Homemade Tomato Sauce

I actually made this for the first time a couple of weeks ago, but this weekend was the first time I got to make it testing out my new immersion blender that I got for Christmas.  I made the sauce to go along with homemade meatballs to make little sliders for Family Game Night.  This is a good simple recipe I found on Food Network that I think my husband actually likes.

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced fine
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, diced fine
• 1 carrot, diced fine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (28-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes.
3. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper.  Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1-2 hours or until thick.
5. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning.
6. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the  flavors.
7. With an immersion blender, pulse on low until smooth.
   
   If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Adapted from Giada De Laurentis foodnetwork.com

Banoffee Pie

Catherine had mentioned Banoffee Pie a couple weeks ago.  I had NO CLUE what Banoffee Pie was until I saw the recipes -- bananas + toffee = banoffee.  Light dawned!  I still wasn't sure if I was sold on it, but I knew she wanted me to make it so I found this recipe on Pinterest and got the ingredients.  I figured Family Game Night was a good time to give it a try.  It wasn't that hard to make at all (except for the fact that the cans of dulce de leche seemed to be glued shut), and I'll say that I was totally won over.  So many delicious flavors and tastes in this one pie!

Crust:

• 24 Oreos
  (I used Double Stuffed Oreos)
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted

Pie:

• 1 ¾ cups dulce de leche
  (due to the can opening issues mentioned above, I only used 1 can and felt that was enough)
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1 cup chocolate covered toffee bits (see Note below)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ¼ cup brown sugar

* Note:  The original recipe suggested using Heath brand of chocolate covered toffee bits, but if you can’t find those to chop up regular-sized Heath bars.  I found Heath toffee bits, but could not find any chocolate covered and did not buy the whole candy bars, so I improvised and melted half a bag of Hershey dark chocolate chips with 2 Tbsp. of butter in the microwave and then mixed with a whole bag of toffee (1 ½ cups of toffee bits – I did not use all for this pie and probably have enough to make a second pie).  I put a piece of wax paper on a plate and flattened the chocolate toffee mixture and put in the freezer for 5 minutes.  I then crumbled up the chocolate covered toffee to use as directed below.

DIRECTIONS

1. Crush up the Oreos.
2. Add the cookies and butter until well combined.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
4. Refrigerate or freeze until set, about 30 minutes.
5. Spread the dulce de leche over the bottom and up the sides of the chilled crust.
6. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, brown sugar and cream cheese, until smooth and fluffy.
7. Add the heavy whipping cream and starting at the lowest speed, to avoid splatters, mix until the mixture is light and creamy.
8. Slice the bananas about 1/4-inch thick and layer the slices over the dulce de leche in the crust.
9. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup toffee bits over the bananas.
10. Spread the whipped cream filling over the bananas and toffee, making sure to spread all the way to the edges of the pie, covering the bananas completely so they don't brown.
11. Sprinkle the top of the pie with the remaining toffee bits.
12. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving and up to 8 hours (longer than that and the bananas may get a little brown and mushy). 

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog

Bacon Wrapped Honey Mustard Chicken Strips

It's been a while since we've had a Family Game Night, but tonight was the night!  The whole Lentini family came together for some belated Christmas cheer and wishes for a great new year to come.  With Family Game Night comes the "what can I make that I've never made before?" -- my new friend Pinterest brought me to this FABULOUS recipe.  So simple, so easy, and let's be honest -- they had me at bacon.  These were pop-in-your-mouth, can't-stop-eating GOOD!

• 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breast 
• 2 packages of bacon 
• ¾ cup honey 
• 8 tsp. coarse mustard 
• 4 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the chicken breasts in strips.
   (I got about 5 or 6 strips from each chicken breast) 
2. Wrap each chicken piece with a strip of bacon, leaving a little piece of chicken poking out of each side. 
3. Prepare a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
4. Place each bacon-wrapped chicken strip on the cookie sheet.
   (A suggestion that I thought of with the second batch today was to also put a rack on the cookie sheet and place the strips on the rack so that the bacon grease would fall to the cookie sheet and the chicken strips would not be sitting in the fat.  In the first batch, it didn't hurt the end product other than to make the bacon less crispy on the flip side.)
5. Preheat the oven to 425F.
    
6. Prepare the honey glaze by adding the honey, coarse mustard and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until combined. 
7. Brush the bacon-wrapped chicken strips with half the honey mustard marinade. 
8. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the bacon is crispy.
   (The dry-run I did last night of only a couple strips, they took about 13 minutes; however when I made the larger batch today, it took closer to 20 minutes with a full cookie sheet) 
9. Remove from oven and turn over each bacon-wrapped chicken strip. 
10. Brush each chicken strip with the remaining honey mustard marinade and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until bacon is crispy, keeping an eye as the bacon can cook quickly.

Adapted from Kayotic Kitchen blog

Cranberry Lime Infused Vodka

Having leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving, Jim and I made two bottles of Cranberry Lime Infused Vodka to become Christmas gifts for our siblings, along with the bottles of Raspberry Lime Infused Vodka we also made.  Jim asked “what would someone use Cranberry Lime Infused Vodka for?” – Ummmmm… COSMOS!!!

In my last entry for the Raspberry Lime Infused Vodka I said I loved martinis.  Why do I love martinis?  I blame my old friend Sherrill.  We had worked together for years, and back in the day, we had a team off-site in Armonk, New York, where we would get together after a day’s worth of meetings at the bar for some drinks.  I had never had a cosmopolitan before, until Sherrill suggested I have one.  By the end of the night, I had had three, not to mention having polished off Sherrill’s last one.  So I blame her for making me love them (I blame her for a lot more, but that’s a whole other story)!  I MISS YOU SHERRILL!

January 2013 Update:  So cranberries seem to be out of season now and no one has them, yet I want this for myself!  Just made a batch using one whole bag of Dole frozen cranberries that I bought at Wegmans (still hard to find), the rind from 3 limes, and 2 Tbsp. of sugar.  I'll be back in two weeks to let you know how it turned out.

• Cranberries
• Shaved rinds of lime, about 1-3 limes 
• 1 ½-2 Tbsp. sugar 
• Vodka
  (I used Three Olives)

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash cranberries and strain dry. 
2. Poke small wholes or make a couple slits with a knife in each cranberry.
   (This is time consuming, but it'll help infuse the flavor of the cranberry into the vodka.  I used a lobster pick, and despite accidentally pricking my finger a few times, seeing the vodka turn a cranberry color after only a day makes me think this was well worth it)
3. Place a layer of cranberries, a couple inches tall, in a non-reactive container, followed by a thin layer of the shaved rinds of lime.
   (I used a clear glass bottle with a stopper that I found at Ikea) 
4. Using a funnel, add about 1 ½ Tbsp. of sugar.
   (The original recipe called for “less than 2 Tbsp. of sugar).  Since we won’t get to taste this for 2 weeks to 2 months, I can’t say just yet if we used the right amount… stay tuned!) 
5. Repeat cranberries and lime rinds until you reach the neck of the bottle. 
6. Using the funnel again, pour enough vodka to reach the neck of the bottle, ensuring that all of the fruit is covered. 
7. Close container and shake. 
8. Store in a cool, dark place until ready to use – 2 weeks to 2 months (the longer you leave it, the sweeter the end result will be). 
9. Shake every day or two until the sugar is dissolved.

Adapted from Fancy Napkin blog 

Raspberry Lime Infused Vodka

Martinis are my thing – I love ‘em.  I had been thinking of trying to infuse vodka and went surfing around on Pinterest; at the same time, my friend Lora had mentioned making a fabulous raspberry martini.  I thought it would be cool to try to make Raspberry Lime Infused Vodka, kind of along the lines of a Raspberry Lime Rickey, but with vodka.  Sounded scrumptious.  Jim and I made two bottles to give as gifts to our siblings for Christmas.  I think in about 1 to 3 months time, we are going to have to go visit whichever brother or sister gets this and have a drink!

• 1 large container of fresh raspberries
• Shaved rinds of lime, about 1-2 limes
• ½ cup sugar
• Vodka
  (I used Three Olives)

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash raspberries and pat dry.
2. Place a layer of raspberries, a couple inches tall, in a non-reactive container, followed by a thin layer of the shaved rinds of lime.
   (I used a clear glass bottle with a stopper that I found at Ikea)
3. Using a funnel, add about ½ cup of sugar.
   (The original recipe called for 1 ¾ cups of sugar, which seemed like an extreme amount of sugar.  Since we won’t get to taste this for 1-3 months, I can’t say just yet if we made the right decision to cut the amount of sugar)
4. Repeat raspberries and lime rinds until you reach the neck of the bottle.
5. Using the funnel again, pour enough vodka to reach the neck of the bottle, ensuring that all of the fruit is covered.
6. Close container and shake.
7. Store in a cool, dark place until ready to use – 1-3 months.
8. Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved. 

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Weddings website

Rolo Cheesecake Bars

A few weeks back at Martha’s annual cookie swap, our friend Tasha made Rolo Cheesecake Bars.  I had to give Tasha a little grief for making a non-cookie offering for a cookie swap, but afterwards, I totally had to fall on my sword (or maybe it was more like falling over on to my sword after having eaten 3 of these things).  These things must be laced with crack or something, because they are TO DIE FOR.  I would venture to say these were the hit of the swap and the most passed around recipe so far.  I wasn’t going all out to make desserts for Feast of Christmas Eve, but I was called to make these (I think the call came from the little devil on my shoulder).  Considering the diet is trashed for the holidays, it took all I could not to eat these all in one sitting.  Slurpity, slurp, slurp, slurp!

For the crust:

• 1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 6 Tbsp. of butter, melted 

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter and press them into the bottom of a greased 8” square baking pan. (I believe I used a 7x11 rectangular baking pan)
2. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes and set aside.

For the cheesecake:  

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature   
• 1/3 cup caramel sauce
  (The original recipe had a link to make a homemade caramel sauce, but it didn’t work for me, and took forever.  Instead of giving it a second try, and used a butterscotch/caramel sauce I had and it worked great.)
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract 
• 1 ½ cup mini Rolos
  (I couldn’t find mini Rolos, so I used a whole package of regular sized ones.  They will do in a pinch, but I would try to get the minis.  They were a tiny bit harder to cut and chew, but just as yummy if you can't find anything else.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream the cream cheese, mix in the caramel sauce followed by the sugar, the egg, the vanilla extract and finally the mini Rolos and pour the mixture into the baking pan.
2. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until the cheesecake is set, about 30-35 minutes, set aside and let cool.

For the chocolate ganache: 

• 12 oz. dark chocolate
• 3 Tbsp. butter

• ¼ cup caramel sauce

DIRECTIONS 

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, mixing until smooth and pour the chocolate over the cheesecake.
2. Place the caramel sauce in the corner of a small bag, cut a small hole in the corner and slowly squeeze out the caramel creating lines across the chocolate.
3. Use a toothpick to make lines in the caramel going in the other direction to create the wave like pattern.

Adapted from Closet Cooking blog

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

I was searching for a vegetable side dish to go along with the Beast for Feast of Christmas Eve.  I knew I could have gone with something like steamed green beans or broccoli, but I wanted to try something new, and something with a little pizazz.  I had looked on Pinterest a couple times, but it wasn't until about noon today when I was forced to make a decision.  After looking at the actual recipes of several broccoli casseroles, most of which involved using cream of mushroom soup, which I don't love.  I'm not a mushroom fan.  I would go so far as saying I hate mushrooms.  Sure, I could have gone with cream of something-else soup (broccoli, cheddar, celery, or even chicken); but I didn't want to use that.  Then Catherine and I found this recipe -- no cream of anything soup needed AND it called for bacon.  Everything is better with bacon!  We had our winner!  This was a delicious side dish that was well worth the wading through recipes to find!

