Christmas Baking: Some new things for you to try...

I have been baking like a crazy person! I am still not done making everything I plan to make but who knows, I may be forgoing some of the plan because I am running out of days! Here is a tray of some of the things I've made lately. Jace took this to work the other day. The buckeyes aren't baked but I have a great recipe for them. Maybe I'll share that another day. I really love making candy at Christmas (chocolate candy). :) And of course I made some sour cream sugar cookies. These are especially lovely, if I do say so myself. I love white frosting with sanding sugar or edible glitter.

Okay, on to the recipes in this post. The bars on the far left of the picture are called Caramel Chip Bars. But my family affectionately knows them as Excedrin Bars. My dad nicknamed them this after deciding they were worth the headache he would get after eating them. :) His sister makes them each year for our family Christmas. They are a Taste of Home recipe, you can find here. They are a rich and super sweet cookie, I like them cut really small.

And finally, I tried these Pistachio Cookies for the first time this year. They were a simple (started with a cookie mix), festively colored option (the green cookies in this picture). I made them for a cookie exchange with my moms small group.

The recipe:

1 pouch of sugar cookie mix (like Betty Crocker, 1 pound, 1.5 ounce)
1 box of pistachio instant pudding and pie filling
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 eggs

Mix and drop by teaspoon full unto baking sheet. Press down slightly with fingers to flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to wire rack.

I made these two ways. The first batch I mixed in 1/2 c. of dry roasted, salted pistachios slightly chopped and 1/2 c. dried cranberries before baking. These aren't in the picture - I really liked them. They were a recipe I found on All Recipe's site. And the second way, add a 1/2 teaspoon of almond flavoring to the cookie dough and 1 c. of mini chocolate chips. After you remove them from the oven, put a thumbprint in the center of each cookie and add a chocolate covered pistachio by sticking it down with a bit of almond frosting piped on in the thumbprint depression.

Enjoy! And have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!

After school snack: Apple Cider Breakfast Bars

I made these bars for the kids recently that I found on the back of the cider jug. They were an intriguing combination. And required me to reduce cider which I had never tried before. As usual with me, I plunged ahead anyway and I think I did it right??? :) It was fun to do. I did have to pour the reduced cider into a measuring cup a couple times to check how close I was to the correct amount and had to pour it back into the pan then and go a bit further. It ends up not giving the bars a cider flavor but an extra sweet flavor. Maybe they would have had more apple taste if I had used dried apples with the cider reduction, I just didn't have any on hand.

The recipe:

1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. softened butter
4 c. toasted o's cereal
1 c. cider
1/2 c. chopped dried apples (optional)
1 egg
1 c. oats
1/2 t. salt
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil apple cider and chopped dried apples (if using) in a saucepan until reduced to 1/4 c. Mix sugar, butter, peanut butter, cider, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except the cereal. Then gently stir in cereal. Pour (more scoop) into an ungreased 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

I liked this recipe and I think I'd make them again but I was kind of surprised by how the texture of the o's was changed by baking. It gave the bars a chewy texture. The kids gobbled them up and they made a super after school treat. Give them a try and see what you think.

Pumpkin Cookies...

Here are some recent pumpkins I made. I was inspired by these pumpkin decorated cupcakes. I decided that three small circle cookies made from my sour cream cookie recipe and decorated with my almond frosting would be cute decorated in this same way.
This takes a ton of frosting! :) I should have used my very smallest round cutter. About an inch in diameter would be the right size. And make your frosting very stiff -
use extra powdered sugar. And don't forget to pipe frosting between the cookie layers.

I wrapped them up and shared them with my mom's group small group.
They were cute and yummy! Give it a try in these next few days before Halloween. But maybe plan to make only part of the batch into these and cut the rest with a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter. Otherwise you will need 10 sticks of butter and lots and lots of time. :)

Pretty in Pink: Maraschino Cherry Cake

I made this yummy and pretty pink cake early in the summer but never had a chance to share. This picture was all that was left to photograph by the time I remembered to do it. :)

I was really intrigued by this recipe with it's egg whites and maraschino cherries. It is from "Old-Fashioned Baking Book" by Jim Fobel. I found it at a flea market in Florida about 18 months ago. It was a really fun find. Full of fun recipes that I have yet to try. I need to get to work on that...

The recipe:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. granulated sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. juice from maraschino cherries
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. vegetable shortening
4 large egg whites
18 maraschino cherries, drained and quartered

Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease two 8-inch round cake pans (or I used a 9 x 13). Line bottom with waxed paper and then grease the paper (if using rounds, not necessary if you are using a 9 x 13).

In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl stir together milk and cherry juice. Add to the flour mixture along with the vanilla, almond, butter and shortening. Beat with an electric mixer just until smooth. Add the egg whites and beat for 3 minutes at medium speed. With a spoon, stir in cherries. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely and remove round cake from pans before frosting with Cream Cheese frosting or frost in 9 x 13 pan, if desired.

This is a unique cake - not over the top sweet. Lovely with the cream cheese frosting. When I make it again I will add more cherries. The original recipe calls for walnuts but we are a no nut family so I skipped those and felt like it needed more cherries in the mix. Just my two cents. :)

Enjoy!

Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookie Bars

I made these yummy and fast treats for a recent meeting I had.
Here they are all wrapped up and ready to go.

I hope to be posting more regularly now that fall has arrived. I have more time to bake and several things I have already baked and haven't had the chance to share yet. Stay tuned!

The recipe:

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 c. of Crisco
3/4 c. of brown sugar
3/4 c. of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
1 t. soda
2 1/4 c. of flour
1/2 c. of old fashioned oats
3/4 c. of dried cranberries
1 1/2 c. of white chocolate chips

Blend butter, Crisco and both kinds of sugars. Add eggs and mix until well blended. Add vanilla, salt and soda and flour. Mix well. Add oats, cranberries and white chocolate chips. Mix until just blended. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake in a 365 degree oven for about 22 minutes or until golden brown around edges but not over baked. Cool and cut into 20 bars.

I love these for a fast and easy sweet addition to a brunch. And I think they are best enjoyed the day after baking. They are just perfect then. Enjoy!

Pizza Crust

I realized I did not post temp for oven or cooking time in the original post: 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes.

Original post:

A savory baking recipe for you today. Pizza crust. This recipe was originally shared on the Reading Rainbow program on PBS. Years ago. My mom started using it then for her own homemade pizza. It's simple and delicious.

The recipe:

1 c. warm (not hot water)
1 to 1 1/2 T. instant yeast
1/2 T. sugar to feed the yeast.

Swirl together and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. This will get your yeast working.

Add...
2 1/2 c. to 3 c. bread flour (you can use all-purpose, but bread really is best)
1 t. salt or garlic salt for a little more flavor

Knead in the last 1/2 c to 1 c of flour. Mixing this with the dough hook on a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer is easiest - allow dough hook to knead about 5 minutes. Allow to rest, covering bowl with a clean towel for half an hour to an hour. Oil pizza pan and your hands well. Spread dough out on pan. Top with your favorite pizza toppings.

Makes one large, thick crust pizza. I used this amount to make the two smaller pizzas pictured in this post with slightly thinner crusts.

Making Baking Healthier: Blueberry Lemon Cookies Revisited

One of my sweet friends just recently discovered I am blogging about baking when she saw my blueberry lemon cookie post posted to my facebook. She immediately tried the recipe out but gave it her own healthier twist. I asked her if I could share the healthier version with you and she agreed!!!

This is a photograph of her blueberry lemon cakes taken by her. Don't they look great???? And here is her recipe and a few words from her too (all noted in italics.)

The recipe

1/2 c. butter (any trans fat free version should work)
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
(Didn't have zest, so...)
1.5 -2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 eggs (could have used 3 whites)
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. skim milk
Lots of blueberries

Mine went in at 350 degrees in greased extra large muffin tins. Each had about 3/4 of an ice cream scoop's worth of batter. They probably baked 15-20 minutes. I removed them still warm and covered them with lemon icing (just powdered sugar and lemon juice) My family devoured them! They are extra yummy served warm out of the oven with a fork... Splenda people could also use like 1/2 c. Splenda and 1/2 c. brown sugar and that would still be good with a lower glycemic index.

