Peanut-Butter/ Chocolate Covered ritz crackers

My daughter, Stacy, discovered these while she was at Baylor. She came home one Christmas and made them for us.  We have been hooked ever since.  Warning--they are adictive.  We make them in milk chocolate and white chocolate bark. You can find the bark in microwavable containers on the baking isle.
Ingredients:
1 container of white chocolate bark
and/or 1 container of milk chocolate bark
ritz crackers ( as many as you want to make)
peanut butter
First, you spread peanut butter between two crackers. I make these up before I start dipping in chocolate. Second, you melt the bark in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Then you dip the ritz cracker, both sides, in the chocolate.  Jud says there is a trick to it.  After he puts them on the wax paper to harden, he lets the next cookie drip over the top of any holes that weren't completely covered. He uses tongs when dipping. Hope your family enjoys these as much as we do.

Peppermint Bark

I have made this for the last 2-3 years for Christmas. It didn't go over that well this year, so I will probably stick with the peanut-butter/chocolate covered ritz crackers and the Heath Bar candy.  But here is the recipe
Ingredients:
white and milk chocolate bark or chips
Crushed peppermint candy canes to yield 2 cups- divided use
1/2 t. Peppermint flavoring, optional ( divided use)
Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into pieces. Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or microwave for 1 min. and then 15 second intervals until melted. Combine 1/2 cup of the peppermint chips to the chocolate mix. Stir until melted into the chocolate. Add peppermint flavoring if desired. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator about 25 min.
Second layer - Melt the white chocolate and 1/2 cup of the peppermint as desired.  Add peppermint flavoring if desired. Pour the melted white chocolate over the milk chocolate and spread evenly over the dark chocolate.  Sprinkle rest of the crushed peppermint over the white chocolate. Let harden for about 45 min. and then break into pieces ( like peanut brittle.)

Heath Bars

I have been making this for Christmas for the past 30 years.  I taught kindergarten at a private school in Round Rock and one of my students gave this to me for Christmas. I fell in love at first bite. Hope you enjoy it as well.
Ingredients:
2 stick butter (no substitute)
1 cup blanched slivered almonds (to be added later)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon white Karo syrup
Mix all ingredients except the almonds in a small saucepan. Over a high flame, stir constantly until the mixture is a shade darker than brown sugar. At least 6 minutes. Spread quickly on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use a spatula to spread about 1/8" thick. Put 3 extra-large hershey bars on top and spread over mixture. When chocolate is melted, add small crushed almonds over top. Press lightly into chocolate. When cool break into pieces. Top with more blanched almonds if desired.

Peppermint Patties

This recipe calls to coarsely crush peppermint candies to adorn these ice cream sandwiches. I took the easy way out and used peppermint ice cream. It is in the grocery stores this time of year, and it is so refreshing after a meal, but I will write the recipe like it is in the book.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour                                      1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda                  1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, soft                            1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed            1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla                              30 peppermint candies
4 cups vanilla ice cream
Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and set aside. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time to sugar mixture. Lightly grease hands with cooking spray. Divide dough in half. Shape into six inch log and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for 1 hour. Working with 1 log at a time, cut into 12- 1/2 inch thick pieces. Place 1" apart and bake at 350 degrees for 11 min. Let cool 2 min and remove to wire rack to cool completely. Spread ice cream on bottom 1/2 of cookie. Top with the other cooled cookie and roll sides in peppermint candy. Wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and freeze at least 4 hours.

Bread Pudding

I make this for Wed. night church dinners often. It makes more than Jud and I can eat, and it is always gone at the end of the dinner.  It doesn't need any kind of sauce, but my mother usually made a lemon sauce for it.   Sometimes instead of toasting the bread in the toaster, I just cube the bread and put it in a 350 degree oven for about 30 min. then I pour the butter over the top.  This was a recipe I got from my mother, Barbara Brown. Don't know where she got it.


Ingredients:
10 slices of toasted bread
2 sticks of butter - melted
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups milk
nutmeg for top

Break toasted bread into bite-size pieces and put in a pan with melted mutter. Stir until butter is soaked into bread. Beat eggs, and add sugar, milk, and vanilla. Put bread mixture in a 9" X 13" pan and pour egg mixture over the bread mixture. Mash down so the egg mixture will soak into the bread. Sprinkle top with nutmeg. Bake 400 degrees - 45 min. Turn off oven and let it finish browning to the color you want.

If you give a mouse a cookie

Juanita and I are taking Anthony to see "If you give a Mouse a Cookie" at Majik Theatre in San Antonio. I made these cookies to for this occasion. This is from Top Secret Recipes and is a version of Nabisco Oreo Cookies.

Cookie
1 18.25 package of chocolate fudge cake mix
3 Tablespoons shortening, melted
1/2 cup cake flour, measured and sifted
1 egg
3 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons brown paste food coloring (optional)*
Filling
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 Tablespoons hot water
1. Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl. Add the water a little at a time until the dough forms. Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
2. Prehead oven to 350 degrees
3. On a lightly floured surface roll out a portion of the dough to just under 1/16 " thick. To cut, use a lid from a spice container with a 1 1/2 " diameter. Arrange the cut dough rounds on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with a non-stick spray. Bake for 10 min. Remove wafers from the oven and cool completely.
4. As the cookies bake, make the filling by combining the filling ingredients with an electric mixer.
5. When the cookies have cooled, roll a small portion (1/4 teaspoon) of the filling into a vall (just over1/4 inch in diameter) and press it between two of the cookies. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
*If you do not use the food coloring be sure to change the amount of water added to the wafer cookies from 3 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup. The food coloring gives the cookies the dark brown, almost black color. The coloring can be found with cake decorating supplies at craft stores. I just used black food coloring from the grocery store