Christmas Cookie Selection

I almost didn't bake any cookies this year. It seems like everyone is watching what they eat so I didn't want to make cookies that no one will eat.

I was going to just make the 2 favorites, peanut blossoms and mint chocolate chip. Then I decided to make some not-so-traditional cookies for Christmas. 

Here are the ones that made the cut. 

1. Candy cane Hershey's Kiss sugar cookie bars
2. Gingerbread chocolate chip cookies
3. Ricotta cheese cookies
4. Mint chocolate chip cookies
5. Peanut butter blossoms
6. Oreo cream cheese cookies

This cookie is in a separate photo because I forgot it :(

~Enjoy

Michelle

Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookis

I really enjoy gingerbread cookies. Last year I made ginger crinkles from a family recipe. Well when I came across this recipe I knew it was for me. Chocolate and ginger what a great combination. I added this to my different kind of Christmas cookies 2013. Try them.

Soft and chocolaty and just the right amount of gingerbread flavor.
recipe found here

Ingredients

10 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 Tablespoons molasses
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Cream together butter and sugars. With mixer on low, add molasses and vanilla, followed by remaining dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips). Increase speed as needed until dough comes together Mix until dough is smooth and longer has streaks. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours or until chilled through, but not firm. (my dough seemed to be firm and I had trouble releasing the dough from the cookie scoop. I used a spoon and had to dig out the dough). 

Preheat oven to 350F.

Use a medium cookie scoop to create balls of dough. Space 2-inches apart on parchment paper lined baking sheet. (I use air bake pans and did not use parchment for these cookies). Bake for 10-11 minutes. Allow cookies to rest on baking sheet for 1 minute, or so, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

~Michelle 

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

I thought this was an interesting cookie to add to my non-traditional Christmas cookie list. I never made cookies with ricotta cheese before. They turned out to be a soft and tasty cookie.  

The original recipe was double this. I didn't want that many cookies so below is the recipe cut in half. :)

 I used 2 spoons to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets. 

recipe from here

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

7 ounces ricotta cheese ( I used whole milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Reduce speed to medium and beat in the ricotta, vanilla and eggs.

Reduce speed to low and add flour, baking powder and salt; beat until dough forms.

Drop by Tablespoons on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the cookies are very lightly golden. Remove with spatula to wire rack to cool.

When cookies are cool, prepare the icing. In a small bowl stir confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Dip the cookies into the icing and add the sprinkles as you like. 

Put a paper towel until the wire rack to catch the frosting drips.

~Michelle

Candy Cane Kiss Sugar Cookie Bars

These are the bars that inspired me to make some different Christmas cookies this year. I saw this recipe and thought that would be great for Christmas and I happen to have the candy cane Hershey's kisses on hand and this is a great way to use them.

adapted from the recipe here

Ingredients

Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped Hershey's candy cane kisses - about 45 kisses

Frosting

1 1/2 cup vanilla chips
1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

For the bars:
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Gently fold in the chopped Hershey kisses.

Press dough into the pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges begin to have a golden brown look. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

For the frosting:
In a double boiler, or microwave, melt the chocolate chips and the shortening until smooth. Add the extract and stir. Pour over the bars in the pan. After the topping is hard remove from the pan using the parchment to lift them out. Slice into bars.

~Michelle

Oreo Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies

I decided to make some different Christmas cookies this year. Aside from the 1 batch that my husband and children love, the Peanut Blossom, I took a different route. No thumbprints, or mexican wedding cakes or cut-out cookies found here. 

I found some great ideas surfing the web. ENJOY

Here is a recipe from my unconventional Christmas cookies 2013.

I used the holiday Oreo cookies in this recipe  so they would have a red, Christmas-y look. They turned out so soft and really delicious. Cream cheese in cookies is a great idea. 

original recipe found here

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup Oreo cookie chunks

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Combine the cake mix, melted butter, egg and vanilla. Beat until a soft dough forms. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. 

Stir in the chocolate chips and then gently mix in the Oreo cookie chunks. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Scoop onto a cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes. The cookies will be very soft. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes. Then transfer to wire rack to cool.

~Michelle

Caramel-Peanut Blondies

Here is another recipe that came out great. I baked it in an 8x8-inch pan. Next time I think that I am going to bake it in a longer pan. The sides were a bit over-cooked and hard. They were edible, but I cut them off and didn't serve them anyway. The taste is really amazing great combination and so chewy.

