Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts

Peppermint Surprise Cookies

Thursday, December 20, 2012

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love serving food with an unexpected twist.  Something that will stop people mid-bite and say, "Wow! That's not what I expected, but it's really good!"    These cookies are just that.  They look like a simple peppermint snowball cookies, but lo and behold there's a little chocolate kiss waiting inside to be eaten!  In addition to being a fun and unique addition to a cookie exchange, these are also sturdy enough that they  would be great for mailing in a holiday package.   Enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from an old cooking magazine.

Click here for printable recipe

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:
1-3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. peppermint extract
4-2/3 cups flour
Hershey Kisses (about 60)
4-ounces white chocolate
Crushed peppermint candies (crushed in blender)

Directions: 
In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar and mix until well combined.  Add egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract until beaten.  Add the flour one cup at a time, mixing until all of the flour is well incorporated.   The dough will be thick. 
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Shape dough into about 1-inch balls, flatten, then place an unwrapped Hershey Kiss into the middle of each and wrap the dough around until the Kiss is fully encased in dough.



Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees or until the bottoms are barely brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool. 

In a microwaveable bowl (make sure the bowl is perfectly clean and dry first or the chocolate will not melt properly), melt the white chocolate by placing in the microwave for two minutes and stopping to stir every thirty seconds.  Dip the top of each cookie into the melted white chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies. 

Allow chocolate/peppermint topping to set before serving.  

Makes about 5-6 dozen cookies. 

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I bought some pumpkins from a garden center.  One of the pumpkins was a pie pumpkin, which is the kind of pumpkin that you can puree and eat.  I didn't want to just eat the pumpkin by itself, so I asked Lara for a pumpkin recipe I could try.  This is the recipe she gave me.

They were delicious!  I couldn't get enough of them and thought they would make for a perfect Christmas morning breakfast! They're a little dense, but moist and delicious...especially fresh and hot out of the pan!  My roommates and I couldn't stop eating them. 

Recipe adapted from The Virtual Goody Plate 
Click here for printable recipe.


Posted by AnnaLisa


 The ingredients:


 10 T unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
(next time I will double both the nutmeg and allspice and add a teaspoon of cinnamon)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (from a 15 oz. can)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs

Sugar Coating:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 12 standard muffin cups.

Make batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and allspice. In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions pumpkin mixture and beat to combine.
Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 18-22 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Let muffins cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Working with one at a time, remove muffins from pan, brush all over with melted butter, then toss to coat in sugar mixture. Let muffins cool completely on a wire rack. (Store in airtight container up to 1 day.)

  Makes about 15 muffins.


Enjoy!


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About This Blog

My name is Lara and while I'm definitely not a gourmet cook, I do love preparing tasty, healthy meals for my family. Finding new recipes to try and sharing the ones we've already fallen in love with is a passion I've had since college and the reason why I've started this blog! With five kids, I'm usually in a hurry, so you'll find most of these recipes kid friendly and simple to make.

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