Peanut Butter Blossoms

Well we were supposed to have Thanksgiving at my mother in-laws today and I got all prepared and cooked/baked a bunch of stuff, we even made it to her house..but my hubby was so sick to his stomach that he had to see a doctor. So as everyone else was arriving, we were leaving =( We were at the doctors for like 3 hrs and they did some tests and he has some kind of stomach infection, like possibly food poisoning or..i don't know! He's just really sick, throwing up all day. Poor guy, I feel so bad for him, so bad. I just want him to get better. It's like he's sick, he's better, he's sick, and so on and so on. Grrr. So by the time we left the doctors, the get together was over and we just went straight home. I heard everyone enjoyed all of the food, so that's good. My wonderful mother in-law brought me over lot's of leftovers and it was all so yummy. She also brought my hubby some medicine and some drinks because he's really dehydrated, so that was super sweet of her and I really appreciate it..she knows how to take care of her baby's! Anyway. These were one of the desserts I made to take today. I also brought rice krispie treats and a pumpkin pie, and I made the turkey, ham, and mashed potatoes. Even though I didn't get to enjoy it all with everyone, I still had a lot of fun preparing it all and hearing that everyone enjoyed it me happy =)

Ingredients:

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Recipe courtesy Hershey's

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Breadcrumbs

I was watching "Dear Food Network - Thanksgiving" this morning and I saw Giada De Laurentiis make these sinful looking potatoes. I thought they would be perfect to make for our Thanksgiving at my mother in-laws. I went out to get the ingredients to make them, because I just can't make something new for a group of people without testing it first, and I don't think my husband ever minds that! ;) My only gripe is I thought they were a little bland, maybe it was the mozzarella cheese, maybe cheddar would be better? I think I'll try that next time. I added italian style bread crumbs on top of mine instead of plain because I just prefer the added flavor from the herbs. All in all these are great potatoes that you could do lots of differnt variations with.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.
Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return the potatoes to the same pot and mash well. Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes. Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead of time; cover and chill.
Bake, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Look at that cheese!!

All done!

My baby girlie got a tiny sample, she approves!

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian Episode: Just for Two

BEST Sugar Cookies!!

So out of all the sugar cookie recipes I've ever tried, not that I've been baking/cooking long enough to have tried that many..but from the ones I have tried, these are the best, no fail ones. They are so perfect for cut out cookies! I'm not sure where I got the recipe, but last Christmas my mom and I were looking for a really good one because we were going to make tons of those cute cut out Christmas cookies like we used to when I was little. So I searched google and found a couple and we decided on this one and I'm glad we did! They come out perfect everytime. I had a great opportunity back in September to make a bunch of fall themed cookies for my husbands grandparents 65th wedding anniversary. They were having a fall themed get together at my mother in-laws house, and I knew these would be perfect, especially since there were going to be quite a few kids there. I also made some without icing and just put colored sugar crystals on them, but those aren't as photogenic, hence no photos.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter or Margarine (I used margarine)

2 Cups Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

4 Tablespoons Milk (I've used whole and fat-free, either are fine)

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

Beat together butter or margarine and sugarin a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla, mix until light and fluffy. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until it is all incorporated. Chill is plastic wrap for 4 hours. (This is what the recipe says to do, but I have always done it overnight..I just find that it is easier to work with that way)

Roll dough out on a well-floured surface. Using whichever cookie cutters you would like, cut them out and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 Degrees for about 7-9 Minutes. (Mine are usually very slightly starting to turn golden around the edges..I don't like to leave them in too long because I like them to keep that nice sugar cookie color)

You can really decorate these anyway you like, I usually make a basic confectioner's sugar icing that my mom has been using since I was little, just confectioner's sugar and water. You can use milk instead of water if you'd like, I personally think the icing taste great with just water though. To decorate the ones I made I just dyed my icing with food coloring, and I made 2 batches of each color, a super thick batch, and a super thin. The thick batch was for a border so that the thin icing I would put in the middle wouldn't all run off the cookie. For the stems of the pumpkins I used some green sparkle gel that Wilton makes. Also, for the veins of the leaf I bought some brown Wilton food coloring gel. For all of the piping I just used plastic sandwich bags, nothing fancy. When the border had set I spooned the thinner icing in the middle of the cookie and just spread it over until it was evenly coated.

With the holiday's around the corner and a lot of cookie baking to come, I hope some of you will try this recipe, and let me know if you do!