Bacon Appetizers (Pioneer Woman)

A few days before my office Christmas party, I started scouring my Pinterest boards looking for a tasty new appetizer to try.  I mean, what's the point of pinning all that delicious looking food if you don't actually MAKE the recipes every once in a while, right?  I came across this one from one of my favorite Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, and thought I would try them out.  

Mmmm  Bacon Appetizers

What's not to love about something with only three ingredients - even if these same said ingredients seem like slightly strange bedfellows?  Bacon. Club Crackers. Parmesan Cheese. Together.  That's it.  I shrugged and thought, well Ree has never steered me wrong in the past, I'm just going to go for it.  First gather your ingredients:

Club crackers, bacon (not thick cut) and grated Parmesan cheese

Take a sleeve of club crackers and lay them out on a 1/2 sheet pan or cookie sheet.  It is highly recommended that you use a rack over the top of the baking sheet, so the bacon grease drips below as it cooks.

I hilariously do not yet have a rack that fits my 1/2 sheet pan (it's on my Christmas wish list... hint hint Mr. D), so I MacGyver'd a make-shift solution using the rack I normally use to cool my cookies on.  It was a little cumbersome and awkward, but it got the job done.  Next, get out your bacon and cut the slab in half

 Next, you want to sprinkle a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese onto the length of each cracker

  
Ree insists you do NOT want the hoity-toity fancy shredded Parmesan here, just the regular green can of grated cheese you would find in your regular supermarket.  That's because these are apparently a "retro" aka "hip" appetizer from the 80's. That was before the popularity of gluten-free everything, the insurgence of kale (which by the way was a salad bar garnish in the 80's), and that healthy police PC list of no-no's for most processed foods that now ravage our land.  People ate bacon back then, and processed cheese, and smoked 2-packs a day, and drank Tab.  People in the 80's didn't care.  People in the 80's knew how to PARTY!

Where was I?  Oh yes.  We are about to take our half strip of bacon, and gingerly wrap it around the cracker withOUT spilling any of the loose Parmesan cheese.  This takes much dexterity and skill by the way.

Try to wrap the bacon so that the loose end is tucked under the bottom of the cracker on the rack.  Soon you will have a few rows of these cute fellas.  I used one full sleeve of the club crackers, but ended up using more than one package of bacon, actually half of a second pack of bacon.

Little piggie blankets, all in a row

Place in a 250º oven for two hours. That's right.  Two long hours.  You can wrap presents, you can do your hair, you can learn to yodel.  Just make sure you know your entire house will smell like delicious, fragrant bacon.  Two hours later you will peek in your oven to find these golden brown, delightful little rows of pure hog heaven.

After you let them cool completely, you can place them on a serving tray.

These are not supposed to be served hot, but at room temperature. This allows time for the crackers to crisp back up and the bacon juices to "settle".   I've also been told you can make these puppies ahead of time, freeze them, and pull them out and defrost them at 250º for a few minutes before serving.    Let's take a closer look:

Cheesy bacon crackers with no name...

Well, they smell awesome, they don't look all that glamorous, but the important question is.... how do they taste??

Well the definitive answer would be bacon! If you like bacon, then this is your new go-to appetizer.  The cracker gets all brown and crispy, the cheese melts slightly down and browns the cracker even more.   I wasn't sure how this would be received by my coworkers.  Again, not the prettiest to look at, and she wouldn't win the swim suit competition at the pageant that's for sure, but she may just walk away with the award for Ms. Congeniality of flavor town!  So here I went, off to the party. hoping for the best.  I laid down my plate of bacon-y goodness and uncovered the foil wrapper.  

Bacon appetizers - you cant go wrong!!

My boss was the first to spot them about ten seconds later.  "IS THIS BACON?!"... he shouted and popped one in his mouth.  After that a few more people in the room stepped forward. I saw a couple of husbands look at each other with an approving nod.  This wasn't a cheese ball or a hummus veggie tray, this was cooked MEAT.  I'm not kidding you, within a few minutes, the entire plate was gone.  I totally should have doubled the recipe!  One co-worker told me I was required to bring them to all future company functions after trying just one.  If that's not the mark of a great appetizer, I don't know what is.

