STARBUCKS

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Monday, December 26, 2011

White Flower


you take a round/half round floral foam thing..
and white coffee filters.
get floral pins,
and pick up the coffee filters from the center and run through your hand to make them conical.
use the floral pin to pierce the bottom(once the middle) of the filter, and then jab it in the foam.
repeat 5576544668875 times, and voila!

Cranberry Bliss Bars



Blondie Layer:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 ounces white baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.
2. Prepare the blondie layer: In a medium bowl, melt butter for one minute in the microwave or until melted; stir in brown sugar. Pour the butter and sugar into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Use an electric mixer to beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in the cranberries and chopped chocolate (batter will be thick).
3. Spread the blondie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate; beat until blended. Frost brownies. Sprinkle with chopped cranberries. Drizzle with remaining melted white chocolate. Let the frosting set (speed this up by throwing them into the fridge) then cut into bars- square or triangle-shaped. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Baked Crab Rangoon


1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
14 won ton wrappers
1 small green onion
4 oz surimi imitation crab
3 oz cream cheese
2 teaspoonfuls in the center of each Moisten edges with water;
bring corners to center over filling and press edges together to seal.
Place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray.
Lightly spray wontons with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake at 425 °F (210 °C) for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm.

7up Biscuits


7UP Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-up
1/4 cup melted butter

Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.
Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan. Place cut biscuits in pan and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown.

www.plainchicken.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Aunt Ann's Million Dollar Fudge


Ingredients

1 12-ounce package Hershey's semi-sweet
chocolate chips 4 ½ c. sugar
3 4-ounce bar Baker's German's sweet chocolate,
cut into small pieces Pinch salt
1 7-ounce jar Kraft Marshmallow Cream 2 tbsp. butter, plus more for pan
2 c. walnuts, broken 1 ⅝ c. evaporated milk
Preparation

1. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.

2. Combine chocolate chips, German chocolate, marshmallow cream and nuts in bowl. Set aside.

3. In heavy saucepan combine sugar, salt, butter and evaporated milk. Let stand about 5 minutes.

4. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 7 1/2 minutes after it has a good start to boil.

5. Pour at once over chocolate mixture.

6. Stir vigorously until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth and creamy.

7. Pour into prepared pan. Let stand several hours or overnight to set.

8. Cut into squares. Store, tightly covered. Freezes well.

Makes 48 squares.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 200; Fat: 8g; Cholestrol: 5mg; Sodium: 20mg; Total Carbohydrates: 32g; Dietary Fiber: 1g; Sugars: 29g; Protein: 3g. Serving size: One square.

recipe fromGuideposts recipe
---------------------
Fudge That's Worth a Fortune
A Minnesota woman shares with Guideposts readers the million-dollar recipe her beloved Aunty Ann kept secret for years.
By Mary Fran Heitzman, Bloomington, Minnesota
In this article:
Inspirational Stories Christmas Dessert Dessert Recipe Faith Family Guideposts Inspirational Stories Real Life Stories Recipes
As appeared in

Christmas visits to my aunt’s farmhouse were always a treat. Literally.

There in Aunty Ann’s kitchen with its chartreuse walls, café-style curtains and beadboard cabinetry, I devoured blocks of her homemade fudge, also known as Million Dollar Fudge.

Why Aunty Ann called it that, she never said. Maybe she dreamed of owning a candy store, and hoped the fudge would make her famous. Or it could have been for its amazingly rich taste.

Either way, when I started my own family I couldn’t wait to make the fudge for them for Christmas. There was just one problem: I needed Aunty Ann’s recipe.

I called Mom. She and Aunty Ann were sisters and as close as could be. Surely she’d have it.

“Let me see,” Mom said. It sounded like she was rummaging through some drawers. “You know what? I don’t have it. Let me call Ann for you. She’ll give me the recipe.”

While I waited for Mom to call back, my thoughts drifted... Suddenly I was a wide-eyed 10-year-old looking up at Aunty Ann as she boiled salt, butter, milk and sugar (she was so precise that a cup of sugar was just that and not one grain more), then added it to a bowl with chocolate, marshmallow cream and nuts. Oh, the sweet smell that wafted through the air!

Then she’d stir the mixture and pour it into a pan to set (of course, I’d lick the bowl). A few hours later Aunty would pull a butter knife through the thick fudge and cut it into cubes.

“Only one piece,” she’d say. But how I wanted to sneak a little more.

I looked up to Aunty Ann outside of the kitchen too. She did a lot at church. She had sewn hundreds of quilts for missions and took in family and cared for friends when they needed help.


She really lived out her faith. Aunty Ann was something special, just like her Million Dollar Fudge.

The phone rang. Mom. “Did you get the recipe?” I asked excitedly.

“I sure did!” she said. I jotted down the ingredients and drove right to the grocery store.

Back home, I measured, boiled, mixed and stirred just like Aunty. While the fudge set, I dusted, folded laundry and wrote Christmas cards. Finally, it was time for the taste test.

I put the pan on the kitchen table and cut the first piece to the same dimensions I remembered my aunt using. Well, that’s different, I thought, noticing that it looked more like a slab than a cube.

I took a bite, anticipating the creamy texture that would take me back to my childhood. Hmm. Gritty. Did too much sugar settle into this corner?

I took another bite. It was as bad as the first. This fudge was not at all like Aunty Ann’s. Not even close.

I called Mom right away.

“I must have done something wrong!” I wailed. Mom offered to call Aunty Ann again. “I’ll make sure that we didn’t miss any ingredients.”

The next day Mom got back to me. “Hi, Mary Frances, um...your aunt has confessed something,” she told me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Well, she admitted that she didn’t share the real recipe with us. She said that she’s keeping it a secret for that candy store she has always dreamed of opening someday.”

“What?” I shouted. My churchgoing, mission-helping, always-honorable Aunty Ann had told a whopper?! Why would she lie to me? My feelings were hurt.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Aunty was just holding tight to her dream. That was definitely no reason for me to hold a fudge grudge.

“But,” Mom continued, interrupting my thoughts, “she’s reconsidered. She’s given me the real recipe to pass on to you…on one condition: You must promise to keep it a secret as long as she’s alive.”

“I promise,” I said. “Her recipe is safe with me.”

I kept that promise for 10 years, until Aunty Ann passed away. I miss her dearly. She never did open that million-dollar candy store, but now I can share her priceless recipe with you all.

And don’t worry, I haven’t fudged it one bit.
=============
As appeared in Guidepost.org

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Cream Cheese-Bacon Crescents


what you need
1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
3 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled
2 cans (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
make it
HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX cream cheese spread and bacon until well blended.

SEPARATE each can of dough into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise in half. Spread each dough triangle with 1 generous tsp. cream cheese mixture. Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle; place, point-sides down, on baking sheet.

BAKE 12 to 15 min. or until golden brown. Serve warm.

kraft kitchens tipsHEALTHY LIVINGFor a reduced-fat version, try our Healthy Living version of Cream Cheese-Bacon Crescents which uses PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese and reduced-fat refrigerated crescent dinner rolls. These changes will save 30 calories and 4g of fat per serving. VARIATION For a sweet version, prepare using PHILADELPHIA Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread and substituting 3 Tbsp. chopped PLANTERS Walnuts for the bacon.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Country Apple Dumplings




Prep Time: 20 Min Cook
Time: 45 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr 5 Min
Servings: 16

Ingredients

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew ™

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.