Avalanche Bars

(I stole this image from the blog that I got the recipe from!)

Avalanche Bars

12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups Rice Krispies, or “Puffed Rice” if you’re buying generic

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for garnish.

Lightly grease a 9×9 pan (or 8×8 if you prefer thicker bars)

1. In microwave-safe bowl dump in white chips and heat on med power for 1 minute. Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.

2. Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips

3. Add the krispies.

4. Let cool approx 15 – 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.

5. Add the marshmallows and the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.

6. Dump mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.

7. Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.
When the bars are completely cooled cut into squares and enjoy!

**I doubled the recipe for our recipe club night and made it in a 9x13" pan**

Breakfast Cookies
*ok, so these were the ones I brought to the bacon night, not the cookie night, but I never got them posted. I am planning on making them for Christmas morning.

 

1/2 c butter softened

3/4 c sugar

1 egg

1 c all-purpose flour

1/4 tspn baking soda

10 strips bacon (or the whole pound :)), cooked and crumbled

2 c cornflakes (I used Honey Bunches of Oats and it was a nice addition of sweet)

1/2 c raisins

 

Cream butter and sugar.  Beat in egg.  Add flour and baking soda, mix well.  Add in bacon, raisins and cornflakes, stirring to combine.  Drop by rounded tablespoon fulls 2 inches apart and bake at 350* for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

angie

Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
yields: approx. 42 cookies
Bake time: 10 mins/ batch
Preheat oven to 350*

 

4Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 
  FROSTING:
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons 2% milk
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 to 3 drops red food coloring, optional
• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
• In a small bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, extract and food coloring if desired; beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies; sprinkle with crushed candies. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3-1/2 dozen.

Taste of Home 2011

Peppermint Swirl Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring.( I highly recommend the gel variety. You can buy it at any craft store. It is much brighter and you can use less)
• Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
• 3 tablespoons milk
• DIRECTIONS
• Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar together in another large bowl. Add egg, vanilla, milk and beat until incorporated. Gradually add the dry mixture, beating until combined. Remove half of the mixture from the bowl. Add red food coloring,and peppermint extract, beating until fully combined. You may have to knead the colored dough a bit to get it mixed thoroughly. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll out dough to form a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat this step with the other half of uncolored dough with no food coloring.
• Now very carefully, slide the red dough on top of the white dough and slide the parchment paper out. Trim edges if uneven and patch if necessary. Roll dough into a log, creating a swirl effect. NOTE: do not worry if the dough starts to tear a little when you are rolling it. This is normal. Simply mend it with your fingers as you go along.
• 
  
• Now place a generous amount of sprinkles in a shallow dish and roll the cookie dough log firmly over the sprinkles until they stick and its covered. Wrap tightly with saran wrap and place the dough back in the refrigerator and let chill for 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Slice the dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on a parchment lined sheet tray about 1-inch apart. Bake fo2 10-15 minuets depending on how thick you sliced the cookies.

Peppermint-pinwheels.html  Here is the link to the blog, showing step by step photos.

Cardamom Honey Cutouts

13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling 
1 tsp. ground cardamom 
1/2 tsp. table salt 
1/4 tsp. baking soda 
8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1/4 cup honey 
1 large egg 
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

---

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cardamom, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until well blended.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended and slightly fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and the beater. Add the honey, egg, and vanilla. Continue mixing on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dough is well blended and comes together in moist clumps, 30 to 60 seconds.
Divide the dough roughly in half. On a piece of plastic wrap, shape each dough half into a smooth 5-inch disk. Wrap well in the plastic. Refrigerate until chilled and firm enough to roll out, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Bake the cookies:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Line two or more cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners. Working with one disk at a time, roll the dough on a floured work surface to about 3/16 inch thick. Dust with additional flour as needed. Choose one or more cookie cutters of any shape that are about 2-1/2 inches wide and cut out shapes. Arrange the cookies about 1 inch apart on the lined cookie sheets. Gather the scraps and gently press together. Re-roll and cut. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies’ edges develop a 1/4-inchwide light-brown rim, 11 to 13 minutes (rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning). Let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 10 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

The plastic-wrapped dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe.