Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Last week I organized a cookie exchange for the girls and their friends.   Each girl was to bring three dozen cookies so they could all assemble a couple cookie trays each, one for their family and one to give as a gift.

Chiquita decided to make Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (aka: Hershey's "Peanut Butter Temptations") as her contribution to the exchange.   They turned out so delicious that I picked up a couple more bags of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups so we can make some for our family Christmas Party!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients: 

About 40 (13-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from candies.   Optional:  Line small muffin cups (1-3/4 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.    (We omitted the paper bake cups and they turned out great!) 

2.  Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, peanut butter, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy in large bowl. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place one in each prepared muffin cup. Do not flatten.

3.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes until puffed and lightly browned; remove from oven. Immediately press peanut butter cup or piece onto each cookie. Cool completely in muffin pan. About 3-1/2 dozen cookies.  (Using the small Pampered Chef Scoop, we ended up with almost 4 dozen cookies, though I did have to open a second bag of peanut butter cups.)

Christmas Baking

Oh, how we are enjoying our new kitchen!   We are getting ready to go to First Friday Mass with our Homeschool Group this morning and we just finished baking a Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake to share after Mass.   (I'll add the glaze after it cools and just before we head out the door.)

We also just finished baking a batch of Pepernoten (Dutch Peppernuts), using the recipe found in Cooking with the Saints.  My girls had so much fun rolling the cooking dough into marble sized balls!

They turned out delicious and would be even better served with a cup of coffee or perhaps some "Saintly" Hot Cocoa!

You can find the recipe over at Catholic Cuisine.

Happy First Friday!

Fall Baking :: Pumpkin Thumbprint Cookies

Sunday night Twinkle Toes and I decided to bake some pumpkin cookies for Columbus Day.  We used a recipe that I had run across last year, over at Wee Folk Art, and the cookies turned out delicious (how could they not with a big scoop of cream cheese frosting on the top!) and everyone (especially Snuggles!) just loved the "pumpkins" on top!  Don't you just love the fall?!

Pumpkin Thumbprint Cookies

~ Ingredients ~

Cookie:
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cup oatmeal
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
optional 1/2 - 1 cup butterscotch chips (if you add chips omit the 1/2 cups white sugar)

Frosting:
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional - if you want to make pumpkins, enough orange food coloring to make a deep orange
optional - butterscotch chips for stems

~ Directions ~

Mix pumpkin, sugars, vanilla and applesauce. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to applesauce mixture. If adding butterscotch chips, mix them in now.

Drop tablespoon of dough on cookie sheet, leaving 2" between cookies. Depress your thumb into the middle of the cookie. If you thumb is sticking to the cookie dough, dip it in flour first.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minute (until brown). Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, cream all ingredients, except butterscotch chips. For regular cookies, spoon frosting into your thumb's indentation. If making the pumpkins, use a cookie scoop, and mound the frosting on each cookie. Top with a butterscotch chip for a stem.

Recipe makes 5 dozen cookies. If you are making pumpkins on top of the cookies, you will only have enough frosting for 3 1/2 dozen cookies.  (We used the cookie scoop for 1/2, and then made much smaller pumpins on the other half with my cupcake decorator.  We were able to decorate all the cookies this way, with a little frosting to spare.) 

Note: Since there is cream cheese in the frosting, refrigerate until time to serve.

Ascension Pancakes

In addition to our Ascension Thursday Picnic, we also celebrated the feast of the Ascension this weekend with Ascension Pancakes using our favorite recipe for homemade Buttermilk Pancakes.  I actually did not eat any of them (I'm trying really hard to cut back on carbs, dairy and sugar.) but everyone else enjoyed them very much!

Thank you Jamie for sharing the idea with us!

Pancake :: The earth Jesus walked on.

Fresh Strawberries :: The blood Jesus shed

Chocolate syrup :: The roads Jesus traveled.

Whipped topping :: The clouds our Lord ascended into.

