Buttercream Lane

Candy Cane Kiss Blossoms with a Chocolate Star!

2011-12-24T13:16:00.001-07:00

I found this great recipe on Pintrest and just had to try it. It looks so festive and I love peppermint so it was a great recipe to try. I took parts of the original recipe from Recipe Girl and parts of the Hershey's Candy Cane Blossom cookie recipe to make these.

As I was taking the first batch out of the oven I had to move the bag of Brach's dark chocolate stars, from making peanut butter blossoms, out of the way and inspiration hit me. Why not put both the chocolate star and the kiss on top?

Candy Cane Kiss Blossoms

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 12 min

When the fall holidays arrive, the Candy Cane Kisses begin to appear on supermarket shelves too. These are an incredibly delicious flavor delivered by the Hershey’s Kisses people. And they’re amazing tucked into a cookie too.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Candy Cane flavored Hershey's Kisses, finely chopped
granulated sugar
additional, unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses- about 60
Chocolate stars- about 60

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Make room in either refrigerator or freezer for your cookie sheet. Or you can do what I do which is to just let them sit out for an hour and they'll set up.
In large mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, extracts and egg. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy (2-3 minutes).
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet mixture and beat, scraping bowl until just blended. Stir in chopped Kisses.
Shape dough into 3/4-inch to 1-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set.
As soon as they come out of the oven, press a chocolate star point side down in the center of each cookie. They'll crack a little around the edges, so just use your fingers to kind of hold the cookie together while you press the chocolate on. Do all the cookies on the tray then go back and place a kiss on top of the chocolate star pressing down until the chocolate squeezes out from under the kiss forming a flower around it.

You can leave the cookies out to set up or put cookie sheet (with cookies) immediately into the freezer (preferred) or refrigerator so that the Kisses will set quickly. Store in a covered container- at room temperature for up to a week. In the freezer they should be ok for a couple of weeks.

Peppermint Meringues

2011-12-22T02:43:00.001-07:00

If you make the spritz cookies I have posted here, then you will have 3 lovely egg whites leftover which is what you need to make these meringues. My mother in law taught me to make them when she taught me to make the spritz cookies. They are the perfect cookie pair.
3 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup white sugar
3 peppermint candy canes, crushed up finely
1-2 drops of red food coloring- optional

Click here to get a printable/downloadable version of this recipe

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a brown paper bag.
Let your egg whites come to room temperature before you beat.
In a large spotlessly clean mixing bowl (if there is any fat residue in the bowl the egg whites won't ever beat up into peaks) place your egg whites, salt and cream of tartar.
Beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar to soft peaks. When you pull your beater out the top will fold over.
Gradually add sugar, while continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks. When you pull the beater out the peak will stand straight up.
Fold the crushed candy canes and the drop of red food coloring into the egg whites, gently.
Take a gallon Zip Lock bag and cut the corner off. The opening should be about 1/2 wide.
Spoon the meringue batter into the bag and squeeze out the batter onto the paper lined sheets. You can also slip a LARGE star tip into the corner of the bag for slightly more decorative cookies. It has to be one with a large opening or the chunks of candy cane get stuck. There's always one piece that clogs it up. In this picture the one on the left was just a plain plastic bag and the one on the right was with a star tip.

You can make them up to 2 inches or as small as a kiss size. They really don't spread very much at all so if you leave 1/2" between them you should be good. If the batter is a little looser then leave an inch. In the picture at the top of the page, the large one is about 2" and the small ones are about 1"

Bake for 1 hour for small and 1 1/2 hours for large in preheated oven. Rotate the sheets after half the time. Meringues should be completely dry on the inside but don't let them brown. Turn off the oven and prop the oven door ajar a few inches with an oven mitt, and let the meringues sit in the oven until completely cool. Loosen from the paper with a spatula. Store in cool dry place for up to 2 months.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

2011-12-20T15:40:00.002-07:00

These cookies are chewy and peanut buttery and delicious. You can use a Hershey's chocolate kiss in the middle or a Brach's Chocolate Stars. I like the stars because they come in milk or DARK chocolate and as far as I'm concerned, the darker the better when it comes to chocolate. We love these not only at Christmas but any time of the year.

Click here for a printable/ downloadable version of this recipe!

Ingredients
• 48 Hersheys' Kisses or Brach's Chocolate Stars
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar to roll dough balls into before baking
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended.
Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy.
Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Do NOT put the chocolate on the cookie yet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie, the cookie will crack around edges.
Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Cool completely.

Makes About 4 dozen cookies

Homemade Marshmallows and Cocoa Mix for Teacher Gifts or Neighbors

2011-10-26T16:52:00.001-06:00

Here is an easy gift to make for teachers, neighbors or friends. Marshmallows and cocoa mix. If you've never made marshmallows, I hate to be the one to tell you that they are super simple and very impressive. I love making peppermint marshmallows to put in cocoa but you can make plain if you prefer. You can also try rolling them in toasted coconut or even chopped nuts to eat them like candy.

Homemade Marshmallows:

For a printable version of this marshmallow recipe click here!

* 3 packages unflavored gelatin
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup light corn syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Sprinkle powdered sugar into 2 8"x8" pans or one 9"x13" until bottom is completely coated.
Pour the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with your whisk attachment and allow this mixture to sit while you make the syrup.

In a large saucepan, preferably one that has a spout, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Place the lid on the pan for 1 minute to wash down the sides of the pan. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. If you live at higher altitudes, reduce the final temp by 2 degrees for every 1000 feet in altitude. I live at 6000 feet so I only cook my mixture to 228 degrees. Remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer onto low speed, while mixer is going, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. The gelatin will be all chunky when you turn on the mixer. Once all of the syrup is poured in turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Pour the marshmallow batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or whatever topping you are using.

For the peppermint, I removed half the marshmallows for the plain pan and then stirred in 2 drops of red food coloring and 1/2 tsp of peppermint flavoring into the remaining half. After placing this into the second pan I sprinkled crushed peppermints over the top.

Allow to dry uncovered at room temperature overnight.

Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. I dip a knife into very hot water before each cut then roll each strip in powdered sugar before cutting into squares. Roll the sides of each square carefully in confectioners' sugar.

Once they have dried for a few hours and aren't sticky, they can be bagged up for gifts or stored in a sealed container or sealed baggies.

Creamy Cocoa Mix

For a printable version of this cocoa mix, click here!

This makes 20 cups of mix or about 60 servings. I make a big batch at the beginning or the winter and we use it all season.

13 cups dry milk powder
6 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer (1- 15oz jar of powdered creamer)

Sift together all these ingredients into a large bowl.
For extra chocolaty goodness I add-

2- 12 oz package of mini chocolate chips

stir to combine the scoop into jars for gifts or store sealed in a container for storage.

Variations- You can use flavored creamer if you want flavored cocoa or try adding some cayenne pepper to the mix for a bit of spicy heat.

To use this cocoa mix; Scoop 1/3 cup of mixture into mug and add boiling water. Stir and enjoy.

Alton Brown has a Recipe for Cocoa mix that I haven't tried just because I love the creaminess of my recipe but for those who don't want to use powdered creamer here is his recipe.

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Mix all ingredients together and store in airtight container.

Don't forget to post your Holiday recipes and your Christmas cookie recipes for the 25 days of Christmas Recipe Exchange by clicking these links here or the buttons at the top of the page.

