Holiday Goodies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

September 29, 2020 by laceyaltadraper@gmail.com 2 Comments

Sunday breakfasts are a favorite for me and my family. Depending on our church schedule, I usually end up with extra time to bake something extra delicious. This past Sunday morning called for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

As I gathered my ingredients to make these delicious fall muffins, I realized I was about one cup short of chocolate chips. Seeing as how I had refilled my chocolate chip canister earlier this week, I imagine that more than one pair of little hands found their way into the jar. Luckily, we had about a dozen fun-sized Hershey bars leftover from recent activity. So my girls and I chopped those up to mix in and saved the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips for sprinkling on top. Adaptability is the name of the game around here! The chopped-up chocolate chunks were delicious in this recipe and many other substitutions would work just as well. I’m thinking about trying white chocolate or cinnamon chips but you could easily omit the chips completely and have pure pumpkin muffins.

Here’s hoping you have extra time this week for extra delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Serving Size:

16 Muffins

Time:

Difficulty:

East

Ingredients

2 C flour
1 t. baking soda
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 1/2 c. canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 c. chocolate chips (reserve a few for topping the muffins)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 and line a 12 count muffin tin and a 6 count muffin tin with paper or silicone tin liners.
Mix flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl mix milk, oil, sugars, pumpkin puree, and eggs until well blended.
Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently, only until just combined.
Add chocolate chips and gently stir until incorporated.
Fill tins almost all the way full* and bake for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 and continue baking another 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

*because this is such a heavy batter as long as you leave about 1/4″ space from the top of the liner the muffins will puff up, not over the edges

Holiday Meatballs

December 23, 2014 by Shanon Balser Leave a Comment

We’ve been serving up these festive meatballs for years at our family Christmas Eve Party. The main players in this yummy dish are: chili sauce, cranberry sauce and sauerkraut. I know what you are thinking, “who in their right mind would mix those ingredients together and call them festive?” Try it…you will go home with an empty, sticky pan.

This dish is delicious served by itself or you can take along a bowl of rice. Last year I forgot the rice and as I was lingering in the kitchen I heard several people ask where the rice was. I guess that means that even a humble bowl of rice has become a Christmas tradition. I’ve made this recipe starting from scratch with homemade meatballs, homemade cranberry sauce and homemade chili sauce and I’ve made it the easy way with precooked meatballs, canned cranberry sauce and purchased chili sauce. It’s great either way!

Holiday Meatballs just before I pop them in the oven

sauerkraut, brown sugar, chili sauce and whole-berry cranberry sauce

all those yummy sauces with spices stirred in

Holiday Meatballs

You will love the unqiue combination of flavors and the absolute beauty of this dish!

Author: adapted from The Pampered Chef Food, Family & Friends Saucy Meatballs

Ingredients

1⅓ cups whole-berry cranberry sauce
1½ cups chili sauce (the chunky kind)
1 cup brown sugar
1½ cups sauerkraut
1 cup water
⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
*two dozen meatballs {already cooked}
Fresh/Frozen cranberries to toss on top just before cooking
Cooked rice if desired

Instructions

In a large bowl combine cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, sauerkraut, water, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon.
Stir until well blended and pour evenly over meatballs.
Top with a handful of fresh or frozen cranberries sprinkled across the top.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
Serve as an appetizer or over a bowl of rice.

Marshmallows

December 10, 2014 by Shanon Balser Leave a Comment

Fun! Fun, fun, fun. Making marshmallows is fun. I actually sang in the kitchen “It’s a marshmallow world in the winter….” while I made these. Really though, how can you go wrong when you are working with sugar and sprinkles and the end result is a light, airy, white marshmallow? It’s like making happiness!

The first time I made marshmallows I was with a young women’s group. As I recall I was about 16. I remember being amazed that a person could actually make marshmallows. Since then I have made these on several occasions and every time I do I have the same giddy feeling. Making marshmallows is sort of like creating an epidemic in the house. You start pulling out ingredients and the kids ask, “What are you making mom?” You tell them that you are making marshmallows and for some reason they linger because it’s so out of the ordinary. Before long you have all sorts of help and the laughter starts to flow. At our house we love chocolate covered marshmallows, marshmallows in hot chocolate and eating marshmallows right out of the bag, so this recipe is a winner all the way around. I have a granddaughter who is particularly fond of marshmallows and I look forward to having sticky marshmallow making fun with her in the years to come.

Preparing for the stickiness which is about to beset you–line a 13 x 9 baking pan with buttered foil. I like to lay my tinfoil flat on the counter to butter it and then fold it into the baking pan rather than trying to butter the nooks and cranny’s of a tinfoil lined pan.

Start by sprinkling 2 packages of gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. Set aside.

In a two quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/3 cup water. Stir until sugar is well incorporated before turning on the heat. Cook to softball stage. (235° to 240°), stirring only until the sugar is dissolved. I have a great candy thermometer but always find myself double checking my thermometer with cold water and a spoon, something my mother taught me as a young girl. The basic theory is that you drop a spoonful of of candy syrup in the cold water and then you try to form it into a ball. If you remove the ball from the water it will quickly flatten in your hand. This same test can be done all the way through most of the stages of candy making. You’ll find that the candy will move fairly quickly to the 220° stage and then take quite a while to move to the softball stage. This is not a time where I leave the kitchen. Keep an eye on the thermometer. It’s not rocket science, but it does take some patience.

Once your candy has reached the desired 235° to 240°, remove the pan from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Give it a couple of stirs and set it aside of 10 minutes to cool. Set a timer. While the candy syrup is cooling, separate one egg and beat the egg white on high speed into stiff peaks. I used my stand mixer for this.

After the 10 minute cooking period, in a large bowl ( now you know why I used my stand mixer), slowly add the candy syrup while beating at high speed until the candy stands in soft peaks. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and whip just to incorporate.

Using a buttered spatula, pour the whipped marshmallow into your foil lined, buttered 13 X 9 baking pan. Work quickly without being stressed. It’s so pretty! Set your beautiful pan of marshmallow aside to cool completely, allowing it set, uncovered, for about 6 hours, or overnight. I can guarantee that you will have a crowd when it’s time to cut the marshmallows. My husband found his way to the kitchen to wield our pizza cutter.

Turn the set marshmallow out onto a lightly floured work surface. I am using parchment. Lightly flour the top of your marshmallow. Grab a gallon size plastic bag with a seal and put 2 heaping tablespoons of flour in it. This is where you will deposit the cut marshmallows as you cut them. You will have to work in batches. So…. butter pizza cutter and cut your marshmallows into squares–or triangles–or whatever creative thing you can do with a pizza cutter. **you can use confectioners sugar (aka powdered sugar) instead of flour

Toss these sticky little puffs of deliciousness into your plastic bag and give them a shake. If you need to, reach your hand in and separate the obstinate ones so that they all get a bit of flour. As you take them out of the bag, place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment. In order to get the last of the loose flour off of the mallows, I cover mine with a cooling rack, take them outside or work over the sink, and give them a shake. You could also use a large strainer if you don’t own a cooling rack. I’ve been known to get out the blow dryer and blow the excess flour away when I get desperate. It’s all part of the fun!

So.. now we have made marshmallows! What are you going to do with them?

We drizzled ours with a bit of chocolate and added a few sprinkles.

Marshmallows

This is such a fun recipe to make. Take a bit of time to get ready for this project and it will make it run as smooth and airy as these marshmallows. These make a whimsical and unique gift.

Author: Sweet Suppertime

Ingredients

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin ( i used KNOX brand)
½ cup cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
⅓ cup water
1 egg white
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Decorations
Chocolate, melted for drizzling or dipping
Sprinkles

Instructions

Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with buttered foil. It's easiest for me if I butter the foil while it's laying flat and then fold it into the pan.
Soften gelatin by sprinkling it over ½ cup of cold water. Set aside.
In a 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and ⅓ cup water. Stir until the mixture is well on its way to having the sugar dissolved.
Now turn on the heat and stir only until the sugar is dissolved.
Cook to softball stage.
Remove pan from heat.
Using a wooden spoon, stir gelatin into the candy syrup and set the syrup aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Separate one egg and in a large bowl beat the egg white to stiff peaks.
After the allotted 10 minutes of cooling time, slowly add the syrup to the egg white, beating at high speed.
Continue beating until the candy stands in soft peaks.
Pour into prepared pan and allow to cool and set for about 6 hours ( or overnight).
When you are ready to cut the marshmallows, put 2 heaping tablespoons of flour into a gallon bag with a good seal. This is where we will toss the cut mallows.
Turn the finished pan of marshmallow out on to a lightly floured surface.
Using a knife or pizza cutter that has been sprayed with cooking spray or buttered, cut the marshmallows into desired shapes and sizes.
Toss the cut marshmallows into your gallon size bag in small batches. Shake to coat and remove to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Once all of the marshmallows are coated with a very thin layer of flour, they should stop sticking. This can leave you with a bit too much flour, however.
Lay a cooling rack over the top of the marshmallows and invert to get rid of the additional flour. I've been known to take the blow dryer outside with me to blow away the unnecessary flour.
Your marshmallows are ready for eating, decorating or gifting.
Have fun.
**if you prefer you can use powdered sugar rather than flour when working with the marshmallow cutting and bagging process.

Molasses Friendship Cookies with Lemon Drizzle

November 13, 2014 by Shanon Balser 2 Comments

I love this recipe. I have fond memories of sitting with my father and eating ginger snap cookies. You know– the ones in the brown homely bag that you walk by at the store and wonder if anyone ever really buys them. They do. I actually like them. In fact there isn’t a molasses/ginger cookie that I don’t like. But I LOVE this recipe.

These cookies are soft and packed with all the right spices. We make these cookies year round but when the weather turns crisp and leaves billow and dance around the backyard I always reach for the molasses. I love that these are called “friendship cookies”, and every time I pull a batch out of the oven and breath in the smell of them and look at how pretty they turn out I am reminded why. I automatically think “I should take a few of these to ____”. If I can get them on to a plate or in to a bag fast enough, I do just that. Otherwise I just pour the milk and watch them disappear.

Recently my daughter Lacey needed to make invitations for a church function where ladies would be invited to share traditions. We decided to make our traditional “friendship cookies” into the invitation. We made the cookies smallish and put them in little bags which were then delivered around her neighborhood. It was a fun day baking together. These are easy to make and fun to share. Let’s make ~~cookies~~ friends!

Cream together everything except the flour. Yup, it’s all in there at once. Rebel.

Beat in your mixer for 1 minute, on low, scraping down the bowl once. Add the flour and continue to mix until incorporated about 2 minutes, again scraping down the bowl so that nothing gets left out of the mix and mingling of ingredients.

Roll dough into walnut size balls and roll in sugar. Here they are just rolling around in all that happy sugar.

Place the cookie dough on a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet. Since we made smallish cookies, the size of an acorn, the baking sheet you see here is loaded up with 30 cookies.

Bake at 350° for approximately 10 minutes, checking after 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Decide if you want to glaze them with a little drizzle of lemon glaze. Not necessary, but pretty and delicious.

If you decide to drizzle glaze on them use 1 cup of powdered sugar with one tablespoon of lemon juice and one tablespoon of water mixed together until smooth. Line all the cookies up nice and snug together on a cookie sheet and drizzle the glazing to your hearts content. Oh– and here’s a photo of how Lacey’s invitations turned out!

