Budget Travel

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

SERVES 18 | ACTIVE TIME 3 Min | TOTAL TIME 20 Minutes

1 cup honey roasted peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for top of cookies)
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy clean up).

Mix ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Use an electric mixer, stand mixer or a wooden spoon.

Using a 1 tablespoon scooper, drop onto baking sheet. Dip fork into extra sugar and press cookie down. Repeat until all cookies are pressed.

Bake 10-12 minutes (until barely golden brown around the edges) and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Serve and enjoy.

Recipe developed by Donna Elick - The Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2017 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

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Pecan Pie Christmas Cracker Toffee

SERVES 40 | PREP TIME 5 Min | COOK TIME 8 Min

40 saltine crackers
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cups chopped pecans
1 cup your favorite chocolate chips
Christmas sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place a silicone mat or parchment paper on a baking half sheet pan. Place saltine crackers in rows covering most of the pan. Combine the brown sugar, and butter in a medium sized pot. Heat over medium low until the butter is melted. Raise the temperature to medium high and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Carefully pour sauce evenly over the top of the saltine crackers. Sprinkle pecans over the top.
Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring till smooth after each (mine took 1 minute). Drizzle melted chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles if desired.

Place pan in the fridge for 2 hours to set. Once set, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for 1.5 -2 weeks.

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Slow Cooker Orange Honey Ham

SERVES 8-10 | PREP TIME 10 Min | COOK TIME 5 Hours 30 Min

8-10 pound fully cooked spiral cut ham
1/2 cup honey
1/2 large orange, thinly sliced
1 cup orange juice
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground mustard
2 teaspoons whole cloves, divided

Place ham in slow cooker flat/cut side down. Score the end facing up, by using a sharp knife to make criss cross marks about 1/8" deep.

Push about 1 teaspoon of the cloves into top of ham.

In a medium sized saucepan, combine honey, oranges slices, orange juice, sugar, ginger and mustard, and the remaining teaspoon of cloves.

Cook on medium for 5 minutes, until the glaze has reduced in half.

Drizzle half of the glaze mixture over ham, saving 1/2 the glaze to drizzle as it cooks. Cover slow cooker and cook on low 4-5 hours.

Add more glaze every hour of cooking, and in the last hour, add more glaze every 25 minutes.

When ham has developed a crunchy, dark brown glaze, remove from pan and serve immediately.

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Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting

MAKES 2 Cups | ACTIVE TIME 5 Min | TOTAL TIME 5 Min

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon International Delight French Vanilla Liquid Creamer
1 tablespoon pure peppermint extract

2-3 drops red gel food coloring, optional

Pinch salt, optional

Crushed candy canes, optional garnish

In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer), cream the butter for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Turn the mixer to low and add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Mix until well blended.

Add creamer, extract and a pinch of salt if desired (I add it to take the edge off of the sweetness) and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more creamer as needed until desired consistency is reached. Add red food coloring (I use gel so it does not thin out the frosting, but if you must use liquid that is fine, just add additional powdered sugar as necessary to thicken it back up).

Enjoy on your favorite dessert, or with a spoon! We especially love it on our Best Ever Sugar Cookies and Easy Chocolate Cake.

DONNA'S NOTES: This recipe will frost a 9x13 inch cake or 24 cupcakes (12 with a stacked swirl).

Recipe developed by Donna Elick - The Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2017 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

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Microwave Peanut Brittle

SERVES 15-20 Pieces | ACTIVE TIME 5 Min | TOTAL TIME 1 Hour 10 Min

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts

In a small bowl, combine baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

Spray a baking sheet generously with cooking spray, then set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, add granulated sugar and light corn syrup. Use a spatula to stir until combined. Mixture will be very sticky and difficult to stir near the end; this is okay.

Microwave sugar syrup mixture on HIGH for 4 minutes, then stir. Return bowl to microwave and heat for another 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture turns a light golden color. Be careful not to overheat; a dark brown hue means the sugar has burned.

Remove bowl from microwave and quickly begin to add the following ingredients: vanilla, butter, the prepared spices from step 1, and the peanuts. Stir mixture so that all the ingredients are combined. Mixture will lighten and may rise or appear "fluffy.”

Spray rim of bowl with more cooking spray, then pour brittle mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Working quickly, use a spatula or a spoon to smooth the peanut brittle out in a layer roughly the same thickness as the peanuts.

Let peanut brittle cool and harden for at least 1 hour. Once cooled and firm, use your hands to break the brittle into sizes of your choice (usually 2x2 inch in size)

COOK'S NOTES: Because working with heated sugar can be tricky and temperamental, it is best to make this recipe only for the listed portion. Doubling this recipe is not recommended.

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No-Bake Rocky Road Avalanche Bars

from The Simple Kitchen Cookbook by Chad and Donna Elick

SERVES 24 | ACTIVE TIME 10 Min |TOTAL TIME 30 Min

16 ounces chocolate-flavored candy coating (I use Almond Bark or Candiquik)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 oz Bakers German’s sweet chocolate bar, broken into chunks
1 (16.9-oz) jar super chunky peanut butter
3 cups crispy rice cereal
3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon salt

Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate candy coating, chocolate chips and German chocolate in a
large heatproof bowl. Microwave at half power for 30 seconds at a time until
melted and smooth, stirring after each interval. Stir the peanut butter into the
warm chocolate until melted and smooth. Add the rice cereal, marshmallows and
salt and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Allow it to set in a cool place until firm.
You can refrigerate the pan if your kitchen is too warm, or, if you are impatient like
me, pop them in the freezer for 20 minutes. Once they are solid, cut them into
24 pieces.

Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe developed by Donna Elick - The Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2017 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

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No-Bake Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

SERVES 12 | PREP TIME 20 Min | CHILL TIME 3-8 Hours

Crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:
15 Peppermint hard candies, crushed
1/2 cup hot, boiling water
2 (7 gram) packets unflavored gelatin
3 (8 ounce) package full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold

Garnish:
10 Peppermint hard candies, crushed
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

Prepare the Crust: Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, mix with a fork until well combined and press into a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan.

Prepare the Cheesecake: Add peppermints to a large Ziploc bag. Seal the bag well, but do not make the bag air tight, or the bag will perforate on the first smash. To avoid a mess, place the bag inside another Ziplock bag.Place the bag on a wooden cutting board and using a kitchen mallet, crush the candies.

Add the crushed candies to a medium bowl and pour hot, boiling water over them. Using a spoon, stir the mixture for 3-5 minutes, until the candies completely melt.

Sprinkle the two packets of gelatin over the peppermint mixture, let it bloom for 1 minute and whisk it until fully combined. Set aside.

Add room temperature cream cheese and sugar to a large bowl and using a hand mixer (you can also you a stand mixer for this), whisk it on medium-high speed until creamy and fully combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times.

Add the gelatin mixture to the cream cheese, mix it in with the electric mixer starting on low speed and increasing it to high. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times.

Add cold heavy whipping cream to a preferably chilled, cold bowl and beat it on medium-high speed until soft peaks form and the whipped cream holds its shape, about 1-2 minutes. Fold whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture and stir well to combine.

Add the cheesecake mixture to the pan, level the top with a spatula. Chill for at least 3 hours, better 5-8 hours.

Garnish: When ready to serve, add cold heavy whipping cream and sugar to a preferably chilled, cold bowl and whisk it on medium-high speed until soft peaks form and the whipped cream holds its shape, about 1-2 minutes.

Garnish each peppermint cheesecake bar with whipped cream and top with crushed peppermints.

Enjoy!

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