Belle Papier {pretty paper}

Christmas is coming and I’m starting to get ready for it. Over the past week, I’ve started Christmas shopping…with large families…a huge job! I’ve also taken some time to pull out my favorite holiday baking recipes and think ahead to what I need. I love holiday baking. It just doesn’t seem to be Christmas without it. As I’ve been super busy over the past week, today I thought I’d share some of my favorite cookie and bar recipes. You know how is it always great to try out something that comes recommended by a friend? Also, if you want a bunch of great recipes and ideas…make sure you scroll through the comments on this post….Spreading a little Christmas Cheer. So many of you were so kind to share some awesome ideas, traditions and recipes and they are really fun to look through!

Shortbread

3 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 dash salt

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

Mix ingredients together in a food processor…should form a thick stiff dough. Pat into 2 8″ round pans. Mark each into 12 wedges and prink with fork. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and cut into wedges. Remove when cool. Store in tightly sealed container.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Cream butter and peanut butter together. Gradually beat in sugars. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Stir in drey ingredients. Toll dough, a teaspoonful at a time, into balls; place 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.. Flatten with fork and top with cut up candied cherry if desired. Bake at 375°F for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Eggnog Cookies - Mrs. Fields recipe

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup margerine

1/2 cup egg nog

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 300°F. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mis well. In large bowl, cream sugar and butter with an electric mixer to form a grainy paste. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet one inch apart. Sprinkle with nutmeg if desired. Bake for 23-25 minutes. Immediately transfer to cool.

Quick Tip: Use the leftover egg whites from the above recipe to make the meringues below…

Holiday Meringues - so pretty and festive with colored sugar on top

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat over to 200°F. Line 2 cookies sheets with foil or waxed paper, wetting corners of cookie sheets to hold linings in place. Beat egg whites with mixer on medium speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted. On high speed, gradually add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff, very white and glossy. Beat in vanilla. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with large star shape tip. Pipe small mounds one inch apart on cookie sheets. Sprinkle with decors if desired. Bake 3-4 hours until meringues are dry and crisp all the way through. Cool on sheet on a wire rack. Peel off liner. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.

Gingersnaps -  these melt in your mouth…one of my faves

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups margerine

3/4 cup lard

1/2 cup molasses

2 large eggs

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking soda

Cream and beat first four ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients. Roll into balls. Coat with sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack.

Happy baking! Wishing you a fabulous holiday season with lots of treats to enjoy!

Since I can’t upload anything onto this computer I’m using at an office to check my e-mail, I thought I’d share some great easy recipes with you that I love to use. They are slowcooker recipes and what got me thinking about this is my upcoming kitchen renovation. It is NOT going to be fun.

Right now construction is in full swing. DH has dug a new basement addition and had dug out the crawl space under the kitchen. Century old houses are always a lot of work. I have a lot of dust and the house is freezing but at least the kitchen is intact…for now. Once we start on that, I’m not goign to be able to cook with my range. I was trying to think up how I’m goign to feed 7 people without it. Hmmmm…. The slow cooker and my BBQ will be a life saver. I have a couple favorite Slow cooker recipes that are SO easy, I thought you might enjoy trying them out too. And with this entry, I’d like to ask for your help as well. Do you have any good slow-cooker recipes or recipes for those new roasting ovens? I have one of those as well. If you’d care to share one, I’d love to try it out. Post it to your blog and link back to this entry, post in a comment on this entry, e-mail it to me…whatever. If a few kind people wish to share, it would really help me out and also, I’m sure others as well, would love to see your recipes.

Here are my quick and easy ones….

BBQ Pork

one boneless pork loin roast

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Place roast in slow cooker. Pour BBQ sauce over top. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shread pork with forks and serve on buns.

Taco Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 package of taco seasoning

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Sprinkle with taco mix. Cook for4-6 hours on low. Shread meat and serve in tortillas with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and taco sauce.

Told you they were easy! But they are great family friendly recipes. More time to stamp! And I’m sincerely hoping my new wireless modem will arrive today so I can actually post some new designs! I’m trying to hang in there….

After coloring all that ice cream the other day, I needed a little something sweet. I decided to try out a new recipe that my cousin’s wife shared with me last weekend at the lake. It is sooooooo super easy! And sooooo super sweet! It has been so long since I shared a recipe here that I thought you might like to try it out too. Yes…. it does sound a little bizarre and yes, it is not cheap but cut them small and you’ll be fine! LOL sorry I didn’t get a pic…you know how it is in this household….way too many people with a very sweet tooth! I don’t even no what they are called so I’ll make up my own name for them…

Super Skor Bars

1 package of low-sodium Ritz crackers

1 can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 package of Chipits Skor bits

1 can of vanilla pre-made icing

Instructions: Crush crackers finely and mix together with condensed milk and Skor bits. Press into bottom off 8×8″ square baking pan and bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool. Spread with icing and refrigerate.

