Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas Baking: Some new things for you to try...



I have been baking like a crazy person! I am still not done making everything I plan to make but who knows, I may be forgoing some of the plan because I am running out of days! Here is a tray of some of the things I've made lately. Jace took this to work the other day. The buckeyes aren't baked but I have a great recipe for them. Maybe I'll share that another day. I really love making candy at Christmas (chocolate candy). :) And of course I made some sour cream sugar cookies. These are especially lovely, if I do say so myself. I love white frosting with sanding sugar or edible glitter.

Okay, on to the recipes in this post. The bars on the far left of the picture are called Caramel Chip Bars. But my family affectionately knows them as Excedrin Bars. My dad nicknamed them this after deciding they were worth the headache he would get after eating them. :) His sister makes them each year for our family Christmas. They are a Taste of Home recipe, you can find here. They are a rich and super sweet cookie, I like them cut really small.

And finally, I tried these Pistachio Cookies for the first time this year. They were a simple (started with a cookie mix), festively colored option (the green cookies in this picture). I made them for a cookie exchange with my moms small group.

The recipe:

1 pouch of sugar cookie mix (like Betty Crocker, 1 pound, 1.5 ounce)
1 box of pistachio instant pudding and pie filling
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 eggs

Mix and drop by teaspoon full unto baking sheet. Press down slightly with fingers to flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to wire rack.

I made these two ways. The first batch I mixed in 1/2 c. of dry roasted, salted pistachios slightly chopped and 1/2 c. dried cranberries before baking. These aren't in the picture - I really liked them. They were a recipe I found on All Recipe's site. And the second way, add a 1/2 teaspoon of almond flavoring to the cookie dough and 1 c. of mini chocolate chips. After you remove them from the oven, put a thumbprint in the center of each cookie and add a chocolate covered pistachio by sticking it down with a bit of almond frosting piped on in the thumbprint depression.

Enjoy! And have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!