Tag: Holiday

Review: Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Original recipe can be found here.

I found this recipe for chocolate chip cookies and I just had to try them. I grew up making Betty Crocker cookies from their bagged mix. I really enjoyed them and I found this recipe be be similar in many ways, but also different. The recipe I made was a recipe from scratch and is standard, cream together butter and sugar, then mix in remaining ingredients. This created cookies with a crackled top. I also made my cookies about twice the size the recipe expected. This recipe didn’t say how big to make the cookies, and I guess I went a little large. Since I went large, about 2 Tbsp of dough per ball, my cookies took a bit longer. The recipe says 8-10 minutes for about 1 Tbsp balls, I found 12 minutes to be about right to keep some moisture in the cookies while still cooking the inside completely. My second batch I baked for 15 minutes, since I was waiting for a bit more browning, but that never came. They were delicious when slightly warm, but once they fully cooled, they were very crunchy, and needed to be paired with a glass of milk. So note with this recipe, not to over cook these cookies! However, this was the easiest cookie dough I’ve ever worked with. This recipe made 24 cookies 3-4 inches in diameter.

Chocolate Chip Cookies From Betty Crocker Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or 12 Oz bag, to your taste

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, add softener butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, and scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add Baking soda and a pinch of salt and briefly mix, then add your flour and mix until fully combined. Add in chips and stir until evenly dispersed.

2. Add 2 Tbsp balls onto 9×13 pans, 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes, and not longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 4 minutes before remove from tray and transferring to a cooling rack or serving tray.

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Handmade Christmas Swags

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Hello again. This is my first year making swags by myself, but for several years my family has been making them just for ourselves for Christmas. This can be a great option for a gift, or for a DIY home decoration. It is helpful if you have some evergreens on your property, but if that’s not the case, most neighbors won’t mind your trimming their bushes, assuming you ask first. Our property has several yew bushes, so that is the evergreen I used for my base. I also have a monstrous holly in the front yard that is easily 15 feet tall, so I trimmed it quite severely. Beyond that, you could get some holiday decorations from a craft store to stick into your swags, but that is your choice. I have a few bows from previous years, and some ribbon to make more as I want. I also added a third step to show you can also make grave blankets using this technique, and what I did with my excess cut holly. Please comment if you have any questions, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

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Directions

1. Cut a variety of different branches. Cut different colored branches, different sizes, and your favorite types of branches. Once you have your variety, lay down a large tarps to collect debris. Begin separating your branches into piles starting with the biggest branches on the bottom and stacking smaller on top. Once you have a stack, add an accent branch on top.

2. Once your satisfied with the way your stack looks, use some floral wire, beading wire, or quality twine to tie together the end. Try to weave around some of the branches to keep them from falling out, and wrap around several times. Tie it off once done. Finally, add another piece of wire, but leave some space during one of your wraps, so you can use that loop to hang your swag. Add any bows or decorations you desire, trim any unsightly branches, and hang.

3. If you’d like, you can also make a grave blanket using this same pattern, just alternating directions. You can see I made one. I also had lots of holly left over, so I used it to decorate my mantle for the season.

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Thanksgiving Turkey and Stuffing

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This year Thanksgiving wasn’t normal, however though we didn’t have any family over, we still did our full spread. Every year Josh gets a free turkey from work. Last year, he got a 20 pound turkey, and this year we got a 21 pound turkey. This year, I also made doubled the stuffing I made last year, because I love stuffing and it goes very fast, so the recipe below is how to make double stuffing, and how to cook the turkey once you are done. I always start with the stuffing to season my roasting pan, then I work on the bird. This was also my first year of not stuffing my turkey, and I have no regrets about that! Stuffing in the bird gets way too moist and almost a weird flavor from all the turkey drippings. Some people also use a roasting rack for their turkey. I don’t find that necessary or helpful. Without the rack, my dark meat always gets done, and with basting, my white meat always stays juicy, and by the time I was done, the wings had already begun to fall apart they were so tender.

Thanksgiving Turkey and Stuffing Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 1 1/2 loaf of 3 day old white bread, cubed
  • 3 Onions Diced
  • 8 Celery Stalks, Diced
  • 1 1/2 cup Salted Butter, 3 sticks
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Sage
  • 3 Tbsp Ground Thyme
  • Dutch Oven
  • Thawed Turkey
  • 4 Tbsp Butter
  • Roasting Pan
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Turkey Baster

Directions

1. Place dutch oven over medium heat. Add butter, celery, and onion, and cook until onion is translucent.

2. Add cubed bread to roasting pan. Sprinkle sage and thyme over the top of the bread. Pour butter mixture over bread. Stir together until everything is moistened and coated in seasoning. Transfer stuffing to casserole dishes. Cover and place in the fridge, or enjoy a bowl.

3. Heat oven to 350 F. Clean out your turkey, removing giblets, neck, and make sure you can go straight through the turkey. Rinse gently under cool water, then transfer to roasting pan. Stuff with 1 cup stuffing, or with 1/2 an onion, cut celery stalks, and a sprinkle of sage and thyme. Top turkey with 4 Tbsp butter. Cover with foil then add to oven.

4. Cook Turkey for the first hour without basting. Baste, then cook for remaining time, but basting every 45 minutes. Cook your turkey about 10 minutes per pound of turkey. Make sure internal temperature of the thigh and several other places is over 165 F.

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Thanksgiving 2020

For 2020, we’ll be trying to have as normal of a Thanksgiving as possible. This year will be my second year cooking dinner, and I have many new foods planned for this meal. Last year, was the standard three: turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, then we also had some crescents and 2 different veggies. This year, I am planning a sweet potato casserole, glazed and roasted beets, crescents again, and frozen green beans from this summer’s garden. This year I also made a pumpkin pie that we’ll be having with our dinner. Once the day is over, Friday, I’ll also be boiling the bones to make stock again this year. This year’s stock will be frozen like before, however this stock will likely be used almost strictly entirely for gravy.

To see recipes for what I’ll be making, you can click a link below!

Click here to see my recipe for Stuffing and Turkey!

Click here to see my recipe for Mashed Potatoes and Gravy!

Click here to see my recipe for Pumpkin Pie!

Click here to see my recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole and Honey Roasted Beets!

Click here to see my recipe for Turkey Stock!

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Pumpkin Bread

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Pumpkin bread is another simple way to use up any extra pumpkin you may still have. I roasted my pumpkins before I blended it into a puree for these pumpkin recipes. This bread has lots of seasonal flavor and is very easy to make. This bread has good moisture, a good bread/cake texture, and is not overly sweet. I was able to make 3 loaves from this recipe, however, I only filled my pans half way, so if you want bigger loaves, just fill your pans a more, but leave about 1/2 an inch for expansion. This bread is also very similar to a zucchini bread, just with pumpkin and with festive spices!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe CardDownload

What You Will Need

  • 4 Cups Pumpkin Puree
  • 4 Eggs
  • 4 Cups Flour
  • 3 Cups Sugar
  • 1 Stick of Butter (1/2 Cup), Melted
  • 1 Cup Oil
  • 3 Tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Tbsp Cloves
  • 2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • Standard Bread Pans
  • Non-stick Spray
  • Mixing Bowl

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 F. Spray bread(s) pan with non-stick spray then coat with flour. In a mixing bowl, creme together sugar and butter. Once combined, begin adding oil and eggs slowly. Add your spices, baking powder, and baking soda, then slowly mix in flour, and finally, mix in your pumpkin and stir until fully combined.

2. Fill bread pans to 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bread will not rise much. Bake bread for 65-70 minutes until tester comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, eat within a week, or wrap with two layers of cling wrap before freezing.

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