Make Your Own Take-Out - Sweet & Sour Chicken

I love Chinese food, but wouldn't say that I have varied tastes when it comes time to order take-out. Unless I'm at a Chinese buffet, which is rare, I tend to eat the same few things: Seasame Chicken, Fried Rice, occasionally Lo Mein, and Mr. Picky Eater's favorite Sweet & Sour Chicken. I enjoy an eggroll from time to time too, but typically I can take those of leave them. If I do eat eggrolls, duck sauce is a must for dipping. That little bit of sweetness just does it for me.

It's not a frequent meal at our house, but I love doing what I call "MYOT" (Make Your Own Take-Out) Chinese for dinner from time to time. Occasionally I'll do Teriyaki Chicken or Beef, but usually I go with Sweet & Sour Chicken. I've tried a number or variations on the sauce, everything from the stuff in a bottle to the packet of powdered stuff you mix with vinegar and soy sauce. I've seen quite a few different ways to do baked Sweet & Sour chicken, with plenty of rave reviews, so I decided to give it a try, with my own spin, of course. Based on the recipes I've found, the chicken is typically breaded and fried before being covered in sauce and baked. And, although I know when I order it in any Chinese restaurant it's always breaded and fried, which is decadent and fantastic, I decided to skip the mess of frying and make it healthier in the process. My way has no fat, other than what is in the boneless skinless chicken, which we all know is minimal.

Of course, I'm sure the fried and then baked versions are amazing, but my version is pretty darn great too, if I do say so myself. I can't decide if the best part is the awesome flavor or knowing that I can eat a plate full and not feel guilty that I've just consumed way more fat grams in one sitting than I should in an entire day. When comparing sauce recipes I saw everything from 3/4 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar. I decided to go with 1 cup, and that was a tad sweet, but I love adding soy sauce to mine after the fact so the added sweetness worked out fine for me. If you don't typically add soy sauce to your meal after it's plated up or you aren't a big fan of sweet I would cut the sugar back to 3/4 cup.

This would be great served with fried rice, but since I didn't plan ahead or have any leftover steamed rice in the fridge I served it with plain ol' white rice. When I make Sweet & Sour Chicken in the skillet I always stir-fry some veggies and add those in, but since this version is baked in the oven I added some carrots, green peas and broccoli to the rice cooker while I was steaming my rice. If you don't have a rice cooker or opt to steam your rice on the stove it should work just as well to add the veggies that way too. I added the carrots when I started the rice, then added the peas and broccoli in the last 5 minutes of cooking so they would remain a bit crunchy.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50-60 minutes

Total time: 60-70 minutes

Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 to 1 cup (depending on desired sweetness granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the sauce add all ingredients except chicken to a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Rinse and pat chicken breasts dry. Cut into approximately 1 1/2 inch cubes and add to 8 inch square baking dish.
4. Pour sauce mixture over chicken cubes, stir so that all chicken is completely coated with sauce.
5. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Stir every 15-20 minutes while baking.
6. Serve over steamed white rice or fried rice.

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Channeling Nana - Perfect Southern Cornbread

I'm a southern girl through and through, from my overall style to my taste in music, and I am most definitely a totally southern girl when it comes to the foods I love. One of those southern foods I love so much is cornbread. When I was little it was a food I liked, but given a choice I would pick a biscuit over cornbread. It seems that the older I get the more I love cornbread though. I remember my Nana baking a big ol' loaf in her cast iron skillet. My Daddy aka Mr. Picky Eater? He bakes corn muffins. I don't care what form it's in, just give me cornbread.

My Nana, never used a mix when she made hers, and my Daddy has always used a mix. He is of the opinion that if you can shortcut it and it's still good then why go to the trouble of making it from scratch. I agree with that about somethings and I won't knock cornbread mix because some brands are good, and sometimes I want it fast and easy so I'll reach for a mix too. But, I'm one of those people who feels like if I love something I want to learn to make it from scratch, whether it is a chocolate cake, biscuits, scallop potatoes or cornbread. I mastered the chocolate cake long ago, and yes I'll admit that sometimes I still go with cake mix, it all depends on my mood and the amount of time I have to spare. I won't lie I haven't mastered biscuits yet, although there have been no failures to date, I have yet to turn out a biscuit that's tall and super soft in the middle like I want. Mine usually turn out a little crumbly and a bit on the flatter side. Cornbread was a similar story for me.

I tried a recipe for "southern" cornbread a few weeks back that seemed promising, but didn't hit the mark for me. The taste was decent and thanks to a pretty large amount of oil in the batter as well as the skillet I didn't have a problem with it being too dry, but my cornbread came out super flat, nothing at all like the recipe assured it would be. Oh, well, I figured it was time to try again. After some searching, and arguing...umm debating with Mr. Picky Eater I was determined to try again. After all the searching I went back to a recipe I tried long ago and remembered as pretty good. So, I pulled out my bag of House Autry corn meal, and started tweaking because I can rarely leave well enough alone. The recipe said to bake in an 8" square baking pan, but I felt it was a must to use Nana's cast iron skillet, so I upped the measurements, and substituted buttermilk for plain milk and hoped for the best. Mr. Picky Eater's only complaint was that it needed salt, which as you will see the recipe calls for (and I did not forget to add), so perhaps I would go with 2 teaspoons of salt next time. I, however, did not notice a need for more salt, so who knows.

I think I was channeling my beautiful Nana and she was smiling down on me as I baked this cornbread, because it came out nice and tall, with just the right texture, perfectly moist, and a beautiful golden brown. Yes, I'm pretty much in love with this cornbread. That's not weird to admit is it? It is? Oh well, I'm a food loving girl, it just can't be helped.

If you don't have a cast iron skillet or want a slightly smaller batch scroll down past the first recipe and you'll find the original measurements for baking in an 8" square baking pan. Muffin tins would work well too, (the original recipe states 10 servings). Also, I haven't tried this recipe with regular milk yet, but I would probably add a little less milk if using regular since it is thinner than buttermilk. Once I try it with regular milk I'll give an update on whether the measurement needs to be adjusted. The batter should be pourable, but not runny.

Southern Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• additional oil to coat skillet

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Add just enough oil to 10-inch cast iron skillet to lightly coat the bottom. Add to preheating oven.
3. Mix together dry ingredients, and set aside.
4. Whisk together eggs, then along with oil and milk, add to the dry ingredients.
5. Gently stir until all ingredients are combined (I find a whisk works best for this.)
6. A few lumps will remain in the batter, make sure not to overmix.
7. Add a tiny amount of batter to preheated skillet, and if the oil sizzles you are ready to add the batter. Pour batter into the skillet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. When a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean it is done.
8. If you are using an 8-inch square baking pan, muffin tins, an 8-inch cast iron skillet or just prefer a slightly thinner cornbread, use the measurements listed below. If using an 8-inch square baking pan or muffin tins omit adding oil to pan, instead spray with non-stick cooking spray, and skip preheating the pan.

Smaller Batch Ingredients

• 1 cup plain cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• non-stick cooking spray

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Sweet Snackin' - Churro Chex

I'm a sucker for pretty much anything cinnamon related. Chances are when a recipe calls for cinnamon I double the amount, and have yet to say, "Whoa, I added a little too much!" Naturally, with my love of cinnamon I'm a huge fan of churros. Being in the south we don't find many around these parts, but I have occasionally been known to call one lunch while shopping at Costco. The snackbar has the most amazing HUGE churros, they're warm, soft and chewy and covered, I mean covered in cinnamon sugar.

I've seen a lot of recipes in the last year made with cinnamon chips, and have searched high and low with no luck. Finally, not too long ago I found them at Wal-Mart and grabbed up a bag without a second though. Since I have only found them in the one store and I think my Wal-Mart only stocks them seasonally I have since stocked up and have a few bags to last me until next fall.

I also have a bit of an obsession with Chex mix, no particular variety. Well, there are some that I don't find appetizing, but there are plenty of sweet and savory varieties that tempt me. So, I figured pairing my love of cinnamon with my Chex mix obsession was the perfect idea. I found a couple versions on Pinterest, one seemed to use way more cinnamon chips than I thought wise, so I opted for the other, a recipe from babble.com. I've found some really tempting recipes there, so if you've never been check em out y'all.

The recipe was super simple, and the only cooking required was a little time in the microwave to melt the cinnamon chips. This is a recipe that is better after it's had a little time to sit so the Chex have dried a little and aren't gooey, but I couldn't resist so I had some immediately and they tasted great, gooey and all. I knew I would likely be the only one eating them so I cut the batch in half, but the recipe below is the full batch version.

Churro Chex is great eaten solo, but I found that my favorite way to eat them was with vanilla greek yogurt. Does that sound weird? I love granola in my yogurt so I thought I'd give it a try and I found it to be a great snack, and fairly healthy to boot! Give these a try and let me know what you think. And, please, please don't hold the not so great, bordering on horrible photos (especially that first one) on these yummy little gems, it's really not their fault. All mine, and the dark gloom day.

Churro Chex

Ingredients

• 9 cups corn or rice chex (The original calls for rice, but I used corn which was great.)
• 1 cup cinnamon baking chips
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cooking Directions

1. In a small microwavable bowl, microwave cinnamon chips and butter for 1 minute; stir until smooth.
2. Microwave about 30 seconds longer if needed.
3. Drizzle mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.
4. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, sugar, and cinnamon.
5. Toss the coated Chex cereal into the sugar mixture.
6. Spread on a piece of wax paper until cooled.

