The holiday season always means many delicious treats and baked goods for the whole family to eat up. One cookie that always disappears quick during the holiday season is Molasses Sugar Cookies. Over the years, we got bored of the usual sugar cookies and switched things up to these. They are a great addition to any dessert table, and a treat that all ages will enjoy. Check out Cooking Mommy’s Molasses Sugar Cookies recipe now.

Molasses Sugar Cookies Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
2. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
4. Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp. If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!

There is one item I never leave out of a fancy meal, squash. Sadly, I am the only person in my household that LOVES squash. There are a lot of squash recipes I try, but this is one of my favorite. The children will also eat it when I do a baked acorn squash. Check out Cooking Mommy’s Baked Acorn Squash recipe now!

Baked Acorn Squash Recipe

• 2 acorn squash, halved and seeded
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup butter, diced
• 6 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place squash in a shallow baking pan, cut side down.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until tender.
4. Turn cut side up; season with salt and pepper, dot with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
5. Bake for 20 minutes more.

Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up quick, which has left us putting together a variety of recipes to whip out throughout the holidays. One dip that is a great addition to the table happens to be a delicious, creamy Pumpkin Dip. Cooking Mommy’s thought we’d share this recipe with you and hope it is something you can use on your Thanksgiving menu this year.

Pumpkin Dip Recipe

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

1. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
2. Gradually mix in the pumpkin.
3. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended.
4. Chill until serving.

Tangy marinated chicken and mushrooms, wrapped in bacon and skewered. Excellent for entertaining and trying something new! These are a must try! (They can also be broiled instead of grilled if low on time.) We couldn’t resist this recipe here at Cooking Mommy’s and we hope it is one you love as well!

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 10 large mushrooms, cut in half
• 2 green onions, minced
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into chunks
• 1/2 pound sliced thick cut bacon, cut in half
• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
• skewers

1. In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, cider vinegar, honey, canola oil, and green onions. Place the mushrooms and chicken into the mixture, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill for high heat.
3. Remove the mushrooms and chicken from the marinade and shake off excess. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes; set aside.
4. Wrap the chicken chunks with bacon, and thread onto skewers so that the bacon is secured. Alternate with mushroom halves and pineapple chunks.
5. Lightly oil the grill grate. Arrange skewers on the prepared grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with remaining soy sauce mixture, until bacon is crisp and chicken juices run clear.

With the kids back in school, I now have the ability to enjoy lunches that they would normally fuss on eating. This has led me to contemplating a lot of recipes, and one keeps sticking out as a must have for this Mama! Check out Cooking Mommy’s Smoked Turkey Tortilla Wraps recipe now…

• 10 whole wheat flour tortillas
• 10 slices smoked turkey, cut into thin strips
• 1 avocado – peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 cup sour cream, for topping
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese

1. Heat flour tortillas in a large skillet over medium heat until slightly browned.
2. Divide turkey strips, avocado, sour cream, and cheese among the warmed tortillas.
3. Fold in half and serve.

Here at Cooking Mommy’s we are always trying out new recipes, and trying to manipulate long loved recipes to be even better. Being bread machine owners, we love when we encounter delicious bread machine recipes. For those that do not own a bread machine, this recipe can be cooked in your oven as well! Trust me, this banana bread recipe has become a family favourite and one we are making almost daily.

• 2 large eggs
• 1/3-cup butter
• 1 ounce (1/8 cup) milk
• 2 Bananas, medium, mashed
• 1-1/3 cups bread flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2-teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2-teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
2. Measure eggs, butter, milk and bananas into the bread pan and set aside.
3. In a medium-mixing bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients.
4. Mix well and add to the bread pan.
5. Use Quick Bread setting for your machine.

There are some recipes I will do anything to learn how to make and this is one that I was very desperate to master. I love fresh blueberry muffins, and with my daughter being a huge blueberry fan I knew this would be a killer recipe. Out of the many blueberry muffin recipes out there, this is one of my favorite recipes. Check out Cooking Mommy’s Low Fat Blueberry Muffins recipe now!

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 superfine sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 3 tbsp low fat margarine
• 2/3 cup thick low fat plain yogurt/blueberry flavored yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place 12 muffin paper liners in a muffin pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and half of the allspice into a large mixing bowl. Add 6 tablespoons of the superfine sugar and mix together.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites together. Add the margarine, yogurt and vanilla extract and mix together well, then stir in the blueberries until thoroughly mixed. Add to the flour mixture, then gently stir together until just combined. Do not over stir the batter, it is fine for it to be a little lumpy.
4. Divide the muffin batter evenly among the paper liners (they should be about two-thirds full). Mix the remaining sugar with the remaining allspice, then sprinkle the mixture over the muffins.
5. Bake in the preheated over for 25 minutes, or until risen and golden. Remove the muffins from the oven and serve warm, or place them on a wire rack and let cool.

Dinner can sometimes be a difficult time in our home, so there is at least one night a week where I make something I know I’ll love, and the kids will eat whatever their little hearts desire. Tonight, is one of those nights! The kids are usually pretty good eaters by the end of our meals, but there are some days I have no patience on the meal hour and want to eat something I’ll love, and they eat something they love. Might leave me making two meals, but I get over it. Tonight, for our special adult dinner Cooking Mommy’s is turning to the oh so delicious Chicken Marsala recipe. Check it out now!

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano.
2. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
3. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat.
4. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown.
5. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms.
6. Pour in wine and sherry.
7. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

We thought with strawberries being in full swing right now and many of us consuming excessive amounts of strawberries, it was only right to do a Strawberry Shortcake recipe! Summer has been a hot, sweaty summer and this recipe will surely make any hot day a delicious one. Check out Cooking Mommy’s Strawberry Shortcake recipe now.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup butter
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 3 tablespoons white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar.
3. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives. Stir in cream and egg.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 2 minutes. Press into a half-inch thick sheet. Cut into squares. Place on baking sheets.
5. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden.
6. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar over sliced berries.
7. Let shortcakes cool before splitting and filling with sugared berries.

When I was younger, I always was nominated to make my older brothers french toast. It was one thing I made that they always enjoyed, and as I got older I found new ways to make it even better. Now that my children are getting older, and appreciating the foods I put onto the table, I have introduced french toast to them! Just like my brothers, they love it and I love making it. This recipe is different from your average french toast recipe, but it is so good. Check out Cooking Mommy’s Fluffy French Toast recipe now…

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 12 thick slices bread

1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk.
2. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
4. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated.
5. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.