Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancake Mix

When I asked my Dad what he wanted for Christmas this year, he said, "Nothing. You and David are building a house, and I'd rather you use your money on that. [Pause] Wait, how about something homemade and delicious?" It was music to my ears! Another excuse to get in the kitchen and create! My dad is a breakfast guy. He likes cereal, of course, but he loves pancakes. I thought it would be nice to make some kind of a pancake mix that he could use to whip up a batch of delicious pancakes whenever he wanted. It just so happened that earlier that week, Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe posted a recipe for a pancake mix that she uses regularly and that her kids love. While I've never had these pancakes, just reading her description was enough to make me feel good about mixing up a batch for Dad.
The recipe makes about 10 cups of mix, which can keep for awhile (2 weeks or so) at room temperature. Or you can keep it on the fridge indefinitely, although I'm pretty sure Dad will need a refill before long. The remaining ingredients for the pancakes (besides the dry mix) are pretty typical things you'd have in your kitchen. I'm sure they'll be perfect for you if you're "breakfast people".

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancake Mix

My Kitchen Cafe

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup vegetable oil

Mix all dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle attachment, or by hand. With the mixer on low speed, gradually drizzle the vegetable oil in while the mixer runs. When all of the oil has been added, stop the mixer and grab a handful of the mixture. If it clumps together when you squeeze it and stays there, it's just right. If it is too crumbly to stay together, drizzle in a tablespoon of oil at a time until the mixture will stay clumped together. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, or in the refrigerator or freezer indefinitely.

To make the pancakes:

Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk (or 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin, but the oats will soak up some of the moisture while your griddle heats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto the griddle. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface but don't break, the pancakes are ready to flip.

A cup of mix will make 6 or 7 four-inch pancakes.

Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy

First, a warning. If you have trouble saying no to sweet and salty treats, don't make this. It's diet disaster waiting to happen. I only make this at Christmas, and that's why David and I lovingly refer to this delightful candy as "Christmas Crack." When it's in my house, I can't help but eat it. It's a compulsion. As long as it's in the house, I have to have it. Be warned.
The first time I had cracker candy was when I worked at the prison. One of my coworkers brought us homemade candy for Christmas, and when I had my first bite, I said, "Jessie, what is this?! It's delicious!" She grinned from ear to ear and said, "It's cracker candy!" I had to have the recipe, so she sat down at her desk and wrote it out for me. Can you believe that the sweet, crunchy toffee layer is made from regular ol' unsalted saltines? Me neither. It just gets better from there.

There are a million variations of this candy on the Internet, and I've made several of them. This is probably the most simple version, and it's wonderful. It's a great starting point for new recipes, as well. One year, I used graham crackers and semisweet chocolate and topped it with chopped pistachios. AMAZING. But this year, I got ahold of some super-salty mixed nuts (score!) and decided that they would be the perfect flavor to go in my Christmas Crack. What could be better than Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy?

The recipe I use varies from year to year (mostly because a lot of times I can't find the same recipe!). This time, I used a recipe I found over at A Southern Grace. Feel free to use the recipe as a jumping off point for your own creative combo!

Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy

A Southern Grace

1 cup butter (salted or unsalted, your preference)

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

40 saltines (I used salted ones)

extra-salty mixed nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray. Lay down one layer of saltines. Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 5-6 minutes. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread so the cracker layer is covered evenly. Place pan in oven and bake for 5-8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool for 3-5 minutes. Scatter chocolate chips over cracker/toffee layer. Let them soften for a minute or so (or you can put them back in the oven for a few seconds) and spread evenly over cracker layer. If you plan to add a topping to your cracker candy, now is the time to do so. Let cool completely. Using aluminum foil, lift cracker candy from pan. Peel off aluminum foil and break into snack-sized pieces.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

It seems like the whole darn country's been in one heck of a cold snap lately! We had our first good snow last week, and when it snows I want two things: soup for supper and hot chocolate before I go to bed. Since I've started being "domestic," I've kind of become a hot chocolate snob. Swiss Miss just don't cut it. Neither does Nestle Quick. I've got something so much better! It's super-easy to whip up a batch, and it makes a ton!
My brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and stepmom Theresa were recipients of some of this yummy mix for Christmas. To make it, you simply dump 1/3 of a cup of the mix in a cup, then fill with boiling water. No need to heat milk, because it's made with dry milk powder. And it's oh so creamy because of the addition of some chocolate fudge pudding mix. A cup of this, two giant marshmallows on top, and a good book are the perfect things to settle in with on a nice wintery night!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

6 1/2 cups powdered milk

5 oz. Cook & Serve chocolate fudge pudding mix

1 cup powdered chocolate drink mix (such as Nestle Quik)

1/2 cup non-dairy creamer (French vanilla is good)

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Put all ingredients into food processor. Process until well blended and powdered milk is a fine consistency.

