Cookie Recipes

So after much oooing and ahhing over my own baking efforts, and after a couple of requests, here are a few of the favorites from this year, most of which came from Taste of Homes (I'm addicted to their recipes!).

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (my personal fav, although I used german chocolate cake)

2 pkg (18-1/4 oz each) devil's food cake mix
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Red and/or green food coloring, optional

In a mixing bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs and oil (batter will be very stiff). Roll into 1 inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bate at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Cool. In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth. If desired, tint with food coloring. Spread on bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

Makes 4 dozen


Coconut-Pecan Bars (Chris's fav)

1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 c cold butter or margarine
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, optional
1 tsp shortening, optional

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa and baking powder. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press mixture on bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool slightly. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, condensed milk, coconut and pecans. Pour over crust. Bake 18-20 minutes or until set in center. Cool. In a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips with shortening if desired. Drizzle over top. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Makes 4 dozen bars


Chocolate Pretzel Rings (a huge hit with the kiddos, I used different kinds of Hershey's kisses)

48 to 50 pretzel rings (small pretzel twists work too if you can't find the rings, I couldn't)
1 pkg (8 oz) milk chocolate kisses
1/4 cup M&M's

Place the pretzels on greased baking sheets (I used parchment paper, it made getting them off the pan much, much easier); place a chocolate kiss in the center of each ring. Bake at 275 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 choclate is firm. Store at room temperature (I kept them in the fridge since I like chocolate a little firmer).


Peanut Butter Popcorn Crunch

12 cups popped popcorn
4 cups miniature pretzels
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups chocolate-covered peanuts

In a large bowl, combine popcorn and pretzels; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, honey and corn syrup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over popcorn mixture and toss to coat. Pour into two greased 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pans.

Bake, uncovered at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Break into clusters; place in a large bowl. Add chocolate-covered peanuts; mix well. Cool completely.

About 4 quarts

Christmas Goodies!

There are a few traditions I remember about Christmas growing up but the one that sticks with me the most is holiday baking with my mom and sister. Now, Mom isn't a huge fan of spending much time in front of a stove or spending all day pulling things in and out of the oven, but when the holidays came around we'd bake together. Cookies, bars, fudge, all kind of goodies. After everything was done and taste-tested for perfection (of course!), we'd make goodie baskets and take them to neighbors and friends. It seemed like a popular thing back in the day (because I'm THAT old) or maybe even an Alaskan thing since most AK friends know what I'm talking about while many out-of-staters stare at me, cluelessly trying to grasp the concept.

Apparently it was a great tradition because it has stuck with me. As Christmas creeps up on me, I find myself spending several nights baking and cooking away, slaving away in a hot kitchen (I have to make it sound somewhat uncomfortable, ya know so it doesn't sound like I enjoy it) to make delicious creations. I've obviously taken a family tradition and amped it up a little bit, Mom would never spend that many hours spread over several days...but, in all honesty I think my parents love the fact that I've embraced something from my childhood and ran with it (plus, they benefit from it, they have a box on its way to them as I type).

So, every year I pull out multiple recipes from my stash of ones I want to try, maybe some of my time tested ones, and get to work. This year I had a pretty big stack, but then I usually do. I worked in 2 phases, the first was for the mail, and the second was for town. Honestly, after I got done with the first phase, I said I was done and swore off any more holiday baking. But I just couldn't help myself! Plus, I got a very sneaky request from the people my brother works with when one lady grinned and asked if I still lived with him...nothing like hinting at the fact that she was looking forward to another installment of sugary goodness...and I just couldn't disappoint a fan. Now, the baking is done, most of the pots and pans and baking sheets are washed, dried, and put away, so I move onto the final, and probably most satisfying part of the process, the delivery. There's something so great about sharing things from the kitchen with family and friends. I personally like to see their faces light up when they open the door and there I am, or more likely see the goodies, but that's just our little secret. Obviously I don't do it for purely selfless reasons. Plus, I get recipes out of my "to try" stash, weed out the ones with ok results, and the keepers move into my recipe box. And, fortunately for my tastebuds and unfortunately for my waistline, I get to keep the left overs and "oops" cookies. Trust me, there are ALWAYS leftovers. Coincidence? I think not. But for the first time ever, I haven't put on any extra pounds this year...yet...so that's progress.

So, after much ado, here's this year's salute to the family tradition (of which most were keepers)!

