Teen treats for holidays

J-W Advisory Board members share favorite recipes

Brandi Nichols,a sophomore at Baldwin High School, prepares to eat Mom's Pumpkin Bread. The bread is one of Nichols' favorite holiday treats.

Clockwise from top left are Dad's Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball, cookies, Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies, Holiday Helpers, Mom's Pumpkin Bread and Peanut Brittle. Aunt Myrna's Cookies are at center left; Glazed Pecans are at center right. Recipes for some treats are provided below.

With school out for the holidays until Jan. 5, there is plenty of time to make and munch on holiday treats.

Members of the Journal-World Teen Advisory Board recently shared their favorite recipes for the holidays; they are kid-friendly to cook.

Below you will find recipes for Glazed Pecans, Mom’s Pumpkin Bread, Holiday Helpers, Aunt Myrna’s Cookies, Peanut Brittle and Dad’s Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball.

Glazed Pecans

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2 cups pecans

2 tablespoons margarine

3/4 cups sugar

Stir margarine and sugar together in frying pan to melt. Add nuts. Stir mixture until caramelized and nuts are coated and brown, but not burnt. Pour on cookie sheet to cool. Separate into pieces.

— Submitted by Willie Jordan, fifth-grader, Raintree Montessori School

Mom’s Pumpkin Bread

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1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cups water

1 cup cooking oil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

3 1/2 cups flour

4 eggs

2 cups pumpkin (preferably Libby’s)

Optional walnuts and raisins

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, Grease four 1-pound coffee cans and fill each halfway with batter. Bake one hour at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and allow cans to cool about 10 minutes. Bread should easily fall out when removed.

— Submitted by Brandi Nichols, sophomore at Baldwin High School.

Holiday Helpers

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24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels

12 ounces butterscotch morsels

12-ounce can cocktail peanuts

6-9 ounces crunchy chow mien noodles

Melt all chocolate and butterscotch morsels in a double boiler or large saucepan on low heat. Once chips are melted smooth, add nuts. Stir well. Begin adding chow mien noodles. Stir mixture to evenly coat with chocolate. Drop by tablespoon onto a waxed paper to cool and harden. Yields approximately 40 cookies.

— Submitted by Alek Joyce, sixth-grader at Pinckney School.

Aunt Myrna’s Cookies

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1 cup butter, softened

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup sugar

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

Mix together and drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned, approximately nine-12 minutes. Do no overbake (Optional: Roll in sugar before baking). Makes eight dozen.

— Submitted by Chloe Mercer, seventh-grader at South Junior High School.

Peanut Brittle

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2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup corn syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 pound raw Spanish peanuts

2 to 3 teaspoons baking soda

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

In a Dutch oven, mix the granulated sugar, the corn syrup and the brown sugar. Stir until thoroughly mixed and sugar dissolves over medium heat. Then cover Dutch oven and cook for three minutes over medium heat. Remove lid. Place candy thermometer in mixture. Stir occasionally until mixture forms into a soft-ball stage (234 degrees). Add peanuts. Stir until mixture reaches the hard-crack stage (300 degrees). Add baking soda, vanilla, butter and salt. Turn off heat and stir thoroughly until mixed into candy base. Use a spatula to divide the mixture out into two well-buttered cookie sheets. Flatten to the thickness of a peanut. Wait until it cools but is still elastic. Stretch the mixture to 130 degrees to 180 degrees of its original size. Let set until the mixture harden.

— Submitted by Bart Solbach, junior at Perry-Lecompton High School.

Dad’s Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

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1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3/4 cups mini chocolate chips

1/2 to 3/4 cups finely chopped pecans

Mix together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for two hours. Shape into a ball and roll in pecans. Refrigerate one hour or until time to serve. Serve with graham crackers.

Hint: The more you mix it after adding the brown sugar, the smoother the texture becomes — like cheesecake. The less you mix it after adding brown sugar, the more the texture resembles cookie dough.

— Submitted by Chloe Mercer, seventh-grader at South Junior High School.