Merry Christmas – 2014

Although I don’t have a recipe to share today, I just wanted to take the time to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.  Enjoy your family and friends.

Colorful Candy Bar Cookies

Want an easy Christmas cookie recipe?  Try this Colorful Candy Bar Cookie recipe.  These are sweet and have a candy surprise in the center.  I’m not generally a fan of Snickers bars but they worked well in the cookie.  I’m sure this would work with any  candy bar.

Colorful Candy Bar Cookies | Bakewell Junction

This is my first time joining the Annual Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap hosted by Julie from White Lights on Wednesday.  Be sure to visit Julie to see all the other great recipes.  You can also find all the other cookies here.  Many thanks for hosting, Julie.

I was paired with Laura from Pink Cake Plate.  Her blog has great recipes and I’m thrilled to be paired with her.  Laura makes these cookies for her Christmas baking and now I’m making them too.

Enjoy!

Colorful Candy Bar Cookies

Yield:  24 cookies                 Cook Time:  12 minutes

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 extra large egg
• Alternatively, you can use 1/2 tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened plus 1/4 cup flour

Filling:

• 24 mini (1 inch squares) Snickers candy bars or 12 snack size Snickers candy bars, cut in half

Garnish:

• red and green colored sugar

Step 1:  For the dough:  If using the scratch cookie dough recipe, in a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the butter, egg, vanilla and sugar and blend with an electric mixer, since this is a small dough a hand held mixer will do.  Stir flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined – this will be more of a folding motion rather than stirring.  If using the alternative for the dough, combine the store bought cookie dough and 1/4 cup flour in a medium bowl.

Step 2:  Assembly:  Place red and green sugars in two separate small bowls.  Using about 1 1/2 teaspoons of dough for each cookie, make a flattened circle with the dough, place the candy bar square in the middle and spread the dough around the candy evenly.  Roll the dough ball in one of the colored sugars until completely covered.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet two inches apart.  Repeat until there are 12 cookies on the pan.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.  Repeat with the remaining dough on another cookie sheet.

Storing:  Store at room temperature in a sealed plastic container for a few days until ready to serve.

Enjoy!!!

Sugar cookie recipe adapted from Family Circle magazine, 12/12/2000.
Cookie recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

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Ultimate Crumb Apple Crumble

Here’s a delicious and easy Ultimate Crumb Apple Crumble recipe for your next holiday meal.  I got rave reviews.  My sister said it was the best apple pie she ever ate (I didn’t correct her).  My sister-in-law said that I outdid myself with this recipe.  It was her idea to combine my ultimate crumbs with apple pie filling.

Ultimate Crumb Apple Crumble | Bakewell Junction

The filling’s flavor gets infused into the crumbs, so they are just amazingly delicious.  Don’t be fooled by the pictures, I didn’t have enough time or crumble to linger over the pictures.  This photo was two seconds before everyone dug in.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  We had six to seven inches of snow and 13 hours of no power (yes, no power on Thanksgiving).  We postponed the holiday dinner until Saturday.  It was wonderful to see everyone even though it was postponed.  It sort of threw me off schedule too because this was the Pizzelle making weekend so the hubby and I squeezed it in on Sunday.

Crumbs on the top, crumbs on the bottom… It can’t get any better than this!

See that large crumb on the tip of this piece?  I grabbed it and ate it just after I took the picture.

Enjoy!

Last but not least, today is D Day the Day that Will Live in Infamy!  Thank you to all the veterans who fought and those that still fight for our freedom.

Ultimate Crumb Apple Crumble

Yield:  12 servings                 Cook Time:  105 minutes

Ingredients:

Crumbs:

• 1 lb butter, melted
• 5 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (substitution 2 teaspoon lemon juice)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 3/4 pounds Honeycrisp apples (about 6 medium), peeled, halved cored, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices and then 1/3 inch chunks (about 8 cups) (can use yellow-skinned ripe Golden Delicious)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Garnish:

• powdered sugar for sprinkling, one or more tablespoons to taste
• whipped cream (optional)
• vanilla ice cream (optional)

Step 1:  For the filling:  In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, lemon peel, and cinnamon in large bowl.  Add apple slices and vanilla.  Mix until well coated.  Move the mixture to a stock pot and begin heating on medium for about 10 minutes.  When the mixture begins bubbling, turn it down to low and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes until the apples are fork tender.  Let the mixture cool to about room temperature.

Step 2:  For the crumbs:  While the filling is cooling, mix together all the ingredients for the crumbs with a fork to start.  Finish mixing with fingers.  There should be large crumbs.

Step 3:  Assembly:  Spray the pie pan liberally with cooking spray.  Press about 1/3 to 3/8 of the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the pie plate from the oven and let cool.

Step 4:  Spoon the cooled apple pieces onto the bottom crumbs.  Leave any extra liquid behind.  Cover the edges of the crumbs with aluminum foil so they don’t get too dark. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes with a cookie sheet or aluminum foil underneath to catch any possible drippings.

Step 5:  Remove the crumble from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining crumbs evenly across the top.  The crumbs will sink into the apple filling a little, that’s to be expected.  Return the crumble to the oven and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack completely.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Hide any leftovers so you have some when you’re craving it.

Storing:  Store at room temperature covered with plastic wrap for a few days until ready to serve.

Enjoy!!!

Filling recipe adapted from Bonappetit posted by Chris Hall.
Crumb recipe adapted from my co-worker’s wife’s home recipe.

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