I didn't really measure the Dulce De Leche. I just added a bunch of dollops and swirled it around.

 They tasted so soft and full of flavor and texture. Nuts and caramel, beautiful combination.

It was a bye week for the Buffalo Bills so I placed the blondies on a football shaped cutting board. :)

I never bought Dulce De Leche before. I found the jar at Wegmans Supermarket in the ice cream section.

recipe from All You magazine, December 2013

Caramel-Peanut Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup pretzels, chopped
1/4 cup jarred dulce de leche

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on at least 2 sides. Mist with cooking spray. (I used Pam butter spray)

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in brown sugar until no lumps remain. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in peanuts and pretzels.

Pour batter into baking pan and smooth with a spatula. Drop spoonfuls of dulce de leche on top; swirl decoratively with a knife. 

Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into a solid part comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool fully in pan on a wire rack.

Grasping overhanging foil on either side of pan, lift out blondies and place on a cutting board. Carefully peel off foil before cutting into 16 squares.

~Michelle

Peppermint Patties

Candy making is quite an art form. It takes practice to melt the chocolate and dip the treats into the melted chocolate. I could use some practice. I find dipping to be challenging. I probably don't have the right tools. The final product never comes out smooth. Mine always have some of the insides showing and it is difficult to get it off of the fork. Well, these came out really tasty regardless of my challenges. I found them to be creamy and perfectly minty.

I had the patties in the refrigerator which is why they are sweating a bit. :)

*recipe tip
I used my finger dipped in powdered sugar to scrape the filling off of the spoon and to flatten it as well. The filling is pretty sticky I would never have been able to 'roll' it into 1-inch balls.


Peppermint Patties

Ingredients:
1 package (1 pound) confectioners sugar)
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
2-3 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 cups (12 ounces) dark chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons shortening


Directions:
In a mixing bowl combine first four ingredients. Add milk and mix well. *(see tip) Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Flatten with a confectioner sugar dipped finger or glass. Cover and freezer or about 30 minutes.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and shortening. Dip patties; place on waxed paper to harden.

recipe from Taste of Home magazine 2003

~Michelle

Donut Failure

You know how I love to search and search and read and read recipes, I get that from my Grandma, she used to read recipes all of the time. Well, I wanted to try a baked donut recipe. I found one on Pinterest. 

I know that my parents have donut pans, because I bought them, so I borrowed the pans and tried the recipe. I looked promising when I started.

Off to the oven.

This is a picture of the 'topping'. It came out awful. It wasn't crumbly. I was just runny and gross.

I tried to frost the donut and add the topping. 

The recipe didn't live up to my expectations. It was pretty awful. Luckily it only made one pan so after I tried one I tossed the rest out.

Recipe Fail. I won't tell you the recipe or where I found it. I just took these pictures with my phone. 

~Michelle

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Really now, who doesn't love the taste of chocolate and peanut butter? huh? who? I found this recipe and thought I would give a try. Oh, it is so rich and creamy. I cut it into small bite sized pieces because it is so rich. It has a brownie layer on the bottom and a creamy peanut butter layer on the top with chocolate drizzle. 

I really like the way they turned out. Happy Baking.

The recipe is from an older cookbook magazine and it calls for 1 square of unsweetened chocolate. Well, the newer Bakers chocolate come in these easy to break squares. So 2 'squares' equals 1 ounce. I like the new easy to break style.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
recipe from 2003 Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients
1 ounce  unsweetened chocolate baking bar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Filling
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2-3 Tablespoons half-and-half or milk

Glaze
1 ounce semisweet baking chocolate baking bar
1 Tablespoons butter

Directions

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and pale-colored. Add flour and melted chocolate; stir well. Pour into a greased 9-inch. square baking pan. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool.

For filling, beat confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and butter, in a mixing bowl. Stir in cream until mixture reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over cooled brownies; cover and chill until firm.

For glaze, melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over the filling. Chill before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

~Michelle

Chocolate Cream Bars

I am always on the hunt for something to bake and another reicpe to try. I decided to go back to and old cookbook. This is another recipe from Pillsbury - Simply From Scratch cookbook, circa 1978. I made one of my favorite take along snack cakes from this book. You will love it too. It is a Chocolate Chip Cake.
I thought I would try something else from the book. 

These looked tasty even in this old looking photo. 

These bars are on the left. Is that a candle in the background?

Cut into bars.

The topping really fell off as I was cutting it into bars. Hmmm

Chocolate Cream Bars

Crust / Topping
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter softened

Filling
12-oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Press 4 cups crumb mixture into ungreased 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan.

In medium saucepan, combine first four filling ingredients. Heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla and nuts.

Pour filling over crumb crust. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over filling.

Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool; cut into bars

~Michelle

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

I found this fun and easy recipe. I love to look at recipes, she says with a little sass. Now, who doesn't like to eat cookie dough. It is so popular that they make ice cream with it and there are recipes all over the place. Well here is a raw cookie dough that is safe to eat. I thought I would give it a try.

It is very sweet so just a small couple of scoops really hits the spot. My sons and I love it. Well, mostly my one son and I. We both have a sweet tooth. :)

Serve it in a pretty dish and enjoy.

recipe from here
Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
6 oz plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix gently. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Add the yogurt and fold with a rubber scraper.

Place in a container and cover with lid. Freeze until set. preferably overnight.

~Michelle

Halloween Decor

I thought I would put up some Halloween decorations around the house. I love Christmas lights so I used orange lights for these areas.  Here are a few things that I did. I made those orange puffs out of tissue paper. I watched some YouTube videos last year to see how to make them. I bought the paper from Hobby Lobby and cut them in half the long way. I used 6 pieces to make each puff. I also bought some black tulle and attached them to the orange strand of lights. oh.. pretty.

Here is the other side of the front hall. The office I framed the doorway the same way that I did the other side. Look closely I covered some of the books on the shelf with black and orange wrapping paper.

Here is a close up of the books :)

This is the fireplace mantle in the family room. Just some lights with pumpkins, tissue paper puffs and a black tree candle holder.

~Michelle

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I must admit, I don't think I have ever made a Spice Cake. I always wondered if anyone would like the flavor and I wasn't sure if I would like the flavor. When I saw this recipe I thought it was interesting that it had a spice cake mix as the base. I love chocolate and pumpkin mixed so I had to give this recipe a try.

It came out great. I put everything in one bowl and just mixed it by hand. Very moist and had a great mix of spice, pumpkin and chocolate flavor. I certainly got rave reviews on the muffins.

I found the recipe here


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
I got around 18 muffins (standard size)

Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Place paper liners in muffin pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix all ingredients until well blended (I mixed it all by hand so I dumped the chocolate chips right in)
Scoop the batter into lined muffin tins. Bake standard-sized muffins for 25-30 minutes and for mini muffins, bake for 15-17 minutes.

~Michelle

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

I made this recipe for a fundraiser for a friend. It was an amazing event that my brother and sister-in-law put together for a lovely teacher and friend. Here is a bit of her story. http://www.4caryn.org/

The cookies turned out delicious.

Ingredients:

Cookies

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

2 Tablespoons

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese

2 Tablespoons

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. To make cookies, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil and flour. Scoop onto lightly greased or parchment baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until tops look cracked.

Cool completly.

Meanwhile, make the filling by beating the cream cheese and butter with an electirc mixer. Mix in milk and vanilla, then beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Place 1-2 Tablespoons of filling in the center of a cookie. Top with a second cookie and press toghether until the filling reaches the edges of the cookies. Makes about 15 sandwiches.

~Michelle

recipe from here

Mother's Day Muffins

It seems that I'm a little behind in my postings. But, better late then never, I suppose. This recipe is totally worth the wait. I have made these muffins before, check here, but they deserve an encore. I made them this year for my Mother's day brunch along with a sandwich platter, overnight french toast bake, noodle salad along with a few other items. My mother is always happy when someone else is doing the cooking:) 

These muffins are bursting with blueberries and I love a thick layer of crumb topping. The first batch I made I didn't think that there was enough topping so I doubled the topping ingredients the second time and that is reflected in the recipe below. If you like less topping like the pictures here then just cut the ingredients in half. Enjoy

recipe from here

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients for muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries, I use a whole container
2 Tablespoons flour

Ingredients for the crumb topping:

4 Tablespoons butter, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. I was able to make 16-17 muffins.

Begin by making the crumb topping.
In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon until well mixed. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Cover and chill until ready to use.

In a small bowl add the blueberries and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss until the berries are evenly coated. Set aside.

In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon  Whisk until the mixture is well blended. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk the oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla until well mixed.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold them together. When most of the flour is moist add the blueberries and fold to incorporate evenly.

Scoop the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Top each with the crumb mixture. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 3 minutes before turning them onto a wire rack to cool.

me and the boys

my brother, mom and me

~Michelle