Almond Joy Balls

From Paula Deen via my mother-in-law to me and now to you. These were the jewels in the holiday goodie plate crown. A delectable combination of sugar, butter, coconut and chocolate. I'm posting the recipe in its original form but here's what I did differently: 1) ran out of almond extract and subbed amaretto flavoring instead, mmmm, good. 2) used slightly less powdered sugar as per my mother-in-law's recommendation. 3) tried rolling into balls and that was a mess. maybe I should have sprayed PAM on my hands?? I was in a huge time crunch so I used my cookie scoop instead. 4) I didn't dip them in chocolate because they weren't in true balls, more of a semi-ball, if you will. So I melted the chocolate and drizzled on top. Guess what? They still tasted amazing! And I quite liked the drizzled chocolate presentation. I'd love to hear how these turn out for you and if you decide to dip or drizzle. enjoy!

Almond Joy Balls

Ingredients

• 2 (16-ounce) boxes confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 (14-ounce) package shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts
• 1 (12-ounce) package chocolate chips

Directions

Cream together sugar and butter in a bowl; add milk. Stir in almond extract, coconut, and nuts; mix well. Form candy into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper and refrigerate at least 3 hours. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler, stirring well. Remove from heat but allow chocolate to remain over hot water. (If chocolate becomes too thick, return to heat for a minute or so to thin). With a toothpick, dip each ball in chocolate and place on waxed paper until set.

Peppermint Bark

I've been making this delightful Christmasy treat since December 2005 when it first appeared in Everyday Food. I love it. My kids love it. I love putting it on our goodie plates. I love putting some in a little airtight container and mailing it friends. Its easy, oh so very easy. Which is all the better, because lets face it, who has time to make labor intense treats this time of year? Exactly. Enjoy this crunchy treat!

Makes 36 pieces

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 pound white chocolate, chopped (do not use chips)
• 2 cups puffed rice cereal
• 1 bag (7.5 ounces) hard peppermint candies, unwrapped

Directions

1. Spray a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; line with a piece of waxed paper. Crush candies (see note below).
2. Place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in rice cereal.
3. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; with a spatula, spread to edges of pan.
4. Sprinkle with crushed candy; with a piece of waxed paper covering the entire surface, press in gently (paper prevents hands from sticking to candy and chocolate). Chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes (no longer, as candy will begin to soften).
5. Peel waxed paper off. Break bark into 2-inch pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container, up to 1 week.

Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies

These are the most Christmasy blondies you will ever meet. And you'll be so glad that you did, in fact, have the opportunity to meet. Because they will change your Christmas. Last year, I made 6 pans in a 2 week period. No joke. They are now a permanent staple on my neighborhood goodie plate. And they've made appearances at a church function, school party and potluck, and each time, I've been begged for the recipe. Again, no joke. Thanks to the genius Mel for sharing this lovely holiday concoction.

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 ¾ cups white chocolate chips (I used a whole bag)
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside (I lined my pan with aluminum foil and then sprayed the aluminum foil with cooking spray).

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until creamy and pale, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and molasses and mix on medium speed until combined.

Add flour mixture on low speed until combined. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake until golden around edges and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan; cut into 24 squares. Blondies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

*makes about 24 blondies, depending on big you cut them. They do sink a little after they've cooled, TOTALLY NORMAL. As per Mel's suggestion, cut off the jaggedy edges that are higher than the center, save those for your kids and husband, and then cut the rest into uniform squares to serve. voila!

Dixie Salad

My daughter recently has expressed her undying love for all things pomegranates. Since I am happy when they are happy eating fresh fruits and vegetables, I had to make this salad. And it has homemade whipped cream in it. Which makes me very happy. So really, its a win/win for everyone. Thanks to my lovely Mary Ann for sharing this with me!

The sauce: (yes, this is a salad but it starts with a sauce, just trust me!)

In a small bowl combine;

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Pour this mixture into a medium saucepan and add:

20 oz can crushed pineapple, DO NOT DRAIN

1/4 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients together and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Let cool completely!

In a large bowl combine:

2 apples, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
2-3 bananas, sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2- 2 cup pomegranates
1 cup whipping cream (whipped) with 1/4 cup powdered sugar & 1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 cup mini marshmellows

Add the cooled pineapple mixture to the bowl with chopped fruit. Fold everything together. Keep chilled in fridge until ready to serve. And like all things made with fresh fruit and whipped cream, its best to eat it all the day you serve it or else it gets mushy. Read: spoon heaping mounds onto your plate because you don't want leftovers and because its deliciouso!

Caramel-Pecan Apple Pie

Doesn't the title alone grab you? Doesn't need much by way of introduction I'll tell ya that much! This comes from my good friend Heidi Dahl who kindly shared some with me a few Thanksgivings ago when she learned I wasn't making any pie that day. (Our family actually celebrated Thanksgiving earlier in the month with family up in Idaho so don't think we're anti-turkey day!) Anyway, there's some caramel and some apples and then some pecans and more caramel. Happy Holidays to me!

Original recipe from Taste of Home Oct/Nov 2007, adapted slightly by Heidi

Ingredients:
7 cups sliced peeled tart apples
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping, room temperature (I used Mrs. Richardsons)
1 unbaked pastry shell, 9 inches
3 tbsp butter, melted

Streusel topping:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp cold butter
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping, room temperature

Directions:
In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and vanilla. Combine sugars, cinnamon and cornstarch; add to apple mixture and toss to coat. Pour caramel topping over bottom of unbaked pastry shell; top with apple mixture. This will be a heaping mound of apple goodness, don't be alarmed! Drizzle with melted butter.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, pecans and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned. Immediately remove from oven and drizzle with caramel topping. Cool on wire rack. Serves 8.

*a note. I served this in the evening on Thanksgiving day so I made the pie early in the morning. It sat on my counter all day, don't refrigerate it. So its not a traditional "hot apple pie serve with ice cream" type deal.