Marshmallow Peanut Blossom Cookies

16.5 oz Pillsbury Refrigerated Peanut Butter or Gingerbread Cookie Dough
3 Tbl. Sugar
18 Large Marshmallows
1 Tbl. Christmas Candy Decors

Heat oven to 375. Shape dough into 36 one inch balls; roll in sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Meanwhile, using serrated knife, cut marshmallows in half; dip uncut edge of each into water, then in candy decors. Immediately top each hot cookie with 1 marshmallow, candy decor-side up, pressing down firmly.

Remove from cookie sheet to cooling racks. Cool completely before storing.

3 Easy Cookie Ideas

Pressed for time but want to include the kids in baking cookies. Here are a few ideas using pre-made cookie dough and a few special ingredients to make them look like you slaved in the kitchen.

Sugared Chocolate Oranges
16.5 oz. Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
1/2-1 Dark or Milk Chocolate Orange, crushed

Mix together and bake according to package directions.


Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
32 oz. Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
1 Box Candy Canes, crushed

Mix together and bake according to package directions.


Soft Gingersnap Delights
16.5 oz. Pillsbury Gingerbread Cookie Dough
Sugar in the Raw (sold by the organic and alternative sugar)

Slice cookie dough into desired size cookie. Roll dough into individual balls and then roll in the raw sugar. Bake according to package directions.

Mini Cheesecakes

16 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
Vanilla Wafers

Preheat oven to 350. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer, medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat just until blended. Place wafer on bottom of each muffin liner. Spoon cream mixture evenly over wafers. Bake 20 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

30 Minute Fudge

4 1/2 C. Sugar
1 can Evaporated Milk
12 oz. Chocolate Chips
7 oz. Marshmallow Creme
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 lb. Butter
2 C. Walnuts, chopped (optional)

Mix sugar and milk together. Dissolve bring to boil stirring constantly. Boil for 8-10 minutes. Have all other ingredients in a bowl. Pour the hot mixture and stir until choclate chips and butter melt. Pour in buttered pan. Put in fridge utnil well set.

Caramel-Coated Spiced Nuts

2 Egg Whites
2 tsp. Water
1 1/2 C. Roasted Salted Almonds
1 1/2 C. Pecan Halves
1 C. Whole Salted Cashews
1 C. Brown Sugar, packed
3 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp. White Pepper

In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and water until foamy. Add the almonds, pecans, and cashews; stir gently to coat. Combine the brown sugar, pie spice and pepper; add to the nut mixture and stir gently to coat.

Spread into a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Orange Chicken Bites

2 Egg Whites
1/4 C. Corn Starch
1/4 C. Sesame Seeds, toasted & mashed
1/8 tsp. Black Pepper
2 Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 C. Fresh Orange Juice
2 Tbl. Soy Sauce
1 Tbl. Sugar

Combine the egg whites, corn starch, sesame seeds, and pepper together. Add chicken to mixture and saute in batches until chicken is cooked through and golden brown. While chicken is cooking combine the OJ, soy sauce, and sugar in a pan and simmer until mixture is 1/2 it's original size. Pour over cooked chicken and enjoy.

Variation: Try using tangerine juice in place of the OJ!

Confetti Pepper Relish

1 Red Pepper, small diced
1 Green Pepper, small diced
2 Jalapenos, small diced
1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 C. Sugar
1/2 pkg liquid gel certo

Saute the peppers together and add the vinegar and sugar. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Add the certo gel and allow to cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate. Serve with cream cheese and crackers.

Note: This relish is also wonderful on tacos, flautas, nachos, eggs, or just about anything else you want to spice up!

Crab Sushi

4 C. Cooked Stickey Rice
3 Tbl. Rice Wine Vinegar
2 1/2 Tbl. Sugar
2 tsp. Sea Salt
Imitation Crab
Avocado, sliced in thin long strips
Cucumber, Sliced in thin long strips

Combine all ingredients together mixing gently.

Place rice on top of seaweed sheet about 1-2 grains of rice thick. At one end of the rice sheet place the crab, avocado, and cucumber. Roll up making sure to end with a tight roll. Slice with a wet knife and serve with crushed red pepper paste, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

Note: To make sticky rice allow rice to soak for 15-20 minutes before cooking.

Eggnog Smoothie

2 qrts. French Vanilla Ice Cream
2 qrts. Eggnog
2 Liter Cream Soda

Mix ice cream in a large bowl with the eggnog using a potato masher. Then slowly add cream soda, top with ground cinnamon or crushed candy canes and serve.

Chocolate Waffles with Peppermint Whip Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce

Waffles
1/2 C. Butter, melted
3/4 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
4-5 Tbl. Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/4 C. Flour
1 C. Milk

Combine all ingredients together and stir. Pour into preheated waffle iron and cook according to waffle maker specifications. Top with whip cream (recipe follows) and Hot Fudge Sauce (recipe follows).

Whipped Cream
8 oz. Whipping Cream
1/2 -1 tsp. Peppermint Extract
Sugar to taste

Whip cream to soft peaks. Add the peppermint extract and sugar. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

Hot Fudge Sauce
1/2 C. Chocolate Chips
1/4 C. Butter
2/3 C. Evaporated Milk
1/2 C. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Melt Chocolate and butter in saucepan. Add the milk and sugar cooking till thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve hot!

