Chocolate Brownie Fudgies with Holiday M&Ms

                                                                         

Chewy Brownie Bites loaded with Holiday Mini M&M's! These cookies are so fudgelicious, that they will not last long! This recipes makes 5 dozen chewy but soft brownie cookies! You could use chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, mint chocolate chips, or nuts in these cookies!

1 & 1/3 Cup Shortening

3 Cups Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

2 TBS Cold Water

6 TSP Vanilla

3 Cups Flour

1&1/3 Cup Cocoa

1 TSP Salt

1/2 TSP Baking Soda

2, 11 0z. Bags M&M's Mini Baking Candies

Sift all dry ingredients together, except the sugar & the candies! In a deep bowl beat the shortening until fluffy. Add brown sugar & beat again until fluffy. Now add eggs, vanilla & water & beat well. Slowly add the dry ingredients about 1/4 of the mixture at a time. The last round I had to stir in by hand! Chill dough overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drop by heaping TBS onto ungreased sheets & bake between 7 to 9 minutes DO NOT OVER BAKE! This makes 5 dozen cookies! This recipe is a variation from Taste Of Homes recipes!

Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip, & Nut Cookies

                                                                           

This is a very nice change from Oatmeal Raisin & it is sure to please!

1 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1 & 3/4 Cup Flour

1 TSP Vanilla

1 TSP Salt

2 TSP Cinnamon

1 TSP Baking Soda

3 Cups Oatmeal ( I use Old Fashion Rolled Oats)

1 Cup Chopped Dried Cranberries ( Craisins)

1 Cup White Baking Chips

1 Cup Nuts ( I used Slivered Almonds but Pecans or Walnuts Chopped would be great too!)

Mix flour, salt, cinnamon, & baking soda together & set aside. In a large deep bowl beat shortening creamy, add sugars & beat again. Now add eggs & vanilla & beat fluffy.  Beat in the flour mixture. Now stir in the oatmeal, dried cranberries & nuts. Mix to combine well! No need to chill your dough. Drop by heaping tablespoon full onto cookie sheets & bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned! Frost with the following frosting while cookies are still slightly warm so it is more of a heavy glaze! Make the frosting ahead so it is ready to go on the warm cookies!

FROSTING:

4 Cups Confectioners Sugar

1 TSP Vanilla

Dash of Salt

5 or so TBS Half & Half Cream enough to stir together into a creamy lightly stiff frosting!

THIS RECIPE MAKES ABOUT 4 & 1/2 DOZEN DELICIOUS COOKIES!

Homemade Gum Drops!

                                                                       

Did you know that you can make homemade Gum Drops? I did not know that until now! So FUN & so PRETTY & very tasty! I made them just to do something different & pretty to have this Christmas & I think they just might become a holiday tradition! 

You will need the following on hand to make these:

3 Foil Bread pans (not mini but full sized)

Non Stick Aluminum Foil

3 different food colors ( I used red, green & left the coconut natural)

3 Matching Sanding sugars ( I used Red, Green, & White)

6 Envelopes of Knox Unflavored Gelatin

1 Cup Cold Water

4 Cups Granulated Sugar
1&1/2 Cups Boiling Water

Flavors ( I used Cinnamon, Wintergreen, & Coconut)

Food Coloring ( I used Red, Green, & Coconut I left uncolored)

In a deep dish stir gelatin into the cup of cold water stir & let gelatin dissolve.

Line the 3 bread pans. Use 1 sheet of foil big enough to line the bottom & sides of 1 bread pan. Line all 3 this way. 

In a deep heavy saucepan bring 1 & 1/2 Cups Water & 4 Cups Sugar to a boil. Stir in gelatin & water mixture & boil at a rolling boil, one that you can not stir down, over medium high heat stirring constantly for 25 minutes ( YES 25 minutes) Mixture will go from creamy white to an amber syrup, this is what you want, BE CAREFUL & DO NOT BURN THE MIXTURE! Just cook, boil & stir! After 25 minutes pour mixture into your prepared pans dividing evenly between the three! Now in one pan add Wintergreen Flavor & about 3 to 4 drops of green coloring, do as little or as much as you wish, stir well to combine. In the next pan add cinnamon flavoring & red coloring, the next pan just add coconut flavoring. In each pan I added about 2 TSP for the Wintergreen & 3 to 5 for the others & 5 drops of color! Make sure to use a different spoon to stir each pan or colors & flavors will mix together, & you do not want that!

Now place pans in refrigerator to set up for one day! After that day is up get three flat serving dishes, Coat one with red sanding sugar, one with green sanding sugar & one with white sanding sugar. Now take the red Gum Drops & dump them out on the red sanding sugar plate. Gently peel off the non stick foil , these will be very gummy & tacky, that is what you want! Now coat all sides with red sanding sugar! With a sharp knife cut into slices about 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide. Now cut into squares, coat all side with sugar! Go onto the Wintergreen pan & do the same & then the Coconut! Let sit out uncovered 2 days to firm up & get Gum Drop like! Then store in airtight separate containers so flavors stay true! ENJOY! Makes about 7 dozen all together!

Prime Rib

                                                                       

This is fine dining right at home! EASY TOO!

1 Prime Rib cut off the bone & then tied back onto the rib so it has a built in rack for roasting. Your butcher will do this for you. I used a 2 Rib Prime Roast for 3 people. Order accordingly for your needs.

Let meat come to room temp. before cooking.

Season meat on all sides liberally with Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper. 

Take your roaster pan & place over 2 burners on the stove top. Place roast in fat side down & sear meat over medium high heat until the fat is nicely browned. Now place roast fat side up in the roaster & place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Roast 30 minutes per pound & until meat thermometer reaches 125 degrees for rare, 130 degrees for medium rare, 150 degrees for well done. My roast took 4 hours & was a 5 & 3/4 pound roast & was medium. Juicy, tender & succulent. The dogs enjoyed the rib bones once they cooled! My husband enjoyed the Prime Rib as his birthday dinner! This is as EASY as it gets!

Chicken Roasted Ala Crock-Pot

                                                                         

You want  nice easy supper that cooks while you are away? This is the perfect answer!

1 Whole Chicken thawed & patted dry inside & out!

Salt

Pepper

Onion Powder

Minced Garlic

Paprika

Parsley

Sage

Savory

Place a teaspoon of Mince Garlic inside the bird, sprinkle Salt & pepper inside too.

Place four balls of foil in the bottom of your crock-pot. Or wrap baking potatoes in foil & use them in place of the foil balls!

Season the outside of the chicken with as much of the seasonings as you wish. I do a teaspoon of each. If you cannot find all of the seasonings use Poultry Seasoning & the Paprika, Garlic, Onion Powder, Salt & Pepper. I use White Pepper. Place Chicken on top of the foil balls, put on the lid & cook on low for 8 hours. I used a 5lb. Chicken. Chicken will be cooked, moist & falling off the bone. ENJOY!

Crazy Ape Muffins & Crazy Ape Bread

                                                                           

Crazy Ape because these Muffins & Loaf  come from one batch & they have a mishmash of ingredients that turn out CRAZY GOOD!

2 & 1/2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 Cup Sugar

1 TSP Salt

1 TBS Baking Powder

   Stir that all together in a deep bowl. 

Now add the following wet ingredients:

3 Beaten Eggs ( just beat with a fork or whisk)

1/4  Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Mashed Bananas, (mash to a liquid not chunky)

1 Cup Plain Yogurt

1/2 Cup Heaping Peanut Butter

2 TSP Vanilla

Stir this with a heavy spoon until mixed up very well. 

NOW add 1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips mixing well through the batter!

Spray a 12 well Muffin tin with a generous amount of baking spray & one 6x9 bread pan! Spoon batter evenly in muffin wells about 2 heaping TBS in each & spoon the remaining batter into the bread pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees while you mix up the crumb topping.

CRUMB TOPPING:

1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

3/4 Cup Flour

2/3 Cup Sugar

4 TBS Melted Butter

1/4 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

I mix this up in the bowl I used to mixed up the muffins as long as you scraped it well it will be perfect for crumb making. Dump all the ingredients in the bowl & using a spoon stir & mix to make course crumbs. Spoon generous amounts over each muffin & over the bread. Pat down gently. Bake in your preheated oven 20 Minutes or so for the muffins trsting with a cake tester or toothpick that batter is not wet. Once batter is baked & no longer wet remove from the muffins from the oven. Bread will take about another 10 minutes to bake but test the batter & make sure it is not wet before removing from oven. Dump muffins out after 5 minutes of cooling time, bread I left in the pan! Let cool to warm & then serve! GOOD room temperature too! ENJOY!