Thank you so much for sharing, Amanda!!!!! And share again any time. :) Love getting ideas for lighting a recipe. I can't wait to try this one. We have to go and pick some more blueberries!

Blueberry Lemon Cookies

My kids and I LOVE blueberry picking. We went to a nearby patch last weekend and had eight pounds to eat and cook and bake with!

I went hunting for some new blueberry recipes and found this recipe for blueberry lemon cookies on a website I will have to give credit to later because I am not finding it easily when googling the recipe tonight and it is written down upstairs. Anyway,

The recipe:

3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. lemon zest
2 eggs
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars; and lemon zest and eggs. Beat well. Add the baking powder and salt. Then add the flour and milk alternating between the two until total amounts are added. Beat well. Gently fold in berries. Drop by heaping tablespoons full unto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes.

These are super yummy and would be just perfect for a brunch. They reminded me of blueberry pancakes and I loved the hint of lemon in them.

So, find a nearby blueberry patch if you live in a place where blueberries grow and get picking!



***Side note: Don't you just love the new cutting board that the cookies are sitting on in the picture? My mom gave it to me - a man sells these beautiful wooden cutting boards at a craft show every year in beautiful Manistee, Michigan.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

My wonderful man's birthday was last week. His mother had already made him his very favorite - carrot cake. So I decided to make a strawberry/rhubarb crisp to eat on his birthday. He's a fan of most things sweet, so he was good with that plan. :)

The Recipe:

Fill a large pie plate with rhubarb cut into 1" pieces and strawberries sliced (about 3 c. of each) that have been mixed with 2 cups of sugar. (you can see from the picture, I used a 9 x 13 dish, if you decide to use that large of a baking dish, consider doubling the following topping recipe, if you really like the crisp part.)

The all important crisp topping -
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
5 1/3 T cold butter

Cut with a pastry blender or crumble with fingers until butter is in pea size pieces. Add a handful or two of old fashioned oats. Distribute evenly over rhubarb and strawberries. Bake at 375 for 40 to 50 minutes - until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Without further adieu, Molasses Krinkles!

The long awaited Molasses Krinkles post. These are a holiday favorite in our family. To give them a more summer twist, sandwich them with a bit of vanilla ice cream.

The Recipe:

Mix thoroughly -
3/4 c. soft shortening - NOT BUTTER
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses

Sift together and stir in -
2 1/4 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger

Chill dough. Roll into balls (about 1" in size); dip into a bit more sugar. Place sugar side up, 3 " apart on greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with 2 or 3 drops of water to produce cracks. Bake just until set but not hard at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Now for some reason, the picture above shows that mine turned out a bit more puffy then normal. They should be a bit flatter cookie. I guess I'll make another batch soon to see if I can get that right. :)

Coming soon...

Happy holiday weekend!

Just wanted you to know - I am baking strawberry/rhubarb crisp and molasses kringles today. I promise to post about them both soon. :)

I started a post on peanut butter sheet cake - if I have a chance today, I will finish it up and get it posted.

Thought you'd like to know, I am still baking - just baking and busy!!!!

This picture is of one of the cookie cakes I made recently to celebrate a new baby boy! Fun, fun. Read more cookie cakes here.

Swedish Pastry and What I've been up to lately...

So sorry for my absence on the blog. I had a couple of busy weeks and I wasn't even baking to be able to blog about it, if I had had the time to blog, which I didn't. :)

I attended the Orange conference in Georgia with a team from our church. It was a wonderful conference. So many new things to mull over, and real encouragement that our church really does a great job of loving kids and loving families. I am glad I am in a place that really great doesn't mean you don't keep working on making it even better. Anyway, all that to say that I was busy preparing to be away and then I was away and now I am home and trying to recover.

I baked Kristina Kregler or Swedish Pastry Tuesday for a brunch at our mom's group. It is one of my very favorite things and I love that, while it is pretty simple, it does take a little bit of technique to make it. I would love to learn how to really make pastry someday - you know from someone who was a professional. For now, I will continue to make Swedish pastry...

The Recipe:

1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
Use pastry cutter to cut together into pea-sized pieces.

2 T cold water. Add these one T. at a time. You will probably need to add more than just 2. I added 5 1/2 T. on Tuesday. You add one T. and toss it in with a fork. You want the dough to come together and away from the sides. Like this:

This was even a bit on the dry side but once I picked it up and put it into two equal sized balls, it worked fine. (Just an fyi, the above amounts and directions are how you mix a pie crust.)

Take each half of the dough and on an ungreased cookie sheet, using the heel of your hand, push the dough into 2, 3 inch strips, that are just about the length of the cookie sheet. (Keep dipping your heel of your hand into flour as you press the dough out.)

Set aside.

Next, in a saucepan, bring to a boil:
1 c. of water
1/2 c. of butter

Take off the fire immediately and add:
1 c. sifted flour

Stir until smooth and add
3 eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. (You may want to get your eggs ready by cracking all three into a juice glass - it makes adding them one at a time that much faster; and get your muscles ready - this is hard work mixing the eggs in)

Lastly, stir in:
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. almond flavoring

Spread this mixture on top of the first (see the previous picture). Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

When cool, frost with:
1 T. butter to 1 c. powdered sugar.
Add 1/2 t. almond flavoring and enough cream (or I used milk) to make the right consistency to drizzle over the top of the pastry. You can make the pastry ahead but do not frost until just before serving because it will get soggy.

Doesn't that look yummy????? Enjoy!!!!!

Making Baking Healthier: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I cleaned my cookbook cupboard last week. That is not the cookbook cupboard of a skinny person. It is the cookbook cupboard of a person who REALLY likes all things sweet. :)

I am not sure these cookies can really count under my making baking healthier title but I am going to put them there anyway. I cut the fat in half for these, plus, cut the chocolate chips by half and made them very small. This way they counted as 2 weight watchers points each.

They were still very tasty - friends even had some and agreed. The only problem is you still want to eat 6 or 8 at a time... Ah, well.

The recipe:

1/4 c. salted stick butter softened
1/4 c. shortening
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. flour
1/3 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and shortening. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar. Cream in eggs and vanilla.

Add baking soda, salt and first cup of flour. Add second cup of flour and mix until well combined. Then add handful of oats and the mini chips. Mix until just combined.

Dough will be a bit dry - loosely form 1 inch balls, just getting dough to stick together and place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Makes about 48 small cookies. Bake at 365 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!!

Failing at Macaroons...

So I have attempted to make macaroons two weekends in a row - once for a gathering with friends and once for Easter with the family. The recipe I was using was a weight watchers one but it's directions were horrible!!!

My first attempt didn't even deserve to be photographed - they turned out like mounds of coconut on top of a fried egg. Really gross looking - they tasted fine and I was able to salvage the second pan by adding some more coconut. And I dipped the bottoms in chocolate since I had to slice the first pan off the wax paper because of the fried egg situation - the chocolate held them together.

Anyway, all that to say that my second attempt was not a complete failure but they still weren't quite right but I thought I'd share them anyway. They were still very tasty and maybe I will make some that turn out to look like the picture on the recipe some day. And if not, oh well. Not everything I make is picture perfect. :) I think this second batch may have been over beaten - they were much more like meringues then macaroons.

The recipe:

3 egg whites
2/3 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. coconut (unsweetened if you can find it), packed into the measuring cup
1/3 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat the egg whites until they are holding soft peaks. Begin adding the sugar a little at a time while still mixing the egg whites. I mixed my second batch until the egg whites held stiff peaks. You can test the meringue to know it hold a stiff peak by dipping a spoon in - if it leaves a little mountain peak behind that holds it shape - the meringue holds stiff peaks.

Mix in by hand the vanilla and the coconut. Drop by level tablespoons full unto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Bake for about 15 minutes - until lightly browned. Move to a cooling rack - cool completely.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minutes stopping to mix them every 15 seconds. Put a small dollop of chocolate on the top of each cooled macaroon using a teaspoon. Cool in the refrigerator until the chocolate has set. About 30 minutes.

Makes about 36 macaroons.

Enjoy - even if they are more like meringues. :)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Mmmmm. Cream cheese frosting is the best. And so yummy on so many things.

These cupcakes I made last weekend for Linc's FINAL birthday celebration were diet and rather blah. Maybe not that bad but not great by any means. But they had GREAT frosting.

I even lightened it up a bit. :) I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese and half the butter of my regular recipe. It was still delicious.

The recipe:

8 oz. package, 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Softened.
4 T. butter. Also softened.
2 1/2 to 3 cups of powdered sugar

Cream cream cheese and butter. Begin adding sugar a cup at a time. Adding the last cup just a half cup at a time. Deciding if it needs the full three cups or not quite. You'll know when it's right.

Cream cheese frosting is kind of weird :) - it seems really thick at first but the more you mix and the more powdered sugar you add, the creamier and more frosting like it gets. This reduced butter recipe made a little less than a normal recipe but it was plenty (actually more than enough) to frost the 23 small diet cupcakes I made.

Give it a try - on your favorite cupcakes, on sour cream cookies. Really on anything. It is one of the things my dad has always said you could eat on sawdust. :)

Birthday Treats: Jello Cake and Milkshakes

My second son turned two this week. He has a St. Patrick's Day birthday. I made a jello cake to celebrate with my family last weekend. I thought about using lime jello, so it would be green, but I just hate lime flavoring. :)

I didn't get a good picture of just a slice of the cake so this one with sweet Lincoln will have to do.

I wanted this to be a cake I could eat while still attempting weight watchers so I tried to lighten it up. It's about 4 points a piece if it serves 16. And because I was sort of playing with the proportions of things - I'll give you the recipe the way I would do it next time.

The recipe:

yellow cake mix
10 oz. diet uncola (like Sprite Zero or diet 7UP)

Mix the cake mix and soda together. Pour into a lightly greased and floured bundt pan.
Bake as directed for a bundt shaped cake on the cake mix box. Allow cake to cool. Use a toothpick to poke holes all over the cake.

1 small package of sugar free strawberry gelatin
1 c. boiling water
1/2 c. cold water

Dissolve gelatin in the hot water and then add the cold. Pour over the baked and cooled and poked cake. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.

Frost with:

1 large package of sugar free vanilla pudding
1/4 c. confectioner sugar
1 c. cold milk
8 oz. lite cool whip

I can never remember - check the pudding box, but if you add the milk/pudding mix in the wrong order it will get lumpy. I think you need to add the milk than the pudding. Beat on low speed until combined. Add the confectioner sugar until combined. Then fold the pudding mixture into the cool whip. This actually was a little bit too much frosting for my diet soda cake. It is just the right amount for the cake mix prepared in the usual way. Have fun eating the extra. It's yummy. :)

Refrigerate until serving. Serves 16.

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And on Linc's birthday we had homemade mint shakes - instead of more cake. I just thought this was a fun picture, so I had to share. They were really yummy too!

Jazzing Up a Boxed Brownie Mix: Mint Brownies

.

This is such a simple thing - it really isn't a recipe but it is one of my favorite things to make.

Bake a box of brownies that have the chocolate chunks in them as directed on the box. Cool.

Whip up a batch of frosting (kind of like you can read about here) but instead of almond and vanilla flavorings at 1 t. of mint extract. And a couple drops of green food coloring.

Frost the brownies. And for a final, wonderful touch - melt one square of unsweetened or semi-sweet baking chocolate with 1 T. butter. Drizzle on top of the frosting and smooth into an even coat.

Refrigerate until serving. These are so yummy cold. Love them!!!!

