Maple Pecan Squash Casserole

Thanksgiving is upon us, and I don't know about you but it seemed to me to pop up out of nowhere this year! Wasn't it just summer? Not that I'm complaining mind you, I could eat turkey and stuffing and pie every day of the year!

Our friends Devin and Laurie had our family over for dinner last fall and Laurie made this amazing squash dish that had me going for thirds and fourths. The sweet, smooth squash is topped with a crunchy sweet crust packed with pecans that will make your toes curl it's so good! I made it for dinner last Thanksgiving and made a few batches for the freezer to pull out whenever I had a craving! As soon as I noticed Thanksgiving was coming up I ran out for more butternut squash to make another batch since my freezer was all out.

 I changed her recipe (which I understand she got from her mom who found it on the internet a few years ago) slightly to incorporate maple syrup which just hits this dish out of the park! Try this for your Thanksgiving dinner this year, you'll be thanking Laurie!

 

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Maple Pecan Squash Casserole

1 butternut squash, cooked and mashed (about 3 cups)
3 tbsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and innards. Place cut side down in a casserole dish with 1/4" of water and bake at 350˚F for about 40 minutes or until the squash is cooked and soft.
2. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then scoop out the cooked squash and add to a blender or food processor.
3. Add the butter, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and blend until smooth.
4. Spread the squash mixture into a casserole dish.
5. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, flour, pecans and butter until the mixture is crumbly.
6. Sprinkle topping mixture over squash and bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes.

Cinnamon Buns (Clone of a Cinnabon)

Well it just figures my first post of 2011 would be something like a Cinnamon Bun, especially since my New Year's Resolution was to lose my baby weight! But look at that thing, who could resist it? Cinnamon Buns are one of the only "dessert" type food (aka anything sweet) that my hubs will eat, so I like to indulge him now and then.

I never attempted to make Cinnamon Buns before hubs got me a bread maker for my birthday, not that I thought I couldn't do it, I'm just lazy that way (I've got 3 kids eh!). With a bread maker this recipe is crazy-easy. It does all the kneading and rising and all I have to do is watch!

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it claims to be a clone of the Cinnabon Chain Cinnamon Buns, and it totally is. I made a couple of modifications to make it easier and I found the original cream cheese frosting way too cream cheesy tasting. What I got is AH-MAZE-ING.

On a Sunday morning there's nothing better than a warm from the oven Cinnamon Bun to go with my skinny latte (I'm watching my weight yo), but this recipe is so easy you could have them any day of the week!

I made big ones for me and hubs and little ones for the kids
picture taken with my iPhone, excuse the quality!

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Cinnamon Buns (Clone of a Cinnabon) adapted from allrecipes.com

Dough
1 cup warm milk (110˚F/45˚C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 c margarine, melted
4 1/2 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c white sugar
2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

Cinnamon Spread
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c butter, softened

Frosting
1/2 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

2. After the dough has doubled in size (when the cycle is done) turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover with a tea towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

3. In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until combined.

4. Roll dough into a 16" x 21" rectangle. Spread dough with the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture leaving a 1" strip along the edge furthest from you bare.

5. Roll up the dough and cut into 12 rolls.

6. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

7. Preheat your oven to 400˚F (200˚C).

8. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

9. While rolls are baking, beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

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enjoy,

Toffee Shortbread Meltaways

Christmas to me means shortbread. My grandma always had rolled shortbread cookies around the holidays. My favourites were the stars (yes they taste different!). I love the buttery richness of shortbread. I love it plain and I love it with add ins like fruit and chocolate.

A good friend of mine brought me some of these cookies in a care package when I had my second daughter 2 years ago. After trying 1 cookie I emailed her begging for the recipe. They are incredibly delicate, soft cookies with a hint of toffee flavour. I have a hard time eating only 1 or 2 of these at a time, if I'm having coffee I can make 6 of them disappear!

Give them a try this Christmas, your family and friends will love them!



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Toffee Shortbread Meltaways adapted from the 2006 Robin Hood Baking is Back booklet
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. corn starch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 c. Skor toffee bits

Instructions:

1. Beat together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla.
2. In separate bowl combine flour, corn starch, and baking powder.
3. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and combine, stir in toffee bits.
4. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 350˚F for approx 12 - 15 min, until lightly golden. Let cool on pan for 5 min.

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enjoy,

Smartie Bars

I'm on a candy (bar) theme this week it seems (have you seen my Toblerone Shortbread and Snicker Squares?) and I'm okay with that. I have a pantry full of those little boxes of Smarties left over from Halloween (my weirdo kids have decided they don't like Smarties anymore) and they were driving me nuts. So I googled "Smarties" and came across this recipe from Chelsea Sugar.

The recipe is like a chocolate macaroon cookie topped with more chocolate and smarties. Uh... yum! The bottom is soft and coconutty (oh yeah, I'm trademarking that one) and the top is chocolatey and crunchy. The perfect balance.

It's festive looking and appeals to kids and adults alike... I'll bet even Santa would love them!

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Smartie Bars adapted from Chelsea Sugar

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg, beaten
1 c. shredded coconut
3/4 c. flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c. chocolate chips
2 packs Smarties (50g each)

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line an 8" x 8" pan with waxed paper.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix until smooth. Take off the heat and cool for 5 min.
3. Stir in egg and coconut.
4. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together and stir into the mixture. Mix thoroughly. Pour into the pan and spread evenly.
5. Bake for 15-17 min or until just firm when touched in the centre. Remove from the oven.
6. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top. Return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the Smarties over the chocolate, then press down lightly with the back of a spoon*. Return to the oven for 5 min. Place the pan on a rack to cool. When cold, cut into squares.

* Make sure you press down all the smarties into the melted chocolate otherwise they'll fall off when you cut the squares.

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enjoy!

Snicker Squares

Nougat. Say it with me, Noooooougat. It's a funny word. I've never really given it much thought either. Caramel, I enjoy. Chocolate, I obsess over. But Nougat? Meh. Ranks up there with eating soda crackers or watching football in my books (What are "things I don't usually enjoy doing unless necessary" Alex?").

But then I came across a recipe that changed my opinion, dare I say my life (Praise Nougat!) and now I will share with you my new love. Home made Nougat! Oh. Mah. Gawd. Nougat in commercially prepared chocolate bars, or candy bars if you will, tends to be chewy, and sometimes hard. Home made nougat is the stuff angels sing of. It's fluffy and rich and melts on your tongue. (is it getting hot in here or is it just me?) This recipe very closely rips off pays homage to a very popular chocolate bar that is totally satisfying (hee hee!).

You must try the Nougat. Just try not to eat the whole pan yourself, I'm pretty sure nougat isn't low-fat...


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Snicker Squares adapted from Taste of Home Best Holiday Recipes 2009 edition

Base layer:
1 c. milk chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chips, 1/2 PC Mini Fudge Melts)
1/2 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

Nougat:
1/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. marshmallow fluff (if you buy Kraft it's the whole jar)
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. chopped salted peanuts

Caramel layer:
1 package (14oz) caramels
1/3 c. heavy cream

Top layer:
1 c. milk chocolate chips (I used 1/2 chips, 1/2 PC Mini Fudge Melts again)
1/4 c. butterscotch chips
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

Instructions:

1. Spray a 9" x 13" pan with cooking spray (or grease with butter).
2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter together.
3. Spread the melted chips and peanut butter mixture over the bottom of our pan and refrigerate until set.
4. For the filling, in a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and the milk and bring to a gentle boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and vanilla. Add peanuts and stir to incorporate.
6. Spread nougat over chocolate base and refrigerate until set.
7. For the caramel layer, in a double boiler, combine cream and caramels and melt until creamy and smooth. Spread caramel over nougat layer and refrigerate until set.
8. For top layer, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter together. Spread over caramel layer and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
9. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge and allow to warm up for 10-15 minutes. Cut and serve immediately. Store in the refrigerator.

