Pumpkin Pudding Cake

(also known as pumpkin cobbler)

1 yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter
1 can of pumpkin or pumpkin pie mix
Ingredients for pumpkin pie (according to can)

Mix pumpkin according to directions on can for pumpkin pie. Set aside.

Cut butter into dry cake mix. Line bottom of 9x13 pan with the cake/butter crumbly mixture. Reserve about ½ cup for the top. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top of the cake mixture and sprinkle reserved crumble over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until set.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top. This is super easy and SO tasty!!

Crock Pot Apple Crisp

This is a recipe that was passed down to me, and it actually works really well in the crock pot!

8 cups peeled, sliced apples
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

Turn crock pot on high and put sliced apples inside. Mix remaining ingredients and put in top of apples. Do not stir. Cover and cook on LOW about 6 hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

You have to try this!! I found this on a friend's blog (I can't find the link now!) the week before Reese's birthday, so we made these individual cakes on the night of her birthday (since we would be making a big cake for her party just 3 days later). I can't wait to make them again! They are not the "best" in terms of cake...but for a quick, hot, chocolate dessert, they can't be beat!

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well, then egg, milk and oil, and finally the chocolate chips and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition.

Place your mug in the microwave and heat on high for 3 minutes. You can either eat it right out of the mug or tip it out onto a plate. Or you can do what we did.....

**Since we had 6 people eating the mug cake, I mixed 3 times the recipe in a bowl, mixed, and then separated into 6 mugs (I figured we could use smaller portions, anyway!) What we ended up with was 6 mini cakes, HOT, with a scoop of ice cream melting on top....all contained in a mug. And it took us all of 5 minutes. Amazing!!**

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (don't substitute)
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 375 F.

2. Mix sugars, butter, egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips. Tip: Mix the dough with a wooden spoon, not with an electric mixer. They'll be bumpier if you stir by hand!

3. Place dough in small balls in ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

*More Tips: Don't melt your butter all the way before mixing it with the other ingredients. Also, leaving the dough in the fridge for a few minutes before baking. And, my last tip: for some unknown reason, my first batch almost never turns out "perfect"....so why not make that first batch small (a test batch) while the rest of the dough is chilling in the fridge.

Cinnamon Blueberry Crumble Bars

These are absolutely heavenly!

1 box plain yellow cake mix
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh blueberries (I used the frozen ones that I picked back in June)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Place the cake mix, butter, brown sugar, eggs, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1- 1 1/2 minutes. The mixture will be thick. Reserve 1 1/2 cups for the topping. Transfer the remaining crust mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Press down evenly so the crust reaches all the sides.

3. For the filling, mix the blueberries and the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Pour the blueberries evenly over the crust. Scatter clumps of the reserved topping over the berries. Place pan in oven.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until light brown and bubbling. Cool before cutting into bars.

BYU Mint Brownies

If you have never had these brownies, you HAVE to try them. If you HAVE had them, then you know how amazingly moist and delicious they are. I am usually skeptical about recipes that are supposedly from restaurants or bakeries. They never seem to turn out as good when I make them (and I swear I can cook!). I know I'm not alone. But THESE brownies were just as good. They were incredible. Just as delicious as the BYU bookstore.

MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts

CHOCOLATE PAN FROSTING

8 Tbls butter (1 stick)
4 Tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup whole milk
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted


MINT ICING

5 Tbsp. butter
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing.

4. Prepare chocolate frosting: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, 2-3 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring, and then remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar until frosting is thickened and smooth. Pour and spread warm frosting on top of the layer of mint frosting. Let them cool before cutting (I cut mine a little too soon, and while they were delicious warm, they were quite messy!)

Peanut Brittle

1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 Tbsp butter
1 lb unroasted shelled peanuts (take my advice and buy peanuts that are already shelled...or hire lots of helpers like I did!)


