Tag Archives: holiday

White Trash

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Veronica

I drafted this post on December 26th, 2009. It is the oldest draft in my collection, so I’m pretty excited to finally have a fairly decent photo of it so I can share the recipe with you!

On my wedding day eleven years ago, my new Grandmother (this one) gifted me with her church’s fundraiser cookbook*, which included many recipes from her and other members of my new family. I treasure it! I love spiral-bound recipe books like these because they are filled with tried-and-true recipes that real people use–simple, unpretentious, and delicious.

Love that it has a cornucopia on it--perfect for my blog! :)

Take this one, for example. I had to giggle when I read the name “White Trash.” I really like the name because it’s funny and does accurately describe the appearance, but it is also known in classier circles as “Christmas Crunch.” I don’t care what you call it, it’s salty and sweet and addictively-delicious!

So this is the last recipe I’ll be sharing before the holiday, and I think you’ll find it a perfect treat to whip up if you need a last-second snack or gift. Dennis and I are heading to Abilene as soon as we get out of church to spend Christmas** with his family, and will be back some time on Monday so I won’t be posting anything else until Tuesday at the earliest.

I wish you a merry Christmas! Be safe and have fun!

White Trash

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3 cups Rice Chex Cereal
3 cups Cheerios cereal
2 cups salted, roasted peanuts
2 cups pretzel sticks, broken in half
1 lb. white chocolate or vanilla almond bark*
1 (12 oz) bag M&M’s in seasonal colors

Mix all ingredients except chocolate or almond bark in a large bowl. Melt chocolate or almond bark as package directs; pour over mixture, mixing to coat well. Spread out onto waxed paper to dry. Break into chunks and store in airtight containers or Ziploc bags. Saves well for several weeks.

*1 lb. of almond bark is 8 rectangles.

Recipe source: tweaked from Donna A’s recipe.

*Although I’m very thankful for this cookbook, I don’t advocate any church fundraising beyond the weekly collection. You can click here for a good article that reflects my thoughts on church fundraisers.

**You can also click here to find out why I’m a Christian that doesn’t celebrate Christmas as the day of Christ’s birth, and why the mention of it is never on our holiday cards! Don’t be too alarmed, we will be honoring our savior in worship on Christmas, because it is the Lord’s day, just like every Sunday. :)

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Posted in Snacks & Appetizers, Sweets and tagged Christ, christmas, easy, edible gifts, food gifts, holiday, party, sweet & salty, treats, white trash. Bookmark the permalink.

Toffee Crack(ers)

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Veronica

Salty + sweet = addictive for me in most cases, and this saltine toffee is no exception. It’s very easy to make, and very delicious to eat. I’ve made it with and without the nuts and really, I like it both ways!

Toffee Crack(ers)

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40 saltine crackers
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ c chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 10×15 cookie sheet with foil and spray with oil. Cover cookie sheet with the whole saltines (don’t crust them). Melt the sugar and butter together in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour mixture over saltines and spread evenly. Bake 5 minutes, or until the toffee is bubbling evenly over the whole surface of the crackers. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips Let sit for one minute, then spread melted chips with spatula. (An offset spatula works very well here.) If using nuts, sprinkle them on now, and press down lightly. Cut on diagonal immediately or cool until firm, then break up; pieces can be frozen in an airtight container.

Yield: about 30 pieces

Recipe source: adapted from the back of a Kroger saltine box.

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Posted in Candy and tagged chocolate caramel crackers, christmas, Christmas crack, easy, edible gifts, holiday, saltine toffee, toffee crack, toffee crackers. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Chip Macaroons

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Veronica

Jacqueline is in the front, kneeling on the far right.

After I started The Postcard Project, I went to anysoldier.com and got the address for a female soldier in Afghanistan that I could correspond with. (If you don’t know any soldiers that are currently serving, I recommend this site–it’s the only place I’ve found where you can get an address for a soldier you don’t know.) Through our letters, I have come to understand how important mail is to soldiers. I was moved by how happy I could make this woman just by sending her a few pages of my craziness, blabbing about things most people could care less about. When she replied with her gratitude, answering all the questions I had asked and telling me about herself, I felt the connection we had made, all thanks to the Postal Service and the exchange of a few letters.

