Easy Teriyaki Chicken

I like the Our Best Bites teriyaki recipe a lot, but this is something totally different. It doesn't really have a thick sauce, and it's got a hint of lemon . . . the point of this is SUPER easy and quick. It's Deanne's recipe, so you know it can feed a lot of people fast.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ginger powder, or more to taste (I grate in fresh ginger root. Way tasty.)
garlic powder to taste (I saute a little minced garlic before adding water instead)
lemon zest to taste

Let these ingredients come to a boil, then add chicken pieces. Let it simmer (a strong simmer), until the chicken is done. Serve over rice.

Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies

I found this recipe in Parade magazine around Christmas time, and decided to give it a try . . . good decision, these are delicious! It sounds like a lot of work to put a cherry into each cookie, but really it's not, especially if you give a jar of cherries and a bowl of dough to 3 little boys then make dinner while they get the job done.  If you don't have 3 little boys, you could maybe sub in girls. Interestingly, these cookies were better the next day once the flavors had hung around together for a little bit. Yes, I bought rum extract for this recipe, but now I have a reason to make them again, so I'm not disappointed with the purchase.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp rum extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
30 maraschino cherries, drained and patted dry with a paper towel
2 Tbsp sugar, for coating

For glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp rum extract
4 tsp maraschino cherry juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg, and rum extract until light and fluffy. Add flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat well.

Flatten out about 1 Tbsp dough. Place a cherry on top; mold dough around it. Roll in sugar.Repeat with remaining dough.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Cool on a rack.

For glaze, whisk ingredients; spoon over cookies.