For one cup of hot chocolate, use 1/3 cup mix. Dissolve mix with boiling water.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

Thank goodness I sort of had my wits about me during my holiday baking frenzy! I took as many pictures as I could, but I haven't posted too many of my recipes thus far. I guess I've been saving them for a rainy day. Now, it looks like I'll be posting those for the next little bit, because my camera seems to have disappeared in the packing chaos! I hope it resurfaces before too long, or I'll be in a tight spot!
Anyway, I made lots of mini loaves of bread this Christmas to give away as gifts. I like the idea of giving mini loaves for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I assume most people I'm giving food to are in the same predicament as me. I figure they probably love food, but that they've got way too much of it at Christmastime. The mini loaf is just a perfect little snack. It can be consumed in one sitting either alone (Hogatha!) or with a friend. There are no leftovers to feel obligated to eat. I also like mini loaves because I can give a kind of "variety pack" to people with several different flavors. That seems to be much appreciated, at least by my family and friends!
So here's one of my favorite quick bread recipes. Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread. When I first read the name of the recipe, I was a little uneasy about it. I'd never eaten peanut butter and pumpkin together. But I thought about it, and decided that peanut butter makes anything better, so I took the plunge. And it is delicious! It's a very moist bread, and the peanut butter stands out, but not too much. The pumkin is a perfect accent flavor. This recipe makes two loaves, and they freeze really well. If the pumpkin shortage hasn't hit your area, give this recipe a try!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

Anita Chicke

3 cups sugar

1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup peanut buter

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and peanut butter; beat well. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whisk well. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Mix until just combined. Pour into two greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

*Makes 6 mini loaves.

Swedish Nuts

I gave lots of food gifts for Christmas this year, and the most popular were the tins of Swedish Nuts. I have no idea what makes them "Swedish", but they remind me a little of a praline. They're absolutely delicious, keep really well, and make a really nice presentation. They're by far the most "gourmet" gift that I give. Several people have asked me how to make them, so I thought I'd share a little tutorial with you.The first thing you need to do is make your coating, which is just a mixture of whipped egg whites, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. It's really simple, and you can find the recipe at the bottom of the post. Next, you'll pour your coating over your nuts. Use any kind you'd like, but I used a mixture of pecans and walnuts. You've got to get the nuts coated really well. You want that yummy, sugary goodness over every surface!

While making your coating, you'll melt a stick of butter in a 325-degree oven in a 9x13-inch pan. Once it's melted and the nuts are well-coated, spread the nuts in an even layer over the butter. The nuts will bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, but every 8 minutes or so, you'll need to turn them and coat them in the butter.

This is what the nuts will look like after the first turn:

I think I turned my nuts about 4 times, but I have a feeling that the number of turns will be dependent on how hot your oven runs. Just make sure that you turn all of the nuts each time so that they get evenly coated with the butter. They'll get a little drier, browner, and crunchier with each turn. Once they're finished, they'll look like this:

You're in the home stretch now! All that's left to do is let the nuts cool off. I spread mine out on a piece of aluminum foil until they cool off. Then, you can package them in a festive tin, or just put them in a fancy dish. I haven't met anyone who doesn't love these nuts! You can keep them in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. But they won't last more than a couple of days!

Swedish Nuts

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 pinch salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 lb. nuts (pecans, walnuts, or a mixture of both)

1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form and turn glossy. Fold in nuts and coat well with the egg white mixture.

Melt butter in a 9x13-inch baking pan by placing it in the oven. Evenly spread coated nuts over melted butter in pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes (or until no butter remains in the pan), stirring and turning nuts every 8 minutes. Place hot nuts on foil and allow to cool.