Now how easy is that?! And trust me, it is yummy! If you make it or actually know the name for this recipe…let me know! I’d love to hear from you! I’ll be back shortly with a card design to share with you today.

OK…soooooo! Today I’m shakin it up a little and not sharing one of my favorite tools or goodies, I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes! Pavlova{C’est Bon} (it’s good) !

I don’t remember the first time I ever had this dessert…it is something I grew up on. My mom, aunt and “Nany” (grandma) all made it for special occasions and it was always a favorite. My aunt gave my a hand-written recipe for it at one of my bridal showers, eighteen years ago and I’ve pulled out the recipe card, many times since.

Now if you haven’t tried Pavlova…you simply must! It really is worth making. So light and airy, made of a crisp meringue crust with a slightly soft center, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit….it is a perfect dessert for summer. I love making it all year and if berries aren’t in season, I top it with sliced Kiwi and well-drained mandarin oranges.

Pavlova is named after the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova and originated in Australia or New Zealand….both lay claim to it. This dessert is extremely popular in Britain and it is so interesting to see how many of my relatives and their friends from Northern Ireland make it as well.

Pavlova is really easy to make. I baked this up on Friday morning as I needed a dessert to bring for a BBQ I was going to. Actually, I doubled it and made two…one disappears rather quickly at a large get-together. There wasn’t a crumb left. :)It doesn’t take long to whip up the bottom and put it in the oven. Make sure you do have time for it to cool properly though. It is really quick to make but it does take some planning ahead. One of the things I like best about this dessert is the very basic and short ingredients list… egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, whipping cream and berries.

Pavlova Recipe

Heat oven to 275° oven. cover cookie sheet with heavy brown paper or parchment paper.

Beat 3 egg white and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar in smallmixing bowl until foamy. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do no underbeat.

Shape meringue on paper into about a 9 inch circle with back of spoon building up the side about a good inch in depth. Bake 1.5 hours. Turn off oven and leave in oven with door closed 1 hour or overnight. Cool at room temperature. Beat up real whipping cream and put on top of  base. Top with fresh fruit.

Are you sensing a trend here among my recipes?! Lots and lots of chocolate. We all love it. Probably way too much! I made this recipe Thursday and thought I’d share it here with you. It is one of my faves and so easy! Perfect for a large family. I had GOOD intentions of taking a photo of them for you….alas, they promptly disappeared before I had the chance! So I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it that these are good! LOL Or maybe the fact that they disappeared quickly will do it for you.

We’re off the the lake today! Can’t wait! It’s been since last fall and even though it’s not warm enough here yet to swim…just feeling the sand between our toes will be awesome! It’s been a stressful week here and what is better for that than walking on the beach and breathing that fresh air?! The boats will be mostly in the harbor by now and the kids always love to walk down to see them too.  I’ll try and take some pics to share with you later! This weekend is Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada. Long weekends always seem extra special just made for spending time with your family.

One Bowl Chocolate Brownies

This recipe originally came from a Baker’s Chocolate package. I’ve altered it to use cocoa instead of semi-sweet chocolate in the recipe.

3/4 cup cocoa

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

2 or 3 eggs (two for fudgey brownies, three for cakey brownies)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add cocoa and mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and 1 cup of nuts if desired. Spread inot greased 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Do not overbake.

Frosting (if desired): Mix 2 tablespoons butter, 2 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate and 1/4 cup milk together in saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups icing sugar. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut into squares….enjoy!

This recipe freezes well if you can keep it around that long! LOL

Oh so yummy and perfect for summer. You don’t have to bake it and it is great to make ahead! My MIL is here for the weekend and as it is one of her favorites, as well as mine…I thought it would be nice to have a treat. Also, since one of my readers requested the recipe…I’ve been looking for a reason to make it and share the recipe with you.:)

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake

Crust:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

Melt better in medium saucepan over medium heat. (Microwave works fine too) Stir in crumbs, sugar and cocoa. Press crumbs into ungreased 9-inch springform pan, bottom and sides.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

11 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

2/3 cup Chocolate Flavored Syrup (I use Hershey’s…the kind of topping ice cream)

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 teaspoon hot water

1 cup whipping cream, whipped or 500 mL of Frozen Whipped Topping

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in milk and chocolate syrup.

