Gingerbread Loaf/House

by penji1
Gingerbread Loaf/House

Gingerbread Loaf/House

It’s not Christmas without a gingerbread house or two, now is it?

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup molasses (I did half molasses and half real maple syrup)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

powdered sugar for dusting

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray loaf pan or gingerbread house pan with cooking spray for baking.

2  Whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

3  Cream together sugar and butter until well combined.  Add molasses/maple syrup and vanilla and mix well.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, until well mixed.

4  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with buttermilk, mixing just until blended.

5  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

6  Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to cooling rack and allowing to cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar when room temperature.

(I doubled the recipe and it made 1 large loaf, 2 gingerbread houses and 1 mini loaf.)

recipe from Taste of Lizzy T

Eggnog Quick Bread

by penji1
Eggnog Quick Bread

Eggnog Quick Bread

Baking up a storm around here!  Gotta love Christmas time!  I’m just gonna say that I don’t like eggnog but this bread was delicious!

bread

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla

streusel

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, slightly softened

glaze

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

3 – 4 tablespoons eggnog

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Preheat oven to 350.  Spray loaf pan with cooking spray for baking.

2  For the bread, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and stir to combine.

3  In a mixing bowl, beat melted butter and sugar until combined.  Add eggs, eggnog, yogurt, and vanilla and mix well.

4  Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

5  Pour batter into pan.

6  For the streusel, mix together flour, sugar and nutmeg.  Cut butter into this mixture with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.   Sprinkle over batter in pan.

7  Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and allowing cool completely.

8  For the glaze, mix together glaze ingredients until desired consistency is achieved.  Drizzle over bread.

(I doubled the recipe and ended up with 3 medium size loaves and 1 mini loaf.)

recipe from My Kitchen Craze

 

Pesto Parmesan Christmas Tree

by penji1
Pesto Parmesan Christmas Tree

Pesto Parmesan Christmas Tree

How adorable is that?  Not to mention yummy.  Impress the Christmas crowd with this baby!  I made it for our annual Christmas Book Group pot luck.

1 (8 oz) can crescent rolls or crescent dough sheet

32 cubes Mozzarella cheese

shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup basil pesto

1  Heat oven to 375.  Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Unroll dough on work surface.  Press into 12 x 9″ rectangle.  If using crescent rolls, press perforations to seal.  With pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 8 rows by 4 rows to make 32 squares.

2  Top each piece of crescent dough with a Mozzarella cube then roll into small ball around cheese.  Place seam side down on cookie sheet.

3  Place 10 balls in a single layer, clustered and touching together to form a round disc shape which will be the base of your tree.  Continue with a formation of 8 balls, then 6 balls, then 4 balls, then 3 balls and finally a single ball.  There should be a total of 6 discs or layers (including the single ball) which will form the layers of the tree after baking.

4  Bake 14 – 17 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes.

5  Use a large, flat spatula to transfer largest disc to serving platter.  Brush with pesto and sprinkle with Parmesan then top with next largest disc.  Brush with pesto and sprinkle with cheese.  Continue with remaining discs ending with single ball.  Brush any remaining pesto over tree and sprinkle with any remaining Parmesan.  (I cut a star out of a slice of cheddar and put that on top!)

recipe from Pillsbury

Chocolate Molded Christmas Oreos

by penji1
Chocolate Molded Christmas Oreos

Chocolate Molded Christmas Oreos

Christmas is almost here people!  If you’re in need of a delicious, easy and fast gift, then here it is!  All you need are Oreos, candy melts and a Wilton Cookie Candy Mold.  You can pick up the candy melts and mold at your nearest Michaels and the Oreos at any grocery store anywhere I’m guessing.

Melt the candy melts according to package directions, put a spoonful in each well of the mold then press an Oreo into the mold, covering completely or letting the bottom show, it’s up to you!  Pop them in the fridge until set, about 20 – 30 minutes.  Carefully tap them out of the mold and voila!  A gift everyone will love!

If you want to get fancy and do two different colors like I did on the wreath then just get yourself a little paint brush and paint in the first color, like the bow on the wreath, put it in the fridge until set, 5 – 10 minutes, then continue on following the instructions above.

Everyone will be so impressed with you!

