Homemade Cranberry Sauce

This recipe is easily halved for a smaller group.

4 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 whole orange, unpeeled, seeds removed and chopped fine
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
sprinkle ground cinnamon

Wash cranberries and set aside. Bring sugar and water to a boil. Add cranberries, ornages, and cloves. Simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until berries pop open. Add crushed pineapple, walnuts and cinnamon. Cool and serve.

Caramel Apple Crisp

3 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup cold butter
8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
1 package (14 oz) caramels, halved (I used caramel apple dip by the spoonfuls...it's all I had)
1 cup apple cider, divided

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the apples and caramels (again, I just spooned out dollops of the caramel dip over the apples) and 1 cup oat mixture (or about half of the half that's left -- make sense?); repeat layers. Pour 1/2 cup cider over top.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 min. Drizzle with remaining cider; bake 15-20 min longer or until apples are tender. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Here are some pics:

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

Golden North Pole Nuggets

10 oz. pkg. peanut butter chips
2 T. shortening
6 oz. pkg. plain goldfish crackers (original flavor, not cheese or anything)
1 1/2 cups thin pretzel sticks, broken into bite-sized pieces

Combine chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl; heat on high setting for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave; stir in crackers and pretzels. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper; let stand 30 minutes. Makes 2 dozen. (Of course you can double this really easily).

Sandies

1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar (+ extra)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Mix marg/butter, powder sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add flour, salt, and nuts. Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes. Roll balls in extra powder sugar when warm, and again when cool.

Best Sugar Cookies

2 sticks butter (or 1 cup margarine)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill 2 hours in refrigerator. Roll to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Frost and decorate. I don't have a recipe, per se, for frosting. I just use the one on the back of the bag of powdered sugar.

Chocolate Snowballs

1 pkg. Oreo cookies
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. chocolate chips, melted for dipping

2 Tablespoons shortening

Slightly crush enitre package of Oreos in a large ziploc bag. In a mixing bowl, combine Oreos and cream cheese. Beat until completely combined. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and set aside. Melt chocolate chips with shortening. Dip oreo balls in melted chocolate and set on wax paper to harden. These can be put in fridge/freezer to harden faster. Also, store in an airtight container in the fridge. Also, I made some using the mint oreos and the peanutbutter oreos as well for a variety and they were all tasty!!

Butter Pecan Fudge

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powder sugar
1 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the butter, sugars, cream and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Stir in powder sugar until smooth. Fold in pecans. Spread into a buttered 8 inch square pan. Cool to room temperature. Cut into 1 inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refridgerator.

Lemon Snowflake Cookies

1 pkg. lemon cake mix (or any, really, I used Strawberry)
2 1/4 cups Cool Whip, thawed
1 egg
2 cups powdered sugar, in separate bowl, set aside

Mix cake mix, cool whip, and egg with electric beaters until batter is well mixed and sticky. Drop batter by teaspoonful into bowl of powdered sugar and roll to coat. Bake on ungreased (however, I always grease mine) cookie sheet at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Bird Nests

30-40 large marshmallows
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. green food coloring
4 1/2 cups corn flakes
jelly beans Melt marshmallows and butter. Add vanilla and food coloring. Stir. Stir in corn flakes. On wax paper, shape little mounds of mixture. Press 3-4 jelly beans in the middle of the mound (while still pretty sticky).