2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 eggs (for safety, you may want to use pasteurized eggs)
3 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
1/2 package mini marshmallows
1/2 cup peppermint stick candy, crushed

Mix the vanilla wafers and the melted butter. Press into a 9 x 13 inch pan.
Cream the softened butter and confectioner’s sugar. Add 3 eggs, beat well. Add the squares of melted unsweetened chocolate. Beat until light and fluffy. Spoon over crumbs and set in freezer.
Whip the whipping cream. Fold in the marshmallows. Spread marshmallow mixture over set chocolate layer. Sprinkle with the peppermint candy.
Freeze.

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
4 cups sliced peeled tart apples
1 cup dried cranberries, rehydrated in 1 cup warm apple cider or apple juice for 30 minutes, then drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup caramel baking chips (I get mine from King Arthur Flour), or you can use caramel candies chopped finely
1 Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Add apples cranberries, walnuts and caramel; toss gently. Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry. Add filling; dot with butter. Roll the remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Cut vents in pastry. Place over filling; seal and flute the edges.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment, place the pie on the cookie sheet (doing this will save your oven in case is boils over). Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F; bake 50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar while it’s still hot. Place on wire rack and allow to cool.

Brioche Cinnamon Buns

For the starter
2 tbs (1 oz) water
1 tbs (1/2 oz) sugar
¼ tsp instant yeast
½ cup (2.5 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1 large egg

For the dough
1 cup plus 1 ½ tbs (5.5 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
2 tbs (.75 oz) sugar
1 ½ tbs instant yeast
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs, cold
8 tbs (4 oz) unsalted butter, soft

For the filling
8 tbs (4 oz) butter, melted
2 tbs (.75 oz) sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 egg mixed with 1 tsp of water (for egg wash)

Lemon glaze (recipe follows)

In an electric mixer bowl, combine the water, sugar, yeast flour and egg. Whisk by hand until very smooth – about two minutes. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and instant yeast. Then whisk in the salt (otherwise the salt would come into contact with the yeast and kill it). Sprinkle the flour mixture over the sponge, covering the sponge completely. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Add the two eggs to the dough mixture and mix on low speed with the dough hook until the flour is moistened – about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Raise speed to medium and beat for about 7 minutes, until the dough is shiny and smooth and massed around the dough hook (it won’t completely clear the sides of the bowl). Add the butter one tablespoon at a time, waiting for each piece to be completely incorporated before adding the next piece.

Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size – about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Gently deflate by stirring it with a rubber spatula.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work space and gently roll into a rectangle (it doesn’t matter which size rectangle). Give the dough a business letter fold. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, and give it another business letter fold. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to overnight, to develop flavor.

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll into a rectangle, about 14 inches by 12 inches. Brush the top of the dough all over with the melted butter. In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, sugar and salt for the filling. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up from the long side into a tight roll. Brush the final flap of dough with egg wash and pinch to seal the bottom edge. Gentle press the ends of the dough log to shorten the log – the final log should be 12 inches long.

Turn the dough so that the bottom side is facing down. With a very sharp knife, cut the log into 12 1-inch piece. Place each roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise until doubled – about 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375. Before baking, gently brush the rolls with egg wash, then place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through, until the rolls are deep brown.

Remove buns from oven and place on a rack to cool. When the buns are just warm to the touch, lightly drizzle with the lemon glaze. Buns are best served warm, with coffee.

For the lemon glaze
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup (4 oz) powdered sugar, sifted

In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth.

http://www.moderndomestic.com/2010/12/christmas-breakfast-brioche-cinnamon-rolls/

11 T Unsalted butter
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 C dark rum
1/4 C cognac
2 C all purpose flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking soda
1 C sugar
2 large eggs well beaten
1 T sour cream or buttermilk( I substituted plain greek yogurt cuz I had it and didn’t have sour cream)
1 C chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt tablespoons of butter. Add the brown sugar and cook stirring often, until the sugar melts completely and the mixture forms a syrup, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat if sugar is browning too quickly. Don’t worry if the sugar looks like it’s clumping; it will smooth out as it cooks. Stir in the bananas, rum and cognac; mixture will harden and become sticky. Cook another 10-12 minutes, until the sugar has melted nnd well blended. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 5×9 loaf pan, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl place flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Whisk until blended.

In work bowl of a electric stand mixter (I used a hand held and a large bowl, my wish has not yet been granted for one of those beauties) fitted with the paddle attachment place sugar and remaining softened butter. Beat on med high speed until fluffy and lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat until blended.
Add flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just blended. Add reserved banana/liquor mixture, sour cream, and beat until just blended. Fold in nuts if using. Pour into loaf pan. Bake until well browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Place pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling.

Thanks for the contest.

We almost tossed the batter thinking maybe we had burned the pan mixture but decided to go ahead and glad we did the final product was yummy.

I haven’t made them yet this year, so there’s no photos on the blog. But trust me. As soon as I make them, I’ll photograph their melty gooey yumminess for all to see.
http://franklymydearmojo.com/2011/11/17/recipe-gumdrop-gems-cookies/

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2-1/2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup small gumdrops, sliced (don’t use black)

DIRECTIONS:
Thoroughly cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in egg.
Sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Gradually stir into creamed mixture; mix well.
Shape dough into roll 2″ in diameter x 12″ long. Wrap in wax paper, chill several hours or overnight.
Cut 1/4-inch thick slices. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate tops with gumdrop slices.
Bake at 350 for approximately 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Cool slightly before removing from pan.
Makes approximately 4 dozen.

This recipe has been entered in the 2011 Holiday Recipe Exchange. “Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Chicago Metallic.”

These are like little mini fruitcakes that go great with coffee, tea, egg nog, milk, mulled wine, cider, hot chocolate… pretty much any holiday beverage you prefer.

They’re great to give as gifts, store well in cookie jars and air-tight canisters. They also travel/ship well for those out-of-town travelers and Care Packages.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup finely snipped dates
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped candied cherries
Halved candied cherries (to top cookies with)

DIRECTIONS:
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs until fluffy. Stir in sour cream.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, soda, salt, cloves. Stir into creamed mix.
Mix in oats, pecans, dates, raisins and chopped cherries.
Drop from spoon 2″ apart onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Top each with halved cherry.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Cool on rack.
Makes approximately 5 dozen.

This recipe has been entered in the 2011 Holiday Recipe Exchange. “Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Chicago Metallic.”

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (I use nonfat plain yogurt)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup of fresh cranberry sauce (recommended) – To make the sauce, follow the directions on any package of fresh cranberries (OR one 8-ounce can of whole cranberry sauce) {I use freshly made cranberry sauce}

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (*Decrease the temperature by 25 degrees if using dark pan.). Grease and flour one 9 or 10 inch tube pan. (I use a 10-inch)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs just until well blended.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With mixer running, (lower the mixer speed), add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream or yogurt to the butter mixture until just blended. Do not overmix! Stir in the almond extract and mix only until just combined. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Swirl 1/2 of the cranberry sauce into the batter. Repeat, ending with the batter on top.
4. Bake about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Let cool in pan on wire rack about 10 minutes. Cut around edge of the cake to loosen, then turn out and let cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 1 – 9 or 10 inch tube pan (12 servings).

Adapted from Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar (I used 2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
Raspberry and/or apricot jam (I used all fruit-sweetened jam)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (My note: line cookie sheets with parchment paper).
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until just combined, and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. (I divided the dough in half and placed each half onto a piece of plastic wrap, flattened into disks, and covered with extra plastic wrap). Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale, they should each weigh 1-ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet (about 1 1/2 – 2 ” apart), and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

Yield: 32 cookies

Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa