Peanut Clusters - Let the Candy Making Begin

The pumpkin pie is gone. Only the last dregs of turkey and dressing remain. That can only mean one thing.

Yet as the Christmas decorations go up, I find myself craving some of those traditional holiday treats. You know, the cookies, the candy... Those things that only come out this time of year. But when you're up to your elbows in tinsel and twinkling lights, who has time to bake/candy make? If only we could do both. At the same time.

Well, have I got the perfect recipe for you. One where you dump everything into your crockpot and let it do the cooking.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 pkg vanilla almond bark
• 1 pkg chocolate almond bark
• 12 oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 bar Baker's German Chocolate
• 35 oz container dry roasted peanuts (This is non-negotiable. Other types of peanuts/nuts won't work in this recipe. Something about the oils.)

  

Chop barks and chocolate and put everything except the peanuts into your crock.

Cover, turn to low setting and walk away. Seriously. You're free to get back to hauling boxes out of the basement, decorating, reading, whatever. 

After one hour (longer, if you like), stir until smooth. If lumps remain, replace lid and let it go a while longer.

Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, stir in your peanuts.

Make sure everything is mixed well.

Then, using a spoon or small scoop, drop dollops, as large or small as you like, onto parchment or waxed paper. 

Allow to set completely before transferring to serving tray or airtight container.

One of the best things about these peanut clusters, besides the whole sweet and salty thing, is that they freeze beautifully. That means you can make them now and store them in the freezer until you need a special treat for a holiday party or if you're entertaining unexpected guests. Of course, you might also sneak one or two for dessert every now and then.

So the tree is up and mostly decorated here at the Obi house. My guys took advantage of the nice weather this weekend to put up the outside lights and decorations. I love all of the twinkling lights, the holiday music, the sights and sounds of the season. Last year at this time, we were hustling to be into our house by Christmas, meaning I didn't get the opportunity to savor many of our usual traditions. And that makes this year even more special. So if my house ends up looking like the North Pole exploded, then so be it. Because I'll love every minute of this blessed season.

It's your turn now. What's going on at your house? Are you decorating yet? Baking/candy making? Shopping? Isn't online retailing wonderful? The way I see it, the more I get done now, the more time I have to sit back and enjoy everything throughout December. 

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Let the Holiday Baking Begin with Pumpkin Bread

Mindy here, fresh off of this year's first holiday baking weekend. For me, baking a big batch of pumpkin bread signals the start of the holiday season. It's a tradition I started when my kids were little. I'd bake up all these small loaves of pumpkin bread early in November, freeze them (because not only do they freeze well, they're even better after freezing), then package them in cellophane bags tied with a pretty bow for all the kids to give to their teachers for Thanksgiving.

Well, my kids are adults now, but I still make that same batch of pumpkin bread every year. And while most of the loaves go to them and their families, I still hold onto a few for gift giving during the holiday season.

Here's what you'll need for this delectable treat:

• 2 1/4 cups (that's 4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon molasses
• 6 cups sugar
• 12 eggs 
• 2 cups orange juice
• 6 cups (2 - 29 oz cans) pumpkin puree 
• 10 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 3  cups raisins, regular or golden

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease inside of loaf pans with butter and set aside.

As I mentioned earlier, I make lots of small loaves, but you can use regular size loaf pans, if you prefer.

In a VERY large bowl (mine is 13 quarts) cream butter, molasses, and sugar with hand-held electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Mindy tip: Molasses has the consistency of tar, so spray your measuring cup/spoon with some cooking spray before measuring the molasses. Just a little bit means all of the molasses releases into the bowl and I'm not scraping out what refuses to let go of the utensil.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until completely mixed and light colored.

Add orange juice and pumpkin and mix well.

 

Place dry ingredients into large mixing bowl.

Mix to combine with wire whisk.

This is akin to old fashioned sifting, but much easier. It also disperses the spices, because nobody wants to bite into a clump of cloves.

Now's when you're forced to ditch the electric mixer and switch to a sturdy wooden/metal/plastic spoon.

Stir dry ingredients, two cups at a time, into pumpkin mixture, mixing until everything is combined. 

Stir in your raisins.

Spoon batter into greased loaf pans and bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Since I use the smaller pans, they only bake for about 35-45 minutes.

Everything was going smoothly up until this point. Then, about 20 minutes into the baking, I smelled something burning. When I checked the oven, I discovered that one of the pans had tipped onto its side and the batter had spilled onto the bottom of the oven. I turned off the oven, wiped off the side of the wayward pan (there was still batter in it) and set it back in upright, and proceeded to scrap out the batter from the bottom with a long spatula. That's when I heard the gunshot.

Did I mention that Saturday was the first day of deer season?

Yep, one of the boys got a deer on the other side of the pasture. Next thing you know, I'm getting a phone call to come out there with my big camera (that's as opposed to my phone). So, I finished cleaning out the oven, closed it up, turned it back on and, with 15 minutes to left on the timer, I hurried out there, snapped a couple of pics and got back just before the timer went off.

I removed the pans from the oven and placed on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Then I removed the bread from the pans and allowed to cool completely. Unfortunately, with so much going on, I forgot to take a picture of the finished pumpkin bread, so I'll have to share this old one from years ago.

Once the bread is cooled, wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil before freezing.

Not only are these great gifts for teachers, neighbors or friends, they're great to have on hand for hostess gifts or anytime you need something impromptu. Simply pull a loaf from the freezer, remove the foil, place plastic wrapped loaf in a cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon. Instant gift for any occasion.

Now it's your turn. What is the first thing you usually make to kick off your holiday baking? If you're not a baker, what favorite holiday treat kicks off the season for you? 

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

A New Fall Tradition

I don't think it's any secret that we love living in the Black Hills of South Dakota!

Every year, we become more at home here as we add yearly traditions.

Winter is the Great Christmas Tree Hunt -

Spring takes us to Custer State Park to look for the first baby bison of the year -

Summer finds us hiking...and hiking...and hiking...

But until now, we haven't started the fall tradition we've been planning.

We had to collect some equipment, first.

A truck is all important:

A permit is also necessary. We get a permit at the end of November to cut our Christmas tree, but this permit is to cut firewood. Each household can gather/cut/harvest up to twelve cords of firewood a year. There are restrictions, of course. But this program helps clear out the dead wood and downed trees that are part of any forest.

So last Saturday we loaded up the truck and headed out to the forest.

Scouting out the right place was fun, and we finally found the right tree. It was a beetle-killed tree that was blown down in a recent storm.

And this brought out our other necessary equipment: a chainsaw, an ax, and a couple Eagle Scouts who know how to use them. 

We cut limbs and trunks...

Split logs and hauled wood back to the truck... (the hauling was my job)...

And all morning, I was reminded that the days are growing short.

Look at the colors. This was Saturday:

This was the week before:

We've had our first frost, and the higher elevations have seen the first snow. The colors are fading and everything is telling us that winter is coming.

And we're getting ready. The pantry is stocked, the stove is waiting, and the woodpile is growing.

We learned several things on this first outing.

1) The truck works great!

2) The chainsaw is too small for downed trees. The one we have works great on branches, but saving up for a larger chainsaw is on the list.

3) We'll need to rent a wood splitter if we're going to be serious about this.

4) We also need to plan an entire day if we're going to be serious about this.

5) Spending the morning in the woods with our two younger boys is still a lot of fun, even now that they're both in their twenties. :)

Once the temperatures cooled off in the evening, my husband and I were feeling the overused and forgotten muscles that got a workout that morning. So we relaxed with some hot cider. You can find that recipe here: Lazy Sunday Afternoon

I think we've found the perfect fall tradition!


Other than anything dealing with pumpkins, what is your favorite fall tradition?

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Goodbye.... for now!

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here and this is goodbye... for now.
                                                             
I'm eyeballs-deep in several series, we'll be traveling for a while, and, frankly, I think I've run out of recipes!
                                              
 So, I've decided to take a step back from the cafe until life is calmer.
                              
I can't express how much I've enjoyed sharing recipes on Yankee Belle Cafe.
                                         
The charming successes...
                                                 
                                                                    And the fails!
                                   
Like double chocolate pound cake with mint ganache. 
                                            
The pork roast with onions that I think I stole from Ruthy... Or was it Jan?
                                    
The never-fail  Biscotti recipe from a friend.
                              
The lavender flan recipe from a magazine.
                               
                                                                
Oh,  how I made myself hungry looking at posts like this chocolate cream raspberry pie!
And then there were the photos of family life...
                                                     
OH MY. All the pictures!
                                                 
Butterfly hunting...
                                             
Cardboard armor...
                               
Hilarious photo fails!

