Christmas Cookies #5

Peppermint Meltaways

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. peppermint extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3-4 drops of green food coloring

HEAT oven to 400 degrees.

MIX butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla thoroughly.

STIR flour and salt together, blend into butter mixture.

DROP by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

BAKE about 8-9 minutes or until set but not brown. While warm, dip in confectioners' sugar.

Christmas Cookies #4

Lemon Crinkles1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1 tbsp. lemon rind
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ginger
granulated sugar

HEAT oven to 350 degrees.

MIX shortening, sugar and egg thoroughly, blend in lemon rind.

BLEND dry ingredients together then stir into sugar mixture.

ROLL into 1 inch balls and dip the tops in the granulated sugar.

BAKE on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.

Christmas Cookies #3

Lemon Snowdrops1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt

HEAT oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add lemon extract, flour and salt. Mix well.

MEASURE level teaspoonfuls and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Flatten slightly.

PLACE about 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

BAKE 8-10 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool. Prepare filling (below). Roll in powdered sugar.

Lemon Butter Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
dash of salt
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 tbsp. lemon juice
3 drops yellow food coloring

MIX sugar cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan.

ADD water, butter, grated lemon rind, lemon juice and food coloring.

BRING to a rolling boil, stirring constantly, boil and stir for 1 minute. Cool.

***Now, I must mention that this recipe says that the cookie is to have a lemon FILLING. Yet at no time does it explain HOW to fill the cookies. So, when I rolled the dough into balls, I did flatten them and made an indent in the middle. After they were done baking, I dipped the cookies in the "filling" and then dusted them with the powdered sugar. They still came out wonderful and I have already had about 7 requests to make more and make a bigger batch when I do!!

Christmas Cookies #2

Jeweled Drop Cookies1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or water (I used buttermilk)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3-4 cups cut-up gumdrops

MIX shortening, sugar and eggs thoroughly. Stir in buttermilk.

SIFT flour, soda and salt together, blend into sugar mixture.

FOLD in gumdrops. Chill for 1 hour.

HEAT oven to 400 degrees. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet.

BAKE 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Christmas Cookies #1

Chocolate Cherry Drop Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (2 oz), melted and cooled
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cut-up candied or drained maraschino cherries

MIX butter, sugar, egg and chocolate thoroughly. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla.

STIR together flour, soda and salt and blend into wet mixture.

FOLD in cherries. Chill for 1 hour.

HEAT oven to 400 degrees.

DROP rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until no imprint remains.

Oh Meatballs!

A couple of times now I have made these meatballs. Once for spaghetti and meatballs the other for meatball subs. Both turned out great. Actually the first time I made them, my husband told me they were too small and perfectly round to be homemade, so I must have done something right.

The recipe comes from Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, Volume 2, printed in 1959. It's just a simple meatball recipe, quick and easy, you could even make a bunch and freeze!

1 egg
3/4 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup bread crumbs, seasoned or not
3/4 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion (optional)

MIX all ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl.

HEAT skillet to medium heat, add 2 tbsp. oil.

ROLL meatballs by hand, no bigger than the diameter of a quarter.

COOK meatballs in oil until browned throughout.

*At this point, you can either made noodles and have spaghetti and meatballs or make meatball sub sandwiches with provolone cheese.

Homemade Doggie Biscuits

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Fantasy Fudge

I love fudge. Any type of fudge (with no nuts).

So I decided to make some today. Here is the recipe that I use. My Mom makes this recipe for Christmas every year and sends me home with some.

The recipe for this can be found at www.kraftfoods.com here.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes 3 lbs. or 40 squares





3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 package (12 squares) bakers semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow cream
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla

LINE a 9 inch square pan with foil, set aside.

PLACE sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

ADD chocolate and marshmallow cream. Stir until completely melted. Add walnuts and vanilla, mix well.

POUR immediately into a prepared pan and spread to form an even layer. Let stand at room temperature for 4 hours or until completely cooled. You can also put it in the refrigerator.

TO serve, cut into 1 inch squares.

Chicken Tortellini Soup with Garlic Bread

My friend, Luanne, printed this recipe and kindly gave me a copy. I adjusted a couple things (listed below) The original recipe can be found here: http://www.fox8.com/lifestyle/thatslife/wjw-chicken-tortellini-soup-recipe,0,4217888.story.

Since I pulled chicken out of the freezer to make today, I figured something different would be nice.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Makes 6 servings

You will need:

2 (48 oz) chicken broth
1 (16 oz) cheese tortellini (frozen)
6 oz. baby leaf spinach, (a small bunch will do)(fresh)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cooked whole chicken, skinned and deboned (or 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
4-5 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

IN a large stockpot over medium heat, add olive oil, onions, celery and carrots (in that order). Saute for three (3) minutes then add the broth and bring to a soft boil.

ADD cooked chicken and frozen tortellini and cook for 5-10 minutes.

ADD spinach and butter.

SERVE with garlic bread (optional).

NOTE: I used boneless, skinless chicken seasoned with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and it was cut into chunks. I also added freshly grated parmesan cheese to each serving. It really tastes great!!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (Monkey Bread)

My husband this morning was talking about this. He said he went to the store and saw the pull-apart pepperoni bread, but couldn't find the cinnamon kind. And, since he is a serious lover of cinnamon, any chance I get to make him something with cinnamon in it is a good thing. So, I searched and found this recipe. It was really easy to make and the only things I had to buy were the biscuits and eggs (but I needed the eggs anyway since I am making chicken paprikas tonight for dinner.

As you can see, as soon as I put it on the plate, someone stole a chunk!

from: www.pillsbury.com; here is their direct link: http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=45473

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cans Pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

HEAT oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a fluted bunt pan.

IN a large resealable plastic bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.

SEPARATE dough and cut each biscuit into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan.

MIX brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.

BAKE 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center.

COOL in pan for 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto a serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Note: I greased my pan more than lightly, since I sometimes don't grease it enough. And, I used 2 tsp. of cinnamon (since my husband loves it), and I used a plastic container to shake the dough pieces in.

Snickerdoodles

from: Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, 1975

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes 6 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

HEAT oven to 400 degrees.

MIX butter, sugar and eggs thoroughly.

BLEND flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

SHAPE dough into 1 inch balls and roll in mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

PLACE on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. bake for 8-10 minutes

Note: Dough may be chilled before rolling in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Also, these cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.

Banana-Blueberry Smoothie

from: www.marthastewart.com, Food Everyday, February 2008

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Makes 2 servings

1 ripe banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

IN a blender, combine banana, blueberries and yogurt.

BLEND on high speed until smooth. Pour into two glasses; serve immediately.

NOTE: You can substitute any frozen fruit.

My son made a couple of these last night. He substituted blueberry yogurt for the frozen blueberries and plain yogurt. They were yummy!

Chocolate Crinkles

So with a new recipe book full of cookie recipes the first ones I am making are of course chocolate.

My son wanted to help. He always wants to help in the kitchen. So here he is helping and the finished product.

Old World Raspberry Bars

Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 40 minutes
Makes: 24 bars

Crumb Mixture:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg

Filling:

1 (10 oz.) jar raspberry preserves or your favorite preserves

HEAT oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine all crumb mixture ingredients. Beat at low speed, scraping the bowl often, until mixture is crumbly (2 to 3 minutes).
Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture, set aside.

PRESS remaining crumb mixture on bottom of greased 8- or 9-inch square baking pan. Spread preserves to within a 1/2 inch of edge. Crumble reserved crumb mixture over preserves.

BAKE for 40 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

Cover and store in pan up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Source unknown

Picture above is my attempt to be somewhat creative. I used strawberry instead of raspberry as that is what I had in the kitchen. It was still very good.

Best Ever Cheesy Biscuits

Bake: 15 minutes
Makes: 12

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup shortening

PLACE milk, cheese and lemon juice in a medium bowl and let stand for 15 minutes beforehand.

PREHEAT oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

CUT in shortening until it resembles coarse corn meal. Add milk and cheese and blend together.

SPOON by heaping tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet.

BAKE for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

SERVE warm.

I make these a lot. They go with lots of different meals and my family really likes them.

Vanilla Bites

From: Great American Home Baking

Prep Time: 10 minutes, 18-20 minutes baking

Makes 2 dozen cookies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract or almond extract
2 tsp. water
2 cups all-purpose flour

Garnish

1 tbsp. confectioners' sugar or vanilla sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.

BEAT together butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and water. Beat in flour until smooth.

ON a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough to a 1/2 inch thickness. Using a 1 inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Gather trimmings, re-roll and cut our more cookies.

PLACE cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

BAKE until set and golden, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with sugar.

I made these for Christmas last year. I was able to freeze the dough for a couple of weeks before cutting and baking, but I cut them too thin. Because of that they were very crunchy. I like my cookies soft. So, if I make these again, I will (1) cut them thicker and (2) color the dough to shake it up a bit.