Caramel Corn Cookies

If you are looking for something interesting to bake, this is it! I found this Caramel Corn Cookie recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens email that I receive each week. 

Those of you who know me well know that Tim is very picky. He basically likes meat and potatoes, PBR beer, and oatmeal raisin cookies. I knew this was going to be one of those many things I make that he took one bite of and put back on the plate. But he loved these! So that's your "seal of approval"! 

I used butterscotch baking chips because I couldn't find caramel baking chips in the supermarket. Tim said they remind him of peanut brittle cookies. Maybe if I had used caramel they would have more of the caramel corn taste, although the recipe does say you can use butterscotch. Either way, these are a yummy, unique alternative to the standard cookies baked during the holidays!

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup shortening
• 1/4  cup butter, softened
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 1/2  cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup yellow cornmeal
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4  cup honey
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  miniature round caramel bits or butterscotch-flavor pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped honey-roasted peanuts
• Coarse sugar or turbinado sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease cookie sheet; set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine shortening and butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. 

Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. 

Beat in egg, honey, and vanilla until combined. 

Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. 

Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour, the caramel bits, and peanuts.

Place coarse sugar in a small bowl. I had to go to Michael's to find my sugar and found some shimmery sugar crystals. Shape dough into 1-1/4-inch balls. Roll balls in coarse sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until tops are golden and edges are firm. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool. Makes about 48 cookies.

To Store: Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 

View the recipe on BHG

Heath Bars

My friend, Jill, brought these to one of my annual Girl Parties one year and we all went nuts over them. The BEST PART is that they are so simple to make, inexpensive, and make great Holiday Goodies to give away!

Ingredients
Saltine crackers
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
Toppings of your choice - nuts, toffee, etc.

Directions

 Preheat oven to 450°

 Line a baking sheet with saltine crackers

In a saucepan melt 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar until it starts to bubble and thicken

Immediately spoon mixture over crackers and spread as evenly as possible

Put in 450° oven for 3-4 minutes (it will bubble)

Immediately pour 1 bag of milk chocolate chips on top

Wait until chips melt and spread with a knife

Sprinkle with pecans, walnuts, crushed peppermint, or toffee bits. I used a bag of Heath bar chips from the baking section.

Put in the refrigerator for about 30 min. to 1 hour to chill

Watch out for nearby wolves who may be stalking you. Wolves love these easy Heath Bars!

Break apart and enjoy

Hey Mom! Let's bake sugar cookies!

Kylie loves making sugar cookies!

My 7 year old asked to bake sugar cookies as we do each year for Santa. Except last year, I waited until 10pm Christmas Eve to start the process! Next thing you know, it's 12:30am and the TV had the NORAD radar map of where Santa was. Kylie looked at me and screamed, "Mommy! He's in Colorado Springs!!! HURRY!" And yes, my then 6 year old was still awake at 12:30am. Bad mom. So I scrambled to get the cookies done, assured her that Santa would come before we finished icing them, and put her to bed. 

This year I decided to plan ahead and avoid that drama! Except for one thing. I forgot that I usually freeze half the batch and instead, I made all of the dough, which ended up yielding 50 cookies. Did I mention that we had to decorate said 50 cookies? UUUGGH. Cookies for everyone this Christmas!

Here is the recipe I use from All Recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). 

Preheat oven to 400°.

 Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. 

Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. 

View the original recipe

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 109 | Total Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 26mg

Decorate your cookies!

We made the Wilton buttercream icing recipe and used food coloring to tint different shades.

I set up an assembly line in the living room to decorate my cookies, which took about 3 hours. I did this while watching "2012", a decent movie, although most scenes were totally unrealistic. Like how does John Cusack drove from LA to Yellowstone in 3 hours to take his kids on vacation???There were many more instances, but that's ANOTHER BLOG!

It's Christmas, time for TRUFFLES!

I was watching Barefoot Contessa the other day and watched old Ina make truffles. They looked yummy and very easy. Here is my truffle adventure to share. I will say this: the recipe turned out much more bitter than I expected and I noticed that her recipe didn't have any eggs in it, which most others do! Next time I make these I would definitely change the recipe up to make them less bitter. I will probably dust these with some powdered sugar to help add some sweetness before I hand them out as Christmas goodies.  What's your take on this one?

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°. Chop the hazelnuts and place on a sheet plan. Roast them in the oven for 10 minutes. If the hazelnuts have skin on them, roast them for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Chop the chocolates finely and place in a bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it boils.  

Immediately pour the hot cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with the chocolates. (I couldn't find my sieve and it worked just fine pouring it in). With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. (If the chocolate doesn't melt completely, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes just until it melts.) 

 

Whisk in the hazelnut liqueur, coffee, and vanilla. I used Caramel Brulee coffee from Cost Plus World Market to add a little more flavor.

Cover and chill for 45 minutes to 1 hour until pliable but firm enough to scoop.Excuse the PBR box on the bottom shelf. PBR, the drink of champions!

With 2 teaspoons or a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop, make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres. Roll the chocolate in the chopped hazelnuts and chill again. Truffles are best when they're allowed to set overnight in the refrigerator. 

Check out Ina's original recipe on Food Network