German Chocolate Peanut Butter Kisses

Valentine’s Day 2010

♥    ♥   ♥

Spending♥

The holiday this year is expected to generate $14.1 billion in retail sales in the United States. The number is down from last year's $14.7 billion, because a number of consumers are choosing not to spend money on Valentine's Day this year.

The average U.S. consumer is expected to spend $103 on Valentine's Day gifts, meals, and entertainment, about 50 cents more per person than in 2009.

Spouses are spending less and plan to pay $63.34 on Valentine's Day gifts for their significant other, down from last year's $67.22 average.

Friends and co-workers will spend significantly more than they did last year, and more will be spent on pets.

Gifts♥

Spending for practical gifts, such as winter clothing and accessories, is up, while only 35.6 percent of those celebrating will plan an evening out. That's down from last year's 47 percent.

U.S. men will spend nearly twice as much on the holiday as U.S. women. In 2010, the average man will spend $135.35 on Valentine's Day gifts, while a typical woman will spend $72.28.

Cards♥

As usual, greeting cards will be the most common Valentine's Day gifts. Fifty-five percent of U.S. consumers plan to send at least one.

About 190 million cards are sent each year. That figure doesn't include the hundreds of millions of cards schoolchildren exchange.

Candy♥

• About 47 percent of U.S. consumers will exchange Valentine's Day candy, which will cost about $1 billion. About 75 percent of that billion is from sales of chocolate. Chocolate has been associated with romance at least since Mexico's 15th- and 16th-century Aztec Empire.
• About eight billion little candy hearts were made last year, with sayings such as "Be Mine.

What are you doing this Valentine’s Day? And what do you normally get/give for gifts?!

German Chocolate Peanut Butter Kisses

Makes approx. 28 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 box German Chocolate cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c vegetable oil
• 1 bag Reese’s PB hearts
• 1 c roasted peanuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil thoroughly. Set aside.
• Grind up peanuts in food processor and pour into a shallow bowl or plate.

• Start taking wrappers of a hearts.

• Roll cookies into 1-inch balls and follow by rolling them in the ground peanuts.
• Bake 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet for 9-12 minutes.
• Cool for 2 minutes then press Reese’s heart into the middle.

• Let cool completely—2 hours.

1 more day of Valentine’s treats tomorrow—save the best for last!

Tis’ the Season for Twists and Tips

When you hear of peanut butter blossoms, everyone envisions the same sugar-coated, tender peanut butter cookie, topped with a half-melted Hershey’s kiss right? I love traditions and all, but I figured why not give the original a yummy twist?!

The original peanut butter blossoms:

My new and improved peanut butter bombs:

What’s the difference?

• Start with a cake mix vs a cookie mix.
• Instead of regular creamy peanut butter, I used a chocolate peanut butter, more specifically Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker Devil’s Food cake mix and ingredients called for on box
• 1/2 c chocolate peanut butter, nutella would work as well
• 1 bag of Hershey’s kisses, I used the candy cane—tis’ the season!

Directions:

• Preheat oven to the temp called for on the box.
• Mix cake mix and called for ingredients together whisking in the peanut butter towards to end.
• Roll into 1 Tbsp balls and bake according to package directions—start unwrapping kisses.
• Once out of the oven, cool for 2 minutes, add kisses, and let cool completely.

Quick tip:

I usually dread melting chocolate due to the mess it makes and all the dishes I need to do. I wish Santa would bring me a dishwasher!! So I decided why not put my measured out chocolate into a freezer quart Ziploc bag and immerse it into boiling water, let the chips melt completely, then carefully take the bag out, snip the corner and decorate/frost/eat from there!! So much easier and saves a lot of time, which is what I am looking to do this season!

 

I am going to see 2012 in the theatre tonight—it’s only about 5 degrees out---brrrrr!!

Biscotti from a Box

Biscotti- very dry, hard cookie or cracker. Biscotti originates from the Latin word biscoctus, meaning “twice-cooked/baked”. It can be stored for a good amount of time. It was used during wars due to the non-perishable characteristic.

Most people will stop at the word “twice-baked” because they think it sounds too intimidating. I know when reading recipes of biscotti from scratch, it can seem as if it requires a lot more work than just a simple slice and bake cookie. Plus you can buy biscotti in stores, especially this time of year. Even I didn’t know if I wanted to attempt biscotti for the first time, but I really wanted to tie some up in small bags and give to coffee and cookie lovers!

