Mindy's Holiday Baking List

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies - soft and chewy like cookies should be, these add a nice amount of spice and variety to your cookie plate.  (And I make this recipe with gluten and non-vegan.)

Pumpkin Mousse and Gingerbread - the mousse is light and fluffy, and the gingerbread pairs wonderfully with it to add more spice and snap.  We've made it as a pie, as mini cookie pies or just to dip the cookies in.  The mousse also makes great filling for crepes.

 

Pumpkin Souffle - like a crustless pumpkin pie, this is what I'll be having for Thanksgiving this week.

Sugar Cookies - these cookies are definitely not limited to Christmas.  We usually make them for most holidays, birthdays and just-because days too.

Fairy Bites - nothing fancy about tiny shortbread cookies with sprinkles on top, but they are requested each year.

Peppermint Snowballs - I made these for the first time in 2015 and instantly knew they would become a Christmas tradition.  These are a must-make every December.

Peppermint Meringue - I like to make these for my gluten-intolerant friend.  And they are yummy for me too, of course.

Rice Krispie Squares - no reason to include the recipe because it comes written on the box.  The only difference is we use peppermint marshmallows, or you could add 1 tsp of extract to make them minty.

Candy Cane Fudge - basically two ingredient fudge with crushed candy canes on top.  So super simple but you can't go wrong with chocolate!

Cookie Dough Fudge - after the first time I knew it would be made again and again.  I've included this recipe in my daughter's journal because I know she'll want it when she's older.  It does require more than just two ingredients, but worth the extra time (which still isn't long!).

Chocolate Orange Muffins - not just a Christmas-time muffin, but I love how these taste like the chocolate orange I always get in my stocking.  I like these best as mini muffins and will also make them as lime coconut or lemon poppyseed just by swapping out the zest and one ingredient. 

Minny's Chocolate Pie

After seeing the movie The Help a few weeks ago, I was craving a chocolate pie. I know, I know...the chocolate pie is supposed to gross you out, but maybe it's the pregnancy thing. Anything chocolate -- especially fudgy-chocolate -- sounds divine. I went in search of a chocolate pie recipe, and after some searching, I found the gem below. It's the actual recipe used by the food stylist from the movie. I've made it twice now, and it's quick, easy, and tasty. I have yet to go at the whole thing with a fork, but I do have eight more weeks of pregnancy left, and I'm not saying no to anything!

1 1/2 C sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 C butter, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1 5 oz. can evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 refrigerated pie crust (or...I got REALLY bold and made my own!)

1. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate and prick the bottom and sides with a fork.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Mix sugar, cocoa, and butter in amixing bowl.
4. Add eggs and beat for three minutes.
5. Add salt, milk, and vanilla.
6. Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and middle is partly set.
7. Cool completely, then refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.

A few notes:

• I had the best success making the entire thing with the whisk attachment on my Kitchenaid. It seemed to hit the perfect consistency. If I did it by hand, I got a lot of bubbles that kept the pie from being as pretty as it could be.


• Also, let the pie cool COMPLETELY before trying to put Saran wrap over the top; otherwise, the top layer will stick to the wrap. If the pie is cool first, it will peel off easily -- no sticking!

Brickle

I got this recipe from my mom, who got it on the internet. It's ridiculously simple, and everyone who takes a bite immediately says, "Wow, I need this recipe!" It's been my contribution to three different Christmas get-togethers so far!

Ingredients:
1 tube saltine crackers
1 lb salted butter (don't substitute)
1 C brown sugar
12 oz. pkg chocolate chips
5 Heath bars chopped up, or 1 bag Heath bits

Preheat the oven to 350.

Get a cookie sheet with a rim and line it with tin foil. BEFORE you finish this recipe, check to make sure it will fit in your freezer! (My biggest mistake...)

Then, lay the crackers out on the foil. They should pretty much cover it perfectly, but you may need a few more. Don't overlap; lay them all flat.

Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar. When the mixture starts to bubble, turn the heat to medium-low and stir constantly for three minutes. The mixture will be runny, but definitely caramel. Pour the caramel over the crackers.

Put the crackers with caramel in the oven for about ten minutes, or until the caramel is well-spread and bubbly.

Take out the pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips over it. Leave it alone for about five minutes until the chocolate chips melt. Then get a spatula and spread the chocolate out evenly.

Sprinkle the Heath bits on top of the chocolate.

Put the pan in the freezer and leave it for 4+ hours.

When you're ready to eat it, peel the tin foil off the back of the brickle. Then break the brickle into irregular pieces. (I used the edge of a plate for this.) Enjoy! FYI: This keeps best in the fridge or freezer so it doesn't get sticky.

chocolate pretzels

This isn't in my count because we've made them before, but I thought this recipe would be fun for others who might want to try it for Christmas. We put them also in the box to Adam's brother. They're SO GOOD, especially with egg nog! Note that they're not chocolate-covered regular pretzels ... but soft-dough pretzels that are chocolate and sprinkled with sugar.

Oh, these are from a cookie cookbook that just has the title, "Cookies."

1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup superfine sugar (put regular granulated sugar in the blender, then pulse it so you don't burn out your motor, until the sugar is like dust. It's different from powdered sugar, and really makes a difference in the texture.)
1 egg

1 egg white
raw sugar sprinkles

1. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder.
2. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg. Add the flour mix and combine.
3. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in wax paper, chill for 1 hour or freeze for 30 min.
4. Grease cookie sheets, preheat oven to 375.
5. When the dough is chilled, roll into small balls. (Recipe estimate is 28 - when we make bigger pretzels, it makes only about a dozen.)
6. Roll out each ball into a rope, then loop around to make a pretzel shape. Put on greased cookie sheets.
7. Brush the pretzels with the egg white and sprinkle with the raw sugar.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes, cool on wire rack.

The first time we made these, it was to give them away. We had to make a 2nd batch, because we ate the entire first batch within 30 minutes of them coming out of the oven.

chocolate zucchini bread

We had the missionaries over for dinner for Thanksgiving, and they came over the day before to help with some of the prep work. Elder Davies had apparently never cooked anything at all before (how is he surviving out here?), so we made him make the chocolate zucchini bread. With heavy supervision ... he almost added a tablespoon of salt instead of teaspoon. Eeww!

He used this recipe. He forgot the chocolate chips, which made the bread REALLY dark tasting. It wasn't too good straight out of the oven, but it was much better after it sat for a day. Then it reminded me of the Hershey's special dark chocolate bars - if you like those, this recipe would be good for you.

Brownie Muffins

I realize that there is no such thing as "guilt free" treats - espeshally brownies - but these have very little guilt - taste amazing - and are SOOOO easy!

http://www.recipezaar.com/Ww-Brownie-Muffins-the-Longmeadow-Farm-281279

Brownie Time

Hey Treen - Just in case your were wondering, here are the brownies you at when we saw you last. They are from the Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book I bough back in our college days.

I usually triple it so that I can put it into a cookie sheet. We all love them, and I make them way too often for our own good!

EASY FUDGE BROWNIES

1/2 c. butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (but I don't chop it. I am lazy that way)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c chopped nuts (I don't usually add those)

Grease an 8x8x2 inch pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan melt butter and chocolate over low heat.(Try not to let it boil. They turn out better.) Remove from heat. Stir in sugar eggs and vanilla. ( make sure it has cooled a little bit so that the egg whites don't cook a little) Using a wooden spoon, lightly beat the mixture just until combined - don't over-beat of the brownies will rise too high then fall. Stir in flour and chopped nuts. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Brickle bars: Prepare as above, except omit the nuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle 3/4 cup almond brickle pieces and 1/2 c miniature semisweet chocolate pieces evenly over top of batter. Bake. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

"darn good chocolate cake"

This is from the Cake Doctor cookbook - I made it last year for my friend Jackie, and today for Adam's birthday. Everyone who has had this LOVES it - so moist and rich!

1 box of chocolate fudge cake mix
1 small box (3.9 ounces) of chocolate instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
semisweet chocolate chips

powdered sugar

Mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips and powdered sugar. Be careful with your hand mixer because this is REALLY thick. I think I may have started to burn out the motor on my mixer with this.

Fold in the chocolate chips just before you put it in the pan.

The recipe says to make this in a bundt pan - I did it that way with Jackie. Today I made it with 2 8-inch rounds, which also worked fine. It wasn't as pretty as the bundt, because I don't frost it so you could see the split between the layers in the side. But whatever. No one commented on it. I don't know that anyone even noticed, let alone cared. Anyway ...

Grease and flour the pan, bake at 350. If you use a bundt, bake for 45 minutes. The 8-inch rounds took 30 minutes.

Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then another 20 minutes on a wire rack. Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar, and eat! It's really great warm!

Chocolate Mints

I posted the recipe for this on my own blog last night. Since I used photos, I decided to just post the link. MMMM.