Peanut Butter Blossoms

This is the first time I've ever made this type of cookie, but man, it was great!  The peanut butter cookie differs from my usual recipe, but it was pretty great!  Both add a little something to the cookie.  Plus, this was a fun cookie to make with my girls, as they enjoyed unwrapping the Hershey kisses!  I made this for Santa this Xmas eve and I can say without a doubt, he was impressed and happy! ;-)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 Cup Shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
- 3/4 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla
- 1 1/2 Cups Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- Hershey Kisses unwrapped and ready to go! 

Directions:

1.  Heat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

2.  In another large bowl or your mixer's bowl (first time I used the one I got for Xmas...woot!) toss in your shortening and your peanut butter and mix until smooth. 

3.  Now toss in your brown sugar and your white sugar and beat together until fluffy.  Add in your egg, the milk and the vanilla and beat together again until smooth. 

4.  Begin adding in the flour mixture, beating well as you go until well combined.  You'll have a nice firm dough. 

5.  Using your hands, shape dough into medium sized balls, placing them on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-12 minutes or until slightly brown.  Remove cookies and immediately place a Hershey's kiss in the center of each one.  Remove cookie CAREFULLY from baking sheet and allow to cool completely before serving. 

Here's the final product....

So yummy!  I will definitely be making this cookie again and soon!  Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Crumb Cake

This delicious crumb cake has been making it's rounds in our household for years now!  I usually make it for holiday breakfasts, as I did for Xmas this year.  It's moist, crunchy, flavorful, and just perfect with a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate! 

Ingredients:

- 1 Cup + 2 tsp. Flour, divided
- 2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar, divided
- 1/2 Cup Walnuts or Pecans, finely chopped
- 2 Tsp. Cinnamon
- 2 Lg. Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 large apples, cored, peeled, and cubed

*NOTE:  There are 3 apples pictured, but I only used 2.  I wasn't sure if 2 was going to be enough but it was!

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, the baking powder and the salt.  Set aside.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup brown sugar, the 2 tsp. Flour, the nuts, and cinnamon.  Set aside also.

3.  Begin coring, peeling and cubing your apples and place them into a bowl and set aside.

4.  Now, in a large bowl, whisk together your eggs, white sugar, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar until smooth.  Add in your oil and vanilla until well mixed.  Slowly add together the flour/baking powder/salt combination into this wet mix.  It will create a smooth batter. 

5.  Now, grab your pie pan and spray WELL with cooking spray.  Add half of the batter to the bottom of your pan, smoothing it out if necessary.  Top with 1/2 the apples, 1/2 the nut mixture.  Add the rest of the batter on top of the crumb mixture and spread out as well as you can.  It doesn't have to be perfect, it will all come together, trust me!  Now repeat the apple and nut mixture, adding the rest of everything. 

6.  Place the cake into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Either allow to cool before serving or refrigerate until the next day.  But, be sure to warm slightly in the microwave before serving if doing so the following day. 

Here's the final product.....

Sooo sweet and delicious!  I wish I had gotten a photo of when I was cutting and serving, but  I served this Xmas morning, so everyone was hungry and excited, lol.  It was a hit though!  Enjoy!

My Simple Fudge

Fudge brings to mind slaving over a hot stove, making sure you don't scorch the chocolate, then cursing b/c you didn't get it right.  I am happy to say that I've found that that does not have to be the case!  With this recipe, you can whip up a pound of fudge in under 10 minutes then just sit back, let it harden, chop it up and give it away (or eat it all yourself, no judgement!)  Try this one soon!

Ingredients:

- 1 bag Semi- Sweet chocolate chips
- 1 Cup Milk Chocolate chips
- 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
- Pinch of Salt
- Optional:  Nuts of any kind

Directions:

1.  Line a 9 inch pan with foil, making sure the foil goes over the side.  This will allow you to lift the fudge out of the pan easily without any sticking and any mess.  I do not own a square 9 inch pan, it met it's dreadful demise a long while ago (don't ask!) so I use my circle pie pan, lol.  It works fine!

2.  Pour your bag of semi-sweet chips into a large bowl and add the cup of milk chocolate chips to that.  Microwave for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until the chocolate is melted.  Spray your rubber spatula with cooking spray, and stir in the sweet milk, vanilla, and salt.  Mix well.

3.  Pour your chocolate mixture into your foil lined pan and spread as evenly as possible.  Place the fudge into the refrigerator for AT LEAST 3 hours or overnight.

4.  Place your pan on a sheet pan and lift your brick of fudge out of the pan.  Peel off the foil and toss it in the trash.  Now using a sharp knife, cut your fudge into strips, then cut into cubes.  They don't have to be perfect here....it's fudge!

Here's the final product.....

Very sweet and screams holiday give away!  That's what I did....along with a plate of Peanut Butter Blossoms (recipe soon!)  I hope you all enjoyed your Xmas!  Happy Holidays :-)

Crock Pot Beef Stew

It's Winter time.  Beef Stew is a must!  Simple as that!! :-)

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs. Stew beef cubes, cut into bite sized pieces
- Olive oil
- 2 medium Onions, diced
- 1 cup of baby carrots, chopped
- 4 potatoes, cut up into pieces of your choosing
- 1 can mushrooms, undrained
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 3 cups Beef broth, divided
- 1/2 cup Flour

*I ended up NOT using the can of green beans shown, but you can really add any veggies you like into a beef stew!*

Directions:

1.  Chop all your veggies and place them into the bottom of your slow cooker.  Chop your beef cubes into smaller pieces (if you want to...this pkg of beef cubes were pretty large and we like smaller pieces) and begin heating some olive oil in a frying pan.  Also, season your veggies with the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

2.  Brown your beef cubes in the olive oil until browned.  You're not cooking it, just searing.  Pour the beef cubes and all the juices on top of your veggies in the slow cooker.  Mix together.

3.  Now pour 2 1/2 cups of your beef broth into the slow cooker, give it another stir and then place it on low for 4-8 hours.

4.  About 20 minutes before you're ready to serve, take the 1/2 cup of beef broth you have left and combine in with the 1/2 cup of flour.  Whisk together well.  This is called a slurry and it helps to thicken your stews or soups.  Pour that into your stew and mix well.  Continue cooking for the 20 minutes or so.  Also, if you're stew is TOO thick, you can also add a bit more stock if you choose to.

Here's the final product.....

It was VERY tasty, but the potatoes got a bit overdone this time.  I'm thinking I cut them too small.  Either way, it was still delicious and it gave great leftovers!  Stay warm!