Christmas Favorites: Chocolate Balls

This is, hands down, my all-time favorite Christmas treat. I grew up eating these every Christmas and they're the first thing that goes on my list to make each year. No, they are not the least bit good for you, but they're small and if you only eat one or two at a time, they're not that bad. Besides, it's Christmas - not the time to be counting calories, in my opinion! :)

 

 

Combine peanut butter, icing sugar, egg, and vanilla in medium bowl.
Add cherries and coconut, stir to combine.
Form into ~1" balls (you may want to chill dough slightly prior to this otherwise it gets really sticky when you try to roll it in your hands) and place on parchment paper-lined pan. Refrigerate or freeze until firm (make sure they're very cold or frozen before dipping into warm chocolate, otherwise they melt and fall into the chocolate).
Melt 1 c. chocolate (I like semi-sweet) with 1/4 block Parowax* in saucepan. Use a toothpick or skewer to dip balls into warm chocolate and freeze again until set.
Store in freezer until ready to eat.

Pre-chocolate dunk

*Note about Parowax: I've always been kind of grossed out by the idea of eating wax. However, I have tried to make these using straight chocolate, and it doesn't work nearly as well. The wax gives the melted chocolate a much thinner consistency, making it easier to dip. It also makes the chocolate set up quicker and prevents it from melting too quickly if they sit out of the fridge/freezer for a while (or in your hand while eating). Yes, it's a little gross to think about eating wax, and probably not all that good for you, but these only get made once a year in our house, so I let it slide. If anyone has tips or ideas on a suitable alternative, please let me know!

Christmas Favorites: Fudge

I officially started making Christmas goodies this week. One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is, of course, the food. In our family there are recipes that are reserved for Christmas only. It makes those treats extra special, since we only make and eat them once a year. I'll be sharing a few of my favorites this month. First up is a classic: Fudge.

This is a really simple and fairly foolproof fudge recipe. You can make it with or without peanuts, or substitute another kind of nut or any other extras you feel like adding. It also makes a great gift.

 

Line a small rectangular or square pan with wax paper.

Bring sugar, butter, cocoa, and water to a full boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine cornstarch and flour.

Remove cocoa mixture from heat and pour over cornstarch & flour. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

Stir in peanuts.

Pour into pan and refrigerate until set.

Once set, pull edges of wax paper out of pan, flip fudge over and peel paper off before cutting.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

How is it Friday already??

This week was a blur. My parents came for a quick mid-week visit, and my mom brought some of her yummy goodies for us (thanks Mom), including these dangerous little cookies! Dangerous because you can't eat just one - you've been warned!

I wanted to share this recipe on the blog, but haven't had a chance to make them recently, so the ones in these pictures were made by my mom. They're easier than they look and absolutely delicious!!

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients.

Roll dough into 1" balls and place in cups of a mini muffin pan.

Bake for 8 minutes - cookies should puff up in the center and fall when removed from oven, forming cups.

Let cool slightly, then press a small peanut butter cup into the middle.

Let cool a little longer before removing from pan (if removed too soon, cookies may be too soft and chocolate may seep through bottom of cookie).

Above recipe makes ~48 cookies.

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*I just installed the Disqus commenting system on my blog and I apologize if I do not reply to your comment - I'm still trying to figure the system out! Past comments are currently being imported into Disqus so I may miss some in the meantime. Hopefully within the next 24 hours everything should be up and running! Thanks for your patience!  ~Nancy

Peanut Butter & Jam Muffins

     I came across this recipe in a cookbook I've had for years while looking for a new muffin to make for a playdate I hosted this week. The original recipe calls for chocolate chips, but also gives the option to substitute jam in place of the chocolate. I love PB&J so I thought these sounded so yummy! And they were! I made them the night before the playdate, then warmed them up a bit in the microwave before serving so they were just a little warm and the jam was nice and gooey. I think next time, though, I'd use even more jam!

Preheat oven to 400.

Grease a 12-cup muffin pan (or line with paper liners).

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

In the container of a blender or food processor, combine the peanut butter, milk, eggs and vanilla. Blend or process until smooth.

Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is evenly moistened and combined.

Fill each muffin cup about half full with batter. Create a small crater in the center of each with a clean finger or spoon. Place approximately 1 tsp. of jam or jelly in the crater and cover completely with remaining batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Bacon & Cheese Breakfast Biscuits

   
     Today's recipe is more of a savory treat, unlike my usual sweets! This is one of my favorite breakfast treats - my mom often makes them when we go home for holidays and this year, I made them for us for our Thanksgiving Day breakfast.

     These are a bit more toward the "labor intensive" side of things, just because you have to cook and crumble the bacon (unless you use store-bought bacon pieces *if you do, make sure you get REAL bacon - do NOT use fake bacon bits!!), shred the cheese and chop the onion. However, they can be mixed up the night before and then baked in the morning to simplify things a little (just leave out the yogurt and add it in the morning). They also keep really well and are just as good the next day warmed up in the microwave.

Preheat oven to 450. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. 
Cut in margarine with pastry blender until coarse crumbs form.
Stir in cheese, bacon and onion. (*If preparing the night before, stop here, cover bowl & refrigerate)
Add yogurt and stir to moisten.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth dough.
Roll or pat to approx. 3/4" thick. Cut dough into approximately 12 pieces of desired shape & size and place onto baking sheet (*I didn't actually cut mine, just scooped up dough with a large spoon and dropped onto the pan).
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden.
Serve while still warm with butter.

"Better-Than-Average" Chocolate Chip Cookies

(That's what they're called in my cookbook, anyway...)

     Everyone loves a good ol' chocolate chip cookie...especially when they're still warm and a bit gooey in the center...right? These cookies are practically a staple in our house - I make them way too often!

     This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've ever tried and for the past five years or so, has been my go-to recipe when I make chocolate chip cookies. They stay soft for a long time (as long as you don't overbake them) and they taste amazing! The dough is pretty irresistible too. I get compliments almost every time I make them.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper (I find these cookies turn out best on parchment paper).
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter (softened but NOT melted), sugars, eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
In another bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add to butter mixture and stir until everything is well combined. (I usually cheat and just put the dry ingredients into the butter mixture without mixing them together first - I know, you're not supposed to do that, but I don't like dirtying an extra bowl if I don't have to...and they still turn out great this way!). Stir in chocolate chips (I never actually measure them out - just eyeball it {I like lots!!}).
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets and bake about 9-10 minutes (**These cookies are best if slightly underbaked, so watch for the edges to just start turning brown and then get them out of that oven!).

Mom's Brownies

    

     This is my mom's tried and true brownie recipe (and you can't go wrong with mom's recipes right?). They're the simplest (only 5 ingredients!!), quickest, and yummiest from-scratch brownies EVER! Way better than any store-bought boxed mix. They literally take 10 minutes to whip up and 30 minutes to bake, so if you omit the icing, these brownies are ready to eat in well under an hour. This recipe is pretty much fool-proof too, meaning that I don't think I've ever once had it fail (and I've made it a LOT!!).

Preheat oven to 350.
Melt butter and cocoa powder in microwave; set aside.
Beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar, flour and salt.
Pour cocoa mixture over top and beat until well blended.
Pour into greased 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan on wire rack.

The brownies are just as good without icing, but if you like icing (like I do), this stuff is amazing and finishes the brownies off perfectly!

Beat together all ingredients until well blended & smooth. Icing may appear dry (if desired, add slightly more water).
*You want this icing to be on the stiffer side - it goes on really easily and sets up quickly.

Spread icing over brownies while still a little warm.

Enjoy brownies while still warm with a bit of vanilla ice cream or some ice cold milk! Delicious!

Root Beer Float cupcakes

     I pinned this recipe a few months ago, but haven't felt much like baking in our non-airconditioned house this summer. I finally got around to trying these this week, and they turned out great - I will definitely make them again, with a few minor changes.

{original recipe here} 

Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat together butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in root beer concentrate (*I thought the finished cupcakes could stand to have a slightly stronger root beer flavor. Next time I think I would use a little more root beer concentrate - maybe 3tsp.).

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder & salt.

With electric mixer on low speed, alternate adding  flour mixture and milk to butter/sugar/egg mixture, (so add half the flour mixture, then the milk, then the second half of the flour mixture). Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Evenly fill muffin cups with batter and bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Once cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

In large bowl, cream shortening & butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. 

Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. 

Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. 

(Above recipe makes approx. 3 c. of icing)

     The original recipe also calls for a cream filling, which I did not make (mostly because I was lazy and it seemed like an unnecessary extra step). See the original post for that recipe.

     Also, the store I bought my root beer concentrate from only sold it in tiny little vials (just enough for the cupcake batter), so I didn't have enough left to make the root beer glaze to drizzle on top, which I definitely want to do next time. I think it would add an extra pop of root beer flavor, and would dress the cupcakes up a little more too. To make the glaze, simply combine 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, 1/8 tsp. root beer concentrate and milk to desired consistency. I think you would want this to be on the thicker side so it doesn't just run off the icing. Stir it all up and drizzle over top of the frosted cupcakes.

Enjoy your weekend!