Making Baking Healthier: Chocolate Cake with an unusual ingredient

I have decided to do Weight Watchers for a few weeks and I don't want it to mean I can't bake.

So I want hunting for some Weight Watchers dessert recipes and I found LaaLoosh. While searching her dessert recipes, I found a Weight Watchers' Dark Chocolate Cake.

I gave it a try - even though it has a very unusual ingredient, sauerkraut. Yes, you read right - sauerkraut. I don't know why exactly but it works and you'd never know it was in there. Jace even ate two pieces of it (though he said it had a weird after-taste - Ella and I didn't agree).

Be brave and try it yourself. It serves 14 and only has 4 weight watchers points per serving. Even with a little sprinkle of powdered sugar and drizzle of Hershey's syrup.

Here's the recipe:

2 c. of all-purpose flour
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 c. hot water
1 t. vanilla
1 c. sauerkraut, pureed until smooth (think applesauce consistency)
1 t. unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a Bundt pan with non-fat cooking spray with flour (I didn't do that - I was careful to hardly coat it with a bit of canola oil and a bit of flour, I'm sure that added a bit more to the point count but hardly and I just didn't have any spray on hand).

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and 2/3 c. cocoa together. Add melted butter, hot water, and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in center of the oven for about 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan at least 20 minutes before turning out onto serving platter. Sprinkle with 1 t. cocoa.

So good!!!

Celebrating a New Baby Girl...

I made another batch of sour cream cookies this week.

This time I needed something special for a bit of a baby shower for a mom who is a part of the leadership team at our mom's group. I dressed them up as little cakes, remembering some cookie cakes I had seen in some Martha Stewart publication a few years ago. They had my almond flavored frosting on them. I piped it on with a round tip.



Didn't they turn out so sweet? I think you could easily make them work for a baby boy too. Or won't they be fun for a tea party? I was pleased with the result.

If you want to make some cookie cakes - follow that sour cream cookie recipe. And cut out equal numbers of three different size rounds. I used every other size of a graduated set of circle cookie cutters.

Then whip up a batch of frosting (fairly stiff). Make it any color you choose and fill a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe frosting between the layers of cookies - to stick them together. I piped my flower onto the top of the small cookie before placing it on the medium size cookie. When all the cookies are frosted together and stacked up, add the small dots around the seams where the cookies meet. Wah-lah... Beautiful cookie cakes to celebrate with an expecting mom!!!!

Making Baking Healthier: Shannon's Peanut Butter Jumbos

These cookies are some that my friend modified. They were already a flour free cookie. Plus they have the good fat of the peanut butter and tons of yummy oats. They are a really good, healthier cookie.

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

1/4 c. butter softened
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
(Shannon uses natural, I've done it with both. Either works well)
3 eggs

Cream together. Add:

2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
4 1/2 c. uncooked rolled oats
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips

Until combined. You may want to lightly grease your cookie sheet. Drop by heaping tablespoon full unto cookie sheet. You may need to press the dough together slightly and/or press the chips into the dough. Bake for about 10 minutes until set and slightly browned.

Shannon doesn't add all the chips that I do. But my family really likes all the chips. :) Think of these as kind of a homemade granola bar. You could certainly add dried fruit instead of some of the chips.

The original peanut butter jumbo recipe has twice the sugar and twice the butter that this recipe has. And the cookies are baked in a larger size - thus the name. But I like them smaller.

Try them - you'll love them.

a family favorite: Sour Cream Sugar Cookies all dressed for Valentine's Day

For Ella's school Valentine party, I made a batch of a family favorite: sour cream sugar cookies. These are one of my mom's signature recipes. I am not as good at making them as she is but I get a little better every time I try. :)

The recipe:

1 c. soft butter
1 c. sugar

Cream together.

1 c. sour cream
1 t. vanilla extract
3 egg yokes

Mix until blended.

1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
3 c. flour

Add and mix some more. I add just under the 3 c. of flour when mixing. I add the rest when I roll them out. Chill at least 1 hour. But ideally overnight. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick being generous with flour. Cut out. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.



