Holiday Baking

Christmas has come and gone, and it was an amazing one. My first one actually celebrating it with BP since last year I went to MA to spend it with my family. 

Officially kicked off the holidays with a present that BP got me last Christmas, a leg lamp cookie cutter. I won't lie, I had been dying to use it since he got it for me. The time was finally here!! 

Yep - I'm a nerd and went the whole none yards decorating these things. Some turned out great, while others not so hot thanks to my hand. 

Next up, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. Our church is amazing. Flat out love the people that go there and the home group BP and I joined is just awesome. Christmas Eve mass was on our agenda and everyone brings a plate of cookies to it for a little party afterwards. Easy - I wanted something different that would stand out and be easy to make. 

We all know that these are one of my all time favorites, and now they are one of BP's....in his top 3 actually. 

Next up - coffee ring. I love making this....but was a little scared because Big Red is on his last leg. Every time I use my beloved mixer I'm scared it will be my last. But he made it through, limping along, but we got it done. 

I brought some in to work for the amazing people I work with and for one of the couples in our home group. Everyone told me how great it is. BP was looking forward to it as always...and has now dubbed it the Amaze Ring since he thinks the calling it a Coffee Ring just doesn't do it justice. 

Christmas was finally here!! Time to open our gifts to each other. I have to admit this was the best Christmas ever. BP got me the most thoughtful and amazing gift ever.

I started crying once I opened it. I was so touched that he went and did that. And honestly I can't wait to use it!! Other highlights included.....

....a lobster pot from my parents. And as my nerd gift to BP....

....the best Vader coffee mug ever!! 

Up for the rest of the day BP, his dad and I spent the day watching movies and just relaxing. BP made the three of us a truly delicious dinner and then more relaxing. I couldn't of asked for a better Christmas. 

And incase you want it, here's the recipe for the cookie dough truffles. 

Cookie Dough Truffles

1/2 cup butter, room temp

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy.  Add vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour and add condensed milk.  Add chocolate chips (regular size chips work - I use them all the time).  Shape into balls and place on waxed paper or parchment paper. The dough is really sticky so make sure to coat your hands in flour when rolling.  Chill for 2 hours.  *****DONT FORGET TO USE FLOUR!!*******

Melt chocolate bark candy coating.  Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover.  Place back on waxed paper and chill to set.  Store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 

BP's Birthday Weekend

The love of my life is now another year older. And since his birthday fell on Monday, we celebrated it all weekend long. I mean really, who wouldn't want that? 

Friday night we finally celebrated our anniversary. It was a couple weeks late, but we went and had an amazing dinner out. Saturday was the main day of celebration for BP. Dinner with friends was the plan, but first I had to make him his birthday cake. His request was for a white cake with white frosting, and as sugar free as I could make it (BP is diabetic). Now this wasn't an issue for me, I swap out real sugar all the time for Splenda and haven't had an issue.....until this cake. There is truth to the rumor that there is a certain threshold of how much fake sugar you can use before it ruins whatever it is your making. 

Well - looks was the only thing this cake had going for it. It was extremely dense and tasted cakey - in a bad way. BP and I had a couple bites of our pieces and threw them away it was that bad. Our mouths had been assaulted. We warned BP's dad about how awful it was and he sweetly told me it looked great. When I replied its in the top 10 worst things I've ever made, BP and his dad sweetly agreed that once we left for dinner that BP's dad would throw out the cake and clean the plate it was on.  I mean really - worlds thinnest 3 layer cake. 

Sunday night was capped off with a dinner celebration for my office and it was a great time. Great food and great conversation. A perfect way to end the weekend. Lesson learned about the fake sugar threshold - and this weekend I will make another cake for BP to make up for the awful one I made. 

Meatball Stuffed Cheesy Garlic Bread

Oh Sundays - you are my friend. Nothing like some football and baking. That has become part of our routine, and I have to admit I love it. Up on the menu was these delicious little balls of yuminess. I was all for these from the beginning - meatballs -yum. Cheese - yum. Bread - yum. Ok it's actually a biscuit but who doesn't love a biscuit?! 

