Gingerbread Snowman Faces

While the dough is great, the spice mixture isn't.  Pepper is far too dominant, needs balance.  I would like to try making these again with a better spice blend.  And I absolutely would NOT use royal icing again--it was brittle hard after just 2 days!  I'd take canned frosting over that any day.  (Note: I used the Food Network recipe for royal icing, not Family Circle's). 6/10.  Will re-rate and update when I try with different spice blend.

Link to original recipe: https://www.familycircle.com/recipe/gingerbread-snowmen/

Ingredients:

2 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses (NOT blackstrap)
frosting/icing (see note at beginning of post; royal icing was the recommendation in the original recipe)
candy corn and mini chocolate chips, for decorating

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, ginger, pepper, and cinnamon; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand (or electric) mixer, cream butter and sugar together.

3. Beat in egg and molasses.

4. Gradually mix in reserved dry ingredients mixture (you may wish to switch to dough hook or finish by hand).

5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

6. Heat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment.

7. Divide dough in half and roll one of the halves out on a floured surface, to 1/8" thickness.

8. Cut 3"-3 1/2" circles with round cookie cutter (largest I had was 3", so that is what I used).  Transfer dough circles to prepared baking sheet.

9. Bake for 11 min. and transfer to wire rack to cool.

10. Once cookies have cooled, frost and decorate.  Enjoy!

Garlic Parmesan Boneless Pork Chops

Decent, but not fabulous--they get done too quickly on outside, as happens with many pork chop recipes.  If I were going to make this again, I would only make 1/4 of the breadcrumb mixture--it was WAYYY more than needed for 6 pork chops!!  I listed original amounts, as that is what I used.  7/10 for this one.

Link to original recipe: https://iwashyoudry.com/garlic-parmesan-pork-chop-recipe/

Ingredients:

6 boneless pork loin chops, around 1/2" thick
salt and pepper (for seasoning)
1 c. Italian breacrumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder
2 large eggs, beaten in a small dish (for dipping/coating)
1 T. salted butter
2 T. olive oil

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.

3. In a shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and garlic powder.

4. Dip pork chops in the beaten eggs, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.

5. Heat a cast iron skillet over just under medium heat.  Add the butter and oil, swirl to melt and combine.

6. Add chops to skillet, cook just long enough to brown a bit on both sides (only a couple of minutes per side).

7. Transfer skillet to oven.  Bake for 5-10 minutes, depending on exact thickness of chops (check after 5 min), until internal temp is 145°F.

8. Let rest 3 minutes prior to serving.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Mmm these have such a lovely texture and are a tasty change from regular snickerdoodles.  However, they don't win over regular snickerdoodles for me...but I would make them again for sure! 9/10.  I modified the original recipe slightly by using half butter, half shortening instead of all butter.  You can use all butter instead if preferred--I just didn't have another stick softened/ready to go :)

Link to original recipe: https://sugarspunrun.com/chocolate-snickerdoodles/

Ingredients:
dough--
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar (packed)
2 large eggs
coating--
3 T. sugar
1/2 T. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. cocoa powder

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

2. Cream butter and shortening together in the bowl of a stand (or electric) mixer.

3. Beat in sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in eggs one at a time.

5. With mix running on low speed, gradually mix in reserved dry ingredients mixture until just combined.

6. Cover and transfer to fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Heat oven to 350°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

8. In a small bowl, combine the "coating" ingredients.  Form 1" to 1 1/2" balls of dough, then roll in the coating mixture.

9. Place coated dough balls 2" apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes.

10. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Shrimp Etouffé

Tasty!  Just the thing to have on a cold fall-pretending-to-be-winter night (seems that we may be skipping the rest of fall this year lol).  I had made this a few years ago, back before I was blogging and remembered it being quite good.  Hubby agreed, was just as good as the first time.  I'd give it 9/10.  And next time I make it, I'll remember to put the 3/4 c. of water in at the correct step--I did not realize I'd left it out until the very end (thankfully, still turned out great, whew!)

Link to original recipe: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-touffe-1

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/3 c. butter, divided
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. chopped yellow onion
2/3 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 T. Cajun seasoning
1/2 T. minced garlic (I used bottled)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. chopped fresh flat parsley
1 lb. shrimp (41-50 ct.), peeled and deveined
chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine chicken broth, thyme, basil, and bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer, then cover and remove from heat/set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/4 c. of the butter.  Once butter has melted, whisk flour into the butter.  Continue whisking constantly for around 5 minutes or until very brown.

3. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth mixture until completely combined and smooth; remove from heat/set aside.  Discard the bay leaf.

4. In a Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat, melt the remaining butter (1 T +1 tsp).  Add the onion, celery, and red bell pepper to pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally, around 8 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and onion is golden brown.

5. Stir in the water with the vegetable mixture, followed by the tomato paste, Cajun seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

6. Add the reserved chicken broth-flour mixture to the pot, along with the Worcestershire sauce.  Stir to combine well and bring to a simmer.  Let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. Add the parsley and shrimp; cook for 3 minutes or until shrimp are done.  Serve garnished with green onions (if desired) and enjoy!  (Suggest to be served with long-grain white rice)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

These are quite tasty...but also quite rich--you've been warned!  I really like them because the peanut butter is not overwhelming and the cookies are nice and soft--these practically melt in your mouth.  9.5/10, would definitely make again!

Link to original recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a43671/peanut-butter-oatmeal-sandwich-cookies-marshmallow-creme-filling-recipe/

Ingredients:

dough--
3/4 c. quick oats
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. light brown sugar (packed)
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 large egg

marshmallow filling--
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow fluff
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand (or electric) mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in vanilla extract and peanut butter, followed by egg.

4. Mix in the reserved dry ingredients combination until just combined.  Cover cookie dough and chill for at least 2 hours (or up to a week).

5. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough (I used my cookie scoop) around 2" apart on prepared baking sheets.

6. Bake for 11 min, or until just pale golden.  Let cookies cool on sheet 5 minutes prior to transferring to cooling rack.

7. While cookies are cooling, prepare marshmallow filling: in a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients using an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 min, or until light and fluffy.

8. Once cookies have cooled, pair them up by size and make "sandwiches" using the marshmallow filling.  Enjoy!

Filet Mignon with Port Reduction-type Sauce

This sauce is divine--very worth seeking out the special ingredients needed, though there are not many.  Even though there is only half of a shallot in it, the flavor is quite present, so don't serve to non-shallot lovers (i.e. my hubby).  10+/10!

Link to original recipe: http://www.kendallfarmscremefraiche.com/recipes-meat.html
(there are other recipes on same page, too--planning to try some of them soon!)

Ingredients:

2 (or 3) filet mignons (around 6 oz each), salted and peppered, to taste
2 T. butter
1/2 medium shallot, minced
1/2 c. ruby port, divided
1 T. demi-glace (I used this)
2 heaping T. crème fraîche
2 tsp. freshly-ground/crushed green peppercorns (I used my spice grinder)

Instructions:

1. In a cast-iron skillet over medium to medium high heat, sear and cook filet mignons to desired doneness.  Transfer to a plate and drain off all but a little of the butter/fat in pan.

2. Return pan to the heat and deglaze with 1/4 c. of the port, scraping up any browned bits into the sauce.

3. Reduce heat to just under medium.  Add remaining port to skillet, along with the minced shallot, demi-glace, and any juices that have collected on the steak plate.  Whisk together well and cook for a couple of minutes, until sauce looks a bit syrupy.

4. Turn off the heat but leave pan on burner.  Whisk in the crème fraîche, then the ground/crushed peppercorns.  Return steaks to pan to coat in sauce and rewarm for a minute.  Serve, coated with extra sauce atop each steak, and enjoy!

Two-chip chocolate chip cookies

The original recipe calls these 'double chocolate chip', but that seems somewhat a misnomer.  It's really just mini chips and regular chips combined for two sizes of chips, and not really "doubled" by any means.  These are good, but nothing to get terribly excited about--I'd go 8/10.  Unlikely that we will make them again, given our other great chocolate chip cookie recipes.  Still, they are not bad, either--am quite certain they will be eaten up quickly anyway :)

Link to original recipe: https://www.crisco.com/recipes/double-chocolate-chip-cookies-3182

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. light brown sugar (packed)
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 c. Butter flavored (or regular) Crisco shortening
2 T. milk
1 egg
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. regular semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand (or electric) mixer, cream brown sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy.

2. Beat in egg.

3. Heat oven to 375°F.

4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.  Gradually add this mixture while running mixer on low speed and continue mixing until just combined.

5. Stir in chocolate chips (both sizes).

6. Make rounded tablespoons of dough (I used my cookie scoop) and place 3" apart on cookie sheets.  Bake for 11-12 min.  Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Enjoy!