A Great Opportunity!

As you saw from my previous post, Picky Palate is one of my favorite blogs to follow.  It is actually the very first one I ever saw and I was HOOKED. 
So tonight I was checking in to see what was new and saw that the latest post has a link to the Kraft website for a really great opportunity to help feed the hungry this holiday season.  And a fun giveaway from Jenny at Picky Palate.  Check it out here

Holiday Treats

Well, I won't say that I have officially started my holiday baking, but I'm definitely looking into what I want to try this year.  And this world of food blogs has opened my eyes to so many new recipes.  I love it!  I visited Picky Palate this week and found this great recipe for Candy Cane Kiss Centered Brownies.  I have to admit I bombed my first round of these.  I know you're wondering how someone can mess up brownies from a box.  Well, I didn't let them finish baking all the way and I had a big, half-baked brownie mess on my hands.

I didn't want all the brownie pieces to go to waste so I decided to try something with them.  I melted Hersheys chocolate bars, mixed in the brownie pieces and a bag of mint M&Ms.  (If you haven't tried these M&Ms yet, you should.  They are sooo good!)

I rolled the batter in a mixture of powdered sugar and crushed candy canes and rolled it up in wax paper.  I let this cool in the refridgerator.

The result?  It turned out very delicious, but hard to cut.  I think I'll try it again - with a few changes.  Maybe I'll spread it into a thinner layer-and not let them cool all the way before I cut into them. 

So, in the end I crunched it up into smaller pieces and my husband loves it. 

Not such a bad mistake after all.

Italian Fruit Salad

So I'm guessing fresh fruit seems like a funny thing to talk about this time of year.  I know everybody's thinking about doing their holiday baking and grocery shopping for those big family gatherings and delicious meals.  I can hardly wait myself!

I was supposed to go to aChristmas party this weekend with friends - with an Italian theme.  I offered to bring a side dish and I found a very simple recipe for fresh fruit with a sweet glaze to pour over it.

Lots of beautiful berries, pineapple and grapes

A simple mixture of honey and orange juice to pour over the fruit

And voila!  A simple, sweet fruit salad

(I'm not sure what makes this Italian - I haven't visited there yet - but I'll trust the creator of this recipe knew what they were talking about when they named it Italian Fruit Salad)

Italian Fruit Salad

1/2 c. honey

1/3 c. orange liqueur - I used orange juice

1 pound strawberries, quartered

1/2 pound seedless grapes

1 large can mandarin oranges, drained

1 fresh pineapple cut into chunks

1/2 pint raspberries

1/2 pint blueberries

1/2 pint blackberries

In a small bowl, whisk together honey and fruit liqueur.  Wash fruit.  Add all fruit into a large serving bowl, add the dressing and toss gently.  Chill before serving

Christmas Cookie Bake Sale

My son's preschool class is having their annual Christmas Cookie bake sale tomorrow. I think this will be one of the only times I actually get to send something homemade with him to school. I made of few of my favorites - chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter/ritz sandwiches dipped in white chocolate (yummy!)

I also decided to try a new recipe. Now normally I am a chocolately or chewy cookie kinda girl - but I found a recipe for Jam-Filled Cookies and something about there being cream cheese in the dough made me want to try them.
I'm so glad I did! They turned out great. I like that they were a softer shortbread cookie and the warm strawberry jam was delicious. And they look so festive too!

Easy Jam Filled Cookies (Kraft)

1 - 8oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2-1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/3 c. walnuts (I used pecans) finely chopped

3/4 c. preserves (I used strawberry)

1 tsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Separate 1 of the eggs; set egg white aside for later use. Add yolk, second (whole) egg and vanilla to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Gradually add combined flour and baking powder, beating until well blended.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 12x1 inch log; place 2 inches apart, on large ungreased baking sheet. Use fingers to make depression down length of each log. Beat reserved egg white with fork; brush over dough. Sprinkle with walnuts. Fill depressions with preserves, using about 3 T. preserves in each log.

Bake 25-27 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut each log into 12 equal pieces.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake

I had the privilege this week to make birthday treats for one of my co-workers. She told me she loves anything pumpkin or chocolate and she really likes cheesecake. I went in search of a brownie-type cheesecake and I came across one on http://www.allrecipes.com/ The recipe is called Chocolate Chip Brownie Cheesecake. I switched the chocolate chips for peanut butter cups and added peanut butter frosting to top it off. It was yummy!!!

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cheesecake

1 - (19.5 oz) package fudge brownie mix

3 - 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used chopped peanut butter cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of 9-inch springform pan. Prepare brownie mix as directed. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35 minutes or until set.

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add in sweetened condensed milk. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in chocolate. Pour over brownie in pan.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Bake 50 minutes or until set. Cool. Chill thoroughly. Remove side of springform pan. Garnish as desired.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 Tablespoons Milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Mix in sugar. Mixture will be thick. Add milk one tablespoon at a time. Beat at least 3 minutes until fluffy.