Candy Cane Cookies

These are one of my personal favorite Christmas cookies (they're also the most labor intensive ones I do, so don't worry it's all downhill from here :)). I think they just look so festive, and the kids love to help with these.

 

Candy Cane Cookies

1 c. margarine, softened
1 c. icing sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. peppermint flavoring
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. liquid red food coloring (instead I like to use a squirt of my gel food coloring)

Beat first 6 ingredients in a bowl until light and creamy. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, then add to margarine mixture. Stir until stiff dough forms. Divide into 2 equal portions.
Knead food coloring into 1 portion of the dough until evenly tinted.
Roll about 1 tsp. of each color of dough into a 5 1/2 cm rope.

Lay side by side. Pinch ends together, twist and form into candy cane shape.

Arrange on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until just golden. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cool completely.

Rolls Royce Cinnamon Buns

I know I said I'd be posting Christmas type baking, but I just HAD to share these with you. My regular cinnamon bun recipe http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/caramel-pecan-rolls is amazing (and I'll still be making them on occasion). But this new slightly healthier version of the cinnamon bun is out-of-the-ballpark good!

 

Rolls Royce Cinnamon Buns

2 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
2 1/4 tsp. (1 pkg.) quick-rising yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter (margarine)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten

***Combine flours, flaxseed, yeast and salt, mix well and set aside. In a small saucepan warm butter, milk and sugar over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, don't boil. Pour into large bowl and add 1/2 of flour and the egg, stir until well blended, add remaining flour, stir until soft ball forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic (a minute or two). Place in an oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place for 30 min. to an hour.***
Now... cheater me, just puts my liquids and sugar in my bread maker and layers the dry ingredients on top, puts it on the dough cycle and comes bake an hour later :)

Filling:
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. margarine, at room temp.

Combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Roll out dough into ~12x14-inch rectangle (~1/4inch thick), spread with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture, then roll put jelly-roll style, should end up with a log about 12 inches long. Slice into 12 equal pieces and arrange in a greased 9x13 pan. Let rise in a warm place for about 30-45 minutes (I turn my oven on for 2 or so minutes then turn it off, and use it as my 'warm' place). Then bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. light cream cheese, room temp.
1 Tbsp. butter, room temp.
1/2 c. icing sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk

Beat together until creamy and drizzle over warm buns, enjoy :)

Note: I doubled the glaze recipe when I made the batch for the picture.
Adapted from the Looneyspoons Cookbook.

Creamy Christmas Truffles

It is that time of year again ... Christmas baking time! Anyone who knows me knows this is my absolute favorite baking event of the year! I thought I'd give you a little taster of the things I like to whip up this time of year, I hope to post a number of family favorite treats and make ahead appetizers over the coming weeks. These truffles are melt-in-your-mouth perfection, I have always been nervous to try homemade truffles, but they are actually not that hard and if you follow the instructions you should have no problems.

 

 

Creamy Christmas Truffles

 

2/3 c. whipping cream

1/4 c. butter (no substitutions this time)

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

8 squares semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I use Baker's that you buy in a box in the baking isle)

 

Coatings:

1 1/4 c. finely ground nuts (I used walnuts this time) or chocolate wafer crumbs

 

In a saucepan combine whipping cream, butter and sugar. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and chocolate, stirring until chocolate is melted. Refrigerate mixture for 5 hours, or until it is firm enough to roll into balls. Drop chocolate mixture by tablespoon into coating and roll into balls. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.   Makes 36 pieces.

 

Note: you can change the flavour by substituting the vanilla with a liqueur of your choice.

Peach Muffins

Sunday mornings are muffin mornings for us. I clipped this recipe out of a newspaper when we were first married and on mornings when I don't have any fresh or frozen fruit out and don't feel like waiting for my bran to soak, this is a perfect quick choice.

 

Peach Muffins

2 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 small eggs (or 1 large)
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. canola oil
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 -398ml can peaches, patted dry and chopped

Combine dry ingredients, set aside. Lightly beat eggs, add milk, oil and extracts. Add to flour mixture until just blended. Fold in peaches. Spoon into lined or lightly greased muffin tins. Optional: top with streusel. Bake at 400 for 18 minutes. Store leftovers in fridge.

