Christmas Snowball Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
1 cup powdered sugar (plus more for topping)
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 tsp. salt
Preparation:Heat oven to 350 . Mix butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until set but not brown. Roll in powdered sugar while warm. Cool. Roll in powdered sugar again.

Our Christmas Breakfast Casserole

I discovered this Make-ahead breakfast casserole recipe from Bob Evans several years ago and it's become our traditional Christmas breakfast. I love this recipe! You can prepare the ingredients the night before and refrigerate until morning and pop it in the oven once the kids have opened their presents from Santa! And mom isn't spending all of her time in the kitchen!

Ingredients
1 lb. Bob Evans Original Recipe Sausage Roll
2½ cups seasoned croutons
4 eggs
2¼ cups milk
1 can (10½ oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms, drained and chopped
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ tsp. dry mustard
Fresh herb sprigs and carrot strips (optional)
Picante sauce or salsa (optional)
Directions
Spread croutons on bottom of greased 13" x 9" baking dish. Crumble and cook sausage in medium skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain. Spread over croutons. Whisk eggs and milk in bowl until blended. Stir in soup, spinach, mushrooms, cheeses and mustard. Pour egg mixture over sausage and croutons. Refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 325F. Bake egg mixture 50-55 minutes or until set and lightly browned on top. Garnish with herb sprigs and carrot, if desired. Serve hot with picante sauce, if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

CANDY CANE COOKIES

Today's recipe is for these festive Candy Cane Cookies. My boys love making these and what a great way to spend some family time together during the Holidays!

Ingredients

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red food color

Directions
Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, sugar, egg and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half; blend food color into one half. Shape 1 teaspoon dough from each half into 4" rope. For smooth ropes, roll them back and forth on floured board. Place ropes side by side, press together lightly and twist. Place on ungreased baking sheet, curve top of cookie to form handle of "cane".

Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes or very light brown.
For variation, you can add 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and sprinkle this mixture on cookies immediately out of the oven.

Makes 4 dozen.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week already? I started working on my grocery list this morning and thought I would share our favorite recipe for sweet potatoes. Just the thought of sweet potoes topped with brown sugar and pecans makes me hungry!

SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE

Ingredients:

2 pounds cooked sweet potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

2 beaten eggs

1/4 cup melted margarine

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Add all ingredients & whip with mixer on low speed until no lumps appear and place in an 8x8 greased baking dish.

Topping:

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup melted margarine

1/3 cup flour

Sprinkle topping mixture over potato mixture and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!