Peppermint Treats

At the Christmas Brunch I hosted, the ladies got a taste of a couple of my favorite holiday treats, both featuring the Belle of the Christmas-Candy-Ball: Peppermint! I made peppermint bon-bons for munching, and peppermint fudge was featured in my door prize. They are both scrumptious and rich, a perfect compliment to all of your Christmas hoopla. I promised to post the recipes, so here I go...

Peppermint Fudge

This is a no-bake two-layered fudge that's as easy as pie, except easier, because we all know working with pie crust can be a brow-scrunching event! The bottom layer is a rich chocolate, and the top layer is a creamy white with bits of peppermint candy mixed in. It's both delicious and beautiful! These should stored in the refrigerator... if they last long enough to be stored...

Chocolate layer:

Butter for greasing pan (no substitutions)
2 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c. confectioners sugar
3 Tb. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Peppermint Layer:

2 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp milk
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 c. crushed peppermint candy

Line the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with foil and grease with butter. In small mixing bowl beat cream cheese. Add in remaining chocolate layer ingredients and blend until combined. This will likely cause you to question if your kitchenmaid mixer will be able to handle the task at hand. It will, but just barely.... ;) Press into prepared pan. Chill for 1 hour. Repeat the same process for the peppermint layer and press on top of the chocolate layer. When chilled and firm enough to work with, remove from pan and cut into one-inch cubes. Then proceed to eat all of the trimmings you cut off around the edges, and enjoy the belly ache. It hurts so good...

*p.s... I omitted the walnuts when I made this. I figured the crushed peppermint gave it enough texture. But you can go nutty if you feel the need... *wink


Peppermint Cream Bon-Bons

All I can say about these little cream-filled chocolates is... YUM!

1 c. butter, no substitutes
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 1/2 Tb. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
3 c. Semi sweet chocolate chips for coating

In mixing bowl cream together everything but chocolate until smooth. Chill for an hour. Then, you can either roll the mixture into balls and dip them in chocolate, or paint candy molds with the chocolate and fill will the peppermint cream. Cover with more chocolate and chill until the chocolate is hard. These should also be kept refrigerated. Mmmmm... bon bons... oh la la!

Happy Pepperminting to you, this Advent!

-Tam


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p.s... if you want to take a peek at our brunch, hop over to my blog where I posted some pictures!

Baja Lasagna

serves 12

16 corn tortillas
2 T oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 1 inch pieces
5 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
 pepper to taste
2 C cottage cheese
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 C sour cream
1/2 C chopped Italian parsley
2 green onions, sliced
2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies, drained
1 C grated cheese (mont. jack, cheddar)

Grease 2 9x13 pans. Brush both sides of tortillas with half of the oil. Set aside.
Saute garlic in remaining oil. Add chicken and brown for 7 min.
In sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, salt, and pepper.
Add chicken and simmer 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, parsley, green onions, and green chilies.  Mix until smooth.
Preheat oven to 350.
In each baking dish, place a layer of four tortillas, one quarter of the chicken sauce, half of the cheese mixture, another layer of tortillas, and one quarter of the chicken sauce. Top each with a 1/2 C cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake an additional 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with chips, salsa, guacamole, etc.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

These little numbers are perfectly rich and chocolaty.

1 bag of chocolate cookies (like Oreo's, or to make it GF use something like Pamela's chocolate cookies)
1/2 C butter, melted
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 C chocolate chips, plus additional for top
1 C coconut flakes
1 C chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Food process the cookies and add melted butter. Press mixture in a 9x13. Pour sweetened condensed milk on top. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts. Top with additional chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes. Cut into bars after they have cooled.

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread (from allrecipes.com)

Jessi made a crock pot of chili tonight (Quick as Lightening Chili from Janet Fletcher) and it was fantastic (what we call, "Thowin' it down!") To accompany, we experienced Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread (if you don't use allrecipes.com, you're missing out - thanks to Megan Okimoto, we are not found wanting). It only has 2,870 reviews to the tune of a 5 star rating. It was good enough to bring this blog to mind and share it with all who enjoy cornbread. It has some of the classic crumble without the dryness. I hope I'm not committing any crimes by cutting and pasting from the website, but it would definitely be a crime if I didn't share it. Enjoy! (~Buck)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Golden Toffee Blondies

1 C unsalted butter, plus extra for pan

1 3/4 C light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet choco chips

1 C toffee bits (like Heath)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Position rack to upper third of oven. Line a 9x13 glass baking dish with large sheets of foil, pressing foil so that it fits snugly into corners of the pan and overhanging edges serve a handles. Lightly butter foil.

2. Melt butter. In a large mixing bowl beat melted butter with sugar about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined and light in color. Add flour and salt and beat until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and toffee bits.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes. Blondies will be golden brown on the edges yet still soft in the middle Do not overbake. (I probably over bake mine because I have a hard time knowing if it is soft and cooked or soft and raw. I probably add at least 10 minutes to the baking time.) Transfer to wire rack to cool. When completely cool, use foil edges to lift blondies out of pan and cut into squares.

Copy cat chicken lasagna

So, I'm interested in knowing what recipes some of you passed along to Becca. Tell you what, I'll start. The following is a Giles family classic. Chad's mom whips this one up pretty much any time we visit, and I know we've had it at any and every holiday feast; I think a few providence saints have also partaken. Anyway, this is a wonderful any-time-of-year dish.


1 box lasagna noodles (I usually get pre-cooked, but anything goes here)
1 whole chicken (I actually only use half if it's just my family, whole if we're sharing)
16 oz sour cream

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 family sized can cream of chicken soup (I have made this from scratch before, and I have to admit, it's way better.)
reserve 2 cups chicken broth after cooking chicken, OR 2 cups boxed broth/bouillon/whatever makes you happy

-Preheat oven to 350*
-Cook and dice up chicken
- If you decide to use noodles that require boiling, do that here.
-Mix sour cream and cream cheese
-Mix 2 Cups broth and soup
-Grease casserole pan (9x11)

-Layer ; Noodles, cheese mixture, and chicken, finishing with noodles (If using boil-free noodles, I spread the cheese mixture on them before laying them in the pan)
-Pour soup mixture over all

-Here, you can refrigerate overnight, for optimal setting or you can cook right away for optimal eating.
-Bake for about an hour.
-Eat, and be the happiest people alive. (Bonus! This step not included in Becca's card)

Serves 6

Pear Crisp

This is so much better than any apple crisp I have ever made, I don't know if I could ever go back.

Filling:

6 C peeled, cored, and sliced ripe pears (about 6)

1/3 C sugar

1 T chopped candied ginger

1 T lemon juice

1 T flour

Topping:

1 C flour

3/4 C packed light brown sugar

1/2 C rolled oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temp, cut in 1/4 inch slices

1.) Heat oven to 400. Butter a 9x13.

2.) Combine the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss well. Spread fruit in bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes.

3.) Combine flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter, with your fingers rub the ingredients together until well blended.

4.) Remove casserole from oven and top with topping. Bake about 20-25 minutes more. Let cool about 15 minutes.

Delicious with a bit of whipped cream!