Raspberry Or Strawberry Topped Brownies

2011-07-21T15:27:00.000-06:00

Chocolate and raspberries or brownies are the perfect combination as far as I'm concerned. This is a great dessert that is easy enough for everyday but nice enough for company . I came up with this recipe when I needed to make 50 servings of a dessert for a school event. I didn't have time to bake so I bought store made brownies, some berries and came up with these delicious confections. They were gone in minutes and talked about for hours. While you can make the brownie part from a box or buy them at the store, they're even better when you make them from scratch.
Best Brownies Ever

1 cup butter
2 cup white sugar
4 eggs- lightly beat before adding
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In the microwave or in a pan on the stove, melt the butter and set aside to cool.
Into a bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder- set aside Grease a 9x13" pan well.
Add the sugar to the melted butter and stir until combined then add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat well.
Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't over beat.
Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until done.
Cool completely before putting the frosting on.

Strawberry or Raspberry Frosting

3/4 cup softened butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4- 1/3 cup strawberry or raspberry puree. (I take 1 cup of fresh or thawed frozen fruit and put it into a blender and blend until smooth. This will yield about 1/2 cup of puree. Any extra puree left over, I freeze in a ziplock bag ready for the next batch of fruit frosting that I make)

In a large bowl cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and 3 TBS of the fruit puree. Beat until it comes together. Continue adding the fruit puree one tablespoon at a time beating after each addition until it is the consistency that you want. Frost the brownies by spreading over the top or for a fancier presentation, place the frosting into a zip lock bag that has a large star tip in the cut off corner. Pip a swirl onto the top of the precut brownies. Top with a raspberry or slice of strawberry.

Holiday Cranberry Tart- A Festive and delicious make ahead dessert.

2010-11-18T14:22:00.003-07:00

This is a yummy recipe that I got from Bon Appetit magazine 3 years ago. The combination of the clean fresh taste of cranberries and fresh ginger, a creamy mascarpone cheese filling and the crisp chocolate cookie crust is divine. If you don't like chocolate you can use vanilla cookies for the crust.

The best thing is that you make all of the components 2 to 3 days ahead of time and then assemble them just before serving. It's actually better when the cranberry part sits for a few days, but if you want to do it all the day of you can.

Cranberry Chocolate Tart

Bon Appetit Nov. 2007

Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Cranberry Topping:
1/2 cup cranberry juice, divided
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1- 12-ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Crust:
1 1/4 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (made from about 6 1/2 ounces cookies, finely ground in processor) You may also use vanilla wafer cookies or shortbread cookies instead.
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Mascarpone Filling:
1- 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese- an Italian cream cheese you can find at most stores now
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Thin strips of crystallized ginger (optional garnish)

Preparation
Pour 1/4 cup cranberry juice into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until softened, 15 minutes. Combine 1/4 cup cranberry juice, cranberries, and next 5 ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until cranberries are tender but still plump, 5 minutes. Strain into bowl; set cranberries aside. Add gelatin mixture to hot juice in bowl; stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir cranberries back into juice. Chill until cranberry mixture is cold and slightly thickened, at least 8 hours or overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2-3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Stir chopped crystallized ginger into cranberry mixture one hour before assembling.

For crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Combine chocolate (or vanilla) wafer cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt in medium bowl; add 5 tablespoons melted butter and stir until crumbs feel moist when pressed together with fingertips, adding remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter if mixture is dry. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Bake chocolate crust until beginning to set and slightly crisp, pressing with spoon if crust puffs during baking, about 14 minutes. Transfer tart pan to rack and cool crust completely before filling.

For mascarpone filling:
Using electric mixer, beat all ingredients except ginger in medium bowl just until thick enough to spread (do not overbeat or mixture may curdle). Cover and chill.

Assembling Tart: Up to 6 hours before serving
Spread mascarpone filling in crust.
Spoon cranberry mixture evenly over mascarpone filling.
Chill at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.
Garnish with crystallized ginger strips, if desired.
Cut tart into wedges and serve cold.

Orange Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream

2010-11-12T02:00:00.001-07:00

Cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp instant coffee or instant espresso- Not the grounds but the instant you add to water
1 large egg
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup whole milk plus
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 cupcake molds or muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.
To make the cupcakes, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and instant coffee.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, and white sugar. Whisk in the orange juice concentrate, orange juice, and melted butter. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake molds, filling them about three-quarters full.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Using a small spatula or knife, remove the cupcakes from the pan. Continue to cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

Orange Buttercream

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoon grated orange zest (Just the orange part of the rind try not to get any of the white
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Top with a mandarin orange slice or a half slice of a regular orange.

Tips- For this cupcake I just took parchment paper and folded it into cup shapes to make these.
Before I eat an orange, I use a micro planer and take the zest off of the orange. I zest it off onto a piece of wax paper and then push the zest into a pile in the middle of the square. I fold it up into a tiny square and place in a freezer bag in the freezer. This way I always have fresh zest for recipes waiting for me in the freezer.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

2010-09-03T15:21:00.003-06:00

My family loves this bread! This recipe is really versatile, if you want to add seeds and nuts add them in. I sometimes add sunflower seed, pumpkin seed and use half whole wheat and half regular bread flour. Try playing with the recipe and find your family favorite.

For a printable version of this recipe Click Here!

3 tablespoons warm water
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast- DO NOT USE FAST RISE YEAST!
1 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon bread flour

1 cup oatmeal- I like Old Fashioned rolled oats
1 2/3 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 cup dry instant powdered milk (optional)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 to 3 1/2 cups of bread flour

Place the yeast, warm water, sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl or cup and let it proof- this means that bubbles will form! If bubbles don't form then the yeast is not active and your bread won't rise!
In a large mixing bowl add your Oatmeal, warm water, salt, powdered milk, oil and honey and stir to mix. On low speed, mix in the whole wheat flour and then your yeast mixture. Blend well. Slowly start to add the rest of the four a half cup at a time waiting for it to be fully incorporated before adding the next half cup. When you have 1 cup of flour left begin adding it a couple of tablespoons at a time. YOu want to dough to come together in a ball but to still be moist on the outside. Not so sticky that it sticks to your hand but moist enough that it is still tacky.

If you are going to kneed by hand, once the dough comes together and is still sticky, Sprinkle flour out onto the cupboard and place the dough into the middle in a ball. Now press both heels of your hands into the middle of the ball and push away from you. Once your arms are extended, curl your fingers over the edge and fold the dough back towards the middle. Rotate the ball a quarter turn and repeat.
Here is a great video to show how to kneed dough.

Kneed the dough by mixer or by hand for 5 to 6 minutes. You're done when you can stick two fingers into the dough and the centers pop back out at you. Shape the dough into a ball.

Take a large bowl or plastic container that is at least twice the volume of your dough and grease it with vegetable oil or butter. Place t he ball seam side down into the greased bowl and then turn over to grease the outside of the ball well. This will help keep the dough from drying out. Cover the bowl with a damp dishtowel and let sit until the ball has doubled in size.
(If you are at altitudes over 5000' punch the dough down by pushing into the middle of the ball with your fist and then reshape the dough back into a ball and let rise again.)
Once the dough has doubled again, dump out onto your counter and roll out into a rectangle that is 18" wide. Cut down the middle to make 2- 9" wide strips. Roll each strip up into a loaf shape and place into 2 greased 9x4' leaf pans.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees-
Cover the dough in the pans and let rise until almost doubled again.

Place in oven and bake until golden brown or as I prefer to do it to an internal temperature of 190-200 degrees. Baking to temp. keeps the bread from overcooking and drying out.

Remove from oven and let sit in pans for 10 minutes before turning out. Turn out the pans and let cool for at lest 10 more minutes before cutting. Here in Colorado it's very dry and we don't like really crunchy crust so as soon as I take the bread out of the pan I rub a tablespoon or so of butter over the entire outside of the crust to keep it soft.

Mocha Toffee Brownie Squares

2010-07-12T00:32:00.004-06:00

These are brownies on steroids and are very addictive!

1 cup butter
5 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of chopped toffee candy bars- 2- 1.4oz bars
1/2 cup slivered almonds that have been toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In 3-quart saucepan over very low heat, melt butter or margarine and chocolate, stirring the mixture constantly. Remove from heat, and stir the sugar into the chocolate. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the walnuts. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake in oven 30 to 35 minutes. Brownies are done when toothpick inserted into center come out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Topping

4 oz. cream cheese (from 8-oz. pkg.), softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp instant coffee
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped toffee candy bar- about 4- 1.4 oz bars
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or spray with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat brownie mix, 1 teaspoon instant coffee, butter, water and eggs with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Gently stir in 1/2 cup chopped candy bars and 1/2 cup almonds. Spread batter in greased pan.
2.Bake at 350°F. for 24 to 28 minutes or until edges are firm. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 1 hour.
3.In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, brown sugar and 1 teaspoon instant coffee with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Increase speed to high; beat in cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.
4.Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled brownies. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped candy bars and 1/2 cup almonds over top. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Raspberry Or Strawberry Topped Brownies

2010-07-09T00:30:00.000-06:00

1 cup butter
2 cup white sugar
4 eggs- lightly beat before adding
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In the microwave or in a pan on the stove, melt the butter and set aside to cool.
Into a bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder- set aside Grease a 9x13" pan well.
Add the sugar to the melted butter and stir until combined then add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat well.
Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't over beat.
Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until done.
Cool completely before putting the frosting on.

Strawberry or Raspberry Frosting

3/4 cup softened butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4- 1/3 cup strawberry or raspberry puree. (I take 1 cup of fresh or thawed frozen fruit and put it into a blender and blend until smooth. This will yield about 1/2 cup of puree. Any extra puree left over, I freeze in a ziplock bag ready for the next batch of fruit frosting that I make)

Apple Rosemary Blue Cheese Bites

2010-07-06T12:26:00.002-06:00

Warm apple slices wrapped with blue cheese and pecans with a hint of rosemary all wrapped up in a flaky crust. Perfect for a cocktail party or as an appetizer before a special dinner.

1- 8 oz. package of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 large golden delicious apples- Peeled, cored and sliced into 8 slices each
4 oz of crumbled blue cheese
2 TBS of cream cheese- softened
½ tsp fresh or dry rosemary chopped fine
¼ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Grease a cookie sheet or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Peel, core and slice your apples
• In a small bowl stir together the blue cheese, cream cheese, nuts and rosemary until the mixture hold together.
• On a piece of parchment or plastic wrap, unroll the Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough and Divide into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle into half for 16 smaller triangles.
• Spread 1-2 teaspoons of the cheese mixture on the wide end of a triangle and wrap around an apple slice.
• Place on the prepared baking sheet
• Bake in your preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Serve warm or room temperature.
These can also be made with fresh pears instead of apples.

Moist Delicious Shortcake for strawberries or any fruit.

2010-03-31T12:54:00.002-06:00

I'm not a fan of the dry crumbly biscuit style of shortcake. I want a moist tender cake for my berries. 16 years ago, we ordered the strawberry shortcake at a Black Eye Pea restaurant and I was in heaven. It was the perfect cake for berries. I had to have the recipe and with a bit of flattery and begging, the chef shared the recipe with me. The one catch was, he had to leave one ingredient out to give it to me. Thankfully, he made it easy when he told me that it was a vanilla cake and guess what ingredient was missing? It's what we always have on Easter and is one of our favorite spring and summer treats. It's so fast and easy to mix up and bake. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Click here for a Printable Version of this recipe

Black Eyed Pea’s Strawberry Shortcake

Makes one 9x13 pan or 12 cupcakes or one jellyroll pan
3 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 TBS baking powder
1 cup melted butter
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar and baking powder
Stir in milk and vanilla then the melted butter and mix well.
Pour batter into a greased pan and bake in the preheated oven until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
Around 25 to 30 minutes for 9x13 for cupcakes or 20 mins for jelly roll pan.

For a large half sheet pan 2”x13”x18” double recipe and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Perfect Honey Oatmeal Bread

2010-03-25T08:50:00.000-06:00

For a printable version of this recipe click here.
Perfect Honey Oatmeal Bread
This recipe will make 2 loaves.
1/4 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast (.25 ounce) or 2 1/4 TBS of instant yeast
1 TBS white sugar
1 cup regular or quick cooking oatmeal
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup dry powdered milk (optional)
1 tsp salt
2 TBS honey
2 TBS brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
3 cups white flour (bread flour if you have it, if not all purpose)

If you are using regular or quick rise active yeast place 1/4 cup warm (under 110 degrees), 1 tsp sugar and the active yeast in a small bowl to proof the yeast, if you have instant yeast just mix the dry instant yeast into your whole wheat flour.
Into a large bowl of your mixer or any large bowl if mixing by hand add the warm water, dry powdered milk, oatmeal, honey, brown sugar, salt and oil or butter and stir to combine.
Add the whole wheat flour and 2 cups of the white flour and combine well.
Continue to add the white flour until the dough comes together and is just barely tacky to the touch. Bread dough should not be smooth and dry it should be tacky to the touch but not pull off onto your hands.
Beat or knead until dough is elastic and when you poke it the dough springs back up.
Let sit covered for 5 minutes then knead again for 30 seconds.
Shape into a ball and place upside down in a bowl you have coated with vegetable oil. Turn ball over and cover the bowl with a damp cloth.
Let it sit until the dough has doubled in size.
Dump out onto a floured counter top and roll out into an 18" wide rectangle.
Cut the rectangle into 2- 9" squares and roll up into a log pinching the seams and the ends.
Place into 2 greased 9" loaf pans and cover with a damp cloth.
Preheat your oven to 350°
Let sit until doubled in size.
Place into a preheated 350° oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. They should sound hollow when tapped or use an instant read thermometer. It should read between 190° to 195° (don't forget to take 2 degrees off of that temp. for every 1000 feet of altitude you live at. i live at 6000 feet so I bake to a temp of around 180° to 185°)
Remove from oven and pan and cool on a rack. My family doesn't lie a hard crust so I rum a tsp of butter over the crust to keep it soft.

Crunchy Banana Muffins with Coconut

2010-02-19T11:45:00.003-07:00

I love this muffin recipe. You can make a batch and they stay fresh in the fridge for a week or so ready for a grab and go breakfast on your way out the door. They also freeze beautifully.

Click here for a printer friendly version of this recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled plus 1/2 cup applesauce OR 1 cup melted butter
3 bananas- mash 2 with a fork and dice one
1 cup chopped pecans (you can also use walnuts or almonds)
1 cup granola- any kind is fine
1 cup shredded coconut plus 1/4 cup shredded coconut to top muffins with before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
Melt 1/2 cup of butter and set aside to cool. (or 1 cup if you are skipping the applesauce)
Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium size bowl stir together your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Mash 2 bananas with a fork and chop the remaining banana

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs lightly then add the remaining wet ingredients: milk, vanilla, melted butter, apple sauce, and the mashed bananas- save the diced banana for just one more step.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. There will be a few lumps.

Fold in the diced banana, granola, nuts, and 1 cup of the coconut.

Scoop into the prepared muffin cups and sprinkle the top with the remaining coconut.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes in your preheated oven, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 24 muffins

Dutch Babies, Humps and Hills, German Oven Pancake Recipe

2010-02-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Call them whatever you like but they are simple to make and taste delicious. We've always called them Humps and Hills because our neighbors in Houston, The Parcell's, who introduced us to this recipe, called them that. Kids love them because they look so fun!

Click here for a printer friendly version!

6 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 to 4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Place a 9x13" pam into your oven on the middle rack.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the pan inside
Mix all the ingredients together until really smooth. You can do this in a blender or in a small mixing bowl with a hand mixer. The batter is thinner than a regular pancake batter, it's more like a crepe batter.
Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Grease the bottom but not the sides of the pan and Pour the batter in. Place it back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Now- don't start checking it after 10 minutes. It will LOOK done after about 10 minutes but it will still be flat and not puffy- PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND STEP AWAY FROM THE OVEN! Leave it shut and let it do it's thing! OK, you can watch through the window if you promise not to open it! When the buzzer rings, take out the beautiful puffy goodness and serve immediately. It will start to fall so you want everyone sitting at the table waiting.
Serve it with any or all of the following. Sprinkled with some lemon juice and powdered sugar, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, plain old syrup or with fresh fruit and a dollop of whipped cream.

Scandinavian Almond Bars- Easy and delicious.

2009-12-22T01:46:00.001-07:00

Click here for the Printable Version of this recip e

These cookies are so good and fast to make- ready in 30 to 40 minutes. They are simple to make, unique and pretty.We make them all year long but love them during the holidays.
Makes 4 dozen

Dough
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp of almond extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping
1/2 tsp sliced almonds
2 TBS milk

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
3-4 TBS milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a small bowl sift or stir together the flour, baking powder and the salt. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and almond extract and beat until light and fluffy.
Slowly mix in the flour, baking powder and salt; mixing just until combined.

Divide dough into 4 pieces, and roll each one into a log about 12 inches long. Place 2 logs onto each well greased or preferably parchment lined cookie sheet- 4 to 5 inches apart.
Flatten each roll by hand until it is about 3 inches wide. The dough is sticky so you may need to flour your hands a bit. They don't have to be perfect, once their cut you can't tell if they weren't totally even. I love that about this recipe!

Brush flattened roll with milk and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Place both sheets into preheated oven.

Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Rotate trays half way through.

While the cookies are still warm, cut them crosswise at a diagonal, into slices about 1 inch wide.

Make the Glaze:

In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth.

Place glaze into a small zip lock bag and snip a small corner off.
Drizzle the glaze, out of the corner hole, over the completely cooled cookies.

Store in a sealed container. These freeze really well.

Snowballs, Russian Tea Balls, Swedish Tea Balls, or Mexican Wedding Cookies, by any of these names- Delicious!

2009-12-21T01:00:00.003-07:00

Swedish Tea Balls

Also called Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Balls, or Snowballs

Click here for a Printable Version of this recipe!

This is my husband's great-grandmother's recipe and a favorite at Christmas and showers.
Makes 32 cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of finely chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup of powdered sugar to roll baked cookies in after baking

Preheat oven to 350°

Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Place walnuts into a food processor and pulse until they are in very small pieces. Take care not to over process into paste.

Add nuts to dry ingredients and stir to blend.
Cream together the butter and powdered sugar, on medium high speed, until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour into the butter mixture in 3 batches,
mixing each addition until just combined and scraping down sides.

If batter does not hold together add water 1 Tbs at a time until dough
holds together when rolled into a ball. Do not over beat as that will make them tough.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet or onto parchment paper. They don't spread but do get larger as they bake.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are set and just golden brown on the bottom.
Remove from cookies from oven and immediately roll cookies into the powdered sugar until coated on all sides.

Place cookies onto a sheet of waxed paper to cool.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature, 2 weeks in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

Chocolate Peppermint Bars- Like Christmas with a twist!

2009-12-18T01:00:00.001-07:00

Click Here for a Printable Version of this Recipe.

Chocolate Peppermint Bars

Makes one 9x13 pan
First Layer
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sifted flour

Pre-heat oven to 350
Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment or with foil, making sure that edges of foil or paper extend high enough that you can use it to lift bars from pan, grease well.
Melt chocolate and butter over hot water or microwave 45-60 seconds on high until melted. Blend together.
Combine eggs and sugar and beat at medium speed until sugar is dissolved and mixture is creamy.
Add flour to egg mixture blending just until combined then add chocolate. Mix thoroughly.
Add batter to prepared pan and spread it evenly over bottom.
Bake on bottom shelf of oven for 20 minutes then transfer to center of oven for 5 more minutes or until a toothpick stuck in can be pulled out without batter sticking to it. Just a few crumbs. Cool completely then remove from pan and place on a cookie sheet.

Second Layer
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
3 TBS of softened butter
1 1/2 TBS of half and half or milk
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 drops of green or red food coloring if desired I like the red!
Combine sugar and butter mixing until smooth.
Blend in cream and peppermint flavoring mixing again until smooth.
Spread on cooled first layer as smoothly and evenly as possible.
Refrigerate until chilled.

Third Layer
1 1/2 squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 TBS butter
Melt Chocolate and butter over hot water or in microwave until melted and blend together.
Spread over the second layer as smoothly as possible with a spatula or back of spoon.
Optional- Lightly sprinkle 3 to 4 TBS of finely crushed candy canes or peppermint candies over the top of the Third layer (chocolate) before layer sets up.
Hint- An ice cream scoop makes a great crusher for this job.
Chill well.
Cut onto 1/2 X 2 inch bars. Makes 64 bars
Note: I made a double batch in an 18x13 pan in these photos.

Almond Lace Cookie Recipe

2009-12-16T01:00:00.006-07:00

Click Here For a Printable Version of This Recipe

Almond Lace Cookies

4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 cup whole unblanched almonds, ground medium fine
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375°
In a food processor grind 1 cup of almonds until they are a medium fine texture.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.

In a small saucepan combine butter and cream over medium heat.
When butter has melted, stir in the flour, ground almonds and the sugar. Cook until gently bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and keep warm.

Place 4-6 teaspoons of batter 3 inches apart on the parchment paper covered baking sheet.
Do not put more than 6 because you will not be able to roll any more before they harden. If you are leaving them as flat wafers then you can get 8.
Bake until lightly browned and crisp, 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from oven, and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Working quickly, flip the cookie upside down and then roll up into a cylinder. You can also lay over a rolling pin for a curved cookie or leave flat. Continue baking and forming cookies until batter is used up. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool. If you like chocolate you can drizzle melted chocolate over the cookies to decorate.

You can also make larger circles with a tablespoon of batter and place into a small bowl shaping carefully to form an edible cookie bowl for ice cream or chocolate mousse.

Makes 20 smaller cookies.

Swedish Spritz Cookies

2009-12-15T08:33:00.001-07:00

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Spritz Cookies

Spritz cookies are a family tradition that go all the way back to my husband's great grandmother. The original recipe called for 1/2 a teacup of sugar and and a ball of butter the size of a man's fist.

Tools: You will need something called a cookie press to make these cookies. A cookie press extrudes cookie dough through unique shaped steel disks. These disks create the shape of the cookies. Most cookie presses also come with decorating tips to use for frosting and decorating. There are 4 major kinds of cookie presses on the market. In the left hand picture from left to right; an old fashioned crank press, a top trigger press and an electric press. The right hand picture shows a regular trigger press with the disks. I would highly recommend either a regular trigger press or an electric press. I personally like the electric presses or the regular trigger presses. A good press will cost between $15- $25.

Ingredients:

1 cup of room temperature butter

2/3 cup white sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 cups of flour

Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until they are completely mixed in.

Add the flour and the almond extract. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.

Divide dough if you want to add coloring to any of it. Many people like the buttery cream color for all of their shapes. I like green trees and wreaths and red and white flowers. so I tint 1/2 the batch green and then the other half I tint 2/3 of it red and leave the other 1/3 white.

Load the dough into the cookie press. Squeeze the trigger until the dough begins to come out the bottom through the disk. Now hold the press with the disk end resting on the UNGREASED cookie sheet, making sure that the press rests on the cookie sheet Then squeeze the trigger until the dough appears at the edge of the mold. Then lift the press. To make the wreaths, I use the star disk and just press out long zig zag lines of dough on the baking sheet. I then break it into smaller pieces and form by hand into a circle. I press the 2 ends together and then place a red hot on the seam to hide it. As you can see from the photograph at the top, I am not a perfectionist when it comes to making perfect circles.

There will be a bit of trial and error to figure out how many squeezes or how long to press the button to make the perfect shape. If it is too big then scrape it off and put it into the next batch to press. Once you have the shape you want move the press over 1" and press again. One tube of dough will make about 30 cookies. It is much easier to press cookies out onto a cool cookie sheet. If the dough is too soft when using a cookie press, refrigerate the dough or add a small amount (1 to 2 tablespoons) of flour. If it is too stiff, add 1 egg yolk.

I decorate my Christmas trees with one gold or silver dragee at the top and my wreathes and my flowers with one cinnamon red hot candy before baking.

Bake at 400° for 8-9 minutes until just barely golden on the bottom.

These cookie freeze beautifully.

Candy Cane Cookies

2009-12-09T09:29:00.002-07:00

During World War II flour was very scarce and heavily rationed. It was during this time that the Quaker Oats company began developing recipes that used oatmeal to replace portions of flour, especially for baking. This is one of their best recipes.

It is the one cookie that all my kids adore and everyone asks for the recipe once they taste them.

Click here for a Printable Version of this recipe.

Candy Cane Cookies

1 cup Butter softened

2 tsp vanilla

½ cup powdered sugar

3 Tbs Water

2 ½ cups sifted flour

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cups oatmeal

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together.

In a seperate bowl mix together the flour and salt

Once the butter, sugar and vanilla are light a fluffy, add half the flour mixture and half of the water and mix until just combined. Add the remaining flour and water and mix again just until combined then mix in the oatmeal.

The dough should not be crumbly. If it is add more water one tablespoon at a time.

I like to roll my logs out on a silicone mat so that I don't have to use extra flour but a floured counter will work

just as well.

Take a ball of dough the size of and egg and pinch it into a log shape. Then with both hands roll into a snake about 1/2 inch wide and 7 inches long

Place the log onto a baking sheet, either un-greased or with parchment on it, and form into a cane shape. You can also roll the dough into a ball and flatten with a cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to make a disk.

Bake at 325 degree s until they are just slightly golden brown on the bottom, about 20 minutes.

Lay out on waxed paper to cool completely.

Make your glaze by combining 2 cups of sugar and 4 TBS of milk. The glaze should be thick enough to coat the cookies without running off.

Place the glaze in a wide bowl so that you can dip the cookies into glaze without hitting the sides of the bowl.

Dip the cooled cookies into glaze and lay out on waxed paper until the glaze is set.

Take the remaining white glaze and add a few drops of red food coloring to it. Spoon the red glaze into a quart size feeezer zip lock bag and cut a small bit off of one corner to make a piping bag to make the stripes.

I lay out all the cookies and make large sweeping stripes over all the rows at once.

You can also stripe them one at a time.

These freeze beautifully so make a double batch and stash some away .

Toffee Brownie Squares

2009-12-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

A woman made these for a teacher luncheon at our high school. They were amazing. How can you go wrong with brownies, whipped cream and toffee candy?

1 cup butter
5 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of chopped toffee candy bars- 2- 1.4oz bars
1/2 cup slivered almonds that have been toasted

Topping

4 oz. cream cheese (from 8-oz. pkg.), softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp instant coffee
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped toffee candy bar- about 4- 1.4 oz bars
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

Heat oven to 350°F.
Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or spray with cooking spray.
In large bowl, beat brownie mix, 1 teaspoon instant coffee, butter, water and eggs with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.
Gently stir in 1/2 cup chopped candy bars and 1/2 cup almonds. Spread batter in greased pan.
Bake at 350°F. for 24 to 28 minutes or until edges are firm. DO NOT OVERBAKE.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 1 hour.

Topping:

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, brown sugar and 1 teaspoon instant coffee with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Increase speed to high; beat in cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.
Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled brownies.
Sprinkle 1 cup chopped candy bars and 1/2 cup almonds over top.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Cut into bars.

Store in refrigerator.

Swedish Spritz Cookies

2009-12-01T21:32:00.002-07:00

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of room temperature butter

2/3 cup white sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 cups of flour

Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until they are completely mixed in.

Add the flour and the almond extract. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.

I decorate my Christmas trees with one gold or silver dragee at the top and my wreathes and my flowers with one cinnamon red hot candy before baking.

Bake at 400° for 8-9 minutes until just barely golden on the bottom.

These cookie freeze beautifully.

The 25 Days of Christmas Cookie Recipes

2009-11-27T01:10:00.004-07:00

This is the beginning of The 25 Days of Christmas Cookie Recipe Exchange.
Grab the button and

and share your favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes with us. Write a post on your blog with your recipe and link it up using the Mr Linky below. Please link to the actual recipe post not just to your blog, so that we can find the recipes easier. It would also be great if in the Your Name box- Put your name and then the name of the recipe for easier browsing. I can't wait to see all of your recipes. Let the baking begin.

Bourbon or Rum Sauce for all your pies, cakes or anything!

2009-11-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

This is the best sauce for any kind of pie. We eat it on apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving. It's the sauce that they serve at a restaurant called Pappadeaux's Restaurant in Houston. It is thick and creamy and not too sweet. The perfect compliment to a pie, cake or even a spoonful stirred into a cup of coffee. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bourbon Sauce

1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
1 cup of milk
1 small box of vanilla instant pudding mix
3 TBS Bourbon, whiskey, brandy or rum
1 tsp of vanilla

Pour the cream into a medium mixing bowl and beat just until it starts to thicken.
Add the milk and beat to combine
Slowly beat in the instant pudding mix
Add the vanilla and liqueur and continue whipping until it is well blended and is a thick sauce consistency. It should be almost as thick as pudding and shouldn't be runny.
Place into a sealed container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. It will thicken up as it sits. This can be made a day ahead as it stores very well.

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

2009-11-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

This recipe is as southern as you can be and oh so good.

Pappadeaux's Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
1 Unbaked pastry for a single crust 9"-10" pie shell

SWEET POTATO FILLING
1 1/4 c Cooked, mashed sweet potatoes -(about 1 large or 2 medium potatoes) I microwave my potatoes but you can also bake them.
1/4 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Granulated sugar
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c Heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 t Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt 3/4 t Ground cinnamon
3/4 t Allspice
3/4 t Nutmeg
3 T Softened butter

PECAN PIE FILLING
1 1/4 c Sugar
1 1/4 c Dark corn syrup
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
3 T Unsalted butter, softened
1/4 t Vanilla extract
Pinch of salt 3/4 t Ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c Chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 Deg F.

Sweet potato filling:

Combine mashed sweet potatoes, sugars, egg, cream, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and butter in an electric mixing bowl and beat at medium-low speed until smooth, do not overmix.
Spoon sweet potato filling into the pastry-lined pie pan.

Prepare Pecan Pie Filling:

Combine sugar, syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in an electric mixing bowl and beat on low speed until syrup is opaque, about 4-5 minutes.
Stir in pecans, mix well.
Fill shell evenly to the top with with pecan filling.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.

Pie can be stored at room temperature for 24 hours. It is fabulous served with their Bourbon Sauce on top.

The 25 Days of Christmas Cookie Recipes,

2009-11-19T12:46:00.002-07:00

I'm making a list and checking it twice- we're gonna find out who's naughty or nice- Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, Fact Woman and Buttercream Lane will be co-hosting, "The 25 Days of Christmas" recipe exchanges for us to share our favorite Holiday recipes. My Fact Woman blog will host a recipe exchange for any kind of holiday recipe you'd like to share. It might be a festive drink, a main course, an appetizer, or any recipe that just says the holidays to you! Buttercream Lane, here, will be hosting recipes for Christmas cookies!

Here's how it will work. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, you'll post your recipe on your blog and link it up here or at Buttercream Lane. The Mr Linky will be put up the day after Thanksgiving. You may post as many recipes as you'd like and hopefully spread the word to others so we'll have lots of great recipes to try.So pull those recipes out and get ready to start posting them a week from Friday.

In addition to all of your great submissions, I'll be posting 12 great Christmas cookie recipes of my own for you to make and 12 holiday treats to make for yourself or give as gifts. How about instructions and the recipe to make cranberry liqueur to give as a gift or to use during your holiday parties?That's one of mine!

You can grab your buttons below, spread the word and get ready to find some fabulous new recipes to try over the next few weeks. You may post more than one recipe to each Exchange. The more people we can get to participate, the more great recipes we'll have to try! I can't wait!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping

2009-11-13T01:01:00.002-07:00

I love pumpkin muffins and love playing with recipes, so this is the result of taking the best parts of 4 different recipes and combining them into one great tasting muffin. The browned butter adds a nutty flavor to these muffins that sets them apart. They are perfect for a weekend breakfast.

1/3 cup of melted unsalted (sweet)butter, browned- Instructions below.
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
1 cup pumpkin
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Topping
2 TBS flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 TBS butter softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grease a 12 hole muffin pan
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place the butter into a small saucepan over medium heat.
Have a small heat proof bowl waiting next to the stove.

Allow the butter to melt and boil until it just starts to turn a light golden brown, stirring or swirling as it cooks to prevent burning. As soon as the color begins to change to the light golden color, immediately remove from heat and continue stirring for 30 seconds or so. The butter will continue browning from the heat in the pan. It should be a medium golden brown.
If it starts getting too dark, QUICKLY pour into the standby bowl to stop the cooking process. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients until the butter is incorporated and it is a bit crumbly.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together into a medium size bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk and vanilla.
Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until barely combined.
Add the browned butter and stir until combined. Don't over stir.
Divide the batter up into 12 muffins.

Sprinkle a spoonful of the topping over the muffin batter
Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to continue cooling.

Cranberry Upside Down Coffee Cake

2009-11-12T10:46:00.001-07:00

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups cranberries fresh or frozen that have been thawed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• The zest from one large orange ~1 ½ -2 tsps.
• 1 cup sour cream- regular or lite
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Wrap the outside of a 9 inch springform pan with aluminum foil to prevent leaking. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar and 1/3 cup butter. Bring to a boil, then pour into bottom of springform pan. Sprinkle with cranberries and pecans.
3. Peel a large apple, grate it, then squeeze most of the juice out, toss with 2 TBS of flour to separate and coat.
4. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, and the orange zest.
5. Gently mix in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream. 1/3 flour, half of the sour cream, 1/3 of the flour, the rest fo the sour cream then the rest of the flour each time mixing just until it is combined. Do not over beat!!
6. Pour batter into prepared pan.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto serving platter and carefully remove pan. Serve warm.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

2009-11-11T02:34:00.000-07:00

Double Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and coffee granules in a bowl. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.
Beat in the vanilla with the last egg.
Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts; mixing just enough to evenly combine.
Dived the dough in half and shape each into 8x2 inch flat rectangles about 1 inch thick.
Place on the baking sheet 3 to 4 inches apart.
Beat egg yolk with water in a small bowl. Brush over the top of each loaf.

Bake in the preheated oven until both loaves are firm, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool for 10 to 12 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Cut each loaf diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.
Place each slice, cut-side up onto the baking sheet.
Return to the oven and bake until the biscotti are dry, 10 to 15 minutes on each side.
Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container.

These are extra good when drizzled with both white and dark chocolate!

Easy All Butter Pie Crust- Food Processor

2009-11-09T22:13:00.002-07:00

I love flaky pie crust but not the film that shortening leaves in my mouth and really, isn't everything better with lots of butter in it. This recipe can be made today and then frozen until the day before Thanksgiving. Take it out and set it in the fridge overnight and you will be already for the pie making on

2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus additional flour for work surface
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen for 10 minutes
3 tablespoons sour cream (the acid in the sour cream helps make the crust tender)
1/3 Cup ice water , or more if needed

Process flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of large peas, about ten 1-second pulses.

Using fork, mix sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water in small bowl until combined. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture. Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry, and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water and process until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, three to five 1-second pulses.

Turn dough out onto work surface. Divide dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk; wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1 to 2 hours, before rolling.

Dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let thoroughly chilled dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Dough can also be frozen for several months. Make the pie dough, shape it into two 4-inch disks, wrap the disks tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and foil, and freeze. When you're ready to make a pie, simply thaw the disks in the refrigerator overnight.

Holiday Biscotti

2009-11-09T21:58:00.001-07:00

I originally saw a recipe like this in Bon Appetit and made some changes to the original recipe, I know you're shocked that I'd adapt a recipe. It is so pretty with the green and red and it's perfect for the holidays.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. silpat, or just grease really well.
Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend.
Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend.
Beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended.
Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide and 3/4" to 1" thick (tall) log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife,(if you have an electric carving knife those work really well for this) cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti again for 10 minutes on one side then turn over and bake until they are pale golden, about 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool completely.

Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Either dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate shake off the excess chocolate or drizzle chocolate over the top and sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

This biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to a week or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags for up to 2 months.

Orange Almonds

2009-11-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

These are so good as a sweet snack or for a party. They also make a wonderful gift. Just pack them up in a cute container as a lovely gift for a teacher, neighbor or hostess gift.