I asked her in my first letter if there was anything I could send her to make her happier while she was serving overseas. She replied, much to my glee, that her team (I love how she said “her team” and not “I”–it just shows how selfless soldiers are) loves snacks, especially homemade, and if I could send some that would be great, but if not, “the letters are great also, it shows that someone really cares and values what we are doing.”

I don’t think she had any idea how happy her request for homemade snacks would make me. Anysoldier.com tells us not to send homemade goodies if the soldiers do not know us (for safety reasons, most likely), so I had not hoped that I could take my baking love out on her. But she must have felt like she knew me after only one letter, and I couldn’t have been more delighted by her request. My favorite way to make people happy is by making them goodies, so I literally was jumping up and down and squealing to my husband “she wants homemade snacks!!!” like I had just gotten a Kitchenaid stand mixer for Chrstimas. I think it makes me happier to make and give the treats than it makes the people who receive them!

I did some research and found a good article on the best cookies to ship long distances, and macaroons were listed as a cookie that gets better with time, so I immediately decided I would be including some macaroons in the boxes. (Yes, there were more than one. I couldn’t help myself.)

So along with a batch of homemade butterfingers and 3 pounds of seasoned crackers, I included a tin of these chocolate chip macaroons. I had saved a very simple & easy (also multiple blue ribbon-winning) recipe using sweetened condensed milk, and I kicked them up a notch by adding in some mini chocolate chips…because chocolate makes everything better.

These were wonderful fresh from the oven, and as promised by the article mentioned above, did taste even better the next day! They are moist and chewy–nice and soft when warm from the oven, and more dense & rich the next day. Hopefully they were like bites of nirvana by the time they made it to Jacqueline and her team, and from the feedback I got, they must have been close!

Chocolate Chip Macaroons

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2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (14 oz) package sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla, then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips with a spoon or your hands until well blended. The mixture will be very sticky. Refrigerate for two hours, or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat mat to prevent sticking (like I said, this dough is sticky!). Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about golf ball size. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted. Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container or Ziploc bag(s).

Recipe source: adapted from Allrecipes

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Posted in Cookies and tagged Afghanistan, baking, better with time, chocolate chip macaroons, Cookies, exchange, holiday, Iraq, overseas, shipping. Bookmark the permalink.

Sneaky Snickers Cookies

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Veronica

The Cooking Photographer posted this recipe over two years ago and her picture, with the caramel and peanuts oozing out, planted itself and made deep roots in my cranium. Then she had to go and use that same picture in her website header, reminding me weekly how much I wanted to make them.

Well, as I may have mentioned before, cookies are my favorite food group (in my perfect world, yes, they would be a food group, and a prominent one), and as I may have also mentioned, I do not make treats that I REALLY like very often because I simply can not trust myself with them. I knew I would be in trouble if I made these without a specific purpose in mind and without a good reason to get rid of most of the batch.

That reason finally arrived with The Great Blogger Cookie Swap of 2011. (If you missed this year’s, sign up to be notified of of next year’s swap here!) I had just picked up a bunch of half price Halloween candy when I was brainstorming what kind of cookies I could make for the swap, and how I could use up some of the candy I bought and of course, the first thing I though of was Laura’s Sneaky Snickers Cookies.

Well, the batch made enough that there was still plenty for me to sample and go a little overboard on, but it was well worth it! Soft peanut butter cookies surrounding a chewy chocolate, peanut, caramel, and nougat center is just a lovely combination. I especially love them warm so that the middles are oozing gooey caramel when you bite into them, and might have kept a few for myself in the freezer to nuke in the microwave for cookie-craving emergencies. They are so yummy!

