Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Here are some pictures of the girls today opening up their gifts. Its so much fun to see the girls get excited about their gifts. Both girls enjoyed their new rides!
Well today was suppose to be a normal day with baking. I thought I would kick off Brian's 5 day weekend with homemade cinnamon rolls. The recipe called for 10.5 cups of flour! I thought it was a lot, but my kitchen aid could handle it. It calls for mixing it for 10 minutes. By 5 minutes in, it started to make the buzzing sound and smoke filled my kitchen. When Brian tried to turn it on again, it would not start! I almost started crying. I use my kitchen aid at least once a day. He went online to see how much a new one in my favorite apple green color would be. Well, if anyone has priced them they are around $350. Since I just got my less than 2 years ago, I couldn't see spending that again. To make the story short, Brian called the 1800 number on the back of the kitchen aid. The man ask him a couple of questions, and said that they will ship us a brand new one. The only thing we would have to do it send the old one back to them in the box they send us. When Brian told me what was going to happen, I started balling. Not sure if its the pregnancy hormones, but all I could say was GOD IS GOOD! Last Christmas Eve I started our oven on fire and need to buy an new one, and this year the kitchen aid. I am so glad God helps us out with the little things in life!
My Kitchen Aid Broke!
Before they went in the oven
Just out of the oven
Now those look delicious!
Brian said they were AWESOME!
I have been baking a lot lately, just haven't had the energy to post. Pregnancy is getting the better of me these days. Here are some of the new recipes I have done.
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars
I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it is probably going to be one of my favorites! I have already made it twice, and both times it was gone in hours!
2 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk ( I accidently used egg whites and it came out awesome!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil leaving a
little hanging over the edges for easy removal. Spray foil with cooking
spray.
Mix flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk the
melted butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add dry
ingredients and fold in until just blended. Don't over mix. Fold in the chocolate
chips and place in pan using a spatula to smooth out the top.
Bake until the top of the bars are light golden brown, slightly firm to the
touch, and edges start to pull away from the pan. The recipe says about 24-28
minutes but I had to cook mine for about 33. Keep an eye on them. Cool
completely and remove from pan.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Holiday Bark
I took this recipe from moneysavingmom.com. I was a little skeptical about this one at first. This was so easy to make. My neighbors enjoyed it also. It keeps bringing you back for that sweet salty taste!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Holiday Bark
One sleeve of Saltine crackers (you can use an off-brand)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chips
1/3 cup peanut butter
Chopped M&M’s (or other candies or nuts)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and lay crackers on the the pan (make sure the cookie sheet has sides, otherwise, you’ll end up with sticky burned goo all over your oven!). Leave a small amount of space between the crackers (see an example of how these should look here).
Bring sugar and butter to a boil in a saucepan on medium heat. Turn down to medium low heat and boil for 3 minutes, without stirring.
Pour boiling mixture over crackers on the cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
Spoon the peanut butter on top of the crackers and bake for another minute. Spread melted peanut butter over the crackers with spatula and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Return to the oven and bake for another minute.
Spread the now-melted chocolate chips evenly over the crackers with a spatula. Top with M&M pieces and freeze until hardened (this will take 1-2 hours).
Once these are hardened, remove break into pieces and store in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer for up to four weeks.
Best Brownies
1/2 cupbutter
3 tablespoonsbutter, softened
3 tablespoonsunsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoonhoney
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.
Here are some pictures of the girls opening up their presents from our Church Christmas party. We had such a great time fellowshipping, and spending time with our church family.
Well its Christmas baking time! I usually do all my baking in 1-2 days. Since I am 7 1/2 months prego its a little hard standing that long! I decided I would do a little each day and see how far I get. On the list today, was Peanut Butter Bon-Bons. I have never made these before, but I am sure that they will be a hit. It seems our family loves anything with chocolate and peanut butter~
Peanut Butter /Rice Cereal & Power Sugar Mixture
Julia Mixing them together!
Now ready to form into balls
Julia making the balls
Getting the chocolate ready for dipping!
Dipping the Bon-Bons
* I finished using a spoon, it seemed easier!
It calls for a 12 oz. bag, but for some reason
I ended up using a 24 oz. bag!
Don't those look yummy~
Someone is going to be excited when he gets home from work!
* This amount of chocolate is just enough to cover each ball. If you coat them very thick, you will need more chocolate than this.
Directions:
Melt peanut butter and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir in vanilla. Add rice cereal and powdered sugar and mix well (it might seem a little dry at first but will start holding together the more you mix. I usually finish up the mixing using my hands). Form into 1-inch balls, firmly packed. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm (at least 30 minutes). In a saucepan (or the top of a double broiler), melt the chocolate chips and oil together over very low heat, stirring often.** Using a toothpick, dip each peanut butter ball in the chocolate and place on wax-paper lined cookie sheets (I go back later and smooth out the toothpick hole on the top of each bon-bon). Chill until firm. These can be eaten cold or at room temperature (or even frozen… but I’m weird like that!) **You want the chocolate to stay in a nice, warm “liquid-y” state during all the dipping. I don’t have a double broiler, so I usually take the saucepan on and off of the very low heat several times during the process. You can also add a little more oil if you need to.
Today we decided to go up to the Sierra Mountains to find some snow. Julia has never seen snow, and we heard that it snowed up there. Unfortunately, there was no snow. I am hoping next month when we go camping for Julia's birthday, we will finally be able to see some snow!
