On the Third Day of Cookies...

Bite-sized bliss! These cake ball bon bons are a snap to make and are sure to be an instant hit on any dessert tray. To make mine more festive, I used red velevet cake with white frosting and vanilla candy coating. I also used way more candy coating than they suggested.

Holiday Cake Bon Bons
(Source: Betty Crocker)

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist cake mix, (any flavor)
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy frosting
3 oz. vanilla or chocolate-flavored candy coating

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour. Prepare cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Pour into pan. Bake 30-33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.

2. In a large mixing bowl, crumble the warm cake; stir in the frosting until well blended. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

3. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Shape into balls. (If mixture is too sticky, refrigerate until firm enough to shape.) Freeze 30 minutes.

4. In small microwave-safe bowl, microwave candy coating on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring until smooth. Dip the balls, one at a time, in candy coating using a wooden skewer or fork to hold them. Place on aluminum foil-covered cookie sheet. Decorate as desired. Refrigerate cake balls about 10 minutes or until coating is set. Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight container.

On the Second Day of Cookies...

If you are unfamiliar with these cookies, they are of German origin, very spicy, with molasses and black pepper in them. The translation of Pfeffernussen is “pepper nuts”, although my recipe doesn’t call for nuts I understand that some do. The snowy sugar surface of Pfeffernussen contrasts nicely with the spicy, sweet, soft, crisp crust of the cookie. A perfect addition to your holiday spread.

Pfeffernussen
(Source: Martha Stewart)

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioners' sugar in a brown paper bag.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Place butter, brown sugar, and molasses in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off dough in tablespoon amounts; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Arrange balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.)

4. Bake until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Working in batches, place cookies in paper bag; shake until well coated. Let cool completely on wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

On the First Day of Cookies...

Okay, not technically a cookie, but a yummy holiday treat, no? This recipe was easy and I'm sure quite tasty, but I wouldn't know. "Why?" you ask. I hate cream cheese (weird, right?). The stuff makes me gag if I try to eat it (same reaction I have with mashed potatoes, but that's a whole other story) and, while I was beating the cream cheese for these truffles, the smell alone made me queasy. BUT, if you are normal, I am sure you will love these!

Truffles
(Source: Kraft Foods)

2 1/2 pkg BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (20 squares), divided
1 pkg (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1. Melt 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

2. Shape into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

3. Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles in chocolate; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Raspberry Truffle Tart

We had a few friends over last night to drink a few bottles of wine shipped to us from California. When we were out in California with some friends this summer, we joined a wine club at our favorite winery, August Briggs (Hubby and I visited the winery while on our honeymoon in July 2007 and insisted we make it one of our stops this summer). The dinner menu consisted of steaks, scalloped potatoes, Caesar salad, and, of course, dessert!

When contemplating dessert, we decided that nothing goes better with wine than chocolate. This tart is pure indulgence and paired perfectly with the wine. What could be more enticing than a giant raspberry-flavored truffle set in a biscotti crust? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing. Photo coming soon!

Rasberry Truffle Tart
(Source: Joy of Baking)

Biscotti Crust:

80z biscotti, broken into small pieces
5 -6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
1/3 cup raspberry sauce (recipe follows)
10 oz semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Raspberry Sauce:
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2 Tbsp sugar, to taste

Garnish:
Fresh Raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready a 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) fluted tart pan.

2. In your food processor, place the biscotti and process until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter. Stir to combine. Press this mixture over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before adding the filling.

4. Place 1 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries, that have been thawed, in your food processor and process until the raspberries are broken up. Pour into a strainer, set over a bowl, and press on the raspberries to extract the juice. Add sugar to taste. Set aside.

5. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup of the raspberry sauce.

6. Pour the chocolate filling into the baked and cooled crust, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

To Serve: Cut into small slices and serve with fresh raspberries and with any of the remaining raspberry sauce.

Makes one - 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart.

12 Days of Cookies

I'm taking the plunge this year and participating in "12 Days of Cookies."

Well, sort of.

I love the idea (in theory) of trying 12 new cookie recipes (that are almost guaranteed to be delicious) but, to me, Christmas isn't Christmas without my beloved Spritz, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and all of the other goodies I grew up with.

So this year, I will be making 12 different cookies of my own choosing. Some will be the classics I enjoy making every year, while others will be new recipes I want to try. Some won't be Christmas cookies, but they will still be yummy holiday themed treats.

Perhaps next year I will be up for "officially" participating in 12 Days of Cookies, but for now I am content to do it my way. :)

Let's get baking, shall we?!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

This is the traditional holiday pumpkin pie. This classic recipe has been on Libby's Pumpkin labels since 1950 and for a very good reason. This pie is easy to prepare and even easier to enjoy. Just mix, pour, and bake for a delicious homemade tradition. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

2. Pour into pie shell.

3. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

If you love cinnamon rolls, you are gonna love this cake. Tastes exactly like them, only in cake form. Besides being quick and easy (and let's not forget delicious!), it is moist and very cinnamony (yes, I'm making up words here).

Since I made this cake last night, we couldn't eat it warm at work today (damn them for not installing an oven like I requested!), but the cake was still very good. However, when I brought the leftovers home to hubby, I heated up his piece and the cake instantly went from good to FANTASTIC. I will defintiely need to make this again when it can be consumed directly out of the oven.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the cake because my camera battery died and hubby absolutely could not wait any longer to eat the rest of it. Check out Ingrid's site (link is below) for some seriously mouthwatering photos.

Cinnamon Roll Cake
(Source: 3 B's)

Cake:
Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup sour cream

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp milk or heavy cream (I used 8 Tbsp of heavy cream to get the consistency I wanted)

1. Mix cake ingredients by hand and pour in 13 x 9 greased baking pan.

2. Mix the filling ingredients together and pour over cake batter. Swirl into batter with knife. (this was not easy to do as the batter is thick)

3. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes.

4. Pour icing over warm cake.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

A lot of pumpkin cookies, while very good, are very cakey. These pumpkin cookies, however, are moist and have the perfect texture. Because of the molasses, the pumpkin flavor isn't as pronounced as I would like it to be, but they are still delicious and very, very addicting.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
(Source: Beantown Baker)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/3 canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, pumpkin, molasses, and egg and continue beating until well combined and fluffy.

2. Sift together remaining ingredients and gradually add to wet ingredients, beating on low speed until thoroughly incorporate. Refrigerate for up to one hour or until batter can be handled.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a pie dish. Form the batter into walnut-sized balls. Roll in sugar and arrange on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

4. Cool for a few minutes on sheets and then remove to wire racks to continue cooling.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I wish I would have baked an additional batch of these, because the first batch was gone in the blink of an eye. I think it's safe to conclude that these scones were pretty good. I opted to only make the cinnamon icing, but I definitely try these again with the ginger molasses icing. Unfortunately, because these disappeared so fast, the only photo I got was with my iPhone. I guess that gives me another reason to make these again!

Pumpkin Spice Scones
(Source: Pinch My Salt)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I omitted)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Ginger Molasses Icing
1 Tbsp molasses
1-2 Tbsp milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ginger (to taste)

Stir ingredients together. Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to make the icing the consistency you want (It should be pretty thick).

Cinnamon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

The Mother Load Layered Cookie Bars

I must admit I was slightly disappointed in the bars at first. I had some girlfriends over last night, so I whipped these bars up in the afternoon. When I cut into them before they arrived, the bars were a mushy mess! They tasted wonderful, but the layers all sort of mushed together into a cookie mess. (Thankfully we also had Chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chocolate chip cookies due to the recipe making extra dough.)

HOWEVER, when I took a look at the remaining bars today (I only plated a handful of bars for my friends since they were so messy), they were perfect. PERFECT! I guess I cut them too soon and they just needed more time to set. These cookie bars really were incredible and very rich. I would recommend cutting them into smaller bars than Jenny originally suggests.

The Mother Load Layered Cookie Bars
(Source: Picky Palate)

Layer 1: Sugar Cookie

1 Roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

1. Press sugar cookie dough into bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been lined foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I only used 1 cup)
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chips. Layer 1/2 the recipe over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently.

Layer 3: Peanut Butter Cookie

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Press over chocolate cookie dough.

Layer 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp pure vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.

3. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips.

4. Spoon 1/2 of the dough evenly over peanut butter cookie dough but don’t press, just leave uneven. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of dough is cooked mostly through. Edges will be brown. I covered pan with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking.

2. Let cookies cool completely. Lift out of pan with edges of foil. I cut off 1/2 inch edges and just used softer centers, but do as you wish. Edges are crispier. Drizzle top with 1/2 Cup melted chocolate chips if desired.

*Note: You can layer dough and refrigerate until ready to bake.

8 large bars (if you cut off edges), 12 bars (if you keep edges)