Sneaky Snickers Cookies

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 (11.5 ounce) bags Snickers Miniatures (Half a bag is for snacking during cookie making.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy, five minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until combined, another minute. Add the eggs and baking soda and beat until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. Add the flour and beat until just incorporated. Don’t over-mix. Press plastic wrap down over the surface of the dough and refrigerate at least two hours before baking.

Unwrap 52 mini Snickers bars. Then with a standard cookie scoop (size 50), scoop the dough into your hand. Press the dough together and flatten. Place a Snickers bar in the center of the dough and push the dough around to seal, rolling into a ball.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets and bake for about 12 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.

Recipe source: The Cooking Photographer, with slight changes in preparation method.

***

I wanted to share the cookies I received through this swap as well! Click the blog links to get their recipes, which are posting today.

Christian of M.E. sent me these Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing and they were a lifesaver. It was 4 PM when I received them, and I hadn’t eaten anything all day. I was running on empty and didn’t have time to stop and figure out something to eat. I ripped into the cookies and ate half a dozen right away, which got me through to the party I was preparing for. Thanks, Christian!

Check out the carrots, nuts & raisins these cookies were loaded with!

Lauren Brennan of Lauren’s Latest sent me these soft and buttery Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Stars (aren’t they beautiful?):

Julie M. of Burnt Carrots sent me my favorite batch of cookies, at least for the blogger swap. Her Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies took me by surprise because I would have thought they had butterscotch chips in them, and maybe they do, but they also have toffee chips and I looooove toffee. The combination of chocolate chips and toffee is a winner!

I also received cookies through my own cookie swap for non-bloggers, and will share those with tomorrow’s cookie recipe that I sent out for that swap!

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Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, desserts, gifts, holiday, peanut butter, sneaky snickers cookies, snickers, soft, stuffed cookies, sweets. Bookmark the permalink.

Pimiento Cheese Log

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Veronica

Remember when I said I would only be sharing sweets for the rest of December? Well, I almost forgot about this recipe! I’ve been saving it for you since I created it in March, because it is just the type of thing I’d usually bring to holiday parties. If you love pimiento cheese, you’re going to love this. Or if you love cheese balls, you’ll love this too. Or if you just like cheese in general…you get the idea. This is one good cheese log!

Pimiento Cheese Log

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8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz . (2 cups) finely shredded sharp cheddar
½ cup Miracle Whip*
½ cup finely chopped green onions/scallions (both white & green parts)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons pimientos, smashed with a fork
1 cup chopped pecans

Place everything but pecans in a mixing bowl and beat until well blended and the cheese & pimientos have been broken down a bit. The mixture will be very soft. Scoop out onto a long sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, tying the ends with twist ties. Refrigerate overnight. Put nuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and roll log in them. Press nuts into any spots that didn’t get any nuts and carefully lift log onto serving plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve chilled with a variety of crackers.

*I used homemade Miracle Whip (recipe here). You can use mayonnaise (I also have a recipe for that here!) in place of Miracle Whip but you might need to add a tiny bit of sugar to the recipe if you do.

***

The winner of Danielle’s Kumquat Bath & Body Set was Rick McMullen! Rick, I hope you like Kumquat or know a lady who does. :) Check your email so I can get the set to you.

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Posted in Snacks & Appetizers and tagged easy, holiday, party, pimiento cheese log. Bookmark the permalink.

Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Veronica

Puppy Chow. Muddy Buddies. Monkey Munch. Reindeer Chow. This recipe goes by a lot of names, but what it boils down to is an addictive, peanut butter & chocolate, crispy & crunchy, sweet & salty treat that abounds at parties and in gift baskets during the holiday season. (And despite the name, it is most certainly not intended for dogs. Please do not give this to any dogs-chocolate can kill them!) I know most of you probably have been making this for years, but I’m sharing this for the .00001% that have never heard of it. The added bonus is that if you are in need of some gluten-free treats, this one fits the bill if you make it with Rice Chex.

You must make this! I promise you will love it. Unless you don’t like chocolate and peanut butter, in which case I advise you seek counseling immediately. Or maybe you’d like to trade that dislike in for my dislike of exercise? Because I could use a lot more exercise and a lot less Puppy Chow. Anyone?

Puppy Chow

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1 (12 oz.) box Rice Chex or Crispix Cereal
1 (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 (1 lb.) box confectioner’s sugar

Pour cereal into a large bowl that has a lid you can snap on and set aside. Gently melt the chocolate, peanut butter, and butter in a double boiler or in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring well in between and removing when almost melted to stir until the residual heat melts the chocolate completely. Pour over the cereal and stir well until the pieces are evenly coated. Add the confectioner’s sugar, cover bowl with lid, and shake well to coat thoroughly. Alternately, if your bowl doesn’t have a lid, you can pour the cereal into a large paper grocery sack, pour the sugar in, fold the top, and shake until combined. Two Ziploc gallon-size bags will do the trick as well. Spread out onto wax paper to cool, then store in an airtight container or Ziploc bags.

Recipe source: Kim D.

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Posted in My Favorites, Snacks & Appetizers, Sweets and tagged cereal, chex, christmas, corn, crispix, easy, gift basket, goody bags, holiday, monkey munch, muddy buddies, party, puppy chow, reindeer chow, rice, treats, wheat. Bookmark the permalink.

Double Chocolate-Rum Amish Friendship Bread

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Veronica

It’s been a while since I posted any Amish Friendship Bread recipes, and that’s because this is the last one I made and I wanted to save it for December, since the flavor combination reminded me of Christmas.

Are you one that identifies certain foods with certain seasons and holidays, like I do? For me, pumpkin and pies are fall and Thanksgiving. December and Christmas is cookies, chocolate, and anything spiked with alcohol. Like this bread!

This was actually my favorite variation that I came up with, though I haven’t made very many yet. The bread is so incredibly moist, is nice and chocolatey with a punch of rum and just a hint of cinnamon from the sugar coating. Very festive, and so yummy! This would make great gifts, and I plan to break out one or two of the starters I froze in order to give some away this year. (If you don’t have any starters in your own freezer, you can click here to learn how to make your own.)

Double Chocolate-Rum Amish Friendship Bread

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¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup Amish Friendship Bread starter (or whatever is left after you’ve divvied it up)
3 eggs
1 cup oil
½ cup dark rum
¼ cup Dutch process cocoa
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Generously butter two loaf pans, then dust with the cinnamon sugar. Tap out excess and save for topping.

Whisk the eggs into the starter, then whisk in the oil and rum. Add everything but the chocolate chips and whisk until blended. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Divide batter between pans, then sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over the tops. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top and bake for an hour. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely on wire rack.

Recipe source: adapted from Friendship Bread Kitchen

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Posted in Bread, Sweets and tagged amish friendship bread, baking, christmas, double chocolate rum, edible gifts, food gifts, holiday, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Dixie Pie

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Veronica

This is one of the pies my friend, Teri, and I made during our pie-palooza, which is why the pie pictured is so small. We made each recipe into two small pies so each of us could have one to keep.

This pie was the most popular of the four we served before a Bible study at her house that night. It was gone in a flash! It’s similar to a pecan pie, but it has chocolate chips (or raisins, if you prefer) and coconut in it too, so it’s even richer.

Which brings me to the reason I’m sharing it with you now instead of back in July, when we made it. Something this rich is what I deem a winter holiday dessert, and it certainly fits the bill! It would be a great addition to your Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads.

*Note: I cut this pie when it was still warm, hence the gooey runniness. It will set up nicely if you give it time!

Dixie Pie

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1 9-inch pie crust
3/4 cup chocolate chips or raisins
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup flaked coconut
Whipped cream, for serving

Bake pie crust at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes; remove to cool on a wire rack and reduce oven temperature to 350.

If using raisins, place in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth. Drain raisins. Stir Raisins, coconut, and nuts into creamed mixture ( mixture will appear curdled). Pour mixture into crust, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until set. Cool completely, ideally 6-8 hours to allow it to completely set up, before serving. Serve with whipped cream.

