How To Make Peppermint Bark

I LOVE Peppermint Bark and it's so easy to make yourself! You can make a lot more yourself than you can buy it too. Saving money.... umm... YES PLEASE!

You Will Need:

* White Chocolate

* Milk OR dark chocolate (whichever you prefer)

* Peppermint candy ( I used candy canes)

*Wax Paper

*Cookie Sheet Pan

Melt your chocolate either in a microwave safe bowl OR in a double boiler pot.

I don't have a specific amount. I just eyeballed it to what I thought I would want.

 POur your melted chocolate onto you wax paper lined cookie sheet pan and spread it to the thickness you want. It's usually about 1/4".

Sit it in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Double bag your peppermints or candy canes in a Ziploc. Crush them with a rolling pin to the size you like.

 Separate your larger chunks from the peppermint "dust".

 Melt you white chocolate and mix in some of your peppermint "dust". 

Remove your hardened chocolate from the fridge and pour your white chocolate on top of it. Spread it around until the chocolate underneath is covered. This is also usually around 1/4" or so thick.

Sprinkle your larger peppermint chunks on top and sit it in the fridge for another 20 minutes.

After it's hardened, break it up into pieces and wala... you're done!

How to make a Pumpkin Roll

Mmmm.... Pumpkin Roll! This is a Fall favorite at our house! For the past few years, every October I make everyone a Pumpkin Roll. It's funny... I'm not a fan of cooking (blah!), but I enjoy baking! Hmmm... maybe it's a sweet thing! 

You Will Need:

Wet Ingredient Mix:

* 3 eggs

* 1 cup of sugar

* 2/3 cup of Pumpkin (you can buy it in a can in the isle with pie filling)

*  1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Dry ingredient mix:

* 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour

* 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

* 2 teaspoons Cinnamon

* 1 teaspoon Ginger

* 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

* 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Filling:

* 8 oz. Cream Cheese - softened

* 4 tablespoons Butter

* 1 cup Powdered Sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Instructions:

In a large bowl, mix your eggs and sugar, beating with an electric mixer until blended well.

Add your Pumpkin and Lemon Juice, mix until blended. (forgot to take a picture after this step)

In a separate bowl, combine Flour, Baking Powder,  Spices and Salt. (This is your Dry Mix)

Add to egg mixture (Wet Mix). Mix well with mixer.

Line a lightly greased 10 x 15 inch Jelly Roll Pan with wax paper and spread batter evenly in pan.

(TIP: If you don't have a Jelly Roll pan, a regular 10 x 15" pan will do. A Jelly Roll Pan is just slightly deeper on one side making rolling easier. I couldn't find one, so I've always used my regular one.)

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remover from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. 

Place cake on a clean tea towel (dish towel) sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. (My 11 year old sister was helping and she got a tad carried away with the "sprinkling")

Allow to cool another 10 minutes. 

From 10" side, carefully roll cake up in towel. Set aside.

Now for the Filling!

While cake is cooling in towel, you can make the filling. 

Beat together your Cream Cheese and Butter. Add Powdered Sugar and Vanilla, blend with mixer until smooth.

Unroll your cake.

Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll cake up (without the towel). 

Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour before eating. Keep in refrigerator.

Now you have some Fall Yummy Goodness! 

Enjoy!

Cream Cheese & Cool Whip Delight Pie

This is our favorite pie in our house! It is sooo yummy!
My mother-in-law actually came up with this one Sunday. Every Sunday we go to my in-laws' house to eat Sunday dinner and my MIL forgot to get any dessert at the grocery store, so she came up with this little idea.  Of course my MIL is a natural born cook/ food creator (she should write a cook book) and it was a HUGE hit!

This Recipe Will Make Two Pies

You Will Need:

* (2) Graham Cracker Pie Crust

* (2) 8 oz. Softened Cream Cheese

* (1) Large Container of Cool Whip

* (2) Cans of Pie Filling of your choice (we like cherry & strawberry) YUMM!!!

In a bowl, mix with mixer 1 of your Cream Cheese packs & 1/2 of your Large Cool Whip. Mix until it is blended nicely. You will have tiny pieces of cream cheese in it. It's fine... it's hard to get it really smooth.

Empty your mixture into one of your pie crusts evenly. Top with the pie filling of your choice like Cherry or Strawberry. Do this for both pies.
Refrigerate
You're all done! It's a super simple dessert but it tastes so yummy!

Enjoy!!!