Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

I got this recipe from Kraft. We sprinkled more brown sugar on top.

2 large sweet potatoes
2 oz cream cheese
2 T. milk
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and bake facedown on a foil-lined pan for 30-35 minutes at 425. Scoop out centers leaving a 1/4 inch shell. Add cream cheese, milk, sugar and cinnamon to potatoes. Mash until blended. Spoon potato mixture back into shells; top with nuts. Bake 8 minutes or until heated through and nuts are toasted.

Swedish Pepparkokar

This recipe is from my grandmother, Lorna Call. My mom made this every year along with sugar cookies. We decorated them with frosting a lot of the time, but traditionally, they have a blanched almond in the center.

1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 T. molasses
2 t. baking soda
1 T. warm water
3 c. sifted flour
2 t. ginger
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves

Cream the butter and add the sugar gradually creaming continually. Beat in the egg and molasses and add the soda dissolved in warm water. Fold in sifted dry ingredients, mix well. Chill for several hours. Roll and cut out. Place a piece of blanched almond in the center of each and bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 for 6-8 minutes or until done. Yields 4 dozen medium cookies.

Hope, Peace, and Dipped Oreos

We made dipped Oreos to give to our neighbors as gifts this year. I just melted candy chips in the double boiler and dipped the Oreos in. I used a bamboo skewer to hold the Oreos and a spatula to cover them with the melted candy. This worked well for the mint chips I used, but the white chocolate was very thick and much more difficult to work with. As a result, they aren't as pretty.

I figured the cost of this project out to be 16.66 cents per Oreo. 2 12 ounce bags of chips covered 1 package of (45) Oreos. John and Maggie decorated the bags, which we already had.