Here is a picture of the dough before it is chilled. I wanted you to see what a gooey mess it is. That's how it's supposed to look. :) I rip off two large sections of plastic wrap and wrap it in that before placing it in the fridge to chill. This is another tip from my mom. Because it is such a gooey dough, it chills faster in the smaller amount plus you have a smaller amount to work with when you take it out to roll. The less time it has to warm up, the easier it is to get it rolled out and unto the baking sheets.



These are a really tender cookie. SUPER soft. That makes them perfect for drizzling with a glaze. My mom used an almond flavored glaze. Sometimes I will decorate them with a pastry bag. Spreading frosting on them with a knife can be too difficult because they are so tender.



Here they are all ready to go to the party. Mmmmm.

My first "dump" cake...

Have you checked out Bakerella's website? I recently discovered her - wow, does she make some elaborate things and I love her blog's name. Her snowman pops look amazing. The other day she had this post about Peach Crunch Cake. I had to try it.

Here's a picture of how mine turned out.



We really loved it and almost the entire 9 x 13 is already gone 24 hours later.

The recipe is in bakerella's post but if I was going to do it again, I'd make a few changes:

I'd use more peaches - hers called for 24.5 oz. I even used more this time around but I'd do even more when I make it again. I used two 15 oz. cans and I think I could even use three cans. Maybe it would make it more runny or take it a bit longer to bake??? But I just felt the delicious topping could have used more fruit beneath it.

I also skipped the nuts on almost the entire thing (we have no nut people in our house - not allergies, just dislike of them.) But for a small section on one end - I used chopped pecans instead of walnuts like the recipe called for. Loved it!

Give this one a try. You'll be so glad you did! So easy and delicious!

Frosting: A no need to measure recipe...

These are mini cupcakes that I sent to school for Ella's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Nothing special about the cupcakes, just a box of chocolate cake but aren't they fabulous with that little bit of sparkle on top???? (have you ever seen that edible glitter - find it near other cake decorating products at craft stores, mine was from Jo Ann's)

Anyway, I thought these would be fun to share because while the baking was nothing special the frosting was homemade and isn't frosting an important part of baking? Of course. :)

I don't measure to make my frosting but I will try to give you some rough amounts so you can try it.

I start with a little softened butter
(1/2 stick to 3/4 stick butter)
Beat until fluffy
Add a cup or so of powdered sugar and a dash of milk
Beat together
Add some more powdered sugar and another splash of milk, plus any food coloring you want to add and flavoring. I like my butter cream frosting flavored with 1/2 t. almond and a splash of vanilla.
Now you've added all the other liquids besides milk, continue to add powdered sugar and splashes of milk until it is spreading consistency.
My guess is you should add between 3 and 4 cups of powdered sugar, plus about 3 T. milk.

Yummy!

Making Baking Healthier: Brownies

Can you bake things that are a bit better for you? Can you add some good things to baking and take out some of the things that aren't good for you? I attempt it every now and then and plan to attempt it more. Because when you love to bake and you love to eat what you bake, the results can be bad. :)

So today a recipe for low-fat brownies. These aren't no fat, just lower fat. And they certainly aren't health food - they still have a lot of sugar, but a good choice if you really need a brownie. They are really yummy. I found the recipe in a Kraft Food and Family Magazine (a great free magazine - does Kraft still offer it? I haven't gotten it in a while but always found it had some good recipe ideas + some coupons). It's from the Winter 2008 issue.

The Recipe:

4 squares unsweetened Baking chocolate
1/3 c. Canola oil
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
8 large egg whites
1 c. flour
1/2 c. chopped pecans if you like (I skip these, we have nut haters at our house plus they do add fat, but healthy fat and fiber. :) )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over the sides of the pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH, in 1 min intervals. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add oil, applesauce and vanilla; mix well. Stir in sugar. Add egg whites; stir until well blended. Add flour and pecans; mix well. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake 25 min. or until brownies start to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely. Remove brownies from pan using foil handles.

Makes 24 servings, 1 brownie each.

I find these work perfectly for cutting out with a good, metal cookie cutter because you lift them right out of the pan with the foil. I usually make mine heart shaped, you wouldn't want to use a very complicated cut-out. We had them last week for Ella's birthday. She's a chocolate lover. :) That's when I took my picture of them.

Enjoy!

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

We had friends coming to dinner on Sunday and I was planning mini-burgers for dinner. I wanted to keep my mini theme for dessert plus I wanted to use my new mini-muffin pans that I received for Christmas and I may be slightly mini obsessed. :) They are just so cute!!!!!

If you are feeling brave (these are kind of labor intensive) and want to make your own mini-lemon meringue pies, you’ll need:

2 mini-muffin pans (48 count total)

2 ½ inch circle cookie cutter

3 frozen pie crusts

For lemon filling:

3 large egg yolks

1 ½ c. sugar

1/3 c. plus 1 T. cornstarch

1 ½ c. water

3 T. stick butter

½ c. lemon juice

2 drops yellow food color

For Meringue:

3 large egg whites

¼ t. cream of tartar

6 T. sugar

½ t. vanilla

Heat oven to 475 degrees.

Cut 48 2 ½ inch circles from the thawed pie crusts.

(You could certainly make the crust from scratch and then cut circles from it, but I decided not to do that this time. These mini pies were a little labor and time intensive already, so I saved some time with the frozen crusts.)

Lightly grease the mini-muffin pans. Place a pie crust circle into each mini-muffin cup. Press down and poke the bottom with a fork. Bake these mini-crusts for about 5 minutes at 475. When crusts are done, remove from oven and set aside. Turn oven temp down to 400 degrees.

(Watch the crusts. Mine browned very quickly. I even thought mine were a little over done, but I baked them about 7 minutes, 5 minutes should be about right but it will depend on your oven and your pans, etc.)

Next, prepare the lemon filling. Beat egg yolks with fork in small bowl. Mix sugar and cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Immediately, stir at least half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks to temper them. Stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon juice and food color. Spoon about 1 T. of filling into each of the prepared mini-pie crusts.

To prepare meringue: Beat egg white and cream of tarter in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 T. at a time. Continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla.

Spoon or use pastry bag fitted with large tip to pipe about 1 T. of prepared meringue unto each mini pie. Be careful to seal meringue to edge of each pie to prevent shrinking and weeping. (I spooned mine on, but they would have been prettier if it had been piped on.)

Bake in the 400 degree oven for about 6 minutes until meringue has browned slightly. Cool a few moments and then run knife around each mini-pie to be sure they are easier to remove when completely cooled.

Enjoy!

*Thanks to Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook for lemon filling/meringue ingredients, amounts and some directions.

Getting started...

I've decided it would be fun to share what I've been baking lately. I love to bake and I love to share recipes, what better way then a blog.

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Today, I baked my grandma's homemade bread. I've modified the recipe slightly to make a bit smaller batch then her original makes. And today I added some whole wheat flour to the recipe to give it more nutritional value and make it a bit denser. I find it keeps a little longer with whole wheat flour in the mix, as well.

It is really best enjoyed the day you make it though.

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit

1 1/2 T. instant, dry active yeast

1/4 c. of warm, not hot water

1/2 T. sugar to feed the yeast

2 eggs

1/4 c. vegatable (I use Canola) oil

1/2 T. salt

1 1/4 c. warm (again not hot) milk

1/4 c. sugar

4 to 5 c. flour (today I added about 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour and the remaining cups regular bread flour, bread flour works better than regular all-purpose but you can use all-purpose)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the 1/2 T. sugar. Let this rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Mix in all the other ingredients. Stirring as you go.

It is easiest to mix the last 1/2 of the flour in with the dough hook of a Kitchen Aid mixer. But you could certainly knead the dough by hand. Cover and let rise at least one hour. Shape into three, french bread like loaves. Let rise a bit longer on the greased baking sheet (20 minutes to half hour).

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing with a bread knife.

Enjoy!!!!