Phase 1:

• Peanut Butter Popcorn Crunch
• Cinnamon Pecan Crunch
• Cinnamon Popcorn
• Cherry Chocolate Bark
• Chocolate Pretzel Rings (minus the rings)
• Butterscotch Hard Candy
• Chocolate Peanut Sweeties
• Toffee Fudge
• Butter Pecan Fudge
• Jerky Lover's Jerky
• Dog Bones (literally, for the dogs)

Phase 2:

• Rosettes
• Suger N Spice Cookies
• Coconut Pecan Bars
• Special Chocolate Treats
• Butterscotch Cashew Bars
• Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
• Cherry Snowballs
• Peanut Butter Popcorn
• My Grandma's Orange Slice Cake

Here's to a warm and wonderful Christmas where we gather in the kitchen and enjoy one another's company. After all, the heart of a home is often found in the kitchen!

Life is a trip...

...that might just trip you up so make sure you travel with a pillow to cushion the fall. So this is my first blog ever so humor me. I often find myself contemplating the happenings in my life, often for different reasons, but then again we all do that, don't we. My big ah-ha, the light bulb turning on, is that I am nowhere near where I thought I'd be by the time I hit 30. I'm not married (which I was pretty sure I would be at 24, I don't know why at 24, that's just what I thought), I don't have children, I don't have a dream career, I don't own my own house or my own vehicle. No, actually I find myself single, childless, working at a job that is as far away from dream as it could possibly be (it's actually one that after a semester at college I swore I'd never do), I gave up my apartment and moved 3000 miles to live in my parent's house because I'm broke (to put it bluntly), and I'm the proud owner of a monthly truck payment. Oh yeah, so not where I thought I'd be. There have been multiple, okay countless, boyfriends (my closest friends can account for that!) and almost as many moves, different jobs and 3 colleges. So where am I going with this you ask? Well, basically...

...life doesn't happen on our terms, life happens on life's terms...

...we have some say, we have free agency and make our own choices in any given situation, hoping we make the right choice based on the information we have, our past experience, and inspiration when it comes to us, but we don't really control life. We roll with the punches and sometimes it works in our favor and we get what we want, but sometimes it doesn't. And that's okay, although it may not seem like it at the moment, because sometimes life works out in that quirky little way it has a tendency to do. Sometimes it has a meaning, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes crap just happens and we learn to deal with it, we pull up our big girl pants and work our way through it, and miraculously find ourselves a little stronger and a little smarter on the other side. (Even though I quite often find myself screaming and yelling my way through the muck and ick, seriously).

So my life isn't what or where I thought it would be, but here are some bright spots in a dark world (I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and it happens to be very dark in December!!!)...

• I'm 30 and my own person, have lived on my own, and had the opportunity to experience things and see different places, make friends in different places, and learn things I never would have guessed I would.
• I've had the opportunity to come back to Alaska where I've made new friends and reconnected with old ones, and seen places and done things in my home state that I never did for the first 18 years I lived here...priceless.
• I've gone to college and while the career might not have followed, its still an accomplishment, even though I spent a whole lot of money and a lot of years when I could've done it right the first time. So what if I have to go back a third time.
• I'm 50 lbs lighter and a lot stronger and healthier than I've ever been, so I guess that goes to show that I can actually follow through on a goal. Who knew.
• I may not be the independent, corporate success so many strive for, but I've supported and taken care of myself for years, and while my living and work situation isn't ideal right now, things can only get better.
• I have a good man in my life, not the one I had my eye on or met where I thought I'd meet, but sometimes our prayers are answered in mysterious ways, and sometimes on a whole different timeline than the one we thought we had. But in hindsight, he's so much better for me than the one I thought I wanted.
• I've grown spiritually and while Fairbanks isn't ideal or a dream destination, I'm pretty sure it's where I was meant to be at the time I was meant to be here. The Lord works in wonderful, crazy ways, and no matter what life throws at me and no matter which decision I make, even if I screw up royally, he's always there to greet me with open arms when my stubborn hard-headedness wears off.

Life is not perfect. Life does not happen how or when we think or dictate it should. Life happens on its own time table and sometimes all we can do is buckle up, put on our helmets, and hold on until the ride is over. When we look back, we usually see everything from a whole different perspective. Sometimes we don't understand it. Maybe we never will. I'm thankful for the blessings I've been given, a family that is mine forever, good friends who are inspirational and keep me going (and sometimes a partner in crime, well, not real crime), a healthy body to experience and see the world with, a roof over head and all the comforts that go with it, living in America where I enjoy freedom and rights that so many have fought and fallen for, and the list goes on and on.

I'm sure life's path won't smooth out, there will continue to be bumps and potholes, I can only pray for the strength, inspiration, and companionship of friends and loved ones to get me through, and hope for a better tomorrow when today hasn't been the kindest, gentlest of days. In the end, life just wouldn't be very interesting if nothing ever happened, now would it.