NO-BAKE BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

 I needed something to make and serve for the Cafe Treats for the Christmas Eve morning service at Platte Woods United Methodist Church. I also needed something to take to friends for a gathering they were having for the friends of their son who committed suicide. I saw this recipe in Lia Wilson's Quick Fixes with Mixes Cakes, Cookies, Bars, & Goodies cookbook.  

I just happened to have an instant butterscotch pudding mix and butterscotch baking chips. The pudding mix was zero sugar which was kind of a waste since the recipe also calls for 2 cups of sugar, but I just considered that I was reducing the sugar content. 😉 I added the nuts for my friends, but omitted them for the Cafe Treats. I also had a dark chocolate instant pudding mix that I thought would be good for the church. I decided to go on and use the rest of the butterscotch baking chips with the chocolate pudding and they did give the cookies an awesome taste. 

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NO-BAKE BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

2        cups sugar

3/4     cups (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3     cup evaporated milk

1       (3.4 ounce) box (4 servings) instant butterscotch or chocolate pudding mix

3-1/2  cups old-fashioned oats

3/4     cup butterscotch baking chips

1/2     cup chopped pecans (optional)

Spread a big piece of wax paper out on the counter to form the "cookies" on.

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, butter, and milk to a boil,

stirring constantly.

Boil for one minute.

Remove from heat and slowly add the pudding mix, stirring constantly until the mix has blended completely.

Add the oats and mix well.

Cool for 10 minutes. (The second time I made this I forgot to let it cool for 10 minutes before adding the baking chips. It worked out fine.)

Add the baking chip and pecans, if you are using them and

stir until the baking chips melt. 

Using two teaspoons, scoop out dough in one spoon, rounded, and remove (push) the dough onto wax paper with the other spoon. Shape as needed.

Allow to cool and harden. 

Arrange on serving tray or store in a closed container with wax paper between layers until ready to use.

The chocolate butterscotch version...

The amount I had in each spoon. It was probably more than they used because instead of 3 to 4 dozen, I got 5 to 6 dozen.

JEAN'S CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

 Friend Jean made these delightful Cream Cheese Cookies for the Cafe Treats last Sunday. I had my new festive paper plates that I had bought to show off the treats and started by placing the cookies around the inside edges. They fit perfectly and I noticed they looked so pretty on the plate as they rounded the Christmas Tree. I just decided to leave it that way. It just meant I had to keep replenishing them as they were quickly selected by people as they visited the Cafe.

I added Jean's personal notes at the end of the recipe. You still have time to add them to your holiday baking list, you know.

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CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

1/2     cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature

4        oz. cream cheese at room temperature

1        cup sugar

1        egg

2        teaspoons vanilla

1/2     teaspoon baking powder

1-3/4  cup flour

1/2     teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for dusting

finely chopped peppermint

Cream butter and cream cheese til smooth. Add sugar and beat to blend. Add the egg and vanilla and mix.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and then add in 3 portions to the creamed mixture. Mix well.

Cover the dough and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  

Roll dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with your fingers. The cookies will not spread as they bake. (Jean said she used a small cookie scoop but didn't pack it in. The cookies were dainty.)

Bake for 8 to 9 minutes only. Let the bottom slightly brown. Do not overbake! Immediately sprinkle crushed peppermint on top while cookies are still warm. Dust with powdered sugar. Cool on wire rack.

Notes from Jean:

You want to work quickly and sprinkle crushed peppermint on the cookies while they are hot from the oven so it will stick. 

You could also use chopped chocolate chips instead of the peppermint.

You could also add extract flavors such as mint, lemon, coconut, etc as part of the vanilla flavoring.

Jean says the cookies are better if they don't brown too much on the bottom. They seem to be a little more moist.

QUICK CHOCOLATE SOFTIES

 My last post was over a week ago. In it I described my hectic prior week. I'm glad that doesn't happen often. I personally couldn't take it, I think. Well, not too long after that I came down with what the doctor described as a viral cold. I was given a 6-dosepack and had a pretty rough week. I'm finished with the pack. My cough is better, but not gone. My sinuses are still over-active, but I'm learning to take it slowly even though it is the last week before Christmas.

I managed to make these cookies before I got sick but just never got around to sharing them with you. They were so good and rich tasting with chocolate. I did use a zero sugar devil's food cake mix, but then I didn't have any  no-sugar-added white baking chips so I had to tell people visiting the Cafe Treats at church that they were limited sugar. They didn't seem to mind.

I, of course, omitted the nuts since the Cafe Treats is a nut-free zone. I'm sure they would have made the cookies even better.

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QUICK CHOCOLATE SOFTIES

1     package devil's food cake mix (I used a zero sugar one)

1/3  cup water

1/4  cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1     large egg

1     cup white chocolate baking chips

1/2  cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the cake mix, water, butter, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat 1 minute.

Stir in the chips and nuts, if you are using them.

Mix until well blended.

Drop dough using a tablespoon cookie scoop onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cookies will be puffy.

Allow the baked cookies to cool 1 minute before

removing to cool on a wire rack. Cookies will flatten during this minute. Cool completely.

CHERRY CHEESECAKE DUMP CAKE

 Last week was one of those weeks you only want to happen ever once in a while. We had spent five days two days on the road and three full days in Colorado Springs having an early Christmas with our older son Jeffrey and his family. Fortunately I didn't have any commitment on Tuesday until about 3:30 when we had to go get gas and then meet friends to go to the Plaza to meet another couple for our traditional dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. That gave me time to do some cleaning, put away the fall decorations, and get out a few Christmas decorations. My step count was 6562 steps or 2.73 miles. Cleaning is a lot of work.

I wanted the house to look a little bit festive for the canasta group that was coming Wednesday afternoon for a fun game of cards. Before they came at 1 though I had handbell practice at 9 for an ensemble group that is playing later this month for the Wednesday afternoon chapel service. We ended up practicing longer than I expected so it was 11 before I got back home. That gave me just enough time to make this dessert for the canasta group. Our game ended at 4 giving me a short rest before I had to be back at the church by 5:30 for regular handbell practice. Practice usually goes to 6:45 ish but I had to leave at 6:30 so I could pick up Wayne to go to our granddaughter's middle school choir concert. We finally got home at 9 that night. My step count was 6151 steps or 2.56 miles.

Thursday I met with the hospitality coordinator at church for about an hour and then returned home to meet with neighbor Sara to premix the dry ingredients for Friday morning when the unleavened bread bakers were meeting at the church to make communion bread for the rest of December, January, and February. We have special Christmas services where we will be serving communion so we had a lot of extra servings. That took at least an hour. We prepared 17 mixes. After lunch I had some time to get caught up with washing since we didn't have to be anywhere until 6:30 that night when it was back at church for a concert by our music director and some musical friends of his. I really could have had a little more hours in the day. My step count when I went to bed was 4585 steps or 1.82 miles.

Friday morning I was at the church by 8:30 to meet up with friends to make unleavened bread. We made 1915 servings. We finished up around 11 ish and then I went to help Sara set up the tables with cushions and covers, etc for the handbell choir for Sunday's performance at church. (Sara besides being a neighbor, the director of the Miracle Ringers, the handbell choir, she is also a fellow baker for the unleavened bread. That's why she was helping me measure out the dry ingredients for the unleavened bread recipe.)That took close to an hour. Since I had missed practice the night before we left to drive to CO, Sara had agreed to help me with the two pieces we were playing on Sunday. She moved me this fall to different bells and I have been having some problems adjusting. I needed to practice more than we did, but after about an hour, I told her I could hardly stand up. 

The nice thing after all of this was meeting Wayne at Culver's for lunch. We also needed to buy some gift cards for students at the high schools for special occasions. Our Sunday school class has done that for several years as a Christmas project. The counselors distribute them to needy students. Friday night when I went to bed I showed 7359 steps or 3.06 miles for the day. 

I won't bother describing how my Saturday was and you definitely don't want to know how busy my Sundays are. At least I got to sit for 3 hours watching the Chiefs lose their football game.

With that kind of a week, I definitely needed something easy to make to treat my quilting friends when we met for canasta. I love easy but it is also important that the treat taste good also. This Cherry Cheesecake Dump Cake was that and more. I was also able to use a no-sugar-added cherry pie filling and a zero-sugar yellow cake mix. I didn't look but I don't think the can of tart red cherries that the recipe also called for has much sugar, definitely no added sugar. Everyone really enjoyed it as I gave them a generous serving. The original recipe didn't call for sugar-free ingredients; I just try to substitute them as much as I can whenever possible.

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CHERRY CHEESECAKE DUMP CAKE

1      can (21 - ounces) cherry pie filling (no-sugar-added will work)

1      can (14.5 ounces) tart cherries in water, drained

4      ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces

1      package (15 ounces) yellow cake mix (a zero-sugar one works)

1/2   cup (1 stick) butter, cut into thin slices

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the cherry pie filling and tart cherries in a bowl until well mixed up.

Spread in the pan.

Scatter the small pieces of cream cheese over the cherries.

Top with the cake mix, spreading it evenly over the cherries and cream cheese pieces. Press down lightly.

Top with a single layer of the thin slices of butter.

(If you have any area that doesn't get covered with a think slice of butter, use extra butter so that the butter totally covers the dry cake mix.)

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cent of the came comes out clean. (You can see the areas where the butter was sliced thinner.)

Cool at least 15 minutes before serving. 

I'm so excited right now I only have one commitment for each day this week...well so far, that is. Hope your week is a good one.

SHARON'S MOM'S BLONDE BROWNIES

 

We have been in Colorado Springs for an early Christmas with  our older son Jeffrey and his family. It was so good to see them as it has been since January that we saw them. 

Since we were gone over the weekend that meant I wasn't here Sunday for the Cafe Treats at church, but I left everything in good hands with friends, Charlotte and Adam. Adam sent me pictures of everything so I would have a picture to go along the recipes.

Sharon treated everyone with two kinds of brownies... Chocolate ones and her mother's old recipe for Blonde Brownies. She tweaked the recipes to make them festive and Christmassy. I have been told they were really a big hit. I know that they looked yummy in the picture. She doubled her mother's recipe to make more and added red and green M & M's to the batter. She also added some sprinkles to the top of the baked brownies as soon as she took them out of the oven. I love the little white flower or snowflake ones.

The chocolate brownies were made from a dark chocolate brownies box mix and added sprinkles to the top as soon as she took them out of the oven. Sharon also said she added the M & Ms to them also. She said she often adds things to recipes but doesn't measure the ingredients. She just adds until she thinks it looks right. So I have tried to recreate her treat as best as I can.

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SHARON'S MOM'S BLONDE BROWNIES

1     cup flour

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/3  cup margarine

1     cup brown sugar

2     eggs

1     teaspoon vanilla

1/2  cup nuts (optional)

1/2  cup chocolate chips (optional)

sprinkles (optional)

red and green M & M's (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 " square pan. Set aside. (If you double the recipe, grease a 9 x 13 " pan.)

Melt the margarine; remove from heat and add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix well.

To make the brownies festive, add some red and green M & M's to the batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle some sprinkles on top as soon as you take the brownies from the oven.

Cut into squares to serve.

WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PRETZEL RICE KRISPIE TREATS

 

When I encouraged the Cafe Treats Bakers that they could bring Christmas treats, Baker Charlotte came up with this recipe for White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Rice Krispie Treats. The title just about says it all as just about every ingredient is in the title. 

One patron after enjoying one piece, commented that the combination of sweet and salt was delicious! And she was so right. I wonder how many different things you could add to a traditional Rice Krispie Treat recipe to get a different flavor? I bet the list is endless.

I think Charlotte plans to make these again for next Sunday. I'm sure they will be a popular selection again. 

