Holiday Cookie Mix Brownies

Although I have posted my favorite homemade brownie mix in the past, it is nice to be able to make brownies from the Holiday Cookie Mix.  That is this week's Saturday sweet.

There are cake-like, rather milk chocolate flavored bars, made crunchy with chopped walnuts.  The recipe makes 16 to 20 brownies which can be dressed up with frosting if desired.

Other recipes using the Holiday Cookie Mix have been posted on Thursdays since September 27 as part of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats.

 Holiday Cookie Mix Brownies
3 c. Holiday Cookie Mix
1/4 c. cocoa
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 T. water
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped, toasted walnuts

Measure cookie mix into a large mixing bowl.  Add cocoa and mix until well blended.  Break eggs into a small bowl and beat well.  Add water and vanilla.  Stir and add to cookie mix.  Stir until all of mix is moistened.  Add the walnuts and stir.  Mixture will be somewhat stiff.  Turn batter into a greased 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes.  Place pan on rack to cool.  Cut into 16 or 20 bars.  Store tightly covered to prevent the brownies from drying out.

Linking to these great parties:
Weekend Potluck
I'm Lovin' It
Seasonal Inspirations
Weekend Bloggy Reading
Saturday Nite Special

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Friday Finds

I did not post a Friday Finds last week as I needed to post my November Foodie Penpal reveal, but today I am back with another list of wonderful recipes found at the blogs of bloggers who attended Online Blogcon.

Easy Eggless Lemon Curd

Shaken Together

Although Keri is not primarily a food blogger, she has some great recipes on her site.  I think this is a wonderful find.  Lemon curd without the eggs and made with ingredients I always have in my kitchen.  I am whipping some of this up this weekend.  My mind is also thinking one could make orange or tangerine curd also.

Cranberry Ginger Sugar Cookies

365 Days of Baking and More

This is part of a 12 Days of Christmas Cookies series at this blog.  This is a refrigerated, bake and slice cookie, or as we used to say in the old days "ice box" cookie.  It is so nice to have something like this is the fridge to make for unexpected guests.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Squares

The Live-In Kitchen

Well, this looks as if it is going to be a mostly sweets post.  That is OK, it is December after all.  At least this one has oatmeal and peanut butter in it.  Should make it a little healthier to eat, right?

 Vegetable Soup

Tumbleweed Contessa

There are many delicious looking sweets on this blog, but I also found this wonderful looking soup, and I am always looking for new soup recipes.

Caramel Walnut Squares

The Kitchen is My Playground

Back to the sweets.  You all know how much I like bar cookie recipes.  Bet this is a great one.

As always all photos were taken by and are the property of the owners of the respective blogs represented.

I am linking up to Friday Favorite Finds at Finding Joy in My Kitchen.  Click on over with me to see what other bloggers have found in their travels around the web this week.

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12 Weeks of Christmas Treats-Spiced Molasses Crisps

It is week 11 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Brenda over at Meal Planning Magic.  By now you certainly should have many wonderful new recipes added to your recipe arsenal.

I am continuing to post recipes made with Holiday Cookie Mix.  At our house a holiday goodie plate would not be complete without  a molasses cookie.  Hubby loves spicy cookies.  This is the first recipe from the third batch of cookie mix.  I will post a brownie recipe on my Saturday sweets post, and the last 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats recipe next week.  After that I will post additional recipes on Saturday sweets until I have run out of mix.

This cookie is like a molasses and spice sugar cookie.  The amount of spices in these are a bit assertive but can be reduced for a milder flavor.

I use my usual cookie scoop and get about 2 dozen large cookies.  For more cookies, drop dough in smaller amounts.  It may be necessary to shorten the baking time.

