Double Peanut Butter Cookies

sunspire.com (with alterations)

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time:10 min

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup unbleached white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup SunSpire™ Peanut Butter Baking Chips
• Opt. Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS

Prepare 4 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven 350F.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the sugar and both butter’s together until smooth and light in color, beat in egg. Slowly add flour mixture, beating until smooth and just incorporated, Stir in morsels.
Drop dessert spoon full onto prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches apart and 6 per sheet. Bake for 9-10 mins or until lightly golden and remove from oven to cooling rack, leave cookies to cool slightly before removing cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Mint Buttercream Frosting

(AKA Brownie Cookies, as Rick calls them.)

8 ounces semisweet chocolate bars, chopped (Chocolate chips work great!)
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I always add 1/2 cup instead of 1/4)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Mint Buttercream Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 or 2 drops green food coloring
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions:

Cookies: Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with wax paper. (This is important. If not done, the cookies are extremely difficult to remove after baking.)

Melt chopped semisweet chocolate bars in pan on low, stirring until melted and smooth. Set aside.

Stir together sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Add melted chocolate and mix well. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt till blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by level tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets about an inch apart. Bake 10 minutes until puffed and set. (The dough isn't as "thick" as traditional cookie dough. No worries, keep moving forward!)

Cool on baking sheets about 2 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. They will take on the appearance of brownies when you pull them out of the oven: a reflective top.

Frosting: Beat all ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Frost cookies.

Super tasty with out frosting. AMAZING with frosting!

Makes 24-30 cookies.

Candy Cane Cookies

Allrecipes.com

Ingredients 

1 cup margarine

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

1/2 cup peppermint candy canes, crushed

1/2 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, white sugar and confectioners' sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Cover or wrap dough and chill for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Divide dough into halves. Color one half red by mixing in the food color. Roll a small amount of each dough into a 2 inch long worm. Roll them together in a twisted rope and curve the end like a cane. Place onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. In a small bowl, mix together the crushed candy cane and remaining white sugar. Roll hot cookies in the sugar mixture.

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles
3 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 c butter
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
Plus 3 tbs cinnamon to roll dough in.

Mix all ingredients together well, will be sticky. Roll in to small balls and roll in cinnamon. Bake 350 10-12 minutes

Carrot-Coconut Cookies

Carrot-Coconut Cookies

1 cup mashed cooked carrots (about 4 medium)

¾ cup sugar

1 cup shortening (part margarine or butter, softened)

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup shredded or flaked coconut

½ recipe Orange Butter Frosting

Heat oven to 400°.  Mix carrots, sugar, shortening and eggs.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in coconut.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake until almost no indentation remains when touched, about 8 minutes.

Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool.  Frost with Orange Butter Frosting.

About 5 dozen cookies

Orange Butter Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened

About 2 tablespoons orange juice

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Mix powdered sugar and margarine.  Stir in orange juice and peel; beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency.

Dinner Rolls

KitchenAid Sixty-Minute Dinner Rolls
Adapted from a recipe found on The Bumbling Baker
Erin’s Note: This recipe yields 24 large dinner rolls. If you don’t want 24 rolls kicking around your house I would definitely halve the recipe.
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 packages of dry active yeast (Erin’s Note: This equals 6 3/4 teaspoons if you use yeast from a jar).
1 1/2 cups warm water (105F – 115F)
5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour
In a small saucepan, stir milk, sugar, salt and butter together. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool until lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture, and using a dough hook, mix on low speed for about 1 minute. With the mixer still going, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 1 1/2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead on low speed for about 2 more minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic – the dough will still be slightly sticky to the touch.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning it to grease the top. Cover the dough with a clean, dry dish towel, and let it rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about 15 minutes.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 24 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball, and place in a greased muffin pan. Using kitchen shears or a pizza cutter (a knife will also work), cut each ball in half, then in quarters, and replace in the muffin pan. (Erin’s Note: Alternatively you can simply shape the dough into 24 balls and set them into a greased 9 by 13 baking dish. If you make the full recipe you will only be able to fit around 12 rolls in the baking dish at a time). Cover the muffin pan with the dish towel, and let the dough rise for about 15 minutes.
Bake at 425ºF for 12 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks. (Erin’s Note: At this point, in my family, we always brush the tops with a little butter).

Single Serving Apple Pie

Peel, core and slice an apple into 8 pieces. Put each apple piece inside a triangle from a can of crescent rolls and cover into a ball. Brush on melted butter (2 to 4 T). Sprinkle on a cinnamon sugar mixture to your liking. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Make sure they are cooked through before removing. Serve with whip cream or ice cream.

