Andes Peppermint Crunch Candies

A few reasons why I'm sharing this.  One is that I make these cookies every year.  Another is my friend is looking for cookie recipes but the website I originally found this on took it down.  Hopefully, sharing it here can help others discover this recipe.  It's a great recipe using Andes Peppermint Crunch chips.  You can use their creme de Menth chips, but I like the peppermint.  It's a great take on an oatmeal cookie.  The coconut adds another dimension to it.  Finally, it makes plenty so it's a perfect cookie exchange cookie.

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sweetened grated coconut

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted  (optional...I never use)

1 1/2 cups Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy (about 3 mins)

Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

On low speed, add baking soda, salt, and then flour.  Mix completely.

Stir in oats, coconut, pecans (op), and Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking chips

Measure out 2 TBS for large cookies or 1TBS for small cookies.  Place round balls on lightly greased cookie sheet two inches apart.  

Bake for 20 minutes for large cookies or 12-15 minutes for small cookies.  Do not over bake.  Enjoy!

Dean Koontz Corn

Years ago, I was reading the Parade magazine.  There was this article about how Dean Koontz and how his wife served baked corn at the first dinner he had with her family.  This magical corn made him fall in love with her.  I still have this article and smile at it and how it shows a way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  For years I saved the recipe and then finally got brave enough to try it.  It's a family favorite but below is the TRIPLE sized recipe I need for the holidays.  Unfortunately, the article I saved is falling apart.  Hopefully, posting here will preserve my recipe forever.

Dean Koontz Corn

3 Cups of Milk
6 TBS of butter
3 TBS sugar
6 TBS flour
3 15 oz cans of corn
(whole and drained)
6 eggs (well beaten

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Boil 2 1/4 cups of milk with butter and sugar.  Dissolve flour in 3/4 cup of milk. Pour flour mixture into milk mixture to make a thin white sauce.  Add to drained corn in a 13 x 9 pan (or approximate--I use a long Corningware dish about that size).  Mix in eggs.  Bake about 1 hour.  Top will brown.

Pineapple Angel Lush

Wow, I posted NOTHING in 2017.  That feels almost wrong.  Always, I am thinking of a recipe I should post, but I never do.  There is a huge list of recipes I want to share before the holidays.  Maybe this year is my lucky year. 

Wondering why I decided to post now?  The black box.  What's the black box you ask?  It's an old black index card box that contains recipes I collected from magazines, newspapers, stands at the food store, backs of containers.  I started the black box a little before I got married...no wait...way before.  I first collected a recipe when I was in high school.  Maybe even middle school.  It was a recipe for mock apple pie from the back of a Ritz cracker box.  I have never made the recipe, but I kept it.  I seemed so good at the time.

Recently, I dug out the box to look for a certain recipe.  Every recipe was neatly stapled to an index card.  Some were free standing, if they were big enough.  Unfortunately, I could not find said recipe, but going through all the recipes made me realize things I have not cooked since early in my marriage (going on 17 years in September).  A lot of recipes I intended to make, but never did.  Some I tried, but they were a fail.  Why I kept them I don't know.

During the next month or so, I think I am going to go through that box, get rid of the fails and try the others to add new recipes to my daily routine.  My daughter is excited because she thinks dinner has gotten boring (she is right).  Tonight, however, I made dessert.

The pineapple angle lush recipe seemed easy enough and it was.  Where I got this recipe, I don't know.  It looks like I cut it out of a magazine.  I figured it's ok to share it now because I'd hate for people not to know about it.  My only addition to the recipe is to chill the pudding mix before making the layers (the original recipe made it sound like you just put it on right after you mix it...too wet).  It makes a great summer dessert and today was just perfect for it.

Pineapple Angel Lush

1 pkg. (4 serving size/3oz.) Jell-o Vanilla flavor pudding mix
1 can (20 oz.) crushed Pineapple, in juice, undrained
1 cup thawed Cool Whip
1 pkg. (10 oz) prepared round angel food cake
10 strawberries (op.)

Mix dry pudding and pineapple with juice in a medium bowl.  Gently fold in whipped topping

Chill pudding mix for at least a half hour

Cut cake horizontally into 3 layers

Place bottom cake layer, cut side up, on serving plate.  Spread 1-1/3 cups of the pudding mix onto cake layer; cover with middle cake layer.  Spread 1 cup of pudding mixture onto middle cake layer; top with remaining cake layer.  Spread with remaining pudding mixture.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.  Store in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Bob's cookies

I felt it was time to post this recipe online.  It's not anything new.  It's basically praline grahams, but I wanted somewhere permanent to put it instead of in my Christmas cookie binder.  Maybe one day, my kids will be like "I want to make Bob's cookies" and they can just come here and make them.  Also, I wanted to tell the story of Bob's cookies.