Optional Streusel:
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. oil
Combine in a small bowl.

The original recipe was larger and called for fresh or frozen peaches, but living were we do, canned works for me so I adapted the recipe. So if you live were peaches are readily available, feel free to substitute them.

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

This is our favorite use of leftover turkey, and it makes a second one for the freezer, perfect:)

 

 



Turkey Pot Pie

 

1 c. each: cubed potatoes, peas, carrots and green beans

1/2 c. celery, sliced

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. onion, chopped

2/3 c. flour

1 tsp. each: salt & pepper

1/2 tsp. each: celery seed, onion powder & Italian seasoning

1 3/4 c. chicken broth

1 c. milk

4 c. cooked turkey, cubed

2 double pie crusts

 

Boil potatoes, peas, carrots, beans and celery for 8 minutes. Meanwhile sauté butter and onion for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to get tender. Whisk in flour and seasonings, slowly whisk in liquids, cook until thickened. Stir in turkey and vegetables. Put into 2 pie shells, top with a layer of dough, seal edges and cut slits on top to vent. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Butter Tart Squares

My husband LOVES butter tarts, and after trying a few versions of the squares I have finally found one that I am happy with! I like the texture, it actually sets so its not so messy to eat and it makes a huge batch, awesome for when you have to bring baking to an event.

 

Butter Tart Squares

2 c. flour
1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar

Cut together flour, sugar and butter. Press into jelly roll pan (large cookie sheet). Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
4 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
1 1/2 c. raisins
3/4 c. coarsely chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar. Blend in the eggs, add flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Mix until well combined. Stir in raisins and nuts. Pour over hot base, bake for another 20-25 minutes or until top springs back. Cool before slicing.

Pumpkin Streusel Pancakes

Now that Halloween and Thanksgiving are done (at least in Canada), we can process those pumpkins and let our creative juices out! My boys love pumpkin so every year I look forward to experimenting with some new recipes, and this year I came across this one. If you only try one pumpkin recipe this year, this is the one...    (so so worth the extra effort)

 

Pumpkin Streusel Pancakes

Streusel:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. cold butter

Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon together and cut in the butter until crumbly. Set aside.

3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cloves
1 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin
1 egg
2 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add to dry ingredients until just combined. Drop 1/3 cup of batter onto pre-heated grill, sprinkle with 2 tsp. streusel mixture and cook until bubbles form about 2-3 minutes. Flip, sprinkle with another few tsp. streusel and cook another 2-3 minutes. Can serve with butter and syrup, but I thought they tasted good just the way they were. (Of coure my boys had to make them float though :))

Beef Stir Fry



A while back I was asked if I had a good stir fry recipe, and while my regular recipe is ok I have had this one in my To Try Book for a while. Well we finally got around to trying it and mm, mm, mmm, it was good :)

 

Beef Stir Fry

Marinade:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Montreal Steak Spice

Mix marinade ingredients and marinate meat at least 1 hour, but not more than 3 hours. The original recipe never gave an amount of meat, I sliced up about 1 1/2 lbs. and it seemed the right amount of sauce).
Drain meat, reserving the marinade, and sauté meat in 1 Tbsp. hot oil until the meat is just browned. Remove from pan and set aside. Add another Tbsp. of oil to the pan and sauté vegetables:

Stir Fry: use a combination of whatever you have, but you should have an onion in there:
sliced mushrooms
sliced onions
red, yellow or orange pepper strips
sliced carrots
broccoli florets
zucchini, cut into strips (discard the soft centre)

When sautéing numerous vegetables remember to add the quicker cooking ones (broccoli-mid way through, and zucchini-very end) later in the cooking process. Saute till almost tender, add the meat, and sauce ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. orange juice
reserved marinade

And as much of the marinade as needed to make the amount of sauce you prefer. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Mix 2 tsp. cornstarch with a little more cold water and stir into the sauce in the pan. Cook until sauce thickens. (If needed you can add more cornstarch if you like it even thicker). Serve immediately over rice or thin noodles.