Double Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Here is my third Christmas cookie some of you know I've been lacking my holiday spirit its hard not having my husband here for it all during deployment even though he is a Grinch about it lol. I found this recipe on Pillsbury.com they use the sugar cookie roll of course I do not use that they have a peppermint sugar cookie one out. When I was at the store I found Wilton candy cane colorburst candy melts I love them to dip the cookies in! 

Sugar cookies:

• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• peppermints or candy canes, crushed
• white chocolate candy melts or candy cane melts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F . In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

4.     Dip half of each cookie into melted mixture, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed or cooking parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle each with slightly less than 1/2 teaspoon crushed candy. stick into the fridge to harden.

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

Ah these came out so cute i saw them on the Betty Crocker website looking through the holiday cookie section they always have the best ideas! They are really easy to make when i was making them i figured out a way to kind of shape the face with my thumbs out of the cookie ball. 

1/2 cup natural PB 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar packed

1 egg

1 1/3 all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pretzel twists

chocolate chips (i used dark chocolate)

candies for nose (i used icing)

Preheat oven to 350 in large bowl, beat PB,butter,sugar and brown sugar with mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg. Stir in flour and baking powder.

For each cookie shape 1 inch ball of dough into a triangle shape on cookie sheet. Push two pretzels into cookie to look like antlers. Bake for 5 to 10 mins  or until browned on the edges. Immediately press 2 chocolate chips for eyes and a candy nose or icing nose like i did. let stand for 2 mins to cool. 

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Baked Banana Doughnuts

I found this recipe the other day on tumblr and i had to try it I've said it before i don't like doughnuts but these are more like bread and you bake them which is amazing! They remind me of pumpkin spice bread with banana in it when i eat one! i heard the recipe is from a cookbook called bake sale recipes which i cannot narrow down on Amazon so if anyone knows the cookbook let me know! 

Calories 120,Protein 2g,Fat 1g

2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 egg whites
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

Beat bananas, egg whites, oil and brown sugar in a large bowl.  Add flours, baking powder, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix until well blended.  Let stand for five minutes for dough to rise.  Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto a greased baking sheet.  

With the tip of a butter knife round out the doughnut holes in the center of the dough.  Then use the butter knife to smooth outside edges of dough into round doughnut shape.  Repeat until all dough is used.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar and walnuts.  Bake 6 to 10 minutes (mine took 8) in a 425 degree oven or until tops are golden.

Remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

Apple Pie Caramel Apple

As we all know Disney has the most amazing candy apples they do sell one just like this but for 8 bucks! of course they look way better than mine but they taste the same to me its a granny smith apple dipped in caramel with white chocolate and spinkled with cinnamon sugar so amazing! 

1 bag Kraft caramels
4-5 large, tart apples 

1 bag white chocolate chips or white chocolate candy melts

cinnamon sugar

 Wash, scrub, and dry apples. This is important or your caramel won't stick because of the coating stores put on apples.

In a medium saucepan, melt caramel according to package directions.

Put popsicle stick in the apple. Dip in melted caramel making sure to fully coat it.

Place on parchment or wax paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Cool in the fridge until caramel is set up. 

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals. 

Coat the apple with the chocolate.

Let it set up a little bit before sprinkling it with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Cool completely in the fridge.

Cut into slices and serve.

Frankenstein Brownies

oh I'm so in love with these how cute did they turn out!? I'm sure many of you know Frankensteins Monster is my favourite classic monster out of all of them, i have a ton of Frankenstein house decor even a huge cookie jar i have stuffed with healthy snacks lol. I made these brownies from scratch but you don't have to if you are in a hurry boxed is fine.  I loved making the different faces on each of them these would be great for the kids to do for sure! I can't believe its only 11 days till Halloween!

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan. 

2 Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. 

1. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. 
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Vanilla Buttercream Frosting-

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency. add green food colouring (the colour of the frosting looks more neon green in the photos its more of a lime green in person.)

Decorate each brownie with 2 candy corns for neck "bolts" and 2 candy-coated baking bits for eyes. Use decorating gel or black frosting to add pupils to eyes and draw mouth and hair.

Caramel Apple Tarts

i have to say these did not come out like i hoped! i got the recipe from Pillsbury i omitted the marshmallows and did the pie crust from scratch and the apple filling too, for some reason the little shells flattened out while they were baking! I'm not sure what happened but you cant expect everything to come out like Pillsbury photos they have professional bakers they still look and taste amazing though great for a Halloween/thanksgiving dessert for a party!

Apple filling-

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 6 cups peeled, thinly sliced baking apple
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pour butter into a 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Add apple and next 3 ingredients; toss gently.
• Combine sugar and next 4 ingredients; sprinkle over apple, and toss gently.
• Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or just until apple is tender, stirring twice. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Pie Crust- ( i always use Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
• 
  
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. 

And finally How make the tarts 

Heat oven to 400°F. Unroll pie crusts on work surface. With 4 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 4 rounds from each pie crust.

 Spoon about 2 tablespoons pie filling onto center of each pie crust round. Firmly fold edge of crust over sides of filling, ruffling decoratively. Place on ungreased large cookie sheet.

 Bake 15 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

 Just before serving, drizzle about 1 teaspoon caramel topping over each tart.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

This is the prefect halloween treat my mom actually showed me this recipe from the Rachael Ray halloween magazine, she sent me some in a package this yr for valentines day they were amazing! i added a little halloween sprinkles to them before they harden up, i did have them in halloween wrappers but i realized they look better with the wrappers off i just wish my husband was back from deployment to have these i will probably be making these again when he gets back!

• 8 ounces organic milk or dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey

Place twelve 2 1/2-inch baking liners on a baking sheet. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Reserve the pot of hot water to keep the chocolate liquid, as necessary.

Place about 2 teaspoons of the melted chocolate in a baking cup, swirling to coat about halfway up the side of the cup. Repeat with the remaining cups. Refrigerate until set.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the peanut butter and honey. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag and snip off one corner.

Fill the chocolate cups about three-quarters full with the peanut butter mixture, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Top each peanut butter cup with melted chocolate to enclose, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate until hardened. To serve, remove the candies from the baking liners.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Donuts

I have a big confession to make i hate donuts but homemade donuts are the only ones i will eat, my husband and i do not like anything from Dunkin Donuts also people look at us crazy when we say we don't like them. My mom showed me how to make homemade donuts when i was younger i just love them with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on them, this time i mixed pumpkin pie spice to give it that fall taste. A oil warning though make sure your oil doesn't get too hot it can make the donuts taste burnt. i put in a donut hole to check if it was ready also.

Donuts:
1 package (0.25 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 – 115 degrees F)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for rolling
1/3 cup plus 1 tsp granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, softened
Canola oil for frying

equal parts Cinnamon sugar and pumpkin pie spice

Donuts:
In a large bowl, stir together active dry yeast, warm water, and a little sugar. Let the mixture sit until the yeast starts to bloom (little bubbles appear over the surface of the water). If the yeast does not bloom, the water may be either too cold or too hot. Discard the mixture and start again.

Add 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes (you can also use an electric mixer). Stir in lightly whisked egg and softened butter until combined. Gradually add 1 3/4 cup flour, mixing with wooden spoon (do not use electric mixer for this part) until the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Place the dough onto a board or counter liberally covered in flour. Roll dough to a 1/2-inch thickness, flouring the dough and rolling pin generously and turning the dough 90-degrees between rolls to stop it from sticking. Using a 2 1/2-inch donut cutter or 3-inch (for main part of donut) and 1-inch (for hole) round biscuit or cookie cutters, cut out donuts. Place donuts and holes on two well-floured baking sheets, spacing them at least 1 inch apart.

Set wire cooling racks over 2 empty baking sheets. Using a large saucepan or Dutch oven, pour canola oil to a depth of about 2 inches. Using a candy or deep-fry thermometer to measure, heat the oil to 325 to 350 degrees F. Start with the holes so you can get an idea of how the donuts with cook. Place 6 to 8 holes into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. When donuts or holes are golden brown on both sides, use slotted spoon to transfer to the wire racks. Continue with the donuts and the rest of the holes, working with 3 to 4 donuts or 6 to 8 holes at a time.

When the donuts are slightly warm, dip them in cinnamon sugar pumpkin pie spice mix.