Anita's Pistachio Cherry Meltaway Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3.4 ounce package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
optional green food coloring

1/2 cup dried cherries chopped finely

With a stand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, pudding mix, and flour. Mix until combined. The mixture may seem dry at first but will come together after beating.
Add the almond extract and green food coloring if you want the cookies with a brighter green color.
Finely chop the dried cherries. Gently mix in the chopped cherries.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Take a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place cookie on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet. Once completely cooled sprinkle cookies with additional powdered sugar.

Anita's Corned Beef

This is how I did the corned beef this year - and it was really good! 

Took an almost 4 lb corned beef on top of a quartered onion in the crock pot. Put in 1 bay leaf and the seasoning packet from the corned beef on top. Poured one bottle of beer (I used Michelob Ultra) over top. Covered and cooked on low setting for about 8 hours. 

Took out the beef - poured the liquid and onion into big pot on stove. Put the corned beef back into crock pot on warm. Added chicken stock and water to the big pot - came to a boil and then added halved red potatoes - cooked them until done - removed to bowl and then added a cut up cabbage. Only cooked the cabbage until al-dente as I like it to have crunch! All was fantastic!!

Anita's Pecan Pie Cookies

Loved pecan pie for years - but just couldn't take the sweetness any longer. So I created this recipe and it works real well! Everyone seems to love them!

Start with either store bought Pillsbury pie crusts in the rolls or make your own! I roll them out on silicone mat, cut circles with a 4" round cookie cutter (a little bit bigger than the opening so the crust comes up to the top.) I carefully put the rounds in the holes after spraying lightly with pam, trying to cover the whole opening with crust.

I use these pans - https://www.qvc.com/Rachael-Ray-Cucina-Nonstick-Bakeware-12-Cup-Bite-Size-Baker.product.K375215.html?sc=SRCH - not muffin tins).

Make your filling!

1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup (1 stick butter), melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs until creamy. Add the chopped pecans, melted butter, milk, flour and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Use a 1 1/2 tsp cookie scoop to put mixture in to the pie shells. Make sure not to overfill as it will puff up - a little goes a long way. 

Bake the pie for 25 minutes. They will set more as they cool. 

Carefully, using a rounded knife, remove from pans and let cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.

This filling recipe is enough for two of the above pans.

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Jif)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 cups chopped pecans

2 to 2¹⁄₂ cups graham cracker crumbs (28 to 35 crackers)

For dipping:

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Using an electric mixer, beat together the peanut butter, ¹⁄₂ cup of the butter, the vanilla, and salt. Stir in the confectioner’s sugar, pecans, and 2 cups of the cracker crumbs.

Using your hands, roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. Set the balls in a single layer on a small wax paper– lined baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.

Melt the chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the top half of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Turn off the heat, but leave the chocolate over the hot water to prevent the chocolate from hardening. 

Insert a toothpick into a chilled peanut butter ball and dip into the melted chocolate until coated. Return the ball to the baking sheet, removing the toothpick.

Repeat with the remaining balls and then chill in the refrigerator until hardened. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Snickerdoodle Crisps

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Spiced Sugar:

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk flour, spices, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture.
Divide dough in half; shape each into an 8-in.-long roll. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix spiced sugar ingredients. Unwrap and cut dough crosswise into 1/4-in. slices; press cookies into sugar mixture to coat both sides or sprinkle sugar mixture over cookies. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

Freeze option: Freeze wrapped logs in a resealable plastic freezer bag. To use, unwrap frozen logs and cut into slices. If necessary, let dough stand a few minutes at room temperature before cutting. Bake as directed.

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• 
  
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• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• SPICED SUGAR:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
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• 1/2 teaspoon sal
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Cheese Ball Bites

Ingredients

8

slices bacon

(found that you might want to use the equivalent of real bacon chips)

1 1/2 oz.

(8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened

1 c.

shredded cheddar

1 tsp.

garlic powder

1 tsp.

paprika

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 c.

freshly chopped chives

1/3 c.

finely chopped pecans

18

pretzels sticks

In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon until crispy, 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, then finely chop. Set aside.  (or use equivalent amount of real bacon chips - think it would be easier to roll them)

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Use a cookie scoop to form mixture into 18 small balls and transfer to a parchment–lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

In a shallow bowl, stir together bacon, chives, and pecans.

Roll balls in bacon-chive-pecan mixture, insert a pretzel stick into each, and let come to room temperature 15 minutes before serving. (If not serving right away, loosely cover with plastic wrap and return to fridge.)

Coffee Kiss Cookies

1/2 cup of butter at room temperature 

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs at room temperature
1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp instant coffee or espresso powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
48 dark chocolate Hershey’s kisses

Directions

Mix dry ingredients (baking soda, salt, and flour). Set aside.

Cream butter and both sugars. Add vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add coffee powder and milk.

Gradually add dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Consistency should be soft and sticky but firm enough to hang on the paddle or beaters. Chill for one hour.

While chilling, unwrap kisses. Set up a rack to receive the cookies. Things will move fast once you pull the cookies out of the oven, and you won’t want to move anything for a while once you’re done.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Use a small scoop to portion out dough. Roll into 1-inch balls.

Bake 9-10 minutes on an ungreased sheet (parchment paper or a silicone pan liner is fine). Move pan near the rack and press a kiss into the center of each one. As soon as all the kisses are in place, move the cookies to the cooling rack.

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the kisses. Even if they remain upright at this point, they’re molten. Shaking them will result in a puddle of chocolate. Allow to cool for an hour or two before moving.