Sugared crock pot pecans

It feels strange to be sitting down to write a post for the third day in a row. Imagine how I will feel after Day 12! Maybe I'll just keep on going for the rest of December! Ok, that may be a bit ambitious. I am having so much fun making, eating and sharing all of these yummy holiday treats. Our kitchen is overflowing with goodies, tempting me with every trip I make through the kitchen. Today Dan juiced a bunch of veggies for lunch, which I am sure has my body terribly confused. KALE?! What is this??

Here we go with Day #3 of Christmas Treats! No kale recipes for now.

The thing I love about this recipe, aside from being totally addicting and yummy, is that it is a crock-pot recipe. Crock pot cooking equals easy! These sugared pecans are great to have in a bowl for grazing during holiday gatherings. They are also a perfect gift. Throw some into a mason jar and tie a ribbon around it.

Place the following ingredients into a crock pot:

4 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon all-spice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Cook on Low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Pour into a bowl and let cool before serving. Enjoy, friends!

Printable recipe: Sugared crock pot pecans

Cream cheese monkey bread

I cannot think about this delicious monkey bread without also thinking about my good friend Laurie (who I occasionally call Larry). Larry and I have much in common. Every time I see her, which is not often, I am reminded how much I adore her. I love that girl. Oh how I wish I could talk her into moving to Minnesota!

Larry and I both believe that cream cheese makes everything better, and that is why this bread makes me think of her. It's true. Cream cheese does make everything better. 

I had been thinking about doing a twist on good ol' gooey and delicious monkey bread. But what could possibly make monkey bread any better than it is? Then it occurred to me. CREAM CHEESE! It makes everything better, right? A few months after I had that thought, I saw in a magazine that someone had my same idea. I figured I had better hurry up and make it myself, so here we go!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine:

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Set aside.

Cut 20 cubes into an 8-ounce block of cream cheese.

Slice 10 discs of dough from each of two 12-ounce tubes of refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits. You will have 20 total dough discs. Set the discs on a flat surface and place one cube of cream cheese into the center of each piece of dough.  

Wrap the edges of the dough up and around each cube of cream cheese.

Melt 3/4 cup of butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Set aside.

Place 10 of the dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese-side-up, into the bottom of the prepared pan. 

Top with half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture and half of the melted butter.

Top with the remaining dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese-side-down, and the remaining sugar mixture and butter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and serve warm! Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

I'll be honest. I ate AT LEAST half of this thing by myself. I felt like a drug addict, eating just a few more bites, in a corner of our kitchen where nobody could see me. 

Cream cheese does make everything better, ooey gooey monkey bread not excluded. YUM.

Click here for a printable recipe!

Sugar cookies

You might be inclined to ask me, "So Megan, are you ever going to get back to making normal foods? You know, things that don't contain a ton of sugar?" And my answer would be: Yes! I honestly don't know what has gotten into me this holiday season. I have always loved making holiday treats, but never this much. The only thing I can think of is that it has been an exceptional year (as in: "deviating from the norm"; not as in: "better than average"). In so many ways. So to carry on with this theme, why not make exceptions on my blog, too? Two months of crazy sugary delicious baking? Awesome!

I love this sugar cookie recipe. It is a holiday favorite of mine, and that was proven by the number of them that I ate over Christmas weekend. It is OBSCENE how many sugar cookies I am able to consume. Obscene, but mmmm, irresistible and delicious!

In a large bowl, combine:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

Using a hand-held mixer, beat mixture on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Add:

2 eggs

2 teaspoons almond extract (I adore almond extract, as opposed to vanilla, in sugar cookies)

2 teaspoons salt

Beat until just combined.

Gradually add in 4 cups of all-purpose flour, again until just combined.

Shape the dough into two separate disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out with a 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Decorate with colored sugar, if desired.

 Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly brown.

If you wish to decorate your cookies with icing, allow them to cool completely before doing so. 

This is a large batch. It makes somewhere around 50 cookies. More, if you use small cookie cutters. Cut the ingredients in half if you aren't someone who plans to eat TWENTY-FIVE COOKIES ON YOUR OWN.

Click here for a printable recipe!

Spiral sugar cookies

These colorful cookies from Sprinkle Bakes caught my eye last week as I perused for something festive to bring to Christmas Eve dinner. Aren't they pretty? The green swirl was fun for Christmas, but any color would be just as fun. Bright yellow for a spring-time cookie? Orange for a Halloween cookie? A swirl of colors for a birthday cookie?

Not only are these pretty, but they are also deliciously tasty. They were by far my favorite of all the cookies I brought to our Christmas Eve gathering. And you can imagine how much the kids enjoyed them! I heard someone say, "Ooo, look! A Grinch cookie!" The green swirls do strangely remind me of the Grinch's long, swirling fingers.

In a food processor, combine:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Process until combined.

Add 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cold and cubed) and process until the mixture has a cornmeal consistency.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and process until the mixture just forms a ball. It will still be somewhat crumbly at first.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the food processor.

Add to the food processor:

1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

1 tube gel food coloring (any color)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Process until just incorporated.

Roll out each half of the dough between sheets of wax paper into an 8x11-inch(ish) rectangle, with a 1/4-inch thickness. I used a piece of paper as a guide. Leaving the wax paper on the dough halves, stack on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

Pour 1 cup of multi-colored sprinkles in a shallow rectangular dish.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and peel off the top pieces of wax paper from each half of dough. Flip the colored dough half over onto the white dough half so that dough is touching dough. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and trim the long edges with a sharp knife so that the sides are straight and parallel with one another.

When the dough becomes just pliable, roll it into a log beginning with a long edge. Gently curl the edge with your fingertips and do your best to avoid creating air pockets. Carefully lift the log into the decor-filled dish. 

Gently roll it around until the outside is completely cooated with color.

Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to slice, at least 4 hours.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Slice the cookie log into 1/4-inch-thick discs and bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the cookies are no longer shiny.

Enjoy these! And thank you, Sprinkle Bakes, for such a fun and delicious recipe!

Click here for a printable recipe!