Holiday delights.

[I am currently missing my camera that I took my Thanksgiving pictures with so photos will be updated when camera is found for each pie]

I love holiday pies, regular pies, all American pies.  I love pie. This year I tried 3 new flavors, each was quite delicious.  I am also including a pie I made last year but never posted, and a delightful tart. The titles link to the original recipe.

Pioneer Woman's Caramel Apple Pie

I won my church pie baking contest with this recipe.

Pie crust of choice

Filling:

6 cups thinly sliced granny smith apples

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Topping:

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces or chopped sugared pecan

1/2 jar caramel ice cream topping or 1/2 bag of caramels, unwrapped and melted

1. Toss together apples, lemon juice, white sugar, flour, and salt.

2. Roll pie crust into pie pan.  (If using a deep pie pan, increase apples 1/2-1 cup).

3. In a separate bowl cut the butter into flour until crumbly, stir in brown sugar, oats, salt.

4.  Add apples to pie crust then top with crumb topping.

5.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.  I cover pie loosely with aluminum foil for first 30 minutes. 

6.  If toasting regular pecans, sprinkle on top of pie and bake 5 more minutes.  If using chopped sugared pecans sprinkle after removing from oven.

7.   Pour caramel over the top of pie and allow to cool.

 Rolo Pecan Pie

1 9in pie crust of choice

1 (8 oz) bag of Rolo minis or 40 unwrapped Rolos

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup pecan halves

1.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter, rolos, and milk together until smooth.

2.  In a large bowl mix together brown sugar, 3 eggs, vanilla, and salt until frothy.

3.  Pour in melted rolo mixture and stir until combined. Add in pecans and stir together.

4.  Prepare pie crust in pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5.  Pour chocolate pecan mixture into pie crust and bake for 45 minutes until top is golden but still able to wiggle when moved.  Allow to cool completely.

Beach Pie

recipe given to me by Cyrus

Crust:

1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers (Only 1-1 1/4 sleeve for non-deep dish pie)

1 stick softened butter

3 Tbsp white sugar

Filling:

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup lime juice

Whipped cream

coarse sea salt

1. Crush saltine crackers in food processor or smash in ziplock with rolling pin.

2.  stir in sugar to saltine mixture and cut butter into mixture until a crumbly consistency.

3.  Press into pie pan. You don't need to reserve any of the mixture.

4.  Chill pie crust for 15 minutes in refrigerator.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake chilled crust for 15-20 minutes until crust is browned.

5.  Beat the egg yolks with the sweetened condensed milk.  Beat in juice until completely combined.

6. Pour mixture into pie crust.  Return to oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until pie has set.

7.  Cool to room temperature then place in refrigerator.

8.  Add whipping cream and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt just prior to serving.

Cranberry Cream Pie

recipe given to me by Cyrus

3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

2 cups whole fresh cranberries
       

1 9inch graham cracker crust

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whipping cream, whipped or cool whip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1.  In a saucepan combine white sugar, cornstarch, water until smooth then add in cranberries.

2.  Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Cranberries may begin to pop. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

3.  In a mixing bowl blend together cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar until creamy.  Fold in whipping cream already whipped or cool whip. 

4.  Spread cream cheese mixture into graham cracker crust.  Spoon cranberry mixture over top.

5.  Chill for 4 hours then serve. 

Options:  Grate small amount of orange peel into cream cheese mixture and add in 1 Tbsp orange juice to cranberries with 3 Tbsp water rather than 1/4 cup.

Make sugared cranberries and decorate the top with whipped cream and cranberries.

Another recipe I made this holiday season was Cranberry Apple Upside-Down cake.  The original recipe post has beautiful step by step pictures so I am going to just send you to Sally's Baking Addiction.

Homemade Peppermint Oreos

I love homemade oreos.  I love peppermint and chocolate.  When I saw the concept for these I just had to try it.

Original recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Bark Whoppie Pies at Mary Cooked A Little Lamb.



I made this recipe and had some issues with the cookies.  Not sure if the issues came from doubling the recipe or from the high altitude that I live in, I suspect it had a bit to do with both, but while I LOVED the filling, I won't be using the recipe for the cookie again, especially while I have a recipe I already love that works well.  I also didn't love the peppermint bark the pie/oreo was dipped in, while it looks fantastic, I felt it made the cookie too hard to eat.  Next time I am going to either add crushed peppermint candy canes to the filling, or overfill the center and roll the edges in the crushed candy cane.  So I have written some adaptations and think these will be superb.

Homemade Oreo:  (From my Aggie Oreos)

1 Devil’s Food Cake mixes
2 eggs
1/4 cup shortening

Mix all together until wet and sticky. Form into little balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing from sheet.

Peppermint filling: (From Mary's original recipe)

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, room temp

3 1/2 oz. marshmallow cream/fluff

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (I actually felt like it could use more peppermint, so I dashed a bit more)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

Beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy.  Add marshmallow (this is 1/2 of a regular jar), peppermint, and salt.  Mix until smooth.  After cookies are cool, fill with peppermint marshmallow filling.

Celebrate 2012: The Epiphany

The Epiphany, Twelfth Night, or Three Kings Day.  I remember learning about this day in my French class but could only remember that you ate a cake with a trinket or bean in it and whomever got piece was king for the day. 

via.

Here is what it really comes down too:
-This is the actual 12th day of Christmas and when Orthodox Christians celebrate the 3 Wise men finding Christ and presenting him with gifts.
-Baboushka or La Befana is a little old woman who tried to catch up with the wise men to visit Christ but didn't make it so she still wanders about looking and giving gifts.
- The Cake in France is called Gallette Des Rois and is made of puffed pastry and almond paste.

via.

So what to do to celebrate?

1. Make a cake of any kind or try your and at the Gallette Des Rois (above is a linked recipe).
2.  Leave some Christmas decorations up until this day and reflect on what it all really means as you take them down.
3.  Watch a Video of the 3 kings.
4.  Give Christ 3 gifts, 3 resolutions about how you will be a better person, get rid of a bad habit, become more like Him, etc...  3 personal Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh.
5.  Read the story of the Other Wiseman by Henry Van Dyke, full text can be found here.

Why not make the holiday season last a bit longer.  Celebrate Epiphany!

via.

Naughty and Nice Christmas treats...

These are some simple and terribly tasty Christmas treats.  I love all things Mint and Chocolate and loved both of these.  I ate them too fast to even take a picture!

Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge

1 can sweetened condensed Milk
1 package (12 oz) milk chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups marshmallows ( I used the new Jet Puff Peppermint Marshmallows)


In a microwave safe large bowl combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.  Microwave on high for 1 minute.  Stir and microwave for an additional minute, stir until mixture is smooth and add vanilla.  Mix in marshmallows and pour into lightly greased 8x8 pan.  Allow to set, overnight if possible.





Tollhouse Chocolate Mint chip cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
10oz bag of Tollhouse dark chocolate/mint chocolate chips

Beat butter with sugars, add vanilla, and then eggs-one at a time.  Add baking soda and salt, mix in cocoa, and then flour.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon onto lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 11 minutes.  Allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rake.  Makes 3 dozen large cookies.

Fresh Orange and Cranberry Muffins

I had a bag of fresh cranberries and am still on an orange eating kick and decided to make some muffins. 

I was nervous they would be too tart but they were surprisingly perfect.

Orange and Cranberry Muffins

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 egg

3/4-1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup veg. oil

1 tsp grated Orange rind

1.  Mix together dry ingredients.

2.  Juice 1 and 1/2 large oranges (this will come to between 3/4 and 1 cup of juice which was perfect.  3/4 cup --one orange--left the dough too thick so I ended up juicing 1/2 more orange). Set aside.

3.  Chop fresh cranberries into chunks to equal 1 cup.

4.  Stir cranberries into flour mixture.

5.  In a small bowl whisk together egg, orange juice, oil, and grated orange rind (which I grated from the oranges I juiced).

6.  Pour into flour mixture and stir until all dough is moistened.

7.  Spoon into greased muffin tin (works better than using cup liners) about 3/4 full.  Makes approx. 15 muffins.  Sprinkle with some sugar on top and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

25 Christmas challenges

Rockstar Diaries posted this wonderful list and I decided to take the challenge.  Hope you do to:

25 christmas challenges...


go out of your way-- befriend someone today that needs a friend and follow through to christmas

tell someone you love them

make a tree decoration that will remind you of Christ

in your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing without asking for anything

try to be as kind as possible to others today

try not to quarrel with family members today

do a good deed anonymously

make goals for yourself-- seal a copy in an envelope to be opened in a year

visit someone sick or lonely or sad

do volunteer work for some worthy cause

do something fun for a child or younger sibling

try to forgive someone who has wronged you, be reconciled

make a "give list" instead of a list of gifts you'd like

improve yourself in some way to please the Savior

quietly reflect and choose uplifting activities vs shopping

phone or send a card to an old friend or family member

listen to Handel's Messiah

make a christmas treat for someone else

be a calming influence today and control your temper

accept the gift of forgiveness-- pray for some weakness and ask for help in repenting of it

look at christmas lights... where does all light come from?

sing carols

do something nice for someone without their knowing it was you

be the first to say hello to people all day

ask someone to tell you about a past christmas

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Cranberries and Turkey IMO are a divine combination. We didn't have any canned cranberry sauce like we thought so we hurried up and made some. I don't think I will ever buy canned again.

Super easy Cranberry Sauce...

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups whole cranberries

Boil sugar and water to dissolve sugar for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add Cranberries, bring back up to a boil and then simmer, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes or until you see most of the cranberries pop.

Remove from heat and transfer into a dish. Serve warm or cold (surprisingly it was good warm).

This will thicken as you remove it from the heat.

Christmas treats

2 super easy Christmas treats I have made this week for neighbor gifts.

Ting-a-lings (aka Haystacks)

1 cup butterscotch chips
1-2 cups chowmein noodles
1/2-1 cup peanuts

Melt butterscotch chips in microwave or double-boiler. And pour over chowmein and peanut mix. Spoon onto wax paper for individual "cookies".


Chocolate & Peanut-butter Truffles

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Melt chocolate chips in microwave or double-boiler. Stir in peanut butter, then stir in evaporated milk until smooth. Refridgerate for at least 1 hour (overnight worked best for me). spoon and form into little balls. Roll each ball in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, sprinkles, or coconut.

Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance--a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.

--Augusta E. Rundel

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas.--Calvin Coolidge

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.--Charles Schulz

"At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. ... We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices."--Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol)

I have been blessed with much abundance today. I hope I can bless someone else with abundance this week in return.

Welcome Christmas

Christmas is here. to get us started take a look at Em.il.ie and see her list of 25 things to do to celebrate. One fun little thing for each day to make the holiday season a little bit more special.