Sprinkles :: The sweetness of life in Heaven.

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• ½ cup milk
• 3 eggs
• ⅓ cup butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it's ready!

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

* I doubled it this past weekend and we had way too many.  I think a batch and a half is about perfect for our family. 

While I was tidying our schoolroom today I ran across this picture of the Ascension which Rascal (age 8) drew last week.  I love it when I find things like this! 

Meatless Meals for Fridays

There are a number of new recipes for fish over at Catholic Cuisine this week, including the delicious Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa I made for dinner this past Monday.  

While you are there, be sure to check out all the

  Recipes for Lent ~ From the Archives!  

Christmas Cookies

Yesterday four of my five sisters came over to bake cookies with the girls and I.   It did end up being much more work than I thought it would be, but it is so rare that we are all able to get together, and it will be so nice to have all these goodies to take to my parents home tomorrow for Christmas, as well as for all the company we have arriving on Sunday! (Our little Rose will be baptized this coming Monday!)  I sure wish my sister Jamie could have been here... (Could you all please say a prayer for her father-in-law who was just hospitalized, and then moved home to be with his family, due to complications with his lung cancer.)  We miss you Jamie!

We started out WAY too ambitiously with a huge stack of recipes we were hoping to make, but ended up shortening our list to just Cranberry White Chocolate Bars (using a mix from Costco), Oreo Truffles, more Rice Krispies Treats Wreaths, Pecan Turtle Bars, Cranberry Orange Cookies, and Chocolate Coconut Balls.   I also have the dough in my fridge for Sugar Cookies for my children to cut out and decorate sometime soon.

Twinkle Toes and Chiquita really enjoyed spending time with their aunts, licking spoons, and helping out whenever they could!

The boys on the other hand went ice skating with their daddy and my youngest brother, and Rose spent the day sleeping, nursing, looking cute in her little t-shirt from Aunt Meagan, and being just as sweet as ever!

Despite thinking it would be "easy" to have everyone over to bake (in my tiny kitchen!) I was pretty overwhelmed tired by the end of the day.  Thankfully a dear friend dropped off dinner, hubby washed dishes, and my mom stopped by on her way home from shopping to force me to sit down while she finished cleaning up!

Today will be much more relaxed, though I can't believe it is already Christmas Eve!  Advent sure did fly by, didn't it?!   Christmas is almost here!

Candy for Christmas

This past weekend the girls and I made Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls to save for Christmas.  They were SO easy to make and turned out delicious.  Here is the recipe we used:

Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls

• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tbs. butter, melted
• 4 cups rice krispies

Mix everything together and roll into balls and place on wax paper. Chill for 15-20 minutes.

While peanut butter mixture is chilling melt in double boiler:

• 1 bag (16 oz) of chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

Dip the balls into the chocolate to coat and place in fridge to set up.  Makes approximately 4 dozen.

A "Bun in the Oven" Baby Shower Favors

I had so much fun making the favors for Erica's Baby Shower. When I was looking for ideas online, I ran across packages of Muffin Mix for sale, and decided to make something similar...

Instead of muffin mix, and keeping with the theme, I sent each of our guests home with a mix to make Cinnamon Honey Bun Coffee Cake in a Mug! (I found the recipe here.)

Supplies:

• Yellow Cake Mix (I was able to make 9 favors from each box)
• Brown Sugar
• Pecans
• Cinnamon
• Clear Baggies and Ties
• Snack Baggies
• Labels for Topping Packets
• Colored Paper Bags
• Coordinating Ribbon
• Colored Paper & Card Stock for printing tags and labels
• Hole Punch and Scissors

Directions:

Measure the following into a baggie, Seal & Tie off.
1/3 cup yellow cake mix

Add the following into a separate baggie, seal & tie off, label as Topping Mix:
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp finely chopped pecans
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Attach Tag:

Empty Cake mix into mug.
Add 2 tsp Oil, 1 T. Water, 1 Egg White, whisk well.
Sprinkle topping packet on & cook on high in microwave for 2 minutes.

