Peanut Butter Fudge

My dad and brother both love peanut butter, so I made them each a box of peanut butter fudge as part of their Christmas gift. I didn't have a recipe, so I did an online search and came across this easy recipe from Food Network Host Alton Brown. (I like him a lot, especially his show, "Good Eats".) Anyway, the recipe is really easy and very tasty! Be careful when microwaving the peanut butter and butter--I boiled mine over in the microwave! Here's the link to the recipe. Thanks for stopping by!

Thumb Cookies

Ok, here's the final cookie recipe that I made for the assorted cookie trays I made up for two of our pastors. This is a recipe that my aunt, Roben, gave me years ago. I had used egg whites in the peppermint divinity I posted about a few days ago and had egg yolks left over. This recipe calls for egg yolks, so I thought I would make it to use them up. Be sure to scroll to the end to see my final cookie trays!

Thumb Cookies

1 c. butter
2 egg yolks
1 c. confectioner's sugar
2 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
jam or maraschino cherries

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix till combined. Blend in the
flour just till combined.

Make balls the size of walnuts. Mash the center down with your thumb, or a rounded measuring spoon works well too. Fill the indent with jam (any flavor of your choosing) or a marashino cherry. Bake in a 350 oven until lightly browned.

*Use aluminum air-bake cookie sheets for best results.*

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

From the Toth Family to You,
We wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Thanks for stopping by!

Cranberry-Macadamia (Pecan) Bars

Here's the second recipe for cookies I made for a cookie tray Christmas gift. This is a fancier cookie than what I normally make, but I wanted to make some varieties that I knew no one else had given them yet. Plus, the bar cookies were easier than drop cookies. Just like the Chocolate Revel Bars, this recipe comes from that Better Homes & Gardens red and white plaid binder cookbook most of us have in our collection. Just a note: I always use pecans in this recipe.

Cranberry-Macadamia Bars

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. finely chopped macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, or pecans

1 1/4 c. sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 T. milk
1 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. finely chopped macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, or pecans
1 c. finely chopped cranberries
1/2 c. coconut

In a mixing bowl stir together the flour and the 3/4 c. sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until misture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the 1/2 c. nuts. Press flour mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 oven for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is light brown around the edges.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl combine the 1 1/4 c. sugar, eggs, milk, orange peel, and vanilla. Beat until combined. Pour over the hot crust. Sprinkle with the 1/2 c. nuts, cranberries, and coconut.

Bake in the 350 oven for 30 minutes more or until golden. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars while warm. Cool completely in pan.

My notes: I lined my pan with parchment paper. After allowing the bars to cool for a bit, I lifted the entire pan of cookies out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. I didn't cut the bars until they were completely cool. The orange zest in these cookies makes all the difference in the world, so if you try the recipe, don't let that out! Thanks for stopping by!

Chocolate Revel Bars - Take II

I posted the recipe for these bar cookies a few weeks ago. I made them for a Sunday afternoon 8 for $10 stamping workshop at my house. I didn't post a picture of them the first time, so now you can see how yummy they look!


I made them again for Christmas gifts for the Associate Pastor and Children's Pastor at our church. I made three types of cookies and gave each of them a tray full. This is the first of the three. I'll share the other two recipes in the next two posts. Thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Biscotti

I decided to make some baked goods for the pastors of our church. You can see in my last post where I made peanut butter ice cream topping for our Senior Pastor. Today I'll tell you about the gift I made for our Youth Pastor. At some point in time, he was a barista for Starbucks. (I think it was Starbucks.) He has an espresso/capuccino machine in his office. So I thought the perfect gift for him would be some biscotti.

I am a Food Network fan. One of my favorites is Giada De Laurentiis. I used to sit and watch her show while I was nursing my youngest son! I watched an episode where she made Holiday Biscotti and printed the recipe off to try someday. I made it a year or so ago, but hadn't made it since. You can get the recipe here.


The first time I made it, I used pecans instead of pistachios. It was still good. This time, I made it with the pistachios, but I didn't dip them in white chocolate or do the colored sugar decorations. They were yummy without it! Give this recipe a try sometime when you're looking for a new cookie recipe to try! Thanks for stopping by!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping

My father loves peanut butter ice cream topping and has my mom make it for him any time we make homemade ice cream. She makes it without a recipe, and I never know how to make it like she does. She can tell me what she puts in it, but not any relative amounts. I need more specific instructions when I'm cooking, so I went looking for a recipe. I found one about a year ago, and I think it was on the Family Fun website, but I don't remember for certain. I think the original recipe called for heavy cream, but I just use milk. I don't remember if I made any other changes or not, but here's the recipe I use.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping

1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup
2 T. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring the first five ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and mix in vanilla. Cool and serve! Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Peppermint Divinity

There's a recipe for Peppermint Divinity in the December issue of Country Living magazine. In Christmases past before I had children, I would make an assortment of homemade candies, put them in little gift boxes, and give them as Christmas gifts. So I've made candy before, but I've never made divinity.

I've been on a mint kick lately. It started a few weeks ago when I bought a bottle of Twisted Mint hand soap at Bath & Body Works. The idea of peppermint divinity piqued my interest. I thought I would give it a try and put it in our preschool teacher gifts. It turned out really well--even if I do say so myself! Yum!

Kiss Cookies

Have you seen the Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses? I bought some last weekend to make cookies with. I've made peanut butter blossoms in the past with milk chocolate Kisses, but I wondered what a chocolate cookie with a candy cane Kiss would taste like. So I tried to make some, and my oldest son just loved them! My husband liked them pretty well too, and my younger son just wanted to eat the Kisses out of the middle. Thanks for stopping by!