Hot Spiced Punch

This is a classic Monson recipe. We have had it every winter since I can remember. It's a great hot punch (kind of like a wassil) that is fantastic served with fresh cinnamon rolls, poppy seed cake, or with a couple of Christmas cookies. It makes even the coldest winter day seem a little bit better. It makes a ton, so if you're not planning on serving it to a big group, I'd recommend at least halving the recipe.


Hot Spiced Punch
Serves about 30

5 Quarts Water
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
4 cups sugar
6 lemons, juiced
6 oranges, juiced
1 large can pineapple juice

Boil water, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon together for 5 minutes. Add teh juices. Cook until heated through. Serve hot or cold. Keep refrigerated.

Oreo Truffles

I made these last year for Christmas, but in the midst of the 45 or so other things I cooked for our massive holiday party, they kind of got lost in the mix. I found Oreos for a great deal and decided to whip some up for New Year's Eve this year...and then wondered how I ever survived without them for so long. They were gone quickly, and I found myself making another batch just two days later because I didn't get enough of them the first time. They are super easy and have only three ingredients, you can't go wrong here! I adapted the recipe slightly from Kraft Foods; I added extra cream cheese because I like the truffles soft in the center so they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious.


Oreo Truffles
Makes 50-60 truffles

1 package Oreos
1 1/2 pkg. (12 oz. total) cream cheese, softened
12 oz. chocolate (I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate, I also did some with white chocolate and they were all great)
1 oz. white chocolate

1. In bowl of food processor, finely crush Oreos. Mix thoroughly with cream cheese until all the crumbs are mixed in and no white streaks are visible. Form into small balls (I used a small cookie scoop and then rolled them into balls) and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Melt 12 oz. chocolate over double boiler, stirring constantly. Dip each truffle into chocolate using a spoon, being sure to tap against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Drop onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles.
3. Melt 1 oz. white chocolate. Pour into ziploc bag and make a tiny hole in the corner. Drizzle over chocolates. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 72 hours (if they last that long!)

Poppy Seed Cake

Merry Christmas! I hope that you all had a great time with friends, family, and lots of good food. I made this for Christmas breakfast. It's been adapted to make it a little healthier, but it's still not too great for you...but don't let that stop you from eating a little bit, it is absolutely delicious! In fact, Corey informed me that this cake is his favorite thing that I make. And that's saying a lot. Don't skimp on the glaze, that is what puts this cake over the top.

Poppy Seed Cake

Cake
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Splenda
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup + 2 Tb. oil
1 1/2 Tb. poppy seeds
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Glaze
1 cup + 2 Tb. powdered sugar
3 Tb. butter, melted
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup + 2 Tb orange juice concentrate, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 6 small (2" x 5") loaf pans.
2. Mix sugar, Splenda, oil, and applesauce. Add eggs, vanilla, milk, and almond extract. Add dry ingredients. Divide evenly among pans.
3. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove to cooling racks. Meanwhile prepare glaze ingredients. Pour glaze over tops and sides of cakes.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

It's not Christmas without a pumpkin cake roll. There's something amazing about the creamy cheesecake filling and the spicy pumpkin cake that just sends me through the roof. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of it...I guess I'll just have to make it again to get a better picture.
Pumpkin Cake Roll
Adapted from Kraft Foods

1 cup powdered sugar, divided
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 1/4 cups whipped topping

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease jelly-roll pan (15x10x1). Line with wax paper or parchment. Grease wax or parchment paper.
2. Beat eggs, sugar, and Splenda in large bowl with electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. Add pumpkin and mix well. Add flour, spice, baking powder, and salt. Beat until just blended. Spread evenly into greased pan and sprinkle with walnuts.
3. Bake 15 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Immediately invert cake onto kitchen towel sprinkled with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Carefully peel off wax or parchment paper. Roll up cake and towel (starting with one of the short ends). Move to wire rack and cool completely.
4. Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup powdered sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add whipped topping and mix well. Carefully unroll cake and remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake and reroll. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Sugar Cookies

I don't remember a single Christmas without eating sugar cookies. We always make my Aunt Hattie's sugar cookies, but this year I decided to branch out a little bit and try another recipe. It's almost the exact same as Aunt Hattie's recipe, but it has sour cream instead of sour milk, butter instead of shortening, and one extra egg. These additions made the cookies much softer, and I love them! I'm not a crunchy sugar cookie person, and these were the perfect softness. I scaled these down so they don't make quite so many cookies (I still got about 4 dozen small to medium cookies out of the batch). I hope you enjoy them (and family, please don't throw things at me! I know it's not the same recipe, but it's really close. And you love me, remember?)

Sugar Cookies
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine sour cream, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Chill dough in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. Roll out dough on well floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into shapes. Place on cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes and move to cooling racks to cool completely. Frost with your favorite icing and crushed candy canes, if desired. Store covered for up to 1 week. They stay really soft even after a couple days. Enjoy!

Rice Crispy Treats

So I know that everyone has a recipe for rice crispy treats, and it's always pretty simple: butter, marshmallows, rice crispies. But these are much, much better. I promise. They're originally supposed to be made with Special K cereal, but I always use rice crispies instead. Enjoy!

Rice Crispy Treats

2 Tb. corn syrup
1 cube butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
24 marshmallows
6 cups rice crispies
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

1. Combine corn syrup, butter, sugars, and vanilla in large saucepan. Cook until well blended. Add marshmallows and cook until melted.
2. Pour mixture over rice crispies and walnuts, if desired. Pour into buttered 9 x 13 pan and cool for at least 2 hours. Cut into squares.

Rocky Road Fudge

This is a family recipe. I can't remember a single Christmas without eating this fudge. It is absolutely delicious. You don't have to add the nuts, but it definitely adds a lot of flavor and texture.

See's Fudge

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cube butter
1 can ( 5 1/3 oz) evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
10 large marshmallows, cut in half
1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

1. Into large bowl put walnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, and butter.
2. In large saucepan combine evaporated milk, sugar, and marshmallows. Boil for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly.
3. Pour over chocolate and nuts mixture. Stir until melted and well mixed. If making rocky road fudge, cool 5 - 10 minutes and stir in mini marshmallows.
4. Pour into 8 or 9 inch square pan, lined with foil and sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray. Chill at least 4 minutes or over night. Cut into small squares to serve.

Chocolate Scotcheroos

These are a classic in Corey's family, they always have them at Christmas time. I made them for our holiday party this year and they were a hit! Who wouldn't like peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate?

Chocolate Scotcheroos
1 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup

1 c peanut butter

6 c rice krispies

1 c chocolate chips

1 c butterscotch chips

1. Combine sugar and syrup in saucepan and cook to boiling.
2. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir until well blended.
3. Add rice krispies. Spread in 9x13 pan. Melt both chips together in small saucepan over low heat. Spread over the top of rice krispy mixture and cool. Cut into small squares and serve.

Molasses Cookies

This is a great holiday recipe. These are some of my father-in-law's famous cookies and we always love it when he makes them. They're pretty much homemade ginger snaps, only way, way better than anything you could buy at the store. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Molasses Cookies
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional, I leave it out because I can't stand the taste, but if you like nutmeg feel free to add it)
additional granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together shortening, butter, and sugar. Add molasses and egg. Slowly add dry ingredients.
3. Roll dough into small balls. Roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 7 - 8 minutes. Cool 2 minutes and move to cooling racks. Serve warm with milk!