Texas Tumbleweeds, A Holiday Treat!

Well I got a call from my grandfather last night and he told me that he had eaten the most delicious thing he has ever put in his mouth yesterday. And I was like "TELL ME ABOUT IT!", turns out it was a good ol' Texas Tumbleweed! Sweet, little bit salty, and TOTALLY delish! He will be arriving tomorrow for Christmas so I decided that I would surprise him by making a batch, (BIG BATCH--4 dozen to be exact) for him to munch on throughout the upcoming Christmas festivities! Not only are they absolutely delicious, they are also extremely easy and incredibly quick to make! So here we go!

Ingredients:



1lb Chocolate Almond Bark
13 oz Peanut Butter Chips (they come in 10 oz bags, so I measured the last 3 ounces with my eyes!)
16 oz Dry Roasted Peanuts
12 oz Potato Sticks (I used three 4 ounce bags of potato sticks)

 In a microwave safe bowl, combine almond bark and peanut butter chips.

Microwave on 50% for 4 minutes (my microwave does not have the option to reduce power so I just eyed it until it melted) Once melted, mix together:

Then stir in peanuts and potato sticks (don't worry too much about crunching the potato sticks) Stir until EVERYTHING is coated (I had to transfer to a bigger bowl because everything together was bigger than I had anticipated!):

Then drop on parchment paper or foil (make sure to spray a tiny bit of Pam on it if you are using foil) take a large spoon and one hand (clean, preferably) and drop onto foil or paper, make sure all parts are connected so they will dry as a whole.

And then let dry for about 20 minutes or until they harden (to speed up this process, pop them in the refrigerator!) And then last but not least, ENJOY! :)

BON APPETIT!

Holiday Tea Cake Cookies

So in the post before this, you found out that I was rummaging through my grandmother's recipe collection. I have pulled out so many great old recipes of hers that I will be so incredibly full by the time Christmas is over that I will be in a food coma going into the new year. But anyway, I found this tiny, stained, scratch piece of paper with a recipe I could barely read. It looked so incredibly USED that I just had to make whatever was on this tiny piece of paper. Well turns out it was "my friend Mable's tea cake cookies"! They are cakey, fluffy, not too sweet and just delicious! I've never really tasted anything like them before. They are perfect for a cup of hot chocolate by the fire, because the cookie isn't so overpoweringly sweet that the cookie and hot chocolate balance it out to a perfect medium. So here we go "My Friend Mable's Tea Cake Cookies":


Ingredients:

5 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs

First preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.

then I creamed the shortening and sugar and then added in the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. This worked beautifully thanks to my Mom's KitchenAid Stand Mixer (secretly wish it was mine). Then slowly add in the flour and keep mixing until dough is formed.

Roll out on floured parchment/wax paper and cut with cookie cutters or roll into small balls to make normal cookies :)

Then pop them in the oven on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake for 10-11 minutes until they have risen and look cakey and not sticky. I made icing and drizzled it on top...but I think I seriously joined the ugly Christmas cookie club. Actually, I think I'm the president of it. They taste delicious though! All that counts! 

bon appetit!

Microwave Peanut Brittle

Every year my Dad and I get in the kitchen and make homemade Chex Mix (aka trash, I honestly do not know why it is called Trash but hmm, something to ponder) and Peanut Brittle right around Christmas time! It is great father-daughter bonding time and I look forward to it every year! This year we had trouble finding raw peanuts at the local grocers (did you know raw peanuts are usually in the produce section in the grocery store? Yeah, me neither) but eventually found some just as fresh in our freezer from earlier this year. Since before I could remember, homemade peanut brittle has been a holiday staple in my house and I can't imagine this time of year without it. This easy, microwave peanut brittle recipe is my grandmother's recipe. Last night I had the pleasure of looking through her old recipe collection with her cursive scribble on scraps of paper that I could barely read, but it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside just looking at the incredible recipes that had been passed down through generations. So anyway, this makes one batch of peanut brittle, my dad and I made about 5 batches last night for all of the fun festivities coming up!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup raw peanuts

1/2 cup white corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon  butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

In a 1 1/2 quart bowl than can be used in a microwave, stir together peanuts, sugar, corn syrup, and salt.

Cook for 4 minutes, and then stir well and then cook 4 more minutes. After cooking a total of 8 minutes, add butter and vanilla and cook 2 more minutes. At the end of the last 2 minutes, take out of microwave and then add the baking soda, then stir REALLY fast until light and foamy/bubbly. 

Immediately pour onto a lightly buttered foil and spread out. When cool, break into small pieces.

(Set microwave on high. If this setting should burn the peanuts, reduce setting)

Remember: ALL MICROWAVES ARE DIFFERENT!!

OH! & if you want to add shredded coconut to this peanut brittle, add it after cooking the FIRST 4 minutes! :) 

bon appetit!

Have a great Friday everyone! I will be spending mine baking, listening to Martha Stewart Radio, watching Food Network by the fire, and drinking hot coffee! I LOVE this cold weather!