Cookie Carnival: Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

This morning I made the other recipe for June for the Cookie Carnival. I was a little concerned at first. It seemed to take FOREVER to be fluffy. I finally just added the egg and vanilla. The dough seemed alittle dry. It was my first time using almond paste. I must say I really like the way it flavors the cookies. The cookies turned out delicious. I didn't want to make the homemade Raspberry Refrigerator Jam, so I just used the strawberry preserves I had in the fridge. Good choice!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup grated almond paste

2/3 cup sugar

5 T butter, softened

1 large egg white

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

6 T Raspberry Refrigerator Jam

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; secure to baking sheet with masking tape.

Place first 3 ingredients in a bowl; beat with a mixture at medium speed for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg white; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flour and salt to almond paste mixture; beat at low speed until well blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and shape dough into 36 (1-inch) balls. Place balls 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets and press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden. (f you bake both pans of cookies at the same time, rotate the pans in the oven halfway through baking time for even browning.)

Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Spoon about 1/2 tsp Raspberry Refrigerator Jam into center of each cookie.

Cookie Carnival: S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies

One of June's Cookie Carnival Recipes was the S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies from Hershey's. Being campers, I had to make this for Jimmy and myself. Good choice!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/3 cups (8 oz pkg) Hershey's Mini Milk Chocolate Bars OR 5 Hershey' Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz each)

3 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle mini chocolate bars over baked layer or arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows, scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows forming top layer.

4. Bake 10-15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan or wire rack. Cut into bars.

Buffalo Chicken

I found this recipe in the new June/July 2010 Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious magazine. I want to make about 1/2 the magazine this time. Lots of yummy stuff.

I knew my son would like this chicken; he LOVES chicken wings! The hotter the better. Jimmy helped me make this dish; in fact, he made most of it. It turned out so delicious.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz each)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

3 T canola oil

1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce

1/4 cup shredded provolone cheese (used slices)

1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs. Place bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Dip chicken in eggs, then coat with bread crumbs.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in oil for 7-10 minutes on each side or until chicken juices run clear, adding wing sauce during the last 2 minutes. turn to coat chicken.

Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and cook until cheese is melted.

My cat, K.C., making it very hard to post my recipe!

Mint Chocolate Delights

I'm baaaccckkkk! I think it's been at least 2 months since I've posted. I've been on a I don't wanna cook anything new kick. I think I'm getting out of it.

Today was the last day of school in South Florida. Feel a little sad....it's my son's last year of middle school. Off to High School in the Fall. Where does time go!

Jimmy has been wanting me to make these cookies with the Nestle Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels. I figured it's the last day of school, so why not!

Boy! Are they YUMMY!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 2/3 cup (10 oz bag) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

Beat butter, both sugars and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

Drop by well-rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 11-13 minutes until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

My Girl Paula: Apple Raisin Muffins

This week's My Girl Paula was Spring Time - make something with fresh fruit or vegetable. I spotted the Apple Raisin Muffins in the The Lady & Sons II cookbook and have been thinking about making them. I am so glad I did....they are awesomely delicious! Moist, flavorful. The recipe calls to make miniature muffins, but I made regular size muffins. It makes 2 dozen. I really recommend them. If you like raisins, you get one in every bite!

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 cups grated apples (about 3 apples)

2 cups raisins

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I used 1 1/2 tsp ground)

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 tsp baking soda

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the water, sugar, apples, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.

In a large bowl, stir the nuts and baking soda into the flour. Add the cooled mixture to the bowl, and stir until blended. Fill greased miniature muffin tins (I used regular size with the cupcake liners) with batter to the top. Bake for 15 minutes.

Yields: about 5 dozen mini muffins or 2 dozen regular muffins

Cookie Carnival: Walnut Mint Bars and My 200th Post!

Yay! It's my 200th post to this blog!!!!

The recipe for this month's Cookie Carnival was Hershey's Walnut Mint Bars. I was really excited. My two favorite dessert flavors together is chocolate and mint. These were really good. Not my favorite, but I enjoyed them. My mom LOVED them! I took them to myy parents' house last night for dessert. She told me today again how much she loved them.

I was too lazy to make the drizzle; I had all the dishes done and didn't feel like washing any more! So...I used Hershey's chocolate syrup. Worked great!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick), plus 2 T margarine, divided

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 45 wafers, crushed)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup Hershey's cocoa

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 T cornstarch

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract or 1 T green creme de menthe

Green food color (optional)

Chocolate Drizzle (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1/2 cup margarine in medium saucepan; stir in the crumbs, walnuts, sugar and cocoa. Press firmly on bottom of ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.

2. Beat cream cheese, remaining 2 T margarine and cornstarch in small bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk then egg, peppermint extract and food color, if desired. Pour evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Drizzle Chocolate Drizzle over top. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE: Melt 1 cup Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips or Hershey's Semi=Sween Chocolate Chips with 1 1/2 tsp shortening (do not use butter, margarine or oil).

The base of the dessert

Corned Beef Hash

My son insisted on having corned beef hash for St. Patrick's Day. Having never made it before, I told him to look up the recipe. He found a recipe on About.com:Southern Food. Seemed easy enough. I just got corned beef from the deli and made sandwiches with the rest. I made 1/2 recipe since it was just the two of us. It was very good and easy to make.

Ingredients:

2-3 T butter

2 cups cooked corned beef, finely chopped

3 cups cooked, chopped potatoes

2 T minced onion

2 T chopped parsley, optional

salt, pepper and brown gravy

Directions:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add corned beef, potatoes and onion; spread evenly in the skillet. Brown on one side; turn with a spatula and brown the other side. Continue turning until most of the meat and potatoes are well-browned. Drain off excess fat and moisten with 3-4 T of brown gravy or beef gravy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley, if desired.