Maple Cream Gingersnaps {12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies}

I am not normally a big fan of maple but the unique flavor and undeniable cuteness of these cookies was just too much to resist. The cookies were chewy and spicy while the frosting was sweet and creamy. The color and cut-outs of these cookies were so adorable and added lots of charm to my cookie trays! They were by far the favorite cookie among our friends and Joel’s co-workers.

Ruthanne from Easy Baked recommends using a Linzer Cookie Cutter but since I didn’t have one, I used my biggest biscuit cutter and mini Chrismtas cutters for the middles. And make sure to roll the cookies out thin. Some of mine were a little thick and when they cooked the cut-outs didn’t keep their shape as well.

Maple Cream Gingersnaps
recipe from Easy Baked

Cookies:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup dark molasses
2 Tbsp. vinegar
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

Maple cream:
2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. maple flavoring
Gel food coloring

1. Cream together butter and sugar.

2. Beat in egg, molasses and vinegar.

3. Blend in sifted dry ingredients.

4. Chill 2-3 hours (this is important– the dough is very easy to roll after chilling)

5. Roll 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick on a floured counter or board (thinner is better!)

6. Cut dough into small, equally-sized cookies (if you want to make cookies with cute cut-outs on one side, you can use a Linzer cutter from Wilton or be creative like I did using a biscuit cutter for the rounds and mini Christmas cookie cutters for the middle – only cut middles out of half).

7. Place on greased cookie sheets.

8. Bake at 375 degrees for about 7-10 minutes.  Check often- take out when cookies have risen and are easily removed from sheet.

9. To make maple cream, combine powdered sugar, melted butter and a little water until a thick frosting consistency is reached.

10. Add maple flavoring (you can add vanilla if you don’t like maple)

11. Divide cream into 2 bowls and color as desired with food coloring.

12. Frost one cookie’s back and top with another cookie.  The filling will harden up and make these very easy to store and serve.

Recipe linked to Full Plate Thursday, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday,  2 Maids a Baking, Fusion Fridays, Foodie Friday, Seasonal Inspiration, Friday Potluck, Sweets for a Saturday and Strut Your Stuff Saturday.

Pretzel M&M Rings

I’ve said this time and time again…who doesn’t love a sweet and salty snack? This is the perfect little snack to have around for the holidays. They are so simple to put together and only require 3 ingredients. The thing that takes the longest is unwrapping all the chocolate kisses.

After Noah had gone to bed, Joel and I leaned over the island scattering pretzels, unwrapping kisses and placing them in the middle of the pretzels while listening to Christmas music. This may sound silly but it was oddly relaxing and peaceful and made my heart fill with joyful contentment.

Aren’t they so cute? They would be the perfect host/hostess gift in a mug wrapped up with pretty cellophane.

Pretzel M&M Rings
recipe from allrecipes.com

1/2 bag pretzel rings (approximately)
1 big bag of chocolate kisses, unwrapped
1 bag plain Christmas M&M’s (I think peanut butter M&M’s would be really yummy too)

Place about half of the pretzels on parchment lined cookie sheets; place a chocolate kiss in the center of each ring. Bake at 275 degrees F for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Remove from the oven. Place an M&M on each, pressing down slightly so chocolate fills the ring. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is firm (I had to refrigerate mine for longer). Store at room temperature.

Recipe linked to Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, 2 Maids a Baking, Full Plate Thursday and Fusion Fridays.

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

Ok, so I’m not a fruit for dessert kind of person. I just don’t enjoy cooked fruit, it get mushy and weird….not my thing. But Joel loves apple pie. For the past few Thanksgivings I have made this pie for him with lots of success and raves. Although I am not a fan, the crumbly streusel topping does make it much more appeal. m a total sucker for streusel. My mom took the leftovers to work and two people told her it was the best apple pie they had ever had. Score!

As I’ve said before, I struggle with crusts and dough of all kind. Pie crust is a huge frustration for me. I can never get the edge perfectly beautiful which angers me. While perusing Pinterest one day I came across some amazing decorative pie crust edges that I knew would fix my frustration. I fell in love with the braided crust and knew it was something I hopefully couldn’t mess up. And I didn’t! It turned out so cute. There was a little hiccup because I didn’t roll out the dough long enough to make one braid to fit across the whole pie. I ended up with 3 braids that didn’t match up perfectly when placed on the edge so my mom cut out several little leaves to put in those spots to cover up the imperfections.

It almost looked to good to eat….but only for a minute. In all the Thanksgiving hustle and bustle I forgot to take a picture of a slice of it but you get the gist of the crunchy, apple goodness.

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie
recipe from food.com

For Pie:
Premade pie crust (two if you are doing a braided edge)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples

Crumb Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Caramel topping
Pecans

1. Prepare pastry for single-crust pie, being careful not to stretch dough too much.

2. Place single crust in pie plate and trim and crimp the edge or click here for directions for braiding the crust.

3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices and gently toss until they are coated well.Transfer mixture to pie.

4. FOR CRUMB TOPPING: Stir together brown sugar, flour, and oats. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until topping resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apple mixture in pie.

5. To prevent over-browning while baking, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

6. Remove foil and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, or until top is golden.

7. Drizzle top with caramel topping; sprinkle with pecans. Cool on wire rack and serve.

Recipe linked to Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Sweets for a Saturday, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday and 2 Maids a Baking.

