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Cookie Dough Fudge

19 Dec

Cookie Dough Fudge

I am getting awfully excited for Christmas. It’s less than a week away—pretty hard to believe it snuck up on me this fast! I love to give treats away for Christmas. They’re obviously the perfect gift because they’re from the heart, homemade, rather inexpensive, and for the stomach. What more could you want?

This fudge is ridiculously easy. You don’t need to use a candy thermometer or worry about exact times to get the right consistency here. It’s all in the sugar! (No, really, it really does depend on how much powdered sugar you use.)

I whipped up a batch of this for a holiday potluck and have leftovers in my fridge to give away to any holiday visitors. I always feel the need to have a homemade treat on hand–you never know who you might need to give it to!

Cookie Dough Fudge

Start by making your cookie dough.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Now start the fudge base by combining butter, brown sugar, and half-and-half in a pan.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Heat on medium-low until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Stir until smooth after each addition.

Cookie Dough Fudge

 

Keep stirring until smooth and very thick.

Cookie Dough Fudge

After the last cup of powdered sugar is added, stir well until very, very smooth.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Toss in the cookie dough and stir to incorporate evenly.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Sprinkle in the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Spread in a parchment-lined pan, and refrigerate until set.

Cookie Dough Fudge

Cut into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces. (more…)

Molasses Cookies and The Second Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

12 Dec

This year I had the pleasure of participating in the Second Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. Basically, a long, fancy name for a good, ol’ fashioned cookie exchange. Don’t mind if I do.

Here’s how it worked: Lots of food bloggers signed up to participate in this cookie swap, which was organized by Love & Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen (two absolutely amaaaazing food blogs, drool drool yum yum hungry hungry). Once everyone signed up, you receive 3 matches who you will send cookies to, and 3 other people are assigned to send cookies to me. These 3 matches are kept secret until cookie time. When it came time (last week), I baked 3 dozen cookies–1 dozen for each of my secret matches–and sent them on their merry way.

It was fun to check out my secret matches’ food blogs, too. I can never have too many food blogs to read, I tell ya. If you want to see the wonderful ladies who I sent cookies to, check out Lacey from Small Town Cookie, Fran at Fran’s Favs, and Lauren at A Picture Journey. They are talented, talented bakers!

I also got some cookies of my own! Many many thanks to Rosie at ForkPenMouth for Buckwheat Cocoa Nib Shortbread Cookies, Amanda at Culinary Quirks for the most incredible Strawberry Cheesecake Sandwich Cookies (my husband devoured these in minutes), and Tina at The Daily Bite for melt-in-your-mouth Italian lemon cookies!

Here’s the recipe I made for the cookie swap. These are classic, thin, chewy molasses cookies. My husband calls them Christmas cookies because they seriously do taste JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS. I used to call them brain cookies because I would just plop the dough dough on the cookie sheet and after they baked, I thought they looked like brains. (I know, really mature.)

This cookie swap has really gotten me in the Christmas spirit. Happy Christmas cookies to all!

Beat together the melted butter and brown sugar until light and smooth in texture, about 3 minutes.

Add your egg, and beat a little more.

Pour in that rich, thick molasses.

In another bowl, toss together the flour, baking soda, salt, and all those Christmassy spices.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, and stir by hand just until combined. Refrigerate dough for an hour or two.

Form little balls and roll into the white sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until crackly on top. (more…)

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

21 Nov

Still not sure what to make for Thanksgiving TOMORROW??? Freak out!! No need to stress, just take a look at some of my favorite dishes that are perfect for holidays.

If you’re looking for an alternative to the ol’ mashed potatoes and gravy, why not try my rich Scalloped Potatoes? Even though these are 100 percent savory and main-dish-worthy, I tend to think of this dish as an almost dessert. Why, you ask? They’re that good! I just want more and more of them after I’ve cleaned my plate.

OK, so I don’t have any classic turkey recipes, but let’s say you’re shunning that whole tradition and want pork instead. And why  not? (And maybe all of the turkeys are sold out at this point, anyway.) Why not try my favorite Roast Pork recipe? The pork is tender, flavorful, and, best of all, simple!

As far as sides go, look no further than my past post of Baked Pineapple Stuffing. It’s a classic for my in-laws, and once you’ve tried it, you won’t regret it!

If you’re like me and hoard as many carbs as possible on holidays, check out my White Sandwich Bread. It’s classic carbs all the way.

And now for desserts. You might be running out of steam by the time dessert baking rolls around. If that’s the case, I won’t blame you for one second if you whip up a batch of easy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

And there you have it, folks. A few more ideas to stress you out ease your holiday cooking load. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Broccoli Casserole

14 Nov

Food has a sentimental effect on me. I just celebrated my wedding anniversary this week, and you better believe I can’t think of my wedding day without thinking about food.

The night before my wedding day, I stayed up late making batch after bath of homemade butter caramels to give out as favors to my wedding guests. Thankfully I had a troupe of workers (a.k.a. select family and friends) to cut and individually wrap them in parchment paper and fold cute, little favor boxes. Needless to say, it was stressful.

And yet, I look back with so much pride and the utmost sentimentality when I think of all those caramels that I made with love.

What do you make that’s chock-full of memories and love?

This is a casserole recipe, and, by golly, casseroles always feel sentimental and homey to me. In honor of Thanksgiving coming up next week, I wanted to share an alternative to that green bean casserole. It’s very similar—but made with broccoli instead of green beans and incredibly easy. It even has those tasty french fried onions on top! Happy casserole baking!

Start by gently steaming or cooking your broccoli.

Mix together the soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, 2/3-cup onions, and 1/2 cup cheese. OK, so it doesn’t look the most appetizing yet. Just give it time!

Combine the cooked broccoli and soup mixture in a casserole dish.

Bake for 25 minutes, then top with remaining cheese and french fried onions. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts. (more…)