there was a gal on facebook looking to expand her christmas baking. besides pointing her in the direction of this most treasured blog, i also emailed her a list of some of my favorite recipes. then, i found some more. and then i found a little book with a few pages tagged down for me to try this year. so this fantastic friday food post will be all of them!
all my christmas baking goodness: (in no particular order)
CARMELS:
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. butter
1 c. canned milk
cook to still ball stage (when you drop a drop in a small glass of water it turns to a ball as it sinks, when you pour out the water and pick up the ball, it is stiff) & pour in a small buttered baking sheet or pan to cool.
optional: spread nuts on bottom of pan before pouring in carmel. --i think putting nuts down helps it to be not so sticky... but that could just be me.
EASY FUDGE (none easier than this):
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cube of butter
1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
bag of chopped walnuts (however much or little as you like)
mix together (no cooking) and pour into a loaf pan and refridgerate until solid.
PEANUT BRITTLE:
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
2 c. raw spanish peanuts (you can get these in bulk at winco, i think)
1 T. butter
1 tsp. baking soda
heat and stir sugar, syrup, and 1 c. water in heavy 3 qt. saucepan 'till sugar dissolves. cook over medium heat to soft ball stage (when you drop a drop in a small glass of water it turns to a ball, but when you feel it... it's soft still, not hard like the carmel ball. or 234 degrees if you have a candy thermometer). add nuts and 1/2 tsp. salt. cook to hard crack stage (305 degrees --sorry no ball note), stirring often; remove from heat. quickly stir in butter and soda. pour at once onto 2 well buttered 15-1/2 X 10-1/2 X 1" pans, spreading with a spatula. if desired, cool slightly and pull with forks to stretch thin. break up when cold. this will make 1-1/2 pounds.
OREO BALLS:
1 pkg. of regular oreo cookies
1 pkg. (8oz.) of cream cheese.
break/mash up the oreos and then put in the cream cheese (i use my cuisanart to chop up the oreos and then to mix in the cream cheese). mix together until it's a big black mash. if you have a 1" cookie scoop that works great, if not, roll them into about 1" balls and put them on a cookie sheet and refridgerate.
these are by far the BEST with the amount of work to make them! you can also use a package of nutter butter cookies instead of oreos if you like. i made both last year. they're so good!
to make them look pretty/fancy, you can melt white chocolate (in winco's bulk they sell melting chips) and drizzle it over the balls before you refridgerate them.
SODA CRACKER TOFFEE:
soda crackers (saltines)
semi-sweet chocolate chips
crushed walnuts
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
line a baking sheet with foil and then oil the foil well. mix the sugar and butter together in a small saucepan until it boils, stirring constantly (be careful, it boils up and boils over easily.) lay the crackers down one right next to the other on the sheet. pour the carmel sauce (sugar and butter) over the crackers and sprinkle some chocolate chips over the top. place the sheet in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes. take it out and take a butter knife to spread the chocolate out evenly. sprinkle as much or as little walnuts over the top and then refridgerate. break apart to serve.
this is another totally easy one and probably my families very favorite. we have a girl that's allergic to nuts, so i make a little section without nuts for her. she LOVES it too, so if you don't like nuts, you don't have to use them at all.
NO-BAKE COOKIES (without peanut butter!):
2 c. sugar
2-1/2 T cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
2-1/2 c. oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
combine the first 4 ingredients (sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter) in saucepan and boil for 1 minute. take off heat and mix in the oatmeal. then add the vanilla, coconut, and walnuts. drop by spoonful on sheet of waxed paper and let cook completely.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS:
heat oven to 350 degrees. spread cookie dough* in ungreased 13 X 9" pan. bake 19-21 minutes or until golden brown. sprinkle with 2 c. semisweet chocolate chips. bake 2 min. or until chocolate melts. spread with metal spatula.
*this came from a package of pre-made choc. chip. cookie dough, so i'll insert in my favorite chocolate chip recipe as a bonus.
EXTRAORDINARY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: (bonus recipe)
1-1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened (to room temperature)
1-1/4 c. granulated sugar
1-1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 T vanilla
2 eggs
4 c gold medal unbleached all-purpose flour (you guessed it. i got this from the back of this type of flour.)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bag (24 oz. OR 4 c.) semisweet choclate chips
heat oven to 350 degrees. in large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. stir in flour, baking soda, and salt (cough will be stiff). stir in choclate chips.
on ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls or #40 cookie/ice cream scoop, 2 inches apart. flatten slightly.
bake 11-13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). cool 1-2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
CHOLATE CRINKLES:
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. powdered sugar
mix sugar, oil, vanilla, and chocolate in large bowl. stir in eggs, one at a time. stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
heat oven to 350 degrees. grease cookie sheet. drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll in sugar to coat. shape dough into balls. place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
bake 10-12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched. remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. top these just-baked cookies with a chocolate kiss for an extra-rich treat.
PRALINE PUFFS:
1 c. water
1/2 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. pecan halves, toasted* and coarsely ground
4 eggs
praline cream filling (below)
caramel topping, if desired
finely chopped pecans, if desired
heat oven to 400 degrees. heat water and butter to rolling boil in 2 qt. saucepan. stir in flour and ground pecans. stir vigorously over low heat about 1 min. or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. beat in eggs, all at once, with spoon; continue beating until smooth.
drop dough by slightly rounded teaspoonfuls about 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake 18-20 minutes or until puffede and golden. cool completely on wire rack.
cut off tops of puffs with sharp knife; remove any filaments of soft dough. fill puffs with praline cream filling (below) ; replace tops. serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. just before serving, add topping and chopped pecans.
praline cream filling:
1-1/2 c. heavy wipping cream
1/4 c. caramel topping
15 oval-shaped hard carmel candies, unwrapped and crushed.
beat whipping cream and caramel topping in chilled large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. fold in crushed candies.
CARMEL PECAN TARTS:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/4 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 T butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, slightly abused
carmel topping (below)
heat oven to 350 degrees. mix flour, 1/2 c. butter and powdered sugar. devide dough into 24 equal pieces. press each piece in botom and up side of ungreased small muffin cup, 1-3/4 X 1", or line with foil or paper baking cups.
mix remaining ingredients except caramel topping. spoon slightly less than 1 T. mixture into each cup.
bake about 20 minutes or until filling is set and crust is light brown. cool slightly; loosen from cups with tip of knife. remove from pan to wire rack. cool completely. spoon caramel topping (below) onto tarts.
caramel topping:
12 vanilla caramels, unwrapped
1 T. milk
heat caramels and milk in 1 qt. saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
GRASSHOPPER BARS:
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 c. flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 T. green creme de menthe (or 1/4 c. milk plus 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract for the liqueurs)
2 T. white creme de cacao (or the above substitute if you're substituting)
1-1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
heat oven to 350 degrees. grease square pan, 8 X 8 X 2". beat sugar, 1/2 c. butter, the vanilla, and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or stir with spoon. stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. spread in pan.
bake 25-30 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; cool 15 min. mix remaining ingredients except chocolate; spread over brownies. refrigerate 15 min.
heat chocolate over low heat until melted; spread evenly over powdered sugar mixture. refigerated at least 3 hours. for bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows. cut each bar diagonally in half to form triangles.
there's still 3 more, but i'm getting tired of copying and typing. maybe later. maybe tomorrow. probalby another post though. i don't think i'll make all of these... that's A LOT of sweets!!!
all my christmas baking goodness: (in no particular order)
CARMELS:
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. butter
1 c. canned milk
cook to still ball stage (when you drop a drop in a small glass of water it turns to a ball as it sinks, when you pour out the water and pick up the ball, it is stiff) & pour in a small buttered baking sheet or pan to cool.
optional: spread nuts on bottom of pan before pouring in carmel. --i think putting nuts down helps it to be not so sticky... but that could just be me.
EASY FUDGE (none easier than this):
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cube of butter
1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
bag of chopped walnuts (however much or little as you like)
mix together (no cooking) and pour into a loaf pan and refridgerate until solid.
PEANUT BRITTLE:
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
2 c. raw spanish peanuts (you can get these in bulk at winco, i think)
1 T. butter
1 tsp. baking soda
heat and stir sugar, syrup, and 1 c. water in heavy 3 qt. saucepan 'till sugar dissolves. cook over medium heat to soft ball stage (when you drop a drop in a small glass of water it turns to a ball, but when you feel it... it's soft still, not hard like the carmel ball. or 234 degrees if you have a candy thermometer). add nuts and 1/2 tsp. salt. cook to hard crack stage (305 degrees --sorry no ball note), stirring often; remove from heat. quickly stir in butter and soda. pour at once onto 2 well buttered 15-1/2 X 10-1/2 X 1" pans, spreading with a spatula. if desired, cool slightly and pull with forks to stretch thin. break up when cold. this will make 1-1/2 pounds.
OREO BALLS:
1 pkg. of regular oreo cookies
1 pkg. (8oz.) of cream cheese.
break/mash up the oreos and then put in the cream cheese (i use my cuisanart to chop up the oreos and then to mix in the cream cheese). mix together until it's a big black mash. if you have a 1" cookie scoop that works great, if not, roll them into about 1" balls and put them on a cookie sheet and refridgerate.
these are by far the BEST with the amount of work to make them! you can also use a package of nutter butter cookies instead of oreos if you like. i made both last year. they're so good!
to make them look pretty/fancy, you can melt white chocolate (in winco's bulk they sell melting chips) and drizzle it over the balls before you refridgerate them.
SODA CRACKER TOFFEE:
soda crackers (saltines)
semi-sweet chocolate chips
crushed walnuts
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
line a baking sheet with foil and then oil the foil well. mix the sugar and butter together in a small saucepan until it boils, stirring constantly (be careful, it boils up and boils over easily.) lay the crackers down one right next to the other on the sheet. pour the carmel sauce (sugar and butter) over the crackers and sprinkle some chocolate chips over the top. place the sheet in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes. take it out and take a butter knife to spread the chocolate out evenly. sprinkle as much or as little walnuts over the top and then refridgerate. break apart to serve.
this is another totally easy one and probably my families very favorite. we have a girl that's allergic to nuts, so i make a little section without nuts for her. she LOVES it too, so if you don't like nuts, you don't have to use them at all.
NO-BAKE COOKIES (without peanut butter!):
2 c. sugar
2-1/2 T cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
2-1/2 c. oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
combine the first 4 ingredients (sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter) in saucepan and boil for 1 minute. take off heat and mix in the oatmeal. then add the vanilla, coconut, and walnuts. drop by spoonful on sheet of waxed paper and let cook completely.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS:
heat oven to 350 degrees. spread cookie dough* in ungreased 13 X 9" pan. bake 19-21 minutes or until golden brown. sprinkle with 2 c. semisweet chocolate chips. bake 2 min. or until chocolate melts. spread with metal spatula.
*this came from a package of pre-made choc. chip. cookie dough, so i'll insert in my favorite chocolate chip recipe as a bonus.
EXTRAORDINARY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: (bonus recipe)
1-1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened (to room temperature)
1-1/4 c. granulated sugar
1-1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 T vanilla
2 eggs
4 c gold medal unbleached all-purpose flour (you guessed it. i got this from the back of this type of flour.)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bag (24 oz. OR 4 c.) semisweet choclate chips
heat oven to 350 degrees. in large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. stir in flour, baking soda, and salt (cough will be stiff). stir in choclate chips.
on ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls or #40 cookie/ice cream scoop, 2 inches apart. flatten slightly.
bake 11-13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). cool 1-2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
CHOLATE CRINKLES:
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
4 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. powdered sugar
mix sugar, oil, vanilla, and chocolate in large bowl. stir in eggs, one at a time. stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
heat oven to 350 degrees. grease cookie sheet. drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll in sugar to coat. shape dough into balls. place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
bake 10-12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched. remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. top these just-baked cookies with a chocolate kiss for an extra-rich treat.
PRALINE PUFFS:
1 c. water
1/2 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. pecan halves, toasted* and coarsely ground
4 eggs
praline cream filling (below)
caramel topping, if desired
finely chopped pecans, if desired
heat oven to 400 degrees. heat water and butter to rolling boil in 2 qt. saucepan. stir in flour and ground pecans. stir vigorously over low heat about 1 min. or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. beat in eggs, all at once, with spoon; continue beating until smooth.
drop dough by slightly rounded teaspoonfuls about 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake 18-20 minutes or until puffede and golden. cool completely on wire rack.
cut off tops of puffs with sharp knife; remove any filaments of soft dough. fill puffs with praline cream filling (below) ; replace tops. serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. just before serving, add topping and chopped pecans.
praline cream filling:
1-1/2 c. heavy wipping cream
1/4 c. caramel topping
15 oval-shaped hard carmel candies, unwrapped and crushed.
beat whipping cream and caramel topping in chilled large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. fold in crushed candies.
CARMEL PECAN TARTS:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/4 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 T butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, slightly abused
carmel topping (below)
heat oven to 350 degrees. mix flour, 1/2 c. butter and powdered sugar. devide dough into 24 equal pieces. press each piece in botom and up side of ungreased small muffin cup, 1-3/4 X 1", or line with foil or paper baking cups.
mix remaining ingredients except caramel topping. spoon slightly less than 1 T. mixture into each cup.
bake about 20 minutes or until filling is set and crust is light brown. cool slightly; loosen from cups with tip of knife. remove from pan to wire rack. cool completely. spoon caramel topping (below) onto tarts.
caramel topping:
12 vanilla caramels, unwrapped
1 T. milk
heat caramels and milk in 1 qt. saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
GRASSHOPPER BARS:
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 c. flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 T. green creme de menthe (or 1/4 c. milk plus 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract for the liqueurs)
2 T. white creme de cacao (or the above substitute if you're substituting)
1-1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
heat oven to 350 degrees. grease square pan, 8 X 8 X 2". beat sugar, 1/2 c. butter, the vanilla, and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or stir with spoon. stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. spread in pan.
bake 25-30 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; cool 15 min. mix remaining ingredients except chocolate; spread over brownies. refrigerate 15 min.
heat chocolate over low heat until melted; spread evenly over powdered sugar mixture. refigerated at least 3 hours. for bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows. cut each bar diagonally in half to form triangles.
there's still 3 more, but i'm getting tired of copying and typing. maybe later. maybe tomorrow. probalby another post though. i don't think i'll make all of these... that's A LOT of sweets!!!
2 comments:
WOW! That is a lot of sweets!
i didn't make a single one of them.
and note on the easy fudge... there totally IS cooking. you have to melt the chocolate and butter. so, there is cooking and there possibly is easier fudge. (sorry, i hadn't ever made it. it's my m-i-l's recipe and those were her directions.)
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