59 Diner Buttermilk Pancakes

from your homebased mom

2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1-3/4 C flour
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
Combine liquid ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Mix until smooth. Let batter rest for 10 minutes. Cook on a preheated, lightly greased griddle for 1 minute. Turn pancakes and finish cooking.
* Makes about 10 pancakes.

Gourmet Cinnamon Roll Popcorn

posted on Kara's Kitchen from our best bites

12 cups popped popcorn (I used 2 bags of light microwave popcorn)
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup soft butter

1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 squares almond bark (about 4 oz)

preheat oven to 250

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a large glass bowl. Mix well. Add butter and corn syrup. Microwave on high for 30 seconds; stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. Mixture will foam. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and pecans and stir till everything is well coated.

Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Pour popcorn onto foil. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Melt almond bark according to package instructions. Drizzle over popcorn mixture. When almond bark is set and popcorn is cool, break into chunks. Enjoy!



Notes:

-To get rid of all the unpopped kernels, place a grid cooling rack over your bowl of popcorn. Invert it and shake. The kernels will all fall through the holes but the popcorn won't fit. No one will break a tooth. Yay!

-I actually forgot to stir my caramel corn every 10 minutes. I only stirred it once. It still turned out.

Festive Candy Cane Kiss Centered Brownie Bites

from jenny @ picky-plate

1 brownie mix 9×13 inch size

18 Candy Cane Hershey Kisses

1/2 Cup chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

3 original candy canes, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and scoop into a mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin pan that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray, about 3/4 way full. Press kisses into center of brownie batter, do not push all the way to bottom, some of the tip should stick out the top. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until brownies are cooked through. Let cool completely.

2. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, 30 second intervals until smooth and melted. Stir in cream until silky smooth. You can place back in microwave for 10 seconds to smooth more if needed. Dip tops of brownies into melted chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Serve with a tall glass of milk. Enjoy!!

Nutty Cereal Candy

From laura at real mom kitchen

12.8 oz. box of Rice Chex
12 oz. box of Golden Grahams
1 (7 oz.) bag of shredded coconut
1 (4 oz.) package slivered almonds
1 1/2 cup butter (Yes that is right! 3 sticks at 1/2 cup each)
2 cups sugar
2 cups corn syrup
Combine Rice Chex, Golden Grahams, coconut, and almonds in a large pot.
In sauce pan, cook butter, corn syrup, and sugar to soft ball stage. (That’s 230 degrees here in Utah)
Pour over cereal mixture and stir until well coated.
Pour mixture out on to 2 cookie sheets to cool. Stir occasionally as cooling to prevent clumping.
Store in an air tight container.

Cereal Candy

5 cups Cheerios
5 cups Rice Chex
6 cups Special K

Measure these out into a large bowl. I have a big Tupperware bowl that I use. Then in a large sauce pan put:

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup white corn syrup
1 cube (or stick) of butter (It’s gotta be the real stuff)
1 dash salt

Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Then add:

1 cup whipping cream

Now use you candy thermometer and cook to soft ball stage, stirring constantly. Once at soft ball stage, remove immediately from the heat and add:

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir in vanilla and pour over your cereal. The gently toss and coat the cereal. Once all coated, pour out on the large cookie sheet to cool. Then enjoy!

Michels Mom's famous Carmels

Recipe Source: Michels mom (www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)

2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk (add only ½ to begin with)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cup chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Butter the sides and bottom of a 9X13-inch pan. Set aside.

In a medium heavy saucepan, add sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk, salt and butter. Over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to ensure the sugar is completely melted, bring the mixture to a boil and add the rest of the sweetened condensed milk when it begins to boil. Once the second half of the condensed milk has been added and the mixture is boiling again, stop stirring to prevent sugar crystallization (which means the caramels will have a grainy texture). Boil the mixture, without stirring until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage on a candy thermometer (234 degrees F). If you like your caramels a bit firmer, you can cook them up to 248 degrees F, which is firm ball stage but I prefer mine really soft (I will warn you that most people find this stage a bit too soft so use your best judgment and preference). When the caramel reaches the right temperature, immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and toasted pecans (if using). Carefully pour the hot mixture into the prepared pan without scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. Let the caramel cool completely before cutting into squares and wrapping in waxed paper.

Recipe Source: Michels mom (www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)

Chocolate Covered Nuts

submitted by Brittany
the sisters cafe

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

approximately 3 cups mixed nuts or dry roasted peanuts


Combine all the chocolate chips together in a glass bowl. Microwave on 60% power for 1 minute. Stir gently once or twice. Microwave for another minute on 60% power. Chocolate chips should be glossy and melted slightly but still in their shape. Stir gently until melted completely. (Since every microwave is different, you may need an extra 30 seconds to a minute - just remember not to use full power.)

Pour nuts into chocolate and gently stir to coat well. I have never measured the nuts when I do this, I just pour and stir until I feel like there is a good ratio of chocolate to nuts. My preference is to have a good amount of chocolate coating the nuts so I add a little, stir them in, add some more, etc. You definitely don't want to see any nuts - they should be coated thickly with chocolate.