It's a lot of steps but totally worth it!

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enjoy!

Gingerbread Muffins

I bought myself a Christmas Gift this week. I do that sometimes. This sexy and functional recipe binder is ALL MINE!

It holds 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper vertically so you can stand it up on your counter and flip the pages. The best part... it's perfect for the printed recipe sheets from The Best Mom on the Block! (oh yes, I did just shamelessly plug my blog ON my blog)

So anyways, I was printing off some of my recipes when I came to my famous Muffins that Taste Like Donuts recipe (more shameless plugging). As the recipe was printing out, my mind started to wander to what else muffins could easily taste like. Then it hit me, gingerbread! With a few tweaks I had a muffin that tasted like a soft, moist gingerbread man. I made a a dozen plain gingerbread and then got all crazy mad-scientist-like and added mini chocolate chips (not unlike my favourite Gingerbread cookie recipe). I firmly believe any recipe is made better by adding chocolate! I also topped them with coarse sugar to give them a nice crisp top, and bonus, it makes them sparkly! Perfect for your holiday breakfast table.


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Gingerbread Muffins

1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c fancy molasses
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp coarse sugar (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, egg, milk and vanilla.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and blend in the molasses (and chocolate chips) mixing only until incorporated.
4. Spoon into greased muffin tins And sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake at 350˚F for 15-20 minutes.

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enjoy!

Fudge Dipped Triple Chocolate Brownie Biscotti

I've started my holiday baking! I LOVE holiday baking I love everything to do with the holidays really (except the inevitable panic that hits me every Christmas Eve at about 10pm when I start to think I forgot someone on my gift list). The shopping, the wrapping, the Boney M Christmas album (if you don't have it you need to go to iTunes RIGHT NOW and buy it). Every year my tree goes up earlier and earlier.

I'd like to say the majority of my Christmas baking gets shared but sadly, I end up eating most of it, which is why every January it seems I'm buying a new piece of gym equipment... a small price to pay for cookies! This year I couldn't get the thought of Biscotti out of my head. I went looking for a recipe and found the one I based this recipe on. Chocolate, chocolate, and ... oh yeah, more chocolate. You can wake me from my sugar coma on January first with a mimosa and a Bowflex cause I'm going to have a hard time sharing these!

Like crispy little brownies, these cookies are great served with coffee or hot chocolate (spiked or virgin). They're not too sweet and have a rich chocolate flavour. They can be made with plain ol' chocolate chips but if there's a store that sells President's Choice products within 100km of your house I highly recommend you use the Fudge melts, they're to die for!

I'll be posting more Christmas cookie and treat recipes over the next few weeks, come on back for some more yummy holiday nibblies!

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Fudge Dipped Triple Chocolate Brownie Biscotti

1/3 c butter
2/3 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 c PC fudge melts (or chocolate chips)
1/2 c white chocolate chips
1/4 c chopped almonds
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tbsp water

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Dough will be stiff, so mix in the last bit by hand.
4. Mix in the almonds, white chocolate chips and a 1/2 c of the fudge melts.
5. Divide dough into two equal parts. Shape into 9x2x1 inch loaves. Place onto baking sheet 4 inches apart.
6. Brush with mixture of water and yolk.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a 375˚F preheated oven, or until firm.
8. Cool on baking sheet for 20 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice the loaves diagonally into 1 inch slices.
9. Return the slices to the baking sheet, placing them on their sides.
10. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until dry.
11. Cool completely.
12. Melt the remaining fudge melts in the microwave. Dip 1 end of the biscotti in the melted fudge and sprinkle with quinns, crushed candy cane or leave plain.