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WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PRETZEL RICE KRISPIE TREATS

6    tablespoons unsalted butter

1    16 oz bag mini marshmallows + 2 cups more mini marshmallows

1/4  teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2  teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

8     cups crispy rice cereal

2     cups chopped pretzels

3/4  cup white chocolate chips

1/3  cup crushed peppermint candy

TOPPING

1/2   cup white chocolate chips

1/4   teaspoon oil

1/4   cup chopped pretzels

1/4   cup crushed peppermint candy

Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the 16 oz bag of mini-marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows are completely melted.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peppermint extract and the sea salt.

Add the cereal and pretzels; gently stir until well coated with the marshmallows.

Stir in the remaining 2 cups of marshmallows, white chocolate chips, and crushed peppermint candy.

Spoon the mixture into the pan and press down and flatten using wax paper. Set aside.

Prepare the topping by pouring the white chocolate chips and oil in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.

Drizzle the white chocolate over the top. Then top with chopped pretzels, crushed candy, and seat salt.

Allow the treats to sit until chocolate is hard, about 1 hour. Cut into squares to serve.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap or put the treats in an airtight container and store on the counter for up to 3 days.

ORANGE CRANBERRY MELTAWAY COOKIES

 The weather forecaster got it right Saturday when they said we were going to get some measurable snow. It even started when they forecasted it to start between 2 and 3 o'clock. We went to Cracker Barrel for a later lunch and didn't realize it was snowing outside when we left a little before 3. The interesting thing was Friday on Facebook one of the memories was from 5 years ago and we had had a measurable snowfall of probably 3 inches at least. We didn't get 3 inches this time, but the roads were covered and messy in places. 

Church attendance was down because so many didn't want to risk the roads and streets but the Cafe was a busy place with less than a normal assortment of treats. It is such a fun place to be on Sunday morning.

I made these Orange Cranberry Meltaway Cookies because I love anything orange and cranberry and they sorta looked like Christmas. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the Cafe Treats Bakers can make some festive Christmas cookies. I can hardly wait.

I decided to chop the dried cranberries because they were such large cranberries and I want to make sure there were ample cranberries in each cookie and I'm so glad I did. I always use dried orange peel so since the recipe called for 1 tablespoon of orange zest, I thought 1/2 tablespoon of the dried would be enough. I also drizzled the glaze over a cookie after mixing in 2 tablespoons of orange juice and took a picture. As you can see below, the glaze is a nice solid glaze on it. Then I added another tablespoon of orange juice and the glaze was thinner. I just did have enough to cover the almost 3-1/2 dozen of cookies. So if you only use 2 tablespoons of orange juice, you will probably have to mix up a little extra.

I was not disappointed in the cookies and they were well received in the Cafe. 

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ORANGE CRANBERRY MELTAWAY COOKIES

1      cup diced dried cranberries

1      cup butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)

1      cup granulated sugar

1      tablespoon orange zest (I used 1/2 tablespoon dried orange peel)

1      egg

1       teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4    teaspoon baking soda

2-1/2 cups flour

Glaze

1-1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2-3    tablespoons orange juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Dice the dried cranberries and cover with warm water in a medium sized bowl for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add in the zest, egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Mix for 1 minute until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Turn the mixer to low (stir) and slowly add the flour. (I did about three or four portions.)

Drain the cranberries and

pat dry on a double thickness of paper towels.

Add to the mixture and stir until the cranberries are

well mixed up.

Using a tablespoon cookies scoop, scoop the dough on the cookies sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. Cookies will be puffy.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack. The cookies will be flattened.

Whisk together the powdered sugar with the orange juice to make a glaze suitable for covering the cookie.

(I sifted my powdered sugar so I just used a teaspoon to mix up.)

Two tablespoons make a thicker glaze (the cookie on the left) and three tablespoons make a thinner glaze (the cookie on the right) .

Drizzle 1 teaspoon of glaze over each cookie.

(Place a sheet of wax paper under the wire rack to catch the glaze as it covers the cookies.)

Store in a closed container when they are completely cool with wax paper between the layers.

The views from my windows yesterday morning...

The weather forecaster said we got 2.2 inches of snow. The sun did come out and the temperatures rose to 37 so the roads were clear by evening.