I also included optional oven directions, which I tested out since I don't have a microwave and wanted to test the recipe before giving it away! ;)

Next I printed out a poem found online for the cover, along with the image from the invitations, etc, and glued them onto some coordinating paper and then to the bags:

A bun in the oven

Such great joy
Will it be a girl?
Or will it be a boy?

Only time will tell
Whether we'll need pink or blue
We know we'll be ready
Thanks to you!

After placing the Mix and Topping in the bag, I punched a couple holes, added the ribbon, and that was it! They were so easy, even I could make them!!

Aunt Bridget's Egg Bake

One of the dishes I served at the Baby Shower was my Aunt Bridget's Egg Bake, although I modified it to fit a 9x13 pan instead of a 6x10. I made it the night before the shower, since it is suppose to sit overnight and popped it in the oven in the morning. (I was SO excited when I realized, for the first time, that I could fit BOTH pans in my small SUPER OLD oven!! Yay!!)

Since I was asked to share the recipe in the comments, here you go:

Ingredients:

• 12 oz brown and serve sausage cut into quarters
• 7 slices bread pulled apart
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 7 eggs - slightly beaten
• 3 cups milk
• 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 6 oz diced chilies (I think I actually used 11 oz which made for lots of chilies)

Directions:

Place bread pieces in bottom of buttered 9x13 baking pan. Add sausage and sprinkle with cheese, reserving a small amount for the top. Combine eggs, mustard, milk, and chilies. Pour over cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Apple Puff Pancakes

Early this morning, before my children woke up, I was catching up on a few posts in my Google Reader and ran across Kimberly's Apple-y Goodness. Oh, it looked too yummy! I quickly clippedthe recipe, realized I had everything I needed to make it (yay!), printed it out, and headed to the kitchen to get started.

It was very easy to make and was SO SO SO delicious!! In fact, my children kept asking if I could make it again Saturday morning so that their Daddy can have some. I think we will!

The recipe was originally from The Farm Chicks Cookbook. (Oh, and I doubled the recipe, using two pie pans, for our family.)

Apple Puff Pancake

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• Maple syrup or confectioner's sugar for serving

Heat the oven to 425 F. Place the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a 9-inch pie pan.

Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and bubbly - 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir well and mix in the apple slices. Return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender or food processor and process until frothy - 1 minute.

Pour over the apple mixture. Bake until the cake is puffed and the center is set - 18 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm with maple syrup or sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.

Enjoy!

Coconut Ice Cream ~ Dairy and Sugar Free!

I mentioned in the Highlights From "C" Week that we made some more Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Yummmmmm!!!  

Last year, after finding out that I am intolerant to just about everything dairy and becoming hooked on Coconut Bliss Ice Cream (which is expensive, but SO good!!) I decided to try and figure out how to make it at home. I purchased an Ice Cream Maker and experimented with a few recipes I found online. Basically it is just a base of Coconut Milk sweetened with Agave Syrup and then I just add whatever add-in's sound good. It's very easy to make and tastes so delicious and creamy!

I really need to get better about sticking with my food guidelines since I feel so much better when I avoid the things I shouldn't be eating  {sigh}  but recipes like this sure make it a lot easier! ;)

Anyhow, I have had a few emails asking for the recipe, so here you go:

Coconut Ice Cream
non-dairy, naturally sweetened

• 2 cans (15-16 oz) unsweetened coconut milk, chilled(not light)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup raw agave syrup (depending on how sweet you like your ice cream) 
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract
  
• optional add-ins: shaved and unsweetened dark chocolate; toasted, unsweetened coconut; finely chopped nuts; small brownie chunks; a multitude of other possibilities  

Combine all ingredients (except add-ins) in blender. Blend thoroughly. Chill in the freezer to make sure it is all quite cold.

Add to ice cream maker, following manufacturer’s directions for churning. Add the add-ins during the last few minutes of churning.

For soft serve ice cream, eat immediately. For harder ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for several hours to a day, depending on degree of hardness desired.

Variation:  For Chocolate Ice Cream, substitute coconut extract with vanilla extract and add 2/3 cup cocoa powder (whisked into a small amount of the coconut milk).   

(The next time I make it I'll try and remember to take a picture to add to this post...)

Shower of Photos 2009: Day 21 (Cinnamon-Sugar Bread)

No matter how many times I tried, I could not get this bread to look anywhere near as good in the pictures, as it tasted!  It may not look that special, but this little loaf of bread that we made, for one of our Garden of the Good Shepherd Activities yesterday, was the yummiest bread we have ever made in our bread maker.  In fact it was so delicious and easy that I made another loaf last night to have with breakfast this morning.  Yum! 

Cinnamon Sugar Bread 

from Recipe Zaar

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 egg
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons yeast

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
2. Bake using the sweet bread setting if your machine has it, if not, use white bread setting.
3. When the bread is done, remove from the machine and let sit on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. (If it sticks, just loosen the sides with a pliable, plastic spatula and it should slip out easily.)

Yields: 1 1/2 pound loaf

Shower of Photos 2009 :: Day 10

Hot Cross Buns

A Lenten Tea on Holy Thursday

Thanks to Alice's amazing creativity, my children and I enjoyed a lovely and symbolic Lenten Tea this afternoon!

Here is what was included in the menu:

~ Palm on the Road ~

Hearts of Palm were new to my children, and only Rascal liked them.
I thought they were delicious!

"And many spread their garments on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields." Mk. 11: 8

~ Costly Oil ~

All I had was regular olive oil, but it worked just fine!

"And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her." Mk. 14: 9

~ Thirty Pieces of Silver ~

Alice suggested Munster cheese, but since cutting out 30 pieces of cheese into circles was a bit more than I wanted to take on, I opted for Four Cheese Rice Crackers.

"Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, 'What will you give me if I deliver him to you?' And they paid him thirty pieces of silver." Mt. 25: 14-15

~ Unleavened Bread ~

For this we used Ezekiel Pita Breadcut into wedges.

"And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to Him, 'Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?'" Mk. 14: 12

~ The Mount of Olives ~

When my children saw the "Mount of Olives" their jaws dropped to the floor and asked if they really got to eat "all those olives!" Yes, olives are a rarity in our home, but my children *love* them!

"And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." Mk. 14: 26

~ The Cock Crows Twice ~

I already had Turkey breast in the fridge, so I used it instead of the chicken.

"And Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.'" Mk. 14: 30

~ Gethsemane Figs ~

Fig Newtons... YUM!!

"And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I pray.'" Mk. 14: 32

~ Judas' Kiss ~

I loved the idea of Hershey Kisses, but my children gave up candy this Lent, and so we opted for the Strawberries. My children could hardly wait for the Strawberries, but when I told them what they stood for, they responded with wrinkled up noses "You mean it's suppose to be Judas' lips!!!" I calmed them down by reassuring them that the Strawberries were just the same shape as Hershey Kisses, and just happened to be red. lol!

"And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, 'Master!' And he kissed him." Mk. 14: 45

~ The Clouds of Heaven ~

For this I used the whip cream we had already... You can see it behind the Strawberries in that last photo.

"And Jesus said, 'I am; and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'" Mk. 14: 62

~ Peter's Tears ~

None of my children would even try one of these! ;)

"And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, 'Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.' And he broke down and wept." Mk. 14: 72

While the children ate, I read excerpts from St. Mark.

We all really enjoyed this Lenten Tea. My boys kept wishing that daddy could have been home to join us!


Visit Cottage Blessings for the Bible readings, recipes and shopping list!

I hope you all had a very blessed Holy Thursday!