Cherry Pie Cookies

I really love the melt in your mouth buttery flavor of these cookies!  I found them on the Recipe Critic's site.  She does some amazing stuff!  I loved the red and white colors for Christmas.  They are also great because they whip up in no time and taste elegant with the white chocolate drizzle on top! 

All you do is mix the dough quickly with your mixer, then dish it out on parchment lined pans with a medium cookie scoop.  Add canned cherry pie filling and bake.  Drizzle with melted candy almond bark and you have one amazing cookie!  Here are the ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup margarine, softened
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 21 ounce Cherry Pie Filling
• ½ cup white chocolate baking chips or white almond bark

 To find the directions for preparing these wonderful cookies click here:    Cherry Pie Cookies
 (I doubled the dough and it was about perfect for using the whole can of cherries!)

What is your favorite Christmas Cookie Recipe???

This recipe was shared on these great sites! 
My Personal Accent 
A Pinch of Joy 
I should be mopping the floor 

Goo Goo Clusters

     This homemade candy recipe is super fun and easy so I wanted to get it up on the blog so any of you looking for quick homemade gift could get it in time for the Holidays! 

     I found these candies on a website a couple of years ago and have loved making this recipe.  They only take about 1/2 hour to make and are fun to give as neighbor gifts.  The marshmellows can be found at Walmart along with the carmel bits. 

     

Here is how you do it:

Ingredients

1 package Stacker Mallows (thin marshmallows)  8oz. bag.  Mine had 46 in it and I used them all.
11 oz. bag Caramel Bits.  (any caramel would work but these are much easier than unwrapping them.)
2 Tablespoons milk
12 to 16 oz peanuts.  (I used Great Value Cocktail peanuts)
32 oz chocolate.  

(I have used both chocolate almond bark and Callebaut wafers and they were both good). The ones pictured in this blog are the Callebaut dark chocolate Snaps and look semisweet but were sweet and tasted very good.)

     Begin by setting up a couple of cookie sheets and line with parchment paper.  Set out the marshmallows.  These have a concave side and a rounded side.  I set them with the concave side up because it holds the caramel a little bit better. 

     Then put the caramel bits in a microwave safe bowl and heat with the milk for 1 minute. Stir with a fork and then keep heating for 15 second intervals until the caramel is melted and smooth.
Pour the peanuts on a plate and set up your workstation together like this:

     Now you can pick up a marshmallow and use a knife to fill the center of it with caramel.  Then turn the whole thing over and press lightly into the nuts. 

     Set them down on the cookie sheet to cool for about 20 minutes. 

     When they are firm, melt the chocolate in the microwave until smooth when stirred.  (I stir every 15 to 30 seconds. The container should be deep and tall but wide enough to easily get the chocolates out with a fork.  I use my 2 cups Pyrex measuring cup.

     Drop them in and cover with chocolate.  Lift out with a fork.  Wipe off excess chocolate from underneath side of fork and set on the cookie sheet to harden.

     As the chocolate cools it will turn from glossy to a dull color.  You can see that the closest chocolates are not yet set and the furthest chocolates are dull and set.

There you go! These are melt in your mouth delicious!

This recipe was shared with these wonderful sites!
Wonderful at Home 
Naptime Creations 
The Recipe Critic 
Kitchen Meets Girl 
Anyonita's Nibbles 
A to Zebra Celebrations 
A Pinch of Joy! 
My Personal Accent 
The Wondering Brain 
Blog Hop Blitz 

Raspberry Cream Mousse for Christmas! My Salt Tree Guest post is now here!

What a wonderful time of year!  I am so thankful for many blessings that make my life rich every day.  I am very thankful for my family and the freedoms we enjoy.  

Whatever your traditions are for this day of thanks, I hope you are able to do the things you love with those you love!  

Have a very Happy Day!


I am also grateful to be able to post here today for Salt Tree's Christmas Cavalcade.  It is a great opportunity to share with you and enjoy getting to know other fantastic bloggers who will contribute in the days to come!  

      For this occasion, I decided I needed to come up with something special, unique and exciting to share with all of you.  I am so very happy to say that everything came together and I am so pleased to debut this delicious and easy to make dessert for you. 

There are so many special events and get togethers in the holiday months ahead that you really need a supply of awesome "go to" recipes.  We don't want any panic moments when you are asked to come up with something right?  Here is one that is easy to make and will delight any guest.

      This was inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart here, but as delicious as that sounds, time is short during the holidays, so this is a simplified version that has unbelievable flavor and is much easier to make. 

 Here you go!

Raspberry Cream Mousse

Ingredients:

1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping Cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla
3 oz. softened cream cheese (not pictured)
1/2 cup Welch's Natural Raspberry Spread
1 Tablespoon Raspberry Jello powder
12 Mother's Iced Lemonade Cookies (Or lemon Oreo size cookies)
Mint leaves and Fresh Raspberries for garnish

     Whip heavy whipping cream in a mixer until it forms semi stiff peaks.  Add powdered sugar until well blended.  Remove 1/2 of the cream and place in another bowl.  Add softened cream cheese to the whip cream (that is still in the mixer bowl) and mix until cream cheese is blended throughout. 

     In the other bowl, add the Raspberry Spread to the whip cream by gently folding it in until it is all incorporated.  Sprinkle jello powder on top and also fold in well.  (The jello will be grainy at first but in just a few minutes it will dissolve).   

 Place one Mother's lemonade cookie in each cup of a mini cheesecake pan.  I love my pan and if you want one you can find them here or here.  My pan is the bright aluminum type and so it reacted with the acid in the raspberry spread and turned a little bit blueish.  If you are planning to make this a lot buy one that has the non stick coating to prevent this.  I just lined the outside of the cups with parchment paper and that also helped them come out of the pan much easier.

Using a medium cookie scoop, drop one scoopful of the white whip cream mixture in each cup. 

     Spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon.  Then repeat with the raspberry mixture.
    If you do not have a mini cheesecake pan, you can line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper leaving enough so that it hangs over the side by a couple of inches and line the bottom with graham crackers instead of the cookies. I used a bread pan for the extra mousse and that works too.   Layer the whip cream mixture first and the raspberry mix last.

Then cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours. 

Remove from pan and carefully take the parchment paper off of the sides.  Then use a spatula if needed to even the sides up. 

Cut into squares if desired. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge in a air tight container until served.

Place fresh raspberries and mint leaves to garnish right before serving.

So elegant and festive!  Happy Holidays!
This recipe was shared with these great sites:
A to Z Celebrations 
The Recipe Critic 
Naptime Creations 
Kitchen Meets Girl 
Smart School House 
Mommifried 
My Personal Accent 
The Country Cook 
Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons