Monday, December 10, 2012

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

*You will need approximatley1 bag of Hershey Kisses per batch.

Mix together:
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk

Add 1 egg

In a separate bowl mix together:
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 baking soda

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture & mix well. 
Shape into balls & roll in white sugar. 
Arrange on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes.
Remove from oven & cool on cookie sheet 1 minute.
Gently press a Hershey Kiss into each cookie.
Let sit 1 minute then giggle each kiss just a little.  (This helps smush the melted chocolate into the cookie a little so when the Kisses harden up they don't fall off the cookies as easily.)
Remove from cookie sheet & cool on the counter until Kisses are firm.
Store in air tight container.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Easy Fudge

In a 4 quart sauce pan mix together:
3 1/2 cups sugar
12 oz Evaporated milk
4 tablespoons butter
Dash of salt

Stirring constantly, bring to a full boil over medium heat.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Quickly add:
3 cups milk chocolate chips

Once the chocolate is melted add:
44-48 large marshmallows

Stir until melted 7 smooth.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Stir until combined.

Spread into buttered 9x13 pan.

Refrigerate to cool.

Store in air tight container in the fridge.

Monday, December 3, 2012

English Toffee

In a heavy 2 quart sauce pan mix together:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup water

Stir constantly until mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Pour on to parchment (Make sure it is on a heat resistant surface -I use a cookie sheet on top of a wire cooling rack).  Spread out to 1/4 inch thickness -work quickly because the mixture hardens fast!

Let mixture cool 3-4 minutes. 

Sprinkle with 6 oz milk chocolate chips.  Let the chocolate melt & then spread evenly over toffee.

Optional:  Sprinkle with crushed pecans

Let cool completely (It usually takes about an hour in the refrigerator).

Break into bite size pieces.

Store in air tight container at room temperature.

Eggnog Cookies

In a large bowl beat until light & fluffy:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter -softened
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon rum extract
1 egg

In a separate bowl mix:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients to the wet & mix well.

Scoop dough into balls and place on baking sheet.  Make a slight indent on each cookie with the back of a spoon.

 Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. 

Cool Completely.

In a small bowl combine:
3 cup powdered sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoon milk

Blend until smooth.  Spread on top of cookies & sprinkle with nutmeg.
Store in tightly covered container.

Soft Ginger Cookies

Cream Together:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg

Add:
1/4 cup molasses

In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients to the wet & mix just till combined.

Roll into balls & then in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

DO NOT OVER BAKE!

Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Bars

Mix well:
1 box devils food cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
2 eggs -well beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract (or 1 tablespoon Amaretto)

Pour into greased 9x13 cake pan (or scoop into paper lined muffin pan)
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes for cake, 18 minutes for full size cupcakes, 13 minutes for mini cupcakes -Or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
Mix together:
5 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar

Cook frosting over medium heat.  Stir constantly until it boils.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from  heat. 

Stir in:
 6 oz milk chocolate chips until melted. 

Add:
1 teaspoon of almond extract (or 1 tablespoon Amaretto)

Frost while both cake & frosting are still warm (But not hot).

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Jambalaya

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
8-12 oz Andouille Sausage, cooked & sliced
1 pound cooked, shelled, deveined shrimp without tails (I prefer smaller shrimp)
1 diced onion
1/2 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups uncooked rice (I like Jasmine rice)
4 cups chicken broth

Spray a large frying pan with nonstick spray.  Add the chicken and cook over medium-high heat until it is cooked through.  Reduce heat to medium.

Stir in onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic.  Stir in salt & pepper.  When veggies start to soften add the Andouille Sausage.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, rice, shrimp & the can of tomatoes (do not drain the tomatoes -dump in the liquid too!)

Stir in the chicken broth.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low & cover the pan.  Let simmer 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.

**Add hot sauce with the Worcestershire sauce if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

English Toffee

In a heavy 2 quart sauce pan over medium-high heat, mix:

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup water

Stir constantly and cook till mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Immediately pour toffee onto parchment on a heat resistant surface. (I line a cookie sheet with parchment and set it on a wire cooling rack.)

Spread toffee to about 1/4 thickness. Work FAST! The toffee cools quickly and becomes unspreadable pretty quick.

Let toffee cool 1-2 minutes then sprinkle with:

1/2cup -1 cup of chocolate chips.

The heat of the toffee will melt the chocolate chips in a a few minutes. Once chocolate it melted, spread it evenly across the top of the toffee.

Sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired.

Let cool completely (until chocolate is hardened) -stick it in the fridge to speed things up if you want.

Break into bite size pieces.

Try not to eat he entire batch immediately. ;-)