Recipe Source: adapted from Desserts In My Kitchen

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Posted in Pie and tagged celebration, chocolate chips, coconut, dessert, dixie pie, holiday, pecans, raisins, walnuts, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Veronica

I found this recipe on Picky Palate and saved it for Thanksgiving, but wanted to give it a trial run beforehand. I do crazy things like enter pumpkin bread into state fair competitions without ever having made the recipe before or since, but I try not to pull surprises on my family. I can deal with not winning a ribbon, but I have a reputation to uphold when it comes to loved ones! ;)

I ended up making this for the CFC bake sale at work and my co-workers raved! After sampling a piece myself, I had decided it wasn’t that exciting and I wasn’t going to bring it to Thanksgiving dinner at my in-law’s, but after all the raving, I gave it a second chance and tried another piece. Maybe it was the power of suggestion, or maybe my palate just wasn’t ready to handle cake for breakfast when I tried the first piece, but I enjoyed the second piece so well that I’m now reconsidering this for turkey day.

The cake is very, extremely, uber moist, and the swirls of cinnamon filling are very complimentary to the pure pumpkin flavor. The color is a very nice orange, which I liked, and the simple glaze is a perfect compliment, really finishing off the “cinnamon roll” feel of the cake. The size of the cake makes it great for a big family gathering because it can easily be cut into 24 slices or more, whereas a normal layer cake would only be 16 pieces at best. It’s nice to have a “small dessert” option after filling up on turkey and stuffing! Or, let’s be honest, so you can enjoy more than one dessert. :)

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Sheet Cake

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Cake
1 (18.25 oz) box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk (I used water)
1 (3.4 oz) box vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

Cinnamon filling
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine all cake ingredients in a large bowl and beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Mix the filling ingredients together, then drizzle mixture evenly over cake. Take a knife and run it through to swirl the filling into the batter.

Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Mix glaze ingredients until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Store covered until ready to serve, refrigerating if not serving within the next day.

Recipe source: Picky Palate

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Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged baking, cake, celebration, cinnamon roll, fall, family, gathering, holiday, pumpkin, recipe, sheet cake, thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink.

Hashbrown Casserole

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Veronica

There is a restaurant here called Cracker Barrel that I’d never gone to until my little sister, who had gone with a friend, told me about their uber-fabulous hashbrown casserole and convinced me if I died without trying it, it would have been a life not worth living. Seems her older sister’s penchant for drama & exaggeration might have rubbed off on her a bit! Anyway, I don’t know I’d go so far as to say that you absolutely positively must eat this before you die, but I did think it was very delicious when I finally tried it.

I think it has been ten years since I last had their hashbrown casserole, but when I saw a copycat recipe for it on Big Bear’s Wife, I knew I just HAD to have it again, and added it to my birthday brinner menu. It was the hit of the evening, and my personal favorite of everything I made! I seriously could have eaten it alone for my meal.

I don’t know how close it is to the original since it’s been so long since I had it, but without comparing the two I can tell you this is delicious in its own right. Creamy, cheesy, starchy goodness. It’s a perfect addition to an old-fashioned country or holiday breakfast. The bonus is that it’s so simple & quick to throw together!

Hashbrown Casserole

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1 (1 lb. 14 oz) bag frozen hash browns, thawed
1 (8 oz) tub sour cream
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup diced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (8 oz) package cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with oil and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients, using only half the cheese, until well-combined. Spread into the prepared dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Veronica’s notes: Angie’s recipe called for 1/2 tablespoon onion powder, but I was making the recipe at my parents’ house and they were out so I made do with fresh onion. We all loved the flavor, but the powder would certainly make the recipe a bit easier to prepare (no chopping). Her recipe only called for a pound of hashbrowns and 4 oz of sour cream, so if using the powder, you may need to increase it since my recipe is larger. Also, please shred your own cheese. There is a world of difference between the gooey melt you get from cheese you shredded yourself and the packaged pre-shredded kind that has been coated with powder to keep it from sticking together. You will thank me. :)

Recipe source: adapted from Big Bear’s Wife