Dark Chocolate Christmas Temptation Cookies

Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Approximate Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Yield: about 3 dozen

Rich dark chocolate paired with Candy Cane Kiss candies, softened and swirled on top. These cookies are a heavenly little bite of Christmas.

Ingredients

• 3/4 C ( 1 1/2 Sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 1/4 C dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 C sifted all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 bag Candy Cane Kiss candies

Instructions

1. Put butter, dark brown sugar and water in a large saucepan and stir over low heat until melted.
2. Add dark chocolate chips and stir until most of the chocolate chips are melted, remove from heat and continue to stir until all the chocolate is melted.
3. Add in 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste and mix well.
4. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to sit and cool for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times to help cooling.
5. Carefully measure 2 1/2 C of sifted all purpose flour into a large bowl; add in baking soda and salt - sift together
6. When the chocolate is cooler, add in one egg at a time beating each on high speed until completely blended.
7. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in dry ingredients, don't forget to scrape the sides and bottom, until blended.
8. Chill the dough for about an hour - while it's chilling - unwrap the Candy Cane Kiss candies
9. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F
10. Roll dough into 1/2" to 1" balls and place on un-greased or parchment lined baking sheet about 1 1/2" apart.
11. Bake about 7 minutes (could be as long as 9 minutes - do NOT overbake)
12. When the cookies come out of the oven, place a Candy Cane Kiss on top of each hot cookie in the middle and let them sit about 5 minutes.
13. Using a toothpick, swirl the softened Candy Cane Kiss until you like the pattern, it will just melt down onto the cookie.
14. Remove the swirl topped cookies from the baking sheet and place them on a cooling rack in the refrigerator to set the candy.
15. Repeat with the rest of the dough and candies.
16. Serve chilled straight out of the refrigerator or at room temperature, either way - DELICIOUS!

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version

*Serves 6-8

Potatoes:
3 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
26-ounce bag frozen shredded hash browns
1/2 cup light sour cream

Topping:
3 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent,a bout 5-6 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Combine the chicken broth and milk in a liquid measure and slowly whisk in the mixture. Add the salt, pepper and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth. Mix in the frozen hash browns, lifting and folding the mixture until well combined. Finally, stir in the sour cream.

In a medium bowl, toss the lightly crushed cornflakes with the butter until evenly combined. Scoop out the potato mixture into a 9X13-inch baking dish and top with the buttered cornflakes. If baking the potatoes by themselves, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly around the edges. If baking the potatoes with a ham (my ham recipe bakes at 300 degrees), bake the potatoes for 90 minutes at 300 degrees then crank the oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 10 minutes more. In both baking situations, let the potatoes rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken and Black Bean Green Enchilada Rice Bake

from Picky-Palate

2 cups white long grain rice

2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

One 15-ounce can mild green enchilada sauce

One 4-ounce can sliced black olives

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Roasted Ground Cumin

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. Place chicken, enchilada sauce, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper and cumin into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Pour cooked rice into prepared baking dish and layer beans on top of rice. Pour chicken mixture over rice and top evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is hot.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo

Recipe by Our Best Bites

8 oz. penne or bowtie pasta

1 recipe Guiltless Alfredo Sauce (1 16-oz. jar would work in a pinch)

2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped (about 2 c. chopped chicken)

6 oz. (1/2 package) cooked bacon, chopped

1 14-oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 c. chopped green onions (about 1 decent-sized bunch)

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, prepare Guiltless Alfredo sauce. When pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce. Toss with chopped chicken, bacon, artichoke hearts, green onions, and 1/2 c. mozzarella. Season to taste.

Transfer mixture to an 8×8″ baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Serve with a green salad and breadsticks or a loaf of garlic bread made with Garlic Bread Seasoning.


Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender.
Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Stand above the pan (but not close enough to scald your face) and inhale. Ahhh…butter and garlic. Okay, now get cooking again. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.


When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

"Berry Best" Muffins

Recipe from Cooking with Chopin, Living with Elmo

Makes 12 muffins

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/3 cup flour

Zest from 1/2 a lemon, grated (about 2 teaspoons)

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (I LEFT OUT)

2 TBSP butter, softened

Muffins:

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

Zest from 1/2 a lemon, grated (about 2 teaspoons)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 large egg

1 cup berries (thawed frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combo all all 3 would work good) -(I LEFT OUT)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For Streusel Topping: mix brown sugar, flour and lemon zest together in a bowl. Stir in nuts and butter. Mix together until butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

For Muffins: combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Make an indention in the center. Add milk, butter and egg to the indention and mix until smooth. Fold in the berries.

Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling each only 2/3 full. Top with 1 TBSP of struesel topping. Do not overfill the muffin cups or topping will run over into pan. Bake on middle rack in oven for 20-25 minutes (20 MIN WAS PERFECT FOR ME), until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Note: These were delish! I even left out the berries so my kids didn't freak out. I'm not sure if I did something wrong with the streusel topping, because it wasn't really crumbly like it should have been but more like a carmely, crusty, goodness on top. It was YUMMY!