Jolene's Recipe Journal

Each year I make a Christmas baking plan that's pretty ambitious.  This year, I'd got in my head that I was going to make some brownies and decorate them like trees, but then I wound up doing some tree shaped shortbread instead.  Since I already had the brownie mix, I went searching for ideas of how to use it and my friend Sue suggested these Brownie Crackles from Taste of Home.  I had all the ingredients on hand except the semi sweet chips, so I used dark chocolate chips instead. I think I like these even better than the traditional chocolate crinkles, the flavor and the texture are amazing.  They were a big hit at our gathering on Christmas Eve, so they'll definitely be on the master list for next year!  Thank you to Ellen G. for sharing her recipe, and to Sue for putting it on my radar! Print With Image Without Image Brownie Crackles ingredients: 1 package fudge brownie mix (13x9-inch pan size) 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 large egg 1/2

Christmas morning is hectic for me with the prep for the main meal, so I like to have a breakfast done up ahead that's all ready to go.  Sometimes it's muffins, sometimes it's a baked french toast.  This year I went with Gingerbread Buttermilk Waffles from Taste of Home. I made them exactly as the recipe stated.  Take the time to grate the spices fresh, it really makes such a difference.  I got 7 waffles in my iron.  However, I didn't mark them as off limits, and my son snagged a couple.  He gave them two thumbs up, so I went ahead and made a second batch. I froze them solid on cookie sheets, and then moved them to a ziptop bag.  They can be reheated in the microwave or in the toaster.  They'll be served with NH maple syrup, along with some nice crispy bacon.  Print With Image Without Image Gingerbread Buttermilk Belgian Waffles ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3/4 teaspoon

Earlier this month I made Snowy Mountain Cookies and they were such a huge hit I decided to make a variation of them for Christmas.  I left out the walnuts due to allergies, and this time around I cut the shortbread out with a tree shaped cutter. I made a quick powdered sugar glaze and tinted it green. You could also flavor it with vanilla or peppermint if you liked, I just left mine plain.  I piped it on the trees and then added an M&M before the glaze set. Let the cookies sit on a rack or parchment until the glaze is completely set.  I like to leave mine overnight, then I move them to an airtight container. I love how they turned out!  It also would be fun to do reindeer or ornament shapes, just change out the icing colors accordingly. Christmas Tree Shortbread Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1 1/4 cups butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 2 cup

I was a bonafide veggie hater growing up, but over the last 10 years or so I've really tried to expand the variety of produce that I eat. It's helped that I live in an area that's loaded with farms and orchards.  One of my recent discoveries is delicata squash.  I used it for these Quinoa Stuffed Squash Boats last year, and was so happy to find it again on my last visit. While scrolling through Instagram I saw a friend had posted a recipe from Taste of Home called Crunchy Honey Glazed Butternut Squash.  I just happened to have 2 nice sized delicata on hand. Depending on the type of squash you use, you may have to microwave it as the recipe states to get it soft enough to slice.  I was able to slice mine without doing that, and I did not peel it. I opened the cabinet I discovered that my son had used all the honey but a tablespoon or so.  It's the law that if you live in New England you have to have real maple syrup on hand at all times, so I used that

This is a sponsored post.  I received product from Nielsen-Massey for use in this recipe.   All opinions are my own.   It's the most wonderful time of the year- holiday baking time! I've been making cookies for our family gathering for over 20 years, and I'm constantly hunting for something new and different.  I found these Brown Butter Chocolate Snickerdoodles on the Nielsen-Massey website, and I couldn't wait to give them a try.  I used Nielsen-Massey's Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extrac t in this recipe, which is available by itself or as part of their Holiday Flavors Bundle . I used my trusty cookie scoop to portion the dough, because it's a huge time saver.  All the cookies come out uniform size and shape and cook much more evenly. I initially only baked up half the dough, and planned on freezing the rest to make the week of Christmas, but they were devouring them so fast I wasn't going to have enough to photograph! They're del

I'm happy to be joining the Baking Bloggers for December's theme- snow!  Mother Nature must have thought I needed some inspiration because we got nearly two feet of the white stuff over the last week.  I chose this recipe from Taste of Home because I loved the story that went with it. Stephanie B. went to school where she could see the Alps from her window.  New Hampshire's White Mountains are one of my favorite places to visit, but I also thought of our summer trip to Alaska, and how beautiful Denali was, covered in snow even in July. I did make a few changes to the recipe.  I left out the nuts due to allergies.  I also used a powdered sugar glaze for the snow because my guys don't really love white chocolate. I used about 1/3c of powdered sugar and 2t water to get the consistency I wanted.   I couldn't get my hands on a triangle shaped cookie cutter, so I used a ruler and a pizza wheel. They didn't all turn out exactly the same shape, but I t

I am a fan of all things gingerbread, desserts, coffee, you name it.  I've got quite the stockpile of recipes in my to-try file, but when I ran across these Caramel Gingerbread Cupcakes from Taste of Home, they went directly to the top of the list! The only things I changed was to use whole milk instead of 2%, that's what we keep on hand. I also ground the nutmeg, cloves, and ginger fresh in a spice mill.  The smell was amazing!  I'm going to be upfront and say, my piping skills are terrible.  I have such beautiful designs planned in my mind, but they rarely make it to the item that I'm decorating.  That's when I bust out the sprinkles!  Sprinkles just make everything more attractive.  In this case, I used Sweets and Treats Reindeer Food Mix. Aren't they adorable? And I just want to put that caramel frosting on every single thing I bake now, it's so good.  Thanks so much to Delanie S. for sharing her recipe!  These definitely will be

Really excited to be participating in #ChristmasSweetsWeek 2019!  If there's one thing that I know that my guys will always enjoy, it's holiday goodies.  I'm kicking things off with a cookie that's become an instant family favorite, Angel Sugar Crisps. I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website, and only made a few small changes.  First up, I used a cookie scoop to form the balls. I just find it so much easier than doing it freehand, and consistent cookies always bake much better. I rolled my cookies in raw sugar, but you can also use granulated or colored sugars.  Based on the size of my scoop, I got 30 cookies, and they took about 10 minutes to bake. The crunchy, sparkly sugar outside and the delicious vanilla flavor will make these the perfect addition to your holiday cookie trays. Thanks so much to Annabel C. for sharing her recipe! Thank you so much to Terri and Christie for hosting #ChristmasSweetsWeek! Be sure to check out all the awesome rec