Jolene's Recipe Journal

Each year I make a Christmas baking plan that's pretty ambitious.  This year, I'd got in my head that I was going to make some brownies and decorate them like trees, but then I wound up doing some tree shaped shortbread instead.  Since I already had the brownie mix, I went searching for ideas of how to use it and my friend Sue suggested these Brownie Crackles from Taste of Home.  I had all the ingredients on hand except the semi sweet chips, so I used dark chocolate chips instead. I think I like these even better than the traditional chocolate crinkles, the flavor and the texture are amazing.  They were a big hit at our gathering on Christmas Eve, so they'll definitely be on the master list for next year!  Thank you to Ellen G. for sharing her recipe, and to Sue for putting it on my radar! Brownie Crackles Print With Image Without Image Ingredients 1 package fudge brownie mix (13x9-inch pan size) 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 large egg 1/2 cup water 1/...

Christmas morning is hectic for me with the prep for the main meal, so I like to have a breakfast done up ahead that's all ready to go.  Sometimes it's muffins, sometimes it's a baked french toast.  This year I went with Gingerbread Buttermilk Waffles from Taste of Home. I made them exactly as the recipe stated.  Take the time to grate the spices fresh, it really makes such a difference.  I got 7 waffles in my iron.  However, I didn't mark them as off limits, and my son snagged a couple.  He gave them two thumbs up, so I went ahead and made a second batch. I froze them solid on cookie sheets, and then moved them to a ziptop bag.  They can be reheated in the microwave or in the toaster.  They'll be served with NH maple syrup, along with some nice crispy bacon.  Gingerbread Buttermilk Belgian Waffles Print With Image Without Image Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3/4 teaspoon gr...

Earlier this month I made Snowy Mountain Cookies and they were such a huge hit I decided to make a variation of them for Christmas.  I left out the walnuts due to allergies, and this time around I cut the shortbread out with a tree shaped cutter. I made a quick powdered sugar glaze and tinted it green. You could also flavor it with vanilla or peppermint if you liked, I just left mine plain.  I piped it on the trees and then added an M&M before the glaze set. Let the cookies sit on a rack or parchment until the glaze is completely set.  I like to leave mine overnight, then I move them to an airtight container. I love how they turned out!  It also would be fun to do reindeer or ornament shapes, just change out the icing colors accordingly. Christmas Tree Shortbread Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 1 1/4 cups butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teas...

I was a bonafide veggie hater growing up, but over the last 10 years or so I've really tried to expand the variety of produce that I eat. It's helped that I live in an area that's loaded with farms and orchards.  One of my recent discoveries is delicata squash.  I used it for these Quinoa Stuffed Squash Boats last year, and was so happy to find it again on my last visit. While scrolling through Instagram I saw a friend had posted a recipe from Taste of Home called Crunchy Honey Glazed Butternut Squash.  I just happened to have 2 nice sized delicata on hand. Depending on the type of squash you use, you may have to microwave it as the recipe states to get it soft enough to slice.  I was able to slice mine without doing that, and I did not peel it. I opened the cabinet I discovered that my son had used all the honey but a tablespoon or so.  It's the law that if you live in New England you have to have real maple syrup on hand at all times, so I us...

This is a sponsored post.  I received product from Nielsen-Massey for use in this recipe.   All opinions are my own.   It's the most wonderful time of the year- holiday baking time! I've been making cookies for our family gathering for over 20 years, and I'm constantly hunting for something new and different.  I found these Brown Butter Chocolate Snickerdoodles on the Nielsen-Massey website, and I couldn't wait to give them a try.  I used Nielsen-Massey's Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extrac t in this recipe, which is available by itself or as part of their Holiday Flavors Bundle . I used my trusty cookie scoop to portion the dough, because it's a huge time saver.  All the cookies come out uniform size and shape and cook much more evenly. I initially only baked up half the dough, and planned on freezing the rest to make the week of Christmas, but they were devouring them so fast I wasn't going to have enough to photograph! They're del...

I'm happy to be joining the Baking Bloggers for December's theme- snow!  Mother Nature must have thought I needed some inspiration because we got nearly two feet of the white stuff over the last week.  I chose this recipe from Taste of Home because I loved the story that went with it. Stephanie B. went to school where she could see the Alps from her window.  New Hampshire's White Mountains are one of my favorite places to visit, but I also thought of our summer trip to Alaska, and how beautiful Denali was, covered in snow even in July. I did make a few changes to the recipe.  I left out the nuts due to allergies.  I also used a powdered sugar glaze for the snow because my guys don't really love white chocolate. I used about 1/3c of powdered sugar and 2t water to get the consistency I wanted.   I couldn't get my hands on a triangle shaped cookie cutter, so I used a ruler and a pizza wheel. They didn't all turn out exactly the same shape, bu...