Baking Bonanza

Every year around Christmas, my Mom, sisters Kari and Brenda and I like to get together and have a Girl's Baking day.  This last Sunday we did just that and invited our friend Shamara over to help.  My Grandma even stopped by for a bit.  It was a such a fun day and we got through 10 recipes in just a few hours.  It took some planning but it all worked out.

We made two flavors of Fudge.  The first is a traditional chocolate and the second is a peppermint.  We followed this recipe from Nestle for both except in the peppermint one, we substituted mint chips and peppermint extract.

We also made Magic Bars using the recipe on the back of the Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk.

My favorites were these Holly Crackles.

These are my husband's favorite.  Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.

These Oreo Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies sound strange but they are so delicious.

We had to make another batch of these awesome Rolo Turtles.

These Haystack cookies were requested by my sister Brenda.  The recipe is super simple.  Just melt 3/4 cup peanut butter and one bag of chocolate or butterscotch chips in a saucepan.  When melted, add a 10 oz bag of chow mein noodles.  Stir until full coated and then drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper.  Let set up for at least an hour and then enjoy the crunchy goodness.

Finally, a family favorite, Cowboy Cookies.  I will share the recipe for these at a later time.  They come from a cookbook my Mom helped put together when I was in 3rd or 4th grade at my Elementary school.  Lots of great memorable recipes in there.

Rolo Turtles

One of my favorite things to buy after a holiday on clearance, is a box of Turtles.  I have been seeing these Rolo Turtles all over Pinterest lately so I decided I had to make them.  I went to the Safeway to buy some of my baking supplies with my groceries and my regular checker asked me what I was up to because there was a bunch of "weird stuff" in my order.  I guess I go there a lot. :)

Rolo Turtles

Pretzels (I used the square ones)
Rolos
Pecans
Place the pretzels on a baking sheet, with space in between.  Then place a Rolo on each pretzel.

Put the pan in the oven at 350 for 4-5 minutes.  The candy will look shiny but not be melted.  Press a pecan into each Rolo.  Be careful not to push too hard and work fast.

Homemade Cocoa Mix

A few years ago, I was an avid Food Network fan.  I was on that channel all the time.  Now, Cooking Channel peaks my interest more often but still, most things on there, let's be honest, I will never make.  You get more than 5 ingredients and my eyes glaze over.  Anyway, one show that I will watch over and over again is Good Eats.  The other day, there was a Chocolate episode on and he made his own Cocoa mix.  I thought it would make great Christmas gifts so I gave it a try.

Homemade Cocoa Mix
2 1/2 cups Powdered Milk
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Corn Starch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Mix thoroughly and store in an air tight container.  Will keep for up to 2 years.
To Make Cocoa, put about 3 tbsp of mix in a cup and pour boiling water over to fill the cup about half way.  Mix well and then fill the cup the rest of the way and enjoy.

My first batch, I made according to the recipe above.  The cayenne added a kick but my husband hated it.  My next batch was made without it and we both preferred it.  (A little cayenne goes a LONG way so be careful.)  I have even added the cocoa mix to my coffee and it made a great mocha.  Give this a try, you won't be sorry.