There are around 500 recipes so far on SouthernPlate.com so it can get a bit overwhelming at times.

Today I thought I’d pick out a few of my Christmas Candy and Gift Mix posts to make your holidays a bit easier. Feel free to browse through the entire index of recipes on Southern Plate my clicking here. 

Candies and Christmas Snacks 

Microwave Chex Mix

Holly Jollies - One of the most popular posts of all time on Southern Plate. Click to see why!

Double Layer Peppermint Bark

Brady’s Butterscotch Chow Mein Candy - Some folks call these haystacks. I just call them yummy

Homemade Caramels – You’ll be spoiled! 

Homemade Caramel Corn - This makes great gifts!

Quick, Easy, and Delicious Homemade Turtles  - Ever made turtles out of pretzels, rolos, and pecans? They sure are good!

 Want to give a gift from the kitchen but short on time? 

Below are some of the gift mix recipes on SouthernPlate.com and each comes with printable tags as well! 

Fruit Crisp Mix

Pecan Pie Muffin Mix

Chocolate Gravy Mix

S’more’s Kits - great to hand out to classmates or co-workers!

Snowman Soup - another classroom favorite! I actually got this recipe from my First Grade teacher  

 Sugar Free Cappuccino Mix 

FUN Crafts for your little ones (and you!)

Easy Reindeer Shirt – and fun Reindeer gift ideas for Grandparents!

Christmas Mice with Candy Cane Tales (Includes printable template)

Click here to see my favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes! 

 ”Appreciate what you have before it becomes what you had.”

Submitted by Mona Hickey. Contribute to our collection of inspiring and uplifting quotes by clicking here. 

Up until about eight years ago my mother had never left the South in her life. Then Daddy got elected as president of our state Fraternal Order of Police and the traveling commenced. You see, the FOP has conferences throughout the year in different states and such and Mama and Daddy go to a great many of them as part of Daddy’s job.

Mama has seen places and done things in the past few years that I know I’ll never see. She’s seen deserts, the Grand Canyon, she’s sat directly in front of two different Presidents of the United States as they spoke, she’s been to Canada enough to tell you what restaurants she likes best, and to California enough to tell you who has the best price on groceries and where to get the best hamburger.

We’ve benefitted a lot from her travels in terms of neat souvenirs and interesting stories but today you’re going to benefit from a recipe Mama got at a police conference in Virginia Beach a few years back, Buffalo Chicken Dip. She took one bite of it and went to hunt down the caterer who graciously offered the recipe. This dip combines the best of both worlds with the taste of buffalo chicken wings, cheesy goodness, and none of those little annoying bones! Serve it up warm with your favorite chips and it will disappear like...umm…Okay, I’d really like to put a football analogy here but I’m not actually into football so it’ll disappear like umm…ok like a really good Buffalo Chicken dip!

You’ll need: Hot sauce (like Franks, Texas Pete, or generic- get whatever is cheapest), cream cheese, chicken, and cheddar cheese.

You can use chicken that you cooked but I had this on hand because I buy these cans at Sam’s and eat them as quick lunches from time to time.

I know, I’m wierd, but a little salt and oh my that stuff is good!

Okay, now I know you’re seeing hot sauce here and thinking this is going to be spicy but it’s really not. The hot sauce adds a lot of flavor but the cream cheese and other ingredients really cut out the zing and just leave you with a very flavorful dip that won’t scorch your mouth. It’s mild enough for everyone. Honest!

Place your cream cheese in a bowl and soften by putting it in the microwave for thirty seconds or so.

I just love a recipe that doesn’t require me to soften my cream cheese at room temp. I’m not into planning ahead like that anyway

In that same bowl, add your cheese and chicken.

Add in your hot sauce.

Seriously, I promise this isn’t going to be zingy hot.

Mix all of that up in a bowl with a fork or spoon.

Whichever one you happen to grab first, we’re not particular here.

Spread into your pan and bake at 350 for twenty minutes.

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Cream Cheese
• 1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup Hot Sauce
• 1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (or large can of chicken)

Instructions

1. In large bowl, soften cream cheese in the microwave for about thirty seconds or so. Add cheddar cheese, chicken, and hot sauce. Stir well to combine. Spread into 8x8 baking dish and bake at 350 for twenty minutes. Serve warm with pretzel chips, tortilla chips, or veggies.
2. *You can put all of this in the slow cooker on low until heated through (about an hour) and then keep on warm to serve

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In light of the snowstorm about to hit a bunch of y’all, I thought this would be a great quote for today.

When life gives you Lemons, you make Lemonade.

So when the Lord gives you snow…you build a snowman!!!

Submitted by Connecticut Vol. Add your quote to our collection or read over a few more by clicking here.

I added a new story time video for all of the Southern Plate folks who are young or young at heart! Click here to watch me read Giraffes Can’t Dance.

My Katy Rose (Karo)  loves Chocolate. She especially loves double chocolate anything. The Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies earned me the title of the Best Mother In The Entire World and these muffins brought home a second honorary crown from the taste buds of my kids. After I got back from the Today Show, I was anxious to get up early the very next morning and make them a treat. I dearly love being home with my kids so I can do things like this for them.

Until I was twenty seven, I had never even flown on an airplane. That first time involved a trip to Disney World with two year old Brady, who was our only child at the time. We got airfare super cheap back then, $100 round trip for each of us, so it ended up being cheaper than driving. Ricky was also going for a conference so his portion was paid for along with our hotel room. All that was between me and getting to take my son to Disney for the first time was a little bit of gravity defying courtesy of Huntsville International.

Man was that some flight. I’ve never hidden terror so well. I spent the entire time mentally going over every possible crash scenario and how I would get little Brady out of it alive (Ricky was a big boy, he was on his own). I never dreamed in a million years that flying would become normal to me. Now, after this past year, I am one of those people who get on the plane and settle in for a nap before it even takes off. I’ve only seen a small fraction of the country in my book tour travels but its far more than I ever dreamed of or expected to see in my entire lifetime. I’ve met some wonderful people, gotten and given more hugs than I can count, and found that my theory about the world is true : The world is, by and large, made up of really good people.

But you know the main thing I learned on my travels? I do not have the wanderer’s soul I once thought I did. Hand me a globe and tell me to point out anyplace in the world I’d like to go and I’ll stick that thumbtack right smack dab on North Alabama every time. I used to not be like this. I used to want to see things an go places, but as I’ve grown older I’ve realized that there isn’t a place my heart wants to go unless I can turn and look into the eyes of my family and share it with them.

Call it blessed, call it luck, call it enlightenment, but either way you look at it I fully realize how much fuller my life will be for me having been given a chance to learn this lesson. You may not be able to visit twenty cities in a month like I did, but I bet if you take a moment to think about it, to imagine doing just that, you’ll find your arms aching to hold your family and your appreciation for them all the more greater.

Contentment. I think that is one of the greatest gifts and it is one that you have to give yourself, but it often comes for some people in wistful strains while looking through the rear view mirror. Today I want to urge you to turn around and check out what is right in front of you now. Because what is in your windshield now will surely pass you by, too. Moms, Dads, Grandparents, I know you’re tired. I know you work long days regardless of whether or not you get a paycheck, but these are the days. This is it. They’re eating and making messes and distracting you and dancing and talking nonstop, but before you know it that house will go silent and that refrigerator could be holding just enough food for one.

So take a breath, in and out. Close your eyes. Feel the love around you.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” ~Frederick Keonig

Now go make ‘em some double chocolate muffins.

You’ll need: Vanilla (not a gallon like I have pictured though), Milk, Chocolate Chips, Margarine, Cocoa Powder, Self Rising Flour, Egg, and Sugar.

I’m using semi sweet chips but you can use any kind you want, really. You can also use butter if the thought of using margarine makes you feel as if you will most certainly go to some horrid place where folks who use hydrogenated oils and such go. Personally, I know a lot of people in that place and I happen to know that if I go there we’re gonna have some fine eatin’!

Place your sugar, flour, and cocoa powder in a bowl.

Don’t worry if your cocoa powder is lumpy, mine was so its in good company

Melt your margarine in the microwave. You can use butter if you prefer.

To the margarine, add your milk, vanilla, and egg and stir that up.

**If your margarine is fresh from the microwave you need to add your milk first so it will cool the margarine on the off chance it is hot enough to cook your egg.

Now pour that into your dry ingredients.

and start stirring…

until it looks like this

Add in your chocolate chips

and stir some more. If it is a little lumpy, thats fine.

You can cook this either in a greased muffin tin or muffin papers. I’m using muffin papers right now. 

Bake at 400 for twenty minutes. Serve them with love.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.

Remember that what you now have was once among the things

you only hoped for.”

~Epicurus, Greek Philosopher

Catch up on Life At Bountiful by reading these posts:

• Wow, That Was An Intensive Interview!
• Christmas Miracles In Alabama
• Family Snapshots From Disney
• Behind The Scenes At The Today Show

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/01/double-chocolate-chip-muffins.html/feed 89 http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/favorite-apple-recipes.html http://www.southernplate.com/2010/09/favorite-apple-recipes.html#comments Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:25:46 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=11114 Pin it

I’ve posted a lot of apple recipes since starting Southern Plate. Next to bananas, apples are my favorite fruit to bake with!

With lots of us having apples in season now, I thought I’d bring all of these to you in one swoop so you can browse and find some new favorites. Each recipe is printer friendly and from my personal collection. Have a great Apple Season!

Gratefully,

Christy

Good N Easy Cake with Homemade Whipped Cream

This cake is so good. I especially love it in the evenings with a cup of coffee. Great story behind the recipe, too!

Apple Orchard Snack Cake

This is one of my favorites because it is filling and not very sweet. Great for breakfast, dessert, or a coffee treat.

Apple Dapple Cake

Classic favorite that still wows the crowds! Served at many a family reunion and church luncheon.

Freezing Apples – and what the old folks taught me.

How to freeze apples the old fashioned and simple way.

Apple Skillet Cake

This recipe is from Granny Jordan. Every bite is infused with apple/cinnamon goodness!

Easy Fried Pies

A quick and easy version of my granny’s classic fried pie recipe!

Chicken Salad (with apples!)

I love chicken salad, this is the recipe my mother and I use for little luncheons and such.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Not only is this my favorite apple butter, but WOW does it make your house smell good! Yes, you can make this!

My Apple Pie

My special apple pie recipe. The one my Father in Law says is as good as his grandmothers.

Hot Apple Flautas

This is something I often make as a late night treat after the kids are in bed. One of mine and Ricky’s favorites!

Fried Apples

Love these apples in their thick, rich sauce!

Apple Doozie

I can’t control myself around this!

Apple Fritters

Love these. Need these now. Probably making them after I finish this post.

Even more Southern Plate Apple Recipes!

• Apple Spice Muffins – my absolute favorite muffin. Bar none. I make these for company a LOT. Older post, pictures not so hot
• Apple Cream Cheese Cobbler from Bill Gent- So incredibly easy
• Caramel Apple Puff Pastry Pinwheels – Oh yum, and so pretty and easy.
• Rustic Apple Strudel - and why I love my imperfection.
• Candied Apples – that you eat with a fork!

My kids start school on Monday. ~takes a deep breath~ and while it will be a big day for them (and me!) it is also a big day for their teacher’s as well. Did you realize that when our kids are in school, their teachers spend more time with them during their waking hours than we do? I know we all appreciate the love and dedication they put into their jobs. I really like to bake things, but with a lot of schools no longer allowing that, I thought I’d bring you a few inexpensive thank you gifts just to show your appreciation.

These gifts are great year round, for a holiday, teacher appreciation week, first day of school, or my favorite : the no-special-reason gift. They are also great for coworkers, friends, or just anytime someone you know could use a little perking up.

Lets start with the easiest, and the only printable I’m offering that is teacher specific:

This is an updated spin on the apple (but apples are still great!). I think this one is my new favorite and of course, the least expensive. While you’re out shopping for school supplies, pick up a box of breakfast bars and print out this sheet to be ready with thoughtful little gifts to make that first day a little easier for your child’s teacher. This wrapper fits perfectly on a breakfast, granola, or snack bar. Just print the label, trim the ends a bit, and tape around your bar. See the end of this post to print these wrapper labels.

Jar Gifts

In this post I’m doing two different things with pint jars but you are limited only by your own imagination! I also have two labels to print that will work with a multitude of jar fillings and are great to use for any recipient.

Survival Kit

I asked the teachers on the Southern Plate Facebook page what they’d like to have for a welcome back gift and many of them said things like breakfast bars, drink mixes, etc, because they get so busy with the kids that they forget or simply don’t have time to eat. This is an all in one survival kit that you can easily customize.

My jar includes a granola type bar, breakfast bar, two drink mixes for bottled water, and a few peppermints. I’ve got two sets of labels to choose from below, if you’d like to print the ones I am using.

Who doesn’t need chocolate?

This is another cute little idea. Fill a jar with chocolates and attach one of the labels  below to the inside of the lid. You can use any type of chocolate you like, or even their favorite candy. This is also a great “Thinking of you” gift for co-workers, moms, anyone you can think of!

For the fabric, I just traced a saucer onto some fabric and then cut out the circle.

Print my labels by clicking below. Place the jar ring around the label and trace a circle as a cutting guide.

Click here for “Sanity Preserves” Labels

Click here for “In Case Of Emergency” Labels

Click here for Teacher Bar Wrapper Labels

No matter what you decide to do or who you decide to give a “thinking of you” gift to, give it with a warm heart and it will be well received!

“What we do for ourselves dies with us.

What we do for others and the world remains.”

~Albert Pine. Submit your quote here.

Y’all made me make these. Every time I’ve mentioned something about making TexMex someone would talk about these and ask if I’d made them before and every time someone mentioned it I’d think “Wow, that DOES sound good!”.

So I finally got around to making them and now I see what all the fuss is about. These are DELICIOUS. I love how crispy and cinnamony they are. The kids had cow fits over them, and I ended up having to make two more batches! Some folks have told me that they serve them with honey, some with a fruit salsa of sorts, and many just eat them as is, which is what we have started doing. Either way you go, you can’t go wrong!

So tonight is going to be Taco night at our house. One of everyone’s favorite meals and easy-peasy to make. I think most families love suppers made with ground beef. Speaking of which, I just came across a ground beef ecookbook I made up about a year or so ago. It contains some of my favorite go-to ground beef meals. I sent it out to my email subscribers sometime last year but we’ve had so many new folks join us (have I mentioned how glad I am that you’re here?) that I figured it was time I sent it out again. This book is printer friendly, filled with ground beef recipes, and of course it’s free! If you aren’t already a subscriber, click here to do that now so you’ll get this book when I email it out. I’ll send it out Saturday to give everyone time to sign up who wants it. I don’t know about you, but I can never have enough ground beef recipes!

Ooh, lets make some of these to go with our tacos now, okay? Sit down and get comfy, I’ll have them ready in a jif!

You’ll need: Flour tortillas, sugar, butter, and cinnamon

Of course you can use margarine if you want. This is something I’ve always received a lot of questions and emails bout, because I tend to go towards margarine and until recently you never saw real butter on Southern Plate at all. I am often asked why this is and folks expect it to be a dietary reason or personal preference. The answer to this one, like most things in life, is a lot simpler than you’d think. Margarine is a LOT cheaper than butter. Plain and simple. We all have grocery budgets and we all do what we can to stay within them. I do a lot of baking for others and margarine saves me a lot of money over the long haul. Of course, you do whatever cranks yer tractor and you know I’ll back you up on it. I think what happens in your kitchen is your business and anyone who gives you slack about it shouldn’t be eating in your kitchen . When you are doing the best you can to feed your family on a budget, don’t ever feel guilty.

Place your sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Stir that up a bit

Melt your butter or margarine and brush one side of a tortilla with it.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over.

Repeat with other side.

I used a pizza cutter to just slice it into wedges.

Place this in the oven at 350, for five to ten minutes, or until lightly browned,  on each side.

Chips will crisp up as they cool.

A perfect snack on their own but a grand addition to your Taco night!

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Sugar (or sugar substitute, Ideal is my new favorite!)
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2-3 flour tortillas

Instructions

1. Melt butter in microwave. Brush one side of each tortilla with melted butter. Stir cinnamon and sugar together* and sprinkle over buttered side of each. Repeat with other side. Cut each tortilla into eight wedges. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for five to ten minutes,until lightly browned. Turn over and bake another five to ten minutes, or until lightly browned on other side.
2. *If there is cinnamon sugar left over, store it in a plastic bag to use next time.

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You are who you are, so be yourself at all times.

Later on no one will be shocked or disappointed.

Submitted by Shirley. To submit your quote, please click here.

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2010/07/cinnamon-tortilla-chips.html/feed 53 http://www.southernplate.com/2009/12/microwave-chex-mix-and-little-virginias-letter.html http://www.southernplate.com/2009/12/microwave-chex-mix-and-little-virginias-letter.html#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:28:06 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=6587 Pin it

This stuff is evil. Bad. Horrible. I cannot be left alone in the house with it ~takes a ragged breath and hangs her head in shame~ I love this stuff! Mama and Grandmama both have their own recipes for Chex mix but today I’m bringing you Mama’s because it is the quickest, easiest, and has the least amount of mess involved. If y’all are anything like me, this time of year we could use more recipes like that!

You will need: Seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, Mixed nuts, margarine, and two different kinds of Chex Mix cereal (whatever cranks yer tractor).

Did you know? The original Chex mix recipe was introduced in 1955 by Chex Cereals as a means of boosting the cereal’s popularity amid the growing market of sugar sweetened kid’s cereals. It was an instant hit and variations have been party favorites ever since!

Place stick of margarine and seasoned salt in a large, microwave safe mixing bowl.

Add Worcestershire sauce.

Now close your eyes and see if you can spell that..

~giggle~

Microwave that until melted, stir it up a bit.

While it is microwaving do a little Christmas dance while singing Eddie Money at the top of your lungs just to embarass your children.

(Bonus points if they have friends over!)

Pour in nuts.

Stir them up.

Marvel at all of the varieties and see if you can count as many varieties of nuts in your family.

Add in chex mix.

Stirry stirry!

Now nuke that for 2:00 minutes.

Stir

Nuke for 2:00 minutes more

Stir.

Nuke for 2 minutes more.

EAT!

Somebody hand me the easy button, we’re done!

Microwave Chex Mix

• 1 stick margarine (1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp Seasoned Salt
• 3 T Worcestershire sauce
• 8 C assorted Chex Cereal
• 1 C mixed nuts (optional)

Place margarine, seasoned salt, and Worcestershire in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave just until melted. Add nuts, stir. Add cereal, stir. Microwave for two minutes. Stir. Microwave two minutes more. Stir. Microwave a final two minutes, stir and eat! Will be soft until it cools and then will be nice and crunchy.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

From the Editorial Page of The New York Sun, written by Francis P. Church, September 21, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

“Dear Editor–I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’
Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?”
Virginia O’Hanlon,
115 West Ninety-fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

I don’t know how Thanksgiving works with your family but I imagine it is somewhat similar to how it works with mine. Siblings, spouses, kidders, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and anyone else who happens to want a good meal that day gathers at my mother’s house. Most of us come in toting various dishes full of our contributions to the meal and add them to the already heavily laden table of goodies. My mother’s oven is still going full blast with rolls, mac and cheese, or perhaps even the turkey. The smells of pies, cinnamon, smoked meats, and yeast rolls are so good they are positively torturous. If you weren’t hungry before, you sure are now!

Now the hard part: We have to wait. Whether its for a few more dishes to be done or more family members to make their way through the door, we always have to wait. Now, for the adults this isn’t such a bad thing. However, we have five little folks in our family ages nine and under and they are a different issue altogether. As the little faces look over the table and desserts and take in the smells of all of their favorite dishes, they are hungry NOW.

Several years back, I got the bright idea of making homemade caramel corn to take to Thanksgiving in order to help fight off the munchies until dinnertime. Not only was it a hit with the kids (and kept them considerably more patient) but the adults seemed to delight in being able to grab a handful of something to snack on even more! This is now my personal Thanksgiving tradition. Aunt Christy brings the caramel corn.

But this delicious snack has many more uses than that! Homemade caramel corn is very easy and extremely inexpensive to make. This makes a lovely Christmas gift when packaged in a clear cellophane bag and tied with a little ribbon.