With two hungry men watching football and ready to chow down, it was time to get going on this snack. Into the kitchen I went while BP and his dad were glued to the Red Zone cheering and hollering, and I have to say it was close to perfect. It made me wish my dad was there to have a little man bonding time with the love of my life and his father. I can only imagine that the same thing will happen in a couple weeks when BP and I go to my family's for Thanksgiving. 

With the delicious snacks all ready to go, into the oven they went. Man, those 25 minutes couldn't of gone by any slower. My stomach was beginning to rumble, sounding like an angry monster. Food needed to be eaten, and soon. And the aroma coming from the oven wasn't helping. 

When the  timer finally went off, I did a little happy dance inside and went to go get those babies out of the oven.  Snack time! Sauce warming on the oven to dip them in was ready and I made up some plates for each of us. 

Oh my word - winner. And I had some happy campers from BP and his dad - mission accomplished. Although I really hit one out of the park later that day with some German Chocolate Cupcakes....raves all around. 

Meatball Stuffed Cheesy Garlic Bread Balls 

Makes 24 balls

Ingredients

1

can (12 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Jr. Golden Layers® refrigerated buttermilk or flaky biscuits

10

frozen cooked Italian-style meatballs (about 5 oz), thawed, each cut in half

2

sticks (1 oz each) string cheese, each cut into 10 pieces

1

tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/2

teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4

teaspoon garlic powder

1

cup marinara sauce, heated

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 2 layers. Press each biscuit layer into 3-inch round.

2.  Place 1 meatball half, cut side up, and 1 string cheese piece in center of each dough round. Wrap dough around meatball and cheese, pressing edges to seal. In ungreased 8- or 9-inch round cake pan, place seam side down in single layer.

3.  Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

4.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy in center. Serve warm biscuits with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Caramel Corn

My love for anything caramel runs deep. To the point where when holidays rolled around and bags of Rollo's are brought out they last less than an hour between myself and my dad.  Caramel corn has always been a favorite, and if you add caramel corn coated in chocolate well then I'm a happy camper. And you can bet good money that I will absolutely make chocolate coated caramel corn soon.

When I saw this recipe for homemade caramel corn I was in - big time. BP had already asked for Coconut Cream Pie (there was pie dough that needed to be used in his freezer....thank youTarget ad that reminded me of it), one thing for him and one thing for me. 

Saturday night rolled around and BP was off to play some poker. While he was out doing what he loves, I was home doing what I loved - baking. Pies were done and chilling and it was time for some caramel corn. This girl was excited. Like happy dance excited. 

I was a thinker and doubled the batch - I mean I knew I could eat a single batch by myself before BP got home, and that wouldn't be a good thing. So double batch it was. 

Now, pop your own popcorn. It's easy and delicious. All you need is a brown paper lunch bag, 1/4 cup pop corn kernels, 1 tsp vegetable oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Toss it all in the bag, shake it up, fold the top over a couple of times and microwave for 2 minutes or until popping has stopped and you will have amazingly tasty popcorn. 

And here's a tip - make sure to remove all unpopped kernels....they aren't so fun to chomp down on later. Yes, I failed on that part....big time. Lesson learned.

Back to making the caramel corn. This is an easy recipe. You do need some time for it. You bake it in the oven for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. But I promise you, it's worth it. So worth it. 

I mean look at that picture! Food porn at its finest. This stuff is amazing! I can't tell you enough how addicting it really is. 

I couldn't wait to try it and share some with BP's dad. You know, for quality purposes of course. And man oh man I wasn't sure if there would be any left by the time BP came home. But we were good and only had a small bowl each. 

Just sitting here typing this up makes me want some right now. I should of taken a treat bag for myself. But I know this will be made again - and often. Perfect anytime snack. 

Caramel Popcorn

15 cups popped corn (1/2 cup kernels, unpopped)

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup salted butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1) Preheat your oven to 200°F and line a half-sheet pan (18" x 13" pan) with parchment paper. Pour the popped corn into a large bowl, at least 6 quarts, and set aside.

2) In a large saucepan over medium-high heat cook the molasses, brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Stirring occasionally, boil the syrup for 5 minutes. The syrup will darken slightly.

3) Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. Stir well as the mixture turns foamy.

4) Immediately (and carefully) pour the hot syrup over the popped corn and stir until the corn is well coated.

5) Spread the hot caramel corn into the parchment-lined pan. Bake at 200°F for one hour. Stir the corn every 15 minutes during this time.

6) Remove from the oven. This caramel corn is a warm, sticky, sweet and crunchy treat straight from the oven. It can also be cooled and stored airtight for several days. This recipe doubles and triples very well.

Pumpkin Pie

Oh Mother Nature, you are being cruel lately.  Fall is officially here, well it wasn't this weekend in Northern Virginia.  3 days in a row of 90 degree weather.  I was in fall mode, and then summer weather came back.  Needless to say I was not happy.  Regardless of this, I was going to make something anyways.  BP had requested some Pumpkin Pie, so Pumpkin Pie was going to be made. 

I happily redeemed myself after the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie incident the other week, but I was still on a mission to not have a snafu.  And I was making dinner too - a full day in the kitchen for me.  I couldn't of been happier.  On a side note, Big Red is dying.  It makes me sad - he's been my trusty companion for years - been through a lot of melt downs and amazing success together.  With every use I'm scared it will be his last.  So lately I've been using him only if needed.  It will be a sad day when I have to say goodbye to him.    But I broke him out for this since my hand has really been bothering me lately and the thought of using a hand held mixer wouldn't of gone well.  Happily, he made it through this baking excursion. 

Into the oven the pie went, but not without a little spill.  Some of the filling made it out of the pie and over the crust to run underneath....not what I wanted but oh well.  There was nothing I could do at that point.  The thought of throwing it out did cross my mind, especially since I had more pie dough in the freezer than can be used.  But I let my want for baking perfection go and just shut the oven door and let it bake away. 

Maybe left it in a little too long

                  

Nothing can beat the smell of anything pumpkin baking away.  I'm not a huge fan of pies, but this smelled amazing.  BP and his dad were eager to try it.  And it went over really well :) 

Would you like some pie with
your whipped cream?

Start fall off right and make a pie!! You wont be disappointed. 

Pumpkin Pie

makes one 9" pie

 1 1/2 cups solid-pack canned pumpkin

1 pie dough premade or homemade    

All-purpose flour, for work surface

2 large eggs            

1 packed light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1  teaspoons ground cinnamon

1  teaspoons ground ginger            

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out pie dough on lightly floured surface until 1/8" thick and put in pit tin.  Cut off extra and poke holes all over bottom of pie shell.   Freeze until cold, about 10 minutes. Place parchment paper and pie weights on top of frozen pie shell. 

    

2. Bake pie shells 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment; bake 5 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

 

3.  In a large bowl add pumpkin, brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger,  nutmeg, eggs, and evaporated milk; whisk until combined.

 

4.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour pumpkin mixture slowly into shell. Bake until all but center is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let pie cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into wedges, and serve with whipped cream

Mini Pumpkin Pie Croissants

Oh the weekend.  Sometimes I wish they were longer.  I've been busting my butt at work and it's starting to take it's toll on me. I only get to see BP on the weekends, so we always make the best of them.  I miss him like crazy during the week though.  When talk of weekend baking came up there were two possibilities.  The mini pumpkin pie croissants or the amazing Pumpkin Brown Butter Cupcakes.  I was pulling for the cupcakes - these things are amazeballs.  Flat out scream fall and it's been cooler here weather wise and I'm ready for fall in all of its glory - well let me just say that there really isn't a fall in Northern Virginia.....it's still in the high 70's low 80's here lately.  I'll take it.  I don't miss the colder weather up north that's for sure.  So yes, I was pulling all I could for BP to choose the cupcakes.  Telling him how amazing they are, showing him a picture of them (to be clear - it was a sad photo of them, it did them no justice at all).  And after the debacle that was the cookies last weekend, the croissants won.  Side note - cupcakes will be made this weekend.  BP must know the wonder that is these things. 

Let me say, these things are ridiculously easy and so tasty.  So tasty.  If you can open a tube of croissants then you can handle this recipe.  Need a snack real quick?! This is your treat!!  Get the hint yet? :)

BP was ready for these bad boys.  Couldn't wait for them.  And Sunday is now football day and baking day - I mean you gotta have treats during football. 

Fresh from the oven

BP came upstairs as I was pulling these out of the oven.  He said they smelled amazing and asked if they were ready to try.  I said yes, and him and his dad quickly came in.  What happened next I wish I had on video because it was priceless.  BP takes one and the way his eyes lit up I knew this was a hit.  His dad comes in and takes two and steps off to the side.  He tries one, looks at me and says 'oh those are good' and comes back and takes a couple more to fill up his plate and goes back to watching the Red Zone.  Priceless.  That is now one of my favorite moments with BP's dad.  Still on the fence with these?  Look at the picture above when those bad boys came out of the oven.  Now look at this one - taken less than 2 minutes later.......

Yep.......that good

.......these little bad boys are almost all gone.  It was a good laugh for sure.  But a sure sign of a hit.  So get to baking people!!

Mini Pumpkin Pie Croissants

makes 32

 

Filling:

2 tubes crescent rolls

8 oz cream cheese - room temperature

one cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

4 tbsp sugar

 

Coating:

4 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.  
2. In a large bowl beat together cream cheese, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  In a medium bowl, mix together sugar and pumpkin pie spice until evenly mixed.  Set aside for later. 
3. Unroll each crescent roll and slice each one in half lengthwise.   Spread about 1 1/2 tsp of filling over each crescent roll. 
4. Roll each one, starting at the wider end down to the smaller end.  Roll each mini croissant in sugar mixture until evenly coated.  Place on prepared cookie sheets.  Repeat until all are made.
5. Bake for 10-13 minutes, rotating halfway through, until croissants are lightly browned and baked through. 



The Baking Gods Strike Again

Ah the weekend.  Time to relax, have some fun, and of course football.  BP and I had a stellar weekend lined up for us.  Saturday was a day of fun with friends going to National Harbor to see the Red Bull Flugtag event.  This was tons of fun, even if the weather wasn't so good and rainy. After getting back home, soggy and wet, it was time to relax. 

Sunday rolls around - and this means one thing - football.  Now BP and I will never have a problem team wise unless our teams wind up in the Super Bowl against each other.  And on a side note, our teams have similar colors so the fact that his basement is a Cowboys shrine doesn't bother me at all.  I do love blue and silver - and of course go Patriots! :) 

It was just going to be us Sunday, no one was coming over.  I was still going to bake.  Up on the menu was some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and some Spinach and Artichoke Dip. 

We went to the store to pick up the necessary items for the cookies and then the baking began.  Cookies first.  Now, cookies, I know what you're thinking.  How can these get messed up?  Let me tell you I have no clue what happened here.  I followed the directions, and this is what happened.......

womp womp womp

......now to be fair the directions did say that the dough could be refrigerated.  It wasn't necessary but suggested.  Ok, I could skip it.  Out came these bad boys - flat, spread out like discs, but tasty.  Really tasty.  And to make matters even worse, they fell apart when you picked them up to move them or eat them.  Needless to say the dough went into the fridge to firm up. 

On to the dip! This turned out fantastic - no mess ups here. 

nom nom nom

Yep - this was a winner.  Which made me feel a little better since cookie failure was taking place upstairs, waiting for round 2. 

Cookies 1 CB 0.  I let the dough chill for over 2 hours - back to the oven they went.  The Baking God struck again.  Flat disc cookies that were still really tasty but not what they should look like.  BP and his dad lovingly at some, kind of heaped them all together into a "cookie" and ate them.  I have to admit so did I.  Yes, tasty, but ugly as sin.  BP suggested to just mush them all together and make them into cookie balls.  Excellent idea - best boyfriend ever.  Definitely a keeper :)  But for the most part, we just ate them as a giant clump/cookie type thing. 

Still not really sure what happened, the recipe was followed exactly, ingredients were mostly all new.  I still can't figure out where it went wrong.  But I will conquer this recipe.  Oh yes - we will meet again cookies.  And this time I will prevail.  Needless to say, no recipe will be posted until I have it right! :)