••••CHOCOLATE EGGNOG CHEESECAKE🧀🍫🥚🍰🍜!!••••

(Source: allrecipes.com & photos also & Bill Sinclair & adapted from tasteofhome.com & kathyphotos & chocolate ganache made by Kathy)

****CHOCOLATE EGGNOG PIE!!

 http://allrecipes.com

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
  
  
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 
   
  1 cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup eggnog
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• Add all ingredients to list

 

Directions

• Prep

  30 m

• Cook

  55 m

• Ready In

  1 h 25 m

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
5. In a food processor combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and eggnog; process until smooth. Blend in eggs, rum and nutmeg. Pour mixture into cooled crust.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to 250 and bake for 45 minutes, or until center of cake is barely firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and immediately loosen cake from rim. Let cake cool completely before removing the rim.
   
   http://tasteofhome.com
   
   
   
   For chocolate ganache on top of cheesecake:
   
   
   I microwave safe bowl add 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1/3 cup margarine, heat for 30 seconds, then stir well add 2 teaspoons sugar.  Mix well. 
   Chocolate mixture will cool quickly so you can reheat at 30 second intervals to keep mixture warm to spread on the cheesecake.
   
   
    Top with whipped cream, if desired.
   
    

Footnotes

• Tip
• Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.
  

••••MORE COOKIE TIPS🍪🥚🍫🥛🍜!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & Google+ photos & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

****MORE COOKIE TIPS!!

 

3 Common Cookie Problems, Solved!

• 
  Cookies too stiff? Spoon flour into measuring cups instead of scooping directly from a package or canister, which can pack the flour in too much.
• Cookies different shapes? Use a cookie scoop for perfectly uniform cookies that bake evenly and consistently.
• Cookies doughy or burnt? Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven temperature is accurate and consistent (most cookies bake at 350 degrees F).

 

http://bettycrocker.com

 

A Genius Dipping Hack from the Betty Crocker Kitchens

Remove two middle tines of two plastic forks (more if you have kitchen helpers!).

Roll cookies—shown are our Double Chocolate Nutella Cookie Truffles—in the chocolate with forks, lift up and let excess chocolate drip off.

Place cookies on waxed paper to set the chocolate.

••••RAINBOW CHRISTMAS WREATH🎄🌈🎁⛄️!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim & Arlene Cummings)

****RAINBOW CHRISTMAS WREATH!

http://bettycrocker.com

 20 MIN        2 HRS 0 MIN

PREP TIME  TOTAL TIME

12 SERVINGS

Ingredients

1

box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ white cake mix 

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Red and green food color

1

container (12 oz) Betty Crocker™ Whipped fluffy white frosting

Betty Crocker™ Decorating Decors® red, green and white candy sprinkles

Directions 

• 1 Heat oven to 325°F. Generously grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Pour half of the batter into medium bowl; set aside. Divide the other half of batter equally between 2 small bowls. (You will be left with 3 bowls of batter.) Add red food color to 1 of the small bowls and mix well. Add green food color to the second small bowl and mix well.
• 2 Pour half of the white batter from medium bowl into cake pan. Carefully pour red batter over white batter in pan. Carefully pour green batter over red batter. Then pour remaining white batter from medium bowl over the top. Do not mix the colors.
  
• 3 Bake as directed on box until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet; remove pan. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Place cake on serving plate.
• 4 Divide frosting between 2 small microwavable bowls. Microwave 1 bowl on High about 5 to 10 seconds; mix well with spoon until smooth enough to drizzle. With the spoon, drizzle white frosting back and forth around the whole cake in a striping pattern until you use all of the frosting (allow some frosting to drip down onto plate in middle of cake, if desired).
• 5 Microwave second bowl of frosting; stir in a few drops of green food color. Drizzle over cake, scattering back and forth in the same type of striping pattern. Decorate with sprinkles. Let stand until frosting is set before serving.
  
  
  

••••SEVEN-LAYER BEAN DIP🥑🥘🌶🥗🧀🍅🥙!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

****SEVEN-LAYER BEAN DIP!!

http://bettycrocker.com

Prep Time

20 MIN

Total Time

20 MIN

16 Servings 

Ingredients 

1

can (16 oz) Old El Paso™ refried beans

1

package (1 oz) Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix

1

package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1

can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles

1

cup Old El Paso™ Thick 'n Chunky salsa (any variety)

2

cups shredded lettuce

2

cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican cheese blend (8 oz)

1

can (2.25 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained (1/2 cup)

1

medium tomato, diced (3/4 cup) 

Food Should Taste Good™ cantina tortilla chips or Food Should Taste Good™ blue corn tortilla chips, as desired 

 

Directions 

• 1 In medium bowl, mix refried beans and taco seasoning mix. Spread mixture on large platter.
• 2 In another medium bowl, mix cream cheese and chiles. Carefully spread over bean mixture.
• 3 Top with salsa, lettuce, cheese, olives and tomato. Refrigerate until serving time. Serve with tortilla chips.
  

••••CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE PIE🥚🍪🥛!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

 

****CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE

****PIE!!

http://bettycrocker.com

15 MIN           2 HRS 25 MIN

 PREP TIME    TOTAL TIME

12 SERVINGS

Ingredients

1

pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix 

1/2

cup butter, softened

1

egg 

1/4

cup red, green and white candy sprinkles

1 1/2

cups powdered sugar

3

tablespoons butter, softened

1/2

teaspoon vanilla

3

to 4 teaspoons milk 

Assorted holiday candies

Directions 

• 1 Heat oven to 325°F. Spray bottom only of 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
• 2 In large bowl, mix cookie mix, 1/2 cup softened butter and egg with spoon until soft dough forms. Stir in candy sprinkles. Press dough in bottom of pie plate.
• 3 Bake 33 to 38 minutes or until center is set and edges are golden brown. If needed, cover edges of cookie with foil to keep from overbrowning. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
• 4 In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons softened butter, the vanilla and 3 teaspoons of the milk with electric mixer on low speed until smooth and creamy. If necessary, add additional milk to make frosting easy to spread.
• 5 Spread frosting over cookie pie. Decorate top of frosted cookie as desired with assorted holiday candies. To serve, cut into wedges.
  
  
  
  

 

••••HOT CRAB PARMESAN DIP🧀🦀!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & photos also & courtesy of Evana & Jim)

****HOT CRAB PARMESAN DIP!!

http://bettycrocker.com

Prep Time

15 MIN

Total Time

35 MIN

20 Servings 

Ingredients

1

package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/4

cup grated Parmesan cheese 

4

medium green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)

1/4

cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/4

cup dry white wine or apple juice

2

teaspoons sugar 

1

teaspoon ground mustard

1

garlic clove, finely chopped

1

can (6 ounces) crabmeat, drained, cartilage removed and flaked

1/3

cup sliced almonds, toasted, if desired

Directions 

• 1 Heat oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients except crabmeat, almonds and crackers in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in crabmeat. 
• 2 Spread crabmeat mixture in ungreased pie plate, 9x1 1/4 inches, or shallow 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle with almonds.
• 3 Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with crackers.
  
  
  
   
  
  

••••COOKIES AND MORE COOKIE TIPS🍪🍪🍶!!••••

(Source: bettycrocker.com & courtesy of Evana & Jim & google+ photos & bakedbyracheal.com)

****COOKIES AND MORE 

****COOKIE TIPS!!!

http://bettycrocker.com

Hot Tip! Let Pans Cool Between Batches

Resist the urge to speed through your baking by putting fresh dough on a just-out-of-the-oven cookie sheet. The hot surface causes the butter in your dough to melt faster, which can lead to flat, spread-out cookies that have less-than-perfect looks and texture.

How to Keep Cookies from...

Flattening: The biggest culprit behind flat cookies is butter that’s melted or too soft. Also make sure to let baking sheets cool completely between batches, otherwise hot pans can make cookies fall flat.

Spreading: Just like us, cookies need a little breathing room, so make sure to space cookie dough about 2 inches apart. You should be able to comfortably fit a dozen cookies on most baking sheets.

Burning: A few things can cause your cookies to burn: using a dark cookie sheet, adding too much sugar, baking at too high a heat, or simply over-baking.

 

Baking unevenly: Use a cookie scoop to ensure a uniform size of cookies. They’ll bake consistently and you won’t have larger cookies being underdone while smaller ones are tough.