Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

This is a new favorite Thanksgiving side dish at my house now! This is like a sweet potato souffle in a sweet potato skin. It is sweet and extra creamy! The little kids especially loved them. It was as if they were eating dessert for dinner! Yay!

4 sweet potatoes

¼ cup butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

¼ cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon*

½ teaspoon salt
1 pinch black pepper, or more to taste

Mini Marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Lightly poke potatoes 2-3 times with a knife. Bake in the preheated oven until a sharp knife easily pierces the potato, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool sweet potatoes until easily handled, 10 to 15 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop insides into a large bowl. Add butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Spoon mixture back into the sweet potato skins and top each with marshmallows. Place sweet potatoes back onto the baking sheet. Bake in the oven until warmed through and marshmallows are toasted, about 15-20 minutes.

* For an even better taste, substitute Pumpkin Pie Spice for the cinnamon!

Ben with his mouth wide open. More please!!! Good stuff!

Red Onion Jam

My Mama loved Pepper Jelly! I remember her having the green jelly in the little jars. She would get Ritz Crackers and smear them with cream cheese and Pepper Jelly! I bet she would have eaten this stuff up!!!

4 cups Red Onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 pkg (1.75 oz) fruit pectin
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

In a large pot, combine all ingredients EXCEPT the sugars. Bring to a rolling boil. Add sugars. Stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil again and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off any foam that may have formed. Spoon jam into heat resistant jars and cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

You can also use a water bath and can the jam to store it in your pantry!

Christmas Caramels

I found a few recipes for homemade caramels, but the problem was I didn't have the ingredients for any of them. So, if you know me, you know that didn't stop me! LOL, I compromised and combined what I did have into one consolidated recipe. Notice that there is NO butter or vanilla! The hubby said that the result is just as good if not better than Werther's Caramels! Woo Hoo!

1 cup Heavy Cream 

1/2 cup Half & Half
1 cup granulated Sugar
1 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Other tools and supplies... Candy thermometer, parchment paper and waxed paper.

In a heavy saucepan, combine cream, half & half, sugars and salt. Over medium to medium high heat bring mixture to a boil while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (Make sure the pot is double the size you think you need, because this mixture foams up and will make a huge mess if the pot is not big enough!)

Once the caramel comes to a boil, attach candy thermometer and stop stirring.

While the caramel is boiling, prepare your dish. Butter a 13x9 baking dish, line with parchment, and then butter the parchment. Make sure you leave some parchment showing on two ends of the dish. This will give you 'handles' to lift the caramel out when it is set.

Continue boiling, without stirring until the temperature reaches 245 degrees, the firm ball stage. Don't turn your back or walk away at this point. The caramel can foam over and burn on the stove, or it could boil over on you and cause serious burns. This caramel doesn't wash off. It sticks and burns, so use caution during this stage, and you'll be fine! (Keep kids away from the stove/kitchen while getting the candy up to temperature!)

Remove from heat and pour into your prepared pan. Let the caramel rest in a safe place out of reach (so little fingers won't be tempted... like the hubby here!) for about least 8 hours or overnight before cutting. It should be completely cool and set. It will be a little tacky.

To cut, lift the caramel using the 'handles' of parchment you left showing. Turn it out on a cutting board that you have lightly sprayed with oil. Peel the parchment away and cut as desired. (I used a knife heated in hot water. It cuts easier that way.) I wrapped mine individually in strips of wax paper. This recipe made 100 wrapped candies of various sizes. Next time, I'm going to cover some in milk chocolate! :-)

Cinnamon Butter

So simple, but very tasty. It tastes like cinnamon toast! I'm going to use it as a filling in a pastry of some sort. We'll see... My hubby loves it on toast and in oatmeal!

1 stick Butter, room temperature
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp ground Cinnamon

Mix together until smooth. Store in a mason jar in the frig.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Streusel:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Cake:
3/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups milk
3 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

Make the streusel by mixing together the sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring until well combined. Set the topping aside.

To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream milk till well combined.  

Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.

Spread half the batter into the pan. Sprinkle half the streusel mixture over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the streusel. Use a toothpick to swirl the filling into the batter, like you were making a marble cake. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the batter.

Bake the cake until it's golden brown around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. (Oven temps and times may vary... adjust time according to your oven.)

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

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