Wisdom From Grandma

I love these decadent breakfast recipes for holiday mornings. Remember, as with most of these recipes, you will need to prepare your Christmas Morning French Toast the night before so it will be ready to cook in the morning. I think I’ll try this recipe this Christmas instead of my standard stuffed French toast or hash brown casserole.

Ingredients:
1/2 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cut diagonally in 1 inch slices
4 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
Directions:
Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange the slices of bread in the bottom. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The following morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup; heat until bubbling. Pour over bread and egg mixture. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

As your child is getting ready for bed, he or she yells down the stairs, “Hey, Mom. I forgot to tell you I need to take a dessert for school tomorrow.” Well, you have a reputation to maintain as the mom who makes cool desserts, so you can’t just stop by the grocery store and pick up a box of cookies. Luckily, you can whip up some of these Super Easy Christmas Swirl Brownies and still get a decent night’s rest.

Ingredients:

1 package cake style brownie mix
1/ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup cream
1 package of cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 bag M&Ms holiday edition

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the egg, cream and vanilla extra. Mix well and set aside.

Prepare the brownie mix according to instructions. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and then scoop 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Place ½ cup of the M&Ms over the brownie batter. Then spoon the cream cheese mixture over the M&Ms and batter. And finally scoop the remaining brownie mixture over that. Using the tip of a knife swirl the mixture for a marbled effect.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes at 350F until baked through but still moist (do not overbake). Cool before cutting into squares.

This recipe for Stained Glass Cookies can double as a craft, since you can actually use them to decorate the tree or put them on display in a festive bowl. Of course, that means you’ll have to keep those beautiful cookies away from all of the little cookie monsters in your house!

TIP: Your children will enjoy helping you cut out these pretty cookies.

Ingredients:
3 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (melted)
1/3 cup honey
¼ cup water
Bright colored hard candies
Cookie cutters

Directions:
Mix the butter, sugar and honey in a large bowl and add water, mix until smooth. Combine the salt, baking soda and sifted flour in a large bowl. Add butter mixture to flour mixture and knead the dough a little with your hands. Wrap up roll in cling film and place in freezer for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling unwrap a selection of round hard candies and set aside.
Once the dough is ready roll it on a lightly floured surface and cut out shapes using cookie cutters. Using the tip of a knife cut out a circle in the center of the cookie to approximately fit the hard candy. If you’re cookie is meant to be an ornament make a hole at the top using a straw.

Bake at 350F for approximately 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly golden, remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Place the hard candy in the center of cookie and bake for another minute or so (just until the candy slightly starts to bubble). Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before displaying or eating.