 

Spiced Molasses Crisps

2 c. Holiday Cookie Mix

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

1/2 t. allspice

1 egg, room temperature

1/4 c molasses

1 t. vanilla

Place cookie mix in a mixing bowl and add spices.  Mix well.  Break egg into a 1-cup glass measuring cup and beat well.  Add molasses and vanilla to egg and mix well.  Stir into dry ingredients.  Cover and chill dough at least 1 hour.  Drop by teaspoonsful onto parchment-lined baking sheet.  Flatten with the bottom of a glass that has been greased and dipped in sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees 8 to 10 minutes.  Let stand on baking sheet 1 minute.  Remove to rack to cool.  Makes 2 dozen.

The last postings for 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats will be next Thursday.  If you haven't joined in but want to share a special recipe with us, you can find all the details here.

Check all the great recipes posted this week.

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GlassesUSA for Christmas

I admit it.  I'm no Fashionista.  You will never see a "What I Wore" post on this blog.  I just don't have a lot of style.  I think my sisters got all those genes in our family...or maybe they skipped a generation and went straight to my daughter.

 I will never spend hours at the store shopping for clothes, as my best gals can attest to.  Shopping for clothes is like pulling teeth for me.  So when it comes to dressing up for the holidays or a big party, I don't have a lot to work with.   But you work with what you got, right?

And since I was 15 years old, I've worn glasses.

I am almost blind as a bat, so I wear glasses from the moment I get up until I fall asleep at night.

Not a lot of fun, unless you have some super cute glasses.

I recently found GlassesUSA.com and although, I've never bought glasses online before, I was pretty excited to have found them. They have a huge selection with lots of styles and colors at great prices.  Plus, there is a 110% low price guarantee and 100% satisfaction guarantee.  So I can't go wrong, even with my fashion sense!

And what was even more fun....I got to try them on...right from my computer.

How did I accomplish this amazing feat?

GlassesUSA has a fun feature on their site called a Virtual Mirror where you can use your computer's video cam to take a picture of yourself and try on all their eyeglasses.  Pretty genius if you ask me!

It was super easy to use and I got to see what I looked like in different styles and colors....something I'm a little nervous to do in certain stores.  (Hey, those ladies at Walmart can be a little scary, pushy, and judgmental about what glasses you try on!  Or is that just me?)

It was a lot of fun to try their Virtual Mirror and I can almost imagine myself actually looking like Tyra Banks as I "smize" and walk the catwalk in Paris this year...

okay, maybe not, but it was nice to find cheap glasses that actually make me feel like I look good when I go to Dear Hubby's work Christmas party.  

Heck, I might even get him a set since they even have multifocal glasses. (Yea, he's getting old and has gone down that road, but don't tell him I told you!)

GlassesUSA wants you to come try their Virtual Mirror and look good for the Christmas holidays too.  They are giving all of my readers 15% off your entire order, PLUS free shipping (for orders over $50) with code: FS15 or 10% off ANY prescription eyeglass order with code: BLOG10.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of GlassesUSA.  While I may have been compensated in some way for this post, all opinions are my own.

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10 Fun Christmas Ornament Exchange Ideas

I'm going to an ornament exchange party this weekend and I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous.

I've never been to one before and this party has been going on for years now.  So I can only imagine the ornaments that are exchanged and the craftiness that will be flowing in that room.

It's a little intimidating.

So, I've been scouring pinterest for some ideas that I might be able to use.

And I thought I would share them in case you end up in the same predicament.

1. Glittering Santa Ornament from Too Cool Stamping.

2. Rudolph Ornament from Unknown Source.

3. Grinch Ornament from Unknown Source.

4. Marbalized Ornament from Alisa Burke.

5. Mustache Ornament from Gather Love.

6. Christmas Time Capsule by Farmer's Nest.

7. Pink Zebra Letter Ornament by Pink Seven Designs

8. Christmas Tree Letter Ornaments by Every Creative Endeavor.

9. Christmas Tree Cookie Ornaments by Sweetopia.

and if all else fails, maybe I'll go with these M&M Christmas Ornaments by Hungry Happenings!