1. Heat oven to 200°. Grease 2 cookie sheets with butter and keep warm in oven. (Keeping the cookie sheets warm allows the candy to be spread ¼ inch thick without it setting up)

Necco had fun with this step!

2. Mix baking soda, 1 tsp water, and vanilla; set aside. Mix sugar, 1 cup water and the corn syrup in a 3-qt saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 240° on a candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from water. This step went on forever for me. I kept testing the hot candy in water, because I couldn’t find my candy thermometer. I stirred for a very long time. Don’t give up. It will thicken up!It looks like this for a long time!

3. Stir in butter and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, to 300° or until small amount of the mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard, brittle threads. Watch carefully so mixture does not burn. Again, I stirred a very long time. The color did change into a golden brown, and I noticed a slightly different smell—almost a before-the-burn smell.
At this point, remove from the heat and quickly stir in the vanilla mixture. The candy will become foamy and almost orange.


4. Pour half of the candy mixture onto each cookie sheet, pressing with a spatula to spread to about ¼ inch thick.


Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in a covered container.

Muddy Buddies

Do you like Little Debbie's Nutty Buddies? (I think that's what they're called) Well, when KitKat made this treat the other day, I popped some into my mouth and it reminded me of those Little Debbie's treats. So yummy!

9	cups Corn Chex, cereal (or other Chex flavor)
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2	cup peanut butter
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1	teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2	cups powdered sugar

Substitution:

Peanut butter and chocolate are a favorite flavor combo, but peanut butter lovers can substitute peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips to intensify that flavor.

	1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
	2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
	3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Butterscotch dessert

My friend, Anie, made this dessert for a luncheon last year and I fell in love with it. Yum!

Layer 1:
Crush 1 ½ packages of graham crackers
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cube melted butter
Mix together with fork
Press into bottom of pan and put freezer to quickly harden.

Layer 2:
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz softened cream cheese
Mix together with hand mixer
Spread on top of graham cracker layer

Layer 3:
2 small dry packages of instant butterscotch pudding
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups cold milk
Mix together with hand mixer.
Spread on top

Layer 4:
Wait to put this layer on until dessert is firm
8 oz. Cool Whip
Butterscotch chips or crushed graham crackers on top

Valentine Petit Fours

I saw this recipe on my friend, Melinda's blog and HAD to try them! Mine did not turn out quite as pretty as Melinda's, but they were extremely yummy! Recipe copied with Melinda's permission!

How mine turned out:

How Melinda's turned out:

Ingredients:

• Box of cake mix - Melinda used red velvet, I used Devils Food
  
• 1/2 a container to a whole container of icing - we both used Cream Cheese icing
• A package of Vanilla or Chocolate Almond Bark - Melinda used both. I used milk chocolate and white chocolate chips.
  
• Sprinkles
• Parchment paper

To make these yummy, albeit very rich, little goodies, here's what you do:

1. Make cake according to box directions.
2. Before it has a chance to cool, dump cake into a large bowl
   
   
   
   and crumble using a fork.
   
   
   
3. Then add your desired amount of icing and mix well.
   
   
   
4. Melinda shaped each heart by hand (I started out doing this and quickly gave up....).
   
   
   By starting with a ball and then using her pinkie to make the crevice, gently placing them on parchment paper, and pressing into the desired shape, she eventually got this:
   
   
   Note: I took her advice and used a heart shaped cookie cutter. I pressed the cake/icing mixture til it was about half and inch thick and then used my cookie cutter to cut out the shapes. Perfect!
5. Once you have your heart shaped cakes, place them in the freezer for a couple of hours.
6. Using a double boiler, melt your candy coating/almond bark. (If you don't have a double boiler, you can create your own - directions to follow). I was able to melt my chocolate chips in the microwave on half power, stirring frequently.
   
7. Gently dip each cake in the candy coating and place it back on the parchment paper to cool. This was hard for me!
   
8. Next is the fun part - DECORATE! Melinda melted some chocolate almond bark and drizzled it over the top. Before it had a chance to dry, she sprinkled with pink sprinkles.
   
   
   
   I think they turned out kind of cute!
   
   

How to make your own double boiler:

1. Take a pot and a heat-safe bowl that fits snugly into the pot without it touching the bottom.
   
   
   
   
2. Fill the pot with an inch or two of water. When your heat-safe bowl is placed in the pot, you do not want it to touch the water.
   
   
   
3. Now, boil your water and THEN place the heat-safe bowl into the pot and melt your chocolate.
4. Make sure you watch the level of your water in the pot because it will evaporate which will burn your pot and possibly the chocolate.

Gingerbread houses & frosting cement

We typically make one of those gingerbread kits early in December, but somehow I never ran across one in the stores this year. I'm sure they were there. I just never saw them. I was feeling bad about missing out on the family decorating time, so I pulled out a recipe that an former grandma-aged neighbor had given me years ago. The recipe was a little hard to decipher (like she forgot to mention any of the cooking information--how hot the oven should be, and how long to cook). I crossed my fingers and --Yippee!-- it turned out great! Not only did this recipe make a great gingerbread house, but it tasted amazing! :)


Gingerbread Houses

Simmer
1 cup molasses
1 cup shortening or ¾ cup oil

Cream
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Dissolve
2 tsp baking soda in ½ cup hot water

Cool molasses mixture slightly and add all ingredients to this point.

Next, in separate bowl, mix
6 cups flour
1-2 tsp cinnamon
½-1 tsp ginger
½-1 tsp salt
(I opted for going low on the ginger and salt, and heavier on the cinnamon)

Add flour to the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well until dough is stiff At this point, I added a little more flour until my dough was no longer sticky. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough and cut into the shapes that you want (either cookie cutters or into house pieces)

Bake on cookie sheets (I would recommend lining your cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper) at 350°F for 8-10 minutes for cookies, 5-10 minutes longer for house pieces. If you are going to be making a gingerbread house, turn off your oven and put the pieces back into the warm oven to dry the pieces out. I also left the house pieces out to air dry overnight.
________________________________________________________________

Frosting cement

3 egg whites
¾ tsp cream of tartar
--beat until stiff—
Gradually add 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
--beat 10 minutes—
Add another 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
--beat 10 minutes—

(I didn’t really beat for 20 minutes)

**Keep frosting covered, or it will dry out (that’s what it’s supposed to do!)

The kids got a little impatient waiting for the frosting cement to be done.

Aunt Fern’s Fudge

Now here's the queen of secret family recipes. The ladies in my family (the generation above me) hounded my Great Aunt Fern for her stellar fudge recipe for years. She would not budge. It was a secret! Years and years went by before my Grandma was talking about the famous fudge with Fern's sister. Grandma was lamenting the fact that Fern wouldn't give the recipe to her. Fern's dear sister said to Grandma,"I have that recipe. Let me get it for you." And thus ended the days of the secret recipe. :) My mom tweaked this recipe so that she made many variations--Rocky Road (add nuts and marshmallows), Peanut Butter (add peanut butter and butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate chips), and my newest favorite, the one my sister and I tried again this year: White chocolate fudge with caramel.


1 large package semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 ounce)
1 pint jar marshmallow cream
10 ounce bar giradelli chocolate, broken up (this was supposedly the secret ingredient, but I have used other brand of chocolate. My sister loves using Symphony Bars)
--Place these 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer). Next the hot stuff:
4 ½ cups sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt
1 cube butter
--Put these 4 ingredients into a large pan and bring to boil over medium high heat. Stir constantly for 6 minutes (after boil).
Add hot mixture to the mixing bowl with the first ingredients. Stir until melted and smooth (I used my dough hook and mixed on low for this step). You can add 2 cups of chopped nuts at this point if desired.
Press hot mixture into 9x13 pan (lined with greased aluminum foil)
Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.

Butterscotch Bars

Another family tradition. Nobody makes anything like them….well, not until I shared the recipe with everyone I know…... They are always a hit, and the easiest candy on my holiday list to make.

