Christmas cooking from the Supporters!
Reindeer Cookies
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate-covered mini pretzels
Mini brown M&Ms
Regular-sized red M&Ms
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add egg; beat until just blended.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.
Form dough into 1-inch balls. To make reindeer-shaped cookies, pinch the bottom of the ball slightly to form a point, then gently flatten with your hand. Space cookies about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until set or just beginning to brown.
Remove from oven and immediately (and gently) press two mini pretzels into the tops of the cookies for the reindeer's antlers. Press two mini brown M&Ms in for the eyes and one red M&M for the nose (or any other color... some of mine ended up with green noses. They might be South Pole reindeer.).
Allow to cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack or paper towel to cool completely.
Makes about 40 reindeer cookies.
Large Marshmallows (I prefer Jet-Puffed over the store brand)
Lollipop sticks, popsicle sticks, or pretzel sticks
Ribbon
Melting Chocolate (I prefer the ones you buy at the craft store for their smooth texture)
Cinnamon dots, Hot Tamales or Mike & Ike's Reds
Small Pretzels
Pearl Sprinkles (or other candies for the eyes)
Foam block
Break the pretzels in half. It was not an easy task to get them all to break properly, so make sure to have plenty on hand. You need two halves for each reindeer's antlers
Snip just the ends of the Hot Tamales or Mike & Ike's, or count out your cinnamon dots.
Put the marshmallows on the stick, and push them into the foam block.
I scored the tops of the marshmallows, hoping that would make it easier to attach the pretzel antlers.
Place chocolate melts or chocolate chips in a microwaveable glass bowl. Microwave on high at 20-30 second intervals, stirring each time until chocolate is just melted, but not too hot.
Dip a marshmallow into the chocolate, covering it entirely. Use the backside of a spoon to smooth out the side and top, and to remove any excess. Place it back into the foam block and repeat the process on the next marshmallow
After about five or six marshmallows, add the pretzel antlers, by gently inserting them into the scored parts of the marshmallows, and hold them for a few seconds to make sure they are secure. This took some practice!
For the nose and eyes, you can either add them when the chocolate is still wet, or finish the whole batch, then dab some melted chocolate onto each piece and attach it to the marshmallow to make the face. I did it both ways, but decided the second way was easier.
Once they are completely dry, tie a small piece of ribbon around the stick like a scarf.
Hellman's Special Brownies
Ingredients
140g plain chocolate
8 dollops* Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise
40g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
3 medium eggs
225g caster sugar
55g walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
Recipe
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Lightly grease a 23cm square cake tin and line with baking paper.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder and cocoa. Put the chocolate into a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of hot water and leave until melted (alternatively, microwave on medium power, stirring occasionally, until just melted).
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened. Whisk in the chocolate mixture.
- Fold in the flour mixture, mayonnaise and finely chopped walnuts.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 160°C for about 35-45 minutes.
- Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into squares.