Potatoes

Cook red potatoes in salty water. Shake in heavy cream, butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Funeral Potatoes

Ingredients:
32 oz bag of frozen shredded hash browns
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I like to use sharp cheddar cheese)
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cups finely crushed corn flakes
2 Tbs butter or margarine melted

Directions:
-Grease 9x13 baking dish and preheat oven to 350
-In large bowl combine soups, sour cream, cheese, onions, and the 1/2 cup of melted butter.
-Gently fold hash browns into mixture.
-Pour mixture into pan.
-Combine crushed corn flakes and the 2 Tbs. of melted butter and sprinkle on top of potato mixture.
-Bake for 30 minutes.
*If wanting to, you can use cubed potatoes instead of hash browns but you will need to increase baking time to 55 minutes.

Candied Yams

Wash the yams, but don’t peel them.  Cut them into similarly sized chunks.  Cook by boiling or roasting in the oven.  Let cool.  Remove peelings.

Sauce:
½ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
3 tablespoons water
½ tsp. salt

Slice the yams and lay them in the pan.  Pour the sauce over the yams.  Bake long enough to warm the yams again–about 25-30 minutes–at 350̊.  Once they are warm, sprinkle marshmallows on top and brown

The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

Wet

• 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

• 1/2 stick butter (we use salted butter)

• 3/4 cup raw honey (pick up at your local health food store, substitute regular honey if that

is all you have)

• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I advise against using imitation vanilla)

• 1 egg

• 1 egg white

Dry

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1 cup whole grain rolled oats (I do not use quick oats, so I roughly chop these oats in my

food processors before adding to other ingredients)

• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. fine sea salt

Finishing touches

• 12 oz. package of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/2 cup chopped craisins (a.k.a. dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Now just mix and bake them like a batch of normal chocolate chip

cookies. In a mixing bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (I partially soften the butter in the

microwave, just be careful not to melt it too much). Stir them together with a spoon. In a

separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Now carefully stir in the dry ingredients in with the

wet. Now stir in the finishing touches.

Place cookies on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10 - 14 minutes (Betsy & I do 12 minutes),

depending on your oven and how well done you like your cookies. Enjoy fresh out of the oven,

or frozen then warmed in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Alternate/additional finishing touches (add whatever you have a taste for here and substitute it

for the finishing touches above, here are some ideas for additional )

• 1/2 cup pureed banana (In our next batch we will use this in place of chopped craisins to

switch up the taste)• 1/2 cup shredded coconut• 1 cup Rice Krispies• 1/2 cup chopped raisins

**Remember…these cookies freeze well, can be eaten as a breakfast meal and are a great healthy treat for any time of day

Apple Pie

Apple Pie Filling

From: http://donnasrecipebox.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:
6 peeled, cored, and sliced Jonathan apples ( you can use other pie apples but Jonathans are the best)
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar (I use the smaller amount when using pie slices that were canned in light syrup)
2 Tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 dash salt
1 dash nutmeg
1 squeeze of freshly squeezed lemon juice ( I do not use the bottled kind because it is bitter and changes the flavor of recipes)
2 pats butter (I slice a tablespoon of butter into small pieces)

Directions:

Make pie crust and place in pie plate. Put apples in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients. Toss dry ingredients, lemon juice, butter, and apples together. Also, If you make a deep dish pie, I double to triple the pie filling recipe to fill the pie crust depending on the depth of the dish, usually it takes about 4 quarts of canned apples which I triple the other ingredients for. I like to fill the dish high, as the apples cook down. Pour into pie crust. Cover with second crust. Pinch edges together with a decorative slanted pinch, for a fluted look. . Cut slits in top crust. Place any crust cutout decorations on top of the pie, sealing to the crust with a few drops of water. Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar to which cinnamon has been added. Bake 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees. The shorter time is for canned apples. I place a foil edge around the crust and only remove it the last 10 minutes, so the pie will not over brown. The pie thickens as it cools.

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

10 inch Two crust pie
2 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Butter
7 - 8 Tablespoons water.

Directions:
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add butter and cut through the flour mixture until it looks like meal. Add water one tablespoon at a time, sprinkling over dry mixture, and stirring until flour mixture cleans the side of the bowl. Put in a ziploc or airtight container and refrigerate for three hours. Divide in half and roll into two balls. Roll out pie crust on a floured pie cloth, flour sack cloth, or 2 sheets floured wax paper. When between two sheets of wax paper, make sure to flour under the dough and over the dough so it does not stick to the paper. Fold into quarters, flouring surfaces that will touch when folded. Unfold crust in the pie dish.