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
¾ cup butter
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cups chopped walnuts (optional….but I love them!)
2 ½ cups graham crackers crumbs (hint: break them up in your blender!)
1 6-ounce package butterscotch chips (or one cup)
2 Tbsp smooth peanut butter

Combine eggs, sugar, and butter in saucepan. Bring to rolling boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool. Add marshmallows, nuts, and graham cracker crumbs. Pat mixture into 9x13 pan. In microwave safe bowl, heat butterscotch chips at half temperature for about 30 second intervals. Stir between each heating until the chips have melted smooth. Stir in peanut butter; mix well. Spread over crumb mixture. When cooled, cut into 1”x2” bars. These store best in the refrigerator.

English Toffee

Grandma used to always have a batch of this candy around, waiting for visitors. After she passed away last year, someone in the family asked me if I wanted to look through her recipe box before they were all thrown away. I jumped at the chance. I found her English toffee recipe filed away, and quickly grabbed it for my own, even though I already had a copy. It may not be a unique recipe, but it is chock full of memories.

1 ½ sticks butter
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
About ½ a package of chocolate chips
½ cup ground nuts

Melt butter in pan. Add sugar and salt. Cook over med. High heat until medium brown stage is reached (caramel color). Take off heat. Add vanilla. Have cookie sheet ready (I like to line mine with aluminum foil). Pour half of the ground nuts on sheet. Then pour hot candy mixture on cookie sheet. While hot, spread candy out by pressing with back of large spoon until candy is the desired thickness. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot candy and let them melt. Once they’re softened, spread the chocolate out with a knife or spoon and sprinkle with remaining nuts. Let cool completely, then break into bite-sized pieces. Keep dry.

**Note, quite by accident, my sister and I made toffee with WHITE chocolate. I will be making this again for sure!!

White chocolate version

Caramels

Here is my Mom's FAMOUS CARAMELS recipe. She found it in an automotive magazine while she was sitting in a waiting room over 30 years ago. She has been making it every Christmas since I was teeny tiny. I grew up helping her stir (and STIR and STIR). This recipe is not for the weak cook. You need MUSCLE to make these babies. It takes approximately 45 minutes of constant stirring of thick, boiling caramel before they're done. So why do I make at least 3 BATCHES every December? Because they are THAT worth it! My kids love to help me wrap the caramels in wax paper. It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions. So here you go, the secret family recipe (from the waiting room magazine!):

½ lb butter

2 cups light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
2 (15 oz ) cans sweetened condensed milk
½ cup flour
2 tsp vanilla

Before you start cooking: measure 2 cups corn syrup; set aside. Mix together sweetened condensed milk and flour; set aside. Have everything close by. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam or spread with butter, bottom only.

Melt butter in a large (3 qt or larger) non-stick pan. Add corn syrup and sugar. Bring to boil on med heat, stirring often, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in milk/flour mixture. Boil over med heat, stirring constantly until mixture darkens and reaches a medium hard ball stage (235º on candy thermometer). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Turn into greased pan and cool completely.

Cut into 2 inch pieces with a buttered knife. Wrap pieces in small squares of wax paper. Makes over 100 pieces, but really I lose count every time.

CandyMan's Famous Peanut Butter Cookies

(Holiday variation with Snicker's bar inside!)

½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
2 Tbls milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Heat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, milk, vanilla and egg; blend well. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately place a Hershey’s kiss on top of the hot cookie. Press down. Remove form cookie sheets and cool.

Holiday variation: Before placing cookie dough on the cookie sheet, wrap a “fun size” (the one-bite size) Snicker’s candy bar inside the dough. Bake as usual (don’t put a kiss on top). The Snicker’s will melt into the cookie—it’s pure heaven!


Note: You can certainly use a full-size Snickers bar and cut it into bite-sized pieces, but I prefer to save up all of the Snicker's from Halloween! :)