Tony's Walnut Crescents

One of my most favorite cookies EVER are Tony Ferriera's walnut crescent cookies. He knows how much I like them & I think he bakes a special batch around the holidays when he knows we'll be around so I can gorge myself on these little delights! I asked him for the recipe, assuming it was some generations-old Ferriera family secret, and I couldn't believe it was one he found on cooks.com! Here it is for our cookie making enjoyment...

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Tony's Walnut Crescent Cookies
Recipe adapted from Cooks.com

1/2 lb butter
1/2 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 C walnuts, chopped in small pieces

Cream butter, then work in sugar until well blended. Add vanilla, nuts, and flour. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour (Tony sometimes skips this step if he's in a hurry and the results are fine). Shape dough into small crescents and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. While still warm, generously roll in powdered sugar to form a coating. Tony says if you're not choking on powdered sugar, you haven't put enough on. ;)

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies (AKA Copy Cat Doug's Moon Cakes)

***This week I had a random craving for an oatmeal and peanut butter combo cookie so I searched the web a bit until I found one I thought might be decent. Today when I mentioned it to Jack, he said his Dad made oatmeal peanut butter cookies a few times when he was young and called them "Moon Cakes." This stuck out to me for a few reasons. First, I've never seen my father-in-law cook anything except for scrambled eggs. I'm sure he CAN cook, I've just never really seen it. So I was intrigued that he felt motivated enough to make this recipe. Second, I thought the name "Moon Cakes" sounded pretty cool. I googled it, hoping for an awesome cookie recipe and instead found thousands of recipes for a Chinese bakery product. I imagined our posterity reading through a Harvey Recipebox Cookbook some day and having the mental image of Doug Harvey as being someone who baked Chinese treats for his kids. I literally laughed out loud. I still am actually.

Jack said his Dad made these cookies a couple of times but that despite his kids' requests for it afterward, he never made them again. I felt like I owed it to Jack to recreate something that could fill this decades-old-hankering. Or maybe my week-old-craving. Either way, here they are:

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Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

(AKA Copy Cat Doug's "Moon Cakes")

Ingredients

1 C peanut butter (chunky or creamy)

1 C butter

1 C granulated sugar

1 C firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

2 C quick-cooking oats

2 C all purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

¼ t salt

1- 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips, if desired

1.       Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3.       Beat peanut butter and butter with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in sugars, eggs, & vanilla until blended.

4.       In a medium bowl combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat flour mixture into peanut butter mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips, if desired.

5.       Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 11-13 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

***I know bran muffins aren't all that glamorous a thing to bake, but after having my third child, I needed a little help in the fiber department... and these muffins adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which I have made over and over until the recipe is now perfect, were a godsend. A delicious godsend. From now on, I plan on making & delivering these with dinner for moms who've just had babies. And, I plan to continue making & eating these just as a healthy treat myself!***

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

YIELD: 

MAKES 24 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups wheat bran flakes or plain wheat bran cereal (I like to use Trader Joe's brand-only $1.99 for the box!-but Kelloggs has one or in a pinch I've used raisin bran with the raisins plucked out)
• 1 cups Kellogg's All Bran cereal (look like little twigs)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (no-added sugar) applesauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the wheat bran flakes and all-bran in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour the boiling water over the bran and mix well. Mix every couple of minutes while the mixture cools to room temperature. The mixture will become very thick and sticky.
2. After the mixture cools, add the buttermilk in a slow steady stream pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding more. Then add the melted butter, applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well to combine all the ingredients together.
3. Scoop the batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Fill 3/4 full. Bake at 375 degrees as directed below, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

• Regular Muffin Tins (2 cookie scoops per cup): bake 14-16 min
• Jumbo Muffin Tins (4 cookie scoops per cup): bake 20-23 min

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Recipe from Nestle

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought.
2 large eggs
1/2 C flour
1/2 C white granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C real butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark works best, you might find milk too sweet)
1 C chopped pecans (you are welcome to make it without nuts)

Vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving (a must!  I prefer ice cream)

optional: chocolate sauce (honestly, doesn’t really need chocolate sauce, but it looks pretty!)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack or serve slightly warmed.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Colorburst Cupcakes

Colorburst Cupcakes

1 white cake mix
2 eggs
1 C yogurt (any smooth textured fruit flavor is fine!) or sour cream
1/2 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients until incorporated (about 30 seconds). Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 2 minutes.