First we’re gonna make some popcorn, the old fashioned way.

I was speaking with a girl in her early twenties a few months back and mentioned something about old fashioned popcorn, and she thought the old fashioned way of making it was in an air popper. She had honestly never heard of folks making it on the stove or even campfire for that matter. For that reason alone, y’all need to make some of this! Not to mention how incredibly inexpensive it is as opposed to microwave style. Did I mention how much better it tastes?

Heat some oil in a large pot. I used about 1/3 cup of vegetable oil.

Save your fancy oil for a fancy dish, we’re just making caramel corn here!

Pour in your popcorn kernels. I just have plain old kernels here. I am using about a cup and a half or so. Normally, I would salt this but I am going to use salt in my sauce so we’re good.

Now put a lid on your pot and continue cooking it on medium heat. It will take a few minutes for the kernels to get hot but once they do they will start popping all over the place!

This is the part my Katy absolutely loves to watch. We get a dining room chair and set it up near the oven and she waits for the popping to start while I stand nervously between her and the pot to make sure she doesn’t get burned.

If you’ve never made homemade popcorn before, please don’t forget the lid on your pot. Popcorn projectiles are VERY hot!

When it starts popping, I hold the handles of my pot and shake it gently from side to side to help get my kernels on the bottom distributed better so they will pop evenly. Keep the lid on and keep the pot sitting on the eye.

I really need more light in my kitchen but it’s so small though that even a candle would feel crowded .

This is your finished popcorn. Now I popped three big pots of this. I ended up with about three gallons of popped popcorn. Lets make the good stuff now!

You’ll need: Salt, Honey, Vanilla, Margarine, Baking Soda, and Brown Sugar (there are two sticks of margarine pictured but one is hiding coz my margarine is shy)

The Morton salt is my Thiokol thing again. See this post on why I always use it (scroll down to the grandparent part).

In a heavy saucepot, place your margarine, brown sugar, and honey.

I stir that up a bit and turn the heat on medium.

Stir constantly while everything melts and it comes to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, stop stirring and let boil for about three minutes, undisturbed.

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. You need to use a pan with a lip on it because we’re going to stir it every fifteen minutes and you don’t want to drop a ton of popcorn into the bottom of your oven (which I always do anyway).

Once it has boiled for three minutes, remove from heat and add in your baking soda.

This will make it foam up a bit, just stir it a little.

This is how it looks when its a bit foamy.

Now add in your vanilla…

And your butter flavoring. If you don’t have butter flavoring just use more vanilla in its place.

I am a huge advocate for butter flavoring. I don’t know much that doesn’t taste even better with it!

Pour your popcorn into a dishpan or very large bowl. I use my big old red plastic dishpan.

I am also a huge advocate for big red plastic dishpans…Hey, we all gotta stand for something.

I wish I could show you this great artsy shot of the caramel sauce being drizzled over my popcorn. A shot like that would be awesome here, wouldn’t it? Well, Katy was taking a nap, Brady was at school, the newly enslaved webmaster was at work…so that left me and…

Daz, the cat. He didn’t seem too concerned so I just poured the caramel over the popcorn and got a photo of stirring it in  there.

Spread that out on your greased baking sheet and place in the oven at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. I had to use two baking sheets to be able to hold all of my popcorn. After the first half an hour, I swap the sheets so the bottom one is on the top and top on bottom.

I set my oven timer on fifteen minutes so I can remember.

After an hour take it out and let it cool. It will look all golden and pretty like this.

I packaged mine in those inexpensive clear party favor bags I told y’all about in my Chocolate Gravy Mix post. Those pretty bows are these babies…

I got them in the Christmas decoration department. Twenty for two dollars and they are perfect for using with these bags when filled with mixes, caramel corn, or little loaves of bread.

Now you have a great snack or an impressive gift!

I thought I’d never get this post done today! Isn’t it funny how we make our plans and life interrupts at will? I’m going to bring you a yummy casserole tomorrow filled with nothing but comfort ingredients! It freezes well, too!

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Thank you so much for reading Southern Plate!!

Gratefully,

Christy

Christmas seems to get more and more hectic each year when you have a family. Shopping, decorating, lists, baking, Christmas cards, wrapping, watching your budget, crafting, and all of the other little things we do to make the season special for our families.

While our kids and spouses get to sit back and enjoy the season, we rush and run around to create more magic, more, More..MORE!! ~laughs~ It gets a little harried, but I have one thing I do that I look forward to every year. Each year around this time, I start cookbook shopping. Not an ordinary book, but a big old thick cookbook with a nice hardback cover that I can really curl up with.

I really enjoy looking over my different options, reading reviews, pondering the pros of this one or that…and then I finally make my decision. I always order it by mail (Usually Amazon.com) so that it arrives sealed up in a box. Here is the important part: I do not open that box! I wrap it the day it comes in and place it beneath the tree with my name on it.

The remaining weeks are spent with me casting longing glances beneath the tree and looking forward to Christmas morning where I unwrap my prize and spend the better part of that day curled up in the recliner leisurely flipping through pages, enjoying my new toy as my kids enjoy theirs.

For two of the past few years, those books have been from King Arthur Flour. I love cookbooks, but it takes a lot for me to get really excited over one. There are four cookbooks in print right now that I trust completely. I own two King Arthur Flour cookbooks, so they hold two of those places!

You know how you see a new recipe, want to take it to an event, but feel you need to “try it out” first to make sure it tastes good? My favorite cookbooks are the ones which I trust completely, they require no trials or testing. You can choose a recipe and make it for the very first time to take to a grand event and know it will be perfect and loved by all. That’s how King Arthur recipes are.

The two King Arthur books I have (and love) are The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook and the The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook. Ready for the exciting news?  

This cookbook is the essential guide on cookies. Just for sugar cookies alone there are 15 recipes and at least as many for our beloved chocolate chip! Each recipe features an introduction which describes the cookie texture and flavor..allowing you to choose exactly the type you are looking for with ease and confidence.

I still haven’t chosen my cookbook for this year. I need to pay another visit to King Arthur Flour’s site…

Now on to these delicious cookies…

My son has always loved the sugar cookies they sell in the malls. He calls them “sprinkle cookies” because they are covered in colorful sprinkles. I made these for the first time a few years back and he was elated when he came home from school. He actually thought I had been to the mall just to buy him cookies! They taste so wonderful and really beg to be dunked into a glass of milk. These are classic Santa cookies! You won’t believe the texture. When you pick them up, they feel like a regular cookie, but biting in reveals a tender chewiness unlike any other.

My entire family calls me “Poochie”, and I even answer to it. My friend, Michael, has always called me that as well. (Michael says I do not talk about him enough on here…Michael Romine – teaches Marketing to high school students – in high school he was like 6’4″ and weighed about eighty pounds soaking wet. I called him string bean then Feeling the love now, Michael?)

Brady said to be sure and show y’all this and to tell you that it is a smiley face, just in case you couldn’t tell.

like this.

We have a tradition each year which has held since I was old enough to remember. My entire family piles in the car and we drive to Toney, Alabama to pay a visit to Scott’s Orchard. As a child, I remember riding home in the back of the truck, munching on all varieties of fresh apples and trying to guess what Mama would bake first with our bounty.

The year my son was born, we had to take him to Scott’s Orchard, even though he was only two months old at the time! However, though family traditions hold strong, they do get modified from time to time. Both of my children have made the fall trip to the orchard every year of their lives, although Isom’s in our hometown of Athens has won out on more than one occasion due to pure convenience. I highly recommend either of these orchards, or any apple orchard close to you this time of year. Locally grown apples truly are the absolute best when it comes to preparing your family’s favorite dishes. If you’re lucky, your orchard will have fresh apple cider slushes. With Isom’s being so conveniently located on Highway 72, we have been known to stop by several times a week when apple cider was coming in for this very reason!

I often find with recipes, as with memories, it is the simple things which satisfy us the most. This recipe is the perfect example of that. A classic snack cake that is not too sweet, the simple ingredients make it a breeze to throw together. Add in the full flavor of locally grown apples (preferably from a family orchard trip!) and you can’t go wrong. It is perfect for breakfast, with a cup of coffee while visiting friends, or any other time of day. I also think of it as the ideal after school snack