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. :)

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.

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.

-------------------------------------

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!!!!