Sorry, no Daring Bakers Challenge for me this month.

Due to the craziness of sick kids, holiday travelling, and the general madness of December, I'll not be trying the French Yule Log this month. It does look yummy, and since it's a frozen dessert...I may have to make it a July French Yule Log.
Til next month...

The Parade of Christmas Goodies begins here...

There's still a couple of weeks til Christmas, but it's time for me to start making some yummy treats for our coworkers and friends.

There's a big goodie making extravaganza day planned for next week, but I needed to make a couple of treats for work tomorrow. I won't be back to my home store before Christmas, so here we go.

These are a favorite at my Grandma Faye's dinner. My Aunt Stevie usually brings them and I have to stay far far away!

Horney Toads (aka Cornflake Cookies)
from "Recipe Hall of Fame Quick & Easy Cookbook"

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
pinch of salt
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
3 to 4 cups cornflakes (I used 4 cups)

Blend sugars, syrup, and salt in a saucepan. Let come to a boil. Reduce heat to warm and add peanut butter, stirring til smooth. Blend in cornflakes and drip by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.

More Christmas pictures. Part 3. Finished.

Yeah, I was a glutton for punishment. I just couldn't put the camera down. It's a good thing though...I would have missed these.


Okay...this one is for my mom who has never seen the Christmas tree at our house. Here ya go, Mom.

Christmas Pictures continued...Part 2 Brotherly Love

After a short little break, I decided to try for both boys. More of a challenge, but I was up for it. I offered up a short prayer for patience and a minor miracle to get both boys looking at the camera. Then the fun began.
Again, you see, it started off pretty well. Aahh, aren't they cute!
They do love each other.
Okay, mama...times up! This looks more like normal.

The saga of the Christmas pictures Part 1

Well, it was a lovely Saturday morning and I decided we would take some pictures for Christmas cards. It started well. Ty was pretty cooperative...then not so much.
To be continued...

November Daring Bakers...Caramel Cake

This is my first month participating in the Daring Bakers Challenge. I wanted to expand my baking horizons a little bit, and thought this would be a fun way to do that.
My first challenge was this fantastic caramel cake. It is very sweet and very rich...perfect for sharing with the family on Thanksgiving. I actually had a pretty easy time of it, although this was only my second time at making caramel. The frosting is dee-licious and will be put on top of some chocolate cupcakes really soon!
For the recipe, check out the source of our November challenge... Shuna Fish Lydon at eggbeater.typepad.com
This is her signature caramel cake recipe. The recipe can be found at
http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/200612/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/
The host for this challenge was Dolores of culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com and the cohosts were Alex of blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com , Jenny of forayintofood.blogspot.com , and Natalie of glutenagogo.blogspot.com

Brown Sugar Chewies...a family favorite

These are one of our families favorite cookies. One of the few that Eric actually requests. Chewy, yummy, goodness. Bonus...they don't require a mixer, so you can make them with sleeping babies in the house. Hope you enjoy them.








Brown Sugar Chewies
from Paula Deen & Friends cookbook
**I usually double the recipe for a 9 x 13 inch pan

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (we don't use these, so I'd say they're optional)
confectioner's sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8-inch square pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.
In a saucepan, melt the butter. Turn off the heat, add the brown sugar, and stir until smooth. Stir in the egg. Sift together the flour and baking powder and stir into the brown sugar mixture. Add the vanilla and pecans.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.
When cool, dust the top with confectioner's sugar. After cutting into squares, remove from the pan and store in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid.