Red Velvet Peppermint Cookies

So here's how this cookie began.  I had planned all morning to make sugar cookies so that the twins and I could decorate them after their nap.  After I'd gotten the girls all comfy in their beds, I rushed downstairs to mix the sugar cookie dough.  I opened the pantry door and reached for what looked like a 1/2 full bag of flour.  Unfortunately, what I found was that I had maybe 1/2 cup of flour.  I was a little sad because I had my heart set on making cookies.  I decided to google what I could use to substitute the flour.  I found that you can use cake mix as a base for cookies.  My heart leaped with joy when I remembered that I had a box of red velvet cake mix left over from the twins birthday.  My head began to fill with the endless possibilities that could make the red velvet cookie the most amazing Christmas cookie ever.  Okay, although it will most likely not be the most amazing Christmas cookie ever, a girl can dream right?  Lol!

This is a super easy recipe, so you should definitely try it out.

I started out by setting my oven to 350 degrees F.  I then dumped an 18 oz. box of red velvet cake mix into the beloved mixer.  I then added 1 egg, 1/2 c. butter, and 2 tbsp. of water.  I gave it a good mix, and realized I would definitely need a lil' flour...the dough was still a lil' gooey.  I didn't measure the flour, I just shock a bit in there, but I would say it was approximately 1/4 c.  Feel free to add more if it's needed.

Once it was just right, I spooned the dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Once the whole cookie sheet was full,  I popped those little lovelies (which actually look kind of like raw hamburger patties in this picture, lol) into the oven for approximately 12 minutes.  After they where done baking, I cooled them on wire racks lined with wax paper.  

While the cookies where cooling, I whipped up some frosting, and added several drops of red food coloring.  While the cookies continued to cool, the frosting chilled in the refrigerator.  

For the peppermint decoration, I broke up several candy canes and placed them in a coffee grinder.  The grinder ground the candy canes into peppermint powder, which is ohhhhh so yummy, and can also be used to spice up your hot cocoa.  I placed the powder in a bowl, and then moved onto make chunkier pieces of peppermint.  I again broke up several candy canes, but this time I placed them in a ziploc bag. 

If you need to get some aggression out, you'll really appreciate this next step.  Make sure to close up your ziploc nice and tight.  Take a hammer and go at the candy cane until it's broken into chunky pieces.

By this point, the twins where up from their naps, and ready to decorate the little beauties.  

Emma was excited to see the decorations, and was ready to dig in.

As it turns out, Emma thought we should decorate all of them, and then eat all of them.  Once she found out that we would not be eating all of them, she ate her 2 cookies and left me to decorate alone.  

To decorate, I spread the frosting on, sprinkled a lil' peppermint powder, and lastly sprinkled some chunky peppermint over the top.  Voila...Red Velvet Peppermint cookies!!!!!

When my husband came home, he lovingly said "These are the best Christmas cookies ever".  No joke, he loved them!!!!  I'm so excited, and will have to make these annually now!  I think they'd also be great with cream cheese frosting!!  

Red Velvet Peppermint Cookie Recipe:

1 18 oz. box of red velvet cake mix (you can use any type of cake mix you'd like).

1/2 c. butter

1 egg

2 tbsp. water

Approximately 1/4 c. all purpose flour

Martha Stewart Whipped Frosting Recipe:

3 large egg whites

3/4 c. sugar

pinch of salt

1/3 c. water

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

4 or 5 drops of red food coloring

Decorations:

1 box of candy canes

Amish Carmel Corn

Friday night in my house is movie night.  Following dinner, we serve popcorn and candy on a blanket in the living room, picnic style.  Lately I've been thinking about how I can get away from the candy intake during movie night.  Emma usually asks for marshmallows and gummy candy, but because I'm not a fan of the ingredients that those candies are made of, I've been thinking of alternative options.  The thought of carmel popcorn came to mind this morning as I was boiling the chicken for Italian Chicken Soup.  I began to gather my ingredients, and realized that I didn't have any corn syrup (which I'm not a fan of either).  Instead, I decided to make a simple syrup to replace the corn syrup.  This carmel popcorn is absolutely delicious, and the whole family will LOVE it!!!  Are you ready to make some Amish Carmel Corn?  Let's do this!!

Begin by gathering your ingredients for your simple syrup if you decide to replace the corn syrup with it.  Pour 1 c. of sugar, and 1 c. of water into a small pot.  Boil until the sugar is dissolved.  Take syrup off of the heat and set aside.  

Up next, turn your oven on at 325 degrees F.  Now you're going to pop 3 bags of microwave popcorn.  I used buttered popcorn, but you can use whatever kind you'd like.  It all works great!

Once the popcorn is done, pour an even amount onto 2 greased baking sheets.  

In a medium pot, combine 1 c. butter or margarine, 2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. simple syrup or corn syrup, and 1 tsp. salt.   

Over medium heat, bring your mixture to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes (during boiling period).

After the 5 minutes is up, remove from heat immediately.  Add 1tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and stir.

Immediately pour your syrup evenly over the 2 baking sheets of popcorn.  Toss popcorn with a spatula to evenly coat.  Place your baking sheets into the oven for 1 hour.  Every 15 to 20 min., give your baking sheets a light shake to make sure the popcorn is evenly cooking.

While the corn is baking, take this opportunity to set wax paper out on your counter.  Once the corn is done, pour it out onto the wax paper, and allow to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container, or in Ziploc baggies.

A great idea if you're serving this to the wee ones: Buy a couple of the pop corn boxes like they serve at the circus or the theatre, and dish it up.  My girls love this, and it makes a great memory!  Enjoy!!!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 7 quarts plain or buttered popped popcorn
• 2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional, I didn't use them)
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup or simple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for Simple Syrup

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup water