A cheesy snack to bake and give

 If you've been reading either of my blogs long, you know that kitchen gifts are among my favorite things to make and give.  I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to kitchen gifts.  From fudge to cookies to gift breads to drink mixes to frozen casseroles, this is a type of gift I always enjoy sharing.  Snack mixes are especially nice.

In addition, I've been thinking lately that I'd like to learn to make crackers.  Most of the crackers available in stores are the epitome of processed food.  Highly processed food, at that.

I recently went looking through my list of links to use in Christmas in July posts and found this one:  Cheesy Pizza Crackers.  These crackers are made with tomato paste, two kinds of cheese, and all sorts of pizza-y flavorings like oregano and garlic powder.  The dough is rolled out 1/8 inch thick and cut into one-inch squares, then baked  at 400º for 16 minutes or so.  They sound so delicious, and I'm thinking a tin of these would make a great kitchen gift for more than one person on my Christmas list.  What do you think? 

Red, white and blueberry pie

 

I've shared this over on my Kitchen Table blog, but apparently I've never shared it here.  And that's too bad, because it really is a delicious pie, best enjoyed in the summer when the raspberries and blueberries are both fresh.  Here is the recipe:

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE BERRY PIE

9” baked pie crust
BERRY LAYER:
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 1/2 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. water
4 1/2 Tblsp. dry raspberry jello powder
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 pint fresh or frozen whole unsweetened raspberries
CREAM LAYER:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 c. confectioners sugar
4 oz. cool whip

For berry layers, combine sugar, cornstarch and water in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Cook until thick and clear. Add jello powder; stir until dissolved. Divide mixture in half. Stir blueberries and lemon juice into half of the mixture; spread over bottom of pie shell. Refrigerate. Fold raspberries gently into remaining half of mixture; set aside. For cream layer, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the cool whip. Spread cream cheese mixture over blueberry layer. Refrigerate until set. Carefully spread raspberry layer over cream layer. Chill at least 4 hours before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

This beautiful pie is very easy to make and is just delicious. It’s perfect for patriotic holidays or any other special summer occasion.

If you should want to make this in the off season, I'll suggest that frozen raspberries will work just fine in the topping.  But frozen blueberries do not work as well for the blueberry layer, so you will want to get the fresh blueberries if you can find them.  

Enjoy this scrumptious patriotic pie!

Vintage-y recipe leaflet

 

 I just came upon this treasure and listed it in my Etsy shop, but decided to post it here while I'm thinking of it.  It's not super old, likely from  the 1980s, but it has some delicious looking chocolate and peanut butter recipes -- six of them, to be exact.

The leaflet (see it unfolded below) likely came in a bag of Gold Medal flour, but also features recipes using Skippy Peanut Butter, Hershey's Cocoa, and Fleischmann's Yeast.  There's a yeast-raised coffee cake, three kinds of cookies and two kinds of bars.

And on the back side ...

Below are the recipes:

 

One of these might be just the ticket to bake on a blustery March day, to try out for a future kitchen gift!  I may be doing just that myself.  The hard part will be deciding which recipe to try first.

The actual 2025 candy list

 

So now here is the actual candy list from 2025.  I had seven kinds of candy on the tentative list, all of which I have made in years past.

We actually made only four kinds of candy:

Heavenly Delight (chocolate peanut butter fudge, pictured at top of post)

Salted Caramel Fudge

Special Holiday Fudge

Chocolate-Dipped Orange Slice Candy

However, we did make multiple batches of each kind of fudge -- and I think we made 3 or 4 batches of the Heavenly Delight, which is a huge favorite with many people.

That's the actual candy list, complete with links!

The actual kitchen gift list

 

 Regular readers know that in addition to the tentative lists I post before Christmas, I also like to post again after the holiday to share what I actually made for kitchen gifts, cookies, and candy.  So here is my update on the kitchen gifts list.

Recall, this was the tentative list:

So here is what I actually made, with recipe links for those who are interested:

Eggnog Log Cookies
Sacher Torte Cookies (updated version here)
Special Holiday Fudge
Chocolate Mint Crisps
Christmas Granola
Little Apricot Cakes
Barbecue Spiced Pecans

That last one wasn't on my list but I found it in an old magazine and it seemed meant to be.

I also tried out Pecan Pie Bark, but that isn't on my actual list because I didn't make it as a gift, just took some to a game night at church.  I think I would give it as a gift another year, though, as it was delicious.

And so that is 2025's actual kitchen gift list!

A warming soup for a cold day

 

It's such a cold day here!  It is 24º with winds of 8 mph (the wind is actually dying down a bit) so the "feels like" temperature is 15º.  I just walked to the mailbox and back and the wood fire felt so cozy when I came back inside.  It'll be a good night for the soup I have planned! I've posted about this soup before but have never actually shared the recipe. 

I found this recipe --- Fiesta Sweet Potato Soup -- in a Quick Cooking magazine over a decade ago.   I've posted links to the recipe on Taste of Home whenever I have blogged about it.  So today, I wanted to find the recipe and clicked on one of those links and --- the recipe isn't there any more!  

It may well have been renamed, but after spending some time searching I decided to see if I had saved the recipe elsewhere.  Sure enough, I found a pdf I had saved.  So I took a screenshot, and here are the ingredients and directions for this delicious, very warming soup:

If you double-click you will be able to see a larger version.

Hope you enjoy this if you try it!  I'm so happy that the recipe is not entirely lost to me.

Cinnamon Apples

 

 This year I made a little tweak to the cinnamon apples I usually prepare for our annual December breakfast tradition with four of our local grandkids.  I have most often used a skillet recipe for cinnamon apples.  

This year I tried a slow cooker version suggested by a friend, and really liked it.  There were also a couple of flavor tweaks that made a huge difference.

FAVORITE CINNAMON APPLES

1 3-pound bag apples (I used Cortland), cored and sliced but not peeled
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all in slow cooker and cook on Low for 3 hours.  

So yummy and they smell so good while cooking!  My other version uses cinnamon only -- I found that the nutmeg and the vanilla made such a difference in the flavor.  This will be my go-to from now on.

It might make a delicious addition to Christmas breakfast or brunch at your house!

Ending Christmas in July with a festive flourish!

 

Wow, we did it!  Managed to post every day in July for the annual Christmas in July as I so enjoy doing.  This time I scheduled very few posts ahead of time.  It was mostly day by day, though I did schedule the last few since we'll be on a short getaway during that time.

For today, a really fun dessert idea which unfortunately is composed mostly of processed foods, but which I'm sure is also absolutely delicious.  Since this is a refreshing chilled dessert, it will be perfect to try in summer.

I imagine everyone has heard of the strawberry pretzel salad.  (It's much more of a dessert in my opinion.). Well, this recipe from Taste of Home takes the strawberry pretzel salad concept and gives it a festive red and green twist: Strawberry Lime Pretzel Salad.

It's actually even nicer than one might think from the title, because the green layer, rather than just being a lime green, is actually more of a pastel green owing to the addition of cream cheese and whipped topping.  As you can see, it's really pretty.

So use your own judgment in trying this recipe,  I'm thinking it might be something I'd make for a once-a-year splurge.  It really would be perfect for a Christmas in July party!

.

Tidings of baking and joy -- a sweet vintage clipping

 

In an envelope of old recipe clippings, I came across the above: Tidings of Baking and Joy!  What a fun title!

The front of the clipping features a scrumptious-sounding recipe for Peanut Butter Cream-Topped Brownies.

 Above is the recipe for the brownie part.  Double clicking should help in seeing it.

And above is the recipe for the peanut butter cream topping and the chocolate glaze.

The back of the clipping features another recipe -- Easy Mocha Brownie Torte -- and a 25¢ coupon on Hershey's Baking Chocolate.

 

The date on the coupon (it expired in February 1998) tells me these recipes are from 1997.  

I appreciate that these treats are made from scratch!  They are also meant to be refrigerated, so they would make nice summer desserts as well.  Why not bake up some comfort and joy today?

Santa's Whiskers -- another recipe from Visions of Sugarplums

 

 Lucie commented that she was very intrigued by the recipe for Santa's Whiskers cookies I mentioned in the list from the little Visions of Sugarplums booklet.  So, just for you, Lucie, here it is.  They are the cookies at right, next to the mug, in the photo above.  It seems that the name Santa's Whiskers likely comes from the coconut topping.  

SANTA'S WHISKERS
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon each vanilla and coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup red and/or green candied cherries, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350º.  

Beat butter, sugar, egg, milk, extracts and salt in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until blended.  (Mixture may appear curdled; don't worry.) On low speed, beat in flour until combined.  Stir in 1 cup coconut and the cherries.  

Place remaining coconut in a bowl.  Drop rounded teaspoons of dough into coconut 1 teaspoon at a time; turn each gently to coat.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 15 minutes or until coconut is toasted and cookies are set.  Cool slightly on the baking sheet on a wire rack before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Makes 5 dozen.

Store these in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers.  May be stored at room temperature up to 1 week, in the fridge up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pink Lemonade Bars

 

 I mentioned a few days ago that I would try and post the recipe for Pink Lemonade Bars featured in the little cookie booklet Visions of Sugarplums.  To me these would be perfect for a summer cookie tray, but they would be pretty at Christmas time as well.

PINK LEMONADE BARS

Crust:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Topping:
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 Tblsp. freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
5 drops red liquid food coloring

Confectioners sugar for topping

Heat oven to 350º.  Line a 13 x 9 pan with foil, letting foil extend above pan at both ends.  Coat foil with nonstick baking spray.

For crust, beat butter, flour, and confectioners sugar in a large bowl with mixer until blended and crumbly.  Press over bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 15 minutes or until light golden.  Remove from oven but do not turn the oven off.

While crust is baking, make topping.  In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice, flour and baking powder with mixer to combine.  Add food coloring and beat until topping is pink in color.  Pour over the hot crust.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes until top is golden and topping has set.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Lift foil by ends to cutting board.  Cut bars in 6 rows lengthwise and 8 crosswise to make 48 bars.  Dust with confectioners sugar.  Makes 48 bars.

(No mention of when to remove the foil.  I think I would do it before cutting the bars, so as not to get shreds of foil mixed in with them.)  

There it is!  Enjoy!

Salted Butterscotch Bars

 

Time for a cookie recipe! I like bar cookies, especially in summer, because they are so quick and easy to make.  The oven is not on for long, and a 13x9 pan usually yields at least 24 bars.

These Salted Butterscotch Bars come from Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life.  I've shared before how much I appreciate Jocelyn's recipes.  She has a great instinct about putting flavors together and what's going to work in a recipe, plus she keeps the recipes simple.

The bars are made with melted butterscotch chips and brown sugar, along with basic ingredients like butter, eggs, flour, vanilla and salt.  The frosting is made with salted caramel chips (or, if you can't find those, more butterscotch chips) and whipping cream, plus coarse sea salt for the garnish.

Photo from Inside Brucrew Life

 
From my limited research, it looks like Hershey's may not make the sea salt caramel baking chips any longer, but it seems that perhaps some other companies (Lily's, Trader Joe's) do.  In any case it's good to know what to substitute if you can't find the caramel sea salt ones.

Hope you enjoy this recipe if you try it!

Thinking back to the 2024 miscellaneous cooking & baking list

 

 As I mentioned back in December, I have never made a list like this before, though I often gift food to random people who are not on my "kitchen gifts" list.  The recipients might even vary from year to year.  But I think it's a good idea to have such a list.  

So heading up my list is a cheese log and crackers that we took to a Christmas party along with a cookie tray, just as a help to the very busy hostess rather than a "hostess gift".  I talked with her a few weeks ahead of time and asked if we could help out in this way.  I find that it helps people if I just make a suggestion up front as to what I might bring, and they are often relieved not to have to decide what to ask for.

Friends of ours who live exceedingly busy lives often have a houseful of guests over Christmas.  When this happens, I like to help them out by preparing some frozen entrees, some breakfast foods, and an assortment of cookies.  In 2024 I made granola, a cranberry coffee cake, two frozen lasagnas and two pans of cheeseburger macaroni.  We also gave them an assortment of cookies in a large plastic container to keep in the freezer and bring out as needed.

Here is the Cheeseburger Macaroni recipe:

CHEESY BEEF MACARONI BAKE

1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
15-ounce can tomato sauce (the Contadina kind that includes herbs is wonderful!)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups elbow macaroni, boiled and drained
1 cup whipping cream OR half & half
2 1/2 to 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the crumbled ground beef and onion and garlic in a large skilled until beef is no longer pink.  Stir in the tomato sauce and seasoning, salt and pepper.  Spread this mixture in the bottom of a greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

Heat the cream in a medium saucepan; when it bubbles a bit around the edges, stir in the shredded cheese and whisk until smooth.  Mix the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and spread this mixture over the meat sauce in the pan.

If you like you can sprinkle with chopped parsley or a bit more shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This freezes well and reheats nicely.  If you freeze it, thaw it out (take out of freezer and place in fridge the night before) before baking it.

Will serve about 6.

I have shared the freezer lasagna recipe before, but this is the newest tweak.  I honestly don't think I will tweak it again after this; I have now developed a meat variation in addition to the vegetable one.  I use both of these and the macaroni bake over and over in my volunteer work preparing meals for work crews, so they are absolutely tried and true!

VEGETABLE LASAGNA to freeze

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely minced (a total of about 1 teaspoon)

16 ounces frozen chopped broccoli (or spinach), thawed

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 1b. ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided use

1 egg

3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese


1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon oregano (or Italian seasoning)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 jar Alfredo sauce (16 oz.)

9 uncooked no-boil lasagna noodles

Additional parmesan if desired 

In a large skillet, cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil until soft.  Add the thawed vegetables and the Italian seasoning.  Stir to combine, cover the skillet, reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and set aside.

In a large bowl combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, egg, parmesan, and seasonings.  Mix well.

Grease a 13x9 foil baking pan.  Pour a thin layer of Alfredo sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Layer on 3 noodles.  Spread half of cheese over the noodles.  Spread half of the vegetable mixture over the cheese layer,  then evenly drizzle about 1/3 of the Alfredo sauce over the vegetables.  

Repeat layers: 3 noodles, half of cheese mixture, half of vegetables, another 1/3 of sauce.  

Top with 3 noodles and spread the remaining third of sauce over them.  Cover with remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella.  Sprinkle with additional grated parmesan if desired.

Cover tightly with foil and freeze.  

The night before you want to serve it, remove from freezer and leave it in the fridge overnight.  

1 1/2 hours before serving, bake the lasagna, covered, in a preheated 350º oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand, still covered, for 15 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC MEAT LASAGNA to freeze

1 Tablespoon olive oil 

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely minced (a total of about 1 teaspoon)

1 pound more or less of ground beef (can also use ground pork or sausage)

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 1b. ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided use

1 egg

3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon oregano (or Italian seasoning)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 jar spaghetti or marinara sauce (24 oz.)

9 uncooked no-boil lasagna noodles

Additional parmesan if desired 

In a large skillet, cook the onions, garlic, and crumbled ground meat in the olive oil until meat is no longer pink.  Add the Italian seasoning and cook a minute or two more.  Turn off heat and set aside.

In a large bowl combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, egg, parmesan, and seasonings.  Mix well.

Grease a 13x9 foil baking pan.  Pour a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Layer on 3 noodles.  Spread half of cheese over the noodles.  Spread half of the meat mixture over the cheese layer,  then evenly drizzle about 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce over the meat.  

Repeat layers: 3 noodles, half of cheese mixture, half of meat mixture, another 1/3 of sauce.  

Top with 3 noodles and spread the remaining third of sauce over them.  Cover with remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella.  Sprinkle with additional grated parmesan if desired.

Cover tightly with foil and freeze.  

The night before you want to serve it, remove from freezer and leave it in the fridge overnight.  

1 1/2 hours before serving, bake the lasagna, covered, in a preheated 350º oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand, still covered, for 15 minutes before serving.

As you can see, these are assembled in the same exact way.  I will often double the filling recipe and make two lasagnas at the same time.  

 Well, this has morphed into a longer post than I intended, but I hope it will be helpful to readers!

 

The actual 2024 Christmas cookie list

 

 It's high time that I share the actual Christmas cookie list for 2024.  It did not turn out to be a carbon copy of the tentative list.  So let's see.  We made 

Chocolate Mint Crisps*
Secret Spice Cookies*
Lemon Shortbread Thumbprints*
Whipped Shortbread*
Chocolate Spritz*
Eggnog Logs*
Almond Raspberry Thumbprints*
Chocolate Orange Cookies*
Sacher Torte Cookies*
Christmas Tree Spritz
Gingerbread Men
Blond Brownies*
Pepparkakor Spritz*
Chocolate-Filled Gingerbread Thumbprints*
Coffee Maple Spritz

* = multiple batches

 I have never made blond brownies as a Christmas cookie, but my hubby loves them and he insisted on doing so.  I'll share the recipe at the end of this post.

The recipe titles in color indicate new recipes -- sort of.  The Pepparkakor Spritz is a recipe we'd tried in 2015 and forgotten about, so I posted about it this year.

The two recipes in color at the end of the list were brand new to us ... recipes I had pinned to try, and I am so glad we did.  Both were unusual and scrumptious!  In fact, our friend Colby told us that the Gingerbread Chocolate Thumbprints may have become his new favorite.  We actually made two batches of those.

Now, for the promised recipe:

BEST  BLOND  BROWNIES

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup vanilla chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped almonds, divided use

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs and vanilla; mix well.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in the vanilla chips, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped almonds.  Spoon into a greased 13x9” baking pan; spread dough to evenly cover bottom of pan.  Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup almonds on top.  Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.  Yield:  2 dozen.

These blond brownies truly are the best.  They are so easy, and I like the fact that they only call for 1/2 cup butter.  The almonds add a very nice crunch.  These are very quick to make and take along to a potluck or a friend’s house.  Or to add to a Christmas cookie tray ... 

And that's the 2024 Christmas cookie list!

Gingerbread Eggnog Coffeecake

 

 Here is another scrumptious coffeecake recipe.  My regular readers likely know that I am very prone to take muffin recipes and turn them into coffee cakes.  I just don't like going to the trouble of lining or greasing muffin tins, or washing them afterwards.  

That's just what happened with this recipe.  My hubby was looking for a way to use up about a half cup of eggnog.  I remembered this recipe which I had printed out a  couple years ago from Taste of the Frontier, apparently now called Yummi Haus.  But when I mentioned I thought muffins were too much trouble, he said, "Let's turn it into a coffee cake!"  My lazy ways are rubbing off on him, I guess.  Well, this coffeecake turned out absolutely delicious.  He took some to an outdoor event on Saturday, and came back with an empty plate and a request for the recipe.  So I knew my readers would like it too!

GINGERBREAD EGGNOG COFFEECAKE

Ingredients

Coffeecake

1 3/4 cups flour 

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup eggnog

1/3 cup molasses 

1 large egg

Streusel topping

2 tablespoons melted butter 

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners sugar 

1 to 2 tablespoons eggnog

Pinch of nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2.   Grease a 13x9 pan with cooking spray 

3.  Sift together dry ingredients for coffeecake — flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.

4.  In mixing bowl combine cooled melted butter, eggnog, and molasses.  Add the dry ingredients and then the egg, beating until just combined.

5.Pour batter into prepared pan.

6.  For streusel, melt butter in small bowl.  Add flour, brown sugar and cinnamon; stir with a fork until crumbly.

7.  Sprinkle streusel evenly on top of coffeecake batter in pan.

8.  Bake 30 minutes at 350º or until toothpick test is clean.

9.  Allow cake to cool completely.  

10.  Whisk the glaze ingredients together and drizzle over cooled coffeecake.

 

And there is a very delicious Gingerbread Eggnog Coffeecake for your enjoyment!

Another new cookie recipe -- Gingerbread Chocolate Thumbprints

 

This is another recipe I had pinned to my Christmas Cookie Exchange Pinterest board.  It is one I've wanted to try for awhile, posted by Jenn Lifford to her Clean & Scentsible blog in 2014: Gingerbread Chocolate Thumbprint cookies.  What a festive combination of flavors!

Every year, as most readers know, I make a tentative Christmas cookie list with many old favorites on it.  And I usually add one or two new-to-me recipes that I would like to try.  This was one of those cookie recipes, this year.

My hubby volunteered to try baking these.  He liked the technique of making the thumbprint indentations after the cookies were baked, and thought that it worked very well.

Screenshot from Clean & Scentsible 

These cookies have gone over well with people who have tasted them.  The chocolate and gingerbread flavors go very well together.  Mr. T says these will be a must-make from here on out!

Caramel Brulee Latte Syrup -- an easy DIY

 

 Here's another great recipe from Mad About Food -- a Caramel Brulee latte syrup.

I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm sure it will be just as delicious as the Gingerbread Latte Syrup and the Peppermint Mocha one that I blogged about last year.

It also has simple ingredients: brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and sea salt in addition to water.  The process is an easy stovetop one, and the syrup can be stored in your fridge for up to a month.  

Madeline gives directions for making a caramel brulee latte as well as a caramel brulee cold foam.  She notes that it can also be used as a syrup or sauce to drizzle over special desserts or even ice cream.

I'll be trying this recipe soon!

An easy yet festive looking main dish for a busy night

 

 If you are like me, you are always looking for quick and easy meals during December.  A quick, easy meal with a festive look is absolutely a plus.  

Back in July I told about reaching into the above envelope stuffed with random recipe clippings.  

 This looks so easy!  In case you can't read it, the recipe calls for a 9 to 10 ounce package of refrigerated cheese ravioli and 2 cups frozen (or fresh) broccoli florets, cooked as directed on the pasta package.  Heat a jar of Alfredo sauce, adding 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and, if desired, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. 

Serve sauce over the pasta and broccoli, topping with 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese when serving, if desired.  Serve with crusty bread and a mixed green salad.

 This recipe sounds delicious and so festive to me, with its red, white  and green colors.  What do you think? Does this sound like a good addition to your December menus?

Another recipe to try -- Orange Creme Brownies

 

 As I mentioned in a previous post, some time ago I winnowed out the hundreds of scribbled down or clipped out recipes I had stashed here and there in my kitchen and cookbooks.  I found places to file them, sorted some to sell on Etsy, and ended up with a large envelope of them that I didn't quite know what to do with.  I couldn't seem to make up my mind whether to keep them or throw them away.

While planning for Christmas in July, I decided to pull out a recipe from this envelope -- I would pick the first one I came to that sounded the least bit Christmasy!  Living dangerously.  That worked out so well I decided to try it a second time.  And up came this newspaper clipping for Orange Creme Brownies.

Regular readers know I'm pretty partial to the festive flavor combination of orange and chocolate.  

So it seems as if these brownies would make a wonderful addition to Christmas cookie trays or as a kitchen gift on their own.  And hey, wouldn't a selection of orange/chocolate goodies be fun -- the chocolate dipped orange slices, some chocolate orange cookies, some chocolate orange muffins and these brownies -- or any combination thereof?  You can find all of the recipes here: Christmas recipes featuring oranges.

The clipping is hard to read, I know, so I'll type out the recipe.  I have no idea who to credit for this, but I've had the clipping for a very long time.

ORANGE CREME BROWNIES

3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325º.  Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with foil, allowing it to overhang the edge of the pan slightly.  Butter the foil and set the pan aside. 

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a square of waxed paper.  

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate morsels, butter, sugar, and orange juice; cook and stir over very low heat until chocolate and butter are melted; remove from heat.  Stir in orange peel and vanilla.    Let cool 10 minutes.  Using a wire whisk, beat in eggs one at a time.  Add reserved flour mixture, beating until smooth; stir in nuts.  

Spread in prepared pan.  Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

When cool, spread with Orange Creme (recipe follows) and refrigerate until firm -- about 15 minutes in the fridge or 5 minutes in the freezer.  Spread warm Chocolate Icing over the Orange Creme.  

Using a knife, mark chocolate layer in about 36 squares (1 1/2 inches square).  Refrigerate until chocolate icing layer is firm, about 25 minutes, or place in the freezer for a shorter time.  Lift the foil edges to remove the brownies to a cutting board; cut in squares along marked lines.  Makes 36 brownies.  Refrigerate up to 4 days, or freeze up to 1 month.

    ORANGE CREME

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In the small bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy.  Beat in orange peel, milk, and vanilla.

CHOCOLATE ICING

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening

In small saucepan, combine chocolate morsels, butter and vegetable shortening.  Stir over very low heat until melted.

These sound delicious!  They do sound like quite a bit of work, as well.  I would most likely double the recipe to make it worth my while.

I'll definitely be trying these with an eye to Christmas gifting.  How about you?

Cranberry Cream Pie

 

Some time ago I winnowed out the hundreds of scribbled down or clipped out recipes I had stashed here and there in my kitchen and cookbooks.  I found places to file them, sorted some to sell on Etsy, and ended up with a large envelope of them that I didn't quite know what to do with.  I couldn't seem to make up my mind whether to keep them or throw them away.

While planning for Christmas in July, I decided to pull out a recipe from this envelope -- I would pick the first one I came to that sounded the least bit Christmasy!  Living dangerously.  Well, this one actually sounds like a pretty good pick, and somewhat unusual.  I don't think I have seen a recipe for a cranberry cream pie before.  I'll definitely be trying this one.

 

I'll type the recipe out here in case it's not too readable. 

CRANBERRY CREAM PIE

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided use
1 cup water
2 egg yolks, room temperature
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
8 ounces whipped topping like Cool Whip®

In a heavy large saucepan, combine the cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and the water.  Cook over medium high heat until very thick, about 10 minutes.

Mix together the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch.  Add to berries, stir in sour cream, and cook until thick, about 4 minutes.

Pour filling into pie crust.  

Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving.  Just before serving, spread the whipped topping over the pie.

A couple of notes: my mother taught me that when a recipe calls for 2 egg yolks, and there is no use for the whites, to just substitute 1 egg.  That's probably what I'll do.  And also, I think real whipped cream is much tastier and healthier than Cool Whip, so I will likely whip up a pint of heavy cream with a couple tablespoons of confectioners sugar (or maple syrup) and a tablespoon of vanilla.

What do you think?  Would you try this recipe?  I definitely will.