Cornbread

Cornbread
Originally found at Coupon Closet

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients until well combined. Add egg, milk, and oil, and mix until just combined. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Notes:
Not the dairy-free version I was hoping for, but it's a step in the right direction. The dry ingredients can be pre-mixed and stored in an airtight container, and used in any recipe requiring 'cornbread' or 'Jiffy' mix.

Southwest Egg Rolls

I have been eagerly awaiting the day when I could make these. I had the hardest time finding egg roll wrappers at my grocery store, but I randomly found them one day. I have yet to see them there again. I wonder if someone requested them...

Southwest Egg Rolls
Originally found at Emily Bites

2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded cheese
4 scallions (green onions), chopped
1 (4 oz) can of green chiles, drained
1 t ground cumin
½ t chili powder
¼ t cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers

Preheat the oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except egg roll wrappers. Stir to combine.

For your assembly station, you'll need a flat, clean, dry surface; your filling; a bowl of water; and your oven sheet for baking. For instructions on how to roll an egg roll, see this link. Use a few heaping tablespoons of filling per wrapper. Do not overfill.

When all egg rolls are assembled, lightly brush or mist the tops with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn and brush or mist the other side with oil. Bake another 5-10 minutes, until wrappers are golden brown. Serve warm.

My Notes:
I omitted the spinach in my version, because I didn't feel like taking the time to wilt the fresh spinach I had on hand to mix it in with the rest of the filling. As a result, I had far less filling than Emily did, and only managed to fill about 14 wrappers (I also think I was a little more generous with my filling than she was at first). You can also go crazy and fry these, just make sure they're sealed reallly good, because you don't want oil splattering everywhere if they burst open. Baking does change the texture a little--they're not quite as chewy and much more crunchy than crispy, but they're still good.

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.