Nadia's Christmas Cupcakes

Each cupcake carefully decorated by my granddaughter, Nadia.
We made them from scratch, but I think a boxed mix would work just as well!

Mirabel's Mini Hot Cocoa Mugs (Dairy Free)

 

 

 

Written and Made By: Mirabel Fuleihan
(Julia Fuleihan’s Granddaughter)

Mini Hot Cocoa Mugs
(Dairy Free)
Ingredients
For 24 servings
COOKIE DOUGH
1/2 cups of unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups of brown sugar, packed
1/4 cups of sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
6 oz of semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cups of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
FOR DECORATING
6 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup of almond milk, warmed
1 cup of mini marshmallows
24 mini candy canes
Vanilla frosting
Christmas sprinkles
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Instructions
First you have to preheat the oven to 375*F
After that I mixed together the butter and both sugars with an electric hand mixer(you might need a spatula to get the dough out of the mixer). Then I beat in the egg and 6 oz of chocolate chips (if you don’t have and weigher then you can lay the chocolate chips on a large flat pan or something and cut it into 4th’s because 24 divided by 6 equals 4) AFTER you mix the sugars and flour, beat this until combined. The real directions said to sift the flour in, but I think it’s just a waste of time because I didn’t and it turned out great. Mix until combined.
(This is the fun part!)I first spray the pan then I looked at my mini muffin pan and kind of measured in my mind how much dough I’ll need. By the way you have to make sure that the top is completely even and that the sides are pushed to the edge so it looks like a tiny cup.( Make sure to use a mini muffin pan because my Situ gave me a big muffin pan and it was catastrophic!)
Let the cookies/muffins bake for 8 minutes. If the sides puffed up too much on the sides, when it’s warm you can use the back of a spoon and push the sides in delicately. While your cookies/muffins cool, let’s start decorating!   
Put 4 ounces of chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl and turn into a liquid or as close as you can get. Since I’m lactose intolerant I replaced the heavy cream with almond milk, so you pour the warmed almond milk into the chocolate and mix until combined and smooth to make gnash.(It tastes the exact same as if you used heavy cream)
Once the cookies/muffins are cooled then I took them out of the pan using a knife. I put them on a cutting board and poured the gnash into the cookie/muffin cups. Next I made my chocolate glue. The recipe say’s to use two oz of chocolate chips but that’s not enough so you should use 4 oz , and put it in the microwave for 50 sec. and mix it around. Put the glue in the freezer for 10 minutes or more so it can cool. While it’s cooling take your strongest pair of scissors and cut the curved part of the candy cane to make a handle. Once the chocolate has cooled take it out of the freezer and dip the sides of the candy canes in the chocolate and press it vertically on the mini hot chocolates. Let these set in the fridge for 1 hour.
After you take the hot chocolate mugs out of the fridge, place three mini marshmallows on the top of each of the hot chocolate mugs. After that put the vanilla frosting in a piping bag and do a dollop of frosting on each marshmallow. After that I poured red, green, and white sprinkles out of the container and placed one of each color sprinkle on the mini hot chocolate’s frosting.
After you completed that YOUR DONE!!! Please enjoy your mini hot chocolates! (they’re  great for parties!)

Inspired by thegunnysack.com 

Daniela's Holiday Rice Krispie Treats

Inspired by the back of the Rice Krispies Kellogs
Box. Made with loving care by my granddaughter, Daniela.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
4 cups jet puffed miniature marshmallows
6 cups of Kellogs Rice Krispies cereal.

Directions dictated by Daniela

Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan. Then I add all the marshmallows to the pan. Then we stir until all the marshmallows melt. Add the rice krispies to the marshmallow/butter mixture.
Take a pyrex dish, spray with cooking spray, put the mixture from the pan into the dish. Smooth the mixture out and wait for it to cool.
Now you can cut into squares with a knife. And if you wish use candy canes, M & M's for a nose and shimmer confetti for the eyes to make reindeer.
I spread icing and sprinkles on a few and decorated some with M & M's.

Roasted Green Chick Peas

Ingredients

Green Chick Peas
Salt
Water

Directions

Add a teaspoon of salt to a cup of water and stir to dissolve. Pour the salted water onto the chickpeas and flip them well for even distribution of salt and water.
Then in a roasting pan, roast at 350 degrees fahrenheit, stirring from time to time for 15 minutes and no more as they can easily burn. I made the mistake of grilling and they were dreadful, Ayesha in Ramallah wrote that roasting them on the barbecue won't work, the fire is too hot.

Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad
From  Bon Appetit

Ingredients
6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
1 small garlic clove
Kosher Salt
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus more
3/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
Freshly ground pepper

For the Croutons
3 cups torn 1” pieces of country bread with crusts
3 tablespoons olive oil

The Lettuce
3 romaine hearts, leaves separated

The Dressing
Chop together anchovy fillets, garlic, and pinch of salt Use the side of a knife blade to mash into a paste, then scrape into a medium bowl. Whisk in egg yolk, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 3/l4 teaspoon dijon mustard. Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in olive oil then vegetable oil - whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice if desired.

DO AHEAD…. Can be made one day ahead.

The Croutons
Make your own, Tearing, not cutting the bread ensure nooks and crannies that catch the dressing and add texture. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss bread with olive oil on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bake, tossing occasionally until golden 10-15 minutes.

The Lettuce
Use whole leaves; they provide the ideal mix of crispness, surface area, and structure.

The Cheese
Caesars crowned with a mound of grated Parmesan may look impressive, but all the clumpy cheese mutes the dressing. Instead, use a vegetable peeler to thinly shave a modest amount on top for little salty bursts.

The Assembly
Skip the tongs, Use your hands to gently toss the lettuce, crouton, and dressing, then top off with the shave Parmesan.

The Crispiest, Crunchiest French Fries Ever!

I have stumbled into the final perfect recipe for truly crispy crunchy French fries thanks to my granddaughter, Daniela, who suddenly had a yearning for French fries but the only potatoes in the house were already baking in the oven. The baking potatoes had been in the oven for a little under half an hour, and I wondered if I took some out, took the skins off and sliced them, whether that would  work. They were perfectly crispy and crunchy, soft on the inside and disappeared in minutes! I used to peel and slice the potato first then soak them in cold water. Drying the potatoes on paper towels then deep frying, the potatoes always seemed to be a bit pappy, sometimes we tried frying the potatoes twice, but nothing has ever come close to this latest method!

Ingredients

6 baking potatoes
Salt
Vegetable Oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 405 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash the potatoes and place in a baking dish, pierce the potato skin with a fork in two places then sprinkle the potatoes with salt.
Bake in the oven uncovered for half an hour.
Remove
Let cool a bit.
Peel off the skin and slice into French fry pieces.
In a saucepan, heat vegetable oil approximately one inch deep.
Let the oil become hot so that when you drop a French fry in the oil, it sizzles.
The fries brown really fast, do a small batch at a time.
Let fries drain on a paper towel
Serve with tomato ketchup or whatever you love to dip your fry in.
Excellent by themselves too!

Leila's Fried Chicken Winglets

Ingredients

Winglets, or chicken wings
White Vinegar
Adobe
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Salt
Soy Sauce
Vegetable Oil

Directions

Soak the chicken in white vinegar for 30 minutes
After the chicken has soaked, drain off the vinegar.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Adobe,1 teaspoon garlic powder, a shake of black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and 4 good shakes of soy sauce over the chicken. Mix together.

Dip chicken in flour completely so it is coated. Shake excess flour off.
Pour vegetable oil into a pan so the oil is about 1 inch deep and heat.
Make sure vegetable oil is hot on the fire approximately 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fry chicken until golden brown on all side, turning the wings once or twice.
Drain on paper towel.