LeAnn's Rocky Road

by: LeAnn Moss

LeAnn writes,
"I really don't have a recipe for it. I just fill a bowl full of marshmallows and some peanuts. Then mix them a bit. Melt my dipping chocolate then mix it in with the marshmallows until they are covered pretty good. Then put onto tinfoil and shape into a log and wrap the tinfoil around it and refrigerate until it hardens. Then slice and enjoy."

Almond Joy Candy

by: Crystal Murdock

3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes, prepared with water but without butter or salt
1 teaspoon Almond flavoring
1 lb. coconut
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
Almonds
Dipping Chocolate
White Chocolate, optional

Mix almond flavoring in mashed potatoes. Add coconut and powdered sugar, mix well. Roll mixture into small balls and place on waxed paper. Place an almond on each ball and slightly press down. Dip each ball and almond in chocolate and return to waxed paper to dry. Drizzle with white chocolate if desired.

Dipped Cracker Snacks

by: Stephanie Westover and Jackie Payne

96 butter-flavored crackers (Ritz)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow cream

2 pounds milk chocolate candy coating, melted

Spread half the crackers with peanut butter, the other half with marshmallow cream. (I used a plastic baggie with the tip cut off and squeezed it on, it was much faster). Place together to make a sandwich. Dip cracker sandwiches in melted candy coating allowing excess to drip off and place on waxed paper. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles if desired. Makes 4 dozen.

Jam Crumb Bars

The cookie party was lots of fun last night! I have a few recipes now, and will continue to post as more come in. I'll start with mine:

Jam Crumb Bars
Corri Havlicek, from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
Jam suggestions: raspberry, strawberry, peach, or apricot

3 sticks butter, softened, cubed
2 ¼ cups almonds, finely ground
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups jam, light colored is best

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 10 x 15 cookie sheet, set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together almonds, flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or work in with your fingers until the mixture resembles pea-size crumbs with a few larger clumps.

Transfer half the crumb mixture to prepared baking sheet; set aside remaining mixture, cover. Using the back of a large spoon, press dough evenly into the pan, then with a rolling pin, roll along the dough to smooth and even. Dough should be firmly packed, with no holes or cracks. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until lightly golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Evenly spread jam over cooled crust. Scatter with remaining crumb mixture, squeezing some of the mixture so that large clumps are visible and evenly distributed over the top of the jam. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the topping begins to turn light golden brown, 20 – 22 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen, cut into 2 x 3 inch bars.

Cranberry Pretzel Salad

This recipe and the following one were served at the Relief Society Christmas Party and were requested to be posted here. They're yummy...


Crust:
¾ cup butter
2 ½ cups pretzels, broken up into small pieces, but not crushed
¼ cup sugar
Melt butter, mix with pretzels and sugar. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool completely before adding cream cheese layer.

Cream Cheese layer:
1 – 8oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tub Cool Whip
Whip cream cheese and sugar until creamy, fold in Cool Whip. Spread on top of cooled pretzel crust. Keep cool in preparation for next layer.

Cranberry topping:
6 - 12 ounces fresh cranberries, crushed in a blender, but not liquefied (I've never done it, but you could probably use the whole cranberry sauce in the can)
1 orange, peeled and diced
1 – 15oz. can crushed pineapple, plus juice
1 apple finely diced, with or without peel
1 large box Tropical Fusion jell-o (6 ounces total), dissolved in 2 cups boiling water. I have found this jell-o only at Wal-Mart
½ cup chopped nuts, optional
Prepare jell-o, add all fruits and their juice, and chill until just syrupy. Stir, then pour over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set. Just before serving sprinkle with nuts.

This is a combination of recipes from The Essential Mormon Cookbook and the Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook.

Spinach Salad

Salad:
2 pounds spinach, washed, then cut or torn to bite-size pieces
(You can substitute Romaine for all the spinach or go half and half)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup craisins
1 cup cashews, roughly chopped
½ - 1 cup grapes, halved (optional)
Toss salad ingredients together just before serving.

Dressing:
Do not add to salad until serving time.
1 cup mayonnaise
2 – 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, according to taste
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Mix together well with hand mixer. Toss with salad mix. Serve immediately. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if you like them.

This is a combination of two recipes, one from Sue Hancock, the other from The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Do you plan on serving CRANBERRIES this Thanksgiving?

400 million pounds of cranberries are consumed by Americans each year, 20% during the week of Thanksgiving.

1912 was the year cranberry sauce was first marketed.

5,062,500 gallons of jellied cranberry sauce is consumed by Americans each holiday season.

94% of Thanksgiving dinners include cranberry sauce.

1683 was the year cranberry sauce was first made by American settlers.

If you have a yummy recipe for cranberry sauce, chutney, salsa, pie, jello, or whatever please post it (or let me know and I'll post it for you)! YUM!

~Cranberry facts from LDS Living Magazine

Apple and Pear Crisp

Ingredients:
-2 lbs of ripe pears (about 4)
-2 lbs of apples (about 6)
-2 T. orange juice
-2 T. lemon juice
-1/2 c. sugar
-1/4 c. flour
-1 t. cinnamon

Topping:
-1 1/2 c. flour
-3/4 c. sugar
-3/4 c. brown sugar
-1/2 t. salt
-1 c. old-fashioned oatmeal
-1/2 lb cold unsalted butter, diced (2 sticks)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the juices, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour into a 9x13x2 inch oval baking dish.

For the topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salts, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in crumbles (don't over mix). Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dich on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm. YUM!!!!!!

Bar-b-que Pork Salad

From: Kim McCrary, my Aunt

Place a 3-4 lb. pork roast (the inexpensive picnic pork roasts or country style boneless ribs work best) in crock pot with a 20 oz. can of coke. Cook on high for 1-2 hours, then turn to low for several hours or until tender. (I put mine in the crock pot in the evening and cook overnight or in the morning and cook it all day--super tender!)

Shred pork with two forks and add:
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ cup bar-b-que sauce
¾ cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar


SALAD
Layer the following:
Romaine lettuce
bar-b-que pork
black or pinto beans
cheese
tomatoes or pico de gallo
dressing, sour cream and/or guacamole
tortilla strips or Fritos


Stephanie’s Dressing: so fresh and tasty!
Pulse in blender until mixed thoroughly:
1 cup mayo
1 cup milk
1 package ranch dressing mix
2 tomatillas
1 serrano pepper
½ bunch cilantro

Double-Crusted Chocolate Covered Sweet Surprise Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for Terri's birthday the 24th of September. Don't ask her how old she is...it's a touchy subject. LOL! Just kidding.
This recipe seems hard with lots of instructions, but it's super easy, I promise. It's just written out to make it easy to understand and prepare, so it looks long. And you don't need a springform pan, a PYREX 9-inch round would be fine.

Ganache Topping:
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla

Oatmeal-Pretzel Crust:
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups oats (I used instant)
1 ½ cups pretzels (crushed coarsely)
1 ½ sticks butter (melted)

Filling:
2 blocks cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 ½ cups plain yogurt
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 bag (10 ounce) miniature Snickers bars

Directions
1. Make Ganache: Put chocolate chips in a glass or steel bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream and butter to a boil and pour it over the chocolate chips. Leave chocolate and cream alone for 5 minutes, then stir to combine; mix in vanilla. At room temperature the ganache is the perfect consistency to "frost" the cheesecake.

2. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Use a fork to combine all ingredients for the crust. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Pour half crust mixture (2 1/2 cups) into greased cheesecake pan and reserve other half of crust mixture for later. Use a glass to help you firmly press the mixture down evenly. Bake crust for 8 minutes. Once the crust is out of the oven, turn the oven down to 325°F.

3. Chop candy bars into bite-sized pieces. Use a mixer to blend together cream cheese and yogurt; once they’re fully incorporated, mix in one egg at a time; add sugar and vanilla and mix until everything is just incorporated. Fold in chopped candy and pour mixture into pre-baked crust. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove cheesecake from the oven and evenly sprinkle remaining crust mixture on the top; bake for another 20 minutes.

4. Allow cheesecake to cool completely, then refrigerate for 2 hours. Pour the room-temperature ganache over the cooled cheesecake and spread it out in an even layer (some chocolate will drip down the sides of the cheesecake, but don't worry about spreading it evenly over the sides). Refrigerate for another 2 hours.

Original recipe from www.delish.com