During the holiday season there’s nothing better than doing a little bit of baking with friends and family. These are some of Martin’s students’ and staff’s favorite recipes to make around the holidays. They might even become some of yours.

Junior Morgan Lamb’s Puppy Chow 

Ingredients:

• 9 cups Chex cereal 
• 1 cup peanut butter (add more to your liking)
• 1 bag chocolate chips
• A tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

• Melt the peanut butter with the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave until smooth
• Mix in Chex cereal with the peanut butter chocolate chip mixture until completely combined (careful not to crush the cereal)
• Then add in your powdered sugar until the cereal is completely coated

Mrs. Bailey’s gooey butter spice cookies

“Gooey Butter Spice Cookie is the only cake mix cookie I love,” Food Science teacher Donevera Bailey said. “That’s right, I made these using a spice cake mix. I learned how to make cake mix cookies years ago and have never really been a fan, until these. They are so perfectly soft and gooey and turn out just right every time. The secret ingredient is the cream cheese. It does something special.”

*Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) box spice cake mix

1 stick of butter

1 egg

1 (8oz) block cream cheese 

1 t Vanilla (sometimes I use 2, I love vanilla!) 

Powder sugar 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. 
• Add in vanilla and egg. Mix well. 
• Stir in cake mix until well combined. Make sure there are no dry lumps. 
• Allow dough to chill for at least one or two hours. It’ll make it much easier to scoop. 
• Scoop into 1 inch round balls. Roll in powdered sugar. 
• Press each cookie just a bit to flatten out each cookie to your liking. These cookies do not spread very much. 
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. You want your cookies to be a bit gooey in the middle, so try not to over bake them. 
• Allow to cool on the pan for one to two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 
• Once cool, dust each cookie with more powdered sugar. 

Junior Amanda Kohutek’s gluten free reindeer sugar cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla

1 egg

2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend

1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat sugar, shortening, and softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. On low speed, beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in gluten free flour blend, baking powder, and salt until well mixed. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate about an hour or until firm.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle the surface lightly with flour blend and roll out each half of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with upside down gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter to make reindeer shape. Place one inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to the cooling rack after a few minutes. Cool completely. Use chocolate cookie icing to make the shape of reindeer. You can use red icing for nose and black or white for eyes and nose. Embellish antlers as desired with Christmas sprinkles and icing. 

Junior Toskas Holsopple’s chocolate-chipless chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 ½ cups brown sugar (packed)

1 large egg +1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt 

 Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

-Melt butter

-Add brown sugar to a large bowl

-Pour melted butter over sugar.

-Stir to combine butter and sugar. Let stand five minutes.

-Add egg and egg yolk; stir to combine.

– stir in vanilla extract

– add flour baking soda and salt

– use a medium scoop and place scoops two inches apart

– bake for about 7-10 minutes or until the edge soft the cookies are golden brown. The centers should still look soft. 

Trussell family chocolate cake

Sift together and set aside:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Bring to a boil:

• 2 sticks margarine
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 cup water

Add dry ingredients and blend well.

Add:

• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

Mix well and  pour into a greased (spray with Pam) sheet pan (jelly roll) bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Icing

Prepare 5 minutes before the cake is done and ice while the cake is hot.

Over medium heat mix:

• 1 stick margarine
• 4 tablespoons cocoa

Add:

• 6 tablespoons milk (add 4 then add one at a time more until you reach the right thickness)
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)