Cheesy Potato Cassserole

                                                     (aka "Funeral Potatoes"}

This is an easy, tried, and true recipe (thanks to my friend, Dona) that is perfect for a special meal, a treat for your family, or especially for a potluck! The ingredients are reasonable in cost, the prep time is quick and all you have to remember is to give it a bit more time in the oven if your stove is as slow as mine. It got a rave review at our last potluck here at our complex.

Ingredients

1lb package of shredded hashbrowns

1  can of Condensed Cream of Potato Soup

16 oz tub of sour cream

 2 c shredded Cheddar Cheese 

1/4 c green onions

1 tsp salt  (approx.)

1/2 tsp pepper

Optional: 1/2 c of crushed French Onions

Preparation

Butter or spray a 13x9-inch baking pan or casserole dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together. Pour into the pan and cover with foil. Bake for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Remove foil and allow to brown for 15 minutes. PLEASE NOTE: Topping with panko, crushed cornflakes, or French Onions before baking adds a bit of a crunch! 

 Hi! Welcome to my Little Cook Blog. I have missed you all. Mike's stroke a while back cast a shadow on any time I had to do much but fuss with him, and now the addition of a new pup to our home caused a bit of chaos over the holidays, as you may well imagine. But I am back with a vengeance, so to speak. Thanks to my new refurbished desktop computer, I will post frequently from now on (thanks, Mike!).I hope you have all been well and baking on, and that you are ready to tackle some "new and reimagined" recipes this year. Love and hugs and HAPPY NEW YEAR from Sharon ("The Little Cook"), Mike (creative computer innovator), Charlie (our first 'boy') and Romey ("the newbie).

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOW SQUARES (aka CONFETTI SQUARES)

 CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOW aka CONFETTI SQUARES

True confessions: I didn't take a photo of just my chocolate/marshmallow/peanut butter squares (aka "confetti") so I am sharing a photo of our Christmas Cookie "Tree" display. Lots of goodies on there - some recipes I have previously shared, some yet to come. But anyway, this is our variety, and if you look carefully, on the bottom part of the cookie stand, you can see (left to right), cherry coconut slice, spritz cookies and yes, lurking to the right my ultimate favorite, chocolate confetti. So easy, so much fun to make a SO delicious!

I decided to get smart and make stacking the dang thing a bit easier, so I packaged the variety of baking, tucked into cupcake liners, into freezer bags for easier filling. We do love our cookies! The Chocolate Marshmallow Squares have a prominent place on the bottom right of the bag since I like big chunks of this square - ok I admit it, it is an addiction! But the packed bag is so pretty that I had to share it, too. Just think, all the years I have done Christmas baking and have never thought of this little time and space-saver! Whoah!

So, what is the difference between "Chocolate Confetti" and Chocolate Peanut Butter Square? In my opinion, "Confetti" uses colored mini marshmallows while my square uses white marshmallows. Traditionally, Confetti uses milk chocolate chips while my square - this year - was a mix of half dark and half milk chocolate, which made all the difference. Whichever you prefer, all I know is that I have trouble stopping at one piece, hence only having 2 on the tray at once! Oh, and I prefer making it in a foil pan lined with foil so it's easier to remove and cut without issue. Just a little hint there. This year, I also added about half a cup of marshmallows to the pot while the mixture was still quite warm, so they added a bit of gooeyness, a chewier texture that we liked.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 c unsalted butter
• 1/2 c cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c dark chocolate chips (or use all milk or semi-sweet if you prefer)
• 5 c white mini marshmallows (rainbow marshmallows for Confetti slice)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 foil pan (or baking pan) with aluminum foil. 
2. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, combine butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips. Melt, stirring until smooth and completely combined.
3. Remove from heat and stir in 1/c marshmallows - just for the square, not the Confetti.
4. Let cool slightly and then mix in the remainder of the marshmallows.
5. Spread in prepared pan and let set at room temperature. 

Note: The slice can be frozen at this point, but I find it much more attractive if sliced into squares with a sharp knife when set, then stored in the freezer in a freezer bag (as pictured above). Don't forget to save a few slices for the baker and a helper to sample! SOMEONE has to taste-test the goods!

Spritz Cookies (Cookie Press)

                                                          SPRITZ COOKIES

                                                                             

This cookie is one of my hubby's favorites, and since he could actually enjoy them this year, I made them as a special treat. I have always found them extremely fussy and guess what? I discovered that the difference is in the dough! Sheesh! Who would have guessed it! So here is a great "found" recipe with perhaps a tweak or two to make them even better.

Note: The recipe makes a LOT of dough - it pretty much filled the bowl of my stand mixer (my new toy). So, you can either go on "Cookie Palooza" and git going, using different sprinkles, cherries, tiny gumdrops or chocolate chips and so on for the center. The main thing is not to fret! Even if the cookies aren't perfect, they are the closest I have found to what I would deem a very light shortbread (my favorite) and a good, solid spritz dough. Enjoy, and if you prefer, you can freeze some of the dough for up to 3 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and place in a zipped plastic bag. The entire batch will take at least 3 cookie sheets, depending upon how large you "spritz your cookies." I do love my vintage cookie maker!

PUTTING ON THE SPRITZ

Ingredients:

• 1 c unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 c granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extra (I used this for the first time and it makes a difference)
• 1 tsp almond extract (we don't care for almonds, so I doubled the vanilla)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 1/3 c all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 tsp salt

The fun stuff: gel food coloring, sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolates, halved maraschino cherries, etc. Let your imagination fly! If you want to use gel food coloring you only need a bit to color cookies before baking, since you want to keep them pastel. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (177 C)
2. Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or use nonstick bakeware with no liner. (HINT: I have discovered that pressed cookies do not adhere to parchment paper BUT you can use aluminum foil with the dull side up as long as you watch that the bottoms don't brown too much. Do not use nonstick foil! This may mean slightly reducing baking time. If you can chill the prepared baking sheets, that works even better.)
3. Making the dough: In the large bowl that comes with your stand mixer (or your own bowl using a handheld mixer) fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on MEDIUM-HIGH for approximately 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract (if desired). Beat on HIGH for about 1 minute. Scrape sides and the bowl bottom, beating again for an additional minute to combine. On LOW, beat in flour, cinnamon and salt. Turn to HIGH and beat until completely combined. It will start forming a ball. You can add gel food coloring at this point if you like.
4. Pressing the dough: Fit the cookie press with your first decorative plate. It's fun to use variety, especially if you have children helping you. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to your pan (one edge touching and the press at an angle to help the dough stick), press out the cookies approximately 2 inches apart. Don't make too huge or press too hard or they may become distorted and won't be as pretty. If using sprinkles, brush the formed cookies lightly with water to help them stick before sprinkling and placing in the oven. If you find the dough is getting too soft, simply refrigerate between pressing, while the first cookie sheet is in the oven. 
5. Baking: Bake for approximately 7-9 minutes. You want the bottoms just golden, not dark. Using foil as a liner on pans may take just 5 minutes per pan, depending upon your oven. I have a gas range that runs hotter, so I have to be really careful. Allow about 5 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely. I just put them on my counter on a clean tea towel, but some prefer using a rack. This is the time to drizzle on melted chocolate if you like.

Hints: 

• Dough may be made beforehand and chilled in the fridge until you are ready to make your cookies. If you freeze the dough, take it out and let it thaw to room temperature before using the press. 
• If you don't have a cookie press, you can use a pastry bag with a star tip or other decorative cookie tip.  But since my vintage press is my choice, it comes out every Christmas. We found it years ago at the thrift store.