Molasses Friendship Cookies with Lemon Glaze

I love the way these cookies bake up with the beautiful textured breaks along the top.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¾ cup shortening
¼ cup molasses
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups all flour
LEMON GLAZE FOR DRIZZLING
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°
Cream together all ingredients EXCEPT flour, mixing on low speed for 1 minute, scraping down the sides once.
Add flour and mix an additional 2 minutes, again scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Roll the dough into walnut size balls ( or smaller) and dip them in sugar to coat.
Bake on parchment or a lightly greased cookie sheet for approximately 10 minutes. You want them to be soft, so do not over bake.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
When the cookies have cooled, line them all up close together and drizzle lightly with lemon glaze.
LEMON GLAZE
Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and water and stir until smooth.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 10, 2014 by Shanon Balser Leave a Comment

I have to admit that I am a bit of a late comer to pumpkin cookies. In fact I hadn’t even tasted so much as a morsel of a pumpkin cookie until 11 years ago. I still remember the occasion; my youngest son was graduating from preschool in full black garbage bag regalia. I know, I am still trying to consider the wisdom of having a group of preschoolers working with plastic that will eventually be draped over their heads. Gasp… shudder. At any rate he marched proudly in his black garbage bag cap and gown across the deck and down the stairs while Pomp and Circumstance played on the small boom box plugged in near the base of the wooden stairs. He looked adorable. I was hungry. There were pumpkin cookies. I scoffed at first and considered staying hungry (pumpkin is not usually a favorite) but eventually the hunger pains won out and I tried one. Eureka! I tried two and then three and then I sent my little garbage bag graduate to get one for the road. What had I been missing all these years? The long and short of is that I couldn’t get enough these new found treats and it was spring as in… it wasn’t even fall! To date I have not met a pumpkin cookies I didn’t like but making them from scratch is my favorite and I have never found the need to discriminate the season. They are equally delicious spring, summer, winter or fall.

One note; don’t get pumpkin pie filling when the recipe asks for pumpkin.Get 100% pumpkin. Or better yet–when you are feeling all domestic prepare your own pumpkin. Let’s make some cookies! This batch makes about 3 dozen medium size cookies. Gather the following ingredients: butter, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin, egg, vanilla, flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips.

Preheat your oven to 375° Combine 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl and whisk together.

In a separate bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 cup butter at room temperature (this recipe works well with 1/2 cup margarine and 1/2 cup butter for those of us on a budget), 2/3 cup brown packed brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar (aka granulated sugar) .

Beat together and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 1 cup pumpkin**, one egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and beat together.

Scrape down the bowl again and then add the dry ingredients, beating together until thoroughly combined.

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips ( I like milk chocolate) and drop the dough onto a prepared baking sheet. I like using a large cookie scoop for this because the cookies stay nicely uniform.

Bake on the middle oven rack in your preheated oven until your cookies edges are lightly browned. As you are checking on your cookies you will notice the color denseness disappear as the cookies bake. Watch for the denseness in the center to close in, but don’t over bake the cookies. Plan on about 12 minutes depending on your oven and the size of your cookies. I usually do a test run on a couple of cookies to make sure that when they bake I like the way they look when they are done. I like this cookie to be a bit “puffy” so if I need to add a bit more flour to the dough, I do.

Remove them from the oven and cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to completely cool.

**Any pumpkin not used should be removed from the can and refrigerated or frozen. If I put mine in the refrigerator I like to use it within 5 days max. If I don’t think I will bake pumpkiny things within that time frame I put it in a freezer bag ( because I can get most of the air out) and pop it in the freezer, labeled. I like to use my frozen pumpkin within 6 months.

By now the cookies should be cooled…eat up! No garbage bag required.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened (or 1/2 cup margarine and 1/2 cup butter if you are feeling thrifty)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 cup pumpkin (canned or make your own)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour (more if needed)
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°
In a bowl combine dry ingredients whisking together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together butter and sugars. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract and mix together. Scrape down the bowl again and add all dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and stir in chocolate chips.
Drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet and bake at 375° for approximately 12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and finish cooking on a cooling rack until completely cool. Makes about 3 dozen large cookies.

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White Chocolate Covered Popcorn

December 6, 2013 by laceyaltadraper@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Christmas popcorn, Christmas treats, sweet suppertime

It doesn’t get any easier than this! ( And yes, I realize that these are in the same classification of Rice Krispie Treats.) No judging until you have tried them! This popcorn treat is fun to make, fun to eat, fun to package, fun to vary, fun to give away, fun to keep…..well you get the idea.
This summer I attended the wedding reception for the son of a good friend of mine. As we left they had adorable popcorn cartons filled with the most delicious variation of popcorn mix that I had ever seen. Then I tasted it and fell in love. Your imagination is literally your only limitation with the mix. For the Christmas Season I have used mint creme candies, crushed candy canes, chocolate coated candies and chocolate covered pretzels. At Halloween I love to toss in candy corn or/and pieces of caramel. Sometimes I drizzle milk chocolate for added color. I had a dream the other night that I started with a layer of potato chips, milk chocolate, popcorn, white chocolate, pretzels etc. Yes I dream food! This is a great last minute party treat and a super delicious neighbor gift at Christmas!

This is how I made mine today…

Pop one 3.3 oz butter flavor popcorn in the microwave and pour out on a large jelly roll pan covered in parchment or wax paper. Remove all unpopped kernels. My mom had a handy Tupperware that could do this job but alas I had to use the hunt and peck method.
Now it’s to add all the the nummy treats to the top of your popped corn! Reserve a few of your smaller treats to add to the top after you have drizzled your white chocolate. When I make mine I sort of break the pan into sections, putting different treats in each section so that when I put them in a bowl or package it all up it looks like there is a lot of variety.

Now comes the super fun part; melting and drizzling the white chocolate. Pour 1 package (12 oz) of white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl (I like glass). This is how I melt mine;
Microwave on half power for one minute.
Remove and stir once.
Microwave on half power for another minute.
Remove and stir a couple of times.
Microwave on full power for 30 seconds.
Stir until smooth and start drizzling baby! I like using a metal tablespoon (dinnerware style) to do this.
Now, be generous and get a good coating on this as the chocolate is what binds it all together. When you have it all nice a pretty, toss on those reserved candies to add color and texture to what the eye sees before the mouth consumes.

Let your masterpiece sit for 30 minutes while the chocolate dries. Gently break it in to pieces for serving. It goes a bit like this at my house; one for the bowl, one for me, one for the bowl, a bite for me… this usually yields 1/2 bowl and one happy tummy. If that’s the case wrap it up pretty and give it to someone you REALLY like.

White Chocolate Covered Popcorn by Sweet Suppertime

Ingredients

1 3.3 oz. bag butter flavored microwave popcorn, popped and unpopped kernals discarded
1 12 oz bag white chocolate chips
Candy of your choice such as:
chocolate coated candies
chocolate covered pretzels, broken in large pieces
chocolate mint cremes
crushed candy cane…the possibilities are endless

Instructions

After popping the popcorn, pour it out on a large jelly roll pan covered with wax paper or parchment. Sort through the popped corn and discard any kernels that have not popped. Spread out evenly on the pan. Sprinkle your desired candies on the top. Be as generous as your taste buds and budget allows. Reserve a few candies to place on top of the finished product.
Melt one 12 oz package of white chocolate chips in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Use half power for in minute in the microwave, remove and stir. Microwave for an additional minute on half power, remove and stir. Microwave one last time on full power for 30 seconds. Remove and stir until smooth, then quickly drizzle over the prepared popcorn and candies. You will want to use the entire bag of white chocolate as this is what holds the popcorn bark together. Sprinkle any reserved candies on top and allow to cool and dry for 30 minutes.
Gently break into pieces and enjoy! (and maybe even share)