I love baking Christmas cookies, and one thing I want my children to remember is baking with me.  Unfortunately, the cookies I tend to make for gifts at Christmastime aren’t the most exciting for kids: fruit-filled pastries dusted with powdered sugar, candied-ginger orange shortbread and pecan teacakes.  I needed something that screamed “Happy Holidays!” from the rooftop, or at least from the minute you saw it on your plate.  Stained glass cookies were just the thing to get the kids in the holiday spirit and one where they could be involved every step of the way.

Every cookie starts with a good dough.  This one has lemon extract and lemon rind in it to give it a bit of a kick in the pants.

While you’re mixing up the dough, set your kids or your husband to work sorting the hard candies by color so you can crush them soundly with a can of stewed tomatoes or chicken noodle soup.  (Whatever you have will work.)

Place half of your dough on a piece of parchment and roll it out.

Using two sizes of cookie cutters, one large and one small, cut out large shapes with a 4″ cookie cutter…

…and then cut out small shapes (2″ or so) inside that.

Fill the inside with the crushed candies.  Use a toothpick to push the pieces around inside the cookie, being careful not to get the candy pieces up on the cookie dough itself, just along the inside edge.

Once baked and cooled, they’re done.  If you wanted, you could cut holes out in the top before baking and hang them as ornaments.  They also make fantastic colorful gifts.

Want a variation?  Omit the lemon rind and substitute peppermint extract for the lemon extract.  Then use blue and white mint-flavored candies and you have a completely different cookie.

LEMONY SWEET STAINED GLASS COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon rind
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 30-40 hard candies such as Jolly Ranchers or Life Savers, sorted by color

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375º F.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars.  Beat in lemon extract, egg and lemon rind.  Stir in the sour cream.  Sift together flour, salt and baking soda and then mix into the batter.  Separate in half.  Place the balls on a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit your baking sheets.

Lightly flour the top of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll it out to ¼” thickness on the parchment.  Using 4″ and 2″ cookie cutters cut out large shapes with the 4″ cutters and then use the 2″ cutter to cut out the centers.  Slide the parchment sheet with the cookies onto a cookie sheet.

Crush the sorted candies in zip-top or other baggies wrapped in cloth using the rolling pin or some other heavy object, like the bottom of a can.  Using a small spoon, like a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon or something similar, place the candies into the cutout shapes.  Use a toothpick to guide them around to the edges, being careful not to get any candy pieces on top of the cookie dough itself, just up to the edge.

Bake at 375º F for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on parchment.  When cool, carefully peel parchment away.  Package in airtight containers once completely cool, hang on the tree, give them away to friends, family and neighbors, and don’t forget to eat a few yourself.  ‘Tis the season, after all.

INGREDIENTS:

For the filling:

• 1 9″ pie crust
• 8 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt

For the streusel topping:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter, diced
• dash of salt

DIRECTIONS

If you are going to bake this pie immediately, then preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place prepared apples into a large mixing bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and sprinkle over the apples, tossing so all the apples are coated in sugar mixture. Pour apples into prepared pie crust, mounding the apples in the center of the pie shell; set aside. In the same small bowl, mix together the streusel topping ingredients until they are crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples in the crust. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake 25-40 minutes longer until apples are tender with pierced with a fork and juices are bubbling. Cool pie on a wire rack and serve warm. 8-10 servings.

– OR –

Freeze this pie unbaked for best results. Wrap it well in freezer wrap, then label and freeze. I double wrapped the pies in plastic wrap and then doubled wrapped them with tin foil. To thaw and bake, place frozen pie on a cookie sheet. Cover loosely with foil and bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 40 minutes. Then remove foil and bake 35-40 minutes longer until the pie crust and topping are golden and the apples are tender. Let cool on wire rack and serve.

I have to tell you I baked this last night and it took about an extra hour after removing the foil. The best way to tell if it’s ready is by checking the softness of the apples, and the bubbling that’s going on. Make sure you let it rest for out of the oven for about 20 minutes so the pie is easy to cut and handle.

Casseroles really are making a comeback it seems even though they’ve always been a part of our family’s meal time.  You really can make a lot with very few ingredients which is great for big families and freezes well for smaller families.

I love breakfast casseroles, dessert casseroles, and of course casseroles that serve as a main dish.  I don’t think I could have ever fed 50 cowboys & cowgirls without a casserole!

Thanks for letting me brag a little!

P.S.  They took a good picture of the dish but I think mine is better…..just sayin’

P.P.S.  If you don’t have cream of shrimp, cream of chicken will do!  I get asked that a lot;)

This is mine…..well, maybe their shrimp looks better than mine huh?  lol

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 9-inch Cornflake Pie Crust
• Sweetened Whipped Cream

DIRECTIONS

Pie Filling
Mix flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a heavy saucepan and slowly stir in milk. Heat and stir over medium heat until thickened and smooth. Add chocolate and allow to melt. Stir about ½ cup of hot mixture into egg yolks, mix well and pour into pan. Cook and stir for one minute over lowest heat, do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter, hot sauce and vanilla. Place a circle of wax paper or parchment directly on top of filling. Allow to cool to room temperature. Stir well and spoon into cornflake crust. Chill for 1 hour or until ready to serve. Top with sweetened whipped cream.
Cornflake Pie Crust
1 ½ cups crushed cornflakes
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup butter, melted
Mix all ingredients together well. Press into a 9-inch pie plate, chill until ready to fill.

Now many of you have probably eaten at places like this many times but I have not so even ordering the food was an issue for me.  I didn’t know what this was or that but with the help of my blogging friends, I was able to wing enough to get by.  While most of the other girls drank wine, I drank beer.  Yeah, I know…not classy by any means but it’s what I was comfortable with.

So that night they were having the special which consisted of the 3 courses.  The appetizer, the main, and the dessert.  I chose the vegetable mix while my good friend Tara chose the Butternut Squash Soup. She said it was fabulous and I believe her considering her bowl was licked clean.

For the main course, another good friend of mine, Alyssa, had this….and I don’t even know what it was called but those balls are cauliflower.  She too thought it was great and she wasn’t just saying that because she’s pregnant.

Even though I had a beer, I still gave the wine a try but, for me, it was too bitter.  I think you have to acquire a taste for wine you know.  I had a wonderful time with all the women there and the Thalia atmosphere is breathtaking.  Loved it and can’t wait to go back.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Large ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
• 3 cups pitted fresh or frozen pie cherries
• 1/4 tsp. Almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 or 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• pastry for double pie crust (store bought or from scratch)

DIRECTIONS:

Put prepared fruit and almond extract into a large bowl.  Combine sugar and flour; sprinkle over fruit, tossing to mix.

Prepare pastry and fill bottom crust with prepared fruit.  Cut butter into small pieces and dot top of fruit.  Place top crust over fruit, trimming to allow 1/2″ to tuck under edge of lower crust.  Pinch and crimp edge.  With a sharp knife, make slits near center of pie.

Bake at 400′ oven for 45-55 minutes or until crust is brown and filling bubbles up through slits.   Allow your pie to cool before serving!   YUMMO

See that ice cream on the right? Coming in Spring….

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
* Cream together the butter and egg yolk.
* Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
* Mix the flour and salt together, then add it in three batches to the buttery mixture. Mix until crumbly.
* Knead the dough with your hands until it is soft and pliable. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle with about a 1/2-inch thickness.
* Cut the rectangle into strips and prick the tops of each strip with a fork. Transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet.
* Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
* Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to a rack.

INGREDIENTS:

Cake Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 c. shortening
• 1 c. water
• 4 TBLS cocoa
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Icing Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 4 TBLS cocoa
• 6 TBLS milk
• 1 box confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter, shortening, water, and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Mix sugar & flour in bowl. Add the first mixture you boiled to dry ingredients. Then add buttermilk, eggs, soda, cinnamon, vanilla. Mix well and pour into a greased & floured 17×11 sheet pan. Bake for 22-25 minutes in a 350′ oven.

Icing–During the last 5 minutes of baking, melt butter, cocoa, and milk. Bring to a boil. Add confectioners sugar making sure to get rid of all the lumps. Pour over hot cake……hmmmmmm, good! You can founder on this stuff!  Top with whip cream or not…either way, it’s delicious.

HINT: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can add vinegar to your milk and let sit for a little bit to sour it.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake:

• 1 1/4 c Boiling Water
• 1 c Quick Oats
• 1 stick butter
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1 c white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 c flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

For the Icing:

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c evaporated milk
• powered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Mix water, oats, and butter & let stand for 15 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients together in a bowl.  Add oatmeal mixture to the bowl and mix well.  Bake in an 8 x 11 casserole dish at 350′ for 30 minutes.

ICING DIRECTIONS:

Melt ingredients together in saucepan and cool.  Add powered sugar until thick enough to pour over cake.  Pour over HOT cake!  I usually take a toothpick and poke holes throughout the cake so that the icing sinks in…YUMMY!

OH.MY.GOSH…..this is SOOOOOO good!!!  Enjoy:)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 3 1/2 cups powedered sugar
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (2 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon solid vegatable shortening (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the melted butter, powedered sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla in a large bowl and stir until well blended and smooth.  Chill for 2 hours, or until firm enough to easily handle.  Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place on a sheet of wax paper.  Melt the chocolate chips and shortening, if using, in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring until smooth.  (The shortening makes the chocolate shiny.) With a thin skewer or a toothpick, spear each ball and dip it into the melted chocolate, leaving a small area uncovered to make it look like a buckeye nut.  Place the dipped balls back on the wax paper to cool and remove the toothpicks.  Drip a bit of melted chocolate over the holes make by the toothpicks.  Chill until firm.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.