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Italian Sandwich Casserole

A few weeks ago one of my Friday Finds was a Meatball Sub Casserole from Dining with Leslie.  Since we had our Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, I decided to make this on Thanksgiving.  Sometime I “jump the gun” and don’t plan ahead very well.  That is what happened with this recipe.  I didn’t check the recipe early enough so when I needed to make it, I did not have time to let the cream cheese soften or the meatballs thaw.

Going to Plan B, I checked my pantry, freezer and fridge to see what I could find.  I had purchased the Italian bread so had that and spaghetti sauce in my pantry.  In my freezer I found a pound of browned-up Italian sausage, and in my fridge I found Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Crème, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  If I had not found the Italian sausage, I would have used browned-up ground beef and added some Italian seasonings to it.

I thawed the Italian sausage in my microwave and combined it with the other ingredients to make what I call Italian Sandwich Casserole.  My husband and son liked this very much, and it reheated very well in the microwave.

Two changes I will make when I make this again.  I left the bread slices whole, and they were a bit difficult to cut through.  Next time I will cut all the bread slices in half so that I can cut between them.  I will save some mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on the top of the second layer of bread slices along with the parmesan.  My recipe reflects those changes.

Italian Sandwich Casserole
10 slices firm bread such as Italian or Texas Toast, cut in half
1 carton Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Crème
1 lb. Italian sausage browned or ground beef browned with 1 t. Italian seasonings added
1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 jar (28 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese

Place bread slices on a large baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes to toast slightly.  Remove and set aside.  Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil.  Place 10 half slices of the bread in the prepared pan.  Cover bread slices with the cooking crème, spreading evenly.  Spread the browned Italian sausage or ground beef over the cooking crème layer.  Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the meat.  Pour spaghetti sauce over the cheese and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with another 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Add the last 10 half slices of bread, placing them over the previous slices.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle the last of the mozzarella cheese over the top along with the parmesan cheese.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes more.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.  To serve, cut between the bread half slices and remove to plates.  This is very hearty so could make as much as 10 serving depending upon what is served with it and whether it is served for lunch or dinner.

Thanks Leslie for a great idea.  So tell me, do you ever create a dish with ingredients that you have on hand?

Linking to these great parties:
Hunk of Meat Monday
Mop It Up Monday
Busy Monday
Making Monday Marvelous
Marvelous Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Mix It Up Monday
The Bulletin Board
Make the Scene Monday
Made by You Monday
Must Try Monday
Meal Time Monday
Mangia Monday

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Crescent Nutella Jam Palmiers

 

I like to keep a tube or two of crescent rolls in my fridge.  They are so versatile and can be used to make both sweet and savory recipes.  Today’s Saturday sweet combines crescent rolls, Nutella and jam to make a quick and easy take on the French pastry Palmiers.

I used raspberry jam, but the jam may be any flavor that you like or even orange marmalade.  Sugarless jam can be used.  The Nutella can be replaced by peanut butter, almond butter or any other butter spread that you may choose.  That means that you can use an almost endless combination of spreads and jams to make these.

The palmiers are quick and easy.  You can have this out of the oven and ready to eat in about 20 minutes.

 
Crescent Nutella Jam Palmiers
1 (8 oz.) tube crescent rolls, regular or low-fat
about 1/4 c. Nutella
about 2 T. jam (flavor or choice)

Remove roll dough from tube, place on a piece of parchment paper or foil and separate into 4 rectangles.  Press diagonal perforations together to seal.  Flatten rectangles slightly.  Spread each rectangle with about 1 T. of Nutella and 1/2 T. of jam.  You want the Nutella and jam layers to be thin or the filling will squish out when you roll them.  Roll the  long edges of each the rectangles jelly-roll fashion toward the center so they will meet.  With a very sharp knife cut each rectangle into 9 slices.  Carefully transfer to a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 11 minutes.  Carefully remove from pan.  For a fancier cookie, drizzle with a little vanilla glaze.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Makes 3 dozen bite-size palmiers.

Linking to these great Parties:
Weekend Potluck
Seasonal Inspirations
Saturday Night Special
Weekend Bloggy Reading
I'm Lovin' It
Sunday Show and Tell

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