Jolene's Recipe Journal

Every year I made Christmas cookie trays for friends and family.  There are the classics like sugar, chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin, then I pick a few different cookies that add color or flavors that we'd all enjoy. I saw these Crystallized Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies on Taste of Home's Ultimate Cookie Countdown, and immediately added it to my Pinterest board for this year's trays.  When I went to print it out, I realized that the recipe is from my fellow blogger friend Colleen from Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice ! I made the recipe exactly as stated except that I rolled the dough balls in turbinado sugar instead of granulated.  I just love the sparkle and crunch it gives them.  My cookies were very puffy as they came out of the oven, but flattened a bit as they cooled.  Next time I'd keep the dough balls chilled between batches, my fridge was just too stuffed with holiday dinner items to do it this time. Th

What a crazy month December has been! I've been sitting here stressing over all the baking and holiday tasks I need to do this weekend, so I decided a cocktail was in order. I'm a big White Russian fan and I thought a holiday spin on it would be a good way to renew my Christmas spirit. I searched our liquor stash and came up with some Kahlua coffee liqueur, Peppermint Schnapps and Godiva Chocolate Liqueur. I used a jigger to measure to measure it into my cocktail shaker, but if you don't have one, 3 tablespoons roughly equals 1.5 oz. Add ice and shake until well combined.  Divide between two glasses, top with cream. You can garnish these with a candy cane, or if you want to get fancy, you can rim the glasses with it.  I used corn syrup to get my crushed candy cane to stick, but melted chocolate would be great too.  Be sure to chill the glasses after you add the candy, or it will all slowly slide down the sides. This really hit the spot!  The cool peppermint, da

So excited to be participating in this month's Candy Fantastical Food Fight! I wanted to jump in on this one because candy isn't something that I make very often.  To help chose my recipe, I spent some time thinking about what my guys love to eat and scrolling through my Pinterest boards . Caramels were a big hit back in October, and they are huge fans of truffles, so when I saw this recipe from Taste of Home, I knew it'd be a winner.  I liked that the whole thing is made in the microwave, and you don't have to mess with thermometers or anything like that. I made the recipe as written this time around, using milk chocolate and semi sweet chips. Next time I'd definitely split the batch in two and do some with dark chocolate, which is my favorite.  The hardest part of the whole thing was doing the math to get 30 squares out of an 8x8 pan! I dipped the caramels as directed, then I went back and drizzled more chocolate in a decorative pattern of the top using a f

I am a huge fan of all things ginger, tea, coffee, baked good, breakfast items. I even snack on crystallized ginger.  I used to visit a restaurant that made the most amazing gingerbread waffles, but we've moved too far from it to make it a regular stop now. I have been craving those waffles for a few weeks, so I went searching the Taste of Home site for a recipe to try.  The only change I made to the recipe was to use a vinegar/whole milk substitution for the buttermilk. I had dried sliced ginger root and whole nutmeg so I grated those fresh, and wow, did my house smell amazing! I'm not a big fan of having to whip the egg whites separately, just another bowl to wash, but it really is crucial to the texture of the waffles in most cases.  These are amazing either with the icing as listed or with real NH maple syrup.  I got 6 waffles, so I froze the extras for Christmas morning breakfast.    Gingerbread Belgian Waffles Print With Image Without Image ingred

There was a time where I'd see the word yeast in a recipe and just think to myself, nope! and keep scrolling on by, but I've done a pretty good job conquering my fear of yeast over the last few years. I've made apple coffee cake ,  biscuits , even some beignets .  When I made my menu for this week I knew tonight would be pasta, but after a quick freezer check, I had no Texas Toast or anything to serve with it.  I didn't really feel like going to the store, so I searched my Taste of Home Pinterest board for ideas and there were these Easy Batter Rolls. Nothing draws me in like the word easy.  I even had all the ingredients on hand.  The dough came together in a flash, and I finally used my oven's bread proofing setting to get the rises required.  When it came time to bake, I realized that my muffin tins are pretty beat up, so I grabbed a popover pan instead. I wasn't sure about how to put them in the pan, so I sort of formed them into a ball and then dro

I really hope that you are enjoying Christmas Cookies Week as much as I am! For my last recipe, I chose a recipe that showcased one of my family's favorite flavors, lemon.   We are all huge fans of sandwich cookies as well, so I knew this one would be a winner.  This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasCookiesWeek.   I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the ChristmasCookiesWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. The dough ingredients are pantry staples, and it comes together so quickly. I used a cookie scoop to portion the dough, which make getting uniform cookies a breeze.   I snuck a spoonful of the filling before I started assembling cookies, and I could've eaten the whole bowl, it was so good. These cookies are so tender, they practically melt in your mouth. If you're not going to eat them right away, be sure to keep them in the fridge.   Thank you so much to Bernice M. for sharing this recipe. It's def