After much contemplating, and eventually coming upon a recipe that seemed perfect—I decided everything deserves at least one try, right?

This biscotti is made from a cake-mix, which by the way you will see used in at least half of my holiday recipes because I had a huge stockpile of cake mixes I wanted to use up. I decided on using a Betty Crocker Butter Recipe cake mix and added 1 cup of Chocolate Mint chips. You could really customize this recipe to your heart’s content—vanilla cake mix with peppermint chips, yellow cake mix with cinnamon chips, dip em’ in melted chocolate and roll in some holiday sprinkles—definitely get creative with these. So did I manage to make a half-decent biscotti?

Betty Crocker Box Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Butter Recipe cake mix
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts
• 1 cup Andes Creme De Menthe baking chips

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick cookie sheet). In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil and eggs with spoon until dough forms (some dry mix will remain). Stir in walnuts and chips, using hands if necessary.
• On ungreased cookie sheet, shape dough into 15x4-inch rectangle, using greased hands. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet on cooling rack 15 minutes.

• Cut rectangle crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes longer or until edges are deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

What combo would use create for biscotti from a box?

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 6]

Happy Monday everyone! I know this week is not going to lack on excitement and bustling all around. There's Christmas Eve and Christmas, plus I want to get out and look at lights still and of course cook for our Christmas dinner. We actually get together with our small family on Christmas Eve, then usually hang out around our house on Christmas. So for this year, my grandpa is making his famous spaghetti sauce, which I actually don't think he has a recipe for; everytime he adds more or less of something, but each time it comes out equally good. I am making the dessert, the bread, and one appetizer. I have to make my famous Hawaiin rolls, which everyone requests. They are quite a job, but well worth it. They fill the kitchen with such a sweet smell! Keep your eye out for that recipe coming soon! For the dessert, I got a recipe from Taste of Home for a Paradise Pumpkin pie, which looks stunning. Hopefully the taste will be as equally stunning! And then for the appetizer, I am still deciding, but I am leaning towards stuffed mushrooms. Needless to say, it will be a busy day, but well worth the work!

For today's cookie, I decided to make a fun one! Not only does it scream Christmas, but they took me about 20 minutes all together to make. I'm just going to call these Christmas Chocolate Cheer cookies, because they make me happy to look at them!

Christmas Chocolate Cheers
Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Butter Recipe Chocolate
1/3 C oil
2 eggs
1 tub of chocolate frosting
1 bag of Hershey's Christmas Kissables

Directions:
1)Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
2) Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute, then press your thumb into the center of each cookie. After that remove from cookie sheets.
3)Spoon some frosting into a pastry bag or a zip loc and snip the end. Pipe frosting into the indent of the cookie and top with 3 Kissables!! Gourmet in a snap! =)

A Cake Turned Cookie Journey

My inspiration for this recipe came from a funny restaurant story that took place about 2 years ago. I was at a restaurant in town and my mom and I were out for dinner. She loves carrot cake and suggested we split a piece after seeing the gigantic portion sizes. I finally agreed after much convincing on my mom's side. The conversation went like this, "Oh c'mon Cass, it's healthy. It has carrots, pineapple, and your just having half a piece." "Alright, I guess I will." I was so easily persuaded. So then the waitress brought out the 2 slices topped with a rich cream cheese frosting. She smiled and said, "Wow, I just got done throwing the box for this cake in the garbage and I glanced at the nutritional info; over 1,000 calories for one piece!" Needless to say, I about lost my appetite, but still ate it anyway, and it was good. (Yes mom, I know you are reading this and laughing that I was so easily swayed by you back in the day.) But not only did I know it wasn't healthy to have a piece of that decadent cake very often, it would be very time consuming to recreate with its' seven layers and all. So I set out to find something easier to make. Once again it started with Betty Crocker Carrot Cake mix. Why not make cookies topped with a little light cream cheese? Such a small package with a big delight.(And A LOT healthier might I add) So therefore my Carrot Cake Cookies from a box were born. But wait! There's more; I have a scrumptious recipe for from-scratch carrot cake cookies w/out the cream cheese that I made up by experiment one day. Turns out these are now a family favorite. I also bake them as much as I can for one of my mom's friends dad's who claims, "I eat the whole bag in one sitting!" Make sure you try both recipes, each have a different style/taste to them, it just depends whether you have a lot of time or not.


Betty Crocker Carrot Cake Cookies w/Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box Betty Crocker Carrot Cake Mix

1/3 C vegetable oil
2 eggs

1 tub of Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Decorative Sprinkles(optional)

1.HEAT oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.
2.BAKE at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
3.SPREAD frosting over warm cookies. If you are adding sprinkles like I did, now would be the time to do so. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies from Scratch

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ cup flour
2 cups coarsely shredded carrots
1 cup nuts
1 cup quick oats
1 cup corn flakes (I usually use Curves cereal in Honey Oat)

1/4 C raisins(optional)
2 tbsp granulated sugar

1.POSITION 2 racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2.USING an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and baking soda on medium speed until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour on low speed. Stir in carrots, nuts, oats, and corn flakes.

3.DROP heaping tbsp of dough about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake until golden. 15-20 min. Transfer to rack to cool.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

Enjoy!

My 2008 Halloween Cookie Creations

Just another look back at the fun baking I had during the fall season.

This time, I was baking for a specific purpose; one of our family friends

had asked me to bake up about 6 dozen or so cookies for her church

Harvest Fest. They would be auctioned off as prizes for the annual cake

walk. For those of you who don't know what a cake walk is, it is a giant

circle(or square) on the floor made up of numbers 1 through however many

spaces they choose to have. People pay x amount of dollars to play the game. Then once everyone is on a numbered space, the music starts and you go around in a clockwise fashion. Once the music stops, the person hosting will draw a number. If the number

you are standing on gets called, you get to go up to the table covered in goodies

(that are donated), and pick whatever you want!! It is such a fun concept. I remember

it being the main highlight of the fall season when I would go to the Penny Carnival

as a kid. You might think since the goodies are donated, they would lack flavor, but

that was hardly the case! All the older ladies would make the best breads, pies, etc.

and I knew when I got old enough to bake, I definitely wanted to contribute!

So I was ecstatic to make these cookies. I wanted to do something crazy and fun to

delight all the little kids, and hoped that they would look back on all the great goodies

when they grow up as well! I was so glad my creations turned out a success!

I also found a funny little cartoon picture showing what a cake walk looks like.

http://www.carmenlomasgarza.com/www/clgimages/wc-cakewalk.jpg

I would highly recommend using the cakewalk idea at any charity events! People

are always willing to donate baked goods, and people love even more to join in

the cakewalk fun, just like I did!!

Monster Mash Cookies

*I came up with this recipe after seeing the eery colored M&M's in Target
one day. I used my favorite base of cake mix cookies (easy, cheap, and everyone

seems to go crazy over the "cakeness of the cookie" texture) and added these

into them. After debating on a name, I finally settled on "Monster Mash" cookies,

because the colors reminded me of some ghostly monster blob sort of thing. =)

But don't be fooled, these aren't scary tasting! They're actually quite delightful.

Ingredients:

1 (18.9 oz.) box of chocolate cake mix (in this case I used the Pillsbury German Chocolate flavor)

1/3 C vegetable oil
2 large eggs

1 1/2 C Halloween mix M&M's


Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 375°F. Combine cake mix, oil and eggs in large bowl; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Add in the M&M's, saving about 2 Tbsp. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass dipped in flour. Press a couple M&M's on the top of each for a pretty display!

2.BAKE 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
3.STORE in tightly covered container.



Candy Corn Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies
Yes another cake mix cookie. I swear once you try these, you will also gravitate

toward them when situations call for huge batches of cookies, and you just don't

feel like mixing numerous batches from scratch, and dread the mess at the end.

For this one I used Pillsbury limited edition Halloween Funfetti Cake Mix along

with Hershey's candy corn kisses which are oh so cute! Result=Fun/Cute Cookie

Here's a link to a review of these fun Hershey's kisses to check out at one of my

blogs I follow(Candy Addict) http://candyaddict.com/blog/2007/09/23/candy-review-hersheys-limited-edition-kisses-candy-corn-flavor/

+= Cassie's Candy Corn Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box of Pillsbury Halloween Funfetti Cake Mix

1/3 C vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 bag of Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses

Directions:

1.Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness. While first batch is baking unwrap the kisses.
2.Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute, then press 1 kiss into the middle of each cookie; remove from cookie sheets once kisses are completely cooled and have had a chance to harden up again.
3. Store in tightly covered container.