Ham and Cheese Pretzel Rolls

Have leftover ham and cheese for Christmas?  Here is something to do with all of it!

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Rolls

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp. dry yeast (or one package)
1/2 cup left over ham (chopped)
1/2 cup left over cheese like mozzarella, Gruyere, (grated or chopped small)

6 cups water
4 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp. kosher salt

Mix the brown sugar, milk, flour, and yeast together to form a soft dough.  Knead for a few minutes until it all comes together.  Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise for 2 hours until dough has doubled in size.

On a floured surface, roll dough out into a large rectangle.  Cut the dough into squares about 4 inches by 4 inches.  Place ham and cheese inside each square and fold in the bottom and top side first, then the sides.  Place on a greased cookie sheet with the seam side down.  Cover with a cloth and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Bring six cups of water to boil, add the baking soda and then reduce to medium low so it is at a simmer.  Place four- five of the ham rolls into the water for 20 seconds on each side.  They are hard to flip so do the best you can.

Brush butter and sprinkle kosher salt onto the rolls.  Bake the rolls at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Copycat Mystic Mint Cookies

My husband's family always had Mystic Mint cookies for Santa.  They don't exist anymore so my daughter and I dug up a recipe and this is our take on it...

Mystic Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

For Cookie dough:

2 cups sugar

2 sticks butter (1 cup), softened

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped up and melted

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

For Peppermint Frosting:

5 cups powdered sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

6 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. peppermint extract

For Chocolate Drizzle:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

4 Tbsp. corn syrup

12 oz. dark chocolate chips

For cookies cream the sugar and butter together until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave.  Add to eggs when cool.  Mix well, making sure to scrape bottom and sides of bowl.  Then add the flour and salt.  

On a greased cookie sheet add teaspoon fools of dough, try to form it into a vague shape of a ball.  Then smoosh down in a flat circular shape (think Thin Mints shape).  

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  

For the Peppermint frosting mix all ingredients together until light and fluffy.  When the cookies are cool frost each cookie.

For the chocolate drizzle melt all ingredients on low in a small saucepan.  Drizzle onto peppermint frosting.  Enjoy!

My Holiday Menu

I love holiday baking.  Here is what we are eating this season.

Christmas Eve:

Every Christmas Eve we have a "Shepherd's dinner" which means we mind of eat what we think they would have eaten when the angel came.  We fudge this a little bit but mostly its things like: nuts, dried fruit, grape juice, dried meats, breads, crackers, and cheese.  We also dress up like shepherds.

My favorite thing is to melt Fontina, olive oil, and rosemary in the oven and eat it with good bread.  

Usually we end with fudge.  Here is my favorite recipe:  http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/fudge-smooth-as-silk/

Its tastes just like my mom's fudge but it never fails to turn out.

Christmas Morning:

We have really good chocolate milk and cinnamon rolls.  I make these the week before and freeze them so I don't have to bake any more than I have to on Christmas.

Christmas Dinner:

I would have ham, but my husband hates it so we have Thanksgiving dinner all over again with a few additions.

Turkey (with Alton Brown's brine)

Holiday Sweet Potatoes

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup milk

½ cup shredded coconut

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup margarine, melted

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup margarine, melted

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, coconut, salt, vanilla, and margarine.  Pour into greased 2 quart casserole dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Combine brown sugar, pecans, and margarine to make topping.  Sprinkle on sweet potato dish.  Bake for another 20 minutes until brown.

Serves 8

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

Rolls

Raspberry Salad

1 small pkg. Raspberry jello

3 oz. Cream cheese

          Dissolve jello in 1 c. hot water.  Combine cream cheese and dissolved jello in blender until smooth.  Add ½ c. cold water.  Let set up in refrigerator for about one hour.

Then add:

1 pkg. Thawed raspberries

1 pkg. Dream whip (whipped)

          Refrigerate until firm.

For dessert this year we are having a Raspberry Chocolate Piecaken.  
http://piecaken.blogspot.com/2013/11/raspberry-pie-nestled-in-flourless-dark.html

Easy Homemade Ornaments

We just made homemade ornaments. We usually make some every year.  These ones were easy.

Step One- Buy glass globes.  Walmart had them for a great price!  Found them in the craft section.

Step Two- Unwrap a few crayons (less colors the better) and break off a few small pieces.

Step Three- Insert crayon pieces in globe.

Step Four-  Hold globe in hand (use an oven mitt if you need to) and place a blow dryer on its hottest setting near wear the crayons are lying.

Step Five-  Move the globe around so the melting crayons cover the surface of the globe.  This will take a couple of minutes depending on how much you want covered.

Step Six- Shake out the crayon remnants if you can (we couldn't) and put the top back on.

The hardest part was the heat from the blow dryer.

 This one was a red, blue, and white crayon.

 This was an orange, red, and green crayon.

 This was done with green and purple crayons.

I used blue and white.  Forgive the no shower or make-up look.

My husband used red and green.  Those colors mixing turn to warm.  Warning!

Christmas Crack

I bought this on a whim and decided I needed to do something with it.  Then I found a recipe for Christmas Crack that I decided to beef up.

Christmas Crack

Ingredients:

1 12.8 ounce box Rice Chex cereal

1 12 ounce box Golden Grahams cereal

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup slivered almonds (optional)

1 1/2 cups butter

2 cups sugar

One bag Dream Bar mix Ins or 1 cup chocolate chips, M&Ms, and Peanut butter chips

Mix the cereals, coconut, and almonds together in a big bowl.  In a medium sized saucepan mix the butter, sugar, and corn syrup together.  Stir constantly over medium heat until it comes to Soft Ball stage.

Pour onto the cereal.  Give it a seconds to cool and then add in the bag of chocolate.  Mix in gently and pour out onto 2 greased cookie sheets to cool. Store in airtight containers.  

Cross-Stiched Ornaments

You just need ribbon, felt for the backs, twine, many different colors of floss, and cross-stiching material.

Christmas II

These are our Christmas plates from 2009.

Fudge Brownies

(Feel free to 1/2 this recipe. It makes a ton!)

1 1/2 cups margarine

3 cups sugar

3 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

3/4 cup cocoa

2 1/4 cups sifted flour

1 cup chopped nuts ( never add nuts)

Melt margarine and add sugar and cocoa. Add eggs one at a time when mixture is not hot.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in a jelly roll pan... a big one! I line the bottom with aluminum foil so they come out easier. You could also just grease it.

For the Mint Frosting mix:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

5 drops green food coloring

(I always add a dash or two of milk to get the right consistency.)

Spread on brownies while hot.

Then make the fudge frosting.

In a medium saucepan mix:

1/2 cup margarine

3 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa

1/3 cup milk

Heat slowly and bring to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat and add:

1 lb. powdered sugar (I just add cup after cup until the desired consistency.)

1 tsp. vanilla

Spread over mint layer on brownies while still hot.

Add chopped nuts if you want. I never do.

MY Favorite Fudge

From my Grandma Jensen

In a heavy bottom saucepan mix:

4 cups white sugar

1/4 cup non-sweetened chocolate cut up into small pieces

2 cups heavy cream

3 Tbsp. Karo Syrup

STIR all in the same direction. I'm not joking. Pick a direction... clockwise or whatever and stir only that way!

Place on high heat and stir until it boils, wiping sides of pan often. Cook to Soft Ball 226 degrees or 228 if its raining or snowing.

Stop stirring when it starts boiling.

When it reaches soft ball take it off heat and let it cool for an hour.

Then add:

1 tsp. vanilla and a cup of nuts if you want.

Beat until it lightens and becomes more like dough. This will only work if its cool enough, but you don't want it too cool or it won't beat.

Roll in wax paper and refrigerate so they are little tubes. Mine didn't turn out as well this time so I just poured it into a pan, but it tastes amazing!

My mother-in-law gave me her old sucker molds so I had to try making suckers with my son. My mom used to do this with me all the time.

My lesson from this is: spray the wax paper with non-stick spray or powdered sugar before pouring the sucker syrup in!

This is my mother's recipe. I don't know who Gloria is.

Gloria’s Hard Candy

2 c sugar

¾ c white corn syrup

1 c water

five drops food coloring

½ tsp flavoring- raspberry, butterscotch, coconut, root beer

Bring sugar, corn syrup, and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add candy thermometer and bring to hard ball stage- 260 degrees. Add food coloring.Boil to 270 degrees.Add ½ tsp flavoring. Cook to 290 degrees.

