The taste of egg nog is unique and unforgettable plus I always saw a little chocolate around the edge of the carton where the egg nog container had touched the steamy chocolate as she poured it in our mugs. Nevertheless it’s a tradition I adore so I have decided to continue it with my little one.

To make Egg Nog Hot Chocolate just prepare your favorite hot chocolate mix and stir in Egg Nog to taste before garnishing with marshmallows and whipped cream…yummmm!

Disney Family Food - Perfect Oatmeal Cookies

I received a recipe for The Perfect Oatmeal Cookie via email as a newsletter recipient of Disney’s Family Fun Magazine. The recipe was tweaked by Catherine Newman who tweaked a version by Cindy Hopper. I don’t bake cookies that often (I am more of a cake and cupcake gal) but since my husband likes Oatmeal Raisin cookies I decided to give the recipe a try.

As I mentioned, I made a few tweaks to the Perfect Oatmeal Cookie recipe. For instance, the original recipe calls for coconut flakes and 1 cup of sugar. Instead of the coconut, I add raisins and/or white chocolate chips which seems to take it to an even higher level of yumminess. Additionally, the first time I made the cookies, I found them to be a little too sweet so the second time I used 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar instead of the 1 cup of sugar that the recipe suggested. The change resulted in just the right amount of sweetness.

That being said, the recipe you see below is the Perfect Oatmeal Cookie made even better and appropriately named Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with White Chocolate Chips.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup of raisins
• 3/4 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 300ºF and prepare a large cookie sheet.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, sugar and salt. Meanwhile melt the butter and syrup together in a small pot over low heat (or in a bowl in the microwave).
3. Stir the baking soda into the boiling water, then stir this into the butter and syrup and pour all of it over the dry ingredients. Stir well, then drop cookie-sized amounts onto the baking sheets, leaving plenty of space for them to spread.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, switching the pan around if you need to for even baking, until the cookies are golden all over and quite brown on the edges (keep an eye on them — they can burn quickly); the cookies will look puffy when you remove them from the oven, and then they will sink and go a bit lacy. Leave them on the cookie sheet for 3 or 4 minutes before removing them with a spatula to cool on a rack; if you go at them too early, they will fall all to pieces.
5. Repeat: it will take 3 batches to get all the cookies baked.

Check out the orginal version of Perfect Oatmeal Cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 stick of butter (softened or if you want pumpkin spice cake instead of bars, melt the butter)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, beat all bar ingredients except raisins with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl frequently.
3. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in raisins. Pour into pan.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
5. Follow the directions to make Cream Cheese Frosting then spread the frosting over the bars/cake.

Check out the original Pumpkin Bar recipe from Betty Crocker.

I usually keep chocolate, yellow and red velvet cake mix on hand. I was looking for something new to make with the chocolate cake mix when I came across this super easy and yummy recipe for Cream Cheese Cake Mix Brownies.

Ingredients

• 18 ounce chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs, divided
• 1/2 pound (1-1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons) powdered sugar
• 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease 9 x 13 baking pan.
3. Combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg. Place into prepared pan.
4. Cream egg, powdered sugar and cream cheese. Spread on top of mixture in pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into squares after cooling.

Carolyn Gurtz experienced greater success than I win she became the winner of the 2008 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest with these Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Oprah gave them a try on her show and gave them a nod of approval. If you love peanut butter cookies, then this is a recipe worth testing.

Ingredients – Makes 24 cookies

• 1/4 cup Fisher dry-roasted peanuts , finely chopped
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup JIF creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 roll (16.5 ounces) Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookies , well chilled
• Crisco original no-stick cooking spray

1. Heat oven to 375°. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 balls, about 1 inch each.
3. Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.
4. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with Crisco original no-stick cooking spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
5. Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

Pillsbury Bake-Off Double Delight Winning Recipe found on Oprah.com

I’ve come a long way as far as frostings go with what I consider to be tried and true recipes for a variety of icings. However, Cream Cheese Frosting used to be the only frosting I would make. So, here’s the recipe for my homemade frosting first love.

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 3-5 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place the softened cream cheese and butter into a large bowl. Use a mixer (on medium speed) to cream the cream cheese and butter.
2. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix until creamy. Repeat for the remaining 2-4 cups of powdered sugar, mixing until creamy after each cup.
3. Add the vanilla extract. Mix on high speed until light and fluffy.

TIP – To achieve the desired sweetness, taste the frosting after adding a total of 3 cups of powdered sugar. If you would like it to be sweeter, add additional powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing until creamy after each addition.

You can make variations of this Cream Cheese frosting recipe. If you would like it to be more tangy, substitute another package of cream cheese for the stick of butter.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 5 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-3 tablespoons of milk

Directions

1. Place the softened butter into a large bowl. Use a mixer (on medium speed) to cream the butter.
2. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix until creamy. Repeat for the remaining 4 cups of powdered sugar, mixing until creamy after each cup.
3. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix on high speed until creamy. Add addtional tablespoons of milk (mixing after each addition) until frosting is desired consistency.

Makes approximately 4 cups.

TIP

If you have a serious sweet tooth, add additional powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Blend until smooth after each addition. Add additional milk as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time.

• Softened butter instead of vegetable oil
• Buttermilk instead of water
• A teaspoon of flavoring (ex. vanilla or almond flavoring if baking a yellow cake, lemon flavoring for a lemon cake, etc.)

The tips above are tried and true ways to doctor up a cake mix. I always frost my cakes with homemade frosting which definitely adds another layer of richness and great flavor to the cake. You can make frosting taste more like homemade by stirring in a teaspoon of vanilla or other flavorings. Sandra Lee gave this tip on an episode of the Food Network show Semi-homemade.

I’ve also come across other ways to dress up cake mix such as:

• Adding pudding mix before adding any liquid ingredients. 
• Adding instant coffee mix to chocolate cake mix to enhance the chocolate flavor.

Do you have any tips for making cake mix taste homemade? If so, share them with others in the comments!

Recipe from: More from Magnolia
by Allysa Torey, Photographs Zeva Oelbaum 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Note: Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins). If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

The first time I made this version of banana pudding was also the first time I tasted Sweetened Condensed Milk. It was so good that I accidently cut myself on the can trying to get the last remnants onto my fingers. Next time, I’ll keep a small spatula handy. Good thing I didn’t use my tongue instead {ouch}!

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water
• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)
• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas  

Directions

1.      In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

2.      In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3.      To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours – or up to 8 hours, but no longer! – before serving.  

Recipe from More from Magnolia

Notes: I find it hard to wait overnight then another 4-8 hours for my banana pudding to be complete so in Step 1, I usually just refrigerate for about an hour then after completing Step 3, if we are ready to eat, I serve it immediately.