• 2 pounds broccoli, cut into large florets, yielding about 8 cups of broccoli florets
• Salt for blanching water
• ½ pound of thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 5 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2-3 tsp. of freshly cracked black pepper (1-2 tsp. fine ground black pepper)
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup (or more to taste) Panko bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Add the broccoli florets and boil for 3-5 minutes or until just tender enough so that a fork can easily pierce the floret, but still firm.
3. Strain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
4. While the water in step one is coming to a boil, cook the bacon pieces on medium heat in a frying pan until lightly browned, but not crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess fat. Set aside. (I cooked the bacon as I now tend to make it for any type of cooking – I take a barely thawed pound of frozen bacon and slice vertically so that it is cut into natural diced segments.  I then take a non-stick saucepan and preheat on high, adding the bacon, cooking until crisp, and then draining.  Such an easy way with very little prep or mess.)
5. Preheat oven to 425°F.
6. Butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. (I used a 9x13” Pyrex dish)
7. In a bowl, whisk the eggs into the flour, then whisk in the cream and milk, and adding the black pepper (more or less to taste), salt, and mustard.
8. Mix in about a third of the cheese.
9. Place the parboiled broccoli florets in the casserole dish, sprinkling about a third of the cheese over the broccoli florets as you lay them down.
10. Sprinkle the bacon pieces over the broccoli.
11. Pour the egg, cream, milk, cheese mixture over the broccoli, moving the broccoli pieces a bit so that the mixture gets into all the nooks and crannies.
12. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese plus the panko bread crumbs.
13. Bake for 25-40 minutes, or until set. Once the top has browned, you may want to tent with aluminum foil to keep from burning. (Since I was making this along with the Beast for our Feast of Christmas Eve, I actually had to start with an oven temperature of 325°F; when the Beast came out, I covered the casserole with aluminum foil, but kept the temperature low, just cooking it for 40+ minutes to ensure it was fully set and cooked.)

Yield: 10-15 as a side dish.

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

In preparation for the cookie swap, Sunday afternoon, LaDawna, Catherine and I worked on their offerings.  Since we didn't get started until late, we only got one batch of each of theirs complete before the end of the night.  They weren't around on Monday to make a second batch, and I felt like it was too intensive to do by myself, and well, I wasn't motivated.  LaDawna found this recipe instead and it didn't seem too difficult.  I doubled it and HOLY YUM, the cookie dough with just the oreos was fan-flippin-tastic!  I added the chocolate chips, and SLURP!  These are delicious! 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 20 oreos, crushed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
5. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
6. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
7. Add in the crushed oreos, beating on low speed for just a few seconds to break up the oreos in the dough.
8. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
9. Using a small scoop, drop cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets.
10. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.
11. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Adapted from Sugar Cooking blog

Cinnamon Walnut Crescent Cookies

Ho ho ho!  It's time for the 3rd Annual Cookie Swap at my friend Martha's.  I had no idea what to whip up for my confectionary offering this year, so I started surfing Pinterest.  I probably searched for over a week, not finding anything that I wanted to do.  I considered the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cookies I posted here, but it seemed a bit time consuming with having to freeze the balls of cream cheese ahead of time.  I ended up finding this recipe.  Granted, it was probably just as time consuming, considering you need to chill the sour cream dough, but this recipe really intrigued me, as it looked like the cookies that my SIL's mother used to send to me at Christmas.  I LOVED those cookies.  It's been a few years, so I don't know if they taste exactly the same, but ... YUMALICIOUS -- these are good! 

Sour Cream Dough:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 cup (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tablespoon-size pieces
• 1 ½ cup sour cream
• 2 large egg, separated
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

DIRECTIONS

1. Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until it resembles small peas.
   (I actually put all of these ingredients into my Kitchen Aid mixer and blended together that way – pretty easy)
2. Add the sour cream, egg yolk (save the white), and vanilla extract together in another bowl, blending just until combined.
   (Avoid over-mixing; a few small butter lumps are just fine.)
3. Divide the dough into five equal portions, and flatten each portion into a disk.
4. Wrap tightly in wax paper or plastic wrap, and chill 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough is quite firm.