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A Look Back - Eggnog Pie

Ever think you have a great idea, but due to poor planning or unforeseen circumstances things go horribly wrong, or at the very least just turn out to be a flop? Yeah, I tend to have that happen too. But, more often, I have moments where I think that's going to happen and things turn out okay. This Christmas Eve's dessert was a perfect example.

It has become a family tradition that I spend Christmas Eve with a little piece of my small extended family - my aunt Trish, her husband and my two favorite kiddos, my cousins, their son and daughter. Trish and I each make a few dishes apiece for the meal, and as with every event I am a part of, I bring dessert. Since the main mouth I feed other than my own is Mr. Picky Eater who is not much of a sweets eater I usually take our Christmas Eve dinner as a chance to try out a new dessert recipe. Last year was Eggnog Cheesecake which was amazing!

This year I see-sawed between Gingerbread Cheesecake and Eggnog Pie, so I took to Pinterest for a little inspiration. I decided on the Eggnog Pie, as you probably already guessed, and I found a few inspiring recipes. Since it is Eggnog, I wanted a custardy pie, but when it came down to it, I had a good bit of other cooking to do so I wanted to skip anything with eggs that was an actual custard and would require considerable cooking time. I found one recipe that involved a few minutes of cooking, but pretty much just needed a few hours to chill. Then I found another recipe that was two layers, required no cooking, but a container of Cool Whip, which I realized I didn't have to spare because I needed it for another recipe (which I will share soon).

Anyway, long story short, I planned on doing the cooked version, but due to unclear instructions I didn't realize until after I had done the grocery shopping and refused to go back out that the pudding it called for was probably not supposed be the instant kind. With that said, I decided to wing it and hope for the best. I admit, I was a bit nervous, but it turned out great. Both kids went back for seconds with my favorite boy claiming it was "Really good!" and my silly favorite girl claiming, "It's okay, I just want the crust." Trust me, the way that girl was eating that pie, she liked more than just the crust.

If you're an Eggnog fan with some leftover from Christmas give this pie a try, I bet you'll love it. Or, if you're all out of Eggnog, save the recipe for next year. It's too easy and too delicious to pass up. And, if you're interested in checking out the other Eggnog Pie recipes that caught my eye check out my Edible Christmas Pinterest board, they're all there.

No-Bake Eggnog Pie

Ingredients

• 1 9 inch prebaked pie crust, cooled (store-bought works fine)
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
• 2 packages (4 servings each) instant vanilla pudding
• 2 cups eggnog
• 1 1/4 cup milk

Cooking Directions

1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together softened cream cheese and pudding mix, until smooth and cream cheese no longer has any lumps.
2. Add eggnog and milk, beat until completely combined into a smooth mixture.
3. Pour into cooled, pre-bake pie crust. Cover surface of pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for atleast 3 hours.
4. Sprinkle with nutmeg and/or top with whipped cream if desired.

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Partnered Up

I have an exciting little announcement to make y'all! I have joined a talented group of baking bloggers who call themselves the Baking Partners. If you know me even a little bit or have been following my blog you know I love to bake, so this opportunity is an exciting one for me, and I look forward to creating my first recipe as part of the Baking Partners. Below is an excerpt from Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen, the creator of Baking Partners.

"Baking Partners: A new Baking Group

A group of home bakers helping each other to achieve perfection. Baking a homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and right techniques are required.

We are a small group of home baker friends, who love and want to learn more about the nooks and corners of baking. We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows. Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group.

The main purpose of this group is to learn the techniques, critique the procedure if there are ways to improve, and to eat a delicious food.

The rules are simple, we will choose one recipe and send it out to the group by the 16th of every month and the reveal date will be the 15th of the next month. On that day we will blog about it. A linky tool will be open during that time and each member can link their post.

The first month we are going to do a recipe, the 2nd and 3rd months will be a theme and the 4th month we will be back at a recipe. By doing in between recipes, we will able to learn more.

All enthusiastic bloggers interested in baking are welcome, please email Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen at favoriterecipes12@gmail.com.

We appreciate the use of the logo or worded link that will help to spread the word. A bunch of thanks to Tina for designing this beautiful logo.

If you want to make it a gluten-free or vegan diet, you can do those modifications also."

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Merry Christmas! Let's Recap

Merry Christmas y'all! I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday, filled with lots of love, family and good food. I certainly have! Christmas Eve was wonderful, followed by a fantastic Christmas day. Both days were spent in the company of wonderful family. I have to admit, the days leading up were extremely busy and at times pretty hectic, but it was the wonderful kind of busy and hectic. My days were filled with the usual mommy duties, as well as baking goodies, lots of grocery shopping, buying gifts and then wrapping. And, let me tell you, the wrapping? I don't know what it was about this year, but I made myself look like a total amateur, and I always thought I was pretty decent in the gift wrapping department. Granted, I can't make a bow to save my life, but I figured I was handy with a roll of wrapping paper. This year, not so much! Almost every box I measured wrong or cut too much off the end and had to cover up bare spots. I was so embarrassed! Thankfully, no one seemed to notice, and if they did they were kind enough not to call me out on it.