Week #2 of Our Thankfull Tree

Thankful Tree

Looking for a great way to focus on being thankful? Here is a quick and easy idea that also helps you re use some of our paper bags!

Cut out a tree using our brown paper bags and attach it to a wall you see often in your home. Next cut out a bunch of leaves from fall colored paper.

Each time you sit down to your family meal take out a bunch of leaves and have everyone write what new thing they are thankful for. Tape the leaves to the tree and watch it grow! Check back each week and see how our tree is doing!

Charlotte's Web Cookie

We had a problem with some of our ingredients not getting here in time to do the pumpkin version of this recipe so with some quick thinking by our Savory Selections leader we came up with this yummy variation! People liked it so much I thought we should put it up on our blog for everyone to see. We hope you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween!

1 pkg Chocolate Chip Cookie mix (we used dry but you could use the cookie dough in the tubes)
2 pkgs. White Chocolate Pudding Mix
3 C. Milk
8 oz. Cool Whip
Hershey's chocolate syrup

Follow package directions to make the cookie dough if using dry mix. Press the dough into a 12 inch pizza pan and bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Mix the milk with the pudding packages until smooth. Add the cool whip and allow to set up for 10 minutes. Top cookie with the pudding mixture leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch of the cookie showing. Next take the Hershey's syrup and make a target design on the pudding mixture by drizzling a small circle in the center, then a bigger circle, and an even bigger circle around that one.

Lastly use a paring knife or toothpick drag the very tip of the knife through the pudding and chocolate syrup as if you were cutting a pizza but not the crust.

Charlotte's Pumpkin Web Treat

1 12inch Sugar Cookie (bakery department)
2 C. Pumpkin Mousse (service deli)
Squeezable Chocolate Sauce

Spread the pumpkin mousse over the cookie crust. Squeeze chocolate sauce into circles (like a target) around the mousse. Using a paring knife or toothpick lightly and starting from the center of the cookie drag the knife threw the chocolate sauce and mousse to create a spider web effect.

Withces Hand Sandwiches

2 slices Bread
1/2 C. Chicken Salad

Using a paring knife or cookie cutter cut a hand shape into the bread slices. Place chicken salad between the hands and enjoy.

Roasted Pumpkin

1 medium sized pumpkin

Preheat ovent to 350 degrees. Wash outside of pumpkin to remove all dirt. Cut the top off of pumpkin and clean out the seeds and pumpkin innards. Place top back on pumpkin and coat entire pumpkin with a thin layer of oil before baking. Roast pumpkin in oven for 1-2 hours depending on size.

Note: Try using a scoring tool or paring knife to lightly carve a jack-o-lantern face from the pumpkin, making sure to not go all the way through the meat of the pumpkin.

Slimy Red Goop - Jello Salad

15 oz Mandarin Oranges
1/2 C. Water
6 oz. Cherry Gelatin
21 oz. Cherry Pie Filling
3/4 C. Cola

Drain mandarin oranges, reserving juice; set fruit aside. In a large saucepan, bring mandarin orange juice and water to a boil; remove from the heat. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Stir in pie filling and cola.

Pour into a 1 1/2 quart bowl. Refrigerate for 50 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fold in the reserved oranges. Refrigerate 3 hours longer or until set.

BBQ Batwings - chicken wings

1/2 C. Soy Sauce
1/2 C. Lime Juice, divided
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp. Ginger, minced and divided
2 lbs. Chicken Wingettes and Drumettes
1/2 C. Apricot Jam
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder
Dash Onion Powder

In a large ziploc bag, combine the soy sauce, 1/4 C. lime juice, garlic and 1 tsp. ginger; add the chicken. Refrigerate overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Place chicken on a greased rack in a foil-lined 15x10 inch baking pan. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the jam, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and remaining lime juice and ginger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes. Brush over wings. Bake 40 minutes longer or until juices run clear basting and turning every 10 minutes.

For an added creepy effect try leaving the wings attached and adding black food coloring to the sauce.

Bleeding Heart Cheesecake - Dessert

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1 can Cherry or Raspberry Pie Filling
2 C. Cheesecake Filling from our Service Deli

Sppon some of the pie filling into the bottom of the curst and reserve the rest for later. Next spoon the cheesecake filling into the crust. Top the cheesecake with the remaining pie filling and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Frankenstein Eyes - Meatballs in Cranberry Chili Sauce

Meatballs are always a crowed pleaser! We used frozen meatballs and cooked them all day in this yummy sauce.

1 can Whole Cranberry Sauce
12 oz. Chili Sauce
1/2 - 3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 Tbl. Lemon Juice

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan with a lid and heat. Add meatballs and allow to cook for 2-3 hours before serving.

To Make Eyes: Either attach a sliced olive (black or green) with a toothpick, sour cream, or by digging out a little bit of the meatball so the olive slice can sit inside the hole. If creating a fun display for your halloween guests try serving these yummy eyes out of a large glass jar with long skewers your guests can use to get the meatballs out!