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enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I LUVVVVVV me some Starbucks. Alas, the nearest one is 2 hours away. Yes I live in the middle of nowhere. Recently I heard their Pumpkin Spice Latte had been released for fall (I heart fall!) and I've been stuck in my country town reading about everyone in the city enjoying the yummy, sweet, goodness of the latte. This makes a pregnant lady very jealous!

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and oh man, this is SO necessity! I sent my husband off to the store for canned pumpkin pureé (yes I know I could roast my own pumpkin, but they're not in the stores yet, and besides, I want my latte NOW, not an hour from now!) and some other supplies and I set out to recreate the yummiest fall coffee concoction since pumpkin pie itself. I used my Tassimo to make this but you can certainly use regular drip coffee (made strong) or your own specialty coffee maker (espresso machine).

Even if you pass a Starbucks everyday you should give this a try, maybe on a wet Sunday morning when leaving your house just ain't gonna happen.... like today!

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Pumpkin Spice Latte

1 c half and half (I like to live dangerously, you can use milk if you want)
2 tbsp pumpkin pureé
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Starbucks Espressso T-Disc or 1/4 c really strong coffee

Instructions:

1. Place the half and half, pumpkin, sugar and spices in a small pot and heat over medium heat until the milk is hot and the pureé has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
2. Pour the cream mixture into a blender (or you can use an immersion blender in the pot) and blend for a minute or two*.
3. In the meantime brew your favourite espresso or coffee.
4. Pour your espresso in to a large mug and add the hot, blended pumpkin/cream mixture.
5. Top with whipped cream and some pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, or freshly ground nutmeg.


* Note: blending isn't 100% necessary, but you may find the cream mixture a little gritty if you don't as pumpkin pureé is fairly fibrous. The blending smooths everything out.

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Gingerbread Buttercream

I was at the bulk barn and stumbled upon these adorable little gingerbread man sprinkles. I had no idea what I was going to do with them but I had to have them. Fast forward 3 weeks and there I was baking for my 3 year old's pre-school Christmas party. I was digging through my baking cupboard for chocolate and found the sprinkles, and knew exactly what I needed to make... cupcakes!

I had already baked 4 different kinds of cookies and fudge and whoppie pies (blog post to come!) and so I was pretty tired but I thought the kids would love some little cupcakes and the sprinkles would put them over the top, so I grabbed a cake mix from the cupboard. *gasp* I KNOW, you're all disappointed with me and wagging your fingers, but I was tiiiiiired (said like a whiny teenager), besides, they're a total time-saver, they're just pre-measured dry ingredients, and they're yummy, thank you Betty Crocker!

The sprinkles are little bits of gingerbread cookie so I wondered if I could create some gingerbread buttercream to go on the cupcakes. Success! Total yumminess that turns a boxed cake mix into heaven!


Gingerbread Buttercream

1 stick (1/2 c) butter, softened
1/2 lb powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar together until thoroughly incorporated.
2. Add cream and vanilla and mix until fluffy.
3. Add spices and mix.
4. Pipe or spread onto anything, cupcakes, cookies, bars, your finger...

Apple Pie Pancakes

I love dessert more than any other food. Shocking, I know. But dessert for breakfast is absolutely heavenly! I'll add just about anything to breakfast to make it more dessert-like, fruit, spices, vanilla, powdered sugar, whipped cream and, of course, chocolate.

Pancakes are a great foundation for dessert for breakfast. You can flavour them to taste like almost anything. Today, I was craving apple pie. So out came the apples, cinnamon and my favourite pancake recipe.

On a cool fall morning, or a nippy winter's day, these will warm up those little tummies before you send them skipping off to school bragging about how they had dessert for breakfast.

