Peppermint M&M Cookies

I love Christmas.  I love Cookies.  I love Christmas Cookies.  

I just took my favorite chocolate chip cookies and added some crushed peppermint and mini m&m's.  Now to find a cookie exchange to go to..... :)

Peppermint m&m Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablesppoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg + 1 yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies or candy canes

1 cup m&m's

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. 

Mix the butter and sugars until through thoroughly combined.  Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until combined.  Stir in the crushed candy and m&m's.  

Roll a scant half-cup of dough into a ball.  Holding the dough ball in both hands, pull apart into two equal halves.  Place the dough balls with the jagged surfaces facing up leaving ample room between each ball.  (this will give it that bumpy bakery look!).  Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the centers are still soft and puffy, between 11 and 14 minutes.

All them to cool on the sheets for a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack.  ENJOY!

Dark Chocolate Lace Cookies

I LOVE giving home baked treats as gifts to friends and neighbors, so I wanted to try this lace cookie recipe out before I made it a keeper...and it is a winner!  This cookie is wonderful - it's nice, light and crispy!  I hope you enjoy it!

Dark Chocolate Lace Cookies

recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ounces of dark chocolate, melted

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375.   Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and oats in a bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the butter, cream, corn syrup and vanilla.  Mix until smooth and slowly add the dry ingredients.  Mix until combined!

Drop about 1 teaspoon of batter onto the sheets, trying your best to make each cookie the same size. Only place 12 cookies on a sheet because they will flatten while cooking in the oven. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 

Melt the chocolate and place between two cookies making little sandwiches.  ENJOY!!!

Flour Tortillas

I made shredded fajita chicken last night and had planned to make quesadillas with the four tortillas I THOUGHT i had purchased at the grocery store.  For those of you who shop with 3 young crazies, you know why I might have missed a few things on my list.  Who knows...they may have even been tossed out of the cart when I wasn't looking.  I had the cheese shredded and chicken cooked before I realized I didn't have tortillas, or chips.  So I googled flour tortillas and made them for the first time!  I really loved the taste and freshness of them and will never go back to buying tortillas   They were super easy too - not perfectly round (sorry abou the horrible photo) but my family doesn't care about perfection!

Four Tortillas

original recipe here

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (your choice - I used all purpose)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup warm water (may have to use up to 3/4 cup)

In a large bowl stir the flour, salt and baking powder together.  

Add the oil and mix with your fingers to combine.

Add the water and work the liquid into the dough until a stick ball forms.

Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8-10 balls and cover them again with the damp cloth.

On a lightly dusted counter roll each ball out into a circle approx. 1/4" thick.  You can trim the edges if you want a nicely rounded shape.  

Heat a dry griddle over high heat for 5 minutes.  Cook each tortilla for 30 seconds on each side until the dough looks dry and has a few brown spots on both surfaces.  Don't overcook!  Wrap them up in a damp towel to keep warm as you cook the other tortillas.

You can also put them in the oven on low at 200 to keep them warm until serving   

Enjoy!

Spinach & Feta Quiche

I love throwing breakfast into the dinner rotation almost every week.  I wanted to try something new and had a lot of spinach and feta on hand so I googled and found this recipe.  I changed it up a little bit to suite the picky palates at our house.  It ended up being a winner!  Landon is a "quiche hater" and he went back for seconds.  It was the perfect combination!  I hope you enjoy it!

Spinach & Feta Quiche

adapted from this recipe over at Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups fresh baby spinach

5 large eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup feta cheese

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper, to taste

1 9-inch pie crust

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 9 inch pie plate with pie dough.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the spinach and cook until it is wilted.  Transfer the spinach to a colander and press firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the liquid.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk.  Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper.  

Place the spinach in the bottom of the pie crust and pour the egg and cheese mixture into the crust.

Bake for 45 minutes until the quiche is set and slightly golden brown.  Let the quiche cool for 15 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Here's another quick and easy pumpkin recipe for you.  I hope you are having a wonderful fall! I know it is going by SUPER quickly for us! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

recipe from allrecipes

makes 12 regular muffins and lots of minis!

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease muffin pans or use paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil and eggs.  Add the pumpkin and water.  In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.  Add to the wet mixture and mix until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  If making minis - just adjust the baking time!  

Pumpkin Scones - Guest Post by Trisha

I would like to welcome my sweet friend Trisha to the blog today!  She is a friend from college, and our husbands played soccer together at a different college before Trisha and I knew they would be our husbands!!!  Pretty neat, huh?  Trisha's instagram makes me hungry all the time, and I have been dying to try some pumpkin scones.  I knew when I saw her photo I wanted her to share the recipe!  Thanks Trisha!!!

Trisha & Bryce - aren't they a gorgeous couple?!?

I'm so excited to be able to be a part of Tammy's blog!  I always love her posts and cannot wait to attempt the beauty she creates through her baking escapades. 

Let me ask you this. Who doesn't love Fall? I don't think there is one person who dislikes the cool, crisp season that brings so many nostalgic memories to mind. It's my favorite season! Probably because I didn't get to experience it growing up in Hawaii. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The smell of spices in the air with different desserts and other yummy foods that surround the family table. And of course, pumpkin every thing is a must! Here's a pumpkin scone recipe that I found via Pinterest and it is absolutely wonderful! People of all ages (I tested it out on or youth group kids and young adult class) love it because it is a moist scone, contrary to most dry/crumbly scones. Not only does it taste good, but it is very easy and fast! The spiced icing is a fantastic way to top it off. 

Pumpkin Scones 
Recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Ingredients:

for the scones:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 tablespoons half-and half

1 egg

for the powdered sugar glaze:

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

for the spiced glaze:

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 pinch ginger

1 pinch cloves

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture.  Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with the butter pieces no larger than small peas.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half and half and egg.  Fold the wet ingredients into dry and form the dough into a ball.  Pat out the dough onto a floured surface and form into a 1 inch thick rectangle about 4 x 12 inches.  Use a large knife to slice the dough making three equal portions.  Cut each of the portions in an 'x'pattern (four pieces) so you end up with 12 triangular slices of dough.  PLace on a baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes until light brown. cool on a wire rack.  

While cooling, make the powdered sugar glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. When the scones are cool, use a pastry brush to spread plain glaze over each scone and allow to firm.  

While the powdered sugar glaze is firming, combine all of the ingredients for the spiced glaze.  Drizzle over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (about an hour).

Chicken Pot Pie

I love quick and easy dinners.  I had a set of Pillsbury Pie Crusts just waiting in the fridge to be made into some kind of pie.  I picked up a roasted chicken from Sam's, picked the meat off, and made chicken broth with the bones (instructions here).  I also couldn't find my glass pie pan, so I just used a casserole dish, which I prefer so the edges don't burn while baking. Super easy, super quick.  Here's the recipe...

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

1/2 onion, chopped

1/3 cup butter

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place one of the pie crusts in your choice of baking dish.  

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the onions and butter until the onions are soft and translucent.  Stir in the flour, salt and pepper.  Slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk.  Simmer over medium-low heat until bubbly and thickened.  Remove from heat, add the chicken and veggies and stir well.  Pour into the baking dish.  Cover with the top crust, seal the edges and cut away any excess dough.  Make slits in the top of the pie with a knife.  

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is brown.  

ENJOY!