Candy Corn Cookies

I forgot about these until I downloaded the pictures from my camera. I tried two different methods for making candy corn cookies - layering the dough and then cutting slices and then triangles - and this method (which I prefer). Just make sure you put the colors in the right order.... oops :)


-Sugar and Spice and Everything Iced

Divide your favorite sugar cookie dough and color - you'll want the majority of the dough yellow (not orange like above! :), then orange and then just a bit for the white.

Roll out your yellow dough and use bowls or large cookie cutters to cut your outside ring, and remove the center circle. Then roll and cut a ring of orange, remove that center circle and place inside the yellow ring. Then roll and cut a circle of white to fit in the middle. Gently press the edges together and score your cookies with a bench scraper or pizza cutter (be careful if you're using a Silpat).

I left mine together as a big circle, so it took quite a bit longer than my normal sugar cookies to bake. Once they come out of the oven, cut through the lines again and let the cookies cool completely before separating.

Lemon Buddies

I saw these on Pinterest and had to try them- yummy!! I'm not sure the butter is necessary - next time I'm going to try it without.

-Chex

9          cups Rice Chex® cereal

1 1/4  cups white vanilla baking chips

1/4     cup butter or margarine

4          teaspoons grated lemon peel (I didn't use this much)

2          tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2          cups powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

I was assigned to bring a main dish to our Halloween recipe exchange in October - I decided mummy dogs wouldn't be appropriate for such a nice girl's night out.... lol

So I did some research and found this recipe. I must say it was pretty delicious - it might fool your taste buds into thinking it's a curry!

P.S. Even the pumpkin hater in our family thought it was good! :)

-Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine (or chicken stock)
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine (or chicken stock) by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Cream Cheese Spreads

As part of Paige's Baptism brunch, I served mini bagels with a couple different flavored cream cheeses. These aren't really exact recipes - add or subtract to taste.


Sweet Orange
4 oz. softened cream cheese
zest of 1/2 orange
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar - more or less to taste
dash of salt

Mix well and chill for several hours.

Sun-dried Tomato & Basil
4 oz. softened cream cheese
3 or 4 sun-dried tomatoes(that have been packed in olive oil), finely chopped
4 or so fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
Couple dashes of garlic salt

Mix well and chill for several hours.

Caramelized Apple Upside-Down Cake

A moist cake and caramelized apples - yummy!

-Shar's Kitchen newsletter/ad, slightly modified

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Toss apples with lemon juice, vanilla, and spices and set aside.

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp. butter rum oil (I used some imitation rum extract)
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

In a 10" cast iron skillet melt 1/4 cup butter over low heat add butter rum oil. Sprinkle with brown sugar and then pecans. Arrange apples over the top of the brown sugar. Set aside.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp.  shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups pastry flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl with the hand mixer cream together the butter, shortening, and granulated sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add milk, sour cream, and vanilla, beat just until blended. in a separate bowl combine  flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add to the butter mixture beat until just blended. Spread the batter over the apples in the skillet.

Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes then run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen. Invert cake onto a serving plate.

Quick Caramel Corn

There's nothing like Grandma Carling's soft caramel corn with freshly shelled pecans from their trees! We made this twice while my Mom and Aunt Beth were here visiting. Yum!
This is half the original recipe and still makes a big bowl.


-Grandma Carling

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Karo
1 cube margarine (or butter)

Put ingredients in pan and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. This will be sticky and is good eaten right away hot. if you cook it for 3 minutes it is harder and less sticky. Pour syrup over large pan of popped corn and pecans, if desired.

Canadian Buttermilk Honey Rolls

I know... another roll recipe, but how do I know I haven't missed out on a really fabulous one because I'm stuck on my old standbys? :) This one is slightly different from the other buttermilk rolls I posted - equally delicious, but this one doesn't call for eggs and I liked the honey as the sweetener. I've had this recipe kicking around for about 5 years now - it was time to try it! The recipe calls for rolling the dough and cutting it with a biscuit cutter, but I went ahead and shaped them as I normally do. Soft and yummy in less than an hour and a half!


-Book of Bread

2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp coarse salt or 1 tsp table salt
2 Tbsp butter or lard
1/4 tsp baking soda
4-4 1/2 cups white flour, preferably unbleached
Melted butter

Makes 20 large rolls

Heat the buttermilk to lukewarm. Pour 1/3 cup of it into a medium size bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand until the yeast is dissolved and starts to swell.

Meanwhile melt the honey, salt, and butter or lard in the rest of the buttermilk. Add the baking soda and let cool to lukewarm, then mix in with the yeast. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth and resilient; the dough should not be sticky, so add a little more flour if necessary. Roll the dough out to 3/4" thickness and with a floured cutter or glass 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out circles and place on a greased baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Cover with a porous towel and let rise until double in bulk- about 1 hour.

Brush tops generously with melted butter and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven 20 minutes; the rolls will be golden-topped puffy cushions and should be eaten warm.