To A Healthy New Year

I am currently trying to revise my eating plan for the new year, so I thought I'd throw out one of my healthier cookie recipes for you to try. It's (supposedly) the recipe for those oh-so-tasty Great Harvest Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies, and while it might not be the real one it tastes very similar. It also may not be low in calories, but it is made from more high quality healthy ingredients than the average cookie, which I think is important when deciding what to put into your body. And chocolate should always rank somewhere high on your important things to eat list. Antioxidants, people! :D

Harvest Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups whole wheat flour (I use Great Montana or King Arthur...try to use a good quality flour, it's worth it)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats, divided in half
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 11.5 ounce bag chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
-Take one cup of the oats and grind in a blender or food processor until it is the consistency of coarse flour. Set aside.
-Cream together the brown sugar and butter until well combined.
-Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir molasses, milk and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture and beat well.
-Add the ground and rolled oats to the butter mixture and mix well.
-Add the flour mixture and mix until it is completely combined.
-Stir in the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
-Using a 1/4 cup scoop (about the size of a regular ice cream scoop) or measuring cup, scoop the dough onto ungreased cookie sheets 3 inches apart.
-Bake for 12 to 13 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown.
-Remove from oven and cool two minutes on the cookie sheets. Remove from sheets and cool completely on racks.

Makes 22-24 giant cookies.

This Is Why I Mostly Bake

I've been off work the last few nights so I thought I'd make us some lovely dinners, and here is what I say to that experience: Poopie! Chicken Marsala be danged to heck! (Not to mention the nasty smell of wine while it's doing it's reduction thing.)

Christmas night we got home from my parents and had a nap, got up around 6-ish and I decided it would be nice to make some lovely, homey dinner. Something that sounded decidedly easy and not too over the top considering we'd been eating ham, rolls, cake and pie all day. My sister gave me all her old copies of Fine Cooking Magazine, and they had an issue on "Comfort Food". The cover had a casserole dish practically spilling over with the most divine looking homemade mac and cheese I'd ever seen. So I thought I'd make it. I remember making it in home ec. in high school. Shouldn't be that hard to make comfort food, right? Boil some pasta, make some white sauce, melt in some cheese...ta da! I'm a hero.

1 and 1/2 hours (and a very frazzled Becky) later we finally had our dinner. While it was decidedly tasty macaroni and cheese, it was just far too involved. Comfort food should be easy to make. I swear I stirred that !@#*@&^ white sauce for around an hour before it even decided to thicken up enough for the cheese. I had to whisk it the whole time. Then strain out the onions. Then I had to bake the stinking stuff. Dana wouldn't eat it because it had breadcrumbs on it. *SIGH*

So tonight I finally got around to making what I was going to make for Christmas dinner, but we got invited to a family party and decided to go to that instead. Boy am I glad we did. The Chicken Marsala in question was okay, but nowhere near worth the trouble I went through to make it. Plus wine smells really gross when it's simmering with mushrooms. By the time I got it on the table I didn't feel well. You can tell I'm a hardcore drinker, can't you? The mashed potatoes, which took all of 15 minutes to make (because you have to boil them, you know) and the croissants which came out of a can were better than the stupid frou frou chicken. Fancy dinner recipes be damned.

When I come back from the fog hanging round my head, which I think is wine fumes that have attached themselves to my brain, I shall post a new recipe. I am now off to pass out.

Good Morning

Today is a testament to how much I not only love my husband, but all the really nice people he works with. I got up at 6am to make them cinnamon rolls as our Christmas gift to them. For those of you who have never made bread from scratch, this is a labor of love....that and a really good outlet for frustration. :) Making bread is a wonderful thing to do on a cold day, and very cathartic.

I am a huge fan of cinnamon rolls. There is nothing wrong with a cinnamon roll. I remember when Ray came to Utah for the first time I took him straight to Crossroads Mall and stopped at Cinnabon so he could taste the best cinnamon rolls ever. When that Cinnabon closed down I was very sad. So I started making this recipe to fill the void. The last time I had an actual Cinnabon was when we were stuck in Chicago on a layover to Scotland and I have to tell you a secret. I think that these might be better.

This really is a great recipe, the dough is very forgiving...and full of interesting ingredients you would never think to see in a cinnamon roll. If you've never made yeast bread before, I think it's time to put your hands to good use. It's nice to think that you're doing something that people have been doing for thousands of years. I always imagine my grandma in her kitchen making 10 loaves of bread and how satisfying it is to make things with your own two hands. My hope is that this never becomes a dying art.

Copycat Cinnabon Rolls

2 tablespoons or 2 packets dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix (4 serving size)
milk (for pudding)
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups flour
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
8 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

-First, make the cream cheese frosting: mix all the ingredients together until smooth and set aside.
-In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar and water, stir until dissolved and set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl make the vanilla pudding mix according to package directions.
-Add in the melted margarine, eggs and salt and mix well.
-Add in yeast mixture (which should be foamy by this point) and blend.
-Gradually add the flour. Once all the flour is in, turn out and knead on a floured surface until smooth.
-Place the dough in a large greased bowl and grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and place in a warm area. Let rise until double.
-Punch down and let rise until double again.
-Next, roll out on a floured surface to 34x21 inches.
-Take the soft butter and spread over the entire surface.
-In a bowl mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle over the top of the buttered dough.
-Roll up tightly.
-Using a piece of thread or unwaxed dental floss, cut the dough every two inches. (Do this by sliding the thread under the dough, crossing the thread over the top and pulling quickly to cut.)
-Place the rolls on a lightly gread cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Take your hand and lightly press down on each roll.
-Cover with plastic wrap and let rise. In the meantime preheat your to 350F.
-When rolls are doubled in size, bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they just start to turn golden. Don't overbake!
-Frost while warm with the cream cheese frosting.

Makes about 20 rolls.

Minty

I know I haven't gotten around to posting some of those other promised recipes yet...don't worry, I will!

In the meantime, I tried a recipe yesterday that I thought was brilliant and would be impressive for a cookie exchange or a gift. Mint Shortbread! They are drizzled with white and milk chocolate and they taste a little like a grasshopper cookie, only much, much better.

Mint Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons mint extract
2 and 2/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Green food coloring
White and Milk Chocolate chips

-In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
-Beat in the egg and then stir in the mint extract.
-Add the flour and salt and stir in until completely mixed.
-Add several drops of food coloring and mix well. (I find this works best if you mix until the dough is marbled and then knead it with your hands so it gets well mixed, but you don't get green fingers.) Add food coloring until desired shade of green is reached.
-Roll the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
-Slice dough into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
-Bake for 8-9 minutes or until cookie just begin to brown at the edges.
-Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
-Drizzle with melted chocolate chips if desired*. (Melt each kind seperately in microwave safe bowls. Instructions on how to do this follow.)

Makes about 60 cookies

(depending on what size log you make...mine was about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter and about 2 feet long)
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*Some tips about chocolate and how I did my drizzling!

Once upon a time, right after I graduated from high school, I worked at a chocolate factory. I guess that would make me an Oompa Loompa of sorts, but this chocolate factory wasn't anywhere near as fun or pretty as Willie Wonka's. (Nor was my manager anything as lucious and Johnny Depp.)

I learned lots of things while I was there, like how to make nifty designs so you could tell the chocolates apart and also how to eat so much chocolate that you don't ever want to eat it again.

All kidding aside, it's important how you heat chocolate so that it doesn't do scary things that make very un-attractive treats. Overheating it and/or getting any water in it will make it sieze up and turn into a lumpy, sugary mess. Cooling it too quickly will cause it turn grey, and it won't set up properly. Not cooling it enough will ensure messy, sticky fingers.

Here is the easiest way I know, short of owning a warm chocolate vat, to melt chocolate:

Put the chocolate (chips in this case) in a microwave safe bowl and microwave them for 30 seconds. Stir them around and put them back in for another 30 seconds. Stir again. Don't be tempted to put them in until they melt. This will overheat your chocolate and make it sieze. If the chips aren't melted yet, put them back in for another 30 second but watch them. As soon as the chocolate starts to look like it's melting you need to take it out and stir it. Make sure you stir it really well because this may be all it needs for it to melt the chips.

Without trying to get too scientific, the reason you need to do this is because everything you're cooking in a microwave will conduct heat from the bottom up. The bottom of the chips will melt first while the top chips might not look melted at all. In fact, some kinds of chocolate don't even look like they're melted at all until you stir them up. If you wait for all the chips to melt, the chocolate on the bottom will already be overcooked. This is why it's necessary to stir, stir, stir. The hot chips on the bottom will melt the less hot ones on the top and your chocolate will never get too hot if you remember to stir it often and cook in short bursts.

As soon as there are no more lumps in the chocolate you're ready for drizzling. You can do it freehand with a fork or spoon, or spoon the chocolate into a plastic bag, snip a tiny bit of the corner off and drizzle them that way. You may even be tempted to make nifty swirly designs or star shapes with your chocolate. You little artist, you. :) Just remember that as soon as the chocolate starts to come back to room temperature it will harden up, so you need to do the drizzling in a relatively short amount of time.

The last tip is that you need to give yourself time to let the chocolate set up. It will harden again if you let it sit at room temperature long enough. Faster in a cooler room. Don't be tempted to put them in the freezer. Reason being that when you introduce too much cold into warm you're going to get condensation, and that equals water on your chocolate. Water+Chocolate=Grey, Sticky Chocolate. If you absolutely need them to be done faster, you can put your cookies in the fridge, but not for longer than 5 minutes. This will give the chocolate a chance to cool down just enough. Let them finish out cooling at room temperature. This will ensure perfect cookies.

I will now dismount from my chocolate soapbox.

Christmas Cookies

I made the sugar cookie recipe over the weekend, but I didn't get around to rolling them out and cutting them into cute little christmasy things until yesterday. I purchased snowflake, snowman and pine tree cookie cutters from Spoons and Spice and commenced to cookie-ing. Dana sprinkled on the sugars and we had a grand time.

The verdict? They were phenomenal. They tasted wonderful and rich because of just enough cream cheese added to the dough, and they didn't spread out and make the shapes deformed in any way (which is a problem when you're making cut-out cookies). They also turn a brilliant white when they bake, which makes them look beautiful. The only problem I found was that if you use cutters with spindly shapes (like my lovely snowflake cutter that had slender tips) the cookies are tender, which lead to the tips breaking off in an unceremonius fashion. So this may be one to not use with the reindeer cutter that has tiny legs and antlers. Oh well, those tips were still tasty!

Buttery Cut-Out Christmas Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour

-Combine everything but the flour in a mixing bowl and beat until well combined and creamy (about 3-4 minutes).
-Gradually add the flour and beat until well mixed, about 2-3 minutes more.
-Divide the dough in half and shape into flat discs. Wrap in each in plastic wrap.
-Refrigerate until firm, at least two hours.
-Take out of the fridge when ready and let rest for about 15 minutes (otherwise it's fairly impossible to roll out).
-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
-Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick.
-Cut out the shapes your prefer and place at least 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
-Sprinkle with colored sugars before baking if desired.
-Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the edges just start to brown. I find the magic number for my oven is about 8 minutes.
-Let sit on sheets for about 2 minutes (this prevents breakage) and transfer to racks to cool.
-I you prefer to bake your cookies plain you can decorate with icing and candies after they are cooled. Decorate away!

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Some helpful Tips!

If you're having trouble transferring your cut dough to the cookie sheets, try these techniques.
-Roll your dough out on waxed paper to keep it from sticking.
-cut out all your shapes on foil sheets, transfer the foil sheet to the baking pan, remove the excess dough around your shapes and bake.

Christmas Bakery!

I'm sorry I haven't posted any new recipes lately. I haven't felt well since Thanksgiving and I've had a wee girl with a cold at home. That doesn't mean I have stopped cooking, though! Heavens, a day without cooking is like purgatory for me. I'm that addicted to it. I probably have a problem with a name and everything.

Recently I've been trying out recipes that are gift and party worthy. I have made a lot of lovely things. I've also made some not so lovely ones that will not be featured here...like the horribly wrong peanut butter fudge, which we shall not mention again.

The stand out ones that I have made--and which I will bestow on you in easy to digest installments--are the following: "The Cheesecake Factory" Pumpkin Cheesecake, Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies, Great Harvest's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lime Bars and Molasses Cookies.

Today is Gingerbread Caramel Corn. I made it over the weekend to take to work, and it got rave reviews! Just think what a great gift it would make, accompanied by a bottle of sparkling cider or some fresh apples.

Gingerbread Caramel Corn

15-18 cups popped popcorn
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

(Tip! If you don't want to use air popped popcorn, you can make this in a pinch with microwave popcorn.  I use two bags of Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop Butter because the butter flavor is practically non-existent, so it doesn't effect the flavor of the caramel.)
-Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Set aside two 9x13 pans or one large half sheet pan for the popcorn to bake on.
-Put the popcorn in a large mixing bowl.  Shake the popcorn so that all the unpopped "old maid" kernels (they break teeth!) fall to the bottom.  Transfer the popcorn to another mixing bowl using very clean hands or a spoon, and then throw the unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bowl away.  Make sure the bowl the popcorn ends up in is heatproof and has enough room for you to stir the popcorn around in without falling out, and set aside.
-In a large, heavy saucepan combine the salt, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, ginger and cinnamon. Measure out the baking soda and set aside.
-Heat the mixture over medium heat until it comes to a full boil.
-Boil for 4 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
-Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. The mixture will foam up. Stir well.
-Pour this mixture over the popcorn and stir gently until evenly coated with the mixture.
-Spread the popcorn out onto the pan(s) in an even layer.
-Bake for one hour, stirring the popcorn every fifteen minutes.
-Cool completely on the pans, stirring every once in a while as it cools.  When completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Noggy!

Really, if there was any reason for you to have a bottle of ground nutmeg in your pantry it would be for sprinkling over Eggnog, don't you think?

I myself have not been a huge fan of drinking eggnog until recently. I think it's too thick to be drunk in any reasonable fashion, but I love the taste. And thinned down with milk it's quite yummy. They've also come out with a pumpkin eggnog here that is really, really good. My favorite way has always been Eggnog Ice Cream, which is magnificent and gorgeous and if I could I would marry it. YUM.

Anyway, I was looking for some new and interesting recipes to try and I found a recipe for Eggnog Cookies. Something I've certainly never heard of before, but I thought it might be a nice holiday recipe. All I can say is wow. These are not only tasty, but they smell divine! You might as well invite Christmas over to your house and ask it to stay.

Eggnog Cookies

1 and 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 and 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-Preheat oven to 300 degrees. (Not a typo.)
-Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
-In a seperate bowl cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
-Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks. Beat until smooth.
-Add flour mixture until just combined. Don't overmix.
-Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets at least 1 inch apart.
-Sprinkle each cookie lightly with nutmeg.
-Bake 20-23 minutes until bottom begins to turn light brown.

Of Soup And Dumplings

My Grandma, Ruby Berniece Hansen Jensen Pratt Gambles (for real!), was a great cook. People used to clamor for her home-made bread which was incredibly good. I always fought for the crusty end pieces. Unfortunately it's one of those recipes that you just know instinctively and don't write down. She tried to show me how to make it once...it was a handful of this and that. Mine turned out incredibly salty. I haven't tried the written version my sister has in her family cookbook, mostly because it makes about ten loaves of bread, but also because I have a bad feeling this is one recipe that has gone to the grave with Grandma. Right along with my Grandma Young's home canned green beans.

My Grandma Ruby (or Cookie Grandma, because she always had cookies for the Grandkids in her fawn shaped cookie jar...see my blog name? That's why.) used to live in my parents basement when we were growing up. On Sunday afternoons when we'd have our big family dinner my Grandma would send one of us up the stairs with her home-made meal contribution (usually Jell-O salad or some such thing) and she'd follow us up, trailing slowly behind.

Her family was originally from Denmark, so we grew up eating cool things like Aebelskivers (pancake balls!) and "Puffy Oven Pancakes" (I believe the proper term is Dutch Baby, but that sounds creepy to me) and my personal favorite, Danish Dumplings.

The first time I had American dumplings, which was some time last year at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, I remember eating it thinking "What the heck is this...boiled pie crust?!" It was completely NOT a dumpling! It was nasty. Maybe Cracker Barrel dumplings are just gross? I have no idea. To be fair I bet there are lil' old Grannies in the South that can make them just right, but in my heart Danish Dumplings will always be the ones I crave, and they'll always remind me of my Grandma Ruby.

Tonight it's frosty outside and I'll be making chicken soup for dinner. Mostly because I wanted an excuse to have danish dumplings. They are absolute heaven. And if you don't think so, I'll beat you up. :)

Grandma Ruby's Danish Dumplings

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

-In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat milk and butter to a boil, then add flour.
-Stir until thick and mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a compact mass.
-Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
-When cool add eggs one a time, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in nutmeg and salt.
-Drop by spoonfuls into hot soup and cover for 10-15 minutes.
-Dumplings are done when they have risen to the top and doubled in size.

Pumpkiny Wumpkiny

I'm glad I came up with this recipe in November because what could be more apropos than miniature pumpkin pies? These are just so stinking cute! And they're as delicious and easy as they are screamingly adorable.

This really is my very own recipe, reason being that I don't really like regular old pie crust at all. I always scoop the middle out of pie when I eat it so I don't have to eat any crust...I just think it's so bland and greasy. I say "BAH!" to pie crust! So I've borrowed from several recipes, put in things I like, took out things I didn't, and Voila! crust that actually tastes as good as I always hope pie crust will taste.

The only bad thing about them is that forming the little pastry shells is rather time consuming... but what a fun thing for the kids to help with! The dough doesn't have any eggs in it and it's fun to shape them in the mini muffin tins. These can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until it's time to eat them. Eat them plain, dollop on a little whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips...the possibilites for these cutesy little things are endless!

This recipe makes 48 tartlets, but can be cut in half if necessary. (Though why you'd want less, I can't imagine!)

Pumpkin Tartlets

Cream Cheese Pastry:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
2 and 1/2 cups flour

-Mix together the cream cheese and butter until well blended.
-Cut in the flour with a fork or pastry blender until you have pea size crumbs.
-Mix with a spoon until it just starts to come together into a ball. Fold a few times with your hands to bring it together into a dough.
-Roll into walnut size balls (you should end up with approximately 48 dough balls) and put one ball into each cup of a mini muffin tin. (If you only have a 12 or 24 cup muffin tin, just stash the extras in the fridge until your pan is cool and ready for the next batch.)
-Using your thumb, press the balls down and shape evenly around the bottom and sides with your thumb into the same shape as the tin, making a shell for the pumpkin filling. Set aside while you make the filling.

Pumpkin Filling:

2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
4 tablespoons evaporated milk or half & half
2/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-In a bowl stir together the egg, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Stir in sugar, flour, lemon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and salt until well mixed.
-Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into each pastry shell; just enough to fill it to the top.
-Bake for 25 minutes or until crust is browned and filling is set. Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack. Serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator within 2 hours of baking.

Makes about 48 tartlets.

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P.S. Would anyone be interested in the Nutrition information on the recipes, or would that ruin the enjoyment factor for you? Leave me a comment and let me know.

P.p.S. Sidenote of interest for all my fellow bakers: You can buy a heavy duty 24 cup Wilton Mini Muffin Tin at Wal-Mart for just shy of $5 right now. Anyone who has bought or owns Wilton products, that is an amazing price. Go buy one!

Autumn Coffee Cake

I remember the first time I made coffee cake for Ray he had a horrified look on his face and said "There isn't any coffee in it...is there?" Poor thing. I guess, for his sake, it is a good thing that I also hate coffee. I think it tastes like burnt water. But for those of you who love a big, steaming cuppa Joe, I suppose (because of the title) this recipe is what coffee exists for.

Whatever way you feel about coffee this is a very good cake, easy to make, and especially nice for a cozy autumn breakfast.

Sour Cream & Apple Coffee Cake

Topping:
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Cake:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 medium apple, peeled and thinly sliced

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
-In a small bowl stir together the cinnamon, brown and granulated sugar for the topping. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork until it resembles sandy crumbs. Stir in pecans if desired. Set aside.
-Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
-Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in vanilla.
-Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in sour cream until fully incorporated.
-Spread half the batter into the bottom of the baking dish. Lay the apples evenly over the top, then sprinkle with half the topping mixture.
-Drop the other half of the batter over the top and spread to cover evenly. Finish by sprinkling the other half of the topping mixture over the top.
-Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Drizzle with vanilla icing glaze if desired. Cool for 30 minutes.

Vanilla Icing Glaze

2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
milk

In a bowl mix the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add milk to thin a few drops at a time (if needed) to desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cake.

Halloweeeeen

I made so many Halloween treats this year that I didn't even get a chance to make the Jack Skellington cupcakes I had my heart set on. Oh well...next year! I still have a bag of See's sour bats that I was going to use on the cupcakes and now I don't know what to do with them.

On the 30th I spent the night roasting pumpkin seeds (which no one likes but me) and baking snack mix for Ray to take to his Halloween potluck at work. I was so tired I forgot to take a picture of them all wrapped up in their cute little treat bags.

The recipe was easy, really tasty and made a huge bowlful, plus I imagine it can be modified with different candy for different holidays. This one's for you, Mercedes! :)

Halloween Party Mix

1 (11 ounce) package pretzels
1 (9 1/2 ounce) box of mini peanut butter filled Ritz sandwich crackers
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 (10 ounce) package M&M's
1 (18 1/2 ounce) package candy corn

-In a large mixing bowl, combine first 3 ingredients.
-In a large saucepan, combine sugar, butter and corn syrup.
-Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 5 minutes.
-Remove from the heat, stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture will foam).
-Pour over pretzel mixture and fold mixture until coated.
-Pour into a large greased 15x10 inch baking pan. (I line mine with foil first.)
-Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
-Break apart while warm.
-Cool completely.
-Toss with M&M's and candy corn.
-Store in airtight container.

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A Tip From the Kitchen McMitchell:
The first batch I made I tried to "toss" the candy and the mix before I bagged them up, which didn't work very well because the candies all fell to the bottom of the bowl. (Natch!) The next batch I made I bagged the snack mix without the candy and then stirred the candies together and then added some candies to each bag. This turned out to be much easier and far less messy! This is also very important when you're trying to make snacks in a costume. (Too bad I don't have any pictures of that, eh? What fun!)

Banana Power, Activate!

I made banana cake yesterday. And not just any banana cake. Banana cake for a birthday that was so good there are no pictures after the cake was cut. Banana cake that was so messy it forced me to clean my oven. Banana cake that was worth every second I had to spend with a can of Easy-Off Max and a roll of paper towels. Drool worthy banana cake. In fact, just sitting here thinking about it I wish I had more and it's probably a good thing I don't.

The recipe seemed harmless enough, but with a twist. The cake is baked on super low heat for about an hour. Then, once the cake is done baking you throw it hot out of the oven straight into your freezer. This step intrigued me, but it was like magic. It made the cake out of this world tasty and moist.

The only problem I had was that it made too much batter. There should have been a warning. I filled my two humble cake tins 3/4 full and found out that it was too much as batter was pouring forth from the pans all over the oven. I still had batter left over after my initial cakes were done baking and turning my oven smokey black. So I made cupcakes. Cupcakes that Dana and I had to eat straight out of the oven.

Do you see a pattern here? The cake was GOOD!


Banana Cream Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

The Cake:

2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 and 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas)
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups and 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk (or soured milk*)

-Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
-Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.
-In a small bowl mixed the mashed bananas with the lemon juice and set aside.
-In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
-In a large bowl cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.
-Beat in the eggs one at a time and then mix in the vanilla.
-Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
-Stir in the banana mixture.
-Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake in a preheated oven for about one hour (may take longer depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
-Remove pan from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist. Frost with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

-Beat the butter and cream cheese until well mixed.
-Beat in vanilla.
-Beat in powdered sugar on low speed until combined, then on high speed until light and fluffy.

Glad Tidings of Comfort Food & Joy

When I left Utah to go on our vacation the weather was the usual end of summer oven-fest. It was in the 90's and just far too hot for humans. When we got back 3 weeks later it was already fall! It was nice to say the least. The trees were turning beautiful autumn red and orange. It was like the mild Scottish weather had followed us back...minus all the cloudy and rainy. Nice. :)

I was lucky enough to get the night off work yesterday because one of the younger kids wanted my shift (hurrah!) so I decided, between crunching leaves, buying pumpkins and going swimming, that I wanted to have a cozy homemade dinner in celebration of my favorite season. I bought some sparkling cider and made lasagna and pumpkin bread.

Needless to say when Ray got home from work the whole house smelled like heaven. I'd also be lying if I said we didn't start hacking up the pumpkin bread, still warm, and eat 2 or 3 slices before dinner was even being made. You know, just to make sure it was good.

Pumpkin bread is nice on it's own but made even more fantastic with the addition of chocolate chips the way I know and love it. The original recipe calls for walnuts instead. Or you can just leave them out altogether and slather it with cream cheese. Either way, it's a good way to get ready for winter hibernation. Bring on the sweater weather!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
3 cups flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts -or-
1 (11.5 ounce) bag of milk chocolate chips (optional)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Grease and lightly flour the bottom of 2 loaf pans (9x5x3).
-Beat sugar and oil together in a large bowl to blend.
-Mix in eggs and pumpkin.
-Stir together the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt in another bowl.
-Stir into the pumpkin mixture in 2 additions until just mixed.
-Stir in walnuts or chocolate chips if desired.
-Divide the batter equally between the 2 pans.
-Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about one hour. (My oven takes about 55 minutes. It may take shorter or longer depending on your oven, so watch during the last 10 minutes or so to make sure you don't burn your bread.)
-Let the bread sit in the pans for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges to loosen.
-Remove from pans and let cool on racks...if you can wait that long. :)

Makes 2 loaves.

A Triumph!

While I was away in Scotland, Ray's Mum gave me two recipes. Both of them involve candy making...something I am really not good at. Baking is one thing, but candy making is like chemistry to me. I always screw it up. I cannot look at lollipop or fudge recipes without bursting into tears. But I hate backing down to a challenge, so I vowed I would figure at least one of these recipes out.

The coveted recipe of the two that I came back with is the recipe for Scottish Tablet. Scottish people like to say it's butter "fudge" but that just confuses Americans because when we hear fudge we assume it's chocolate. There is no chocolate in Tablet. The best description I can think of is a caramel-y browned butter candy. It's insanely sweet and a diabetics nightmare. It's a bit chewy, a bit crumbly and oh so good.

I remember the first time I tried it was when I went to Scotland to meet Ray. When he came to America to meet my family his Mum had sent him with a huge box of Tablet that she had made herself and I remember my Dad sneaking into the kitchen to steal a chunk of it everytime my Mom wasn't looking. It's very addictive.

I made a batch over the weekend just to try it out and it didn't turn out right at all. I had to change the measurments to the US equivalents because I can't work in ounces (mostly because Dana broke my kitchen scales) and then I had to play around with it a bit because the instructions weren't very clear on heat, etc. This morning I finally made a batch that was swoon worthy. I was proud. I even have a huge blister on my finger to prove it!

Remember before you try this that you'll need a BIG saucepan pan because while the molten sugar is boiling it doubles in volume in the pan. Best to avoid boil-overs when working with hot sugar. Secondly, use a whisk for stirring. And lastly, you may have to banish everyone from the house until you're done because the smell is so intoxicating. And the hour or so wait for it to cool is maddening!

Scottish Tablet

1/3 cup unsalted butter (no substitutes!)
1/2 cup milk
1 14 ounce tin of sweetened condensed milk
2 lbs of sugar (superfine or caster sugar if you can find it, but granulated still works fine...it just gives it more texture)

-Grease a pan with butter and set aside. (I used an 8x11 pan and my pieces were about an inch thick.)
-In a large, heavy saucepan melt the butter over low heat.
-Add in the milks and bring heat up to medium.
-Stir in the sugar gradually. Once all the sugar is in stir the mixture until it comes to a boil.
-Turn the heat back down to low. Stir the mixture every couple of minutes for 15-20 minutes. (Just stir enough to prevent burning, but you want to let it cook long enough to brown the butter and caramelize the sugar)
-When the mixture turns a deep caramel color remove from heat.
-Stir vigorously for 5-10 minutes or until the candy just starts to lose it's gloss and becomes thick and sugary.
-Pour into pan and let set, cut into bite size pieces...eat until sick. :)

A Quickie

A few weeks back, before we left for our trip to Scotland, I made a couple different kinds of cookies for Ray to take to work. I honestly can't remember what the other batch was...I think chocolate chip? But I also made a batch of lemon cookies that involves pre-packaged mixes and are isanely easy to make. I completely forgot to post either recipe because the chocolate chip one has gone MIA and I haven't found it since. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to put it up because they are lovely!

I got the recipe from a friend I used to work with at JCPenney back when I was going to UCMT (Utah College of Massage Therapy) and it's been a favorite of mine for a while. Mostly because I love lemon. But also because you just throw everything in a bowl and mix it up. Who doesn't love that?

Easy Peasy Lemon Drop Cookies

1 package lemon cake mix
1 small package instant lemon pudding mix
1/3 cup oil (I use melted butter in place of the oil, but it's a personal preference)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)*

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Put all the ingredients except chocolate chips and mix well.
-Stir in chocolate chips at the end if you're using them.
-Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are light brown but still soft. Don't bake longer than 12 minutes.
-Cool on sheets for a couple of minutes to firm up then cool completely on rack.

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*The original recipe doesn't have white chocolate chips in it, but I thought they were a nice change. They are also lovely without the chips and dusted with powdered sugar.

Birthday Cookie Overload

Yesterday was my Mom's 36th Birthday. I know that doesn't make much sense because I'm 31 and I'm one of the younger kids in my family, but it's been my Mom's 36th Birthday eversince I've known her, so I can't honestly say which one it was, whether I know or not!

Anyway, I decided to make some cookies to take the party. I was at Wal-Mart and I saw that they had Andes Crème de Menthe baking chips and I thought "Oooh, brownie cookies with Andes Mints in them...YES!" And I started bouncing around in the aisles with excitement. Really, I did! I'm sure I frightened the shoppers that were there. And I bet if Ray is reading this right now he's really glad he wasn't with me.

To make a long story short, I didn't just make a couple dozen cookies. Oh no. That just wouldn't do. I ended up making 3 different kinds of cookies--from scratch, of course--in 3.5 hours. I made the Exalted Peanut Butter Cookies, Molasses Ginger Cookies (which I will post later) and Andes Mint Brownie Cookies. The Brownie cookies made a lot. So many that Ray had to take the extras to work today for his co-workers, and he's told me there are already requests for the recipe. So here it is, by popular demand. I am the baking QUEEN! (Man I need a nap...)

Andes Mint Brownie Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 and 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 cups Andes Crème de Menthe baking chips

-Cream butter and sugars together in a large bowl until fluffy.
-Beat in vanilla. Then beat in eggs one at a time.
-In a seperate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa and baking soda. Pour into the egg mixture and mix until everything is incorporated completely, then stir in the Andes baking chips. (The dough will be quite stiff.)
-Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Roll dough into walnut size balls.
-Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.
-Let cookies sit on pan for a couple minutes to set up, then cool completely on racks.

Makes about 40 cookies

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-If you can't find the Andes baking chips, I'm sure you could take a box or bag of Andes mints, freeze them and put them in a bag and smash them to bits. Plus you get the added catharsis of beating something to kingdom come. S'fun!

I have no further wisdom to impart to you today. I'm tired! :) Plus we came home from the party with a giant bag of rhubarb from my parents garden. I need to turn it into something lucious for a family reunion we're having on saturday. Which means I need to like, clean it and chop it and freeze it or something. BLAH. Just thinking about it makes me tired. I'm dragging myself and Ponsenby off to bed for a much needed lie down. (Just in case you're wondering, Ponsenby is my stuffed hot water bottle, not the milk man.)

Memories Are Made of This

I don't know how many of you grew up where I did in Utah, but if you did you should remember this and you can wax nostalgic with me.

I think the school district had strange ideas on food groups and nutrition...not that that stopped me from eating the stuff they made! Heavens no! One of my favorite menus (I think it was weekly, it was so popular) was French Dip Sandwich day. The food groups on that day consisted of a french dip sandwich with au jus, tater tots and a peanut butter finger. I can't remember if there was a vegetable. I imagine that the tater tots qualified as such back in those days--you know, the early 80's.

At any rate, I remember the fights that ensued over those Peanut Butter Fingers. They were so good! We loved them so much that my sister, who was working for the school district at the time, bribed some lunch ladies for the recipe.

So here it is in all it's glory, kids. Real, honest-to-goodness School Lunch Food! It's written up just as I got it...very simple instructions. Thanks, lunch ladies!

Peanut Butter Fingers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cream Together:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine

Add and Beat well:
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Combine and then add to peanut butter mixture, mixing well:
2 cups oatmeal (quick rolled oats)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

-Spread the cookie dough evenly onto an ungreased 1/2 pan cookie sheet (mine measures 11x17...if you want to use a 9x13 pan, half the recipe)
-Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
-Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes.
-While still hot spread 1 and 1/2 cups peanut butter over the top.
-Cool completely and frost with chocolate buttercream frosting. (Recipe Follows)
-Cut into bars.

Chocolate Buttercream

This recipe makes just enough to frost these cookies perfectly.

1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 tablespoons milk

-Beat 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk until creamy.
-Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and add milk as needed (one tablespoon at a time) until smooth and you reach desired spreading consistency. You might not need all the milk.

What We All Need Is More Butter

I had a crazy, hectic weekend, so I never got around to posting those picnic recipes. I will, though! Not to worry! I know it's getting down to the wire with picnic weather, so they will be up sometime this week.

Today, however, the baby and I have had a rough time and I think this calls for comfort food. On Saturday I made a coffee cake to take to work for my anti-chocolate co-worker (can you believe what I just typed? She's crazy!) and it was divine. So much so that I think I must share the recipe with you before I run off to make another pan of it. Because we all need some butter and sugar when we are down and hurty.

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Simple and moist...make me for breakfast!

The Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature*
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 and 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk, room temperature

The Topping:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cold butter (1/2 stick)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Grease and lightly flour a 9x13 baking dish.
-Cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
-Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and mix well.
-In a seperate bowl stir together the dry ingredients.
-Add dry ingredients a little at a time, alternating with the milk until all is incorporated.
-In a small bowl stir together the cinnamon, flour and brown sugar. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse, sandy crumbs.
-Spread half the cake batter into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with half the crumb mixture and press down lightly into the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the top of the first layer and sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
-Bake 30-35 minutes or until cake tests done in center with a toothpick. Cut into squares when warm or cool completely and cut.

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A couple of tips and hints:

-Eggs will give greater volume when they're brought to room temperature before using them in recipes. Set them out to come up to room temperature just before adding them to your cake recipes or when making meringues. It's not absolutely necessary to do so, so you can still add them cold if you'd like.

-The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup sliced almonds to be sprinkled on top with the cinnamon topping. I didn't use them so I didn't put them in the recipe, but you're welcome to add them back in. I also think this would be lovely with chopped pecans in place of almonds.

-On the subject of nuts: some people are severely allergic to nuts and can even have problem with foods prepared in the vicinity of nuts, so let people know if you've added them to a dish you'll be sharing.

I Know What Boys Like

You know what I just noticed? This blog is all about food and boys. My two favorite things! Well, I like shoes too, but they don't go with food so much. Boys like food and food is where boys can usually be found. (Boys do not like shoe stores in my experience.)

I'm sorry if this is terribly random...it's late.

Tomorrow, if I get around to it, I will be posting picnic recipes. For it is a picnic-y time of year.

Until then, children.

Rumination

"I admire any cook. I admire anybody that goes into a kitchen... You know who I admire? I admire the cooks that'll walk into a kitchen without a recipe, looking at what's in the refrigerator and make dinner. And I admire anyone that will cook and invite you into their home and be gracious enough to serve you food. We have forgotten what an act of generosity that is, to simply be fed. Any cook that does that is to be admired. Otherwise, I am as happy with a hamburger as I am foie gras. Actually happier. I'd rather have the hamburger. A good cheeseburger is by far superior. A decent pizza beats the pants off a cassoulet in my book. That's where I'm from. I'm not French."

-Alton Brown

Choco, Choco, ChocoLATE!

I had a dream about Alton Brown in the wee hours of the morning. It was very odd...this is what happens when you go to sleep right after watching Feasting on Asphalt/Good Eats. It wasn't anything trashy (shame) because I was just at his book signing. I showed up very late and we got trapped in the mall overnight (at Barnes & Noble! It was awesome!) because of a flood. We talked about a lot of rubbish--mostly food related--and he was very kind. He signed all of my books and gave me his number. He even showed me his motorcycle. Woo woo! ;) No, that's not code for anything. It really was his motorcycle. Sheesh, I'm even mostly wholesome in my dreams.

When I got up I made some Rolo Cookies with Dana, who lost interest about halfway through the creaming, but came back to "help" when I was rolling the cookies in sugar, because that is her favorite part, which requires licking of fingers in between trays and even more hand washing. I think they're very tasty, but not as good as the Exalted Peanut Butter Cookies, which are still the all time favorite.

I don't think they're as good as "Better Than Sex "Brownies, either, which I'm posting first because I feel it's a superior recipe to the cookies. They are indeed awesome, but I can't get a straight answer out of people if they're deserving of the title. The Jury is still out on that one. I must add that sometimes they're a pain in the butt get out of the pan because of the caramel factor. They also need to be refrigerated to keep them from going all gooey...unless you like that sort of thing. Hehehe...gooey...

I'd better shut up now. I'm all giggly.

"Better Than Sex" Brownies (or Caramel Brownies for the prudes)
These are fantastic and very, very rich. Milk will more than likely be required, as will several good movies filled with hot men.

1 Box German Chocolate Cake Mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup evaporated milk, divided
14 ounces caramels, unwrapped (I think Werther's Chewy Caramels work the best because they have a lovely home-made buttery flavor)
1 cup chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix cake mix, butter and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk. Press half of this mixture into the bottom of a 8x11 pan (or a 9x13, but your brownies won't be as thick) and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool on a rack while you prepare the rest.
-Put all the unwrapped caramels and 1/2 cup of evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until completely melted.
-Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the baked brownie. Pour the caramel over the chocolate chips.
-Roll the remaining brownie mix into several little balls and smoosh them flat, then lay them over the hot caramel to cover. (It's okay if there is still caramel showing through, it will spread out when it bakes.) Alternately you can crumble up the batter and sprinkle it over the caramel. Whatever works easiest for you.
-Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 18-20 minutes.
-Cool pan down to room temperature on a rack. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the caramel. Then put them in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting into squares. This will make them much easier to work with as the caramel at room temperature is ridiculously messy.

Servings? I won't even pretend to guess. It makes a panful. :)


Rolo Cookies
Crispy on the outside and gooey brownie on the inside, with a nifty caramel surprise tucked right in the middle.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 and 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
40 Rolo candies, unwrapped*

-Put rolos in the freezer until you're ready to assemble the cookies.
-Cream butter and sugars together in a large bowl until fluffy.
-Beat in vanilla. Then beat in eggs one at a time.
-In a seperate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa and baking soda. Pour into the egg mixture and mix thoroughly. (The dough is very stiff.)
-Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Pour 1/4 cup white sugar in a bowl. Roll dough into walnut size balls and push a rolo down in the middle. Wrap the dough around the top of the rolo and roll the ball in sugar.
-Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.
-Let sit on pan for a few minutes to set up, cool on racks for 10 minutes.

Makes 40 cookies

*I imagine if you didn't want to go to all the trouble of wrapping up rolos in the dough, they'd be just as good if you stirred in say 3/4 cup chocolate chips or peanut butter chips at the end of making your dough instead.

Curiouser and Curiouser

I'm sitting in front of the computer heartily munching my way through a bag of baby carrots because I'm SO desperate for sugar I think I might do something rash to get some. It's amazing what a person will do to get food they shouldn't eat when they know they can't have it. I'm trying to pretend that this bag of carrots is chocolate and I can have all I want...but my body knows this is a big fat lie!

I'm not sure what to post today. I'm having an internal argument with myself. I have another cookie recipe, but it features peanut butter. Again. And wouldn't that be overkill? I could post something healthy. But nah. I have a sandwich recipe...but can you really have a recipe for a sandwich? I mean that's like a recipe for root beer floats. Ice cream and soda. Put it in a cup. Drink it. BLAH.

I don't know why I worry so much. This is my blog and it should be whatever I want. I just worry that people will think I'm a self-absorbed psycho. Oh wait...didn't I already tell you that?

Initially I thought I would blog about whatever food I was making on the day. But I realized if I blogged about what I made over the weekend, it would be three pages long and you really would think I had problems. Especially if I told you how long I obsessed over the recipe I ended up with for the olive salad I used on the muffulettas.

*SIGH*

Suggestions?

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

It seems like this time of year bananas are cheap, plentiful, tasty and turning brown right before your eyes. I know this is the case in my house year round. I don't know why that is...I try to buy bananas that are still a tiny bit green so they last a couple of days longer, but it seems like the minute I get them home they're turning into geriatric fruit. So I throw them, peel and all, into my freezer until they can be resurrected into something else.

The following are my two favorite over-ripe banana recipes, which are being posted today because I went to my freezer to fetch a lovely banana pancake for breakfast and about 3 frozen bananas fell out of the door, very near my toes. Which prompted me to think about possibly using one of these recipes in the very near future...before one of my toes becomes a victim of frozen fruit.

Fluffy Banana Pancakes

This is my own revision of a very tasty--but rather fattening--banana pancake recipe. I dropped the fat content from 18 grams (!) per serving down to 1 gram and I believe for a 6 inch pancake you'll run about 100 calories. I also added some wheat germ to the recipe for more fiber, which you really can't taste so it's optional if you don't want to use it. The only con is that this recipe makes a LOT of pancake batter, but they freeze well and taste even better the second time around as banana things are wont to do.

They're great plain or with syrup. My favorite toppings are applesauce or almond butter. Oddly enough I haven't tried them topped with bananas...hmmm. I promise they're good. Even BigScottishJerk.Com likes them!

3 egg whites
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

-In a bowl beat the egg whites until foamy, then stir in the bananas, applesauce, and buttermilk. Set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl stir together the dry ingredients, then add the banana mixture. Beat together until everything is well incorporated. (You can add more buttermilk if the batter is thicker than you like it.)
-Pour batter onto a preheated griddle or frying pan. Flip over when the edges begin to dry and the batter bubbles on top.

Makes between 12 and 24 (depending on what size you make the pancakes)

Banana Cake

I made this cake a few months ago for Ray to take to work. I knew it was good when the people he worked with threatened lynching unless they got the recipe for themselves. ( Sheesh! People are violent over cake!) Again, this tastes better if it's allowed to sit overnight after you make it, so bake it the night before and stash it in your fridge. While it doesn't necessarily need frosting, if you're thinking about it I'd say cream cheese frosting is your best bet. YUM.

2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup buttermilk

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 2 round cake pans or one 9x13.
-Stir together flour, soda and salt. Set aside.
-In a seperate bowl cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in bananas. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk into the batter until all is incorporated.
-Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Remove from pans and allow to cool completely. Frost if desired.

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An easy tip for people who don't own buttermilk:

I don't often keep buttermilk in my fridge. Okay, I don't EVER keep it in my fridge. It's not something I'd really go out of my way to buy unless I knew I'd need it, like for the two recipes above. In other words, it's not really a staple item for me. It is very tasty and does add a specific flavor to baked goods, so if you do have some, good for you! If not, don't fret...here's an easy fix for the rest of us.

To make pretend buttermilk:

Add 1 and 3/4 tablespoons of cream of tartar to a cup of milk-or-add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup of milk. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes and add it to your recipe.

You can also use plain yogurt or sour cream (but thin them down with a little milk to a thick cream consistency) instead of buttermilk.

I Love You Like the Fat Boy Love Cake

I love cake. If there was one sweet in the world that I could absolutely not give up for anything it would be chocolate cake. I don't know what it is about it, it's just the perfect instant gratification of something soft and moist and chocolate-y. I don't even care if it has frosting on it. Just...CAAAAKE!

I remember the best cake I ever made was with this recipe. The first time I made it was for Ray's birthday exactly four days before we got married. It is no-nonsense easy, and it really is the best cake. Ray and I both have fond memories of eating it all week because we didn't know how else to get rid of it! (Not that we really tried as actively as we could have...this may be why I gained 50 pounds while I lived in Scotland.) I wish I had a picture of that cake. It was awesome. I remember eating slices of it straight out of the fridge, bright yellow Batman frosting and all.

I have made it into several incarnations since then. With chunks of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate mixed into the batter. In layers with strawberries. With chocolate mousse frosting. As cupcakes. I just can't get away from this cake.

For some reason the easiest preparation of this cake is when it tastes best: Pouring it into a 9x13 pan, baking it and frosting it with vanilla buttercream. Unadulterated bliss. Plain and simple.

I am posting it today because it was the birthday of one of my very best friends on Monday. Not that you should ever need a reason to bake a cake...but if she was here I'd make her this one!

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 and 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Grease and flour one 9x13 baking dish or three 9 inch round cake tins.* (This batter has always overflowed on me if I try to use only two.)
-Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
-Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat batter for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin.) Pour batter into pan(s).
-Bake 35 to 40 minutes (30 to 35 minutes for round tins) or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. remove from pan(s) to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost if desired. (recipes follow)

*If you have trouble getting your cake out of the pan, cut a piece of waxed paper to fit in the bottom. Grease the pan and smooth the wax paper over the greased pan bottom. When you turn your cake out (while it's still hot) slowly peel the waxed paper off and throw it away.
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Frosting Central!