I love this one. Or maybe I just love the memory of the brown sugar pound cake with caramel glaze!
                              
I might possibly have cried a little at this "banana phone" picture. All my babies did this. Now they're all too old to pretend to talk on the banana phone!
                                               
So many milestones. All the wonderful food, comments, conversations, memories...
                                         
 I've learned so much about cooking and family and faith in the cafe.
                                     
Our posts aren't just about food.  They're about all the moments in our lives, good and bad. (Our good things jar. We're in our fifth year and every Jan 1st we open them one by one to read the wonderful things that happened. I don't curate the collection. Anyone can write, or have someone else write, a note. Some of them are hilarious! )
                                                           
They're about the history of our country...
                                       
...and the pioneers who made it what it is. The posts are about our yearning to carry on what was given to us.
                               
The recipes aren't just desserts or dinner or snacks. They're family recipes that are really more about generations of love, than the food.
                                
They're secret recipes passed from friend to friend.
                                      
Whether Mardi Gras King's Cake, Ash Wednesday, Easter,
                                                      
Advent or Christmas, the posts echoed the church calendar in our houses.

The posts are about  new babies and beginnings and passing on the Good News in a community of faith.

                                                
There are more posts about books than I would have thought possible, dozens between the six of us! It's about work and persistence and perseverance and fellowship. We lift each other up, celebrate writing 'the end' and each contract or book release.
                                                       
It's about pets, the cats and dogs that are members of our family.
                                            
Sleeping in silly positions...
                                               
 and laughter and growing up.

It's about learning to listen and work on new skills, trying new things, perhaps starting new traditions.

 About quiet moments of peace on a chilly day.

About noticing the beauty of a fluffy kitten, or a tender touch. The cuddles of sleeping babies, the warmth of a toddler's hand, the hug of a teenager.

These posts tracked five years of my family life, from having six kids under twelve, to having six readers in the house and three (almost four!) teenagers

 In our posts we bring our readers on our vacations, near and far. To conferences, on hikes, to churches and bookstores and restaurants.
                                        
Lakes and oceans and wheatfields.
                                                         
I saw five years of vacation photos...
                                                   
 and I felt a rush of gratitude for the freedom to travel and explore this beautiful country.
                                                        
Freedom to stay in a fancy hotel, or in a yurt on the Oregon coast...
                                                   
To eat a five star restaurant to catch our own food off the dock.
                                             
To see the old and the new.
                                        
To buy our food from a farmer's market, 
                                                  
Or buy cactus shipped from far away. (It's grown on me...)
                                  
                                        To make ice cream from our own mulberry tree, 
                                     
To plant the trees we want, how we want, and spray whether we want to or not. (Our organic cherries.)
                                     
Or buy from a local farm that can decide whether to grow organically or not.
                                           
To tend a forty year old grapevine, and sell or eat the fruit as we wish!

 We're writers, but we're readers, too!
                                  
Whether we're in the mountains or at the shore.

 The posts celebrated my sweet tooth and how delightful it was when I met Mr. Latte.  And then foun a delicious copycat Starbucks gingerbread syrup.

 We invited our readers into our kitchens, whether sharing our decorations, renovations,
                                            
Furniture rescues...
                                              
vintage dishware...

 First steps!!

 We brought flowers...

                                    
And more flowers (and more and more flowers)! I never knew I posted so many flowers.

 Sleeping babies in funny hats.

 Preteens pretending to fall in love with "seaweeda" with the fabulous hair!
And oh, the kid pictures. So many moments of our daily lives.
                                     
Blowing bubbles instead of doing dishes.
                                      
Finding the world's biggest icicle.
                                                      
Unhappy faces when their favorite pie pumpkin was sacrificed for pumpkin bread...
                                                     
That recipe is here! Of course, there were recipes, too.

So. Many. Cupcakes. 

                                                           
Can I just say how hungry I got while scrolling through recipes like these homemade calzones??

Or this lemon poppy seed sour cream bundt cake?? 

Or banana rum shuttles...

I smiled to see dear Edna in so many posts.

 She's still on my counter, supervising all the new arrivals and making sure their performance is up to par.

 But as much as life stays the same, it's still ever-changing. And so, we're off on our next adventure! I'll still pop in when I can because I'm sure I'll be missing the Yankee Belle Cafe community.

 All of our love and gratitude to Ruthy, Missy, Jan, Mindy and Cate! Until we see you again!