Butternut Squash Soup

6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 small onion, chopped
4 T. butter or margarine
3 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 t. dried marjoram
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper (I use chili powder sometimes)
1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese

In a large pot or saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Puree squash mixture and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to sauce pan and heat through. Do not allow to boil. Yum!!!!!

Hot Spinach Dip

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
2 pounds fresh spinach, cleaned and coarsely chopped, OR two 10-ounce packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces cream cheese
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes Tabasco sauce, or more if you like it spicy
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper
baguette slices, breadsticks, crackers, or tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 425. Saute onion and garlic till tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Add spinach and cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes, or add frozen spinach and heat through. Drain any liquid remaining from the spinach. In a separate pan warm the milk over high heat, whisk in cream cheese till melted, add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and 1/4 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a lightly greased 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake until bubbly and browned, 20 - 25 minutes. Serve hot.
From delish.com courtesy of Martha Stewart

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

from: Amy Arend

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough
36 mini peanut butter cups, chilled and unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.
Scoop off dough by the tablespoon; roll into balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate; roll balls in sugar, coating completely. Place 2 inches apart on a nonstick insulated baking sheet.
Bake until cookies begin to puff up slightly, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Press one peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Return to oven; continue baking until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt, about 6 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to rack to cool completely.

Heidi's Mice

from: Taste of Home, December 2004

Peanut Butter Christmas Mice

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut halves
2 tablespoons green and red M&M miniature baking bits
4 teaspoons mini semisweet chocolate chips
Cake decorator holly leaf and berry candies
60 - 66 pieces red shoestring licorice (2 inches each)

In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Pinch each ball at one end to taper. Insert two peanut halves in center of ball for ears. Add one M&M baking bit for nose and two chocolate chips for eyes. Arrange holly and berry candies in front of one ear.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until set. Gently insert one licorice piece into each warm cookie for tail. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 5 dozen.

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.