Eating DNA

Today I made a replica of some good old deoxyribonucleic acid.

Mmm. More commonly known as DNA,  it is hidden in tiny, long structures called chromosomes. During cell division these chromosomes are duplicated in the process of DNA replication, providing each cell its own complete set of chromosomes. It grows something like this: One cell makes two, two makes four, four makes eight, etc. 

 I first chose a sequence, and then placed adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine in that order. Those are just four types of nucleobases (aka, bases).These four nucleobases, along the backbone, encode biological information, like your eye color or your hair color. Marshmallows were my base pairs, and a Twizzler was the backbone. The backbone is made up of a residue of chemical sugars.

Yum! Cytosine!

Labelling my base pairs. 

                            Adenine always pairs with thymine, and cytosine with guanine.

Twisting it into a double helix.

quick and easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4ingredients

• 1/2 cup  peanut butter
• 1/2 cup  butter, softened
• 1/2 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon  vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups  all-purpose flour

directions

1.In a large mixing bowl beat peanut butter and butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough in 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies by making crisscross marks with fork tines, dipping fork in sugar between flattening each cookie. Bake about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks. Cool. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

ENJOY! I've made these for my church banquet, my 4-H group, and my family-they're my specialty!

muy delicioso spicy Dr.Pepper pulled brisket//

This recipe for spicy pulled brisket is quite possibly the best food ever, paired with homemade tortillas and guacamole. Oh yeah. :)
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You will need:
1 brisket
1 small/ medium onion
2 cans of adobo peppers in chili sauce
2 cans of Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
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1. Place the brisket in a foil-lined 13 x 9 pan.

2.  Slice the onion and place all around the brisket.

3. Add the adobo peppers and the Dr. Pepper.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar on. Once everything's been evenly distributed, pop it in the oven @  300 degrees Fahrenheit.  

5. Cook for 6 hours. You can tell when it's done by the awesome smells and the way the meat falls apart. The same way you check brisket for doneness. 

Yummy. Seriously, try this recipe- you won't regret it.

My day baking 10 dozen plus cookies

Every year our town holds an annual Farm and Ranch tour.  You tour 3 ranches. This year we toured a tree farm, a Charlet cattle operation, and the ranch of a farmer who raises all kinds of fruits and veggies, built his own lake, and owns his own restaurant.A  lot of people come to the tours. It is all free, and you can pay $5 to attend the awards ceremony and BBQ lunch later. They always stop at a school or a church for bathroom breaks and cookies. The  local 4-H groups always make about 20 dozen cookies for the tours. We made 10 dozen (plus!) and another couple made the other 10 dozen. We made oatmeal raisin, chocolate chunk, white chip island cookies, pink spritz and green spritz. Our neighbor had given us a cookie press that worked wonderfully when it came time to make the spritz. We had trouble getting the press to work at first, but then we realized we were simply holding it the wrong way! Here's a brief history of spritz :

Spritzgebäck is a type of German cookie  made of eggs, butter, sugar, and flour.When made the right way, the cookies are crisp,slightly thin,and buttery. The German word spritzen means"to squirt" in English! As the name suggests,these yummy cookies are made by "squirting" the dough with a press fitted with a disk that has lots of little holes that are in a pattern on it (a cookie press) onto cookie sheets. You hold the press on the sheet, squeeze, then lift up! In the United States, the name  Spritzgebäck is often shortened to spritz.
Spritzgebäck is a common pastry in Germany and served often during Christmas season, but they can be made at other times, too.

Pink Spritz!!

The cookie press

Disk that goes in cookie press

Baked Spritz

We made little trees since we were going to a tree farm!

Then we made White Chip Island cookies. I wanted to eat one so badly! Mom said we had to wait until everyone else got one. So I did, and then there were none left!! So we had to make them all over again.:-)

Chopping macadamia nuts

White Chip Island Cookies

Number of Servings: 36

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg (ours was farm-fresh!)
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Makes 3 dozen cookies
 Directions:
Combine butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add in egg and vanilla. Stir till smooth. Add in all dry ingredients.

Bake 8-11 at 375 degrees