Atleast I didn't mess up the food though right? I was a little worried about one dish though, and dessert at that. We all know that's the most important part of the meal right? No? Well, maybe that's just my sweet tooth talking. No matter how you feel about dessert, I'm happy to report, the dessert turned out wonderfully and got rave reviews. I even had a picky eating teenage boy come back for seconds and a ten year old picky girl who claimed it to be, "Okay", but was scarfing it down like nobody's business, so I'm thinking she liked it more than she wanted to admit. But, more on that later.

Now, let's do a little 12 Days of Christmas Baking recap shall we? I thought for anyone who is visiting for the first time or even if you've been following along and maybe you've missed a day in the series somewhere along the way a recap would be the easiest way to see all the Christmas goodies I've been sharing lately. Plus, I won't lie, I wanted to make a cute little collage, and this was as good an excuse as any!

(The photos go left to right on each row.)

1. Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles - Day 1
2. Spicy Gingersnaps - Day 2
3. Eggnog Cookies - Day 3
4. Coconut Biscotti - Day 4
5. Gingerbread - Day 5
6. Spinach Pinwheels - Day 6
7. Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing - Day 7
8. Cake Truffles - Day 8
9. Peanut Butter Cup Cookies - Day 9
10. Easiest Peanut Butter Fudge - Day 10
11. Spicy Sausage Balls - Day 11
12. Cinnamon Sugar Scones - Day 12

Stay tuned for the reveal of my nerve-racking dessert that turned out to be a success, as well as my mashed potato casserole recipe I tried out on Mr. Picky Eater. Plus, a few more tried and true recipes that I absolutely love, including my Nana's traditional Christmas cake that I've put my own spin on.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 12 Cinnamon Sugar Scones

In search of the perfect breakfast treat for Christmas morning? Well, let me make a suggestion. Cinnamon Sugar Scones. They are easy to whip up, perfect for eating while you wind down from unwrapping presents and start gearing up for the big meal of the day. An added bonus is these scones won't weigh you down and hurt your appetite when the feast is finally ready.

I came up with this recipe several years ago when I was craving Bojangles cinnamon biscuits. And, for those of you non-southerners who don't know about Bojangles, it is a fried chicken fast food restaurant that has awesome sweet tea and killer biscuit sandwiches, especially the Cajun Filet Biscuit, my absolute favorite. Their cinnamon biscuits are pretty drool-worthy too. I took the recipe for Cranberry Scones from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and reworked it to get my perfect scones. And, I am happy to say that my Cinnamon Biscuit craving was satisfied because the taste was pretty spot on, and let's be honest here, isn't a scone really just the British version of a biscuit?? Judging by the scones I've had, they seem pretty biscuit like to me, and that's not a complaint because I seriously love me some biscuits.

Aside from the taste another thing I love about these scones is that unlike some recipes this one isn't loaded down with butter and heavy cream. The taste is still there, just without a lot of the fat.

Sugary Cinnamon Scones

Scones Dough:
2c. all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, chilled
2/3c. fat-free half-and-half, plus 1 Tbsp reserved

Cinnamon Filling:
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Sugar Glaze:
3 Tbsp Confectioner's Sugar
fat-free half-and-half, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine all ingredients for cinnamon filling. Mix until evenly blended. Set aside.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 c sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3c half-and-half until just moistened.

3. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough, 5-10 times. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick round or square. Evenly sprinkle half of dough with cinnamon filling mixture. Fold plain side over so that cinnamon filling is sandwiched in the middle. Cut into 8 evenly sized wedges; place on a baking sheet, approximately 5 inches apart. Brush tops with the reminaing 1 Tbsp half-and-half; sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

4. Mix Confectioner's sugar with enough half-and-half to make a glaze thin enough to drizzle. When scones are cooled drizzle with glaze.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 11 Spicy Sausage Balls

Well, I'm doing a little happy dance because the Christmas shopping is officially done. I ended up ordering a few things online today (Yes, last minute I know!) because I couldn't find the styles I wanted at the big box store and I wanted to avoid high prices and a major crowd at the mall. Now, let's hope everything arrives by the predicted Christmas Eve.

I decided to come home from my shopping this afternoon and celebrate with one of my family's holiday favorites Spicy Sausage Balls. They have been a holiday staple ever since I can remember. In fact, my earliest memory of eating and loving sausage balls was when I was about three or four years old. I remember eating them cold for breakfast, which to this day is my favorite way to eat them. There's something about eating them cold, it seems to bring out the spice of the sausage and the sharpness of the cheddar.

