Ten Most Popular Posts of 2012

Well...another year is about to bite the dust.  Thank you to all the loyal readers and welcome to all of the new ones. I hope that you are enjoying the recipes I post.  2012 was a busy one for me...and I, again, apologize for lags in new posts throughout the year. I still have lots of goodies to share in the upcoming year, so I hope you all stick around to see what's in store!

As tradition has it, it's time to share the year in review.  I have compiled a list of 10 of the most popular posts of 2012, as determined by page view. Enjoy!

Easy Butterfinger Dessert

This is the number one most popular post of 2012.  There's a good reason why.  It's so easy and so darn delicious! Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration!

Don't forget the Easy White Chocolate Berry Dessert variation too! 

 Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Inspired by the Panara version, this soup is outstanding.  Just right for a cold day! If you haven't made this easy soup, give it a try..I'd be surprised if it doesn't become one of your favorites too!

Light Laughing Cow Mac n' Cheese

Super simple stovetop mac&cheese recipe made with Light Laughing Cow Cheese.  Creamy, cheesy, delicious, yet so diet friendly!  

Pizza Rolls

Great warm appetizer.  Stuffed with gooey melty low fat cheese and turkey pepperoni.  

Low Fat Meyer Lemon Muffins

These super moist muffins are bursting with refreshing lemon flavor because they use the entire lemon.  Can you ever have enough lemon flavor in anything? 

Mini Quiches

These cute little gems are so low in fat and calories, you could have several and still not be cheating. Filled with yummy things like bacon and spinach...how could they be wrong?

Easy Pork Stir Fry

With the help of bottled sauce and a pork tenderloin, this stir fry is simply delicious. 

 The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yes, this really is the best.  Thanks to coconut oil, they are just the right texture and flavor. 

 The BEST Oven Fries....Ever!

It's true.  They really are thanks to a special step in preparation.  Try it..I know you'll agree.

Lightened Up Classic Spinach Dip with Roasted Red Peppers

A lightened up version of a classic that tastes as good as the original

So there you have it!  A list of YOUR favorites of 2012!  I'll admit, many of them are my favorites as well.  I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year and hope the new year brings many blessings to all!  Mine is going to start off very busy, but I am hoping it will be a wonderful journey!

If you are looking for a diet friendly appetizer to help ring in the new year, visit my "For Starters" page on pinterest or check out the appetizer list on my Recipe Index. 

Happy NEW YEAR everyone!!!!

Easy Peasy Buttermilk Biscuits

Hands down these Easy Peasy Buttermilk Biscuits are one of the easiest, tastiest buttermilk biscuit recipes you can make from scratch. Buttery, flaky, and tender, this IS the homemade biscuit recipe you are looking for!

Candy Cane Kiss Brownie Bites

Yet another easy cookie recipe that starts with a box mix.  Candy Cane Kiss Brownie Bites start with a boxed brownie mix.  They are incredibly easy with so few ingredients.  I used candy cane kiss to top my cookies, but you could use whatever flavor you fancy. 

I know I've gone crazy posting cookie recipes this week.  To be honest, it just isn't Christmas for me without a plethora of home baked cookies.  I think I was somewhere in my teens when I started to bake a bunch of different cookies to be enjoyed around the holidays.  My mom and my grandma weren't bakers at all.  I knew many families had cookie baking traditions, but in my family, that wasn't the case.  I think I actually made a tradition for my kids, because I know they can't imagine Christmas without their own personal favorite cookie.  My daughter LOVES sugar cookies.  Not the kind like I posted about yesterday, the ones that you roll, cut out, and frost.  My husband is more into the Easy No Roll Sugar Cookies, because he will pass on the frosting.  My youngest son adores kiss cookies, particularly the peanut butter/chocolate kiss kind.  My middle son, always likes when I make the shaped candy cane cookies.  Me....I like the fancy and the gooey kinds!

This year, I've shared with you some of the new recipes I have tried.  Since I seem to be pressed for time this year, I've made a lot of quick and easy recipes like this one.  Don't be fooled though, they don't taste like you didn't spend a lot of time making them.  They are delicious.

Candy Cane Kiss Brownie Bites

adapted from Hershey's 

Printable Recipe

Yield:   approx. 2 doz. 

1 pkg of Hershey Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped (you will end up using about 1/2 bag)

1-18.4 oz. box of Brownie Mix

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 egg

3 TBS water

1 TBS canola oil

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment or use a silpat. 

2.  In large bowl of stand mixer, combine the brownie mix, cocoa, egg, water, and oil on low to med speed until it forms into dough.  If it seems too stiff, add a little bit more water until it is soft enough to roll into balls.  

