Chocolate Caramel Cookies!

I love caramel, and I love cookies. So this is a wonderful recipe, in my opinion! However, be warned. If you don't like to get messy, don't make this. Your hands will be one chocolatey, gooey, disgusting mess!

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

1 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

1 c brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c chopped walnuts

48 chocolate covered caramel candies (Rollos)

Beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in white & brown sugars. Beat in eggs & vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and cocoa. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in nuts. Cover & chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375. Divide dough into 4 parts so you can work on 1/4 at a time. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge until you're ready for it, otherwise it's too gooey. Divide the 1/4 dough into 12 pieces. Quickly press each piece around a caramel candy. Roll into a ball, completely covering the caramel candy (otherwise caramel may leak out during baking). Place each ball 2-in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 8 min. Let cool 3-4 min. on baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Enjoy!

Pecan Pie Bars

Growing up, my mom always made pecan pie. However, I couldn't stand it! I thought pecans were gross! But I found this recipe for pecan pie bars. I figured my parents would enjoy it. But I have to admit, while they were cooking, I thought it smelled amazing! So I had to try one. Turns out I do enjoy them! :)

Pecan Pie Bars

2 c flour

1 c brown sugar, divided

1 c butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 c chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom of 9x13 baking pan. In lg. bowl, cmobine flour, 1/2 c brown sugar, and butter. Spread on bottom of prepared pan. Bake 20 min. In a mixing bowl, beat together egg, condensed milk, vanilla, and remaining brown sugar. Stir in pecans. Pour on top of baked cookie layer. Bake 25 min. Cool & cut into bars. Store at room temp.

Thimble Cookies!

I know I haven't posted in a while, so be prepared: I'm making up for it now! Things have, surprise surprise, been crazy, as usual! Two thirds of my kids are sick. Ear infections, viruses, sinus infections. Ahhh! I think cooking has become a therapy for me. So here we go. Recipe #1. Thimble cookies! :)

Thimble Cookies

1/2 c butter, softened

1/4 c sugar

1 egg yolk, beaten

2 tsp lemon juice

1 c flour

1 egg white

1 c finely chopped nuts (I use pecans, but walnuts are good, too)

1 c raspberry jam (calls for raspberry, but I used caramel apple jam)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter & sugar. Add yolk & lemon juice; beat well. Stir in flour until well blended. If dough seems too coarse, add just a little bit of water. Form into 1-inch balls & dip in beaten egg yolk, then nuts. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Make a deep indentation in center of each cookie. Bake 5 min., then quickly indent centers again (you may want to use a spoon because they're so hot!), and continue baking 10 min. Fill center of each cookie with jam. Cool completely. Enjoy!

Peppermint Bark!

I got this recipe from my sister, and I LOVE it! Elijah enjoys helping me make it, too. I don't have a kitchen mallet, so we just use a hammer. I also don't have a double boiler, but I always just make it in a pot. Anyone who's going to the party tomorrow, expect to be able to try this! We have some in the fridge right now, cooling for tomorrow. :)

Peppermint Bark

2 bags white chocolate chips

12 lg. candy canes

couple drops peppermint oil

Line baking sheet with wax paper & set aside. Put 11 candy canes in a ziplock & pound with kitchen mallet, breaking into many pieces. Set aside & repeat with remaining candy cane. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly until melted (important not to overcook!). Stir in peppermint oil & 11 crushed candy canes. Remove from heat & pour onto prepared baking sheet, spreading evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining candy cane on top, pressing in slightly to adhere to the chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. Break into pieces. Stir in airtight container in fridge. Enjoy! :)

Chili!

Growing up, I could not STAND chili. I thought it was nasty! All those beans - ICK. So if you're the kind of person who LOVES a chili loaded with beans, don't look to me! But if you like your chili with just a hint of beans, this recipe's for you! I've discovered that I like my chili with just a few beans, a fair amount of meat, but a lot of tomatoes! And then I add lots of cheese & sour cream. But that's just me! This is a recipe that Isaiah will chow down on, but Elijah won't touch it. Also, my dad's a hunter, so he keeps us stocked with deer meat. So while I'm writing this as venison, feel free to change it to beef! (For the record, though, I made this the other night for my friend Beth, and she really enjoyed it. She said it didn't taste gamey at all!)

Venison Chili

2 lg. cans (25 oz.) petite diced tomatoes

1 small can (15 oz.) petite diced tomatoes

1 can seasoned pinto beans

3 lbs. venison, browned & drained

1/4 c diced onion

2 packets chili seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on Low 8 hours. Enjoy! :)

Deep Dish Brownies!

I know I've posted a brownie recipe before, but I found a new one! And this one's delicious, too! We had several friends over today (Abbey and her kids and Beth), and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Elijah sure did - he kept wanting more. So did Isaiah, but that's nothing new.

Brownies

7/8 c flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c butter, melted
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-in baking dish. In a lg. bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt; set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar & vanilla. Mix in the eggs. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted near middle comes out clean, about 35-40 min. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake!

I hate trying to lose weight anytime, but especially around the holidays. It's almost impossible! Especially when I find all these great recipes that are just begging to be tried! But if you're like me and can't resist trying them, just remember that you can always share your creations! That's what I do! (Just ask my parents, in-laws, or grandparents! :) Here is an excellent cheesecake recipe. And if you want to try to convince yourself it's not tooo tooooo bad, just remember that it's got pumpkin in it, so it's got to be somewhat healthy, right? :)

Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake

2 graham cracker crusts

cheesecake:

3 x 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 c brown sugar

15 oz. can pumpkin

2/3 c evaporated milk

2 eggs

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c crushed toffee candies

Topping:

8 oz. sour cream, room temp

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

caramel topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Beat cream cheese & brown sugar until creamy. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Beat well & pour into crusts. Bake 60-65 min. or until edge is set but center is still moves slightly. Remove from oven; top with toffee. For topping, combine sour cream, sugar, and vanilla & mix well. Spread over warm cheesecakes. Bake 8 min. Cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. Drizzle with caramel before serving.

Just a side note about the caramel: Caramel syrup does NOT work well! If you want to keep the drizzle looking nice (and not running all over the place), use actual caramel ice cream topping, not the syrup. Lesson learned! (Probably should have been common sense. Oh well. That's what I get for trying to make it easy!)

Pumpkin Muffins!

I LOVE days when all 3 boys take a nap! Granted, Elijah FOUGHT it for all he was worth - I think it took him about an hour to finally give in. But he seriously needed his nap. He needed one yesterday, and I didn't push it like I should have. But boy was I regretting that last night! He was such a pill while we were trying to get a little shopping down. Whew! But anyway, he's down, and since all were quiet, I was able to go ahead & make pumpkin muffins for tomorrow. (Our Care Group is having our Christmas brunch. Yay!) I think these muffins are pretty tasty, but for once, don't take my word for it - just ask Elijah. He LOVES them. I made these Thanksgiving, along with the casserole, and Elijah probably ate about half a dozen little ones. (When I make muffins, I make the regular size, but I also make the mini muffins. Those just seem to be easier for the boys.) This recipe will make either two dozen regular muffins OR a dozen regular muffins and 24 minis. :)

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 c sugar

1/2 c vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 oz. pumpkin

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 c water

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine sugar, oil, and eggs. Add pumpkin & mix well. Add each additional ingredient alternately with the water, mixing well with each addition. Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake at 350 30 min. Enjoy!