Sausage Balls are a pretty popular Christmastime goodies it seems because I see the recipe everywhere. For years I followed the basic recipe as it was given to me, but I've learned that I could adapt it a little and still have the same great will balls or crispy, spicy, cheesy goodness. Spicy sausage and extra sharp cheddar cheese are an absolute must. I have tasted them with regular sausage and regular or sharp cheddar and they don't have the same bold flavor.

The changes I have made are in the amount of Bisquick, and believe it or not, the amount of cheese. I always found that using the amounts in the original recipe left me with a bit of both in the bottom of the bowl that didn't mix in, so I have cut back on both and the flavor is identical. I start with 2 1/2 cups of Bisquick and depending on the brand of sausage I may need the whole 3 cups. I don't have a brand of sausage I swear by, so I use whatever is on sale. Some brands are a little stickier than others and require more Bisquick. The end mixture should not be sticky, so if you find that 2 1/2 cups leaves you with a sticky mixture add gradually, but I have never needed more than 3 cups. Another thing I changed was the baking temperature. I upped it to 350 degrees from 300 degrees. The Spicy Sausage Balls bake at about the same rate, they just get a little crispier on the outside which my family likes. If you don't want the outsides crispy stick with 300 degrees.

Now, go back up a batch and dig in! Then come back and let me know what you think.

Spicy Sausage Balls

Yield: approximately 45

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (up to 3 cups as needed) Bisquick, or other similar baking mix
• 16 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 16 ounces spicy sausage

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix (I suggest using your hands.) until ingredients are completely incorporated and mixture is no longer sticky.
3. Roll into golf ball sized balls.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until they start to brown slightly.
5. Using a spatula transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess grease.
6. Store in the refrigerator.

Note: Store-brand baking mix works fine too, just make sure it is a baking mix similar to Bisquick. Low-fat Bisquick works just the same as the regular in this recipe, so feel free to use that if that is your preference. Also, I do not recommend using pre-shredded cheese. It has anti-clumping ingredients added in that keep it from melting as well as block cheese.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 10 The Easiest Peanut Butter Fudge Ever!

I know, I know fudge isn't baked, therefore it doesn't technically fall into the Christmas baking category, but it's so good, you'll overlook that minor detail right? Fudge is definitely popular at Christmas and makes an awesome homemade gift if the recipient has a sweet tooth.

I happen to have a massive sweet tooth if you can't tell based on the recipes I've shared so far. I am also a major peanut butter lover. Seriously, I can eat the stuff straight out of the jar with a spoon. I'll take it smooth or chunky, but my preference is smooth, especially in cookies or fudge.

Chocolate ranks pretty high on my list of sweet favorites, but when it comes to fudge I'll take peanut butter over plain chocolate any day. This peanut butter fudge recipe definitely lives up to its name. You melt the butter, mix a couple other ingredients in, boil for a few minutes then add the rest. No candy thermometer or crazy preciseness required. Just measure your ingredients accurately, boil for the full amount of time and you've got a fool-proof fudge anyone will swear took tons of effort. I guarantee it or your money back! Okay, I was kidding on the money back thing, so don't email me asking for a refund on your ingredients please. But I do promise it tastes amazing!

Easiest Peanut Butter Fudge

1/2 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8×8 inch dish lined with tinfoil and buttered. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 9 Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I absolutely LOVE Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. I am a huge peanut butter cup fan, and adore peanut butter cookies. These cookies give me the best of both worlds. They are pretty great any time of year, but they're perfect for gift giving because their size and shape makes them easy to stack and package. Plus, who doesn't like peanut butter cups?

I will make a little confession, the first time I made these I wasn't sure if the peanut butter cups were supposed to be inserted into the cookie before or after baking so I tried both, and guess what? Either way works! The chocolate will bubble up a little if you stick the peanut butter cups in the dough before baking though (as evidenced in the photo), and they go in super easy after baking, so I say just do it that way. You will need a mini muffin pan to make these, and with this recipe I end up using the whole bag of peanut butter cups, minus the few that mysteriously don't make it that far. Somehow they get eaten before the cookies finish baking. No idea how that happens!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

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The 12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 7 Sugar Cookies

Everybody loves sugar cookies right? No, seriously, they do don't they? I won't call them my favorite cookie, I reserve that title for chocolate chip cookies. Sugar cookies are pretty great though, especially when they are crispy around the edges but still just chewy, with that buttery goodness. Not only am I an avid baker, but I love to decorate cookies (and cakes). As a result, I have a little bit of an addiction to cookie cutters. You name the occasion I probably have a cookie cutter for it, holidays especially. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and most especially Christmas. When a holiday rolls around I break out the accompanying cookie cutters and get to mixing and rolling.

I've tried various sugar cookie recipes over the years and some are either too bland, come out too hard, or the cookies spread too much resulting in funky looking blobs that slightly resemble their initial shape. I absolutely love and highly recommend No-Fail Sugar Cookies. The recipe makes a generous batch, the dough is easy to work with, the cookies hold their shape, and the resulting cookies taste fantastic. I've seen many mentions of this recipe, so I am apparently not the only one who loves it.

I want to share my secret, or okay, maybe it's not so secret tip with you. As soon as I finish mixing up the dough I like to sandwich portions between wax paper, roll it to the desired thickness then stick it in the fridge or the freezer on cookie sheets to chill. That way you aren't handling the dough too much, which can result in it softening too much, causing the baking cookies to not hold their shape as well. Also, the dough chills faster. Not to mention, you have less mess to clean up.

While the cookies are in the oven baking to a golden deliciousness and smelling the kitchen up something amazing I like to whip up a batch of royal icing to decorate the beauties with. If you haven't worked with royal icing there's a few things you should know:

1. Your mixing bowl and utensils need to be extra clean and free of grease. The grease free thing is important!
2. Always make sure when not using your royal icing you have it sealed in air tight containers or cover the surface with a layer of plastic wrap. The stuff dries out fast! If you are piping it on your cookies it's a good idea to cover the icing tips with a moist paper towel when not using.
3. You REALLY need to follow the instructions precisely. I pretty much wing it with buttercream, but royal icing doesn't work that way. I know it says to mix for what feels like forever, but I promise it is necessary.
4. Allow the icing plenty of time to harden. The stuff will look hardened, but if you start to handle them cookies too soon after icing (other than to eat them) you'll mess up your pretty icing job and we don't want that! But, once the icing has completely hardened it is very sturdy. You can stack cookies on top of each other without worry that the icing will smear, the cookies will stick together, etc. The sturdiness of the icing makes these perfect for shipping if you have a loved one you want to send goodies too.

No-Fail Sugar Cookies
6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (or use my wax paper hint mentioned above)

Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges.

This recipe can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies.
Recipe from kitchengifts.com

Royal Icing
3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
4 cups confectioners sugar
6 tablespoons warm water (it must be warm water)

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

* For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.
**When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.
Thinned Royal Icing: To thin for pouring, add 1 teaspoon water per cup of royal icing. Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until you reach proper consistency.
Note: Remember to keep all utensils and mixing bowls grease-free. Yields 3 cups

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 6 Spinach Pinwheels

Many of us do a good bit of entertaining between Thanksgiving and New Year's, whether we're hosting a cookie swap party or just have friends and family who drop by unexpectedly. Because of that, I think it's not a bad idea to have an arsenal of easy to prepare appetizer recipes at the ready. Even better when those appetizers require minimal ingredients and result in something tasty that your guests will love. One such appetizer for me is Spinach Pinwheels, which are super easy and contain two of my favorite ingredients crescent rolls and spinach. I will admit that I have never eaten spinach plain, unless you count eating it raw in a salad or on a wrap, but I love it in lasagna, spinach dip and of course Spinach Pinwheels.

I was in a rush to get these packed up and headed out the door when I snapped this photo, so please excuse the lack of presentation. Presented on a pretty platter or not, these things are yummy little bits of goodness. I can't decide which scores more points, the taste or the fact that they only require three ingredients. I have only made these a handful of times, and always when I was having folks over or needed something to take to a potluck. Never have I been disappointed in the responses when I serve these. So, do you need a quick and easy appetizer to serve at your upcoming Christmas party? Or maybe you're even thinking ahead already to New Year's Eve, if so, you're doing better than me. Whatever the reason, I urge you to whip up a batch of these little guys and enjoy!

And if you're looking for a sweet treat to serve and are pressed for time, don't have room in the oven or just want to try something different I highly recommend No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies, as they're known in my family Boiled Oatmeal Cookies. You may remember I shared the recipe a while back, but if you missed it you can find it here. They are an absolute Christmas tradition for our family, and in fact, the only thing my Picky Eater requests during my baking frenzy.

Spinach Pinwheels

A simple and delicious appetizer perfect for any occasion.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Total time: 25-30 minutes

Yield: 30 pinwheels

Ingredients

• 2 (8 oz) packages Crescent Rolls
• 1 (7 oz) package garlic herb cheese spread
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Split crescent dough in half along center perforation. Flatten one rectangle, sealing perforations.
3. Spread with 1/4 of the cheese spread and sprinkle with spinach.
4. Starting with long side, roll dough up, rolling back and forth several times to seal edges.
5. Cut into 3/4 inch slices (about 15 slices per roll). Arrange the slices one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Continue making the crescent roll ups until all of the ingredients are used.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve immediately or keep warm on a warming tray.

Note: You can substitute garlic and herb cream cheese for the cheese spread. Or, feel free to switch it up and use any flavor cheese spread or cream cheese you like.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 5 Gingerbread

Once the Halloween decorations are taken down and we start talking turkey my food cravings change, as do my baking habits. I begin to crave warm, hearty stick to your ribs comfort foods even more than usual. And I put the chocolate chip cookie recipe aside for a while. I put the brownie and cupcake making on the back burner momentarily, and I start making Spicy Gingersnaps, soft and chewy they are sooo good! Come Thanksgiving and my house is filled with the wonderful smell of sweet potato pies. And lest we not forget my famous no-bake oatmeal cookies aka boiled oatmeal cookies.