Divide batter according to how many colors you are using. I used 5 colors and it worked out to a little over 1 cup for each color, but each cake brand will be slightly different.

Use food coloring to color batter to desired intensity.

To get a layered stripe like I used, you’ll want to put a spoonful of each color in the cupcake one at a time. The batter is thick, so it won’t spread on it’s own. A great tip is to set out a little bowl of water where you’re working. Dip your finger in the water and then gently spread the batter out. The water will make it so the batter doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Another tip is to use a measuring spoon and some water to measure out how many teaspoons/tablespoons are going to fit in your cupcake. Then divide that by how many colors you have so you know how much of each color to use for each cupcake. For my 5 colors, it worked out perfectly with 2 t of each color in each cupcake. So I put in 2 t of blue in the bottom of each cupcake and spread it out with my finger. Then I put in 2 t of green on top of that, then yellow, etc.

Bake them according to the package directions, until a toothpick comes out dry.

Reese's Peanut Butter Bars (No Bake!)

***These are one of my absolute FAVORITE desserts. I think I actually like them better than the real thing! They are super easy to whip up and always draw compliments. I brought these one time to a Relief Society presidency meeting at my friend Marcia Storm's house, and she just about fell over when she tried them. She begged me for the recipe and still talks about them to this day.***

No Bake Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 lb (3 1/2 C) powdered sugar
1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1 C (2 sticks) real butter, melted
1 12oz bag chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark, you pick!)
2 tsp peanut butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and butter and beat until combined.  Press into a parchment (or waxed paper or foil) lined 9×13 pan.

Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth.  Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture and spread out evenly.  Place pan in the fridge just until chocolate is set and then cut into bars.  

Tip:  If the bars chill until the chocolate is too hard to easily cut, use a sharp knife and score the cuts first, then gently cut through.  Can be stored in the fridge or at room temp.  They will stay firmer if stored in the fridge.

Everyday Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted by Our Best Bites from Allrecipes

Dough

1 cup milk

4 Tbs butter, cut into chunks

3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 (.25 ounce) package instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Filling

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

Icing
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbs milk

Dough: Place milk and 4 Tbs butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute 30 seconds. Butter should be at least partially melted. Stir and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt. When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute. (Switch to the dough hook now) Add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes. If you are not using a stand mixer, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes by hand.Turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Filling: make sure butter is softened well. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly: Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to “crumble” it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces and then cut into rolls. Place in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. If desired spread with icing while still warm. Makes 12 rolls.

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

Peppermint Bark Popcorn
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients
16 C popped popcorn* (fresh, or about 2 bags microwave popcorn)
1 lb almond bark
1 6 ounce box candy canes, crushed (about 1 generous cups, Bob’s brand are best!)
1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil or 2 teaspoons peppermint extract**
3/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

*if you’re using microwave popcorn, try to find an unbuttered or “natural” kind because this looks much prettier if the popcorn isn’t bright yellow!  Lightly salted is fine, I actually like a little salt in there, but avoid heavy buttered.

** If you can find flavored oils, like you would use for candy making, use them as they will best combine with the almond bark.  If using extract, it’s not unusual for it to cause the almond bark to seize, but just stir quickly and pour immediately on popcorn.  Once distributed it will be just fine. 

Instructions
Place popcorn in a very large mixing bowl.

Melt almond bark according to package instructions.  When completely melted, add extract or peppermint oil.  If using extract, it’s normal for the almond bark to seize (get lumpy) which is okay, just stir very quickly, the more you wait the more it will seize.

Pour melted almond bark mixture over popcorn and pour crushed candy canes on top.  Stir to evenly coat.  Pour popcorn out onto waxed paper, parchment, or foil and spread out.

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.  Drizzle over popcorn mixture.  Let mixture dry completely until chocolate and almond bark are hardened.   You may place in the fridge to speed process along.

When chocolate is hardened, use your hands to break up popcorn into chunks. Toss in a bowl, a jar, a cute package, or in your mouth :)