3 cups of blanched whole almonds
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp of orange zest
a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Grease a baking sheet with sides
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy and broken up
Add the almonds to the egg whites and stir until the almonds are completely wet
In a seperate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, orange zest, and the spices
Drain almonds and add to the powdered sugar mixture, stir until the almonds are coated in the sugar.
Spread the coated almonds out onto the baking sheet in a single layer
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, until the almonds are crunchy.
Remove from oven and cool completely.
Store in an airtight container. They store perfect for weeks.

Brown Sugar Cookies

2009-11-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

Brown Sugar Cookies

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsps. hot water
4 cups flour
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, then add eggs.
Mix soda and hot water, add to mixture, mix well.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt and add to mixture one cup at a time.
Add vanilla.
Chill batter thoroughly. This is a very soft dough, but it can be handled nicely if chilled.
Roll and cut.
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes until lightly golden at 350 degrees, do not overbake.

Makes a soft cookie. I also use this recipe as a drop cookie. I don't chill the batter and just drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake as above.

Island Cookies

2009-11-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Island Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
You make the dough and the filling for this bar cookie and then layer before baking, dropping islands of the dough over the filling.
For Dough: In a large mixing bowl cream together:

1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar

Beat in

2 Eggs and
2 tsp Vanilla

Then add:

2 ½ Cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 Cups Oatmeal

Filling: Pour the following ingredients into a microwave safe bowl

12 oz of chocolate chips
2 TBS of butter
1-12 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Microwave on high heat for 30 seconds remove and stir. Microwave for 15 seconds and stir, repeat at 15 second increments until filling is all melted and smooth.

Putting cookies together:

Press 2/3 of dough into the bottom of a greased 9x13” pan until even.
Pour the chocolate filling over the dough.
Dot with the remaining 1/3 of dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the cookie part is a medium golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool before cutting into very small squares. They're rich.
These freeze very well.

Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2009-10-26T13:48:00.000-06:00

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chips Cookies
These are one of my daughter's favorite cookies!
Ingredients:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
• 3/4 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and raisins (batter will be stiff). Drop by heaping teaspoons unto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes on until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. About 4 dozen.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

2009-10-21T13:56:00.000-06:00

2 cups sugar
1 cup softened butter
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
Granulated sugar to roll dough in

In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs. Blend until smooth.
Stir in combined remaining ingredients; blend well.
Chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325°.
Grease cookie sheets.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar and place on greased cookie sheets (I like to line sheets with Parchment instead).
Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden edges. (Cookies will be soft in center.)
Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet onto racks to cool completely.

Serve plain or make a glaze out of

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon softened butter

Stir together and drizzle over the top of the cookies. If glaze is too thick, you can add a bit of water to thin it out.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

2009-10-14T14:00:00.000-06:00

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 2 egg
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 Tbs cherry juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache for topping
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

• 2 (10 ounce) jars maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Beat butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
3. Roll into balls about the size of the cherries (larger if desired). Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Drain cherries and reserve juice. Press center of each ball with thumb. Place a cherry in indentation.
5. In a saucepan, heat condensed milk and chocolate chips until chips are melted. Stir in 4 teaspoons of cherry juice. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of mixture over each cherry and spread to cover cherry. (More cherry juice may be added to keep frosting of spreading consistency.)
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Spread a bit more topping over them while still warm to smooth out the tops.
These cookies spread out a lot and grow so to keep the cherry to cookie ratio good don't make the cookie part to big. These freeze well.

S'MORE BARS - No Bake

2009-10-13T11:22:00.000-06:00

If you like S'Mores, you will love these quick and easy bars.

8 Cups graham flavored breakfast cereal like Golden Grahams
6 Cups mini marshmallows- Reserve 1 cup
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips- milk chocolate or semi- sweet
5 TBS butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Grease a 9x13 baking pan with some butter
Pour cereal into a large mixing bowl
In a 3 quart saucepan over medium low heat melt the butter, chocolate chips and 5 cups of the marshmallows together until the ingredients are melted and smooth. Stir constantly and watch carefully so that the chocolate doesn't burn.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla
Pour the melted mixture over the cereal in the large mixing bowl and stir gently until the cereal is evenly coated.
Stir in the reserved 1 Cup of mini marshamallows
Press the mixture into the greased baking pan. The mixture is very sticky so use your greased (clean) hands or grease the bottom of a mixing cup and use it to press the mix in.
Let cool completely and then cut into squares.
Store in a sealed container. These will stay good for a few days ~~they won't last that long~~ if sealed well.

Butterscotch Brownies or Blondies

2009-10-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

These are the moist delicious Blondies that remind me of my grandma. Chewy and delicious!

1 ½ sticks of butter
2 cups light brown sugar packed
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until almost melted. Add brown sugar and stir. Increase heat slightly and cook mixture until bubbly. Pour into a mixing bowl. Cool for 5 minutes.
While the mixture cools, grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan and
Sift or combine dry ingredients.
Beat eggs one at a time into the sugar and butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla and beat until well mixed.
On low speed, add dry ingredients to the sugar and egg mixture and beat on low just until combined. Add coconut and pecans and mix to combine. Do not over beat!!
Spread batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 22-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and they are golden brown. These are wonderful once cooled or serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Baby Ruth Bars- No Bake!!!

2009-10-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

These are so quick and easy to make. No baking!!! They take about 15 minutes to whip up and then ready to eat in another 30, best of all they taste just like the candy bar with this name.
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
6 cups cornflakes cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup peanuts

In a large saucepan over medium heat combine the peanut butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar.
Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and quickly mix in the cornflakes, chocolate chips and peanuts stirring until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Press the entire mixture gently into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

You can also do this in a microwave:
In a large microwavable bowl combine the peanut butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar. Heat on 80% for one minute, stir, continue heating in 30 second increments, stirring after each cooking time until mixture is smooth. Pour in the cereal, chips and peanuts stirring until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Press the entire mixture gently into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into 12 to 18 bars.

Coconut Cookies- Chewy

2009-10-07T14:09:00.000-06:00

My kids love this cookie and so do I. They are chewy and sweet.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)
Cream together the butter and the sugars until fluffy on medium high speed.
Add eggs in one at a time combining between additions.
Add the vanilla
Combine the dry ingredients.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients all at once. Beat on low just until combined. Don't overbeat or the cookies will be tough.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool.
These freeze well.

Ginger Biscotti

2009-10-02T14:29:00.000-06:00

Spicy Ginger Biscotti

Makes about 65 biscotti

1 ¼ cup whole almonds
4 ounces crystallized Ginger
½ cup sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup honey
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp finely ground pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves

Toast almonds in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly colored, stirring once during toasting. Set aside to cool and reduce oven temp. to 300 degrees.

Place crystallized ginger and ½ cup of sugar into a food processor bowl and pulsing until pieces are the size of whole peppercorns. You can also chop crystallized ginger by hand until pieces are the size of whole peppercorns and add it to the 1/2 cup of sugar. .
Beat the eggs and honey in a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl sift together the remaining ingredients, 2 ½ cups all purpose flour,¼ tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp finely ground pepper, 1 tsp. ground ginger, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, and ½ tsp. ground cloves
Stir in the ginger and sugar.
Add the whole toasted nuts, add the honey egg mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are completely moistened. Mixture will firm but sticky

Divide the dough into 2 parts. Form two 14” long logs and place onto a parchment, silpat, or greased foil lined cookie sheet. Leaving space between the logs, gently flatten out the log until it is 3-3 ½ inches wide and ¾ inches thick ( NO thicker).

Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 270 degrees and remove sheet from oven and immediately peel the parchment foil or silpat off of the flattened log.

