Cocoa Crinkles

Oh I know you've all seen this one, it's an oldie but goodie.  I had never made 

them before and had no idea how delicious they were, not to mention easy!  

They have a very fudge-y flavor with a light texture.  I'm wishing we hadn't eaten them all up!  

Here is the recipe for you (from allrecipes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating with family and friends!

Candy Cane Snowballs

Today was the big cookie exchange party...what a fun time!  And I'm so full.  But it was worth it.

I really enjoyed these peppermint-y cookies.  Very tender and delicious with just a little crunch of crushed up candy canes.  

Here is the recipe found at Cooking During Stolen Moments.

• 3 c. powdered sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 c butter, softened
• 2 t. vanilla (or if you’d prefer a stronger peppermint flavor, you can replace 1 t. of vanilla with a teaspoon of peppermint extract)
• 1 egg
• 3 c. flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 c. finely crushed candy canes, divided
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 2-3 T. milk

1. In a mixing bowl, beat 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Slowly add to mixing bowl, beating until combined, about 1 minute. Stir 1/2 cup finely crushed candy canes in by hand.

3. Roll dough into small balls using just under a teaspoon of dough. Rolls balls through granulated sugar to coat and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool.

4. While cookies bake, stir together remaining 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar with 2-3 T. of milk. Add just enough milk to form a thick glaze. Drizzle over cooled cookies and top with remaining crushed candy canes immediately.

Eggnog Pancakes

Can you believe it's almost Christmas!?  Holy cow!  I'm not stressing about needing to shop or anything, I just can't believe how fast the time goes.  Man!

Anyway....I had a hankering to try making some pancakes with eggnog, so that's what I did.  

Crummy pictures, but delicious breakfast.   

I ate mine just with melted butter flavored with cinnamon and sugar...yummm :)

Here's the recipe from AllRecipes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog*
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg if desired. In another bowl, beat eggs, eggnog and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown.

So do you have your Christmas menu nailed down?  I'd love to hear what you're having!  Let me know.  Otherwise I'll just peek in your window while you and your family is eating.  This way is easier!

Lasagna Soup

I've been looking forward to making this soup for days now, or actually eating this soup.  And it did not disappoint.  

It's kinda nippy here, even in the desert.  It's been raining on and off for two days....crazy!  I don't need cold weather to have soup, but it just makes it that much better.  

To me, this literally tasted like lasagna in soup form.  I couldn't stop sampling it before dinner!  I left out the basil accidentally, so it could have been even just a little bit better, but I'm not sure I could have stood it !

Here's the recipe that I found from A Farm Girl's Dabbles.  Hope you like it.

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta (I used broken lasagna noodles)
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

PREPARATION

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

I'm planning to make some Candy Cane Snowball cookies for a cookie exchange this weekend.  I'll post them either Sunday night or Monday morning...see ya then!

Lemon Ricotta Blackberry Muffins

My boy and I found some blackberries on sale a few days ago.  Since he's a berry lover I bought them and promised I'd make something for him, so he gets muffins.  I'm hoping he will share. 

I found this recipe at Two Peas & Their Pod, which is always chock full of delicious looking things.  I love the addition of ricotta...it's adds a wonderful moistness and richness.  This is a great basic muffin recipe for anything you'd want to add.  The lemon is not overpowering at all, it adds just the right amount of awesomeness. 

The dough seems pretty thick, but don't worry, it turns out just perfect.  I hope you'll make them if you get the chance. 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup ricotta cheese (whole or low-fat is fine)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blackberries
Turbinado sugar-for sprinkling on muffin tops

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest and sugar together with your fingers. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar and lemon zest mixture together until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Add three blackberries to each muffin cup. Top the muffins with remaining batter so blackberries are covered. Generously sprinkle turbinado sugar over each muffin top.

4. Bake muffins for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown. Let muffins cool for five minutes and serve.

I was super excited to learn a couple of weeks ago that I had won a giveaway at Coleen's Recipes.  I was the recipient of this awesome giftpack from Yoplait, containing a neck pillow, lavender eye mask, a giant smoothie cup and a coupon to receive a free  package of  Yoplait Chocolate Banana Smoothie.  

Thanks a million Coleen :)

Beer Braised Beef Back Ribs

I was wanting to make short ribs today, then I realized they're a little difficult to find (after going to 5 stores) and a little pricey when they do get found.  So in the middle of my local Walmarts I pulled out my phone of moderate intelligence and tried to see what I could do with beef back ribs.  This is what I came up with. 

I found more of a method than a recipe at FoodPhilosophy.  It's a wonderful way to take a cheaper cut and make it delicious and tender.  I loved it served over buttered egg noodles with a little swiss chard on the side, and am looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow at work.  

Here's the rundown:

Ingredients

About 4 pounds of beef back ribs

3-4 tbsp olive oil

Giant can of Fosters

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can beef broth

dried rosemary

salt and pepper

1.  Cut ribs into individual pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil to med-high in an  ovenproof dutch oven or large skillet.  Add ribs in small batches if necessary and caramelized about 10 minutes on each side.  Try to not move the ribs around in the pan too much.    Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Add chopped onion and let it sweat about 5 minutes, then add garlic.  Pour in the giant can of Fosters, the beef broth, and a little water to make the liquid just slightly over the ribs.  Mix together and scrape the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle in the dried rosemary.

3.  Put a lid on and put it all in the oven for about 3 hours.  Check the liquid level periodically and add more if needed.  When it's done, remove the meat from the bones, shred it up a bit, and serve over starchy item of your choice.  

I actually made this the night before and just put in the oven at 300 to reheat before dinner today.  I love make-ahead meals!

Apple Fritters

After getting the little darlings off to school this morning, I decided to embark upon some fritter making activities. Seemed like a fine way to spend a Thursday morning. 

I had a hard time regulating between burning them and not getting them done in the middle.  But otherwise, they are pretty darned easy, and quite delicious.  

Here's the recipe from No Fear Entertaining if you feel like giving it a try...

Fritter:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped apple

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions: Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon. Stir in milk and egg until just combined. Fold in apple. Pour oil into skillet so that it is approximately 1 1/2 deep. Heat oil on high. (on my stove, high was too high, just above medium worked best for me.) Oil is ready when dough floats to top. Carefully add dough to oil in heaping teaspoons. Cook until brown, about 2 minutes, then flip. Cook another 1-2 minutes, until both sides are browned. Transfer briefly to paper towels to absorb excess oil, then transfer to cooling rack. Make glaze by stirring milk and powdered sugar together in a small bowl. Drizzle over apple fritters. Wait approximately 3 minutes for glaze to harden, then flip fritters and drizzle glaze over the other side. Best served warm.

apple-y good inside shot