Molasses Chews

Normally I have a huge Christmas baking list that I have to whittle down to something manageable. This year, I'm feeling a little burnt out, I think. This is the only new recipe I tried this year (and it's a keeper!). I mostly made cookies and candies I've done before, and not that many (see my Christmas baking list at bottom of post). I have to admit, it was kind of nice enjoying my favorite treats again.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup whole milk
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Candy thermometer

Directions:
Line an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with wax paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine butter, chocolate, milk, molasses, and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Insert candy thermometer in the pan.

When the temperature reaches 248 on the thermometer, remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.

Carefully pour the molasses caramels into the prepared pan. Allow to cool and set for at least two hours. Remove the molasses chews from the dish and cut into bite-size squares. If you find the caramel sticking to the knife, spray the knife with cooking spray. Wrap the individual chews in wax paper.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas Baking List 2014:
Kiss Cookies
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies 
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies
Homemade Marshmallows
Pumpkin Caramels!
Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Apparently Cranberry Bliss Bars are an amazing dessert you can buy at Starbucks. I've never eaten one so I can't say if this copycat recipe taste anything like the real thing. However, I can tell you that these Cranberry Bliss Bars are out of this world! Blondies, cream cheese frosting, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries . . . Eric can't stay away from them. They just might be new annual dessert we make.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Blondies
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground cinnamon
3/4 cup dried cranberries (homemade or store-bought)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Blondies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and melted butter and allow to cool to room temperature (so it doesn't cook the eggs). Add eggs and vanilla and beat with electric mixer.

In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and combine. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Pour batter evenly into baking dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the blondies have set. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Frosting
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well-combined. Pour in half of the melted white chocolate and beat until well combined. Frost the cooled blondies then sprinkle with cranberries. Drizzle the top of the blondies with the melted white chocoalte. Place the cookie bars in the fridge to allow the set then cut into bars.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Dessert Recipes:
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Caramelitas
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Twix Bars) 
Congo Bars, Blondies, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Blueberry Chocolate Chip Brunetties 

Cinnamon Glazed Apple Muffins

This was the third year in a row we missed out on picking apples. The first year it was a bad crop and no one had apples. Last year our favorite orchard closed the weekend before we planned on going at the end of October. This year, we went in early October so not to miss out again. Well, we did. There was a rush of people the weekend before we planned on going and they picked the orchard clean. But they did have some pre-picked apples we could buy. So I've been going apple crazy. Some were sucesses like these muffins and my apple pie salsa. The apple and sausage mac and cheese, not so much.

Next time, I'm going to give these muffins a crumb topping and drizzle them with a cinnamon glaze. A muffin just isn't a muffin without a crumb topping.

Recipe adapted from here.
Makes approximately 2 dozen muffins.

Ingredients:
Muffins
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups diced apples, peeled and cored (about 3 apples--I used Mutsu)

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffan pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, cream sguar, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. In a second bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix until well combined. Fold in diced apples.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until muffins are set in the middle. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Glaze
In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined. Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
Basic Homemade Bagels  
Blueberry Muffins
French Toast in a Mug  
Homemade Hash Browns 
 Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins  
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 
Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes  
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Cream Cheese French Toast Bake

Pumpkin and French toast, a match made in heaven! Not to mention perfect for a crisp, fall morning. This bake doesn't require maple syrup, but I will admit, a small drizzling of syrup does add a nice finishing touch to this dish. Besides, can you really have French toast without syrup?

Oh, and this pumpkin bake is amazing (dare I say, even a little better) as leftovers!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin French Toast
6 slices of sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb Topping
2 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon butter, cut into cubes

Directions:
With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese filling ingredients on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy--about 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin puree, egg, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla.

Lightly grease an 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange a layer of bread cubes in the dish. Pour half of the pumpkin mixure evenly over the bread. Then spread cream cheese mixture on top of that. Create another layer of bread cubes and pour the remaining pumpkin mixture of the bread.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator for a least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add cold butter and toss together. Use your finger to work the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly ontop of the French toast bake.

Bake for 35  to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes:
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage 
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Gnocchi with a Parmesan Sauce
Pumpkin Hot Cocoa 
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and Dried Cranberries
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Pumpkin Pie Rice Krispie Treats  
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Out of all the chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, I think Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies are my favorite. The recipe calls for nuts--usually walnuts--which I have always left out. Well, this time I decided to add in the nuts--hazelnuts. Let me tell you, they take the cookies to a whole other level. I handed Eric one fresh out of the oven; he took a bite and just starting nodding his head and said "Uh-huh," which in Eric-speak means: yep, you nailed.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups hazelnuts, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

You can shell your own hazelnuts (as I did), buy whole shelled hazelnuts, or purchase prechopped hazelnuts. Spread the hazelnuts out on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the nuts slightly brown. If you're using whole hazelnuts that still have the skins on them, wrap the hazelnuts in a dish towel and allow them to sit for about 1 minute. Then rub the nuts in the towel to remove the skins. Chop. (I like larger nut chunks, Eric like them small).

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until mixture is creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Gradually, beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and hazelnuts.

Drop of rounded tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the cookies are a golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cookie Recipes:
Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies 
Creamsicle Chocolate Chip Cookies
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Brown Sugar Cookies
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Brunetties

So what is a brunettie? Short story: something my husband made up.

I told Eric I was making blueberries blondies and he asked why they were called blondies. I told him because they were like brownies but without the cocoa--so blonde instead of brown. But didn't that make them cookie bars? he asked. Same difference, I told him. Well, the discussion went in circles until Eric decided he would call them brunetties (I don't think I ever quite caught on to his rationale) but the name stuck. I even found myself referring to them as brunetties.

P.S. I can't wait to make these again with black cherries and raspberries.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips,
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8-inch pan with tin foil then grease with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and stir. Pour the flour and salt and combine, but be sure not to over mix (this will make your blondies more tough than chewy). Fold in the chocolate chips and blueberries.

Pour batter into prepared dish. Smooth surface with a spatula so it's even.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the blondies brown and the center is set.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bar/Blondie/Brownie Recipes:
Caramelitas
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars (Twix Bars) 
Congo Bars, Blondies, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?
Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with a Strawberry Sauce
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies 

Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

All it took was one bite and the husband was already asking me to make them again (despite the full pan we still had). Forget about those cans of cinnamon rolls you can buy at the grocery store. The dough is always dry and tasteless. If you're going to indulge in a cinnamon roll, really indulge with something sweet and buttery and gooey. It requires a bit more work than popping open a can, but it is so worth it.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe adapted from here.
Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients: 
Dough

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Filling

1/2 cup butter,melted (plus more for pan)
3/4 cup brown sugar (plus more for pan)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon milk, optional

Directions:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and combine until well incorporated. Pour in yeast mixture. Gradually add in remaining flour until the dough becomes easy to handle. Knead dough on a floured work surface for 5 to 10 minutes (this can also be done with the hook attachment on a standing mixer). Roll dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow dough to rise until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

When it doubles in size, punch down the dough and roll it out into a 15x9-inch rectangle on a floured work surface. Spread softened butter (from the list of filling ingredients) over the dough. Mix cinnamon and sugar together then sprinkle over buttered dough.

Start at the 15-inch side and roll the dough into a log, pinching the edge together to seal. Cut the log into 12 sections.

Grease the bottom of a baking pan with butter then sprinkle with sugar (if desired). Transfer the cinnamon rolls to the pan, placing them close together. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned.

While the rolls bake, make the frosting. In a large bowl, whip cream cheese, butter, and extract until creamy and well combined. Gradually add powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, add milk and stir.

You can either wait until cinnamon rolls are completely cooled to frost or you can let them cool slightly then frost. This will cause your icing to melt a bit, but there is nothing better than a warm cinnamon bun in my book.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes
French Toast in a Mug

Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins 
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug

Congo Bars, Chocolate Chip Blondies, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?

I totally learned something new making this dessert. Originally I found a recipe on Pinterest for Congo Bars. Like most recipes I find there, I was attracted to the picture; I had no idea what a Congo Bar actually was. If you know me, I google everything. So I look up Congo Bars: basically blondies with chocolate chips and toasted coconut, at least traditionally. The recipe didn't call for coconut so I guessed it was really a blondie? Not a big deal. However, I've always stayed away from blondies simply for the fact that I thought they were just brownies without the cocoa powder, and being a chocoholic I prefer brownies. But as I'm making this recipe, it occured to me that I'm really making chocolate chip cookie bars. My mom used to make them every Christmas when I was a kid so I'm fairly familiar with them. I go back to Google and ask the search engine what's the difference between blondies and chocolate chip cookie bars. Answer: other than chocolate chips being optional in blondies and a prerequiste for the cookies, nothing really.

So whatever you want to call these bars--congo, blondies, or chocolate chip cookies--they are delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter, room temp

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Gradually pour in flour while mixing until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the bars are a golden brown. Allow bars to cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Dessert Recipes:
Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies 
Brown Sugar Cookies
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Apple Cider Cookies with Spiced Rum Glaze
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frostin

Stained Glass Cookies

Stained glass cookies are just so pretty and unique. I was fascinated by them the very first time I saw them on Pinterest. Well, this year I decided to give them a try. I used my own sugar cookie recipe instead of the one I commonly saw attached to stained glass cookie recipe because: a) my sugar cookie recipe is the best and b) I read some reviews that said the other recipe didn't taste very good. However, I will confess that my sugar cookie recipe dirties an awful lot of dishes, but the cookies are worth the mess.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
Jolly Ranchers, crushed (or any other hard, transparent candy)

Directions:
Medium Bowl: Combine flour, tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Small Bowl: Stir together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Large Bowl: Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed for approximately 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Alternating, add a little bit of the flour mixture then a little bit of the egg mixture to the butter mixture while beating. Once ingredients are combined, wrap the dough in wax paper and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. {I like to roll out dough between two lightly floured pieces of waxed paper}. Use cookie cutters to make cookies. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper {cookies are hard to transfer if you cut out center before placing them on the pan, I learned this the hard way}. Use second, smaller cookie cutter to cut out center of cookies. Completely fill the center of the cookies with the crushed candy. Be carefully not to get any candy on top of the cookie; the candy will color whatever it touches.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are a light golden brown. The candy in the center will bubble but that is okay. It will flatten out once it begins to cool.

Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for at least five minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. {I found it best to transfer the sheet of parchment paper with the cookies on it to the wire rack, cool for about 5 to 10 minutes, then reuse the parchment paper for the next batch of cookies, but this isn't necessary.}

Tip: To crush the Jolly Ranchers, place them in a ziplock baggie and hit them with a meat mallet or a hammer.

UPDATE: Well, lesson learned. Store the cookies in the fridge or a cool place. I had mine in an airtight contained on the dining room table (which tends to be a very warm room) and the centers melted.

Blue raspberry, red cherry, and green apple

A little star cut out of my snowflake.

Crushed candy in the centers.

Snowflake Stained Glass Cookie

Mixing Candy Flavors

Candy bubbling in the centers.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas 2013 Baking List
Dark Chocolate Cover Cranberries
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Honey Cake
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies 
Christmas Kiss Cookies 
Gingerbread House 2013
Three Chocolate Truffles: Mint, Rum, and Orange
Cherry Snowball Cookies 
The Best Sugar Cookies