3.  Shape cookies by TBS into balls.  Place on prepared baking sheets. Press in middle with fingers to make indentation.  Bake for 9 -11 minutes or until set.  Carefully place an unwrapped kiss into the indentation while hot.  Remove cookies to rack to cool completely and allow the kiss to harden again. 

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I don't know if I will have time before Christmas to come and wish you all very happy holidays.  There is so much tragedy in the world these days it seems, yet there is still so much to be grateful for.  Count your blessings everyday. 

I wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may you all find peace. love and health where ever life my take you!

For more great holiday cookie recipes visit my Pinterest page:  "C" is for Cookie

Easy No Roll Sugar Cookies

My family loves, loves, loves sugar cookies.  Me, I could take them or leave them.  I'm not really a fan of chilling the dough, rolling out the dough, cutting out shapes, baking, cooling, and frosting and decorating.  It's a lot of work!  When I stumbled across this recipe for Easy No Roll Sugar Cookies and saw they didn't require rolling, I decided I was going to give it a try.

The original poster of the recipe dubbed it, "the world's best sugar cookie."  While I don't know if I'd go that far, they are one of the best sugar cookie recipes I have made.  I find sugar cookies are much like wine.  Seems like everyone likes a different profile.  Some like them soft, some like them chewy, some like them crispy....  For me, it's about flavor and texture.  I like them crispy.  This cookie is nicely flavored (some sugar cookies are so bland!), crispy, and there is no refrigeration or rolling required!  Which is why I chose to name it, Easy No Roll Sugar Cookies.

Once again, this is a holiday indulgence recipe and I am not going to provide nutritional information.  Eat in moderation and enjoy! Like most baked cookies, these cookies freeze well too!

No Roll Sugar Cookies

from Eat at Allies

Printable Recipe

Yield:  approx. 4 dozen cookies

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)

1 large egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or use silpat.  

2.  In large bowl of stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars.  Mix until light and fluffy, approx. 2-3 minutes.   Add in egg, vanilla and oil.  Mix for another 2-3 minutes. 

3.  In small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar.  With whisk, combine well.  Slowly add the flour to the butter/sugar mixture with the mixer running on low.  Mix until the dough comes together.

4.  With about a TBS of dough for each cookie, form into balls.  Place on prepared cookie sheet.  With the tines of a fork dipped in flour, make cross-hatch marks and then top with some colored sugar.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned.  Remove to rack to cool completely. 

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For as long as I can remember, each holiday season, I search for the "best" sugar cookie recipe.  Over the years I have found a few I like and a few that have been total misses.  I really can't say what make a sugar cookie recipe a good one or not.  Like I said, kind of like wine...it's a personal preference sort of thing. 

I really do like this recipe.  Not only is it super easy and produces very festive looking cookies, it also makes a good tasting cookie as well.  I don't know if my family will go for this cookie as a replacement for the roll and cut version of sugar cookies...but a girl can try!  haha

Looks like we are in for a winter storm in the next day or so.  I am done (I hope!) with all my shopping.  I won't know for sure until I wrap everything...which is on my "to do" list for this weekend.  Thanks to a couple of easy and tasty cookie recipes, I've gotten closer to being done with my baking as well.  I hope to bring you just one more cookie recipe before week's end, and of coarse, it's an easy one! :)

Don't Forget to Pin Easy No Roll Sugar Cookies to your Pinterest Boards!

More Cookie Recipes to enjoy! 

Santa's Swirl Sugar Cookies

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Crinkles

Possibly one of the easiest cookie recipes ever.  They start with a boxed cake mix.  I'll be honest with you, I've never been much of a fan of cookies made from cake mix.  I mean, I think a cookie should be, well, cookie-like.  I've dabbled with cookies from cake mixes in the past and have never been happy with the results.  They all ended up tasting and having the texture of a cake.  Blah!

But when I saw this recipe for red velvet crinkles, I decided to give the old boxed cake mix cookie a try again.  This time I was not disappointed.  You can't tell these cookies originated from a box cake mix.  They are chewy and delicious...and red!

Add a cupful of white chocolate chips and you have yourself a winning, quick and easy cookie recipe.  A perfect addition to any holiday cookie tray! Again, this is an indulgence recipe and I am not going to furnish the nutritional information....eat in moderation and enjoy!

White Chocolate Red Velvet Crinkles

adapted from Cookin' Cowgirl

Printable Recipe

Yield:  approx. 2 1/2 dozen cookies

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)*

6 TBS unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

1tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup to 1 cup powdered sugar

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a silpat.  

