Apple Brown Betty

I love a good, warm dessert when it's freezing out.  This was perfect after dinner for my dad's birthday, when it was a cold and windy night. Bread crumbs, brown sugar and apples are layered and baked together in a buttery coating...delicious!

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 whole apples, preferably Granny Smith
• 7 slices wheat bread
• 3/4 cups salted butter
• 1-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons (to 4 Tablespoons) Water

Directions

Peel and thinly slice 3 apples. Slice bread into a small dice, or tear into very small pieces.

Coat a small baking dish or pie plate with butter. Then add 1/3 of the brown sugar, 1/3 of the apple slices, and 1/3 of the breadcrumbs.

Repeat these layers twice more, ending with breadcrumbs.

Slice butter and lay slices all over the top of the breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle dish with water and a little more brown sugar, and bake in a 375-degree oven, covered in foil, until done – about 45 minutes. Remove foil in last few minutes of baking to brown the top.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Tonight's project was oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!  These are pretty quick to prepare, but fair warning - they're very addicting!

 

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.


Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Snowball Cookies

Some call these Mexican Wedding Cookies, but I like to call them Snowballs!  They're fun and easy to make, but better to eat :)  I leave out the nuts, but they can be added in at the end.

Ingredients: 

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup  powdered sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups  flour

1 cup finely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter, 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and pecans, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place, 1-1/2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 14 to 15 min. or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned. Cool 5 min. on baking sheets. Roll warm cookies in remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar until evenly coated; place on wire racks. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Cookie Swap

Today was one of my favorite days of the year - Cookie Swap Day!!  Combining two of my favorite things - baking and the holidays!  The rules are pretty simple - everyone bakes a ton of one kind of cookie or dessert and divides them among the participants (no store bought cookies allowed!).  I had 12 people involved, so everyone made 6 dozen (6 pieces for each person).  At the end, you end up with 12 different types of cookies!  Here are some pictures of the big day.

 Only some of the treats!

My lovely assistant helping me get ready by making chocolate covered pretzels.

A cheeseball snowman

Obviously, I can't have a party without some cupcakes!  These are German chocolate with a vanilla buttercream.

One of my favorite bakers - my brother Matt!

Some bakers

More goodies!

One of my bffs and college roommate, Krissy and I 

Some of my friends since elementary school (Amy, me, Casey and Kim)

Peppermint Bark

I love this festive and chocolatey creation!  It's super easy to make (only 3 ingredients!) and fun to have around the holidays.

Ingredients:
- 1 bag of white chocolate chips
- 1 bag of milk or dark chocolate chips
- 8 candy canes

Directions:

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  You can also use foil, but I found that tends to rip when breaking up the bark at the end.

Using a double boiler, melt the milk or dark chocolate, being careful not to burn it. 

Once the chocolate is melted, spread it on the cookie sheet, making an even layer.

Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, or until the chocolate has hardened.  While you're waiting, place the candy canes in a large ziploc bag and smash with a hammer or rolling pin until there is powder and small pieces.  Separate the larger pieces.  Next, melt the white chocolate using the double boiler method.  Once the white chocolate is melted, stir in the candy cane powder and smaller pieces.  Carefully spread the white chocolate mixture over the milk chocolate layer.  Sprinkle the larger pieces of candy cane over the top.  Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for another hour.

Once the bark has completely hardened, break it apart using your hands into irregularly shaped pieces.  Store in an airtight container and enjoy :)