Italian Christmas Cookies {12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies}

I am feeling under the weather today so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. The ricotta adds an amazing moistness and unique texture. Plus there is frosting…could they get any better?

Italian Christmas Cookies
recipe from Best Loved Cookies and Bars by Taste of Home

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 carton (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 to 4 Tbsp. milk

Colored sprinkles

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in ricotta and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

3. For frosting: in a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies and immediately decorate with sprinkles. Store in refrigerator.

Recipe linked to Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday, Tasty Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Fusion Friday, Friday Food, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Sweets for a Saturday, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, A Themed Baker’s Sunday and My Thirty Spot.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge {Crazy Cooking Challenge}

It’s that time again….Crazy Cooking Challenge time that is! This month’s ultimate recipe quest is fudge and I have to tell you I wasn’t as excited as I normally am. I’m not a huge chocolate fan and have never really like fudge. It’s just so sweet and overpowering to me. But not liking something never stopped me from making it! Joel is a fudge fan so I knew he would be excited. And it’s a great little gift to give away to friends or neighbors this time of year!

I searched the blog world for the perfect recipe and came across a few too many to decide so it was up to Joel since he was the one eating it. Before even asking him, I knew what he would choose. I don’t even know why I bothered asking because the second I said “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” I heard a loud, enthusiastic, resounding YES! He didn’t need to hear the rest. I should have saved that for last.

I found this unexpected fudge recipe at one of my favorite baking blogs, Bake at 350. Bridget creates the most beautifully decorated cookies (majorly jealous of her skills) and totally decadent desserts. It didn’t have the typical texture or flavor of traditional fudge but it was still rich and sugary. And it really did taste like cookie dough.

Please be sure to vote for your favorite below by clicking “Click Here” and liking your favorite recipe. The winner will be featured as the Ultimate Fudge Recipe over at Mom’s Crazy Cooking!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge
recipe from Bake at 350

1 3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Oil an 8×8″ pan. Bring the sugar, dark brown sugar, cream, milk, syrup and salt to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally with a heatproof spatula. Boil to 242 degrees, stirring frequently.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and flour. Pour the syrup into a 9×13″ pan and let sit undisturbed at room temperature about 20 minutes, or until it reaches 110 degrees.

3. Scrape the syrup into the bowl of a stand  mixer. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment until the fudges thickens and holds its shape, 3 to 5 minutes.  Scrape into the prepared 8×8″ pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, lightly pressing them into the fudge.

4. Let the fudge cool and set, at least 2 hours.  Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if the chocolate chips are still soft. Store in an airtight container, or like we did, in the fridge.  I thought the fudge was even better after a day or two.

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Recipe linked to These Chicks Cooked, What I Whipped Up Wednesday, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Treats Thursday, Fusion Friday, Friday Food, Strut Your Stuff Saturday and Sweets for a Saturday.

Creamsicle Cookies

I have always been a huge fan of ice cream and one of my favorite treats as a kid was creamsicles. The citrus-y orange outside combined with the creamy vanilla ice cream was a total win for me (and still is…but in only once in a blue moon these days). Well, one day when I was dreaming about creamsicles I wondered “why can’t they be a cookie too?” I have made orange dark chocolate chip cookies before so why hadn’t I thought of the vanilla version? It was a stroke of genius I tell you! The combination is just as great in cookie form and much more enjoyable in freezing temperatures.

Creamsicle Cookies
recipe adapted from Nestle Tollhouse

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 heaping tsp. salt
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. pure orange extract
2 eggs
1/2 – 3/4 cup white chocolate chips (dark chocolate is also great)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and orange extract until light and fluffy.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Gradually mix in dry ingredients.

6. Stir in white chocolate chips.

7. Bake for 9 minutes, or until golden brown. Keep remaining dough refrigerated while cookies are baking.

8. Cool on baking sheet for a minute or so then remove to wire rack to cool completely.  Yields about 28 cookies.

Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings

I am a Southern girl at heart (or I would like to be at least). I lived in Georgia for 5 years as a child and sometimes wish that I had spent more time there so I could claim I was from the south. I just love the image of sitting on the porch, sipping sweet tea on a hot summer day. I always wanted to be a Southern Belle with that sweet Southern drawl and a string of pearls around my neck. But alas, it is not so.

But while living in the south I did pick up a love for their food. Fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, macaroni and cheese, barbeque and chicken and dumplings are just a few of my favorites. These chicken and dumplings are so satisfying and filling. The flour in the dumplings thicken up the broth to create a great, creamy sauce. While this dish does take some time and effort, it truly is a perfect and comforting winter meal.

Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings
recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 1

Chicken and Broth
3 quarts water
1 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut up
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 small onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4 to 6 whole parsley leaves
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plu 2 Tbsp. milk

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley to the pot. Reduce heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one thrid.
2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the swtock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.
3. Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe–it can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.
4. For dumplings, combine flour, baking powder, salt and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2-inch thickness.
5. Cut the dough into 1/2-inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes until thick. Stir often.
6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5 to 10 minutes, but don’t stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end.
7. When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions into bowls and serve hot.

Recipe linked to Full Plate Thursday, Fusion Fridays, Mangia Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, These Chicks Cooked and What I Whipped Up Wednesday.