Sparkling Peppermint Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon mint extract
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies (I used a food processor to crush them)
1/4 cup sugar, for coating

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine 3/4 cup sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and mint extract in large bowl. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until well mixed.
3. Stir 1/4 cup crushed candy into dough.
4. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup crushed candy in separate bowl.
5. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls; roll in sugar/candy mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.
6. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, then transfer to wire racks for further cooling.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
For the Brownie Base:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Toppings:
1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows
1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter (don't use natural peanut butter)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

2. For the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

(Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody; originally from Buttercup Bakes at Home by Jennifer Appel)

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies
recipe very slightly adapted from The Cooking Photographer

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets (I found this in my grocery store near the hot chocolate mixes.)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups all purpose flour
1 bag Kraft Caramels (14 oz)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment. (You really need the parchment!)

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
With your mixer (or an energetic spoon) cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.

Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.

Refrigerate for about an hour. (If you're really impatient you don't have to do this, but it makes it so much easier to work with.)

When you are ready to bake, unwrap your caramels.

Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut. (I used a rounded cookie scoop-full. My scoop holds about a Tablespoon.)

Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart.

Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don't over-bake! Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they'll pop right off.

Yield: about 4 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies (or how many caramels have been snitched out of your bag before you begin.) Store in an airtight container.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

Cookies
2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature (you can use unsalted, but I don't)
1 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping ~
3 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon fragrant Cinnamon (I use Vietnamese)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F)


Directions:

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, set aside.

With a handheld or standing mixer, beat the butter until creamy.
Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl.
Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Flatten the balls into 1/2-inch thick disks, spacing them evenly on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes. Remove from pan and place on rack to cool.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

These sweet, moist cookies are an autumn treat. Equally perfect with a mug of hot cider or tucked into a lunch sack, my kids say they taste like pumpkin pie. I couldn't agree more--but thankfully, they are a whole lot easier to make.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or 1 stick, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 extra large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients into a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix to combine. Stir in butterscotch chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 18 minutes, or until firm on the edges. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Roasted Cauliflower

Tasty!

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced
• Lemon juice from half a lemon
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan cheese

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven-proof baking dish. Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle lemon juice over cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If the oven hasn't reached 400°F yet, set aside until it has.

2 Place casserole in the hot oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Fork tines should be able to easily pierce the cauliflower. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Roasted Tomato Soup

We have a TON of tomatoes in the garden right now so I'm looking at as many tomato based recipes as I can. I found this delicious sounding recipe online and tweaked it a little to match what we had in the kitchen. It was FAB!

Ingredients:

3.5 pounds of tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved,
10 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1.5 tablespoons of dried thyme
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and paper
3 cups chicken, vegetable or beef stock

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F
2. Halve the tomatoes and place them into a roasting pan, cut side up.
3. Scatter the sliced onions, halved garlic and thyme on top of the tomatoes. Pour the olive oil on top of the tomatoes, sprinkle the sugar and salt and pepper
4. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and slightly caramelized.
5. Place the roasted tomatoes, with the onions and garlic, and juices in a saucepan. Bring the stock to a boil and pour over the tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve, reserving the stock.
6. Place the tomatoes into a blender and blend, adding it back to the stock until soup is smooth and creamy. To get creamier soup, pass the soup through a sieve again or through a food mill.
7. Reheat if necessary.

Makes around 5-6 cups, with a total calorie count of around 900 calories, which means each cup is around 160-170 calories.