your cookie dough mixture to a large bowl and add about 3/4 Cup of the Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Morsels and mix together.

Form a Ball and Wrap in Saran Wrap,

then place into the refrigerator to harden up a bit.

(Or you can freeze it for another time.)

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Pre-Heat Oven to 350F

Time To Make The Cookies

The Dough, Cookie Cutters, and Chocolate and Pink Yogurt Chips

Flour the surface you will be using to make the cookies and get out your rolling pin. You can also rub some flour on your rolling pin to help the dough not stick to it.

You want the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick.

Use cookie cutters to place on top of the dough to cut out your pattern.

Line your Baking Sheets with Parchment Paper and place your Barefoot Cookie cut outs on to the paper. These cookies do not spread very much so you needn’t worry about them all running into each other.

Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, then remove from oven to let cool.

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Large Milk Chocolate Morsels

While the cookies are still warm place your Chip Morsels into the toes of the cookies to look like toenail polish. Continue to allow the cookies to cool in the baking sheets.