So first on the list, a winter classic, the Peanut Butter Blossom:
I'm gonna be honest on this one, I just used the recipe that was on the back of the kisses bag... They said to make the peanut butter dough into balls (roll them in sugar which was a great idea that I don't remember doing when I was younger) and then bake them like that. I found that they are more likely to get darker on the bottom and not as cooked on the top (especially if they are refridgerated before baking-which is usually reccomended). They turned out great according to everyone else(ok for me, but I have high standards) and I will look for a more interesting recipe for next year.
Ok, Next up: Alomond Sugar Cookie Balls
There's no good way to name this cookie without saying balls... but let's continue...
1 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 tsp vanilla
Mix it together, roll in sugar and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
DISCLAIMER: as I had written the recipe just like this on a sticky note, I forgot that usually the sugar of choice for this cookie is powdered.... however, (whether for my feelings or not) everyone said they were better than the powdered kind, they said they were less crumbly. So, go for whichever sugar you want (hmm... brown sugar? Who knows?!)
Ok... now the big sellers: Sugar and Gingerbread Cut-Outs With Royal Icing!
I shamlessly used a box for the gingerbread because I couldn't find molasses anywhere (i guess everyone had the same ideas about baking when I did). I used the recipes for the sugar cookies and the royal icing from the amazing Annie's Eats (http://annies-eats.net/)
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
2 ½ c. sifted flour
Directions:
Cream butter. Add powdered sugar. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla, salt and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll to ¼” thickness on well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown. Frost and decorate when cool. Yields ~40 cookies.
(Her tutorial for Royal Icing is really great too: http://annies-eats.com/2009/12/04/how-to-decorate-with-royal-icing/ )
Here were my icing colors:
The red could not stop being pink... but that could be due to the fact that I got a royal icing kit with bags and tips and 4 gel colors all relating to spring... so my colors in general are a little light.
Now all of that was in one day.... and then it was Christmas Eve... and I had 6 desserts to make... here we go:
As I have been married into a family with alot of christmas traditions, I thought to myself to make one and who better to make a dessert for breakfast but yours truely. Thus! The family tradition of Stuffed French Toast was born!
Stuffed French Toast Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 16 oz. loaf of French or Italian bread, cut into 20 slices
- 1 8oz package Fat Free Cream Cheese, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
- 3 cups egg substitute or egg whites
- 2 cups fat free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp sugar free strawberry preserves
- 1 cup thinly sliced fresh strawberries
- 1/3 cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray
Directions:
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with a butter flavored non-fat cooking spray. Layer 10 slices of bread in the bottom of the baking dish (You may need to trim to fit). Lightly spray the bread with an even coat of the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray. Then, top the bread with cream cheese slices, spaced out evenly. Spread the strawberry preserves evenly over the cream cheese slices. Then layer on the fresh strawberry slices.
Finally, place the remaining bread slices on top.
In a large bowl, wish together the egg substitute, milk, vanilla, syrup and cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the bread to evenly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 degrees. Bake for 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed and the French toast is set in the center. Slice into 9 evenly sized pieces.
Entire Recipe makes 9 servings
Serving size is 1 slice
Each serving = 5 Point Total
(recipe thanks to Laa Loosh: http://www.laaloosh.com/ )
So I actually used a loaf of french bread, but if I could have found it, I would have used a loaf of texas toast (I'm sure it would have sogged together nicer and been less difficult to cut into after it was crunchy and baked.) Again, I'm not sure if my family was just being nice, or any combination of strawberries and powdered sugar and cream cheese is a winner, but I wasn't the craziest about this batch. And I made two of those...
Next up, was two each of my Apple Pie and a Pumpkin Cheesecake (that everyone just dies for.)
Now this recipe is really just toss it in there as you wish:
My Apple Pie
5-7 granny smith apples peeled, cored and sliced thinly (this is the worst part so after this, it's all down hill) - sometimes I put a little bit of lemon juice to keep it fresh.
About a cup of sugar
Alot of tablespoons (maybe 4 or 5)of cinnamon (that's Matt's favorite part so I put alot)
2 Tablespoons of flour
2 Tablespoons of corn starch
I like to toss in some nutmeg and a little from a jar labled 'pie spices'.
Toss it up with your hands until every slice is covered in lovely mix.
Now get that box of Betty Crocker refridgerated pie dough (because we don't have time to make dough from scratch...) I usually take a little from one and mix it into the other to make the bottom bigger (the re-rolling out of this dough is the other hard part if you don't have a rolling pin). When I lay the bottom crust down, I like to rub cinnamon or pie spice into it to give it a nice flavor burst. Smash those apple slices in if it doesn't look like it will fit, it will. Then I take the rest of the top dough, cut it into long slices and make a lattice crust. Sometimes if there's EXTRA extra crust I make a cute little design ontop of the lattice.
Bake at 350 for 45-1hr, let cool, enjoy (with ice cream!)
Everyone's Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened*
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 Keebler® Ready Crust® Graham Pie Crust
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup milk
Directions
1. In small mixing bowl beat cream cheese on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Beat until combined. Beat in 1 egg until just combined. Spread in crust.
2. In large bowl combine 2 eggs, pumpkin, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Stir in milk. Place crust on baking sheet. Spoon pumpkin mixture over cream cheese mixture.
3. Bake on baking sheet at 350°F about 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.
I made two of each of those too... trust me, these things fly out of the pie dish.
Just thinking about all that baking is making me tired though.. whooh!
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