2.  In large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, eggs, and vanilla with electric mixer.  Mix until well combined.  The dough will be soft, but not watery.  Mix in white chocolate chips.

 (*I'm not sure if the original recipe was written when more cake mix came in the box.  Over the years, products have downsized, making sticking to older recipes a bit of a challenge.  I did find the dough to be just a bit too soft, so I added a TBS of flour.) 

3.  Put powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.  Drop dough by TBS into the powdered sugar.  Roll into the powdered sugar and than into a ball.  Place on prepared baking sheet.  

4.  Bake for 8-9 minutes.  Cookies will be puffed and look soft, but will set up as they cool.  Allow to cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  

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I've been baking like a mad woman this week...trying to catch up.  Is there ever enough time between Thanksgiving and Christmas?  lol  I think NOT!  I really like this cookie.  It's very different and I like to make classic recipes along with some new ones when I do my holiday baking each year.  I've also made a new sugar cookie recipe this year I'd like to share with you by the week's end.  

How about you?   Have you discovered any new recipes this holiday baking season that might become classics in your home?  

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

Oh boy, I am so behind on my holiday baking this year. Way too much going on. But that's ok...busy is good sometimes...

I was able to make a few batches of cookies last week.  Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies is one of the cookie recipes I had pinned from Pinterest to try new this year. I'm glad I found some time to try them.  They are delicious. They are in no way low fat, low calorie, or healthy, but every now and then, it's ok to indulge in a treat. This one is definitely worth the indulgence if you like that sweet/salty combo.

The caramel is La Lechera Dulce de Leche.  You can find it with the Hispanic foods in most larger grocers.  The site where I got this recipe originally heated it up and piped it into the cooled cookies, which does give it a nice smooth appearance. But I found spreading it with a knife while the cookies were still warm worked fine, thought not quite as beautiful. The caramel does harden some and set up (like frosting) after sitting at room temperature for a few hours, so they aren't a gooey sticky mess. Since I halved the original recipe, I only used about a half of the can of La Lechera Ducle de Leche.  If you aren't familiar with this product, it is delicious.  I am sure I will be able to find a way to use up the other half of the can without a problem.  It might even only require a spoon!

I am not going to work up the nutrition information for this cookie, as it is an indulgence recipe.  Eat in moderation and enjoy.

Salted Caramel Shortbread Cookies

adapted from A Spicy Perspective

Printable Recipe

Yield:  Approx. 2 1/2 dozen cookies

1 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2  cup + 2 TBS  granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1- 13oz. can La Lechera, Dulce de Leche (caramel)

coarse sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment or a silpat. 

2.  In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer in a large bowl, combine the butter and the sugar.  Mix until combined. Add in the vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix very well until light and fluffy. (4-5 minutes is about right) 

3.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and mix until well incorporated. 

4.  Take about a TBS of dough and roll into a ball.  With finger or thumb, press an indentation into the middle of the ball.  

5.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  (the original poster baked for approximately 20 minutes, but I found that to be too long) Adjust bake time according to your oven.  Cookies are done when they appear just browned around the bottom edges. Allow to cool for a minute on the baking sheet before removing them to rack. (The indentations you made before baking will look like they are gone while the cookies are baking, but as they cool, the cookie will sink and they will appear again.)

6.  While the cookies are still warm, spread the indentations with a bit of the La Lachera, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt.  Allow the cookie to sit at room temperature for a few hours or until the caramel has set up and isn't sticky any longer.  Store in an airtight container. 

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These really are a delicious addition to anyone's holiday baking list.  Salted Caramel is all the rage right now, it seems.  Who doesn't love that sweet/salty combo? Like I mentioned, not low fat, low calorie or healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but I really believe it's ok to indulge now and again.  Moderation, of coarse, is the key to indulging without dire consequences. 

I, once again, find myself apologizing for the lack of new posts this month.  As I have said in previous posts, my life is super busy right now...not only from the busy-ness of the upcoming holidays, but my kids have some big changes coming up this month and next month that are adding to my "to do list." 

I'd like to try to post a few more holiday cookie recipes this week. I've pretty much wrapped up my shopping and have this week to bake...so I'll share any good cookie recipes I stumble upon. I will most likely be doing the cookbook giveaway after the first of the year, so look for it then! I've made several recipes from the book I received for the review and LOVE them all so far! I'm anxious to share, but I want to make sure I have enough time to do the giveaway when I post them. 

 

Skinny Peppermint Mocha

Lower in calories than a traditional Peppermint Mocha, this Skinny Peppermint Mocha made with stevia is the perfect way to celebrate the season!