Jessica's Joyful Kitchen

One of my missions while at home last week was to get my great-grandfather’s corn bread recipe from Mom. It has a fluffy interior and crunchy exterior that I haven’t been able to replicate using other recipes. My sister and I were very close to my great-grandparents and miss them dearly. I have such fond memories of them, and even shared my grandpa’s birthday, I was his “Birthday Girl”. When I was young we always celebrated together. 3 Tbsp Bacon grease or butter 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup milk 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal* 1 cup all-purpose flour Preheat a 9-in. cast iron skillet with bacon grease or butter while the oven is heating to 425 degrees. Mix liquids and stir in dry ingredients (do not over mix). Pour batter into the hot skillet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Flip onto serving dish and allow to cool slightly before slicing. * You can make your own self-rising cornmeal     ...

4 large bone-in chicken thighs, skins removed (about 1 1/2 pounds) 2 tablespoons grainy French mustard 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 clove minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram 2 tablespoons maple syrup Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Combine mustard, garlic, marjoram and maple syrup in a small bowl. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons mustard mixture evenly on top of each chicken thigh, being careful to cover as much of the surface as possible to form a "crust." Arrange chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until mustard mixture has formed a crust and is slightly hardened, and juices run clear when the chicken is pierced. Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger

Last year I had a little extra batter and decided to turn them into cookies, we loved them so much that this year I purposely bought enough extra ingredients to bake a whole batch. Most of these will be finding their way into our travel luggage. Prepare the batter . Scoop out cookies (I used a medium scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet, 2-inches a part. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Brush with a small "swipe" of brandy while still warm.

I’ve always wanted to make sugar plums, I' don’t recall ever having them before and I have no idea if this is close to the original variety or not, but when I found this recipe I thought it was quite doable. It turns out that these remind me of one very delicious thing…Larabars!! For now these are still fresh in the fridge, but when I package them up to give to my favorite Gluten-free friend, Kelly , I plan to dust them with snow (aka powdered sugar). 1 cup whole almonds 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped) 1/2 cup pitted dates (chopped) 1/2 cup dried figs (chopped) 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons icing sugar 1. Pulse nuts and dried fruits in a food processor. Add honey and spices and pulse until slightly sticky clumps form. 2. Roll small balls out of the mixture. 3. Dust with powdered sugar. Recipe courtesy of Closet Co...

1 c all purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 1 c butter, softened 1/4 c packed brown sugar 1/2 c sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 4 oz bakers white chocolate, chopped 3/4 c macadamia nuts, pecans or walnuts, chopped 2 1/2 c old fashioned oats 1 c dried cranberries Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. In another bowl beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add flour mixture. Mix well. Stir in coarsely chopped white chocolate and nuts, oats and cranberries. Mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 14 - 16 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool and store in a tightly covered container. Recipe courtesy of The Pampered Chef