By the way, I have also heard that you can replace the Parmesan cheese layer with a layer of brown sugar instead, for a sweet and savory version of the same appetizer.  Now, run and make up a batch of these for your next gathering, and go party like it's 1989!

Molasses Crinkles

One of the perks of teaching piano is that when Christmas rolls around, some of your students will bestow you with gifts!  Some bring cards or candles, and other times they give something they made themselves!  One of my absolute favorite, most talented students (and her mom) baked me some cookies last year.  They were delivered in a tall, pretty cellophane bag with a satin green bow and oh MY were they delicious!  Mr. D literally spent the entire week sneaking them out of my stash when he thought I wasn't looking, and so I thought, I need to MAKE a batch of these!

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

The student's mom (thank you so MUCH Mercedes) was kind enough to give me her family recipe and allowed me to also share it with all of you!  This cookie is easy to whip up, bakes into perfect sugary circles, is great for Christmas goodie trays, sharing with friends (and teachers), and has all the flavors of the holiday season baked in.  The molasses must be the secret ingredient to make these cookies have that perfect chewy factor while keeping the light crisp edges everyone loves.  This coupled with just the right amount of spices, and you've got yourself a new go-to holiday cookie!   Here are the ingredients you will need: (full printable recipe at the end of the post)


Molasses Crinkles

3/4 cup soft shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg 
1/4 cup molasses
2-1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger


Put the shortening and brown sugar into your mixing bowl and cream together

I doubled this recipe, these will go fast, I highly recommend making bigger batches

Add in one egg

then add in the molasses

Make sure everything is creamed together nicely

Next it says to sift the dry ingredients together, however I just added them one by one (I'm such a rebel).  Add the 2 1/4 cup of flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp of cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp of ginger, and1/4 tsp of salt.

Spices... they are the spice of life. (deep thoughts)

Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly

Chill the dough

Once the dough is chilled to firm, roll into walnut sized balls and roll in granulated sugar

Place on a silpat mat covered baking sheet

Silpats rock!  If you don't have any it's not to late to ask Santa to bring you some for Christmas

Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes until soft set

By the time you pull the first pan out of the oven, your whole house will smell like holiday heaven!  The granulated sugar you rolled the chilled dough in bakes up into a shiny, shimmery topping.  So pretty!  I love the "crinkled" look the tops get, and I also love that each cookie is the same size and perfect round shape.

This makes them easy to stack high into a towering treat you can give away

 

Or, you know... eat warm off the tray with a cold tall glass of milk.  

No judging people, once you taste these cookies you will be hooked!  

This, by the way is a great way to use up extra molasses you might have around after some of your other holiday baking.  Come to think of it, the last day of school is only two days away.  While I had every intention of making all of my girls' teachers homemade ice cream like we did last year, I think I have run out of time.  I'll probably be baking a couple batches of these tonight and wrapping them up pretty for school on Friday. 

Go ahead and try these cookies and let me know what you think!  Full printable recipe found here.  Enjoy. 

Reindeer Cookies

I was perusing Pinterest yesterday and came across the cutest little cookie idea. I knew the girls would just love to try it, so we off and braved the long lines and "crazies" at the store just to pick up a few odds and ends to make these adorable cookies.  What could be more festive on a holiday tray of goodies I ask you, but Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer himself?

Cute lil' Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer cookie

I got the idea from the ladies home journal, which includes their own peanut butter cookie recipe.  I just used our regular family peanut butter cookie recipe and added the reindeer details.  By the way, if there is a nut allergy you do not have to make peanut butter, but I would guess plain chocolate chip cookie dough (minus the chips) would work just fine too.

