After they came out of the oven, we stuffed them with butter, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, etc.  It was so much fun!

I made these with my son and they were really yummy, (and messy!), but fun to make. The peppermint filling can get very sticky, however, so use lots of cornstarch to roll it out on. I also refrigerated them when they were finished to let them set. I tried rolling the filling into balls before dipping into melted chocolate and that works really well, too. They would make a yummy valentine’s treat! I’ve tried a couple of different recipes, but here is the one I tried when I took the pictures: Peppermint Pattie Recipe (Click on any of the images to view larger.)

(click on any of the images to view larger)

Baking homemade bread is a big tradition in my family. I use a recipe that my grandma gave me. She has since passed away, and it is so nice to still see her handwritten notes on the recipe she gave me. I feel like she’s with me that way. My grandma used to let my mom and her siblings roll out their own little breads with raisins and sugar. My mom let me and my siblings do it, too. I have so many wonderful memories of doing that with my mom! Now I let my kids roll out their own little breads and add little things into them as well. I still have the bread pans that my grandma and my mom gave me. It seems like a long, tedious process from the grinding of the wheat to the actual baking, but there is great peace and happiness in creating a product that I know my family will love. And there is NOTHING like the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. At least not to me! Here is the recipe I use that my grandma gave me. It is a very large yield: about 6-8 loaves.

8 cups warm water
3 T yeast
3/4 C honey
3/4 C olive oil
2 C quick oats
12 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 T salt
5 more cups of flour (white or wheat)

1. Put water and honey in mixing bowl
2. Sprinkle yeast on water, let soften a few minutes
3. Add oil
4. Add oatmeal and 6 cups of flour and mix briefly
5. Add 6 more cups of flour and mix well. At this point you may let the mixture rest for a few minutes. It is making a sponge.
6. Add salt (salt slows the growth of yeast so put it in after the sponge.)
7. Add about 5 more cups of flour or enough flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl as it is mixing. Dough shouldn’t be stiff.
8. Knead dough 7 minutes in the bread mixer or 10-15 minutes by hand
9. Put dough in greased bowl, turn to grease top, cover with a damp cloth and let double in size.
10. Punch dough down and let rise again about 10-20 minutes.
11. Punch down, shape into loaves, put in greased pans
12. Place damp cloth over pans and let rise again for 20 minutes or so.
13. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
14. Remove immediately from pans and cool on racks.

Spread hot slices with butter, honey or whatever you like. Don’t forget a cold glass of milk!

Candy Cane Fudge:

2 (10 oz. each) packages vanilla baking chips
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 1/3 cups crushed peppermint candy canes
Red food coloring

Line an 8″ square pan with foil and grease foil well. Mix together the baking chips and sweetened condensed milk in a pan over medium heat. Continuously stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the extract, food coloring (add drops until desired color is reached), and crushed candy canes. Sprinkle with additional crushed candy canes if desired. Spread mixture in the pan, let cool completely and cut into squares.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Fudge:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
4 squares unsweetened chocolate (melted)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 dash salt

Mix together cream cheese and sugar beating well. Slowly add chocolate. Stir in salt and vanilla. Add mix-in items (nuts, marshmallows, or crushed cookies, etc.) and spread into a foil lined and greased 8-inch square pan.

Both kinds are very yummy!

I got this idea from this cookbook. It’s not necessarily for Halloween, but hey, skeletons are great for Halloween, right? You can use dip or ranch dressing for the head part, but I decided to use cottage cheese to be a bit healthier. (Since we will have PLENTY of candy this weekend!) The kids were so excited. I’ve never seen the veggies eaten so fast!