S'mores Bars

I love to read blogs. There is a long list of blogs in my reader that I follow every day. It probably takes more of my time than it should, but I love all the craft ideas and recipes that I find. When I had several Valentine events approaching this February, I went searching for a fun yet EASY sweet I could make. This one was very easy to make and hit with all the kiddos. I ended up making it for THREE different Valentine parties.

1c. graham cracker crumbs
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
4 c. mini marshmallows
3/4 c. M&Ms
homemade chocolate syrup (or store bought, if you wish) :)

Crush graham crackers, then beat them in mixer with brown sugar, butter, flour and baking soda. (Did you know that you can crumble graham crackers in the food processor? I feel silly that I only realized that recently. I have always used a ziploc bag and a rolling pin. I just don't get out enough!)

Press mixture in the bottom of a greased 9X13 pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven and spread mini marshmallows over the crust. Bake 1-2 minutes until marshmallows puff.

Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Sprinkle with M&Ms.

Let cool, then cut into bars.
Try really hard not to eat them all yourself (you'll fail).

This delicious recipe was found on It's a Crafty Life.

Grandmother Eddy's Arkansas Cornbread

2 eggs

2 c. buttermilk

1 t. baking soda

2 c. cornmeal

1 t. salt

Heat oven to 450.

Generously oil round skillet. Heat skillet in oven while preparing batter.

Beat eggs then beat in rest of ingredients until smooth. Pour batter into hot skillet until almost full.

Bake 20-25 minutes or just until set.

Serve piping hot with butter.

Grandma Justice's Turkey Stock

turkey neck, gizzard, heart and feet

2 stalks celery with leaves

1 med. onion, quartered

1 carrot, sliced in several pieces

1 t. salt

1 bay leaf

a few peppercorns

5 c. cold water

Add all ingredients to large stock pot. Simmer for 1-4 hours. Strain.

Grandma Justice's Turkey Stuffing

3/4-1 1/4 c. turkey stock

2 c. crusty corn bread

3 c. whole wheat bread

2 eggs slightly beaten

3/4 c. melted butter

1/2 t. each: thyme, sage, sweet marjoram

1 t. salt

1 unpeeled apple, diced

1/4 c. finely minced onion

1/4 c. minced celery with leaves

Crumble corn bread and wheat bread into pieces (leaving crusts on bread). Let dry slightly in oven (turn on heat, but don't toast bread).

Beat eggs until foamy and stir in melted butter and seasonings.

Combine breads, apple, onion, and celery.

Add eggs and seasonings and stir well.

Add stock slowly and test carefully until stuffing is right consistency.

(TEST= pick up dressing and press it between your hands gently. Put it on a plate. If it holds together but barely separates as you lift with a fork, there is enough moisture. This is the texture it will have when baked.)

Cover with foil and bake at 350. Be careful not to over bake.

Eggnog Punch

• 1 quart peppermint ice cream, softened
• 4 cups eggnog, chilled
• 2 cups ginger ale, chilled

Pour eggnog in a punch bowl, add ice cream. Use a potato masher to blend ice cream with eggnog. Add ginger ale. Serve.

Valentine Pancakes

Our daughter was given the Gooseberry Patch cookbook, "Kids in the Kitchen" for Christmas. We have had fun reading the cute jokes, looking at the eye-catching illustrations and preparing the yummy recipes in it.

Our daughter's favorite breakfast is pancakes, and so on this Valentine's Day she asked if we could use the pancake recipe from her new cookbook. The recipe said to put the batter in a squirt bottle and use it to draw shapes, and letters. I didn't have a squirt bottle so I used the cake decorator tool.


We also used cookie cutters to make heart shaped pancakes.


Our daughter was thrilled with the results and was very excited to surprise her Daddy with this message.


Our son giggled at the happy face on his plate when he came to the table. He was also very excited when I gave him a pancake in the shape of his first initial.


In case you need it, here is the recipe for the batter. I liked this batter..it was not as runny as the one I usually use. This made it easy to use the cake decorator. It also made a very fluffy pancake.

1 egg
1/2 c. milk
2 T. butter, melted
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt

Whisk egg, milk, butter together in a mixing bowl.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and pour into the egg mixture. Stir just enough to wet the flour.

Pour batter into plastic squirt bottle or cake decorator tool.

Squirt batter into sprayed skillet or onto griddle over medium heat and draw shapes or letters.

Cook on one side until the bubbles stop popping. Flip and continue cooking briefly on the second side until golden.

Glazed Crackers

The "flip-flop bandits" got together recently for our annual Christmas bash. Susan brought this delicious little treat, and I just had to share it with you! It's another goody for parties and cookie exchanges.

1 cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips

*Preheat oven to 325. Combine butter & sugar over medium heat. Bring to boil & cook 3 min. Stir in vanilla & pecans. Arrange crackers on cookie sheet and spoon pecan mixture over crackers.
*Bake 6 min.
*Remove from oven & sprinkle choc chips on top of pecan mixture. Return to oven & bake for 2 minutes or until chocolate is melted to your liking.
*Remove from oven & let cool briefly.Transfer crackers to serving plate or an airtight container.

Snowballs

1 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. water
1 t. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
edible cake sparkles or colored sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, beat until combined, scraping sides occasionally. Beat in water and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Using a spoon, stir in the remaining flour and chopped pecans.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Cool completely.

Place sifted powdered sugar into bowl. Separate if using more than one color of crystals. Add a different crystal in each bowl of powdered sugar. Gently roll and shake cooled cookies in desired powdered sugar mixture.

Yields: 36

Sugar Plums

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
1 c. dates, chopped
1 c. coconut
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 t. vanilla extract

Blend eggs and one cup sugar together. Stir in dates, coconut, walnuts and vanilla. Butter a 2 quart casserole dish and pour in mixture. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until mixture can be handled. Roll into walnut size balls. Roll balls in remaining sugar.

Egg Nog Logs

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
3 c. flour
1 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. rum extract

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour, nutmeg and salt. Gradually add creamed mixture and mix well.

Divide dough in to 10 equal portions. Roll each into a 15 inch log. Cut each log into five 3 inch pieces. Place on lightly greased baking sheets (or the baking world's greatest invention: the DeMarle Silpat). Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Vanilla Frosting:

1/4 c. butter, softened
2 c. confectioners sugar
5 t. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. finely chopped pecans

In a small mixing bowl, beat the butter, confectioners sugar, milk and extract until smooth. Dip ends of cookies in frosting then in pecans. Place on waxed paper (or the baking world's greatest invention: the DeMarle Silpat) until set. Store in airtight container.

Hidden Mint Sugar Cookies

1 roll ready to bake sugar cookie
1 pk. of your favorite mini mint patties
pecans, chopped finely
egg wash (beaten egg)

Place 1 slice of sugar cookie on greased cookie sheet.

Place mint on the slice. Lay a second slice of sugar cookie on top.

Brush lightly with egg wash. Lightly press chopped pecans on top.

Bake according to directions on pack of sugar cookie.

Coffee Bean Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. toasted almonds, chopped
4 English toffee flavored candy bars (1.4 oz size), chopped
1/2 c. shortening
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 c. chocolate covered coffee beans

Beat butter and shortening at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in almonds, coffee beans and candy. Cover and chill dough, if desired. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes or until golden. Cool on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Angel Kisses

These are the cookie that I took to the cookie exchange tonight. They are a delectable concoction, and I love the combination of fluffy with chocolate and nuts. They're easy to make and easy on the budget too! They are pictured in this photo: the white cookies in the foreground.


Ingredients needed:

4 egg whites at room temperature
1 c. sugar
dash of salt
1 t. vanilla
1t. vinegar
1 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 c. chocolate bits

Cooking directions:

Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until very stiff. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until mixture is very stiff.



Beat in vanilla, vinegar and salt.

Fold in nuts and chocolate bits.

mmmm! That fluffy yummy sight makes me want to eat the whole bowl!

Drop by rounded tablespoonful, one inch apart, on buttered foil on cookie sheet (or the cooking world's greatest invention: The DeMarle Silpat). I found that flattening the cookie slightly before cooking makes a prettier cookie.

Bake in very low oven (250) for 1 hour.