We used 1 inch dough baller to make these, the first ones were a bit too big  so we made them slightly smaller after that

The trick to making these reindeer faces is to have all the ingredients ready before the hot pan of cookies comes out of the oven.  You need to place the eyes, red nose, and antlers while the cookie is still hot and pliable.  We made three little bowls of:

Red Peanut butter MnM's (because they were larger and round)
Pretzels broken into 1 inch "antlers"
Chocolate chips for the eyes

The antlers were fun to make, sort of free form as you brake larger twist pretzels apart

Once the cookies have baked for 10-12 minutes pull them out of the oven hot and place the horns down at an angle but almost flat against the cookie so they will stay.  Be sure not to push all the way through the back of the cookie.  Quickly place the chocolate chip eyes with the points down and push down as you add the red nose.

You have to work quickly here and if little hands are helping you make sure they do not touch the hot pan

Soon you will have a whole pan full of cute little faces staring up at you.

The antlers will surprisingly stay if you put them in before the cookie cools

I let these guys cool completely on the pan because I was afraid to move them.  Turns out the eyes, nose, and antlers did stay put if they were put in when the cookie was still hot and allowed to completely cool before moving them to a cooling rack.  After that I transferred them to a cookie carrier and I was extra careful on how I stacked them, making sure the antlers of the reindeer below was not crushed by the reindeer above.   A double batch of our regular peanut butter cookie recipe yielded 50 of these guys.

How cute are these faces? 

This is our first attempt at making these reindeer cookies and let me tell you, they were a big hit!  The girls took turns, each getting to do faces for one hot pan of cookies.  I can't wait to see our cousins and Grandma's face on Christmas day when they see our brand new fun creations.

Rudolph with your nose so bright... won't you guide my sleigh tonight...

Anyway, just thought I'd show you a last minute, late additions to our normal holiday treats.  I believe this will be a new tradition for us.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.  :)

Hot Mulled Apple Cider

Need a warm drink to serve to family and friends this season?  Our gated community has this annual tradition where one night in December there will be some porches throughout the neighborhood that hand out holiday beverages and snacks. Everyone walks around visiting and admiring each others Christmas displays. The snacks on each porch are different.  Some have eggnog and treats, some have cocoa and gingerbread.  Santa photo ops, candy, and cookies are yet on another porch, and my porch is now famous for my mulled hot apple cider.  People come back year after year saying how they've been looking forward to my cider, so that makes it a sure-fire winner in my book.  We also love to make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas when the family is together.

Hot mulled apple cider - always a crowd favorite

This recipe is great for a large gathering or party because it simmers for a few hours until serving time, and as people start to drink it, you can add more juice as you go along, thus stretching it out to serve more people.  You can make this in a big pot on the back of the stove or in a crock pot to save counter space.  Gather the following ingredients: (Full printable recipe at the end of the post)

2 large containers apple juice (96oz 3 full quarts each)
3/4 cup brown sugar
cheesecloth
cinnamon sticks
whole all spice berries
whole cloves
2 oranges

Start with one 96oz container of apple juice and pour it into your pot.  You want to fill it up about 1 1/2 inches from the top.  Depending on the size of your pot you can add more juice from your second container.  I keep the extra juice on hand to refill the cider and also to cool down any kid's cups.

This recipe is very kid friendly as well - apple juice is the base

Next add 3/4 cup brown sugar and stir together

The creepy dark blob at the bottom is the brown sugar slow spreading out

Next you want to cut off a section of cheesecloth about 12 inches long.  Cheese cloth can be found in the baking and sometimes cookware sections of most stores.  I have also found it randomly hanging in aisles as a bonus display item throughout the store, so keep your eyes peeled.  If I find some I stock up and grab a few because when it comes time and I actually need them, they are no where to be found.  Get your 12 inches of cheesecloth wet, wring it out, and lay it on the counter.

Cheese cloth.  See-through mesh that lets you add flavor without chunks in your food!

Next, take four medium cinnamon sticks and break them in half and lay them in the middle of the cheesecloth.  Add exactly thirteen whole allspice berries.  Not twelve, not fourteen.  Thirteen.  I don't know why this exact number is true, but I have added more one time on a whim and the cider takes on a weird strong spice taste, so thirteen is the magical number.

This will make your house smell wonderful, by the way

Next you want to roll up your spices in the cheesecloth.  Try to seal them into the center of the cloth.  Then tie up the long sides in a simple X knot.  Place this spice packet into the apple juice in the pot.