These are my favorite frosting recipes. I think this cake tastes best with Vanilla Buttercream, but I'm also posting a recipe for Chocolate Buttercream and a lighter Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting that I love for those of you who are complete Chocoholics. :)

Vanilla Buttercream

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 to 6 tablespoons milk

-Beat 1 cup of the powdered sugar with the butter, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk until creamy.
-Gradually beat in the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and add milk as needed (one tablespoon at a time) until smooth and you reach desired spreading consistency. You might not need all the milk.

Makes 2 cups.

Chocolate Buttercream

(Yes, it's exactly the same as the Vanilla Buttercream, but with cocoa powder. I wrote down the instructions again in case you wanted to print it out.)

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 to 6 tablespoons milk

-Beat 1 cup of the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk until creamy.
-Gradually beat in the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and add milk as needed (one tablespoon at a time) until smooth and you reach desired spreading consistency. You might not need all the milk.

Makes 2 cups.

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

A lovely smooth, light icing. I like to use it as a "mousse" filling between layers of cake.

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 small package instant chocolate pudding* (4 serving size)
1 (8 ounce) container of whipped topping (aka Cool Whip) defrosted
1 cup cold milk, divided

-In a mixing bowl beat together the powdered sugar, pudding mix, whipped topping and 1/2 cup of the milk. Add more milk, a little at a time until it reaches the consistency you like.

*You could use any flavor of pudding mix you like...the possibilities are endless!

Noodie Bar

If you've never tried Thai Peanut Noodles before (or Noodies! as I like to call them) you're in a for a treat! I made them today for lunch and thought I would share the love. I discovered this recipe when I was living in Scotland and they're very much comfort food to me...quite possibly because I didn't have much to do in those days but cook, otherwise I think I would have gone off the deep end of crazy. (I remember some very dark times when I made tortillas. By hand. And no, they don't sell tortilla presses in the UK. But that is another blog for another day.)

This is something I make myself when I'm in need of healthy comfort food. And yes, kids, peanut butter (if it's real peanut butter and not Jif) is good for you! This is also an excellent vegetarian dish. I think most people eat far too much meat. This is just my opinion of course, but after my parents made us go Veg for a couple of years in my teens I have come to see the light. I felt so much better! It was a life changing experience for me, even though I whined my butt off about it at the time. Not that I'm going to give up my beloved chicken or fishy. But I try not to have it more than once a day.

Another great thing about this recipe is you can add any veggies you like, so it's a good way to clean out your fridge from all those little bits of leftover produce. I like to add bean sprouts and cabbage to mine when I have them on hand. You can also substitute almond butter if you don't like peanut butter. And oooh, the fresh ground stuff from Wild Oats is heavenly. YUM!

Thai Peanut Noodles

This is a slightly sweet, slightly spicy dish with Thai inspired flavors. It can be eaten hot or cold and is a great summer dish.

Soba noodles, used in this recipe, are Japanese buckwheat noodles, and are great for vegetarians. A 2-ounce (dry) serving of soba noodles has 8 grams of protein and 12% of the RDA of dietary fiber - and no cholesterol. If you can't find Soba noodles, or are scared of things made from buckwheat, you can certainly use regular spaghetti noodles, although if you're going to go that route I highly recommend using Barilla Plus Spaghetti, which is a bit firmer and has more added nutritional value aside from being very tasty. (I can get BigScottishJerk.com and the picky wee girl to eat it, so it must be good.)

If you're not feeling vegetarian today, it's really good with grilled or soy marinated chicken. This is a great base recipe to add in things that you like!

For the sauce
4 tablespoons natural creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
crushed red pepper flakes or ground red pepper (to taste, depending on how spicy you like it)
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4 ounces cooked soba noodles or spaghetti
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in strips
1/2 cup julienned carrots
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

-Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk together completely.
-Toss cooked soba noodles (or spaghetti) with vegetables.
-Pour on sauce and toss to coat everything. Sprinkle with peanuts if desired.
-I prefer to eat this warm, right after mixing it up, but traditionally it is eaten cold. In that case, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Just remember that the noodles will soak up a lot of the sauce while they refrigerate so they will not be as saucy as they were to start with.

Makes 4 Servings

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Noodie Tips!

-If you're going for the full Thai experience you could also garnish the noodles with a lime wedge (to squeeze over the top) and some chopped cilantro or parsley.
-Add some coconut milk to the peanut sauce if you like it a little sweeter or if you want it extra "saucy"!
-In place of the red pepper flakes use asian chili sauce (comes in those squeezy bottles in the asian section of practically every supermarket) to notch up the heat quotient if you like your food spicy. Start with less than you think you'll need because it's potent.
-Buy some chopsticks. Or better yet, pilfer a handful of them from Panda Express next time you're there. Not that I do that. *cough*

Oh. My. Goodness.

I think I just gained 10 pounds looking at this picture:


S'mores made with Peanut Butter Cookies instead of graham crackers. Holy COW that sounds amazing. And wouldn't it be even better with the Peanut Butter Double Chip recipe? Yikes! Now I wish I had a reason to go camping. Or heck, just to start a fire. But you could totally do this in the microwave...wow...I've completely gone off the deep end. :)

The Exalted Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

I didn't want to wait too long before I posted this recipe, because Ray says it's the best cookie recipe I've ever made. Speaking of which, I will be off to bake a batch in oh, say...5 minutes? Ray is having a bad week at work doing two jobs while a co-worker is on vacation. Poor thing.

I must admit, I was skeptical that this recipe could be anything more than just another cookie recipe because I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter cookies in the first place. But add chocolate chips to them and they become a whole different animal. Then add some peanut butter chips in addition to all that and they become something altogether criminal. And I mean that in a good way.

Peanut Butter Double Chip Cookies
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter flavor shortening (I use 1/4 cup real butter* and 1/4 cup plain shortening)
1 and 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla (not a typo!)
1 and 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a large bowl cream together the peanut butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy.
-Beat in the egg until fluffy and then beat in the milk and vanilla.
-In a seperate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir this into the peanut butter mixture until just combined.
-Stir in peanut butter and chocolate chips until they are distributed evenly throughout the dough.
-Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet a few inches apart.
-Bake 7-9 minutes until the edges just begin to brown. (Tablespoon size cookies will take about 10-12 minutes. Make sure you watch for brown edges so they don't burn.) Remove pan from oven and let sit on the pan for a couple of minutes to set up before putting on cooling racks.

Makes about 2 dozen.

*You can use all butter if you like, but you will need to refrigerate your dough for at least a half hour before baking to prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
*The key to soft and chewy cookies is they should look just underdone when you take them out of the oven. This is why you let them sit on the hot pan, because it helps them finish baking without too much heat.

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Tips and Tricks From The Kitchen McMitchell...

Why use shortening in baking?
Shortening melts at a higher temperature than butter, so cookie dough holds its shape longer in the oven, allowing the flour and eggs to set before the cookie collapses and spreads. Using butter or margarine (which has a melting point only a degree or two above butter and a higher water content) produces a cookie that spreads out more. Vegetable shortening is ideal for pastry, too, since it blends easily with flour.

If your cookies are ending up flat...
First, try refrigerating your dough. This will help harden the fat you used in your recipe and will give the cookie a chance to bake before the fat melts.
Second, try adding a little extra flour to your recipe. Just a couple of tablespoons (especially at high altitudes) might be enough to help your cookies hold their shape.
Third, test your baking soda/baking powder to make sure it's still working as a leavening agent.