There's always a batch of gingerbread or two in there somewhere. I don't have a tried and true recipe yet so I usually go with my standby, Old Fashioned Gingerbread, which I got from allrecipes.com quite some time ago. Overall I am pretty pleased with the recipe. It makes a nice moist gingerbread with a good flavor. I prefer my gingerbread with lemon sauce, but I haven't found a recipe for that I love yet, so when I bake it I usually eat it straight up, or with a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top to purdy it up.

Old Fashioned Gingerbread

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour (I found mine was done after baking for approximately 35 minutes.) in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 4 Coconut Biscotti

Biscotti is the perfect little sweet treat to go with that morning cup of coffee if you want a little something to munch on but don't want to actually eat breakfast. A cookie or even a mini muffin is the route I tend to go if I want something in the morning to go along with my coffee. I am only an early riser if absolutely necessary so I don't find that I often need breakfast. I can usually get by with a cup of coffee until lunch, but sometimes I just want a little something to nibble on and although I don't make it often I find biscotti to be the perfect thing.

Christmas is the perfect time to bake up a batch, or three of biscotti. It has a long shelf life, it's not extremely fragile, so it's easy to transport if you choose to give it away on a goodie tray like I often do, and it packages nicely. Stick some in a cellophane bag, tie it up with a ribbon and you've got a cute little gift to give. I have batched up different flavors over the years, but Coconut Biscotti seems to be my favorite.

You won't find many coconut recipes around here because although I love the stuff Mr. Picky Eater does not. With only two people in the house unless I'm having folks over, going to a potluck or making my Christmas Baked Goodie Bags I skip over the coconut recipes. Mr. Picky Eater won't eat biscotti anyway, so I can get away with making whatever flavor suits my fancy. This flavor definitely suits my fancy. It is a fairly simple recipe with just the right amount of coconut. The flavor is not overpowering, it's pretty much the perfect amount. When there is a batch of these around I find myself nibblinging one every morning with my coffee until suddenly there are no more. That's a sign of a good cookie. And, thankfully the biscotti are pretty low fat, so I am not too riddled with guilt when I eat these.

Coconut Biscotti
Original Recipe From Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 300°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through nutmeg). Place sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until thick. Add flour mixture and coconut; stir to combine (dough will be very sticky). Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface; knead lightly 7 or 8 times. Shape dough into a 15 x 3-inch roll. Place roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and pat to 1-inch thickness. Bake at 300° for 40 minutes or until roll is golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Cut roll diagonally into 20 (1/2-inch-thick) slices; stand slices upright on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

Yields:20 cookies (serving size: 1 biscotto)

2.5 grams of fat

*The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups flour, but the dough was entirely too sticky.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 3 Eggnog Cookies

Each season has its signature foods and drinks. For Christmas one of those signature items is Eggnog. It seems to be a drink you either love or won't touch. I fall into the won't touch category. I simply do not drink it, not even a sip or two. Consistency is the main reason. If it was a warm drink I don't think the consistency would bother me, and before you say it, I know, it is occasionally served warm. Well, a few Christmases back a friend's wife sent over a big plate of various cookies, most were decent but nothing to die for. Except one cookie really stuck out with me, and that was the Eggnog Cookie. I had never had these before or even heard of them, but after that I knew I had to add Eggnog Cookies to my Christmas baking repertoire. I wasn't able to get the recipe from said friend, so I searched the web and came up with various recipes that were pretty similar. Me being me, I did a little tweaking to make the recipe my own. The cookies we were given had icing drizzled on top, which I planned to add also, but after baking the cookies and doing a taste-test I nixed the icing idea because the cookies were so good as is just sprinkled with a little additional nutmeg before baking.

These Eggnog Cookies, are not your average cookie. They're soft and a little cakey, not chewy or crispy at all. I typically go for chewy cookies with a little crunch around the edges, but these are great, and I love the hint of spice with that extra boost from the nutmeg sprinkled on top. And, like the Spicy Gingersnaps, if you manage to keep these cookies around for more than a few days you'll be fooled into thinking you just baked them because they keep their freshness well.

Don't forget to add these to your "must bake" list for next Christmas!


EGGNOG COOKIES

2 ½ c. flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
3/4 c. butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
½ c. eggnog
1 t. vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 T. nutmeg, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 300°. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar; add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until just combined. Stir flour mixture into eggnog mixture until uniform. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet; sprinkle cookies lightly with nutmeg. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bottoms are light brown.

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12 Days of Christmas Baking - Day 2 Spicy Gingersnaps

Near the top of my list of Christmas baking goodies is always Spicy Gingersnaps. The spice combination just screams Christmas, not to mention the smell that fills the kitchen while these are in the oven. That molasses, gingery goodness, on man my mouth waters just thinking about it! I find myself craving these cookies..I mean really craving them. I've always been a gingerbread lover. But these are over the top good to me. Just the perfect amount of spices and the texture is amazing, soft and chewy. They almost seem to melt in your mouth.

This is a super simple cookie to whip up, you don't even need to break out the mixer, you can stir these up by hand. They can be in the oven in no time because they don't require chilling. Another great thing about these is that if you manage to keep these around for more than a few days they are still great. The use of oil instead of butter keeps them soft and chewy. And, that's one thing that intrigues me about this recipe is that it contains NO butter. None. Zero. Zilch. Not a single ounce. I've never tried sub'ing butter for the oil, I figured why risk ruining a wonderful thing? Curiosity hasn't gotten the best of me with this recipe, and I'm determined that it never will. The dough is formed into balls and half is dipped in sugar so they come out having these yummy little sugary sweet crunchies on top. Unfortunately when using just plain white granulated sugar those crunchies don't show up as well in the finished product, so I prefer to use sanding sugar, although I tend to use a bit of each. I have also tried colored sugar, which I don't recommend simply because it doesn't show up as well what with the darker brown coloring of the cookie.

I do not know where this recipe originated. It was given to me by my former boss, titled "Angela's Gingersnaps", Angela being his wife's name. So possibly she developed or perfected the recipe. If so she came up with one heck of a cookie and my praises goes to her.


Spicy Gingersnaps

4 c. all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. vegetable oil(or another flavorless oil, I've also used canola)
2 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/2 c molasses

In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt, set aside. Mix together oil, eggs, sugar and molasses just until combined. Add flour mixure and stir until all ingredients are incorporated. Roll dough into small balls, about 1 tsp each. Dip 1/2 of each ball into sugar and place sugar side up on cookie sheet. Space several inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen.

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Warm Your Bones, Satisfying Soup - Chunky Potato Soup

From Roots And Renovations

I have probably said this before and I will probably say it again, I am not, absolutely not a fan of cold weather. Have you heard of seasonal affective disorder, also sometimes known as the winter blues? Yeah, I think I have that. No seriously, I sometimes wonder if I really do have that. I even looked up the symptoms, and while I don't suffer the classic symptoms: oversleeping, overeating, decreased appetite, when the weather falls below 70 and the days are mostly gray and dreary I get the blahs.

I don't claim to live a terribly exciting life, and for the most part, season to season my routine doesn't change much. But, once the temperature dips life seems to get boring, which is probably because I like to stay inside where it's warm and I guess you could say I start to withdraw a bit. There are few things I enjoy about the fall and winter months. I do enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas, most especially the baking and eating associated with the two. As I've mentioned previously, I enjoy all things pumpkin spice. Another thing I enjoy is making soup, which of course you can do year round, but it just seems so much better and more enjoyable when the weather is cool enough that you need a stick to your bones, warm you up meal.

With Mr. Picky Eater to feed I tend to stick with a few tried and true soups: vegetable beef, chili (with beans of course), chicken noodle vegetable and beef stew. I like trying different things and occasionally, I can get him to go along and every once in a while he will even admit to enjoying my experiments. One such experiment was my recent creation, Chunky Potato Soup. I've tried several different recipes in the past and although none were a disaster they weren't anything I was dying to make again. After looking at quite a few different recipes for inspiration I came up with my own simple and hearty version that will satisfy even a picky eater.

The verdict is that this soup is definitely worth making again. Unfortunately, I'm afraid my photo doesn't do it justice. Sorry about that!

Chunky Potato Soup

Recipe by Ms. Roots and Renovations

A hearty, chunky potato soup perfect for a cool day. Minimal effort with satisfying result, to warm your bones and fill your belly.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: 3 generous servings or if serving with a salad or sandwich 6 small servings

Ingredients

• 1/4-1/2 medium yellow onion (adjust amount to suit your taste)
• 1/2 package (16 oz) frozen hashbrowns (such as Ore Ida)
• 16 oz chicken broth (vegetable broth would work too)
• 1 1/4 cup milk (preferrably 2% or whole) or mixture of milk & half and half
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I prefer extra sharp cheddar)

Cooking Directions

1. Saute diced onion in butter/margarine until translucent.
2. In microwave, thaw hashbrowns about 1 minute, then pour into a colander and rinse with warm water (to remove any ice chunks/freezer fur).
3. Add rinsed hashbrowns and broth to sauteed onions. Bring to simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. Add milk or mixture of milk and half and half to pot, heat over medium, until hot, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Once hot, add crumbled bacon and grated cheese, stir until cheese is completely melted into soup.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve immediately, topping with additional crumbled bacon, grated cheese, and sliced green onions if desired.

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