Apple Pie Pancakes

pancake batter:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. white sugar
1 1/2 c.milk
1 egg
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg or 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
whipped cream



apple topping:
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp water, apple juice or cider

Instructions:

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar making sure they're well incorporated.
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and the cooled melted butter. Fold in the dry ingredients just until they're well mixed and smooth but be sure not to over-work the batter.
3. Put apples, butter, cinnamon, sugar and water into a small saucepan and simmer on low until apples are tender and water has evaporated creating a syrup.
4. Heat griddle or frying pan over medium high heat and grease well. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides.
5. Top with the cooked apples, whipped cream and maple syrup.


enjoy,
Amanda

Cheesy & Pizza Puffs

Cheesy Puffs

I love entertaining over the holidays. Every year my parents have a big Christmas Eve party and friends and family stop by for drinks, and food, and catching up. It's always a lot of fun. I can't make it home this year so I plan to throw a little party here for just my little family, but with all the same elements, food, drinks and catching up (I forget my husband's name some days!) with the people I love most.

This little appetizer is sure to make an appearance on Christmas Eve. My cousin Kelly made them for us when she visited 2 summers ago and I fell in love with them! Made with Pillsbury Cresent dough, these tender little, buttery bites have a wonderful cheesy-garlic flavour. I decided to play around and made one batch with pizza sauce and finely diced pepperoni and cheese and the result was delish!

Great on their own or dipped in marinara or pizza sauce, these little appetizers are sure to be a hit at your next holiday party!

Cheesy Puffs

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cresent rolls (1 tube makes 18 puffs)
2 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp grated cheese (I use marble cheddar)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp italian seasoning

Instructions:

1. Open cresent roll tube and unroll the dough.
2. Press together the pieces to form a square.
3. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the rolled out dough and top with the cheese.
4. Roll up the dough starting at one end to form a log.
5. Slice into 1/2" rounds (pinwheels)
6. Place rounds onto a cookie sheet and brush tops with egg white.
7. Sprinkle tops with a bit of italian seasoning.
8. Bake at 375˚F for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
9. Serve warm right from the oven.

Pizza Puffs

Pizza Puffs

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cresent rolls (1 tube makes 18 puffs)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp pizza sauce
2 tbsp finely diced pepperoni
3 tbsp grated cheese (I use marble cheddar)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp italian seasoning

Instructions:

1. Open cresent roll tube and unroll the dough.
2. Press together the pieces to form a square.
3. Spread pizza sauce over the dough leaving about 1" at one end.
4. Sprinkle the pepperoni over the pizza sauce and top with the garlic powder and then the cheese.
5. Roll up the dough starting at the end opposite the end without pizza sauce to form a log.
6. Slice into 1/2" rounds (pinwheels)
7. Place rounds onto a cookie sheet and brush tops with egg white.
8. Sprinkle tops with a bit of italian seasoning.
9. Bake at 375˚F for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
10. Serve warm right from the oven.


enjoy!

Amanda

Peanut Butter Blossoms

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me!
~ Cookie Monster

I mentioned a couple posts back that I bought this great magazine filled with yummy cookie recipes. Well, I'm slowly making my way through them. Today's cookie caught my eye cause they're topped with my husband's favourite chocolates. So I made them foolishly thinking he'd give them a try. Nope. He did however eat a few handfuls of the leftover chocolates. What a trooper.

He doesn't know what he's missing though. These tender little peanut butter cookies, rolled in sugar, and topped with a Rosebud™ are totally poppable and incredibly yummy! Perfect for your upcoming Christmas Cookie exchange or just for snacking on with your hot chocolate while you watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (my fave!) with the kids.

Peanut Butter Blossoms taken from Better Home and Gardens 2009 100 Best Cookies

1/2 c. crisco shortening
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
2 tbsp.milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/4 c. sugar
Rosebuds™ or Kisses™

Instructions:

1. Put shortening and peanut butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined.
2. Add the 1/2 c. sugar, the brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Add the flour slowly while mixing. If necessary switch to a wooden spoon to complete the mixing.
4. Roll the dough into 1" balls and roll in the 1/4 c. sugar to coat.
5. Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet 2" apart and bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms and sides are lightly browned.
6. Immediately press a chocolate into the centre of each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tip: Have a couple of cookies before they've cooled, they're chewy and warm and the chocolate is all melty. Heaven!

enjoy,
Amanda

Fudge Ecstasies

I was standing in line at the grocery store the other day and this magazine jumped off the rack and right into my cart, it was crazy! Okay, really my 11 month old with the "sticky fingers" got hold of it and wasn't giving it up without a fight. Once I pried it out of her fingers I flipped through a few pages and was in cookie heaven. SO many recipes for cookies I'd never seen before! Chocolate, coconut, nuts, fruit, spices it had it all!


I rushed home and before I put the $300 worth of groceries away (including milk and frozen foods!) I sat down with the magazine and poured over every page making a mental checklist of every cookie I wanted had to try. These babies were at the top of my list.

A cross between a cookie and a brownie this delicious little cookie is all about fudgey, chocolatey goodness. I can't wait to snack on these with a big ol' glass of milk while watching The Grinch this holiday season.

I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of this magazine while it's still on the shelves, it's a great collection of yummy treats!

Fudge Ecstasies taken from Better Home and Gardens 2009 100 Best Cookies

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (2 oz.)
2 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. chopped nuts (cashes, pecans or almonds work well)

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of the chocolate chips, the unsweetened chocolate and the butter and heat ove low heat until melted. You can also melt the chocolate & butter in a bowl in the microwave.
2. Add eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and baking powder and beat with a spoon until combined.
3. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips and the nuts.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet 2" apart and put into a preheated 350˚F oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are firm and the surface is dull and cracked.
5. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.


enjoy!

Amanda

Fresh Baked Bread from the Oven

I have always wanted to try baking bread. Neither of the G-mas ever did it so I had no point of reference on how to go about doing it, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. So I took my first attempt at bread yesterday. I found a simple looking recipe online for a Farmer's Loaf (my favourite kind at the local bakery) and I set to proofing the yeast and cutting in the butter etc... I ended up with a very crumbly dough that wouldn't hold together and wasn't kneading properly. Having no idea if this was normal, but suspecting it wasnt't, I decided that I'd come this far I might as well bake it and see what happens. It was AWFUL. Misshapen, hard, lumpy, and tasted so bitter and yeasty it left a sour taste in my mouth for hours after. So into the bin it went.

This morning I woke up with the resolve that I wasn't going to let a wee bit of dough defeat me. So I got online and found a recipe for Amish bread. How hard can that be? It's Amish, if they can make it by hand and bake it in a wood fed oven I surely can make it with my KitchenAid mixer and fancy oven.

The results were heavenly! Nice chewy crust and a soft moist inside. And it was very simple to make. It takes 5.5 hours from start to finish so if you're thinking of hot fresh bread for breakfast you might want to make the dough the night before and refrigerate it and let it rise in the morning and bake it off.

The recipe makes 2 loaves, but I decided to make 1 loaf and divided the second loaf into eight pieces and made mini-loaves.



Amish Bread taken from recipezaar.com

1/4 oz dry active yeast (1 pkg)
1/4 c. water, 100 degrees Fahrenheit
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 c.water
2 1/2 tbsp shortening
6-7 c. all-purpose flour
1/8-1/4 c. butter

Instructions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tsp of sugar (taken from the 1/3 c.) until foamy and doubled in volume, about 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl, combine sugar, salt, 2 cups water and shortening.
3. Stir in yeast mixture.
4. Gradually add flour to form a soft dough.
5. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth.
6. Place in a greased bowl and cover and let rise for about 2 hours.
7. Punch down and divide into 2 portions and form loaves.
8. Place in greased 9 x 5 loaf pans and prick tops with fork.
10. Let rise until higher than pans (about 2 hours).
11. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
12. Cool for 10 minutes
13. Rub butter all over tops of loaves. Place pans on sides until loosened. Remove bread from pans and cool completely on racks.