Amy N. Worthington

What a great time of year to use those seasonal M&M’s to make some delicious baked treats. I guarantee you wont regret using this recipe – it’s quite possibly the most wonderful M&M cookies recipe.

Recipe:

• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 Squares of Butter/Margarine
• 2 Eggs
• 3 Cups Sifted Flour
• 1 tsp Soda
• 3/4 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 bag M&M’s

1. Combine brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, and butter in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Add eggs, mix well.
3. Add all dry ingredients and stir well.
4. Add in M&M’s
5. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes
6. Enjoy!

Just as a side note, I usually double my batch to get the desired amount of cookies. You may want to try different kinds of M&M’s – mint, plain, dark chocolate, etc. Use what suits your fancy. If you’re not in the mood for M&M’s chocolate chips also work well in this recipe.

Remember when you were young and your mom would have a pile of deliciously soft Rice Krispie Treats waiting for you when you got home from school? On a college budget there really is no better treat that the sweet treat of your childhood. There are many ways to switch it up, whether it be the type of cereal you use (cocoa kripies, frity pebbles, golden grahams) or add ins you put in with the marshmallows (chocolate chips, m&m’s) there’s no denying that Rice Kripie Treats can make anyone’s ordinary day into an extraordinary day.

A great place to find some recipes is on the Rice Krispies website. They have fun ideas to make your treats seasonal (turkeys for thanksgiving, pumpkins for halloween) as well as a couple variations on their classic recipe. I’m going to share the classic recipe.

Recipe:

• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 Package (10 oz) Regular Marshmallows or 4 Cups of Mini-Marshmallows
• 6 Cups Rice Krispies

1. In a large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add cereal and stir until well coated.
3. With a spatula spread evenly into a 9×13 pan
4. Let cool. Cut, and Enjoy!

This is quite possibly THE best recipe for pumpkin chocolate chips! They’re moist, simple to mix up and they have a little zing that you wouldn’t expect (orange zest). This recipe originated from a good friend of mine, his sister-in-law gave him the recipe and he passed it along. In sticking with tradition I’ve decided to pass the recipe along to all of you.

These cookies are perfect for sharing with others, especially at parties, gatherings or to take to other people. This recipe will make just shy of 3 dozen.

Recipe:

• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 Cup canned pumpking
• 1/2 Cup shortening
• 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel (orange zest)
• 2 Cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 Cup raisins (if desired)

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Cook at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

To go along with that wonderful pie crust recipe that I posted earlier, I thought I would include an easy and delicious recipe for quick, fresh, and delicious apple pie filling. This is a great recipe to use when you have fresh apples from a tree, but apples from the store will do as well.

Recipe:

• 6 cups apples sliced (peel if you desire)
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon butter (for top of pie)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (for top of pie)
• Pie crust

1. Combine apples, sugar, flour, spices and salt. Toss until well mixed.
2. Put filling in pie crust, sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Dot top of filling with 2 Tablespoons of butter
4. Cover with top crust, press edges together.
5. Cut slits in top crust to allow pie to steam.
6. Brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Turn oven to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes or until nicely browned and apples cooked.
8. Cool. Eat and Enjoy!

This recipe will meet all your pie crust making needs. Whether it’s fresh apple, cherry, or a pot pie, this crust will be the perfect (and easy) solution! It takes about 5 minutes to mix up and is incredibly versatile. Mix it up, add some filling and love it!

Recipe:

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Shortening
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Milk

1. Cream 1 Cup of flour with shortening in a bowl
2. Add rest flour and dry ingredients. Stir well.
3. Add milk. Stir well.
4. Roll out, use a bit of flour if the dough is too sticky

Now is the perfect time of year to use fresh apples for all sorts of recipes. Lately I’ve been given fresh apples from co-workers, roommates and neighbors. I’ve had delicious apples all over the place so we decided to try some new apple recipes. Out of all the favorites this one could possibly be my most favorite. Give it a shot, it’s incredibly easy and out of this world delicious!

This recipe originally came from the Costco magazine, for those of you who have had their apple, caramel muffins – this is very similar.

Recipe:

CAKE

• 1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil
• 3 Eggs
• 3 Cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 5 apples, cored peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I didn’t peel them, and it worked great)
• 1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

CARAMEL GLAZE

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9×13 cake pan.
2. To prepare the cake, beat both sugars and oil in a mixing bowl until very well blended.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, mixing just until blended.
5. Stir in apples, nuts, vanilla; pour into pan.
6. Bake for 50-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out lcean. Let cool in the pan while preparing the glaze. (Note: Mine cooked for around 55-60 minutes)
7. To prepare the glaze, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in both sugars and salt; cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
8. Add cream and bring to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
9. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer or fork. (Holes should be somewhat small) Pour and spread the glaze.
10. Eat and Enjoy!

This could possibly be one of the best quick, college kid recipes known to man! If you’re ever in need of a little sweet treat in a short amount of time this recipe is most definitely for you!

Recipe:

• 1/4 cup cake mix
• 1/8 cup water
• A few chocolate chips (if desired, you can also substitute any other kind of candy)

1. Put cake mix an d water in a mug.
2. Cook in microwave for 1 minute. (Occasionally you may want to add an extra 10 seconds or so)

*You can make it any size you want – just half the amount of water of the amount of cake mix. For example, if you have 1 cup of mix you’ll do 1/2 cup of water. If you do 1/2 cup of mix you’ll do a 1/4 cup water. You can also use any kind of cake mix – so do whatever suits your fancy.

There are various ways to make cake in a mug, you can add ice cream, frost it, anything you want. Feel free to experiment and make it your own.

For all you college students that feel like you have no time to make a healthy home-cooked meal. This recipe is for you. It takes about 5 minutes prep time and 1 hour to cook before homemade goodness is on your plate.

*Note: Unless you plan on eating this for many consecutive days, feeding all your roommates, or eating a lot of chicken I recommend cutting this recipe in half for a smaller, quaint dining setting. However, I will give you the full recipe.

Recipe:

• 8 Chicken Breasts (Place in baking dish. I recommend pyrex)
• 8 Slices of swiss cheese
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/4 cups water
• One box of Stove Top Chicken stuffing
• 1/3 cup margarine/butter

1. Place raw chicken breasts in baking pan (I recommend a pyrex dish)
2. Put cheese slices on top of chicken
3. Mix cream of chicken soup and water in a bowl and pour evenly over chicken and cheese.
4. Pour package of stuffing over the top of the dish.
5. Evenly drizzle 1/3 cup margarine/butter over the dish.

Cook uncovered for 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees