Sunday, December 12, 2010

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Frosting

by April Leeper

Cookies:

½ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets and set aside. In medium bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. Stir in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. In separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop spoonful of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool. Top with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese

½ cup of butter

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla ext

Dash of salt

Mix all together.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Butter Toffee

Butter Toffee
By Melissa Summers

30 Hershey kisses

2 cups butter – room temperature

2 cups sugar

Cook the butter and sugar in a large pot on medium high heat for about 12-15 minutes until it reaches HARD-CRACK on the candy thermometer.

Pour on jelly roll cookie sheet and spread evenly with spatula.

Let harden a few minutes until you can touch it and it will not indent but is still hot.

Place 30 Hershey kisses on the toffee. Let them melt and then spread evenly over toffee.

Let cool 4-5 hours or overnight. Break up with a knife.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Stephanie Heppler

8 ounces cream cheese 6 eggs

1 ½ C. butter, soft 1 ½ tsp. vanilla

3 C. sugar 3 C. flour

1. Beat butter and cream cheese for about two minutes.

2. Gradually add sugar beating another five minutes.

3. Add eggs, one at a time.

4. Beat just until yellow disappears.

5. Add vanilla.

6. Gradually add flour, mixing on LOW speed until blended.

7. Grease and flour two bread loaf pans.

8. Bake at 325 for 90 minutes or until center comes out clean.

Let cool 10 minutes and then turn from pan.

Meltaway Cookies

Meltaway Cookies

by Rachael Randall

2 sticks of butter, cold

¾ cup Cornstarch

1/3 cup Powdered Sugar

1 cup flour

Microwave butter for 20 seconds. Beat all ingredients until creamy. Roll into balls and bake on a

cookie sheet at 350* for 12-15 minutes. These are very fragile cookies so be delicate with them.

Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

food coloring

Mix with beaters until smooth.

Marshmallow Marble-Top Fudge


Marshmallow Marble-Top Fudge

by Kaysea Wadley

2 C miniature marshmallows

2 T butter

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Dash salt

Line an 8x8 pan with foil. Place marshmallows and butter in medium bowl and set aside.

Place chocolate chips, milk, vanilla and salt in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for one minute, stir then microwave for another 15 seconds. Spread evenly in pan.

Microwave marshmallows and butter for 30 seconds. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds and stir till smooth. Spread on top of chocolate mixture and make swirls with a butter knife. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Peppermint Bark Magic Brownies

Peppermint Bark Magic Brownies

Whitney Warr

non stick spray

parchment paper

1 stick unsalted butter

20 oz package brownie mix

1 C. sweetened flaked coconut

2 Cups finely chopped peppermint bark

1 heaping cup of chopped pecans

14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist the bottom of a 13X9 inch pan with non stick spray. Line the bottom and the long sides of the pan with parchment paper, extending the ends 3 to 4 inches beyond the edges of the pan.

Place butter on the parchment paper and set the pan in the center of the oven until the butter melts, 4-5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven to a wire rack. Sprinkle brownie mix evenly over the melted butter. Scatter coconut evenly over the brownie mix. Layer the peppermint bark evenly over the coconut. Scatter pecans evenly on top. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over the pecans.

Bake until the brownies bubble and the edges are lightly browned, 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the brownies then carefully lift the parchment paper and brownies onto a cutting board. Slice into squares and serve warm, or let cool for another 30 minutes to room temperature, slice, and store. Makes about 3 dozen brownies.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Grandma's Molasses Ginger Cookies

Grandma's Molasses Ginger Cookies
by Suzie Hardy


3/4 c. butter or shortening
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. molasses
6 c. flour
1 tsp. each allspice, ginger, cloves, cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 3 Tbls. warm water

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and molasses. Mix dry ingredients together and add slowly. Add water and dissolved baking soda alternating with dry ingredients. The dough will be quite stiff. Divide dough into round discs wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least a couple of hours. Keep the dough in the fridge until you are ready to roll each disc out. The dough is easier to handle if it's chilled. Bake cut cookies at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.

If you want a quicker, easier version, I picked up a Gingerbread Cookie mix at Walmart, added a stick of butter and an egg. :) Enjoy!

Tips:
They smell really good but are not very tasty, so perfect if you are just going to hang them on the tree. The smell is strongest the first few days, but it lessens with time. A few tips...roll the dough thinner than if you are making sugar cookies and bake it a little longer. You want the cookies to be hard enough to hold up on a ribbon without falling apart or breaking. I also make the hole in the cookie (with a chopstick) right after they come out of the oven and then I push it all the way through again when I move them to the cooling rack. If you wait until they are cool the cookie will break.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Brown sugar and cinnamon spiced bundt cake




Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Spiced Bundt Cake
by, Melissa Summers


1 spice cake mix
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 small pkg vanilla instant pudding
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. water
1 cup oil

Mix together.
4 eggs - add one at a time. Mix well.

mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Set aside.

Grease and flour bundt cake pan. Layer 1/2 the cake mix, then the cinnamon and sugar mixture, then the remaining cake mix.
Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. milk

Mix well and pour over the top of the cake.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Raspberry Delight

Raspberry Delight
by Melissa Summers
This is my mom's recipe I remember her making and I loved it. I decided to make it for Thanksgiving this year and it was just as good as I remember it. It is very rich, a little goes a long way. So you may want to half the recipe if you are just making it for your family.

Raspberry Delight
By Melissa Summers
Combine:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Press into 9 X 13 pan and bake at 375 degrees until 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Be careful not to let it cook to long. You don't want the crust to be hard. Remove from oven and cool and then crumble up crust and place 1/2 of the crumbs in bottom of the same pan and pat down. Save the rest of the crumbs for later in the recipe.
Combine thoroughly:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
Whip 2 cups of whipping cream and add 1 tsp. vanilla and add to cream cheese mixture. Smooth evenly over crumbs, then cover with remaining crumbs. Chill thoroughly.
Top with the following:
Mix 1 package raspberry jello and 1 1/2 cups of boiling water for 2 minutes. Add as many frozen raspberries as you would like, could be a lot or just a little. Let cool and then pour over cream cheese mixture in pan.
Chill thoroughly. Serves 24.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Roasted Fall Vegetables

Roasted Fall Vegetables
by Rachael Randall

Yams

Carrots

Butternut squash

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Cut up vegetables in cubes or sticks (like a carrot stick). Place in a large zip-loc bag and drizzle olive oil in to lightly coat. Mix bag around until evenly coated. Pour out onto a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle salt (I like Kosher) and pepper on top. Roast in 375* oven for 30ish minutes…until vegetables are fork tender. Stirring vegetables half way through.