Of Meatloaf and Chicken

I had hoped to bring you a very exciting Monday morning edition with glowing reviews of Alton Brown's meatloaf recipe, since I made it last night for Sunday dinner...however it didn't turn out quite right. My hypothesis is that I used meat with such a low fat content that it never held together once it baked. I'm trying to eat healthier, but 96% fat free ground beef doesn't really work for meatloaf.

In addition to it falling apart when I tried to cut it, it never got completely cooked in the middle. I had to resort to cutting it into slices (well, chunks of slices...) and baking it for another ten minutes to make sure the last vestiges of pinky meat were gone before I felt safe serving it. Again, I'm thinking this is because there wasn't enough fat to help the cooking process along whilst the meat was in dense loafy form. Unfortunately low fat cooking doesn't always bring good results without some tweaking.

So the moral of this story is don't use extra lean meat to make meatloaf! Other than these problems, it was very tasty when everything was said and done. It was full of veggies and spices and a really lovely, slightly spicy tomato glaze that was spiked with cumin and honey. I have a feeling it will make fabulous sandwiches either way. I think I need to try it again before I post the recipe. But it may be a while. I only jones for meatloaf about once a year. I can think of about a million other things I'd rather make for dinner on any given night.

Speaking of, here's my favorite easy but fancy dinner recipe. Dinner on the table in about 25 minutes!

Skillet Chicken Parmesan
This is a far healthier version of the classic dish because there is no breading or deep frying-- which also means it's about ten times easier! And trust me, even though it sounds ridiculously simple, it's really, really good.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 to 2/3 jar spaghetti sauce (Depending on how saucy you like it...I like Classico's tomato and sweet basil, but any kind you like will work)
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

-In a bowl mix the spaghetti sauce and two tablespoons of parmesan cheese together. Set aside.
-Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. When oil is hot put chicken breasts in the pan to brown, turning once-about 4 minutes per side.
-When chicken is browned on the outside, turn the heat down to low and pour the spaghetti sauce mixture over the chicken. Cover with a lid. Simmer for about ten minutes total, turning your chicken once during cooking, spooning the sauce over and replacing the lid. Chicken is done when no longer pink in the center.
-Turn the chicken one more time, spoon the sauce over the top of the chicken and turn off the heat. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the chicken and sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of parmesan on top. Cover with the lid again to melt the cheese.
-Serve over cooked pasta if desired (I like angel hair).

Serves 4-6

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Tips to get dinner on the table faster:

I'm a big fan of the way Rachael Ray cooks because she can get so much done in a half hour, but it does take a little planning!
-Start your pasta water first. If you fill the pot with super hot water, put it on the stove and put a lid on it, it will be boiling in no time. By the time you are done browning your chicken you can put in your pasta and it should be done by the time your chicken is finishing up. If it gets done early, drain the pasta, return it to the pan you cooked it in (don't put it back on the burner, though!) and put a lid on it to keep it moist and hot until you're ready to serve it.
-While the chicken and pasta are cooking is an ideal time to steam some vegetables or throw together a salad.
-If your pasta water starts to boil over, turn the heat down just a little (you don't want to slow the boiling too much or your pasta will be gummy) and add a drizzle of olive oil to keep the foamy bubbles down.
-The best way to see if pasta is done? Taste it. :)

My Dorky Food Network Boyfriend

Think Bill Nye with a cooking show and you'll get Alton Brown. I've been in love with his Food Network show, Good Eats, for quite some time because he explains the science behind cooking and laces his shows with movie spoofs and humor instead of close-up shots of olive oil bottles with techno in the background. (This would be every other inane cook on Food Network aside from Rachel Ray, who I like a lot, but can't stand it when she yells "Yum-O!" and uses silly words like E.V.O.O.(extra virgin olive oil)).

The other night his new show premiered: Feasting on Asphalt. I informed Ray that the TV would be mine at 10pm. He sighed his usual sigh (he hates watching Food Network with me) and got out a book. Then he asked to borrow my MP3 player when the show started. He stuck in the earphones and said "Now you can moan if you need to." It's great to have such an understanding husband. But really I was moaning over the hot dogs fried in melted butter...MMmmmmm Alt--I mean, BUTTER.

Baking Soda

A Question From Uno Kidney: "How long does Baking Soda stay good? It seems like I never use it very fast, which maybe means I need to cook more, but should I be changing it out every so often? I have it in my cupboard in the box in a ziplock with the date I opened it on it, but I JUST DON'T KNOW...."

Baking soda has a pretty indefinite shelf life if stored properly. You'll want to store it in a sealed container in a cool place to keep it up to it's peak leavening ability. I remember my mom had boxes of baking soda that must have been at least 20 years old from when my Grandma moved to St. George. That's what happens when you have parents that grew up during the depression. :)

If your cookies or cakes seem to be coming out flatter, you may want to check to see if it needs to be replaced (I've added the instructions for baking powder as well because you can't hold onto it as long) using these techniques:

To test baking soda's effectiveness: mix 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with 2 teaspoons of vinegar and the mixture should bubble immediately.

To test baking powder's effectiveness: mix 1 teaspoon baking powder with ½ cup hot water and the mixture should bubble immediately. Store in a cool dry place. Baking powder should be replaced every 6-12 months.

Cinnamononny

Today Dana and I made another batch of cookies to make up for the crappy batch we made yesterday, so we turned to our good old Snickerdoodle recipe. Simple, tasty, and addictive as anything you could possibly bake. Plus I've never had a batch of these not turn out perfectly. Don't leave out the cream of tartar because it adds that specific tang that makes these cookies as lovely as they are!

Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
-In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and the white and brown sugars until fluffy.
-Beat in the vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and beat each one into the batter thoroughly.
-In a smaller bowl stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt to combine. Pour this mixture into the butter batter and mix well.
-In a small bowl stir together the cinnamon and the sugar.
-Roll the dough in walnut sized balls. Roll one at a time in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on and ungreased cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. (You can sprinkle them with extra cinnamon-sugar if you want to.)
-Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are puffy, crackled and and just starting to brown at the edges. Don't bake over 12 minutes.
-Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the pan for one minute before transfering to cooling racks.

Makes about 2 dozen.
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Here are some things to remember if you're baking cookies or have never baked before:

-If the recipe says butter, don't substitute! The butter is crucial to flavor and texture.
-Also, make sure your butter is at room temperature before you attempt to mix it into a cookie dough batter. If your butter is cold right out of the fridge it won't cream with the sugar, so here's what I do: put the butter in your mixing bowl (not metal) and microwave it for ten seconds. Flip the sticks to the opposite side (the microwaves will heat whatever is touching the dish, so it's important to give them a turn so they don't melt on one side) and microwave it for another 7 seconds or so. It's okay if your butter melts a tiny bit, but you don't want a puddle. If it melts too much, put it in the fridge for a few minutes to set back up so your cookies won't be greasy and/or flat.
-Make sure your oven is preheated to the correct temperature and follow the instructions as closely as possible. This will ensure a perfect batch of cookies!

An Explanation Of Sorts

I have been thinking about doing a seperate blog for a while dedicated just to my obsession with cooking and food. I love everything about it. It is one of the few things in life that relaxes me when I feel everything else crashing in around me. Unless, of course, I am doing something fancy, like decorating a cake or making a gingerbread house. In that case, I turn into a raving lunatic. Just ask BigScottishJerk.Com.

I remember my roots of baking. My mom pretty much let us loose in the kitchen as long as we'd clean up after ourselves. (Pfffbt!) It is the best way to learn. I made a lot of gross concoctions, I burned myself a few times. I really, really loved to make things and pretend I was a waitress. I remember thinking that Jolly Ranchers would be beautiful on a cake, like jewels, until I realized that you cannot bite into a piece of cake that is studded with Jolly Ranchers.

These days I bake and cook sheerly for the pleasure of having the occasional taste of something lovely, a lot of things that are homemade and healthy, but also to share what I love to do with the people I love the most.