These cookies first entered my life when my dad met my stepmom.  She always bakes during the holidays.  Her top cookies are peanut butter blossoms, potato chip cookies (another recipe I need to post), and these cookies.  They get the name because she specifically made them for a family friend named Bob and Bob looked forward to these cookies every year.  His eyes would light up when he saw that cookie tray and he always went fright for one cookie.  After he had his cookie, he would have us all gather around the fridge in his house and take a Christmas picture. 

I'll never forget one year, the family dogs got into the holiday cookie trays for family and friends and I thought my stepmother was going to kill them.  However, she was fine once she realized there were enough cookies to make some kind of a tray and enough Bob cookies that survived. 

When I finally was into the holiday spirit and making cookies of my own, I asked my stepmother for the recipe and started making these on my own.  They are so simple and honestly a great cookie for kids to help in the kitchen with.  My father in law instantly fell in love with these cookies and I used to make them for him. 

Bob, unfortunately, came down with Alzheimer's and we stopped seeing him around the holidays.  My father in law passed two and a half years ago.  However, there is always someone in the family that loves these cookies. My husband and son are two of them.  But they will always be 'Bob's cookies' to me.

Bob's Cookies (aka praline grahams)

1 cup of butter (or margarine)
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of crushed walnuts for almonds
Graham crackers (usually 1 1/2 sleeves of a box)

Preheat oven to 375.  Melt butter and brown sugar in a pot over the stove.  Stir in nuts.  Layer graham crackers on a cookie sheet close together.  Then pour the melted butter mixture over the crackers.  Bake for 10 mins (but keep a close eye on them to keep them from burning).  Take out and cool completely.  Cut cookies out and store in an airtight container.

Quiche Recipe

I have no idea where I got this recipe from, but this is my go to quiche recipe.  Usually, I use cream of celery soup instead of the broccoli and cheese, but really any cream based soup will do.  It is great to be able to change it up at times.  Maybe even change up the cheese.  Sometimes, I even just mix the cheese into the quiche instead of just spinkling it on at the end.  You can decide what is easiest/best.  The recipe is simple and easy to use, so here you go.

Quiche

1 cup (divided) shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1 can condensed cream of broccoli and cheese soup (or any other cream of soup)
2/3 cup milk
9 inch pie crust

If needed, pre-bake the pie crust at 425 for 10-15 minutes.  Then set oven to 350.  Spinkle the shell with 1/2 cup of cheese.  Whisk together the eggs, soup, and milk.  Pour into crust and bake for 1/2 hour or until set.  Spinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 5-10 mins longer.

Vegan Brownies

My first son used to have so many food sensitivities.  Milk and soy were the top ones.  A friend of mine had a son with a ton of food allergies and she introduced this recipe to me.  She made it as a peppermint cake with peppermint frosting (so good!).  She used the Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder and except for rare occasions when I'm feeling cheap, I used nothing else now.  I usually use almond milk in place of soy because of the obvious soy issue we had.  Almond milk is great to use when baking.  Enjoy!

Brownies:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cups cocoa powder (I recommend Hershey's dark chocolate)

1 1/2 cups of brown sugar (or use 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar with 1 TBS of molassas) - brown sugar so much easier to use

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup of almond milk (any flavor) - if you have nut issues, try soy milk 

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (opt.- I NEVER use these)

Frosting (optional, but if you wanted to make this a cake)

30 small round peppermint candies 

1 stick margarine (Earth's Balance and Fleischmann's is vegan)

2 cups confectioners sugar

2 TBS almond milk (or soy)

1/2 tsp peppermint extract (this stuff is potent so you may want less)

For Brownies:

Stir flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt together.

In another bowl, mix water, milk, and oil

Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix.  Stir in walnuts (optional).

Pour batter into greased 9 x 9 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (I use an 8 x 8 so it usually takes 45 minutes to bake).

To make frosting:

Unwrap the candies and crush them into powder.  Heat the margarine and milk in a saucepan on low to melt margarine.  Stir in the other ingredients,  Pour on top of already baked brownies.  

Chocolate Cheater Cheesecake

I make cheesecakes.  However, I did not always make 'cheesecake'.  This recipe was my first cheesecake.  After this, I started using 13 x 9 inch pans to make cheesecakes (I'll post that recipe another time).  Finally, after much resistance, I tried the spring for pan and never went back since.

This recipe is always great for the summer because it's a no bake cheesecake (hence 'cheater cheesecake').  The only thing that gets heated up is the chocolate chips and you could arguably use a microwave for that.  Also what is really nice, is it only takes 30 mins, if that, to make.  Much quicker than a 1 hour cheesecake.  It's pretty much ready to serve, but best served chilled.  Recently, I made this with a chocolate graham crust.  There is an idea!  Enjoy!

Chocolate Cheater Cheesecake

1 package (8oz) cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (melted and cooled)
1 carton (8 oz) frozen whipped topping (thawed)
1 graham cracker crust (9 inch)

On the stovetop, or microwave, melt the chocolate chips.  Set aside until ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.  Beat in melted chocolate chips.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spoon into crust. Cover and chill until serving.