Better Than Puuro Chex Mix

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I made this snack mix for a New Year's party this evening.  Just like I needed to  rename this cake recipe (Better Than Puuro Cake) to make it more "kid friendly", I needed to change the name of this.  I decided to keep with tradition and fall back on good old Puuro.  This is amazing!  Melts in your mouth!  Very, very sweet and rich!  A little tip:  after you have melted your caramel/chips/almond bark, pour the melted mixture into a zip-loc bag, snip a corner, close bag and squeeze for the drizzle, might be hot, put on gloves :), to better get the melted mixture into the bag, put the bag into a glass jar, fold top over sides, this will hold the bag open, leaving you with two hands for pouring and scraping sides of bowl.

Better Than Puuro Chex Mix

8  c. Chocolate Chex® cereal
3/4  c. packed brown sugar
6  T. butter or margarine
3  T. light corn syrup
1/4  tsp. baking soda
1  c. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, MINI size
1 c. miniature marshmallows
3/4  c. caramel bits (found by the chocolate chips in the baking aisle -- or chop up regular caramels)  
1-1/2 T. heavy cream (I used half/half, I had some on hand)
3/4  c. milk chocolate baking chips
2 T. peanut butter
1/2  c. white almond bark
1 tsp. coarse sea salt (I used regular table salt)

Into large microwavable bowl (I used Tupperware Thats-A-Bowl), measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil.  In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave Chex mixture on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes.  Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn't melt.) Evenly sprinkle mini peanut butter cups candy and miniature marshmallows over Chex mixture.  In small microwavable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Drizzle over snack. Microwave the milk chocolate baking chips and peanut butter next, starting with 20-seconds and stirring, then at 20 second intervals until the mixture is completely smooth (microwave temps vary, so watch the chocolate and stir frequently until it's of drizzling consistency). Drizzle over the snack mixture. Then microwave the white almond bark in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth, and drizzle that over the snack mixture.  Quickly sprinkle coarse salt over all while candy drizzles are still wet.  Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly covered container.

Double Mint Hidden Cookies

When I was a child, I would wait for my mom to make these cookies!  She would sometimes leave off the mint topping and top the cookie with a walnut half.  I wonder if my mom knows how many walnuts I removed from cookie tops to throw into the garbage......  I prefer this method, with the mint hidden inside the cookie and the Andes Mint topping, this cookie tastes like candy.  You will love the the texture, it's a "cake" type cookie, very soft.  Mint wafers can sometimes be hard to find.  My local grocery carries them by the hanging bags of bulk candy.  This is another huge recipe :)!

Double Mint Hidden Cookies
2 c. margarine
2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
1/4 c. water
2 tsp. vanilla
6 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
at least 10 oz. mint wafers (a little more)
6 dozen Andes mints

Cream butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add water and vanilla and mix well.  Add dry ingredients, mix thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Place 1 inch balls of dough on cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.  Enclose 1 mint wafer inside each ball (push mint into center of ball, pull sides up to cover).  Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven, place 1/2 of Andes mint on top of each cookie.  Let melt slightly (1-2 minutes), using spoon, spread softened mint to gently cover cookie.  Remove to cooling rack to cool. Yields approximately 6 dozen cookies.

Sloppy Joes

I found it!!  I have never been happy with my Sloppy Joes, everyone else makes them so much better!  Not any more :).  I think most people just throw stuff together when they make theirs, that doesn't work for me.  I have tried many recipes, many call for green pepper (which doesn't go over very well in this house), or they are really blah, or they just have too many "scary" ingredients.  We had some friends over after our church Christmas program.  I knew Sloppy Joes were a good idea, I could put them going before the program, they would be ready when we got home.....  Then I remembered that I don't know how to make a good Sloppy Joe.  I went online to do some hunting and this is what I found, not a green pepper in sight, yet with a pinch of cayenne pepper, just the right amount of zing (not spicy, just nice flavor).  I will admit, I thought, molasses?  I followed the recipe exactly.  This will be my Sloppy Joe recipe!

Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced 
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce 
1/2 c. ketchup 
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 
1 tsp. molasses 
1 tsp. prepared mustard 
1/2 tsp. ground mustard 
pinch cayenne pepper 
salt/pepper to taste

In a saucepan, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, prepared mustard, ground mustard and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for minimum 5 minutes (the longer the better). Serve on buns. Yield: 6 servings.
WW PointsPlus™ = 3 pts. per serving 

Mom's Peanut Blossom Cookies

As you can see from the last few posts, I'm revving up for the Christmas season with traditional holiday baking.  Typically, I don't do very much sweats baking.  This time of year, I pull out the stops!  Not only are these different treats my favorites for taste, but also the wonderful feeling of nostalgia that comes with each pan, as it's pulled from the oven.  The smells themselves bring me back to childhood, helping mom unwrap the candies, roll the dough.  Many, many fond memories...

Mom's Peanut Blossom Cookies
1-3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Hershey's Kiss candies (1 bag of kisses covers double batch)

Cream butter and peanut butter, add sugars, egg and vanilla.  Mix well.  Blend in dry ingredients, mix well.  Roll into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar, put onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 375° for 8 minutes, remove from oven, top each cookie with Kiss, return to oven for an additional 2 minutes.  Remove to cooling rack.  Makes 3 dozen cookies.
WW PointsPlus™ = 3 pts. per cookie

Chocolate Mint Meltaways

I think everyone has their favorite Holiday cookies, one my favorites from childhood?  Mint Hideaways, which are really good, but a bit putzy.  I'm sure I will still make them, as for today, I made these.  It's a cookie I had at a friends last Christmas season, this was my first attempt.  Excellent!  If you like a soft and chewy chocolate mint cookie, you will love these!  This recipe is huge.  When I made it I cut it in half.  Don't question the fact that there is no salt or vanilla, this is accurate.

Chocolate Mint Meltaways
3 c. brown sugar
1-1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. water
4 c. chocolate chips
4 eggs
5 c. flour
2-1/2 t. soda
2 tsp. peppermint extract
 Andes mints (approximately 156)

Cream sugar, butter and water.  Add chocolate chips, eggs and extract, mix well.  Mix together dry ingredients, mix with rest of batter.  Chill dough.  Line cookie sheet with tinfoil (shiny side up), strange instruction, but do it.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls, place on foil.  Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.  Top each cookie with Andes mint, let set for about 1 minute, turn quarter turn (I had 2 pans going at the same time, when each cookie had a mint, I immediately went back to first one, the mint was perfect softness for turning).  Remove to cooling rack.  Makes about 13 dozen.
WW PointsPlus™ = 3 pts. per cookie

Tender Gingersnap Cookies

Soft gingersnaps are my all time favorite!  I much prefer a chewy cookie versus crunchy.   These definitely portray the tastes and smells of the season. Cloves, cinnamon and ginger blended into one delicious cookie! For a festive edge, half dip in melted white chocolate or for quick and ease use white almond bark as I did here. 

Tender Gingersnap Cookies1 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses
2-1/4 c. flour
1-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 c. sugar
white almond bark, melted (optional)

In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until blended. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves; gradually add to brown sugar mixture and mix well (dough will be stiff). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Shape dough into 1 in. balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.  Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 3 dozen.
 WW PointsPlus™ = 3 pts. per cookie (without white chocolate)