Pour on powdered cookie sheet or in sucker molds. Let cool.

Turtles

Turtles

For this you need:

1 recipe Caramels

pecans

milk chocolate chips for melting

Make caramels and allow to cool until they are workable.

Place waxed paper on your counter or a cookie sheet. Arrange pecans halves, points together. Top with some caramel.

Half of the turtles I did this way and the other half I put down some melted chocolate first and then put the pecans on that. Both work. It just depends on how much chocolate you want in the party. Either way, end the turtles by topping them with melted chocolate so you cover the caramel, but not all of the pecans.

Allow to harden.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. These are so good! Enjoy.

Thick and Chewy Caramels

I was determined to make real caramels for Christmas this year, but I didn't realize how long they take to make. An hour!

I seriously nursed, burped, and rocked a baby while stirring this stupid things. Don't make these unless you have a big chunk of time to do them.

But that being said. They are really good!

Caramels:

(I got this recipe from the Alaska stake cookbook. This one was by Coleen Scifres)

2 cups sugar

1 pt. (2 cups) cream

2 cubes butter

1 1/2 cups Karo syrup

1 cup nuts (optional)

1 dash salt

Make sure you have a pretty big pot for this. Mine wasn't big enough and it boiled over repeatedly.

Bring sugar, salt, butter, syrup, and 1/2 of the cream to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Put the mixture on low and slowly stir in the rest of the cream. Then place a lid on the pot for one minute to get all the sugar off the sides of the pot.

Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes longer to firm ball stage. I think that's like 250 degrees. Pour into a buttered dish, cool, cut, wrap, you get the gist.

Christmas Plates I

I've been asked for ideas for Christmas plates for friends. Here's a few ideas.

Brownie Tart:

1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped into pieces (I used pecans)

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 ounces semi-sweet or chocolate

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 ounces regular cream cheese, cut into pieces

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache:

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and toast nuts for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. They smell so good! Let cool and then chop into pieces. Set aside.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Put muffin liners in muffin tin.

On stove, melt the butter and chopped chocolate. When the chocolate has melted transfer the mixture to a larger bowl.

Beat the cocoa, then the sugar, into the chocolate mixture, beating until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and then beat in the cream cheese, until small pieces remain. Add the flour and salt and mix by hand just until the flour is incorporated. Stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the muffin tin.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the batter has set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, with the end of a wooden spoon (1/2 inch diameter) (1.25 cm) that is well greased (I spray it with Pam), make holes (spacing them evenly about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart) into the top of the brownie tart. (We used toothpicks and made a bunch of holes in each cupcake.

As you insert the end of the wooden spoon into the tart twist the spoon to prevent the tart from tearing. You should have about 25-30 small holes. Then, with a small spoon fill the holes with the ganache. The ganache will sink as it cools so add more ganache, as needed. Let the tart cool completely and then cover and refrigerate. It is best to make this tart the day before serving to allow the flavors to blend. This tart will keep in the refrigerator for about two to three weeks.

While the tart is baking make the Ganache:

Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.

Makes 1 - 9 inch tart or about 16 cupcakes. The ganache makes this so use it!

This recipe is adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Pie and Pastry Bible.

Then I realized with this recipe that the muffin tart thing has been done. Oh well.

Blueberry/Raspberry Cream Cheese Tarts

by Paula Deen

Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese , softened

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

12 vanilla wafers

1 (21-ounce) can blueberry filling, or other pie filling (I used raspberry)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a muffin pan.

Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Place a vanilla wafer, flat side down, in each muffin cup. Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow tarts to cool completely. Serve with blueberry filling on top, or pie filling of your choice.

We accidentally got the mini vanilla wafers and just put four of them on the bottom of each cup and it turned out great. Everyone asked me what the crust was and wouldn't believe me when I told them it was just a vanilla wafer. Definitely a great trick!

We made a chocolate pudding tart but the so called foil liners I bought weren't that sturdy and they didn't turn out great. We put a grasshopper cookie on the bottom for a crust and then froze it so it would be more solid.

Then we just made rice krispie treats and ginger snaps to put around the plate.