St. Patrick's Day Pistachio Cake Mix Cookies

I'm a fan of cake mix cookies. They are so easy to throw together and I love the chewy, moist texture. This particular recipe also adds a box of instant pistachio pudding mix and they are green so they are perfect for St. Patrick's Day. That's pretty much the only time they are on my radar so we usually only make these once a year, but they are worth the wait! (I found this recipe here.)

1 box white cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)

1 small box instant pistachio pudding

2 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil

3/4 tsp. almond extract

a few drops green food coloring (optional)

1 c. white chocolate chips

        Preheat oven to 350º. Combine cake mix and pudding mix. Add the eggs, oil, almond extract, and food coloring. Mix well. The dough will be stiff. Stir in white chocolate chips. Roll into 1" to 1 1/2" balls (or use a cookie scoop). Place on silicone baking mat (or lightly greased baking sheet). Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Fudge Cookies (Cake Mix Cookies)

I've had this super easy and quick recipe for years and I've made it dozens of times. The recipe is quite versatile and the cookies are always moist and delicious. My friend, Leona, who gravitated to recipes using 5 ingredients or less, shared this with me and I'll be forever grateful!

1 package Devil’s Food cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
2 eggs
½ c. oil
1 c. chocolate chips
        Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape stiff mixture into small balls or use cookie scoop. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes. 

        Tip: You can try using different flavors of cake mix or chips. Roll the cookies in powdered sugar after baking or spread a melted Hershey kiss on top. Our favorite is piping melted Candy Cane Kisses over the top at Christmastime….or in July if you still have the kisses left because you bought so many extras. ;)

Peppermint Balls

These are one of my favorite Christmas treats! Once Halloween is over, I start making these and I don't stop until New Years. The recipe makes a small batch, but believe me, it's much safer that way. (Yes, you can double it.) These cookies are so pretty with the glaze and candies sprinkled on top, and they are just so, so good!

½ c. butter

¾ c. powdered sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. peppermint extract OR 10 drops (approx. 1/16 tsp.) peppermint oil 

1 ½ c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ c. crushed peppermint candies* (like candy canes or starlight mints)

        Preheat oven to 350°. Cream ingredients together, stirring in crushed candy last. Form into balls and bake for 9-11 minutes until barely browning around edges. Do not overbake. Allow to cool and then glaze with a powdered sugar & milk or water mixture. (I use 1/2 c. powdered sugar with 2-3 tsp. milk for the glaze. Stir well and add a drop or two of peppermint oil, if desired.) Sprinkle with some crushed peppermint candies. 

        Note: I used to use peppermint extract, which is what the original recipe called for. Now I always use peppermint oil and I add a drop or two to the glaze as well. I poured my oil in a bottle with a dropper which made it so much easier to use and measure. 

*I usually use Brach's Crushed Candy Canes. 

Perfect Turkey Gravy

This gravy is pretty easy and it tastes great. I found the recipe here. 

½ c. butter, cut into about 8 pieces

1 tsp. coarse black pepper

½ c. flour

4 c. pan drippings OR 4 c. chicken stock

        Pour drippings into a fine mesh strainer then allow the drippings to cool a bit so that the fat rises to the top and starts to solidify. Use a spoon to remove the fat. If you don’t have enough drippings to equal 4 cups, add enough chicken or turkey stock until you have 4 cups of drippings.

        In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in pepper. Slowly add in flour, constantly whisking to combine. After a few minutes, the flour will be well incorporated into the butter. Slowly begin to pour the drippings into the pan, constantly whisking. Allow the gravy to cook for several minutes, so that it can thicken up. Serve immediately or keep on very low heat until you’re ready to serve. 

 

Mashed Potatoes

Sadie is our mashed potato maker around here. She definitely knows what she's doing. :)

5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (or Russets, if preferred) 

1/2 c. butter (1 stick) 
1/2 c. milk or heavy cream

1/2 c. sour cream

Salt and Pepper 

        Peel and chop potatoes into chunks. In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until totally soft, 16-18 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to pot. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes until smooth.
        Melt butter and milk until warm. Pour over potatoes and stir until completely combined and creamy. Add sour cream and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Sugar Cookies

I got this recipe almost 25 years ago from my friend, Kristen, and these have become a Halloween tradition at our house. We cut them out in the shape of pumpkins, frost with orange and green frosting, then use candy corn to make faces. The combination of these cookies and frosting with candy corn...Oh Yum!!!

1 ½ c. sugar
1 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. milk
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
        Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Roll out on a floured surface at least 1/8 inch thick. Cut cookies into desired shapes and bake at 350° for about 10 minutes or until barely browning or just before they start to brown. Cool. Frost with buttery cookie icing, below.

Buttery Cookie Icing
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. margarine or butter, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
        Blend butter and powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add food coloring as desired. After decorating, let icing set before stacking cookies.

Pumpkin Pie

I don't always make my pumpkin pie from scratch, but when I do, this is my go-to recipe, compliments of Jeff's mom, Carol.

1 ½ c. pumpkin
¾ c. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ to 1 tsp. ginger
¼ to ½ tsp. nutmeg
½ to ½ tsp. cloves
3 slightly beaten eggs
one 6-oz. can evaporated milk
one 9-inch unbaked pastry shell
        Thoroughly combine the pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices. Blend in eggs and evaporated milk. Pour into unbaked pastry shell (have edges crimped high--Filling is generous). Bake in hot oven, 400°, 50 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and outside comes out clean. Cool.

Orange Jello with Topping

We've been making this easy side dish to go with our Thanksgiving dinner for as long as I can remember. When my kids were small, my friend Jeanee made it for us and we've been making it ever since. When Jeanee makes it, she stirs canned mandarins into the Jello before it sets. We leave the mandarins out, but it's a great addition, if you so desire. 

For a 9x13 pan, make 2 large boxes orange Jello (6 oz. each) according to package directions and refrigerate until set. (Use two 3 oz. or one 6 oz. box Jello for an 8x8 pan.) Make one small box vanilla pudding according to package directions. Combine with 8 oz. cool whip. Spread over set Jello. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon. (Any leftover topping tastes great on individual slices of pumpkin pie!)

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Yum!

1 tube saltine crackers
1 c. butter (no substitutes)
1 c. packed brown sugar
¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
        Preheat oven to 350°. Place saltine crackers in a single layer on a greased baking sheet (or line with parchment or a silicone baking mat). Set aside. 

        In a saucepan, melt butter and mix in brown sugar; bring to a boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from burner and pour evenly over crackers. Bake for 7 minutes on middle rack of oven. 

        Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over hot topping. (This next part gets a little messy...) Once the chips have melted, swirl the chocolate over the topping with a spoon to give it a marbled look or spread chocolate evenly to make a thin coating. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, approximately 30 minutes. Break into chunks or separate the crackers.

Graham Cracker Toffee

I have loved these since I was a little girl. 

One sleeve graham crackers, broken into quarters
~1/2 c. slivered almonds
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
¾ c. sugar
        Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Fill baking sheet with graham crackers, evenly spread out. Sprinkle slivered almonds over top. In a small pan, combine butter and sugar. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Drizzle over graham crackers. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

This delicious recipe is from Ocean Spray. If you like cranberry sauce, then you need to try this! 

1 package (12 oz.) fresh or frozen cranberries

1 medium orange

¾ to 1 c. sugar

Slice unpeeled orange into eighths; remove seeds. Place half the cranberries and half the orange slices in food processor container. Process until mixture is evenly chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining cranberries and orange slices. Stir in sugar to desired sweetness. Store in refrigerator or freezer. Makes about 2 ½ cups. May also be prepared in a food grinder.

Green Bean Casserole

This recipe is from Campbell's. It just feels like Thanksgiving or Christmas which happen to be the only times we even think about making it. :)

2 cans (10 ¾ oz. each) Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup milk

2 tsp. soy sauce

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

8 cups cooked cut green beans (can use canned, too)

2 2/3 c. French’s French Fried Onions

Mix soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 1 1/3 c. onions in 3-qt. casserole. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir. Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake 5 minutes. Serves 10.

Spice Punch

My friend, Deborah, doesn't do anything halfway. This drink takes a little time to make, but it's the perfect drink to have available in the background of any holiday gathering. And it smells so good!

4 quarts water

2 ½ c. sugar

1 large or 2 small cinnamon sticks

5-6 cloves

1 can (11.5 oz) frozen orange juice concentrate

1 can (11.5 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate

     Combine first four ingredients and simmer for about 1 hour on low. Add orange juice and lemonade concentrate. Allow to melt in the mixture and heat up. Serve hot. (It won’t hurt to leave this on low for an extended period of time. Can be kept in crock pot for hours.

Hot Holiday Punch

This is a fun holiday drink from my friend, Jeanee.

2 c. Tang powder

2 c. Country Time Lemonade powder

1  1/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

     Mix ingredients and store. To use, stir 1 to 1½ Tbsp. of mix into 8 oz. hot water. Stir until dissolved.

Effortless Egg Nog

I found this recipe years ago at Taste of Home. I can honestly say I like this more than regular egg nog. I love the subtle flavor of the nutmeg and cinnamon. The original recipe calls for vanilla pudding mix, but once we tried it with white chocolate pudding, we've never looked back!

½ gallon cold milk, divided

1 package (3.4 oz) instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix

¼ c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

     Whisk ¾ c. milk and pudding mix until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the remaining milk. Refrigerate until serving. (110 calories per ½ cup serving.)