Cinnamon-Walnut Filling:

• 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cup walnut halves, toasted and cooled
• 2 tsp.ground cinnamon 

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until the nuts are finely ground, but not pasty.
2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F
3. Line two or more cookie sheets with parchment paper
   
   Roll the dough:
4. Work with one disk of dough at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/16 inch thick.
5. Trim the dough to a uniform 12-inch circle using a cake pan or plate as your cutting guide.
6. Sprinkle the top of the dough with about 2/3 cup of the filling, covering the surface as evenly as possible.
7. Gently press the filling into the dough.
   Cut and shape the crescents:
8. With a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut the circle into 16 wedges.
   (I also cut the wedges BEFORE sprinkling the filling, and it worked out well.  So cutting them before or after adding the filling is fine)
9. Starting at the widest end, roll up each wedge into a crescent.
   (Don’t worry if some filling falls out – I kept rolling each crescent over the filling to add a little to the outside of each cookie)
10. Place the crescents loose ends facing down on the prepared cookie sheets.
     
11. Repeat steps with the remaining disks of dough.
12. With the scraps, create another disk of dough and chill for 2-3 hours to make a 6^th batch of cookies.
13. Whisk the reserved egg white until frothy, and brush it evenly on top of each cookie.
14. Bake 15 to 17 minutes, or until lightly browned on the top and bottom.

Yields: 80-96 cookies

(Original Recipe was half of this, but since I was making for a cookie swap, I needed to double it to what I show above)

Adapted from Julia M Usher’s blog

Hostess Cupcakes

Last night, I went to a "Favorite Things" party -- a gift swap party where each person brings 3 sets of something you consider your favorite, and a preset dollar limit (we chose $10 for each set).  During the party, we each drew a number, and for Round 1, each person, starting from low to high numbers, got to pick from the group of everyone's favorite thing offerings; for Round 2, we went from high to low numbers to pick the next gift; and for Round 3, we put our numbers back in the hat and redrew.  Everyone would leave with three different gifts (and there was no nastiness with swapping gifts).  I took home with me $10 in cash, a $10 Amazon gift card, and a martini glass with nips of Ketel One and Chambord (ok, so I took home my own favorite thing.  Hey, no one else wanted it, so more for me!).  So that's the long story behind why I had a party that I had to bring a dessert (actually, Catherine was supposed to bring the dessert, but since she was at dance practice all day, I took care of it).  I had pinned this recipe for Hostess Cupcakes a while back, and was really looking forward to making them.  What better party to make a childhood fave than a party about favorite things?  YUM YUM YUM!

For the cupcakes:

• 3 cups flour 
• 1 cup cocoa powder 
• 2 tsp. baking soda 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 1 cup canola oil 
• 2 cups sugar 
• ¾ cup applesauce 
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. 
2. Combine your flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Set it aside. 
3. Add oil and sugar into your standing mixer bowl.  Mix well. 
4. Stir in applesauce and vanilla. 
5. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Mix until combined. 
6. Slowly pour in the water to the wet ingredients.  Mixing on low until combined. 
7. Add the 2^nd half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Scrape sides of the bowl as needed.  Combine until just mixed. 
8. Slowly add the milk to the wet ingredients.  Beat on low until well combined. 
9. Fill each cupcake liner about half full. 
10. Bake for 15-18 minutes. 
11. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before adding filling.

For the filling:

• 9 Tbsp. butter, softened 
• ¾ cup plus 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar 
• 1 tsp. vanilla 
• 2 cups marshmallow fluff

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream the butter and sugar together. 
2. Stir in your vanilla. 
3. Mix in the marshmallow fluff, whisking until light and fluffy. 
4. Cover with plastic wrap. 
5. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least 10 minutes.
   (Original recipe calls to chill for 30 minutes, however, I had a harder time pushing the filling through the piping bag the more chilled it was) 
6. After cupcakes are cooled and filling chilled, add the filling to the cupcakes. 
7. Using a pasty bag and tip, insert the tip into each cupcake and squeeze filling into the cupcakes.

 

For the frosting:

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 
• 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup 
• ½ tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt your butter, chocolate chips, and corn syrup.
   (I did it on the stove top under medium-to-low heat, stirring constantly.  The recipe called for adding the ingredients to a microwavable bowl and microwaving, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and glossy.) 
2. Stir in your vanilla. 
3. Cover your bowl of frosting and chill for 10-20 minutes until thickened slightly.
   (Recipe suggests up to 30 minutes, however I noticed the frosting became too thick.  If it gets too thick, put back on low heat or microwave for a couple minutes to soften slightly, and stir) 
4. Once frosting is chilled, remove from refrigerator and stir. 
5. Frost cupcakes. 
6. Using a piping bag and pastry tip, with the leftover filling, add the classic Hostess design.

Adapted from Sugarfoot Eats blog 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Since we were doing "T2" -- Thanksgiving Part 2, I needed to come up with some desserts to offer.  My SIL, Francesca, was making the best apple pie evah, so I wanted to do something not-pie for as another dessert option.  I had found this tasty treat on Pinterest.  As much as it seems like it has a lot of steps, it's pretty easy, and OH-SO-DELICIOUS!  I have another plate full of these bars, and I need to find a home for them before I eat them all myself!

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

• 3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened 
• ¾ cup sugar, plus 2 Tbsp., divided 
• 3 large eggs 
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Apples:

• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped 
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup quick cooking oats 
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Drizzle:

• ½ cup caramel topping, for drizzling after baked

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar.
3.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender, 2 forks, or mixer until mixture is crumbly.
4. Press evenly into a 9×13 greased baking pan.
5. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
    
6. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
7. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, stirring to combine.
8. Pour over warm crust.
    
9. In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
10. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
     
11. For the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
12. Sprinkle streusel topping over apples.
13. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set.
     
14. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool.
15. Serve cold and enjoy

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything blog

Drunken Gummy Bears

Ooey Gooey fun and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-so delicious!  No bear was left behind!

• 1 package of gummy bears
• Cheap vodka

DIRECTIONS

1. Place gummy bears evenly in a glass or porcelain bowl.  I have heard not to use a metal or plastic bowl.
2. Pour enough vodka to cover gummy bears and cover bowl with plastic wrap. 
3. Let gummy bears soak for about 48 hours, checking a few times.  If gummy bears soak up all of the vodka, pour some more in the bowl.  Sample a gummy bear after about 36 hours.  The vodka should have soaked through the entire gummy bear.  Add more vodka as necessary.

Cranberry Eggnog Mini Muffins

When I was a kid, I would have the Pillsbury cranberry bread during the holidays.  I wasn't a huge fan of cranberries, back then, but I loved this bread.  Now that I really like cranberries, I wanted to have this taste again.  I took to Pinterest and found this recipe.  Knowing how much Catherine LOVES egg nog, I thought this would be a great addition to our Thanksgiving feast.  The recipe was for 4 mini loaves, but I thought mini muffins would be easier for people to pop in their mouths and enjoy, and considering they are all gone, I think I made the right choice.

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• ¾ cup eggnog
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 cup coarsely chopped frozen cranberries
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Streusel

• ¼ cup granulated sugar 
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter, slightly softened

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease 2 mini muffin pans.
   (You can also use regular muffin tins, mini loaf pans or a regular loaf pan) 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter and almond extract.
4. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined.
5. Toss cranberries with 2 T. sugar and then stir into batter.
6. Prepare streusel topping by combining topping ingredients using a mixer, pastry cutter, or two knives until crumbly.
7. Fill prepared pans until about 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full (this batter rises a lot!).
   (For the mini muffin pans, I used the Pampered Chef small scoop for each muffin)
8. Top with streusel topping.
9. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the breads test done with a toothpick inserted in the center coming out clean.

Adapted from The Nifty Food blog