While you are waiting for those to finish, go make polka dot Christmas ornaments for yourself, your kiddos' teachers, your neighbors, etc.


Hey, give them an ornament and some angel kisses and you've got a fantastic gift!

Remove from oven and peel off when cookies are cold.

Makes 3 dozen.

Aunt Melanie's Brownies

I love my Aunt Melanie's brownies. I remember these from when I was growing up, and they spoiled me to homemade from scratch brownies. I rarely make brownies from a box! Here's her famous recipe:

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. cocoa
2 c. sugar

Melt above ingredients in saucepan over medium heat.

Remove from heat and add:

4 eggs (beaten)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder

Place in rectangular or square baking dish and bake at 350 until toothpick inserted in center comes back clean (approx. 20 min).

Need a Valentine variety? Replace baking dish with heart shaped cake or muffin pans. After they are cooked and have been removed from oven, immediately push peanut butter M&Ms (pink, red and white variety) into brownie. Allow to cool before serving.

Linking Love: Ree's Holiday Recipes

I used and enjoyed several of the recipes on Ree's recipe blog over the holidays. To allow you to enjoy them and to give myself easy access, I am linking to them from here. Click on over and you'll be licking your lips and heading for the kitchen to start some cooking of your own.


Brining a Turkey
Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
Turkey Gravy, Baby
Delicious Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Butternut Squash Puree
French Pastry Puffs

Marbly Chocolate Goodness!

This stuff is too good for your own good. I made this yummy chocolate concoction this week to give away as Christmas cheer, but so far only one person has benefitted: moi!

I found this recipe in a recent Southern Living magazine and couldn't resist its promise of chocolate decadence. A caption on the recipe reads, "The hardest part about making Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy is waiting for the chocolate to firm up before devouring it." Obviously the person writing this caption wasn't just a creative writer hired to make the recipe sound good but had devoured his/her own prodigious share of this candy.

It's really quite easy and the results are spectacular!

Here's what you need:

1 c. pecans, coarsely chopped
3 (4-oz.) bars bittersweet chocolate baking bars
3 (4-oz.) white chocolate baking bars
>1 teaspoon coarse sea salt*
(*3/4 tsp. kosher salt may be substituted.)

Here's what you do:

Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted.

Line a 17- x 12-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper (I used my DeMarle silpat). Break each chocolate bar into 8 equal pieces. (You will have 48 pieces total.) Arrange in a checkerboard pattern in jelly-roll pan, alternating white and dark chocolate. (Pieces will touch.)

Bake at 225° for 5 minutes or just until chocolate is melted. Remove pan to a wire rack. Swirl chocolates into a marble pattern using a wooden pick (I used my Pampered Chef cake tester).

This was lots of fun! And isn't it beautiful?!
As much as I love chocolate, I could see this as a
wallpaper in my kitchen...except I'd always be craving
chocolate....wait! I already do that!

Sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans and salt.

Chill 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month. (Candy will soften at room temperature)

Not only does this taste fabulous, it looks spectacular! Pretty on a plate:

Wait a minute! I need to get a little closer to that chocolate!

MUCH better! Now all this raving about Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy is
more than I can handle. I'm off to dig some out of the refrigerator for
a late-night snack. Don't tell anyone....oh, and if you are one of the people
I was making this to give, I'm sorry. I couldn't keep from eating it all!

This recipe found in Southern Living, OCTOBER 2007 and at Southern Living Recipes online.

Pretzel Wreath

My kiddos and I spent part of an evening last week cooking in our pjs and this is what we made:


This recipe came from the Pampered Chef Holiday Guide 2007. Its easy and fun. Give it a try. Tie a ribbon and bow on it, put it in a pretty goody bag and give them as gifts.


Place almond bark or confectionery coating candy in a bowl. Microwave according to package directions until melted and smooth.

Dip rounded bottoms of 5 minature pretzels, one at a time, into bark; shake off excess. Lay pretzels onto Parchment Paper (I used my Demarle silpat) in a circular pattern with sides touching and rounded sides toward center.

Repeat with 5 more pretzels, placing directly on top of first circle in a staggered pattern. Decorate wreath as desired with nonpareils or colored sugar. (I used Pampered Chef's sweet caramel sprinkle)