mint chocolate thumbprint cookies

Chocolate & mint runs a close second to my all-time favorite combo of chocolate & peanut butter.

I found these little gems over at Recipe Girl.
The cookie part is like a shortbread and the filling is a light peppermint fudge cream. They were really good, they truly only lasted a day in my house. I didn't even give these away; hubby & I ate them all. Bad girl! Having just one made you want to have another one, then another, and another. Bad I know, but geez they were good. I know a lot of people are like that with potato chips, having one is hard. Well, I'm like that with anything chocolate and mint.
The next time I make these I want to add a peanut butter fudge in the middle with a peanut butter shortbread. Doesn't that sound good?
What's your favorite food combo that you just can't eat one of, be it sweet or salty?

ginger & praline spice loaf

Recently one of my baker friends gave me a tub of pralines. A 5 pound tub! You can imagine how happy I was--oh the possibilities and non-stop munchies. HA!
Besides eat them non-stop, I have praline cookies on the list, but I wanted something a little more creative. Plus there have been a lot of homemade baked breads surfacing around food-bloggerland, has anyone else noticed this? My last bread creation was such a hit, I was inspired to try another creation. My latest creation is all about ginger cake with pralines mixed in. And ginger and pralines actually work together very nicely.


A slice of this loaf/bread the next morning with a good heaping of cream cheese on it is heavenly! Heavenly I tell you!

ginger & praline spice loaf
semi-adapted from Gale Gand
print recipe

For the cake:
8 TB (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup sugar
½ cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
1 cup hot water
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ts baking soda
½ ts salt
1 ts ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup finely chopped candied ginger
¼ cup ground of pralines

For the topping:
½ cup ground up pralines

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and lightly flour two 8 inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch loaf pan or a 10-inch cake pan.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), combine the melted butter, egg, and sugar. Add the molasses and water and mix. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon together. Working in batches, mixing after each addition add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture. Mix until smooth. Then fold in the chopped candied ginger and chopped up pralines.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, then sprinkle on the ground up pralines for the topping and bake another 15 – 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

corn, cheddar & bacon pancakes

Hearty, rich, thick, cheesy and all around delish. I've wanted to make a corn pancake for a while now. I love corn muffins, but I have to have them with some cheese or heat in them, I just can't eat a plain old corn muffin. So I guess the same is true with these pancakes; I had to make them with a bit of stuff in them.
They are very rich, filling and heavy, so eating one or two just maybe enough.
The next time I make these I will add in some corn kernels, I just think it was begging for that extra texture. I didn't have any fresh scallions on hand, but you should put them in here if you plan on making them.
The best topping for these pancakes are sour cream and/or salsa. I didn't have either, so the pics look a little naked without them. But if you make these make sure to top them with sour cream and/or some salsa at room temp. Maple syrup will be a no no here. If had corn relish on hand, oh yeah, I would have totally put some of that on here.
Thank you Marisa over at Slashfood, for that little ditty on these pancakes.



corn, cheddar & bacon pancakes
from vanillasugarblog.com
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2 cups cornmeal
1 ts salt
2 ts baking powder (don't use this if you have self rising cornmeal)
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
4 TB butter, melted/cooled (or 3 TB bacon fat)
1 egg
¼ cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded (I have used Monterey jack too)
½ cup +/- of cooked bacon, chopped up
Couple dashes of hot sauce
A couple good dashes of onion powder
A good handful of freshly chopped scallions

Some butter or bacon fat for frying pancakes
chopped scallions or decorating

Toppings:
serve with butter, sour cream, salsa, fresh guacamole, corn relish, etc..

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, salt and baking powder. (I’ve also just used self-rising cornmeal; if you do use this then don’t add in the baking powder).
In a small bowl crack open the egg, add in the hot sauce and the onion powder and whisk. Next whisk in the buttermilk and melted butter or bacon fat until fully combined. Add in the dry ingredients, then fold in the bacon bits, shredded cheese, and scallions.
Melt about 1/2 teaspoon butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once completely melted, pour about ¼ +/- cup batter in pan. These pancakes don’t really spread like normal pancakes so you will have to mold them with your spatula to form them into circles. Cook till golden brown then flip over. Maybe 4-5 minutes each side? They take a bit longer to cook than normal pancakes.
Keep in mind when pouring these onto the griddle, don’t make them too thick as they are heavier than normal pancakes and will take longer to bake; you don’t want a gooey middle.

