Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, I love that lady's site!  I have been wanting to make these cookies since last winter and just never got around to it, but this year was not going to pass me by without making them.  They were super easy to throw together, chilled in the fridge for an hour and turned out very cute and very yummy!  They were the perfect treat to take to friends and co-workers. 

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

2 sticks butter (1 cup) slightly softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
4 oz (4 squares) vanilla almond bark or white baking chocolate (vanilla almond bark works better and its much cheaper)
Large handful red or green peppermints or candy canes

Cream softened butter with powdered sugar.  Add egg and vanilla and mix to combine.  Add dry ingredients and mix together until dough comes together.  Place plastic wrap directly on dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.  (I was impatient and pulled the dough out after 1 hour and it worked just fine!)

In the meantime, unwrap candies and place them in a plastic bag.  Beat with a mallet or rolling pin until crushed.  You can crush them finely but I left some smaller chunks and thouht they looked better that way. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll cookie dough in walnut sized pieces and place on a cookie sheet.  Gently press balls flat with a plain, smooth surface.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, being careful not to burn.  Cookies will remain the same general size and shape after they bake.  Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. 

Place crushed candies in a bowl.  Microwave almond bark in 15 second intervals, stirring each time.  Dip cooled cookies in almond bark coating half the cookie.  Then sprinkle or dip into peppermints.  Gently set them on parchment or another non stick surface until they are cool before serving.  Makes about 30-35 cookies.

Pumpkin Bread

Two posts in one day, I know, don't have a heart attack on me!  Just making up for lost time :)
I got this recipe from http://www.straightupgoodfood.blogspot.com/.  Its a much healthier version of pumpkin bread and  I made a few adjustments to make it even healthier.  It comes together really quickly, bakes for 40 minutes and is delicious.  And if you haven't tried toasting pumpkin bread and then smearing a little butter on it you are missing out because it is heavenly!  Seriously it is, try it!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Dry mix:
2 cups all purpose white flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Wet mix :
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups pumpkin (Original recipe had 1 3/4 c pumpkin and 1/2 c oil)
2/3 cups sugar (Original had 1 3/4 cup sugar)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350, grease 2 loaf pans.
2. Mix all dry ingreidents in a large bowl. Stir well with a metal whisk, set aside.
3. In a medium bowl beat eggs, oil and sugar together. Add buttermilk and pumpkin and mix well.
4. Fold wet mixture into dry and stir just until blended, making sure there are no dry clumps but being careful not to overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans, bake for 1 hour, check at 55 minutes with toothpick or thin knife, which should come out clean with a few moist crumbs.
6. Let bread sit for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.

* Bread will keep wrapped in the refrigerator for 1 week or in freezer for up to 1 month.

** To make this a little less healthy you can replace wheat flour with white and add 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips. Or just keep the wheat flour and add the chocolate chips. This recipe is very versatile, add more or less of the spices to your preference or use all wheat flour for an even healthier version.

***The recipe says two loaves but they ended up being pretty short loaves...so if you like taller loaves you could easily put it all in one pan and just cook it a little longer.

Soft Ginger Snaps

I have been cooking tons lately...just too lazy to post anything!  But at the request of some friends I am posting this recipe...

During the summer KJ and Aaron were in Utah and I once again over took Aaron's parents house so I could see the Smiths.  Aaron's mom, Cindi, had made a lot of these cookies and she told me to help my self the couple of times I was up there...and  I ate a ton of them!  Soft ginger snaps have always been my favorite and this recipe immediately became my new favorite.  I have made them 3 times in the past 1.5 months!  Thank you Cindi for the recipe, you are wonderful! :)

Soft Ginger Snaps

Cream together:
1 1/2 c shortening
2 c sugar

Then beat in:
2 eggs
1/2 cup light molasses

Sift together and add:

5 c flour

2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking soda

Mix well.  Roll into small balls and roll balls in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 7 minutes until crinkles show on top.  Bake these for exactly 7 minutes, its the perfect time to make them golden brown, crinkley and soft.

When I use my tablespoon cookie scoop I get about 40 cookies.  I like them smaller so I use the 1/2 T cookie scoop and get about 80...then I can eat a ton :)
Forgive the horrid pics...I snapped them quickly on my way to FHE and had to take the cookies with me...