Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Last one of the holiday recipes. I had an issue getting all my pictures downloaded, which is why it's taken this long for me to get them all up.

Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Originally found at Redbook Magazine

1 lb (36 oz) salted dry-roasted peanuts
2 oz (2 squares) German's sweet chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 lb white almond bark

Pour peanuts over bottom of 2-quart slow cooker. Layer the chocolate over the peanuts. Set temperature to low and cook for 2-3 hours. Mix well and drop by tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight container.

My Notes:
This recipe was initially doubled for a 4-quart slow cooker, but this produces a lot of clusters. Great if you plan on giving them away, not so great if you plan on eating them yourself. I ended up bringing home a giant container of them because my stepmom and dad were intending on starting a diet after the new year. They are quite good--nice and smooth and creamy.

Toffee Crack

You though I was kidding with the bajillion recipes this month. My stepmom really likes to bake, so I have a number of new baking recipes for you. None of them very good for you, but oh, so delicious. A few of the names are changed, because I just don't feel right naming something "Christmas Crack" when I don't really celebrate Christmas.

Toffee Crack
Originally found at Toffee Crack

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 sleeve Saltine crackers
12 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar in the butter and bring them to a boil. Boil for three minutes. Meanwhile, cover a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Arrange crackers over the pan. Pour the caramel mixture over the crackers, spreading the caramel as necessary to cover the crackers. Bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and allow to soften. Spread with a spatula. Allow to cool completely, then remove from foil-lined pan and break-up into bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
The original recipe asks that you freeze the mixture to cool it, and then keep it in the fridge. While this may be necessary for preventing the pieces from sticking together, they are certainly safe to keep out on the counter. I have not made them by allowing them to cool naturally, so if you do and they never really harden, please let me know and I'll adjust the directions accordingly.

This is a very sugary, typical holiday treat. Eat with caution.

Heath Bits Cookies

These were originally a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but come on... Who wouldn't rather have a bit of toffee in their cookie?

Heath Bits Cookies
Originally found at Pin Cookie

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt until well combined. Fold in toffee. Drop dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

My Notes:
Interesting recipe. It really does create a nice, thin, chewy cookie. And the bit of crunch from the toffee just makes it divine. Be careful--these cookies don't really brown. The bottoms will, but the tops won't, so you don't want to bake them for longer than 10 minutes, even if they don't appear to be done.

Salsa Chicken Casserole

Salsa Chicken Casserole
Originally found at Budget Bytes

1 cup uncooked rice
1 (15 oz.) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
1 cup chicken broth
½ Tbsp chili powder
½ tsp oregano
1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into serving-size portions (about the size of a deck of cards)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rice, beans, corn, and salsa into 9x13 baking dish. Stir until evenly combined. Add chicken broth, chili powder, and oregano and mix. Push the chicken pieces into the rice mixture. Cover tightly with foil, and bake for one hour. Check for tenderness of rice, and bake up to another 10-15 minutes.

My Notes:
This is actually pretty flavorful. It took forever for the chicken to cook in the container I used (and I had thawed it all out beforehand), but when it was done, the rice was nice and fluffy and oh so much flavor. Definitely something I'll make again.

Turtle Cookies

So I broke my tradition of having at least one post per month. I was away for half of November, which makes trying new recipes a bit challenging (since you're trying to use up all the stuff you have in the fridge so it doesn't spoil while you're away. Which I probably should have done more diligently, since I now have a heck of a task in cleaning out the fridge. Bleh).

But I'm hoping to make up for it a little this week, as I have several recipes on the list that I want to try. Probably won't get to all of them, but if I get 2-3, I'll consider it a success.

Also, I have no idea how I managed it, but I forgot to take a picture of these cookies. I could have sworn I took like 10, but evidently I didn't. So in the interest of getting this blog out, I'm skipping the picture for now. It's flagged for me to remember to take a picture next time.

Turtle Cookies
Originally found at The Kitchen Is My Playground

8 Tbsp butter (1 stick), softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp water
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups pecans, finely chopped
14 soft caramel candies (the kind you'd use to make caramel apples)
1 tsp milk

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg yolk, 2 Tbsp milk, and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add to sugar mixture slowly until just combined. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk egg white with 1 tsp water, until frothy. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then dip in egg white mixture, then roll into pecans. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Just before baking, press an indentation into the center of the cookie. Bake until set, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool 1 minute on sheet, then remove to wire rack.

Place caramels and 1 tsp milk into a microwave safe container, then microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until caramels completely melted, heating more if necessary. Consistency should be thick, but pourable. If needed, additional milk can be added. Spoon a small amount of caramel into indentations in the cookies. Cool completely, then store in airtight container.

My Notes:
Despite what the author of the blog above states, I really don't think these were the most amazing turtle cookies ever. They were a bit dry, and the original recipe for the caramel was way too thin, so I had to adapt that a bit. But they're not bad. A bit time consuming, but not bad. My roommate loved them, especially drenched in the too-thin caramel sauce, so I've decided that I'm just on the picky side. Which is fine, these are probably something I'll make again, I just might try to figure out some way to make them a little more moist.