Christmas cookies

For dogs: Health squares & Gingersnaps

For humans: Coconut thins, White chocolate pretzels, Neapolitan slices, Highland fudge bars, Vanilla bean biscotti, English tea cookies, Oatmeal cranberry chews, Gingersnaps, Vanilla drops, Triple chocolate chips, Butter rounds, Apricot oat bars, Red/Green butter cookies, Toffee bars, Chocolate chips, Kolacky, Double chocolate biscotti, Snickerdoodles, Spritz w/brown butter icing, decorated cut-out sugar cookies

Merry Christmas to ALL !!!!

<3<3<3

Humble Pie

Very, very sorry, everyone, that this has been sooooooo empty lately. I've been baking for numerous bake sales, cookie walks, fundraisers... and there's noooooooooo way I can keep up with posting recipes during this busy season! I'd need a full time secretary to keep up with me! Any volunteers??? lol :-)

I wish each one of you every possible joy of the season; Merry Christmas, Buon Natale, Happy Hannukkah - however you celebrate, love & blessings are sent your way!!! <3<3<3

Oven French toast with berries

This is a delicious brunch dish to make, especially for Christmas, New Year's Day or any holiday when you don't want to fuss around the first thing in the morning. It's already prepared and just needs to be popped into the oven and baked!

Spray a 9x13" pan with nonstick spray.
Thinly slice up a loaf of French/Italian bread into 1/4" slices- there should be approx. 24 thin slices.
Have ready: 6-8 cups frozen (separated, not clumped together) berries - sprinkled & gently tossed with 1 Tblsp. cornstarch.

In a mixing bowl, measure and mix together:
2 cups milk (2% or whole)
1 cup half & half
1 cup dairy eggnog OR heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
6 extra large beaten eggs
1 teasp. vanilla

Pour 1/3 of the milk mixture on the bottom of the pan. Lay half the bread slices on top of the milk, overlapping the slices. Place half the berries evenly over the top of the bread.

Pour 1/3 of the milk mixture over the berries/bread. On top of that, lay the other half of the bread slices, overlapping as needed. Place the other half of the berries evenly over the bread.

Pour the remaining 1/3 of the milk mixture over the bread & berries. Cover with foil & refrigerate for 6 hours, or preferably, overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the berry toast for 45 minutes, or until the middle is set and the top is golden. Serve with heavy cream or syrup, dusted with powdered sugar or topped with additional berries.

Sausage-egg-cheese breakfast bake

Here's another 'no-brainer' for holiday mornings or ANY morning!

Spray a 9 X 13" pan with nonstick spray.
Cube 8 slices of plain, white or LIGHT wheat bread. Scatter the bread cubes in the pan evenly.

Saute a 1# roll of loose breakfast sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain any excess fat from the pan, but leave a Tblsp. or 2 for flavor. Cool - break into small pcs. and spoon the sausage over the bread cubes evenly.

Sprinkle 1# of shredded co-jack cheese evenly over the bread & sausage.

In a mixing bowl, beat 8 eggs with 2 cups of milk. Add 1/4 tsp. pepper. You don't really need salt since the sausage is pretty salty already. Slowly pour the milk/eggs over the top of the pan mixture - let it sit for a couple minutes to absorb.

Cover with foil. Refrigerate several hours or preferably, overnight.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake - UNcovered - for 45-60 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set.

Kolacky

This recipe makes approx. 50 cookies; double amt. of ingredients you'd like a larger batch.

Have 1 can of Solo filling (any flavor; apricot, raspberry, prune, apple, poppy seed....) on hand. You should use the entire can for this recipe.

Cream together:

1/2 cup softened butter

2 oz. softened cream cheese (that's 1/4 of a standard 8 oz. brick)

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/4 cups flour

Dough will be too sticky to roll out. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate at least an hour or 2 for easier handling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a rectangle or square, to about 1/8" thickness. Carefully, score the dough evenly & cut into approx. 1-1/2" squares. One at a time, using a floured spatula, lift each square of dough and put a scant 1/4 tsp. of filling into the center. Gather up 2 opposite corners of square and bring up, pinching together to form a little 'bow'. Place on ungreased baking sheets, leaving an inch between each cookie.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms are just golden. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar when cool.

Cape Cod crab cakes

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl:

1 Lb. lump white crab meat

1/3 c. minced yellow (red or green) pepper

1/2 c. minced onion

2 Tblsp. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried mustard powder

1 tsp. dijon mustard

2 med. beaten eggs

1/4 c. breadcrumbs (UNseasoned)

1 Tblsp. minced parsley

2 Tblsp. mayonnaise

salt & pepper to taste

Form into 8 balls- pat down into thick patties. Flatten slightly and dip both sides into Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and place on a platter covered with waxed paper - chill in 'fridge for an hour before frying.

In a large 12-14" frying pan (make sure you don't crowd these while frying!) heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil until hot, but not smoking. Gently place the crab cakes in the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from pan to a serving platter.

Serve with tartar sauce, shrimp/cocktail sauce or whatever else floats your boat.

Chocolate Spritz

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream thoroughly:

1 c. softened butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1 egg

1 teasp. vanilla

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (melted & cooled)

2-1-4 c. flour

After ingredients are mixed, put dough in a cookie press or 'gun' and press out onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving 1" space between cookies. At this point, either put sprinkles or coarse sugar on the tops of the cookies, or just leave them plain (you can cool & frost them later, if you wish).

Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are set. Remove from sheets when done and cool completely.