The cheesecloth will let the spices "mull" into the juice, changing into cider

Next you want to grab two oranges and some whole cloves

Two more lovely smells that add to the holidays

Take whole cloves and push them into the peel of the orange. Put a clove about every 1 inch all the way around.  Sometimes the tops of the cloves are sharp, so I use a paper towel to help push them in without hurting myself.  Once there are cloves all the way around I will cut the orange in half, and then cut each side into three slices

Your hands will smell delicious after this by the way

Do this for both oranges.  Now as you put each slice in the pot, squeeze out some of the orange juice and try to throw the slices in clove side down.  They will roll around no matter what you do, so don't worry about it too much.

Once all the oranges are in (and your spice pack is totally submerged underneath them in the liquid) turn on your burner to medium low and keep an eye on it.  It's okay to bring it to almost a boil then back it off to medium low.  If you have a crock pot, set it on low.  You don't want this to boil, or even simmer, but to just get warm and toasty for at least three hours as the spices start to spread througout. Feel free to stir from time to time.

After about 3 hours of mulling, your house will smell fabulous and your cider is ready to serve.  Like I said, as people start to scoop out mugs you can slowly add more juice in.  I keep the pot on "low" for the whole party.  If it's too hot for kids, cool it off with some extra apple juice.  After the party you can save the left overs in a pitcher in the fridge and heat it up for single servings the next day in the microwave. Toss the used bag of cheesecloth with the spices away, but here's a tip: Save the left over orange wedges and put them in your garbage disposal to make it smell nice. Here are some shots by the way of the last four years of our porch during the neighborhood "Holiday Happenings".

We would have Christmas music playing on the radio, and I would keep the mulled cider warm on the side burner of the BBQ. People would come and visit for a few and move on to the next house.  It was a great way to meet new people in the neighborhood too.  All in all it has been a a very nice holiday tradition.  Enjoy the cider!  Full printable recipe found here.

The Christmas Countdown Begins

Well, December is here and it's time again to start the countdown to Christmas.  Everyone seems to have their own special way to check off the days.  I just wanted to show you ours.  Every year the girls get so excited to pull out the "Santa down the chimney" Advent calendar.  

Each day Santa drops a bit lower down the chimney.

I got it a few years back in a catalog and they love running down the stairs each morning to pull the stick out to watch him drop.  He's so cute too, and they know when he gets to the bottom, it's Christmas Eve.

Ho Ho Ho... Go Santa Go

I have seen this still available around the web if you search "Santa down the chimney advent".  My only trouble now is I have three girls and one peg to pull a day.  To avoid spats I will secretly let whoever comes down first pull the peg, then stealthily put it back so the next one that wakes up gets her turn too.  We also do the chocolate window advent calendar... a classic.

Nothing more festive than getting to eat a small piece of chocolate every day!

 
Here's my tips for these.  HIDE them when not in use.  Many a child in the last few years has snuck into the stash and helped themselves to future days before being caught.  Then they sit in sadness as their siblings get to enjoy their daily chocolates and they get none.  It's very traumatic so I always get a few extra (in theory for hubby and me), but then if there is a tragic advent smorgasbord, I have a few on backup to "make the season bright" again (Supermom to the rescue).

I also saw a couple of cute advent countdowns you could do at home, including this santa beard with cotton balls.  Click here for the download.  Just print it out, have the kids color santa's face and hat, then glue one cotton ball every day until Christmas Eve.

Then there is also your classic red and green paper chains from yesteryear. Oo and I also saw this cute and inexpensive one made from a mini muffin tin (24 little spaces) by Danielle over at "A few of my favorite things". Link to the craft here. She has the tutorial and the templates.  All you need is a mini muffin tin from the dollar store, a printer, some double stick tape, and a few other odds and ends.  This would be fun to fill with daily activities that have to do with the holidays.

Picture from A few of my favorite things

So do you have any special ways to count down to Christmas Eve?  Let me know! I just love that it's really about building the anticipation and magic for kids of all ages to one of the most special holidays of the year.
 
