Holiday Nibbles

Wrap Bites!

During the Holiday season..it sometimes is difficult to come up with something different from the same old cheese and crackers...Veggies and dip...so here is something to add to make your tray more festive.
You will need..

Soft flour tortillas
1/4 cup Hellmans Mayo
1/4 Cream Cheese
2TBS Mustard
Sliced Roast Beef
Spinach Salad Greens
Tooth picks

In a small mixer whip together the Mayo, Mustard and cream cheese.

Then Lay a tortilla on a plate and spread with mixture.

Once this is done ( don't be stingy on the spread) Put a layer of washed spinach salad greens.

Then A nice layer of sliced roast beef.

Roll neatly and secure with toothpicks every inch or so..trimming the ends off.

Then chill for up to an hour to let the spread set..and slice into rounds and add to your holiday treat tray! I will add a picture of my tray later.

This adds a nice touch...even health conscious people shouldn't have a problem with THIS holiday nibble!!

       Cheers and Happy Yuletide to All!!

Quick and Easy Holiday treat!

Dolls Butterscotch Squares

1/4 cup butter or margerine


1 cup brown sugar


melt together over low heat


Add one egg, (beat the shit out of it)






( in a seperate bowl sift tog)


add one cup of flour


1 teaspoon baking powder


1/2 teaspoon salt


Mix into sugar butter mixture


add 1 teaspoon vanilla and


1/2 cup of walnuts






Put in a greased square tin and bake


@ 350 DF til golden brown






Faithfully copied from my mothers own


handwriting..as she wrote it down while


on the phone to my aunt Doll.


ANything in Green was added by me.

MERRY HAPPY HO HO!!
Cheers!

New Holiday Recipe In the Book!

Pumpkin Spice Roll!

 This is something new I tried..I hunted for the recipe on line..but as usual..I had to tweaked it to suit myself..But for sure this one is a WINNER!

Ingredients:

CAKE

3/4 Cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp cinnamon( ground)

1/2 tsp nutmeg ( ground)

1/4 tsp clove powder

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp salt

3 whole eggs

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp lemon juice

Filling

one 8 ounce package of cream cheese

4 TBS butter

3/4 Cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped Pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 DF

Line a 10x15 inch cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease the paper with butter and dust with flour.

In a small bowl sift together your flour, baking powder salt and spices. Set aside.

In a larger bowl beat together your eggs add brown sugar until frothy..then beat in the puree and lemon juice. When this is well mixed..gently fold in the flour spice mixture until just combined.  Spread evenly into pan ...

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

While this is baking spread out a CLEAN pillow case on your table and coat generously with icing  sugar..spread it wide enough that it is larger than you pan. When you take your cake from the oven quickly turn your pan over so your cake is laying on the icing sugar coated pillowcase.

Now carefully roll up the cake in the pillow case..rolling the pillowcase INSIDE the cake..this will keep it from sticking together.

When cake is rolled in pillow case..let cool on rack for a little while ( you don't want it completely cool..just warm) and make your filling.

Filling:

Cream together the softened cream cheese and butter..then beat in the icing sugar and vanilla.

When smooth and fluffy fold in the chopped pecans.

Gently unroll your warm cake and spread the filling evenly over it.

Gently RE-roll the cake..and lay on waxed paper seam side down..chill for one hour or more.

When chilled through..slice and serve..This is a lovely treat that can be slice on a plate and frozen and brought out when unexpected company comes!!

CHEERS!

Shortbread

 The Scottish Shortbread My Mum always made!

Ingredients;
1 lb salted butter
1 Cup White granulated sugar
4.5 cups white flour

Cream softened butter and sugar..( softened NOT melted)

When butter and sugar have been creamed..add flour one cup at a time..mixing almost like pastry..DO NOT OVER MIX..it makes the dough tough!

It says to roll out the dough..but to my experience that over works it..so I take a handful at a time and press it to desired thickness..then use a cookie cutter..

I usea cotton table cloth over the table top..it helps it from sticking.

I like mine about a half inch thick..This is laid on a cookie sheet that has been overed with parchment paper.  Bake are 275 degrees farhenheit..for about 15-20 minutes..like the snowball cookies..these do NOT brown with cooking...but they go gently golden on the bottom...

Now..My mother sprinkled with granulated table sugar..but I like to sift icing sugar over top...whatever you use..do it as soon as the cookies come from the oven..it sticks better that way...

Cool thoroughly before packing away!

Enjoy!

Cheers!

Moms Snow Ball Cookies

Snow Ball Cookies!!!

These Cookies are a slam dunk FAVORITE in my family! 

If you are from the Wakefield area..you may remember these at Christmas time when I worked at the Wakefield Bakery..I was the ONLY person there who made them.

They are bite sized and are AMAZING with a cup of tea.

" Warning..Snowball Cookies are highly addictive"

Ingredients

1/2 pound of butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups chopped pecans

2 cups AP flour

2 tsps vanilla

and a 1 KG bag of icing sugar.

( I chop my pecans in a little food chopper so they are course but not to fine. Its 2 cups AFTER chopping)

Cream together the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla.

Then blend in Flour and nuts. Mixture should look like this.

Roll into balls slightly larger than a marble..make sure the dough is smooth..or the cookie could break when baked.

(TRY NOT TO EAT ALL THE COOKIE DOUGH)

Preheat oven to 325 DF

Place balls gently and evenly on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.

Place gently in oven for 20-25 minutes.

WARNING..these cookies DO NOT brown in the oven..they go slightly golden on BOTTOM..so pay attention to your timer!!

While in the oven..pour half the bag of icing sugar into a large flat bottom bowl.

When you take out of oven the bottoms should be no browner than this!

Gently dump the cookies into the bowl if icing sugar being careful not to break any!

Cover with remaning icing sugar and agitate bowl firmly by sliding briskly back and forth on the tabel..this rolls the cookies in icing sugar and they absorb it while they cool.

BE SURE the cookies go straight from oven to icing sugar..they need to be HOT to absorb the sugar.

As they cool you can transfer them onto a plate..but if they are the slightest bit warm..do not let them touch each other..they will "pull" the icing sugar off the one they are touching.

YOu will notice they now have almost DOUBLED in Size!

Try not to INHALE while biting them..the icing sugar has a tendancy to explode in you mouth!

Have a cup of tea handy!!

Bonne Appetite!

Merry Christmas!!!

Sugar Cookies and decorative icing for Paula!

I don't often make sugar cookies..but when I do..this is the recipe I use.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup BUTTER
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs( beaten)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TBS milk

Sift Flour and baking powder toegether. In another bowl cream butter and sugar together.  Add Beaten eggs and vanilla. Then gradually add sifted ingredients and milk.  Do NOT OVER WORK THE DOUGH.  Just mix until well blended..the dough gets worked a lot when rolling out..and over working makes it tough.  Roll out very thin..sprinkle with a little white sugar ( if desired) cut out and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  Cool and decorate with decorative icing!


Decorative Icing!!

2 eggs whites
3-31/2 cups icing sugar
2 tsps REAl lemon juice

Put egg white in a bowl and beat on low setting gradually beating in icing sugar to make a thick paste.  Beat in lemon juice.  Beat until it will hold its shape when a knife is cut through it.  Its best to add the colour at this stage..Gel colour is better than liquid as it add less liquid. keep bowl covered with damp cloth and beat icing before each use...this is enough to ice an 8 inch cake..so you may want to divide it and colour it seperately is using to ceorate cookies!

CHEER!

PS...at the end of each post..there is a place at the bottom that says comments..please feel free to let me know what you think..alsoyou can subscribe to this blog and receive updates via e-mail.  Paula..take pictures of your cookies and e-mail them to me for posting!

Philly Bon Bons

Philly Bon Bons

These are a Traditional Holiday treat from my childhood.  Although when mum made them..they were white.  And not having the original recipe..this is MY recipe..and is close to the original as I could figure.

INREDIENTS

Flour, Philadelphia cream cheese....Icing sugar and shredded coconut..and obviously food colouring.

Cream Together brick of cream cheese

2 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup coconut

and colouring

With a wooden spoon thoroughly mix in 1 and 1/2 cups flour.

The dough will be soft..but this is a refrigerator cookie and will firm up when chilled.

Dump remaining coconut in a seperate bowl.

Using a teaspoon drop a half teaspoon or so of dough into bowl of coconut and gently agitate bowl until ball is covered. Place cookie in a little foil cup and repeat.

Like I said these are a refridgerator cookie..but I keep them in the freezer until time to bring out..

Bonne Appetite!

Wolf Holler Rocky Road Jars..make a GREAT gift!

Wolf Holler Rocky Road Jars are something I like to give as small gifts at Christmas time...Its fun and  easy to make.  You assemble the jar and attach the recipe...all the receiver need do is add Peanut butter and butter and mix it up! 

Are you ready? Here Goes!

Ingredients!

Now..you can actually use many things in this rocky road..but two ingredients should NEVER vary..and thats the mini marshmellows and chocolate chips!  Without them you have no rocky road...This year my other two ingredients are chipit toffee pieces and walnuts...these can be substitutes with your favorite nuts..and a variety of other  things such as coloured chips..or butterscotch chipits.

You will also need some one litre mason jars and screw down lids.

Some paper muffin cups and a canning funnel helps.

Pour into jar 3/4 cup of walnut pieces...1/2 cup if you are in the US and using Quart jars as they are smaller.

Then 3/4 ( or 1/2) cup Toffee bits! Being careful to not MIX the two layers.

Then..using the canning funnel..pour in mini marshmellows to overflowing!

This is to create pressure and hold the layers together once the marshmellows are pushed down.

Then..Gently using a paper muffin cup to create a divider..press down the mini marshmellows..creating JUST enough space for the chocolate chips!

Then top with 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips..this year I am using semi-sweet.  Make sure the chips are level with jar top.

Screw on lid securely..then cover top with a circle of wrapping paper or holiday fabric..and tie on with a ribbon..Print off the directions and tie to the jar with ribbon and put a name tag on it for who it is for!

This Recipe says...

" Wolf Holler Rocky Road"

It's EASY!

In a double boiler melt 1/2cup of smooth peanut butter and 1 TBS butter or margerine.

Add the chocolate chips from top of jar. Stir until melted smoot.

Remove from heat and allow to cool ..but not enough to SET.

In a seperate bowl pour the remaining contents of jar.Pour cooling melted mixture over dry ingredients.  Stir until dry ingredients are completely covered.  Press into 8" square buttered cake pan. Chill THOROUGHLY until set. Slice into squares!

Merry Christmas!

The reason the melted mixture has to cool slightly..is so that it does NOT melt the marshmellows.  Again..This makes a great gift for teachers..bus drivers...neighbours...anyone really! I try ..the operative word her is TRY..to keep a few jars handy for unexpected visitors that you would like to gift.

Hope you enjoy this treat..which has quickly become a holiday tradition in my house!

Cheers!