Should make about 6-8 (depending on size).

cranberry bliss bars

If you're a regular to Starbucks then you've surely come across these cranberry bliss bars. I never bought one at Starbucks because they are so overpriced. Why not try and recreate them at home? Obviously we see something we love in a store, cafe, or mostly on one of our favorite food blogs, vowing to make them ASAP. Of course ASAP never happens. And then after the holidays have come and gone, that's when I decide to make them. I didn't know those bars were seasonal, oh well.
They were OK. They tasted really good without the frosting, at least I thought, but then I can be fussy. The next time I make these I am going to try Shelby's version; those look much tastier. These photos were too pretty to not post.





starbucks cranberry bliss bars (copycat recipe)
recipe from mrbreakfast.com

For shortbread base:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 and 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 t ground ginger
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup minced dried cranberries
1/4 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup minced candied ginger

For frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla

For garnish:
2 T dried cranberries, minced
1/3 cup white chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9×13 pan.
Beat butter and sugar together for the cake base, and add eggs/vanilla beating until fluffy.
In separate bowl, sift together flour, ginger, and salt and then add to the butter/sugar mixture beating well.
Fold in the cranberries, chocolate and ginger. Spread thick batter in pan and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden.
When cake is cooled, mix all frosting ingredients together and spread a thin layer over the cake. Immediately sprinkle with the minced cranberries.
Next use a sandwich bag with a small corner cut (as your homemade pastry bag) add melted white chocolate and drizzle the chocolate over the cake. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, cut into triangles and serve

sauerkraut relish

I wasn't going to post this one, I mean it's just a sausage sandwich, BUT when I tasted that sauerkraut relish I was over-the-moon speechless. This sauerkraut relish is amazing people, amazing. It is quite literally the perfect accompaniment for any type of grilled sausage or hot dog. I swear I want to bottle this stuff up and sell it. If you like sweet, tangy, vinegary, and a bit of heat then this is it for you. I even ate this relish on a sandwich with some hummus. So for my vegan friends, you can totally eat this up with a good veggie burger, hummus or you know what would be good? Falafel! Oh yeah, that good. But then again, I crave the uncraveable!

The whole reason I made this sandwich creation? Not for the relish really, but because I was inspired by an episode of that show Diners, Drive In's & Dives on Food TV. Guy Fieri has the best job in the world and an even better personality as a host. Well, on one of his many ventures they visited Primanti Bros. in Pittsburg, PA. If you're not familiar with Primanti Bros., they are famous for their mile high sandwiches filled with whatever meat be it hamburger, corned beef, roast beef, etc.., then a thick layer of coleslaw, and then a huge layer of french fries, and tomatoes. Crazy sandwich, I totally love it. When I set out to create this sandwich I didn't have any coleslaw, but I has sauerkraut and thus came the sauerkraut relish. Did anyone see that episode or better yet ever go to Primanti's?

sauerkraut relish
print recipe

1 1/2 to 2 cups Sauerkraut, (from package or jar, not canned), drained really well (I used whole foods brand)
4-5 TB ketchup
3 TB dark brown sugar
Couple dashes of hot sauce (about 5 to 7)
1 TB Worcheshire sauce
A couple pinches of celery seeds
1 package (16 ounces) kielbasa, grilled or fried

Cooked french fries
Warmed crusty rolls or hearty sandwich rolls.

In a medium saucepan combine the drained sauerkraut, ketchup, hot sauce, dark brown sugar, worcheshire sauce, and celery seeds. Heat through.
The sauce should thicken up, if not just let it reduce for a while on low heat.
Meanwhile, grilled or fry your kielbasa.
To assemble, place cooked kielbasa on roll, then a layer of the sauerkraut relish, then the French fries.
I've also used this relish on: hummus roll ups, veggie burger, hot dogs. I will try this with falafel.