Peanut Blossoms

This is simply a traditional recipe that everybody knows and loves. Now this is a great case of how I am directionally challenged. I keep telling myself that I should read through the recipe entirely before I make something, but that never happens. Consequently while I following the directions I get so excited and do what I think is next in the recipe. So in this recipe as I put them dough balls on the baking sheets I went ahead and put the kisses in too...so please don't be like me and do that. I'm not sure it'll make a big difference, but who knows. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup of shortening (I used Canola oil instead)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

3 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Granulated sugar for coating

Hershey's kisses (I used about 38)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat peanut butter and shortening (or oil) in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well mixed. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat well. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until blended. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-6 min. or until set. Immediately press Kisses into the center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets to wire rack.  

 

  

Peanut Butter Candy Bar Squares

I got this recipe from a website called Bake or Break, a wonderful blog of delicious food. Here is the original website: http://www.bakeorbreak.com/recipes/2008/10/24/peanut-butter-candy-bar-squares/  These bars are like a nostalgic visit of all your childhood favorites: Nutter Butters, Reeses cups, and Butterfingeres. These are super simple and are a crowd pleaser of any age!

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed

1/2 cup butter, melted

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

7 & 1/2 ounces Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (about 25 miniature cups), coarsely chopped

4 ounces Butterfinger candy bars (about 7 small candy bars or 2 regular size ones)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 in. pan with aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over edges of pa. Grease/spray foil. Combine crushed cookies and butter. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 min. Combine condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside. Sprinkle chopped candy bars, chocolate morsels, and peanuts over crust. Drizzle condensed milk mixture over toppings. Bake for 25-27 min. or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using foil, lift out of pan. Peel foil away and cut into bars. Makes 28 small or 18 large bars. 

Cranberry Whole-Grain Muffins

The tender muffins, studded with cranberries and nuts and scented with orange are 100% whole-grain. This traditional Thanksgiving flavor combination, in muffin form, make a delicious and healthy start to your day of feasting. Pair this with the cider and you've got a great combination!

For Muffins:

1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts *(I toasted mine and sprinkled them with cinnamon when they were still hot. Toasting the nuts always enhance their flavor and make a huge difference)

1 tbsp. finely grated fresh orange zest

2 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

For glaze:

2 tbsp. orange juice

3 tbsp. sugar

Directions:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin  cups or line muffin cups with liners. Whisk together flour, oats, powdered milk, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Add cranberries and nuts. Whisk together orange zest, eggs, ilk, and oil. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter among muffin cups and bake for 18-20 min., or until they are golden brown. Cool in pan on rack for 5 min., then turn out onto rack. 

To make glaze:

Stir together orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Brush the tops of the muffins with the mixture while still warm. 

Orange-Kissed Brownies

So the website for this recipe was messing up and not loading everything on the page, hence the reason there is a picture without a recipe. If you would like the recipe feel free to e-mail me and I'll do what I can to get it or fix the website error. I'll warn you and say these brownies have a LOT of butter in them...like 3 and 1/2 sticks worth...I know. It didn't group all the ingredients in one amount; it would say how much butter was needed in the brownies, then down the ingredients list it would say how much it required for the frosting. Though the brownies do have a lot of butter, which you could omit at your discretion but I'm not sure how it will affect the baking, they are rich so you don't eat a huge brownie anyways. These received wonderful reviews!

Chocolate Scotchies

 

                         

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and corn syrup and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and rice cereal. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. In a microwavable bowl melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips until well smooth and blended. Spread over the top of the bars. Chill until set and then cut into bars.

Cookies & Cream Fudge

This fudge is really sweet, and this coming from me says a lot. I would recommend lowering the amount of sugar if I were you. Mine weren't cut very smoothly in the picture b/c I cut them before setting all the way, but you can at least get the general idea about what they look like. 

Ingredients:

3 cups granulated sugar (you might try 2 cups instead)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 jar marshmallow creme (or just melt half a 10.5 ounce bag of mini marshmallows)

1/2 cup finely crushed Oreos

1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

1 cup crumbled Oreos

Directions:

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Combine sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 3 min., still stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in white chocolate, marshmallow creme, finely crushed cookies, and vanilla extract. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumbed cookies on top. Gently swirl the cookies into fudge using a knife without touching the bottom of the pan.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil Cut into 48 pieces.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

This was an award-winning recipe so I thought I'd see what the fuss was about. With the addition of pudding mix, which you can't taste by the way, the cookies stay really soft. I thought of my sister who loves cookies when I made these so hopefully she'll try it!

Ingredients:

2  cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 tbsp. white sugar

1 package of vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Bake for 10-12 min. in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown. *Be sure not to overcook these cookies.