~christmas candy~

What is Christmas without yummy, special, "only at Christmas-time" homemade candies??

I think I make more candy during the month of December

than probably the whole rest of the year combined!

I make the simple kinds, no candy thermometer involved. ;-)

Here are some faves...

buckeyes

chocolate peanut butter candy

christmas coffee bean candy

chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

christmas oreo truffles

easiest fudge ever

And last, but not least, 

our very favorite Christmas candy will always be

chocolate billionaires!

I've been making them for sixteen years now 

and I think they have become my signature candy. :-)

I made 6 dozen this evening to share with co-workers!

Happy candy making from my kitchen to yours!

~peppermint candy ornaments~

I'll be honest I was really thinking these might be a "Pinterest fail..." ;-)

But they worked!

I followed the instructions here.

I used a bit of shortening on the cookie cutters

instead of the cooking spray the original instructions suggested.

I also used a straw instead of a toothpick to poke the holes in the ornaments.

(I found if you wait a minute or so after they come out of the oven it is easier to make the holes.)

The whole process took just a little more than 30 minutes.

They harden back up really quickly.

I put some red ribbon on to hang them with,

and added them to my kitchen Christmas tree.

I thought they really turned out cute!

I would have made more, but only had a dozen peppermints on hand.

I put the star one on the top of the tree! :-)

More peppermint!

peppermint oreo truffles

peppermint biscotti

peppermint bark

~gingerbread ornaments~

I LOVE gingerbread!  

It tastes good.  It smells good.  And it's SO Christmas-y!

This afternoon I used this 

"no spread" gingerbread cookie recipe

to make gingerbread ornaments for my kitchen Christmas tree. :-)

I had a bit of dough leftover, so I used tiny cookie cutters

to also make a cute little garland for my hutch.

More gingerbread!

gingerbread houses

gingerbread scones

gingerbread cookies

little house gingerbread

Menu Plan

Supper Menus

December 13th - 19th

Saturday

beef stew, copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls

Sunday

leftovers

Monday

kung pao chicken

Tuesday

spaghetti, caesar salad, garlic knots

Wednesday

leftovers

Thursday

out for supper

Friday
potato soup, cheddar bay biscuits

Epic baking success! Texas Roadhouse rolls!

You will need -

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 cup lukewarm milk

3 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled

1/4 cup sugar

4 cups flour, divided

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

extra butter, for basting rolls

What to do -

Combine yeast and water in bowl of stand mixer.

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add milk, butter, and sugar. 

Combine using paddle attachment.

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix until combined.

Add egg and salt and mix well.

Switch to dough hook and add remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour.

Continue mixing for 5 minutes.

Dough should be smooth.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel,

and put in a warm place to rise for one hour.

Spread dough out on a floured surface and shape into a square about an inch thick.

Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 18 squares and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Let rolls rise 30-45 minutes longer and then bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Take rolls out, baste with butter and put under broiler for about a minute to brown tops of rolls.

Remove from oven and baste one (or two!) more times with butter.

SERVE WARM! :-)

(Three were consumed at my house before I even got them to the table!)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'm almost done with my Christmas decorating.

Just a few things left to go.

I try to add one little thing to my decorations each year,

and this year it was this cute little salt and pepper shaker set that I found at HEB.

SO sweet. :-)

This was our 10th year to set up our family room white light pre-lit tree 

and this year we discovered it wasn't "pre-lit" anymore. ;-)

We had to string new lights onto it

and the kids wanted to go with color instead!

Merry Christmas decorating to all! :-)

Mediterranean Baked Chicken

This Mediterranean Baked Chicken was a huge hit with my whole family tonight.

Everyone went back for seconds until there was only a small serving left 

that I packed for tomorrow's work lunch.  

I served it with some store bought naan bread, hummus and pita chips.  

It was something very different and really good!

A Tummy Warming Supper

After a long day of school and work, tonight was FFA swine validation for my daughter and Mr. H.

When they arrived home I wanted a nice, warm supper waiting for them.

They both love good 'ol potato soup.

I was planning to make a loaf of bread to go with it,

but thought maybe I could turn that loaf into some bread bowls 

to ladle the soup in...so I did!

~potato soup in homemade bread bowls~

To make four bread bowls -

Pour 1 1/4 cups warm water into a mixing bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar.

Let sit for 5 minutes. 

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, and 3 cups of flour.

Mix until well combined.

Continue mixing until dough pulls away from the bowl.

Let dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 balls, place on a cookie sheet and let continue to rise 

as you preheat the oven to 350.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Combine 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon water.

Brush onto bread and bake for 3-5 more minutes, or until bread is nice and brown.

Let bread cool until easy to handle. 

Cut part of the top of the bread away to make a bowl.

Ladle up soup into bowls and serve with the top part for dipping.

Enjoy!