Dissolve coffee in water. Add to cheese mixture.

Beat cream until stiff. Fold into cheese batter. Pour into prepared pan. Freeze

This recipe comes from Company’s Coming Desserts Recipe book by Jean Pare. She is a Canadian author of a huge, very popular series of recipe books. I love them because they are so practical and great family recipes. The desserts recipes book is now a classic and was one of the few recipe books I received as a Bridal shower gift 18 years ago. It now looks a little worn as it has received a lot of use in my house.:) Jean Pare and Company’s Coming were a feature article series in the Taste of Home magazine a few years ago. Company’s Coming now has its own web-site…you may want to check it out.

Check back in tomorrow for a {C’est Bon} article featuring a product I love!

It’s been pretty crazy around here this week. I’ve been very busy with Joshua who is much improved but you know, still kind of cranky! I’ve also been busy doing write-ups, and working on some design calls…so many things to do and just not enough time.

 I thought I’d share one of our favorite family dessert recipes with you! As my oldest DS would say…chocolatey goodness. So yummy and chocolatey (is that a word!?LOL) and so easy to make. Chocolate is one of my many weaknesses and this is definite comfort food. It is one of my daughter’s faves and we made it last Thursday night for my MIL’s visit. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Hot Fudge Cake

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla until smooth. Spread in an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan. Combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over all; do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

My daughter has been asking me to teach her how to make sticky buns. I told her we’d make them on the March Break….can’t believe how fast the week has slipped by! So Friday afternoon…I decided we’d better get down to business and just do it. I couldn’t even find my recipe, it has been SO long since I made them. So I did some cookbook looking, so web surfing and pieced together a recipe from various sources to make up one the most like my old recipe. I think we hit a winner!

Julia’s Sticky Buns

1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter or magarine, cut up
4 cups bread flour ( I just used All-purpose)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add all ingredients to bread machine. Set on dough cycle and start. When dough cycle is complete…remove dough, punch down and let rest for 10 minutes.
In bottom of 9 x 13″ baking pan mix 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup. Add pecans if desired.
Divide in half dough in half. Roll out dough into large rectange. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up length wise and pinch seam. Cut into 9 pieces and arrange in half of pan. Repeat with other half. Cover with Cling wrap and tea towel and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes until doubled. Remove covers and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Turn over onto large tray so that glaze runs over the buns. Enjoy!

Every Saturday morning we have a hot breakfast. It is one of the only days of the week where we can all eat breakfast together and the kids always enjoy it. Sometimes it is pancakes, sometimes French Toast, bacon and eggs is a popular favorite, but this morning it was waffles. I always love Donkey’s quote and accent from Shrek, “And in the morning, we’re making waffles!” I think that it is all in how he says it! My daughter and I whipped up some waffles this morning with some raspberry sauce and some real maple syrup….what a treat! I thought that I’d share my recipe with you this morning.

Recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flower

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1.5 cups milk

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons butter or margerine, melted

1. Preheat wafflemaker, beat egg white until stiff, but not dry, Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and creamy.
3. Continue beating adding milk
4. Mix dry ingredietns together and gradually add to milk and egg mixture: beat until smooth.
5. Fold in stiffly beaten egg white and melted butter
6. Add 1/2 cup batter to preheated waffle iron. Bake until golden, about 3 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

For my large family, I make this recipe 1.5 times the amount.

I’m cooking up a little something sweet…in the kitchen as well as at my stamping desk. We were out of lunch box goodies this morning so I whipped up a little coffee cake treat to send with them to school. It is a good morning when you have laundry on and baking in the oven by 7:10! I got this recipe from my SIL Robin and it is oh, so, yummy! Stay tuned for the sweet little papercraft project I’m working on later today.

 Choco Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon EACH baking powder & baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, 1 egg together. Mix well. Beat in 2nd egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, soda and sour cream. Beat to mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Turn into greased 9 x 13 pan.

Topping: Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 2 teaspoons cocoa and 1/4 cup butter together until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup nuts if desired.  Sprinkle over top of batter. Bake in 350° oven for 45 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

This recipe is great for making ahead and can be frozen. I made mine in two 8″ round pans. They cook a little quicker this way (adjust time accordingly) an d you can freeze one of them easily. Not that that would ever happen with this large a family! To make it look as good as it tastes…I just take a few extra seconds to sprinkle it with icing sugar and drizzle the top with chocolate sauce.