More Christmas Baking

I was asked for the recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Muddy Buddies, so here it is! I originally got the recipe HERE from Our Best Bites, but once again, I had made a few changes.

Chocolate Peppermint Muddy Buddies
7-8 cups Chex Cereal (Normally rice chex, but I used corn chex because that is what I had on hand)
1 cup chocolate chips--semi sweet or milk chocolate
2 tsp. peppermint extract (more if you want a stronger flavor)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
16 Standard size candy canes
3/4-1 cup powdered sugar

Place cereal in a large (really large) bowl and set aside. In a blender or food processor, place 8 candy canes and powdered sugar and blend until candy canes are smooth like the sugar. Place the other 8 candy canes in a ziploc bag and use a heavy rolling pin to crush into small pieces (or stick them in the blender/food processor and pulse until they are crushed-not to powder!) Dump the crushed pieces (not the powder) in with the cereal and mix; set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, mix chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave at 30 second intervals stirring in between each interval. When smooth, add peppermint extract and stir. Pour over cereal and mix until everything is evenly coated. Put the cereal mix and powdered sugar mix in a ziploc bag and shake until everything is coated. Eat and Enjoy!


SORRY THERE IS NO PICTURE! IT GOTTEN EATEN WAY TOO FAST FOR THAT :-)

Christmas Baking

So today I have been in a super Christmas baking mood. I am going to a Christmas party tomorrow, so that is one of the reasons. I made cookies and they are to die for! Here is the recipe! I got it here but made some of my own tweaks to it.

Peppermint Kiss Cookies:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

6-8 candy canes crushed in a food processor or blender

1 1/4 cups butter (2 1/2 sticks)-I know it's a lot!

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Package Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

Preheat over to 350*F

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid) combine powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and egg. Beat at medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl, until creamy. Add flour mixture, mixing until blended. The mixture will be crumbly. Add the candy cane pieces. Shape dough into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes then press candy cane kisses in the center. (I had to press them then put the cookies directly in the fridge in order for the kiss to hold its shape better.) Enjoy!

Zoo, Thanksgiving, Letter from Nick, & Snow!

So this post covers a lot, but I hope it won't be too long. First, Braelyn and I went to the zoo with Kelsee and Caydence the day before Thanksgiving. It was Wild Wednesday, so it was a free day at the zoo. The girls had a lot of fun. Braelyn (and I) wanted to see the polar bear, but she had surgery to repair an umbilical hernia so she was in her den and holding area and wasn't allowed to swim. We hope she gets better soon! Braelyn also loved the seals and the baby elephant.

For Thanksgiving, we were at Tyler's family this year. Aaron and McKinnley were able to make it up this year so it was a lot of fun. Braelyn loved to see baby Claire and was very "helpful" with her.

The only person we were missing was Nick, but he's on his mission in Guatemala and that's a better place to be for the time being. He was able to perform a baptism in his first week in his first area. We are so happy he is doing so well. When the mail came this morning, we were happy to see that we had a letter from Nick; nothing big, but it was still good to hear from him. For family who may be reading this, the letter goes as follows:

My dearest bother, sister, niece, and nephew,
Thank you for the letter! I loved the picture B-Rose drew! It was something great to get. She's my favorite. I can't wait to see Baby Matson for the first time! I expect a lot of my favorite little niece as well!
Also, thank you for that letter you gave me in the airport ,(we each wrote him and gave it to him to read on the plane to Guatemala) I really appreciated it! You two are awesome. So you probably want some first area mission details, huh? Well it is insane! My comp is from the Dominican Republic which means my espanol is improving a ton! My area is called Trebol II Zone Central Zone 8. It's a pretty great place. The ward is huge! A lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. Anyways, just thought I would write you back!
Love you all so much! Elder Matson
PS Sorry about the cursive! I just worte Grandma June in all cursive, so my mind was used to it.
PSS Send anything else to the return address
PSSS Hi Braelyn! Love Ya!

Today was our Ward Christmas Party which was fun. We got to visit with neighbors and Braelyn loved the dancers. We didn't get to sit on Santa's lap because he was already scheduled to go to the Sunset City Building. We did get to see him drive by on the firetruck though! He drove all through Sunset City with the sirens on then ended up at the City building. The snow started about 9:30 and hasn't stopped since, so we didn't go to see Santa today. We have gotten between 7 and 8 inches at the last check and it was still coming down. Tyler left at 8 to go plow and salt parking lots with his work. To give me a break while I made dinner (homemade chicken noodle soup) Tyler took Braelyn out to play in the snow and she had a ball! It was dark, but we bundled her up and had the lights on. I think I know what we will be doing after church tomorrow...

Well there is our quick update. I will post in a day or two with a pregnancy update. I don't want to take a picture in my jammies :-) Have a great night all!