Nutella Raspberry Crescent Snowflake

by penji1
Nutella Raspberry Crescent Snowflake

Nutella Raspberry Crescent Snowflake

Ready to mix things up for breakfast or maybe dessert on Christmas Day?  How about this beauty?  Delicious and not that hard to make!  I made it for our annual Christmas Bunco pot luck.

3/4 cup Nutella

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons raspberry jam

4 (8 oz each) cans refrigerated crescent dough sheets

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1  Heat oven to 350.  Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Mix 1/2 cup Nutella, cream cheese and whipping cream in small bowl until smooth.  In another small bowl, mix 1/4 cup Nutella and raspberry jam until smooth.

2  Sprinkle flour on parchment lined cookie sheet and unroll one can of dough.  Press or roll dough into 12″ x 11″ rectangle.  Place 10″ round dinner plate or cardboard circle on top of rectangle.  Using pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut away excess dough (which could be saved for another use if desired).

3  Carefully spread half of Nutella cream cheese mixture on top of dough circle.  Sprinkle work surface generously with flour and unroll next can of dough.  Repeat steps above to end with another circle.  Carefully place second circle on top of Nutella cream cheese layer.

4  Carefully spread Nutella jam mixture on top of second circle.  Repeat steps above for a third circle.  Carefully place on top of Nutella jam layer.

5  Spread remaining Nutella cream cheese mixture on top of third circle.  Repeat steps above for fourth and final circle.  Place carefully on top of Nutella cream cheese layer.

6  Place a glass or small jar with a 2 1/2″ – 3″ opening in center of dough circle stack.  Leaving center intact, use sharp knife to cut layered dough into quarters.  Divide each quarter into 4 equal parts, creating 16 total sections.  Remove glass from center of dough.

7  To twist, take 2 sections of dough side by side and slightly pull and twist each section 3 turns in the opposite direction of each other.  Repeat for all 16 sections of dough.  Bake 27 – 30 minutes or until deep golden brown and baked through.  Cool 5 minutes then sprinkle with powdered sugar.  (I forgot to do this!)

recipe from Pillsbury

Molded Christmas Chocolate Bark

by penji1
Molded Christmas Chocolate Bark

Molded Christmas Chocolate Bark

Every year, the day after Christmas, I drag my husband out when it’s still dark and shop the after Christmas sales.  And every year when I open up the Christmas boxes, I’m surprised with what I find in them because I’ve forgotten all about the great things I found at those after Christmas sales.  These Wilton Candy Bark molds were one of those finds last year so this year I got to play around with them!  One 12 oz bag of Wilton candy melts will fill two molds.

Top left, the gingerbread man, is English Toffee flavored candy melts with Heath Toffee bits mixed in.

Top middle, the Christmas tree, is green vanilla flavored candy melts with crushed Oreo mixed in.

Top right, the darker gingerbread man, is dark chocolate candy melts with crushed Oreo sprinkled on top rather than mixed into the melted chocolate.

Bottom left, the candy cane, is red vanilla flavored candy melts with crushed Oreo mixed in.

Bottom middle, the snowflake, is white vanilla flavored candy melts with crushed Oreo mixed in.

Bottom right, the Christmas tree, the top is white vanilla with Oreos mixed in and the bottom is English Toffee with toffee bits mixed in.  I didn’t have enough of either flavor to fill the mold so decided to experiment and pour both in.  I really like the way it looks and wish I had done that with some of the others.  I guess there is always next year.

Directions, follow instructions on candy melt bag to melt candy melts, stir in mix ins, pour into molds and put in fridge until set, about 30 minutes or so.  Remove from mold by carefully twisting and tapping until it comes free.  Try not to handle to much as it will remove the shine from your bark.

Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread

by penji1
Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread

Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread

I saw this idea on Instagram but couldn’t find the actual recipe so I just kind of winged it and it came out great!  We had Bunco at my house last night and this was one of my contributions to our annual Bunco Christmas feast.

pizza dough (I went with a tube of Pillsbury pizza dough to make it as easy as possible)

18 mozzarella cubes (I cut up cheese sticks since I already had them in the fridge)

pesto (both Costco and Sam’s Club have great pesto in jars in the deli/refrigerated section)

shredded Parmesan cheese

grape tomatoes

star for topper cut from a Baby Bell cheese round

1  Heat oven to 350.  Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2  Cut pizza dough into 18 pieces.  Tightly wrap a cheese cube in each pizza dough piece and place on cookie sheet following the above picture – a row of 1 with another 1 under that, then a row of 2, a row of 3, a row of 4, a row of 5 and then a row of 1 and one more 1 right under that for the trunk.

