Easy Fortune Cookies (Shaunelle Trenholm)

Ingredients:

3 Egg whites

3/4 Cup white sugar

1/2 Cup butter, melted and cooled

1/4 Tsp vanilla extract

1/4 Tsp almond extract

1 Cup all-purpose flour

4 Tblsp water (may want to add more)

Directions:

1. Have fortunes ready to go on small strips of paper. (Find some on Google)

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3. Grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper.

4. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites and sugar on high speed of an electric mixer until frothy (about 2 minutes).

5. Reduce speed to low, and stir in melted butter, vanilla, almond extract, water and flour one at a time, mixing well after each. Consistency should resemble very thin pancake batter.

6. Spoon the batter into 3 inch circles on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure it's spread very thin or it will crack when you fold it. Leave room between for spreading.

7. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges brown.

8. Quickly remove one at a time, place a message in the center, and fold in half.

9. Fold the ends of the half together into a horse shoe shape. If they spring open, place them in a muffin tin to cool until set.

Enjoy!

Swedish Cinnamon Twists (Emily Heaps)

Ingredients:

1 Pkg. Dry Yeast

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1/4 c. Warm Water

1 c. Buttermilk

1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 c. Butter, Melted

2 Eggs, Beaten

4 to 5 Cups Hot Roll Mix

Cinnamon Filling:

1/2 c. Brown Sugar

1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 c. Chopped Nuts

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

1/2 c. Powdered Sugar

1/2 Tbsp. Butter

1 Tsp. Hot Water

Preparation:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Set aside. bring buttermilk to a boil in a small saucepan; buttermilk should curdle. In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, baking soda, and 1/2 cup melted butter. Add eggs. When mixture is lukewarm, add dissolved yeast mixture. Gradually stir in 4 cups Hot Roll Mix until a soft dough forms a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add additional mix if need to make a soft, but not too sticky dough. Lightly butter bowl. Put dough in bowl and turn to butter top. Cover dough with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Generously grease 2 baking sheets. Punch down dough and roll out to a 12x20 inch rectangle. Brush dough with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon filling lengthwise over half of dough to within 1/2 in of long edge.

Fold rectangle in half lengthwise to cover filling. Seal dough edges with the edge of a plate. With a pizza cutter, cut dough into 24 strips, about 3/4 inch wide. Twist each strip twice and place strips 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 deg. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

Brush on Powdered Sugar Glaze while rolls are still warm. Makes about 24 twists.

Gorilla Bread (Shaunelle Trenholm)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

3 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese

2 (12-oz.) Cans Refrigerated Biscuits (10 Count)

1 1/2 Cups Coarsely Chopped Walnut

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Sopapilla Cheesecake (Shaunelle Trenholm)

Ingredients:

2 Cans of Crescent Rolls

2- 8 oz. Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 Stick of Butter

Instructions:

Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press one can of crescent rolls into bottom of dish pressing seams together. In separate bowl blend cream cheese,1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread across dough in pan. Unroll second can of dough and place on top of cream cheese mixture pressing seams together. Melt butter and pour on top of dough in pan. Mix remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp. of cinnamon and top dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly browned.

Halloween Night Cookie Puzzle (Julie Boyd)

This is a fun recipe to do with the kiddos! It is easy to make and decorate and it's yummy!

Ingredients:

1 tube (18 oz) Refrigerated sugar cookie dough (Or homemade, if you prefer)

1/2 C Flour (I use bread flour since that's what I have on hand - but any flour should work)

Unblanced Almonds (for the handle - I use walnuts because I like those better)

3 C Confectioners' sugar

1/3 C Light Corn Syrup

2-4 Tblsp Water

Assorted food coloring, decorating gels, sprinkles and candies

1: In a large bowl, combine cookie dough and flour. (I found that the 1/2 C of flour was about 1-2 tblsps too much when doing this step.)

On a parchment paper-lined surface, roll dough into a 14-in X 11-in rectangle With Halloween cookie cutters, cut out puzzle shapes but do not remove them. Slide a baking sheet under the parchment paper and dough. Chill for 5-10 minutes.

2: Remove shapes; place on an ungreased baking sheet. For handles, press the side of an almond into the center of each puzzle shape. Bake shapes at 350 for 7-9 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. While still warm, recut shapes with the same cookie cutters to form neat edges. (If cookies cool too quickly, return to oven until softened.) Remove to wire racks; cool.

**I just cooked the cookies on the wax paper for easier mobility to the baking sheet and then to the wire rack. I moved the entire wax paper to the wire rack until cool to avoid the cookie breaking while soft. I carefully removed from was when cooled.)

3: Bake large rectangular puzzle on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 12-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately recut the shapes inside the puzzle to form neat edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.

4: In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup and water until smooth. Tint frosting with food coloring as desired. Frost puzzle and shapes; decorate with decorating gel, sprinkiles and candies as desired. Place puzzle shapes inside puzzle.

Yield: 1 Cookie Puzzle

My family loves this!

Caramel Apple Dip (Shaunelle Trenholm)

Ingredients:

12 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. butterscotch morsels
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

 

1. Melt milk and butterscotch morsels in microwave for 3 minutes in 1 minute increments. Make sure to watch it carefully, as it tends to bubble over!
2. Stir in vinegar and cinnamon.
3. Dip apples in and eat!