Magic Cookie Bars
Ingredients
½ cup butter
1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 can condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ cups shredded coconut
Red and green maraschino cherries (cut in quarters)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
– Preheat oven to 350 F; melt butter in oven. Sprinkle crumbs over butter and mix with a fork, and press into and 8”x8” pan.
– Pour condensed milk over crumbs. Mix remaining ingredients except cherries in a bowl, pour over condensed milk, press down firmly.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool & cut into squares.
Darlene Steele
Christmas Morning Egg Breakfast
Ingredients
6-8 large eggs
1 lb ground pork sausage, sausage links, ham, or bacon
3 cups of milk
6-7 slices white bread, cubed
2-3 cups grated cheddar
Dried mustard powder, salt, pepper, onion powder
Method
The day before:
– Cook and drain meat.
– Grease a 9×13” baking dish.
– Layer the bread in the dish, followed by the meat and cheese.
– Whisk eggs with milk and seasonings. Pour over ingredients in baking dish.
– Place foil over and refrigerate.
On Christmas morning:
Place dish in preheated 350 F oven for approximately 1 hour, until eggs are set and top is golden.
Honesta P. Dorking
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¾ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
Optional Orange Drizzle
½ cup powdered sugar
1–2 tbsp fresh orange juice
Instructions
– Cream the Butter: In a bowl, beat softened butter and powdered sugar until creamy and smooth.
– Mix in vanilla and orange zest.
– Add the dry ingredients
– Add flour and salt.
– Mix just until the dough begins to come together — it will be soft and crumbly at first.
– Fold in chopped dried cranberries.
– Shape and chill: Transfer dough to parchment paper. Roll into a log (about 2 inches thick), wrap tightly, and refrigerate 1–2 hours until firm.
– Slice & Bake: Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Slice chilled dough into ½-inch rounds and place on a lined baking tray.
– Bake 11–13 minutes until the edges are just lightly golden.
Optional Orange Drizzle
– Whisk powdered sugar with fresh orange juice until smooth.
– Drizzle over cooled cookies.
Bill Anderson
Cheese Spread Cornell
Ingredients
1½ lbs cheddar (medium)
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons softened butter
Dash of tabasco sauce
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup ketchup
1/3 cup good sherry
Method
– Grate cheese, and add salt, mustard, chopped parsley and chopped onion.
– Work in butter. Add Tabasco and other things. Work together until smooth. Set in any dish, or pack in a crock.
Lynne Stockwell
Ginger Spice Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ salt
1 egg
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
Method
– Preheat oven to 350 F.
– Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with oil or line with parchment.
– In a medium bowl using a fork, stir flour with baking soda and spices.
– In a large bowl, beat egg with a fork. Then beat in oil and molasses.
– Using a wooden spoon, beat in brown sugar.
– Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed.
– Place granulated sugar in a small bowl.
– Pinch off 1 tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Then roll in sugar & place on baking sheet, spacing at least 2” apart.
– Bake on 2 racks, switching positions halfway through baking until cookies begin to crack & set around edges, 7-10 minutes.
Can be frozen.
Lori Carroll
Pony treats
Ingredients
3 cups of oats, quick oats are fine
½ cup of flour
2 carrots, grated
¼ cup molasses
1 cup apple sauce
1 large apple, finely chopped
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Method
– Preheat oven to 350 F.
– Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
– Chop or process carrots.
– Mix oats and flour together, then stir in applesauce and molasses. Mix well.
– Roll mixture into balls or whatever size and form your equine prefers.
– Place treats on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Tuffy the Shetland
Jane’s Holiday Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken parts (I like to use about
4 chicken breasts cut in pieces)
Whole cranberry sauce, one can (398 ml)
Dry onion soup mix (one pouch)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons chili sauce
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup white vinegar
Method
Arrange chicken in roaster. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl.
Spoon over chicken, being sure to get some on every piece.
Cover. Bake in 350 F oven for 1½ hours, until tender. Spoon sauce over chicken on warm platter.
Enjoy!
Deborah Rennie
Chinese Fried Walnuts
Ingredients
6 cups water
4 cups walnut halves
½ cup sugar
Peanut oil
⅛ teaspoon salt
Method
– In a large saucepan over high heat, heat 6 cups of water to boiling. Add walnuts, and reheat to boiling. Cook 1 minute. Rinse under running hot water, drain.
– In a large bowl, toss the walnuts in sugar.
– Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of oil, preferably in a wok, to around 350 F. With a slotted spoon, add about half of the nuts to the oil. Fry for 5 minutes, or until golden, stirring often. Watch carefully so nuts do not get too brown, this can happen very quickly and the nuts will become bitter!
– Remove to a colander over a bowl to drain off the oil. Quickly sprinkle with salt and toss lightly to keep nuts from sticking together. Transfer to waxed paper to cool. Fry remaining walnuts. Store tightly covered when cool.
Lynne Stockwell
Grownup Hot Chocolate
Serves four
Ingredients
Approximately ½ cup cocoa powder
4 teaspoons instant coffee
½ cup boiling water
3 cups milk
4 ounces dark or spiced rum
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
(red chile)
Method
– Mix cocoa, instant coffee, and water into a paste.
– Place this paste in a saucepan. Stir in milk and simmer (do not boil!) for 10 minutes or so.
– Add rum, sugar, cinnamon, salt (you can throw in a smitch of red pepper if you like) and simmer another 10 minutes. Serve hot in heatproof glasses, top or garnish as you like!
– Suggested whipped topping: Whip 2 Tbsp heavy cream, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp instant coffee. Top cocoa and sprinkle with something sprinkly!
Erica Taylor
Gingerbread Sticky Toffee Pudding
Gingerbread Cake Base Ingredients
175 g (1 cup) Dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
180 ml (3/4 cup) Water, boiling
5 g (1 tsp) Baking soda
85 g (6 tbsp) Unsalted butter (for browning)
170 g (3/4 cup) Granulated sugar
2 large Eggs
5 ml (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
185 g (1 1/2 cups) All-purpose flour
7 g (1 1/2 tsp) Baking powder
3 g (1/2 tsp) Fine sea salt
2 g (1/2 tsp) Ground cinnamon
1 g (1/4 tsp) Ground nutmeg
1 g (1/4 tsp) Ground cloves
Deep and Dark Toffee Sauce Ingredients
115 g (1/2 cup) Unsalted butter (1 stick)
170 g (3/4 cup) Dark Brown Sugar
180 ml (3/4 cup) Heavy cream (35% fat)
5 ml (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
15 g (1 tbsp) Molasses
1 g (1/2 tsp) Espresso Powder
Method
– Prepare the browned butter: Browning the butter adds a nutty depth of flavour that complements the rich spices. Melt the 85 grams (6 tbsp) of unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue heating and stirring until the butter foams, then small, amber-brown solids appear at the bottom and a nutty aroma develops. Immediately pour the browned butter and solids into a heatproof bowl and allow it to cool completely before using. Please note that browned butter can turn from perfectly toasted to burnt very quickly. Keep a close eye on it.
– Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to easily lift the pudding out.
– Place the pitted and coarsely chopped dates and baking soda into a heatproof bowl. Pour the 180 millilitres (3/4 cup) of boiling water over the top. Stir gently and allow to stand for 10 minutes to soften.
– In a separate large bowl, whisk together the cooled browned butter and granulated sugar until well combined.
– Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
– In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, fine sea salt, ground cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.
– Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
– Fold in the date mixture and any remaining soaking liquid. The result should be a pourable batter.
– Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30–35 minutes. Check for doneness starting at 25 minutes: The pudding is ready when the edges gently pull away from the sides of the dish, the kitchen smells strongly of sweet, dark spices, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it (not clean).
– While the pudding is baking, prepare the Deep and Dark Toffee Sauce. In a saucepan, melt the 115 grams (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter over medium heat. Stir in the dark brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, molasses, and espresso powder.
– Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved and the sauce is smooth. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer gently for 3 minutes.
– Once the pudding is out of the oven, use a skewer to poke holes all over the surface. Immediately pour half of the warm Deep and Dark Toffee Sauce over the piping hot pudding so the sauce fully soaks into the cake. It is essential for optimal texture that the pudding is piping hot when the sauce is poured over it. If the sauce cools down, warm it gently before pouring. If the cake cools, reheat it briefly.
– After allowing the sauce to soak for 5 minutes, serve the pudding warm with the remaining sauce. I suggest topping this rich, dark pudding with vanilla ice cream or a generous dollop of whipped cream. If you prefer to offset the sweetness, try using unsweetened whipped cream. For an appealing contrast to stiff peaks, try whipping the cream gently until it just holds its shape; many find this silky texture melts beautifully over the hot pudding.
– Store the pudding in the refrigerator for up to three days. The pudding and toffee sauce can be reheated.
*An important note on measurements:
This recipe was developed and tested using precise metric weights (grams). While approximate imperial equivalents are provided for volume, I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale for the most accurate results.
Deanna Lucas
Cat treats
Ingredients
2 Tbsp oil
1 plus ¼ cups flour
1 Tbsp dried catnip
¾ cup finely grated carrot
1 egg, slightly beaten
Cold water as needed
Method
– Preheat oven to 375 F
– Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
– In medium bowl mix oil and flour
– Stir in catnip and carrots
– Mix in egg. Add a little water or flour as needed if too wet or dry.
– Sprinkle counter with flour and pat out mixture to ¼” thickness.
– Prick dough all over with a fork. Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into ½” squares; arrange treats on baking sheet.
– Bake for about 12 minutes, or longer if more crunch is prefurred.
Stores in airtight container for several days or can be frozen to keep longer.
‘Nuff the Barncat
Vanilla Crescents
The day before baking: Cut a vanilla bean in pieces, place in 2 cups of icing sugar in a sealed jar overnight. Set aside. (This is vanilla sugar)
Ingredients
1 cup shelled walnuts, finely ground
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and in pieces
¾ cup superfine sugar
1½ cups sifted flour
Method
– Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and with hands, work into a smooth dough. Shape into a ball, and wrap in waxed paper. Chill at least 2 hours (and up to 5 days).
– Pinch off pieces of dough and shape into small crescents around 1½” in diameter. Bake on parchment-lined cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with the vanilla sugar through a sieve when fairly cool. Store in a cool place in airtight jars.
Lynne Stockwell
Almond Toffee
Best Toffee Ever – Super Easy 32 servings 220 calories a serving (1 kilo candy)
2 cups butter
2 cups white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or a bit less)
1 cup finely chopped almonds
Method
– In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.
– While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
– As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate, and press in slightly. Putting a plastic bag over your hand will minimize the mess.
Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.
Maureen Murphy