3  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until rolls are golden brown.  Remove from oven.  Using a large spatula, carefully move tree from cookie sheet to serving platter.

4  Cover all balls with pesto except for the 2 at the bottom forming the trunk.  Sprinkle with Parmesan then decorate with grape tomatoes.  Place star on top of tree.

recipe from So Yummy

Raspberry Cream Cheese Candy Cane Crescent Danish

by penji1
Raspberry Cream Cheese Candy Cane Crescent Danish

Raspberry Cream Cheese Candy Cane Crescent Danish

Is it dessert or breakfast or both?  I will tell you this, it was delicious!  I chose to make it for a dessert for our annual Christmas Book Group pot luck.

Danish

1 (8 oz) can crescent rolls

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup fresh raspberries

2 tablespoons raspberry preserves

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Glaze

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 – 3 teaspoons milk

1  Heat oven to 375.  Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray generously with cooking spray.  Unroll dough and separate into 8 triangles.  Cut each triangle in half lengthwise.  On the cookie sheet, place crescent triangles lengthwise in long row, pointing in same direction, with straight edges overlapping slightly.  Press overlapping edges together to help seal, but leave triangle points free.

2  Mix together cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of sugar until well blended.  Spread cream cheese mixture in 2 1/2″ wide strip lengthwise on widest part of dough, leaving 1/2″ edge.  Mix together raspberries and preserves and spread on top of cream cheese layer.

3  Fold tips of dough to enclose filling then pinch end of dough on edge or under edge to attach.  Gently pick up top of dough and curve to form candy cane.  Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

4  Bake 16 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet.  Use spatula to carefully slide Danish from parchment paper to serving platter.  Mix glaze ingredients to desired consistency and drizzle over Danish.

(I should have taken more pictures of the process but you can refer to the original recipe, link below, to see pictures if you get confused.)

recipe from Pillsbury

White Chocolate Santa Mustaches

by penji1
White Chocolate Santa Mustaches

White Chocolate Santa Mustaches

This is such a quick and easy and delicious and oh so cute treat for the littles in your life.  Just skip on down to your nearest Michaels store and get yourself a Santa mustache mold, a bag of white chocolate candy melts, some cute paper straws, clear treat bags and some bakers twine and you are ready to rumble!

When you get home, melt the candy melts according to package directions, spoon into the molds, tap mold to release air bubbles, insert a paper straw into each stache, pop the mold in the fridge until set, remove carefully from molds and slide those babies into a bag and tie it with a bow!  Done and done!

Holiday Chocolate House with 3D Chocolate Christmas Trees

by penji1
Holiday Chocolate House with 3D Chocolate Christmas Trees

Holiday Chocolate House with 3D Chocolate Christmas Trees – Front

Isn’t it adorable?  I could stare at it all day!  Except I can’t because I gave it to some special kids to enjoy!

Holiday Chocolate House with 3D Chocolate Christmas Trees

Holiday Chocolate House with 3D Chocolate Christmas Trees – Back

The house and the trees were both made with Wilton molds.  To get the wreath and the door on the front and the Christmas tree on the back, I simply painted (literally with a small paintbrush), the various colors onto the mold and the put it in the fridge to set between each color.  When the front door and the wreath and the tree were done then I poured in the white chocolate walls and the dark chocolate roof and chimney and let those set for a long time in the fridge.

While they were setting, I made the trees which were surprisingly easy – just pour in the chocolate, let it set in fridge and then carefully pop out.  They went together like a snap, just had to handle them gently.

When the house pieces were all set, I twisted them out of the mold carefully and then stuck them together by brushing on melted white chocolate like a glue to hold all the pieces together.

The last thing I did was to take a toothpick and use the melted white chocolate like glue to stick little red sprinkles to the Christmas tree on the back of the house.

I love it!