Arlene’s friend Stephanie Tedesco is back, and they’re making some Christmas favorites: cake balls, peanut butter bars, old-fashioned pizzelle cookies, and mini pumpkin “gobs” (also known as whoopie pies).
Stephanie is a talented baker, especially when it comes to cookies! She appeared on another Christmas episode of At Home in 2004, where she shared some of her other favorite recipes for sweet treats.
Mini Pumpkin Gobs
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheets.
- In a bowl, mix together and set aside the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In a bowl, using a mixer, cream together the shortening, sugar, egg, vanilla, and pureed pumpkin. Add flour to creamed mixture and stir well.
- Drop by small scoop or spoon onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. When cool, place your favorite icing between two cookies and dust lightly with powdered sugar. Makes 2 dozen gobs. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 Tbsp butter, softened
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1-4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside.
- In a bowl, cream together peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla with a mixer, until thoroughly mixed. Add eggs and combine well.
- Combine flour and baking soda and add to butter mixture and blend. Stir in 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips on top. When chips have melted, spread evenly over the top. Cool completely in the pan and cut into squares and place in mini tassie papers. Makes 36 bars. Enjoy!
Pizzelles
This old-fashioned Italian cookies are made in a waffle-iron with special plates.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp anise oil (or 1 tsp vanilla and 2 drops lemon extract may be used)
Instructions
- Preheat and lightly grease pizzelle iron according to manufacturer's instructions while making batter.
- Mix together and set aside the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, beat eggs with a mixer. Gradually add the sugar, canola oil, and anise oil. Stir in the flour mixture until the batter is thick and smooth.
- Drop by greased teaspoonfuls onto center of each section of preheated pizzelle iron. Close lid and time for less than a minute. Lift lid and remove each pizzelle to wire rack for cooling. Place cooled pizzelles in an airtight container for storage. Makes 6 dozen pizzelles. Enjoy!
Cake Puff Balls
Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix, any flavor, baked according to package directions
- 1 cup frosting, any flavor, homemade or purchased
- melting chocolate, any flavor
- jimmies, sprinkles, or any other decorations
Instructions
- Break cake into small pieces in a bowl and add 1⁄2 to 1 cup of your favorite frosting until mixture becomes dough like. This can be homemade or ready made icing as long as it is of a stiffer consistency
- Roll into 1-1⁄2 inch balls and place on waxed or parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle for dipping.
- Melt chocolate of your choice and dip each ball until evenly coated. At this time sprinkle with your choice of decorations and place in refrigerator until chocolate is set.
- Remove from sheet and place into souffle candy cups. Makes lots. Enjoy!
Transcript
The transcript from this program is not available.
If you watched episode Ms. Tedesco also added 1/2 cup of oil with egg and sugar mixture before adding dry ingredients.
Made these today.
Thanks for the note! We’ll fix it.