2023 Clarion Holiday pages fillers

Ingredients

1 (15.25-ounce) box devils food cake mix

⅓ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups M&M’s candies

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix well to combine the cake mix, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Fold in about ⅔ of the M&Ms.

Set the bowl in the refrigerator to chill for at least 20 minutes.

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape the dough into 1- 1.5 Tablespoon-sized balls and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Press a few additional M&M's into the top of the cookies.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the top of the cookies are set. Do not overbake.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool further.

Serve warm or at room temperature and enjoy.

*Do not skip chilling the dough. You can get away with a 20-minute chill but if possible chill your dough longer, overnight when possible.

*Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Ingredients

Topping

6 oz strawberry jello (2, 3 oz boxes)

2 cups water boiling

32 oz strawberries frozen, sweetened

Crust

2 cups pretzels crushed

3/4 cup butter melted

3 tablespoons sugar

Filling

8 oz whipped topping

8 oz cream cheese softened

1 cup sugar

Instructions

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in strawberries; refrigerate until partially set, about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, mix Crust ingredients. Press into ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.

In a medium bowl, beat Filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Cover and refrigerate until cool and gelatin topping in a bowl is partially set.

Carefully spoon gelatin topping over filling. Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or until firm. To serve, cut into 4 rows by 3 rows.

Tater Tot Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lb hot breakfast sausage

1 (30-32oz) bag frozen tater tots

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

8 eggs

2 cups milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink. Drain fat.

In a large bowl, toss together tater tots, cooked sausage and cheeses. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13-inch pan.

Whisk together eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and milk. Pour over tater tot mixture.

**Cover and refrigerate at this point if baking later.**

Bake uncovered for 60 — 70 minutes, or until eggs are set.

*Can make casserole in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later.

Overnight French Toast Casserole

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread or thick texas toast

8 eggs

2 cups half and half

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Crunch Topping

1 1/2 sticks butter softened

1 cup light brown sugar packed

1 Tbsp light corn syrup optional

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by coating the entire inside of the dish with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.

Slice the French bread, about 1-inch thick. Arrange slices in your prepared baking dish in rows, overlapping the slices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well combined.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread slices, making sure they are covered evenly. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices making sure all the slices are completely covered. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, carefully flip each piece of bread over to make sure everything is nice and coated with the mixture.

Make the Topping

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Spoon the topping on top of the prepared bread slices. Then spread evenly over the bread (like you are icing a cake). You can also spread some of the mixture in between the slices to make sure the entire slice is covered (if you prefer).

Bake for 35-40 minutes (no need to cover with foil), until puffed and lightly golden.

*This is a French toast casserole so parts of the slices will be soft and the tops with a more baked/crisp texture. If you prefer the slices to a more baked/crisp texture, use a larger pan (deep half sheet cake pan) and this will open up the slices instead of packing them in a 9×13. Another option is to use two 9×13 pans.

*Can use sliced sour dough bread.

Crock-Pot Glazed Pe9cans

Ingredients

1 lb. pecan halves

1 egg white

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1.Beat egg white until white and foamy; add pecan halves and stir to coat.

2.In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon and salt.

3.Add sugar mixture to coated pecans and mix well.

4.Pour into crock pot insert that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spread the pecans evenly.

5.Bake on high heat for approximately 1 hour or until they look shiny and wet in appearance. Stir once or twice during cooking

6.Cool on parchment paper.

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds

Ingredients

1 1/2 C. Sugar

1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/8 tsp. Salt

1 Egg White

2 tsp. Vanilla

3 Cups Almonds

1/4 C. Water

1. Mix together in a large bowl sugars, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In another bowl with a whisk, mix together the egg white and vanilla until it is frothy. Add the almonds and coat thoroughly. This will help the mixture stick to the almonds during the cooking process.

3. Prepare your slow cooker by spraying it with cooking spray. I used a 4 quart. Add the cinnamon almond mixture to the almonds and turn it to low. Stir until the cinnamon sugar mixture is coated well on the almonds. Be prepared for your house to smell amazing!

4. You want to cook for about 3-4 hours. Mine took about 3. Stirring every 20 minutes. In the very last hour, add 1/4 cup water and stir well. This will ensure a crunchy coating and help the mixture to harden.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the almonds onto the sheet to cool. The almonds should be pretty sticky so be sure to separate them the best that you can and let them cool!

* There is a lot of sugar left over in this. You can reduce the sugar to probably about 1 cup of each and only putting about an 1/8 cup of water. Your almonds will be very dark and clump together. Just spread them out and try to unclump them as best as possible and let them cool.

Campfire Bars Mix

Makes 1 jar of campfire bars mix, to yield about 16 bars

Ingredients

1 C. graham cracker pieces, each about 1-inch square

1½ C. mini marshmallows, homemade or store-bought

¾ C. milk chocolate chips

½ C. granola

1/3 C. packed light brown sugar

½ C. chopped almonds

Directions

In a 1-quart jar, layer the graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate chips, granola, brown sugar, and almonds. Seal with the lid, decorate the jar if you like, and attach a label with these instructions for the recipient:

To Make Campfire Bars

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour all the contents of the jar into a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until all the pieces are coated. Press into a 9-inch square baking pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into bars and serve.

How to Make a Bird Seed Ornament

What you’ll need:

3/4 cup birdseed (Seed for small birds works great.)

1/4 cup water

1 small envelope of Knox gelatin

twine or string

cookie cutters or mason jar lids

wax paper

How to Make a Bird Seed Ornament

Step 1: Mix together the envelope of gelatin with 1/4 cup of water and bring to a simmer while stirring. Continue stirring until the gelatin is dissolved, then remove from heat and cool for a minute. Stir in the bird seed, adding a little more if there is liquid still in the bottom of the pan.

Step 2: Lay the cookie cutter on the wax paper, and fill half way with the bird seed mixture.

Step 3: Cut your twine, knot the end and push the knot down into your birdseed. Then continue filling with bird seed, covering the end of your twine and knot. Push the bird seed evenly into the cookie cutter until it’s full.

Step 4: Let them sit overnight to be sure they set. When it comes time to take the ornaments out of the mold, be careful to push them out slowly so you don’t lose any pieces!

Best Crock-Pot Chex Mix

1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

8 cups milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips (depends on your liking … dark, white or milk chocolate. Any kind works!)

Add milk, sweetened condensed milk, whipping cream and vanilla extract to crock pot and quickly stir. Add chocolate chips to crock pot and mix in, so chocolate chips aren’t piled in one place.

Cover and heat on low setting for 2 hours. Stir occasionally. Serve and top with whipping cream or marshmallows.

Homemade Nut Roll

Ingredients

8 oz jar marshmallow creme

1/2 tsp. almond extract

3 c powder sugar

15 oz bag caramels

2 tbsp. heavy cream

2 c salted nuts

Wax or parchment paper

Instructions

Put marshmallow creme, extract, and powder sugar in a bowl and combine with your hands. This can take a few minutes! The dough will be very stiff.

Divide into 6-10 pieces depending on how big you want your nut roll to be, then roll into the cylinder shape.

Wrap each cylinder in wax paper and place in freezer for at least 2 hours.

Melt caramels in microwave for about three minutes, removing to stir at 30 second intervals. Make sure they are completely melted. Add 2 tablespoon heavy cream and stir until combined.

Place salted peanuts (or whatever variety you would prefer) on baking sheet.

Remove rolls from freezer, then dip into caramel and coat completely. Try not to use your fingers! This gets really messy if you do … you can use two forks to dip and remove.

Place caramel covered roll onto salted nuts and cover completely.

Transfer nut covered roll onto wax paper, then store in the refrigerator! (they should be good for a last a month in the fridge)