Ever have a bon bon? Since I’m a stay at home mom and supposedly all I do is eat bon bons all day, I thought I better try one.  What did I learn?  South’n France makes excellent bon bons.  I could eat them all day!  They have seven award winning flavors though I think my favorite was the chocolate chip cookie dough.  These make an excellent gift for any occasion.  These bon bons have no preservatives.  However, you can keep them in the fridge up to 4 weeks and in the freezer for up to 4 months.  They have something for every price point you are looking for too!

Gifts are always about the thought . . .  well, this one has a lot of flavor too!

I can’t take credit for these cookies (Thanks Mandy for the idea!), but they are super cute and even easier to make.

Sugar Cookies
White frosting
Sugar wafers
Candy corn
M & M’s
Bran cereal
Licorice Strings

Frost the top of each cookie.

Cut a sugar wafer in half. Add a dollop of frosting to the top edge of the cookie and stick a wafer half to it for a hat top. Place a whole sugar wafer just below the hat top for a brim. Add a small licorice piece for hat trim. Press pieces of the bran cereal into the frosting around the hat (now these are just as cute without the hair too). For the face, press on a candy corn nose, M & M eyes, and a licorice string mouth.

This giveaway is now over. The winners are Jennifer Jozwiak, Yvonne Butler, and Carol. Congrats!

My kids love cookies.  Actually, mom likes cookies too;  she just doesn’t like all the work that is involved with making them. However, Pillsbury has once again come to my rescue with their new line of cookies. My family and I tried them last night, and I have one word for you: Yum. Seriously yum. I like quick and easy, and these refrigerated cookies were just that. You literally open the bag, stick them in the oven, and 12 minutes later you have your cookie goodness. It is that easy. Best of all, they are good, and they are good for you. These cookies are made with ingredients you’ve heard of like flour, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. You’ll recognize the ingredients on the label. The cookies also have no trans fats, no high fructose corn syrup, and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. The packaging is pretty uncomplicated too — just white with a picture of the cookie on it. It actually sticks out a bit at the grocery store, because it is so plain.

These new cookies are available in both chocolate chip and peanut butter. They make a great snack (and even a breakfast, but we won’t tell anyone about that, right?). I’ve arranged with Pillsbury to give 3 of my lucky readers a Pillsbury tote bag. Each tote bag has two coupons in it that entitle you to a free package of Pillsbury Simply . . . Refrigerated Cookie Dough. (Now, if you can’t wait after looking at those yummy pictures, click here and get a coupon for them!

Each one of these gives you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. What is your favorite thing about these cookies? Is it the flavors? The fact they use ingredients you can actually pronounce the names of?
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. If you want, use something like this:

Enter to win Pillsbury Simply Cookies and a Tote Bag from @blm03 http://lisacooking.com/2009/08/16/pillsbury-simply-refrigerated-cookie-dough-review-and-giveaway/

3. Add this post to social media sites like Stumble, Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

Each one of these gives you 5 additional entries:

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

<a href="http://lisacooking.com"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk258/blm03_photos/125ad.png" border="0" alt="Lisa Cooking" /></a>

Good luck! This contest will end August 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM CST.

When shipping cookies, wrap them in pairs with the flat sides together.

Moist or chewy cookies, bars, and quick breads are the best traveling baked goods.

Cutouts on Edge
1. Trim the bottom of a pie crust using of a pie plate.
2. Cut out shapes from the excess dough trimmings using small cookie cutters.
3. Moisten the pie crust edge and press the cutout shapes around the edge of crust.

Creative Vents
1. Roll out the pie crust for the top of the pie.
2. Cut out the shapes from the crust using small cookie cutters.
3. Place top crust on the filling.
4. Moisten one side of the cutout shapes with water.
5. Invert and arrange on piecrust.

Lattice Top
1. Cut 1/2″ wide strips of dough with your pastry cutter.
2. Arrange half of the strips across the pie filling spaced about 1/2″ apart.
3. Weave second set of strips through first set and cover pie.
4. Trim ends even with the edge of the pie plate.
5. Press with a fork to seal.

Braided Edge
1. Trim the bottom crust even with edge of the pie plate.
2. Cut nine 1/4″ strips of dough from the top crust.
3. Loosely braid 3 sets of 3 strips together to fit the top edge of the crust.
4. Moisten the top edge of the crust with water.
5. Place braids on edge and gently press.

When applying frosting to a cake, dip your spatula in hot water. This will help the frosting go on smoothly and easily.