 

Lightkeeper Pro

So it is that time of year when people start decking their halls.  You start out all Norman Rockwelly (sure, it's a word) with cocoa and Christmas tunes playing, surrounded by loving memories as you pull out your decorations from years past... reminiscing...sip of cocoa...reminiscing...hang a stocking... reminiscing... bobbing your head as Holly Jolly Christmas plays on... 

the goal in your mind....

Then suddenly, it all comes screeching to a halt when you realize half the lights on your pre-lit tree did not come on when you plugged them in just now. Either that or the brand new strand you bought last year (to replace the ones that didn't work the year before) - is in a hopeless half-lit ball on the floor which makes you think to yourself...hey wait a gosh darn minute WHY don't they make things last like they used to?  Arg.

Festive merriment quickly dissolves into tears and frustration as you jiggle the strand (like that helps), scour the line for burnt out bulbs, and eventually, storm off to the store for some replacement strands of lights as your cocoa grows cold.  

One light goes out, they all go out...

So in lieu of a night of peaceful decorating, the rest of your evening is spent trying to: rip out lights hard-wired into the tree, pulling bulbs out one by one, wrecking your fingertips in the process, secretly sounding like Yosemite Sam as your make up new swear words under your breath, and eventually giving up in disgust - carelessly throwing a whole new light strand over the broken old ones and saying "bah humbug"... that is, until NOW.

Hubby stumbled across something and brought it home.  I wasn't even sure what to make of it at first but I'm here to tell you, this could save your Christmas sanity.  Behold, I give you the best little gizzmo that actually lives up to it's promises... the Lightkeeper Pro.

God bless you light keeper pro.

It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?  This thing that looks like a cross between a squirt gun, a taser, and a label maker is somehow going to fix your Christmas?  I can say now from experience a resounding YES.  By the way, I'm not on commission with the company or anything, I was just so shocked that it worked I had to blog about it.  This little thing is a wonderment to behold.   Talk about your multi-taskers, this baby has it all.  A bulb and fuse tester, an audible voltage detector, a bulb puller (to save your fingers), a light socket connector, a magical "quick fix trigger" and to top it all off, it comes WITH batteries.  For $20 bucks that's quite a deal. It will seriously pay for itself when it saves you from buying new strands every year.

How does it work?

Well that is the question of the century. My hubby, who is equal parts techie-nerd and geek, who happens to know a bit about currents, circuits, and electricity, was mystified by this thing at first.  We had a strand on a pre-lit tree where half the bulbs were out. They did not look burned out, but they were not lit.  We pulled one bulb out, tested it on the light keeper pro, then hubby put the tip of the gun in the empty socket, pulled the trigger, and bam, the whole strand lit up.  WHAT?  That's right.  Lit up.  That's why I called it the "magical quick fix trigger" earlier.

The light keeper pro in action

Still high on giddy fumes that it actually worked, we went scouring the interwebs to explain WHY it worked.  The best explanation came from an Amazon reviewer named Thomas Dibble (see review here).  You can also see it in action on their website here, or the best example and detailed explanation of how to use it can be found below on a news segment where they show you the different features actually working in real time.




You can test burnt out bulbs with it, replace just those and you are back in business.  You can also test the entire strand for current and discover where loose bulbs or burnt out bulbs may be.  My daughters had a mini pre-lit tree in their room they have been using as a night light all year, but it ended up burning out last week.  One pull of the trigger and it was up and working again in minutes. Now if you have a strand that is old, damaged, or all the bulbs are burned out in a section, this might not work for you.  Nor will it work on LED lights (though I just read they have  new tool just for those) but for typical and frustrating strand outages this thing works amazingly well.   Anyway, just had to pass this along to you guys.  I have a link at the top of my blog in "my favorite things" tab if you want to order one on Amazon.  How great will this be, when halfway through the Christmas season and your tree is already fully decorated but THEN a section goes out?  No need to disassemble the whole area, just a few clicks from the Light Keeper Pro and it's Happy Fa la la la lalidays once again.  Now go put on some Bing Crosby and lets get back to decorating. Hello Christmas sanity, I have missed you!