Place the flattened log onto a cutting board and with a very sharp or serrated knife, slice on an angle a scant ¼”- 1/3” inch wide slices. The larger the angle the longer the biscotti will be. Place slices cut side down onto cookie sheets touching each other. Gather up the chunks that break off and bake them too.

Bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes turning slices once after 15 minutes. Bake until very light golden brown and crisp when cooled. You may need to cool one in the freezer as a test to see if they are done. You need to watch carefully the last 10 minutes as it's easy for them to get to browned and be over done.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Save the pieces to top vanilla ice cream with.
If you really want to splurge, dip or drizzle with dark chocolate

Lemon Coconut Bread

2009-09-18T14:37:00.002-06:00

Lemon Coconut Bread

Try this lemony loaf with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast or serve it with berries and some whipped cream for an easy dessert. Unlike most quick bread recipes that call for a cup of oil, this recipe calls for half that amount of fat and uses a combination of butter and oil for a rich yet not heavy flavor and texture. It is a cross between a traditional quick bread and a cake. This loaf freezes beautifully so I double or triple the recipe to make sure to always have a loaf on hand.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup of lemon juice
3/4 cup of milk
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (2 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease and flour a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan or line with waxed or parchment paper then set it aside.

Whisk the the lemon juice, milk and 2 eggs together in a small bowl.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, oil, lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract.

With a wooden spoon, stir about a third of the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, then alternately add half of the egg and milk mixture and half of the flour mixture, stirring after each addition just enough to blend. Don't overbeat or the cake will be tough. Stir in the coconut.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake on the center oven rack until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit on a cooling rack for 10- 15 minutes.
Remove loaf from the pan and set it on the rack until cooled.
When the loaf is completely cooled glaze with

Lemon Coconut Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon melted butter
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Place butter in a microwavable bowl. Microwave for 10-20 seconds until melted. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice and mix until combined. If the glaze is too thin then add a bit more powdered sugar. Stir in coconut and drizzle over the top and sides of the loaf.

Orange Lemon Cake

2009-04-10T19:02:00.000-06:00

3 Cups All purpose Flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Grated zest and juice of one lemon
Grated zest and juice of one orange
¾ cup whole milk
8 oz. of unsalted butter softened
1 ½ cups of vanilla sugar or 1 ½ cups of white sugar with 1 TBS Vanilla extract mixed into it until fluffy
5 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Evenly coat a 10” bundt pan with butter and flour.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt then stir in the orange and lemon zests and set aside.

Combine the milk, lemon juice and orange juice and set aside to “sour”

In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer at high speed beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition. The mixture will look curdled.

Alternating in thirds, add the flour and then the milk mixtures, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in center of oven.

Bake until even golden brown on the top and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes.
Don’t worry if the cracks on the top don’t look dry- use the toothpick to test for doneness.
Transfer to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto serving plate.

You can glaze this cake or just serve with powdered sugar.

This was originally published in the Denver Post

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2008-11-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Thankdgiving! After years of trying Pumpkin cheesecake recipes, I found this one and with a few changes came up with what I think is the best recipe out there.

Depending on the oven and the temperature of the ingredients, the cheesecake may bake about 15 minutes faster or slower than the instructions indicate; it is therefore best to check the cake 1 1/4 hours into baking. Although the cheesecake can be made up to three days in advance, the crust will begin to lose its crispness after only one day. To make slicing the cheesecake easy and neat, use a knife with a narrow blade, such as a carving knife; between cuts, dip the blade into a pitcher of hot water and wipe it clean with paper towels.
Makes one 9-inch cake, serving 12 to 16

*Crust*
3	ounces graham crackers(5 whole crackers), broken into large pieces
3	tablespoons granulated sugar
2	ounces pecans ,chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2	teaspoon ground ginger
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4	teaspoon ground cloves
4	tablespoons butter, melted
*Filling*
1 1/3	cups granulated sugar
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2	teaspoon ground ginger
1/4	teaspoon ground cloves
1/4	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4	teaspoon allspice
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	can pumpkin (15 ounces)
1 1/2	pounds cream cheese, 3-8oz packages , cut into 1-inch chunks and left to soften at room temperature, about 30 minutes
1	teaspoon vanilla extract 5 large eggs that have been brought to room temperature
1	cup heavy cream

Before beginning crust dry your pumpkin:

To dry pumpkin: Line baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Spread pumpkin on paper towels in roughly even layer. Cover pumpkin with second triple layer of paper towels and press firmly until paper towels are saturated. Peel back top layer of towels and discard. Grasp bottom towels and fold pumpkin in half; peel back towels. Repeat and flip pumpkin onto baking sheet or into an extra mixing bowl; discard towel.

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan evenly with nonstick cooking spray. Pulse crackers, nuts, sugar, and spices in food processor until evenly and finely ground, about fifteen 2-second pulses. Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle melted butter over, and mix with rubber spatula until evenly moistened. Turn crumbs into prepared springform pan and, using hand, spread crumbs into even layer. Using flat-bottomed ramekin or drinking glass, press crumbs evenly into pan bottom, then use a soup spoon to press and smooth crumbs into edges of pan. Bake until fragrant and browned about the edges, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling.

At this point, bring about 4 quarts water to simmer in stockpot for the Bain Marie. A bain-marie is the French term for a water bath.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk sugar, spices, and salt in small bowl; set aside.

3. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat cream cheese at medium speed to break up and soften slightly, about 1 minute. Scrape beater and bottom and sides of bowl well with rubber spatula. Add about one third of sugar mixture and beat at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute; scrape bowl and add remaining sugar in two additions, scraping bowl after each addition. Add your dried pumpkin and vanilla and beat at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl. Add 3 eggs and beat at medium-low until incorporated, about 1 minute; scrape bowl. Add remaining 2 eggs and beat at medium-low until incorporated, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl. Add heavy cream and bourbon and beat at low speed until combined, about 45 seconds. Using rubber spatula, scrape bottom and sides of bowl and give final stir by hand.

4. Set springform pan with cooled crust on an 18-inch-square doubled layer heavy-duty foil and wrap bottom and sides with foil; set wrapped springform pan in roasting pan.This is to keep the water out of the springform pan while the cheesecake bakes.

Pour filling into springform pan and smooth surface; set roasting pan in oven and pour enough of your boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan.

Bake until center of cake is slightly wobbly when pan is shaken, and center of cake registers 145 to 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 1 1/2 hours.

For baking at altitude. Subtract 2 degrees for each 1000 feet of altitude. For Denver, the center of the cake should register 140 degrees.

Set roasting pan on wire rack and use paring knife to loosen cake from sides of pan. Cool until water is just warm, about 45 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, discard foil, and set on wire rack; continue to cool until barely warm, about 3 hours. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

5. TO SERVE: Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.

Old Fashioned Cherry Cake

2008-10-13T18:47:00.006-06:00

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1 /4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1 egg beaten
2 cups fresh or frozen pitted tart or pie cherries (NOT cherry pie filling) lightly drained (reserve 1 cup juice)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnut, pecans, or hazelnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine butter or margarine, egg, sour cherries, almond extract, and nuts: add to flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
Bake, uncovered, in an ungreased 9-inch square pan for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cut into squares.
Serve with hot Cherry Sauce and whipped cream or ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.

Cherry Sauce:
1 cup cherry juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cherry juice, cornstarch, sugar, almond extract, and butter or margarine; cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.