With a spoon, drop small clusters on wax paper, parchment paper, or Silpat. Allow to cool completely then store between layers of wax paper in a Tupperware - somewhere cool and dry.

Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Recipe From: Chelsea at www.mmmcafe.blogspot.com


1 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 chicken breasts

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken in a baking dish (I diced mine, whole chicken breasts work great, they will just take longer to bake), pour sauce over top of chicken, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with rice or couscous.


Serves 4

Cookies and Cream Candy Bark

from your homebased mom

2 C vanilla melts or 1/2 lb. vanilla almond bark

2 C semi sweet melts or 1/2 lb. chocolate almond bark

14 Oreos, crushed. Reserve 1/4 C for sprinkling on top

2 Tbsp peanut butter, optional

Place vanilla and semi sweet chocolate into separate containers and melt in microwave. Add peanut butter to one of them if desired. Reserve 1/4 C of cookie crumbs and divide the remaining crumbs between the two melted mixtures and mix in.

Drop spoonfuls of the two mixtures onto a wax paper covered cooking sheet. Alternate the two flavors. Use a knife to swirl the two chocolates together to create a marbled effect.

Allow to harden at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Break into pieces and place in a pretty container.

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

Halloween version
from Recipe Girl

14 whole Oreos, broken up. I used the Halloween ones with the orange filling but regular will work fine

1 1/2 C pretzels, broken into pieces. I used the small stick pretzels

1 lb. white chocolate, almond bark or melts found in the bulk food section

1 C candy corn

brown and orange colored sprinkles

Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 C of the candy corn onto the waxed paper. Place white chocolate in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth. White chocolate melts faster and burns easier than chocolate.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula if needed to coat evenly. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the chocolate while it is still wet. Do not let it harden. Place

cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces. Store in air tight container.

Christmas version

14 whole Oreos, broken up. I used the holiday ones with the red filling but regular will work fine

1 1/2 C pretzels, broken into pieces. I used the small stick pretzels

1 lb. white chocolate, almond bark or melts found in the bulk food section

1 C reindeer corn

red and green colored sprinkles

Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Spread broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 C of the candy corn onto the waxed paper. Place white chocolate in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth. White chocolate melts faster and burns easier than chocolate.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula if needed to coat evenly. Sprinkle remaining candy corn and colored sprinkles over the chocolate while it is still wet. Do not let it harden. Place cookie tray into refrigerator until set and firm. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces. Store in air tight container.

Peppermint Bark

from:Sallie & Julia - my sisters kitchen

6 ounces (150 grams) semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tsp. vegetable oil

6 ounces (150 grams) white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 - 1/2 cup (50 - 80 grams) crushed candy canes


Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch (23 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles. Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.Makes about 25 pieces.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Filled Brown Sugar Bars

Recipe Source: from My Kitchen Cafe
adapted from Luscious Chocolate Desserts
*Makes 32 small bars*

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 ¾ cups packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray the bottom of a 10 by 5-inch baking sheet with cooking spray or lightly coat with butter. Line the pan with wax paper and then butter and lightly flour the paper and sides of the pan.

Whisk together the flour and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating just until well blended. The batter will be fairly stiff.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out clean but not dry; do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bring the cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Place the finely chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the finely chopped chocolate and stir gently to combine until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Let the ganache stand at room temp for 20-30 minutes to set. It should be spreadable but not runny.

Invert the brown sugar cake again onto a large cutting board. Cut the cake crosswise in half with a long serrated knife. Spread the ganache evenly on one half of the cake to within 1/8 inch of the edges. Carefully set the other cake half on the top, matching the cut edges. Cover and refrigerate until the ganache is set, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

To serve, trim the uncut edges of the cake. Cut the cake lengthwise into 4 strips then cut each strip into 8 rectangles. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars

adapted from 24 Hour Menu

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chunks
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I left these out)

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter, sugars, egg and vanilla till fluffy and add dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chunks and walnuts. Press into a greased 9x13 inch pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until light golden brown. I have also doubled the recipe and pressed into a large sheet pan (11X17) with great results.


A few tips: Don't overbake!!! I overbaked them the first time I made them and when I actually baked them correctly the second time (perhaps even underbaked by a minute), they were 100 times better. Also, the second time I made them, I doubled the recipe and instead of adding two bags of chocolate chunks, I added one bag of chunks and one bag of mint chocolate chips. Fabulous!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

From: my kitchen cafe
adapted slightly from Martha Stewart Living

Makes 6 dozen (um, not so much - I barely got 3 dozen out of the recipe)

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
8 large candy canes or 30 peppermint candies, crushed
2 pounds white chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used about 8 ounces white chocolate and the rest white almond bark, since that is what I had on hand - it worked great)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add egg, then yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in peppermint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).

Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll and cut scraps once. Freeze cookies until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk.

Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer parchment, with cookies, to wire racks, and let cool. (Undecorated cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.)

Sift crushed candy, and separate larger pieces from dust, reserving both. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave (don't overheat or the chocolate/almond bark will sieze!). Dunk cookies into melted chocolate. Using a fork, press lightly on the cookie until completely submerged in the chocolate. Pick up the cookie with the fork, let excess chocolate drip off, and gently scrape bottom against edge of bowl. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of either candy pieces or dust on top. Repeat, sprinkling half the cookies with pieces and the rest with dust. Refrigerate until set, up to 3 hours.

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

From: from My Kitchen Cafe (www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)/adapted from The New Best Recipe

*Makes about 2 dozen gingerbread men*

3 cups (15 ounces) flour
¾ cup packed (5 ¼ ounces) dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature (but not warm!), cut into 12 pieces
¾ cup light or dark molasses
2 tablespoons milk

With an electric mixer, stir together the flour, brown sugar, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and add the butter pieces. Mix at medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and with the mixer running, gradually add the molasses and milk; mix until the dough is evenly moistened about 20 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.

Scrape the dough onto a work surface and divide it in half. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough ¼ inch thick between 2 large sheets of parchment or wax paper. Leaving the dough sandwiched between the parchment or wax paper, stack the dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.

Remove one dough sheet from the freezer and place on the counter. Peel off the top parchment or wax paper sheet. Gently cut the dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring the shapes to the prepared baking sheets with a wide metal spatula and spacing them ¾ inch apart. Set the scraps aside. Repeat with the remaining dough until the baking sheets are full. Because flour is not added during rolling, dough scraps can be rolled and cut as many times as necessary.

Bake the cookies until set in the centers and the dough barely retains and imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 9 minutes. Do not overbake!! Cool the cookies on the sheets 2 minutes, then remove the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack; cool to room temperature. Gather the scraps; repeat the rolling, cutting and baking. Frost as desired (I used a ziploc bag filled with simple white icing).

Store soft gingerbread in a wide, shallow airtight container or tin with a sheet of parchment paper between the cookie layers. These cookies are best eaten within one week.

Peanut Brittle (and Chocolate Peanut Brittle)

Recipe from Our Best Bites

2 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
3/4 c. water
2 c. raw peanuts*
3 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Chocolate chips (optional)



*You'll find raw peanuts in the baking section of the grocery store, usually called raw Spanish peanuts. They're not roasted or salted or in their shells or anything--just raw peanuts. If you taste one, it'll taste like a raw pea, which gets into the fact that a peanut is a legume and not an actual nut, but that's beside the point... :)

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until clear and syrupy.

Attach your candy thermometer to the pot in a place where it can measure the temperature of the candy but isn't touching the bottom of the pan. Add peanuts and cook over medium heat until the candy reaches 300 degrees, stirring occasionally; this will probably take about 30-45 minutes. However, you'll want to stick close by in case it cooks more quickly. Also, if you're almost to 300 degrees and you start to smell burning, go ahead and remove it from the burner simply because most candy thermometers most of us have aren't 100% calibrated.

While the candy is cooking, spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and place on a heat-safe surface. When candy is done cooking, pour quickly onto the baking sheet and spread evenly onto the pan. It won't spread to the edges; you just want it to be about 1/4" thick.



Now...this is where pure evil comes in.



I don't put chocolate on all of my peanut brittle because there are people out there who feel like changing peanut brittle in any way is heresy. However...has the combination of chocolate and peanuts EVER led us astray? I love it because it's a lot like toffee, only easier and way less temperamental. If you're feeling the urge (and I really think you should), sprinkle some chocolate chips over the hot peanut brittle and just spread it out with a silicone spatula.

Allow the peanut brittle to cool completely (and the chocolate to become completely solid, if you're using chocolate) and then take a butter knife and start jabbing at your slab of peanut brittle. Feeling a little pent-up aggression? Do the people who grossly misuse the self checkout at the grocery store make you want to jab your (or their) eyes out? Prone to road rage? Been to Walmart on a Saturday lately? Now's your chance to get it all out! As you jab, it will start to break apart and then you can break it into smaller pieces as you figure out how big you want your pieces to be.

You can serve it in a tin or on a cute holiday plate at a party or you could package it in cellophane bags and tie them with ribbons or tuck the bags into some Christmas lanterns.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

What you will need:

5lbs. potatoes; peeled and chopped
1 sm. onion; chopped
8oz. cream cheese; softened
3-14.5oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth (or frozen broth!)
1 can cream of chicken soup
As Garnishes you can use:

* crisp bacon; crumbled
* shredded cheddar cheese
* sour cream
* sliced scallions


What to do:

1. Put potatoes & onion in crock-pot after peeling and chopping.
2. Combine the cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup & the pepper. Add this mix to the crock-pot.
3. Cover & cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
4. After cooking time, mash the potatoes if you want the soup to be thicker.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish!


This recipe made a lot for our family. We served it with sausage roll-ups. I was able to take half of this recipe and freeze it for another day. It smelled wonderful while cooking and received good reviews from the entire family, especially with the garnishes.