Spiced Cocoa Snowballs

This is based on a recipe from the December 2009 Penzeys Spices catalog. I added some cinnamon and chili in an attempt to make Aztec snowballs but they ended up being warm and spicy without the flavor of the cinnamon and chili being at all noticeable.

Ingredients:

2/3	Cup Butter		1	Tbsp Vanilla
1/3	Cup Cream cheese		1 3/4	Cup All-purpose flour
2/3	Cup Powdered hot chocolate mix		1/4	Tsp Salt
1/3	Cup Powdered sugar		1/2	Cup Powdered sugar
1/4	Tsp Cinnamon
1/8	Tsp Cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cream the butter, cream cheese, hot chocolate mix, powdered sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°. Roll the dough into 1" balls. Place them 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes until firm. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes then roll in powdered sugar and cool on wire rack.

Breakfast for a chilly Sunday morning

Apple Oven Pancake

As the weather turns colder, it is time to turn the oven on to warm up the house in the morning. I like to throw a pan of oven bacon in before I start this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp	Butter		½ Cup	Milk
1-2	Apples		1 Tbps	Vanilla
1 Tsp	Cinnamon		¼ Cup	Cornmeal
1 Tsp	Lemon Juice		¼ Cup	Flour
¼ Cup	Sugar		¼ Tsp	Salt
2	Lg Eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°
   
2. Put butter in oven-proof skillet (~10") over med heat
   
3. Chop apples roughly. You want enough to cover the bottom of the pan completely.
   
4. Toss the apples with a tablespoon of sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon.
   
5. When the butter is nice and bubbly, add the apples to the pan.
   
6. Whisk the eggs well and add the milk and vanilla.
   
7. Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and whisk well again.
   
8. Pour the batter over the apples.
   
9. Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until it is set but still a little jiggly.
   

 

 

The pancake is nice with maple syrup but I prefer it with a little caramel sauce. I suppose I could make it myself but the stuff they sell in the grocery store with the ice cream toppings works just as well for me.