Soft Gingrbread Cookies ~ By Caroline

This recipe was discovered by Victoria last week, and since they were SO GOOD I decided to make them again and post the recipe on here! They are definitely the best gingerbread cookies I've ever had! :-)  Christmas is just around the corner now, and these are perfect for an adorable, decorative dessert!

 

 

Cookie Ingredients: 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 molasses (not blackstrap)
1 egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour (even a little extra won't hurt)
1/2 tsp.salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness (I made mine thicker and they turned out great) Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly cracked on the top. (This produces a very soft cookie, but if you like the crispier texture, bake for 10 minutes) Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.

Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Wisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Icing should be very thick. Pour into a small Ziploc bag, snip off a corner, and pipe icing onto cookies.  Enjoy!



Farmers Breakfast Casserole ~ By Caroline

This easy recipe has been a favorite in our family for those busy mornings (or makes a delicious dinner too!), and it's perfect for guests! What's really nice is you can assemble it the night before, put it in the fridge, and then just throw it in the oven in the morning! It's so delicious with all the cheese, ham and spices, and the whole family LOVES it!

 

Ingredients:

Nonstick Cooking Spray
3 cups frozen shredded hash browns
3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, or shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup diced cooked ham or Canadian- style bacon
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk or 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Optional Ingredients
1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 4oz can green chilies (or more if you love spicy foods)
garlic salt to taste

Coat a 2-Quart square baking dish with cooking spray. (Note: for large families or for guests double everything and assemble in a 13x9 pan) Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with cheese, ham, green onions. (And if your looking for more flavor this is the time to add in those optional ingredients! It's quite amazing with those extra things, but you may want to stick to the original if you have picky eaters) :-)

In a bowl combine eggs, milk, salt, and black pepper. Pour over potato mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F. oven for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. (if you are making a 13x9, bake for 50-55 minutes) Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. (It comes out of the oven quite juicy, so that extra standing time allows for the juices to soak up and settle, to allow easier cutting/serving.)

Enjoy!!

Moist Cranberry Pumpkin Bread ~ By Caroline

This pumpkin bread recipe has been a favorite in our family ever since we first discovered it, for it's amazing moist consistency and delicious flavor!  Usually we make this with apples in it, but this time I decided to switch the apples with dried cranberries, and top it with some pecan streusel... the result was amazing! :-) 

 

 

12 ServingsPrep: 15 min. Bake: 1-1/2 hours + cooling

Ingredients

• 1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (we usually omit these)

Pecan Streusel Topping

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt 

Directions for Streusel

In a medium bowl wisk together the flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and salt. met butter, and pour into dry ingredients; mix until well combined and when the mixtures is very crumbly.

 

Directions for Bread

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and cloves. In another large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, water, eggs and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and walnuts. Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour, then add the streusel topping pressing it down slightly into the bread to keep it from falling off, and continue baking for another 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool.

 

Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices).

Pumpkin Roll ~ By Victoria

This is definitely a favorite fall dessert! I like to make two and freeze one for another occasion.  If you want to frost the whole cake as shown in the picture, double the cream cheese filling and use half for the top and half for the middle.

Cake:

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup pure pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

 

Cream Cheese Filling:

8oz  cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

 

FOR CAKE:

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts. 

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Filling:
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.