Rule #1: No talking while baking...

Rule #2: Read the directions more than once! Rule #3: If you follow Rule #1, you won't need the rest of them.

While baking for my WC Nest Recipe Exchange, I messed up royally. Jason and I are vising his parents for Christmas and, as usual, I waited until the last minute to complete my recipe exchange. So, this morning, in the middle of visiting with my mother -in-law, I mixed up the Mud Bars for my exchange. Fortunately, I have this really bad habit of licking the spoon (don't worry, I put it right in the sink...not back in the batter!!) and noticed that it was a little...bitter! "Something is not right." You think? I then turned around to see the bag of brown sugar and canister of granulated sugar on the counter. ((light bulb goes off)) "Well, I forgot the sugar and the eggs." I quickly proceeded to dump the mix back into the bowl, add the sugar and the eggs, and voila! I have Mud Bars. In the end, you don't have to follow the rules, but it sure would have helped!!

Mud Bars

• 1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
• 1 stick margarine
• 1 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 2-4 T baking cocoa (to taste)
• 1 (12 oz) pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

In a large bowl, pour boiling water over oats and margarine. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in sugars and eggs.

Combine dry ingredients and add to oats mixture. Stir in half the chocolate chips. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9*13 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining chips and nuts. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!!

I love baking. Really. I don't get that there are people who don't like to bake. So that makes this my favorite time of year. I go on my baking extravaganza. Jason actually cut me a little short this year...I wanted to add a few more types of cookies, but with our holiday travels, that just wasn't possible. Plus, he said he can't eat all of them!

The first type turned out really well! I had three kinds of leftover chocolate chips from a few Cookies In A Jar mixes I made, so I just used all three. Plus, I baked them on my Pampered Chef stone - why would anyone buy anything else? I freaking love that thing!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugars, beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375.

The next cookie is my absolute favorite. I love baking these and they are so easy. I've always called them Swedish Teacakes, but they are also called Russian Teacakes and (I think) Italian Wedding Cookies.

Swedish Teacakes

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Blend in flour, salt and nuts. Shape into 1" balls and bake on an ungreased pan for 15-20 minutes. Cool to the touch, roll in powdered sugar (I usually add red and green sprinkles during the holiday season). Cool completely and roll in powdered sugar again.

My Favorite Soup

I love this soup. I don't know that it's quite a "soup" but more of an "upgraded chili"...but I am not Rachel Ray, so I won't change the name. It's called a soup...so I will leave it a soup. Not a "stoup" or a "choup" or what ever the heck she tries to say.

Either way, this is perfect for a large crowd (the recipe feeds 6-8) and can be multiplied easily.

Taco Soup

• 2 lbs ground meat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 oz) can Ranch Style Beans
• 1 (14 oz) can Pinto Beans with Jalapenos
• 1 (14 oz) can Whole Kernel Corn
• 1 pkg Taco Seasoning
• 1 pkg Ranch Dressing mix

Brown ground meat with onions and peppers. Add the rest of the ingredients (do not drain the cans) and bring to a boil. Simmer for up to an hour. Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

Just a note...I either use all ground beef or a beef/turkey combo. All ground turkey doesn't have the same flavor, probably because there is not enough fat in the meat!! What we all need, right?

Coffee's Perfect Mate

Yes - I'm a sucker for some flavored cream in my coffee. But I'm not talking about Coffeemate. I'm talking about biscotti. I love it with my coffee, especially if it's really crunchy.

This also marks the beginning of my holiday baking. Honestly, the season sort of got away from me and I'm going to have to cut back this year, but I was not cutting this out!

Holiday Biscotti (courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup dried cranberries

12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped

Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

((I skipped this part this year. Last year Jason said the white chocolate just does not go well with coffee.)) Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Cake!!

My cousin graduated this weekend with his Masters in Education and, me being the idiot I am, said I would bake and decorate a cake for his party. Yes, I'm crazy because decorating cakes that will be seen by the public (i.e. other than Jason and I) causes lots of yelling, foul language and tears. I'm a perfectionist and Jason is more of the...wing it type.

I just used a basic cake recipe for this and the Wilton Buttercream Frosting.

By the way, his name is Nick...but the nurses nicknamed him "Bear" at birth because he was a big baby! The name stuck...and he's still a big guy.