Chocolate Peppermint Cookies ~ By Caroline

The cookie part and ingredients for these cookies are pretty much the same as our white chip chocolate cookies (http://foursistersff.blogspot.com/2015/12/chocolate-white-choc-chip-cookies-by.html) only with mint extract, mint icing and candy for topping.  They're very delicious and a super cute, festive dessert for Christmas time! :-) 

  

Ingredients For Cookies:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mint extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups cocoa powder

1tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups white chocolate chips

Icing and Candy Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp mint extract
Crushed peppermint candies for dusting

 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy.  Add eggs and flavors; beat until light and fluffy.  Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in white chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake 8-9 minutes.  (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft and puffy and will flatten slightly during cooling) Cool on a wire rack.
4. Mix together icing ingredients in a medium bowl, and adjust milk/sugar if needed to reach the right consistency. (It should be pretty thick so that it doesn't run off the cookies at all)
5. Sprinkle crushed mint candies on freshly iced cookies

Yields: About 4 dozen cookies



White Chip Chocolate Cookies ~ by Caroline

These are amazing! Very rich and chocolaty, chewy in the middle with some crunch on the edges.  They're a favorite around here! :-)

 

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups cocoa powder

1tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.  Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in white chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake 8-9 minutes.  (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft and puffy and will flatten slightly during cooling) Cool on a wire rack. 

Yields: About 4 dozen cookies

 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls ~ By Caroline

Super soft Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls filled with a gooey cinnamon swirl and topped with maple cream cheese icing. Need I say more?! :-)

 

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Dough

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup 100% pure pumpkin
• 2 Tablespoons packed dark brown sugar (or light brown)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (1 standard package) instant active dry yeast
• 2 and 1/2 cups bread flour OR all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1/2 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon EACH ground nutmeg and ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

• 3 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted 

Directions:

1. Make the dough: warm the milk and butter together over the stove or in the microwave. Warm the two together until the butter is *just* melted.  A few butter specks is OK.  You want the mixture lukewarm (105-115F degrees), not scorching hot.  Set aside. Using your electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat pumpkin puree, brown sugar, a dash of nutmeg, and salt together on medium speed. Add your warmed milk/butter to this mixture and beat until combined. Then add 1 beaten egg and the yeast. Beat all of this together for 30 seconds, then turn your mixer to low speed and add 1 cup of flour. Mix for 5 full minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently.  Add 1 and 1/4 cups more flour and beat for 1 more minute. The dough will be VERY, very, very soft. Place dough into a bowl coated with nonstick spray.  Turn the dough around in the bowl so all sides of the dough are coated.  Cover tightly with plastic saran wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size. This will take about 60-75 minutes. I place my dough into an oven that I pre-heated to 200F degrees and then turned off.
2. The dough will be very puffy after this time. See above for how the dough should look.  Punch the dough down to deflate it and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed the dough a few times to form a smooth dough.  You will need to add 1/4 cup more flour to make it easy to handle. The dough will stick to your hands, so flour your hands as well. You want the dough as soft as possible, so don't go adding too much flour. Anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup would be OK.
3. Make the filling: Roll the dough out into a 16x10 inch rectangle. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and spices into a small bowl.  Spread the top with melted butter and then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar mixture. See above for a photo. Roll it up tightly. Using a very sharp knife, cut into 10-13 pieces, about 1.5 inches each. (I cut the ends off of my dough log, so I have 11 rolls). Arrange rolls into a 9-inch or 11x7 inch pan that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick spray. Allow the rolls to rise again in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size. This takes about 1 hour (or use my overnight option, detailed below).
4. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Bake the rolls for 22-27 minutes, covering with aluminum foil at the 15 minute mark to prevent heavy browning.
5. Make the glaze: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese in a medium bowl on medium speed until smooth. Add the maple syrup and milk and beat on high until smooth. Add the sifted confectioners' sugar and beat on medium speed until creamy. Pour over warm cinnamon rolls. Rolls taste best served on the same day, though they remain fresh for one day covered tightly at room temperature. Unglazed rolls freeze well up to 2 months.

Overnight instructions

Prepare the rolls through step 4. Instead of allowing the cut rolls to rise in a warm environment, place the pan into the fridge and allow the rolls to rest for up to 14 hours before baking. When it’s time to bake the next day, allow the rolls to come up to room temperature and rise for 1 hour on the counter, or until almost doubled in size. Then, bake as directed.

Beefy Mac' n Cheese Bake ~ By Caroline

This is an easy dinner that the kids love! It's very flavorful, and even incorporates some carrots in there....so yeah, It's practically health food!  :-) (I wish)

 

 

 



Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) package elbow macaroni noodles

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup grated carrot

2 tsps. minced garlic

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup tomato sauce

1 tsp. salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup fat-free milk

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions
3. In a large frying pan, add onion and carrot and sauté for 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. add ground beef; cook until browned, stirring to crumble.  Add tomato sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper. Cook for two minutes, or until most of the liquid evaporates.
4. Add pasta to beef mixture in pan, stirring to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11x7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
5. Place milk, flour, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium sauce-pan; stir with a wisk until blended. Cook over medium heat two minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a wisk. Add 1 cup cheese, stirring until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir. Top evenly with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for 2o minutes or until lightly browned.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular ~ by Caroline

This has become our family's new favorite way to make pumpkin pie! :-) It's amazing, and the cookie layer on the crust with the crumb topping on top really adds a lot!  I've never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but I LOVE this! :-) 

 

1 pre-made pie crust
2 cups crushed ginger-snaps or cinnamon snaps (Here are recipes for those.  I've used both for this pie, and they are both turn out amazing: Cinnamon snaps: http://foursistersff.blogspot.com/2014/03/cinnamon-snap-cookies-by-caroline.html Ginger Cookies: http://foursistersff.blogspot.com/2015/11/soft-gingrbread-cookies-by-caroline.html
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (15 oz) can Pumpkin
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
7 Ginger/Cinnamon Snap Cookies, halved

Preheat oven to 350. 

1. Stir together crushed cookies, powdered sugar and butter.  Press mixture on bottom of pie crust, and up the sides.
2. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).
3. Stir together pumpkin, and next 6 ingredients until well blended. pour into prepared crust. Place pie on aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Sprinkle Pecan Streusel around edges and continue baking for 25-30 minutes or until center is set. (If needed, shield edges of pie crust with foil during the last 25-30 minutes) Remove from oven, and let cool slightly for 5-10 minutes.  Insert cookies around edge of pie crust.  Let cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour)

Makes 1 pie ~ 8 servings

Pecan Streusel Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. Stir together all ingredients, until well mixed and very crumbly.  Mixture will not be dry at all.