Menu 12/6 - 12/12

Five days into my goody-a-day posting and I just have to make sure that everyone knows that we still eat real food around here... 

Monday--Tomatillo Chicken Chili

Tuesday--Buttermilk Pecan Waffles

Bacon Parmesan Pasta (new)

Wednesday--Tomato Basil Soup

Thursday-- Orange Breakfast Bread

 

Ranch Mac & Cheese

Friday--Turkey Wafflewiches

Saturday--German Pancakes

Super Easy Tostadas

Sunday--Sausage, Tomato, Arugula Fettuccine (new)

Go check Organizing Junkie for lots more Menu Plans!

And don't forget to check back here for a new goody recipe every day in December! 

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Super Easy 30-Minute Chocolate Fudge Pie

So your in-laws just called and said they're stopping by in an hour.  Oh no!  Stress!  The house is a mess and your kids are grumpy and they always expect food of some kind or another.  It's too late to fain illness or being out of town, so what will you do? 

I'll tell you what to do.  You pull an Amelia Bedelia trick that's what.  You'll whip together this super quick and easy pie (only 5 minutes if you have a pre-made crust), pop it into the oven and when they walk in the door you start feeding them.  They'll be so busy drooling and oohing over this deliciously rich and creamy pie that they won't even notice the unfolded laundry in the corner and they'll be praising your name for days.  If the kids so happen to start screaming during all that,  you just throw them some their way as well.  It's a fool-proof solution....until the pie runs out. 

(Serve your pie warm and it will look like this picture--set-up, but still a tiny bit oozy.  Wait a half-hour or so and it will be just as creamy and delicious, but a little firmer.  It's your preference.)  

Thanks to my friend Linda for an awesome recipe! 


The ingredients: 

2 squares (1-ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heavy saucepan over low heat. 

Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar,

then the eggs and vanilla; beat well. 

Pour the filling into the pie crust

and bake for 25 minutes or until just set.  (It looks like brownies at this point, but no worries....these ain't no brownies on the inside.) 

Serve warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy! 

(Rich and creamy--warm or cold, this is delicious!)

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Holiday Baking #4: Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies

 I happened to find myself in charge of the food for my book group the other day and while it's obvious  I love to cook for my family, I still sometimes get intimidated cooking for my friends.  I get all wrapped up in making it so perfect, that I can't even decide what to make in the first place.  I poked around the internet looking for the perfect recipe, but still felt a little lost.  Suddenly it dawned on me to email my friend Heather for an idea.  Heather is one of those people who has a knack for finding the perfect recipe for any occasion and I knew she'd have some recommendation for me to try.  This sumptuous recipe here is the one she told me about.  Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies from Martha Stewart.   Once again Heather came through for me and they were exactly the special recipe I was looking for.  These eggless cookies were soft and chewy, full of the gingery flavor you expect in a gingerbread recipe, and completely took everyone by surprise when they bit into them and found chunks of chocolate!   Sophisticated enough for us, um, immature adults and fun enough for the kids to devour as well.  Thanks to Heather and to Martha Stewart...

 Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

8-ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks 
1-1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 Tbs. freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. boiling water
1/4 cup sugar (for rolling)

Directions:  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks;

set aside.  In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. 

In a medium bowl, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. 

Add brown sugar; beat until combined.  Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1-1/2 teaspoons boiling water. 

Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.  Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture.  Mix in chocolate;

turn onto a piece of plastic wrap.  Pat dough out to about 1-inch thick; seal with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm. 

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Roll dough into 1-1/2-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar;  place 2-inches apart on baking sheets.    

Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, about 10-12 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes.  Makes 2 dozen soft, chewy cookies oozing with chocolate!  Enjoy! 

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No Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Bars

Here's today's treat....White Chocolate Raspberry Bars adapted from Your Homebased Mom.  They are my latest summer obsession (no oven required!) and I get asked for the recipe every time I make them to share.   I  tried it with a homemade raspberry jam that is more tart than most store-bought jams and loved them even more!       A double batch of this fits perfectly into a 9x13 pan.  

Click here for printable recipe. (updated link)

The ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips
2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (I use gluten free vanilla wafers) 
3 Tbs. softened butter
3 Tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup raspberry jam (could also use peach, apricot or blackberry)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

Line an 8-or 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
{NOTE: A double batch fits perfectly into a 9x13 pan}

In medium saucepan over low heat, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup of the white chocolate chips. Cook just until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in wafer crumbs until well mixed. Press mixture evenly into a greased pan. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt remaining 1-1/4 cups of white chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. In a small bowl, combine 3 Tbsp. butter, milk and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in melted chips and powdered sugar until smooth.

Spread jam over crumb mixture.

 Spread chip mixture over jam.

 Sprinkle with nuts.

 Refrigerate until set and cut into bars. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy!

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Holiday Baking #2: Sweet Potato Cookies with Orange Glaze

This is going to be an exciting month here at the Recipe Shoebox!  Thirty-one straight days of tempting treat recipes is proving to be no easy task (based on the fact I'm posting today's recipe at almost midnight and it's only the 2nd day), but my oven's been hard at work and I've got some awesome guest bloggers lined up to help me make it happen.   It's looking to be a sweet, sweet December indeed!

Speaking of sweet, these sweet and spicy sweet potato cookies were soft and chewy and oh so perfect in a bowl of butter pecan ice cream.  We were out of orange juice the day we made them, so we ate them without the orange glaze, but the citrus would have been a perfect touch.  I'm a big sweet potato fan, so I always have them in the house, but I bet they would work just as well with pumpkin puree instead.  I've got it on my list to test sometime, but if any of you do, you'll have to let me know how it works. 

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

SWEET POTATO COOKIES:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sweet potato puree *I peeled and chopped a sweet potato, boiled it for 10-15 minutes, then mashed it with a potato masher.  You could also use canned sweet potatoes or canned pumpkin.
1 cup chopped pecans

ORANGE GLAZE: 
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbs. orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 gallon butter pecan ice cream (optional, but highly recommended)


Directions:  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside.  

If you're not using canned sweet potatoes, then cube them, add them to boiling water, and boil until soft (about 15-20 minutes).  Drain, mash, and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. 

In a separate bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and the vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Stir in sweet potato puree and blend until smooth.  Beat in the dry ingredients in increments and combine well.  Stir in pecans. 

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. 

Bake until cookies are lightly golden around edges and they spring back from the touch, about 15 minutes.  Let cool completely on the cookie sheets before glazing. 

Serve with butter pecan ice cream and enjoy!!!

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Holiday Baking #1: White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

I'm so excited to announce the launch of my "Baking through the Holidays with Recipe Shoebox", where each day in December we'll post a new delicious goody recipe!  It'll be me, my family, and some baking friends all collaborating together to make it the most delicious December yet here at the Recipe Shoebox.  Thanks to my new blogging friend, Kari at the Virtual Goody Plate , for the idea.  She's been posting a cookie recipe every day in December for the last few years on her baking blog. 

Here's my first recipe of December....White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies.  My hubby has a soft spot for the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies at Mrs. Fields, but I've always been a little intimidated to make them at home for him.  One day I stumbled across the macadamia nuts on sale and decided to make him a special treat.  I can't remember exactly where I found this recipe, but it was love at first bite.  They had a very nice texture which was much smoother and moister than your average cookie bar.   These would be great for a bake sale or for a plate of holiday goodies!
Don't forget to grab my button (either on the sidebar or on the bottom of this post) and spread the word! 

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

6-ounces fine-quality or premium white chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips)
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted lightly and chopped coarsely
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch square baking pan. 

In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt white chocolate and butter together, stirring, until smooth.  Remove from heat and allow chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. 

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thickened and pale and beat in white chocolate mixture.  Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and beat into chocolate mixture just until batter is combined well.  Stir in nuts and white chocolate chips and spread batter evenly in pan. 

( I used an 11x7-inch pan, since my square pan was in use that day) 

Bake brownies in middle of oven 30-35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. 

(They turned out a little browner than you'd want most cookie bars, but these were PERFECT just the way they were--still moist and chewy and not overdone a bit)

  Brownies will cut better if allowed to cool first, but they were so, so good warm and fresh from the oven.  Serve with ice cream!  Makes 16 brownies.  Enjoy!

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