Waffle cones

Sometimes the circumstances that drive me to try a new recipe are beyone strange. For example, today Jay treated three of the girls to Call Hall for ice cream, Maggie snuck sugar multiple times today (tomorrow's going to U.G.L.Y.) and I'm hungry for a snack and too broke to go out for ice cream.

Thus, waffle cones. Because I don't have to share (they are full from the sweet snack) and it doesn't have to be sugar/cinnamon free (because Maggie is in trouble) and I have all the ingredients (so no run to town.)

And if you're going to do waffle cones, who better to mimic than Miss Butter Herself, Paula Deen.

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted (see, Paula Deen at her best!)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
Nonstick cooking spray

1. Beat sugar, vanilla, and eggs until cream.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients into the sugar/egg mixture.
4. Spray waffle iron (or even better, a pizzelle iron, but since I don't have one of those, a waffle iron)
5. Pour 3/4 Tablespoons batter onto iron and cook until baked and brown.
6. While still hot, I pushed them into a cupcake pan to make little waffle bowls. They'll come out squishy but will harden to a crisp as they sit.
7. Once cooled, serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Easy desserts

My mom loves holiday baking. Growing up, Christmas memories always include heaping stacks of goodies filling the countertop. Cookies, divinity, peanut brittle, peanut clusters, 7-layer bars, melted circle candies, hard candy, oyster crackers, chocolate covered everything...Yum! And that's just the desserts! Even for someone who doesn't like chocolate or peanut butter, my mom's kitchen was and still is the place to be for Christmas.

Well, now I have my own kitchen and my own brood to pass on the Christmas baking traditions. I prefer to make things that the girls can help me make, and it's a little more challenging, what with Maggie's sucrose and lactose intolerance. But, my countertop is getting more and more loaded. Here are two of the favorites from tonight:

Thin Mints

1 cup Nestle dark chocolate and mint chips
1 sleeve Ritz crackers

1. Melt the mint chocolate chips in the microwave, following the directions on the bag.
2. Drop a cracker into the melted chocolate, completely coating the cracker.
3. Place the coated cracker on a sheet of waxed paper. Let cool and set up completely.

Forgotten Cookies (Thanks, Alison, for the recipe)

1 egg white
1 pinch of salt
1/3 cup Splenda or sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy.
   
3. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks.
   
4. Fold in the vanilla and chocolate chips.
   
5. Spoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.
6. Place the cookies into the preheated oven, shut the door and turn off the oven immediately.
7. Let cookies sit in the turned off oven for 5 to 6 hours or overnight.

Apple Pie Oatmeal Bars

One word: delicious! Jay found this recipe on one of his garden forums and adapted it to use his own jam.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
3/4 cup butter
2 cups Jay's Apple Pie Jam

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and quick cooking oatmeal in a medium bowl. Cut in 3/4 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Pat two-thirds into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
4. Spoon apple pie jam evenly on top.
5. Sprinkle the top with the remaining crumb mixture.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until crispy brown on top. Cool before cutting into bars.

Happy Halloween! Witches Hats

This is my girls' favorite treat for school parties this time of year.

Witches Hat

Ingredients

Self-sealing plastic bag

1 can chocolate frosting

20 chocolate ice cream cones

Candy corn or assorted small candies

20 2- to 3-inch chocolate cookies

Directions

1. Fill plastic bag with some chocolate frosting. Seal bag and cut a very small end off one corner of the bag and set aside.
2. For each hat, invert one ice cream cone and fill with about 2 tablespoons candy corn or small candies.
3. Pipe some frosting from bag along bottom edge of cone.
4. Press a cookie against frosting. Carefully invert right side up onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Decorate outside of cone with small candies, using additional frosting as necessary.