Not Quite Death By Chocolate...

Having a hard time being in the kitchen? Me too. :( Here's an easy recipe from things you'll probably have in your pantry.

Stupid Easy Vegetarian Taco Salad

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 can vegetarian chili (I like Nalley)
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning (I use a mixture of chili powder, cumin, onion powder and red pepper)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 medium yellow onion, grated
Corn chips
shredded lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

-In a saucepan combine the black beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, chili, parsley and taco seasoning.
-Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.
-Lower heat and simmer for 4 minutes.
-Stir in grated onion and simmer for 4 more minutes.
-Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
-On a plate put down a layer of corn chips.
-Top the chips with lettuce, then a layer of the bean mixture.
-Top the beans with cheese and a good dollop of sour cream.

What I Like

Okay, me and the kitchen are having a falling out of sorts. I want to go in there. Really and truly. But my stomach says no. It hates the kitchen. It hates everything in there except for cucumbers, pickles and dry cereal.

One thing that has been consistent has been cold drinks because it's too hot outside to live. I love me a strawberry Frappucino! We have a Starbucks nearby, but even for a wee one it's almost $4! I love Orange Julius too, which are also ridiculously expensive. We grew up making them at home and they're easy if you have a blender and some frozen OJ concentrate. So here's to cheap and tasty cold drinks you can make at home for mere pennies.

Orange Julius

6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (optional...I never make it with sugar, but you might like it sweeter than me. You could also use Splenda)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ice cubes (or more depending on how thick you like it)

-Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and frothy.
-You can adjust ingredients to your liking.

Strawberry 'Frappucino'

1/2 cup frozen strawberries in light syrup, defrosted but still cold
1 cup of crushed ice
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 cup half & half
canned whipped cream to finish

-Put all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.
-Top with whipped cream swirl if desired.
-You can adjust the ingredients to your liking.


Dobby's Butterbeer
Now I know this is not a cold drink, but since Harry Potter is all done, I thought I'd throw it in as I saw it online and lots of people said it was wonderful and just what they thought butterbeer would taste like. I myself have not made it, so let me know if it's worth trying!

1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons hot chocolate powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ounce butterscotch syrup (or butterscotch schnapps for the adult version)

-Melt butter and honey together in a small saucepan.
-Next add milk, sugar, vanilla,and butterscotch syrup.
-Microwave or heat on stovetop until it reaches the desired temperature.
-Mix in hot chocolate powder and cinnamon. Enjoy!

Mostly Alive...

Seeing as I've got morning sickness, I thought this might be a nice chance to post some of my favorite tried and true recipes from my files. Although I can't guarantee I'll always be in the mood to do so, so I apologize in advance for rather infrequent updates in the next few months.

The other night I just HAD to have sloppy joes. I don't know why, but nothing else would do. And where can you actually just go buy a sloppy joe? So I dug out my favorite recipe and sent my poor husband into the kitchen to make them for me. And they came out as good as ever. We also had some wonderful, summery cucumber salad (vegan!) to go with it that I finished eating for lunch the other day when nothing else sounded good, so I'll post that recipe too. They're both easy and good and perfect for the finicky pregnant lady...and even those who are not.

Dana's Sloppy Joes

(6-8 servings)

1 and 1/2 lbs. ground beef (93% lean or leaner)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

-Brown ground beef with onion in a skillet.
-Add remaining ingredients and stir well.
-Simmer on low to medium low for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-If mixture becomes too dry before this point, add 1/4 cup of water and continue simmering
-Serve on hamburger buns.

Cucumber Salad with Dill

2 english cucumbers (2 lbs total)
1 small red onion
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill

-Slice the cucumbers lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and slice about 1/4 inch thick.
-Thinly slice the onion.
-Put the onion and cucumber in a colander and toss it with the salt.
-Let them sit and drain for 20 minutes. (Don't leave it much longer than that or you will have salty veggies.)
-Press the liquid out of the cucumbers and onions and rinse to remove the extra salt.
-Combine the vinegar and sugar, stir well.
-Put the cucumbers and onions in a bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over them. Toss to coat.
-Stir in the dill.

More Peanut Butter

These cookies are so good that I've had people tell me I should enter them in the state fair. Isn't that cute? And to be honest, I've been making them for such a long time I actually thought I'd already posted the recipe. But I haven't. Shame on me.

So here it is...lovely peanut butter filled cookie goodness. Screaming for a glass of milk and a nap. What a nice thing for the weekend.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. My camera is dead. *sniff*


Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies

Peanut Butter Filling:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter

-Mix together until smooth.
-Roll into thirty 3/4" balls and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until firm (I put them in the freezer if I'm in a real hurry.)

Chocolate Cookie Dough:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
-Cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars.
-Mix in the egg white and the vanilla.
-In a seperate bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
-Add to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
-Roll into 30 balls.
-Flatten the balls and put a cold peanut butter ball in the middle, wrapping the dough around it, sealing the seams together.
-Place at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheets, flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar.
-Bake for 7-9 minutes until cookies are crackled and set. Don't bake over 9 minutes.
-Cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheets, then cool completely on racks.
-Drizzle with icing if desired.

Icing:

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk as needed

-Mix together in a bowl until smooth.
-Spoon into a plastic bag, snip the corner and drizzle in a zig-zag over the cooled cookies.

Red Velvet

I was up late the other night watching Food Network, which is bad for several reasons. The first being that I should have been asleep because it was midnight. The second being that I knew I'd want to make everything I saw from the dinosaur cake on Ace of Cakes (not happening anytime soon!) and the gingerbread cupcakes with carmelized mango buttercream, which sounded ridiculously hard to make once I tracked down the recipe.

However, I saw a lovely girl making red velvet cupcakes, covered with a literal mountain of cream cheese icing and topped with cute little sprinkles in a rainbow of colors. It was 1 am and I was thinking "oooh...red velvet..."

It's funny how often we forget about the classic recipes. How long has it been since I've even thought about red velvet cake? I can't remember the last time. In fact, I couldn't even remember what red velvet tasted like. So guess what I was making in my kitchen the very next day?

Oh, and it is awesome.


Red Velvet Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 and 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring
1 and 1/4 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider will both work)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

**quick note: A one ounce bottle of red food coloring (the normal size tiny glass bottles you'd get in a grocery store) only has 2 tablespoons of dye in it, so you will need two one ounce bottles of red dye to have enough for the cupcakes. It's okay if you don't put all the dye in it, they just won't be quite as deep red.

For the cupcakes:
-Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
-Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside.
-In a large bowl mix the oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined.
-Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well.
-Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix until just combined.
-Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.
-Line cupcake pans with 24 paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners 3/4 full. (Or two 9-inch cake pans for layer cake. Grease the pans, line the bottom with wax or parchment paper, then flour. It will need to bake a little longer, I'd say around 30-40 minutes.)
-Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. (Mine got done at about 22-25 minutes) Cool completely on racks.

For the cream cheese frosting:
-Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
-Add the vanilla.
-Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Mix until combined.
-The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week.
-Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

Picky Nicky!

It's getting to be picnic weather, so I thought it was high time to post one of my favorite recipes...The New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwich. If you thought you didn't like olives this might just change your mind. And if you love olives this sandwich will make you a true believer! It's easy to make in advance and pack up in a picnic. In fact, the more it gets smooshed, the better it will be!

You can even warm it up just before serving it by wrapping it in foil and popping it in the oven until the cheese melts. Either way you'll find the whole thing heavenly!

If you don't know what a muffuletta is, it's an enormous sandwich layered with an outrageously tasty olive salad, several kinds of meat and cheese. It was made famous in New Orleans at the Central Grocery on Decatur Street.

Traditional N'awlins Muffuletta

For the Olive Salad:
(Make at least 1 day in advance)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 medium jar (7 ounce dry weight)pimento stuffed green olives, chopped
2 regular sized cans (6 ounce dry weight) medium black olives, chopped
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 (4 ounce) jar roasted sweet red peppers, drained and chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
pepper to taste

-Mix all ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl (not metal) and refrigerate overnight to let flavors blend. The longer it sits the better it tastes.

For the Sandwich:
2 (1 pound) round loaves of dense Italian bread -or- 1 (2 pound) really big round loaf bread
1 pound sliced turkey
1 pound sliced provolone cheese
1 pound shaved ham
1 pound mortadella or salami (optional)

-Slice the loaves in half horizontally.
-Dig out some of the bread from the top and bottom to make a hollow center, leaving a 1 inch thick shell.
-Drain the olive salad and reserve the liquid in a bowl.
-Brush the insides of the bread shells with the reserved liquid.
-Spread 1/2 of the olive salad in the bottom of the loaf press down (use 1/4 for each loaf if you're using two loaves).
-Layer turkey, provolone, ham, salami or mortadella over the olive salad.
-Press remaining olive salad on loaf over the meat.
-Cover with top round of bread and press down.
-Wrap each loaf tightly in plastic wrap. (I use several layers because they tend to get messy if you don't)
-Set a tray, large plate or cutting board on top of the sandwich and put and weight on top of it to press down the sandwich (various large cans work well for weights..or a 6 pack of some lovely beverage!)
-Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
-Cut sandwich into wedges and serve.
-Can be served with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes, but don't put them on the sandwich until you're ready to eat it.
-To have a hot muffuletta, wrap the entire sandwich in foil and put in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

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Tips from the Kitchen McMitchell

Feel free to change up your Muffuletta with things you like. I know they do a particularly tasty version at Jason's Deli with just turkey to cut down on the fatty meats. You can also put in extra or different cheeses, I've even seen an all veggie version for people who don't want to eat meat. Use your imagination. Just don't leave off the olive salad or you'll just be eatin' a boring old sammitch!

Apple Swirl!

Cinnamon swirl bread is certainly impressive when you cut into a loaf, and this is probably one of the best recipes I've ever tried. Even the dough has apples in it, lending it a nicely sweet flavor.

Seeing as I don't own a bread machine...or even a stand mixer for that matter, this bread is not beyond reach for anyone! (However it did gum up my hand mixer, so be
careful and watch out for crawling dough!) The recipe states all purpose flour, but I used King Arthur bread flour, which makes perfectly wonderful bread. I've never made bread as good as when I use King Arthur flour. It's well worth seeking out.

Not only is this one of the tastiest breads I've ever eaten, it's also one of the prettiest. I loave the way that it's rolled instead of the traditional spiral. It makes two loaves--one to keep and one to give away...if you want to, that is. ;)

Cinnamon Swirl Apple Bread

5-6 cups all purpose flour
1 packet active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup grated apples
1 and 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped apples
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted(optional)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 tablespoon water
coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

-In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Set aside.
-In a saucepan heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt until just warm (120-130 degrees) and until butter is almost melted.
-Add milk mixture to the flour mixture along with the eggs.
-Beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl down constantly.
-Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (This point may gum up your hand mixer, so be careful.)
-Stir in the grated apple, then stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
-Turn dough out onto a flour surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes).
-Shape dough into a ball and place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
-Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).
-Grease two 9x5 loaf pans.
-Punch dough down and divide in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
-In the meantime for the filling, mix together the chopped apples, nuts (if using), cinnamon and brown sugar. Set aside.
-Roll half the dough into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the softened butter then spread with half of the apple filling.
-Beginning at the short ends roll each end up jelly-roll style meeting at the center. This should form a swirled 'U' shape. (Refer to the second picture if you're confused.)
-Place the loaf rolled side up in a prepared loaf pan and repeat the process with the second half of the dough, butter and filling.
-Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let rise until almost double in size, about 30 minutes.
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
-Stir together the egg white and the water. Brush the egg mixture over the top of each loaf, sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when you tap the top. It may be necessary to lay a sheet of foil over the loaves during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning.
-Immediately remove loaves from pans (you may need to run around the pans with a knife to loosen) and cool on wire racks.

Look Ma, No Oven!

5 Ingredients. 6 steps. No oven. They taste like Reese's. What more do you need?

Maybe a glass of milk.

These are really good, but insanely rich so cut small...okay, not that small. ;)

No Bake Reese's Squares

1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter, melted
1 12 ounce bag milk chocolate chips

-Line a 9x13 pan with foil, waxed paper or parchment overhanging the ends for 'handles' (this makes them easier to get out of the pan).
-Combine the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and mix well (it will look crumbly)
-Pour in the melted butter and stir until well combined.
-Press the mixture evenly into the pan.
-Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Spread over the peanut butter mixture.
-When chocolate is set, cut into bars. You can chill them until the chocolate is set, but they're hard to cut if the chocolate gets too hard, so don't leave them in there too long!

Enjoy!

Orangel Food?

When I was in high school I remember using my Mom's beat up cookbook to cook everything. It was one of those plastic ring bound ones with no pictures...just page after page of contributed recipes. We made everything in that book at least once, I think. We used it so much it was falling apart. Pages had fallen off and were inserted in random spots in the middle so they wouldn't get lost. I miss that book sometimes.

One of my favorite recipes to make was an Orange Chiffon cake. It never had any glaze on it that I remember, but I think I did put powdered sugar on it. I loved that cake! A few weeks ago I bought a giant bag of organic oranges for $4 and I've been trying to think up ways to use them. Then I remembered that I hadn't dug out my tube pan for quite some time and I decided to see if I could find an Orange Chiffon recipe. Besides, what's more fun than putting an upside down cake on a bottle to cool?

This recipe makes one unbelievably tall, light cake and a lovely orange glaze if you're so inclined...plus lots of dirty dishes, but heck, that's half the fun of cooking, isn't it?

Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange Glaze

2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 egg yolks
7 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
-Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
-In another bowl put the oil, orange juice, orange zest, water, vanilla and egg yolks.
-Pour this into the flour mixture.
-Beat using and electric mixer until smooth and no sugar granules remain, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
-In a large bowl (not plastic!) beat the room temperature egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
-Using a spatula gently fold the egg whites into the flour mixture until completely incorporated.
-Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan (angel food cake pan).
-Bake for about 1 and 1/4 hours or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
(I use a piece of dry spaghetti to check mine.)
-Once out of the oven invert the pan and allow the cake to cool completely. This works best if you set the center tube over a long necked glass bottle to hold it up in the air, like a vinegar bottle or the like. I used my olive oil bottle.
-When cake is cool, run a knife around the sides and the tube of the pan and lift the insert out. Then cut the cake away from the top of the pan and invert onto a serving plate.
-Drizzle the cooled caked with glaze if desired.

Orange Glaze

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Pinch of salt
Grated zest from 1 orange
Juice from one orange
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 drops orange food coloring (optional)
milk as needed

-Put all the ingredients except the milk in a bowl and whisk together. Add milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. The food coloring is optional, as the glaze on it's own is a lovely shade of pale yellow.

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Tips from the Kitchen McMitchell

Why is it important to bring your egg whites to room temperature?
Egg whites at room temperature will give greater volume, which is especially important when you're making an angel food or chiffon cake. Your cake will be much higher and fluffier if you use room temperature egg whites. This can be acheived by putting your whole cold eggs in some warm (not hot!) water for 5 minutes, although this makes them harder to seperate because your yolks won't be as firm as they are when they're cold.
Alternately, you can seperate your eggs when they're cold and let your egg whites sit for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature.

Why can't I use a plastic bowl to beat my egg whites?
If you use any kind of dish that could have an oily residue left on it, your egg whites will never be able to form peaks. You can beat them all day and nothing will ever happen other than foam. This is also why it's important not to get any yolk in your whites. If you use a clean metal or glass bowl to beat your egg whites you shouldn't have any problems.

Ginger+Molasses=True Love

When I was young I could polish off one of those packages of Archway Molasses cookies all by myself. I love, love, love molasses cookies with ginger. Especially if they're soft and chewy. I like the flavor of gingersnaps, but I don't like that they're hard as rocks. I don't enjoy eating things that make me feel like my teeth are going to break off. Maybe that's why we used to call them dangersnaps?

I have had an old standby molasses cookie recipe that I've been using for the last few years and they were good, but not anything special. And they didn't really taste like the Archway ones that I love so much. They needed something else...something extra.

Yesterday I played around with the recipe a little bit and now I think these are my new favorite cookies. They're wonderfully soft and spicy and just completely perfect. I think the key ingredient here is the fresh ginger. It's the first cookie I've made in a long time that's made me say "Wow!" I've added a vegan option as well for people who don't want to use animal products.

An extra added bonus feature is that they taste even better the next day. Enjoy!

(BTW, aren't my vintage 1960's tea service plates fab? Thanks Mom and Dad!)


Chewy Double Ginger Molasses Cookies
(with Vegan version!)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced (don't leave this out!!)
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
white sugar, demerara sugar (for rolling)

Vegan version:
Replace the butter and shortening with 3/4 cup margarine and replace the egg with 1/4 cup water.

-Cream together the butter, shortening and brown sugar.
-Stir in the egg, molasses and fresh ginger. Mix well.
-In a seperate bowl mix together the remaining ingredients with a fork until well blended.
-Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until well blended.
-Cover and chill until firm, 1-2 hours or longer.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Roll dough into walnut size balls (rounded tablespoons...a cookie scoop will help make portioning the dough faster).
-Roll the balls in sugar. I put the sugar in a mug and shake them around until they're coated.
-For sparkly tops I dipped the top half of the cookie in demerara sugar first (so it will stick better) and then rolled them in regular white sugar.
-Place the cookies on a cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart and flatten slightly.
-Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cookies should look slightly underdone.
-Leave on the cookie sheet one minute to set. Finish cooling on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 40 cookies

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Tips:
An easy way to peel fresh ginger is to use a regular teaspoon and scrape the skin off with the tip of the spoon. Easy peasy!

Small Potatoes

I wanted to make something quick, cute and easy for St. Patrick's Day. And something that wasn't green. I mean, SO obvious! :) Whilst searching through several recipes I came upon one for Irish Potatoes candy. I had all the ingredients on hand and they were no-bake so I thought well, even if they're bad I guess it's not a huge waste of time.

I was a bit skeptical that they would turn out cute or tasty, but was pleasantly surprised when they were both! I couldn't stop gushing over their cuteness. Or their teeny tiny-ness. Or their tastiness! What a fun idea!

What a great excuse to get your kids in the kitchen. This has family time written all over it.

And just in case you were wondering, no, they don't contain any actual potato.

Irish Potatoes Candy

1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)
4 ounces regular cream cheese, softened (not reduced fat, low fat or whipped)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
2 and 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
cinnamon

-In a large bowl cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
-Add vanilla and powdered sugar.
-Beat until mixture forms a ball.
-Stir in coconut with a spoon.
-Roll the mixture in your hands to form small potato shaped candies or small balls (the less smooth you make them the more real they look!)
-Put cinnamon in a plastic bag. Add two or three "potatoes" at a time and shake until coated.
-Place finished potatoes on a cookie sheet and chill for 1 hour or until firm.
-If you prefer "dirtier potatoes" you can roll the candy in cinnamon a second time after they've chilled.
-You can also dip these in chocolate for Easter eggs. (Someone also wrote that they used Nestle Quik powder to coat their potatoes, but I haven't tried this...let me know if someone does and if they're good!)

Makes about 3-4 dozen, depending on size.

**I bought my decorative chocolate Leprachauns and coins at See's Candies.**

Saint Patrick vs. Arm & Hammer

I remember the first time I had ever heard of soda bread I was a teenager and my mom had made it for St. Patrick's Day. When she said "soda bread" I imagined a whole loaf of bread that tasted like baking soda. But after the first taste I was won over!

Soda bread is incredibly easy to make. You can add raisins or not.
Or (heavens!) caraway seeds if you like them. I don't.  I think it's best slathered with rich, creamery butter. MMmmm!

This recipe is supposedly from someone's wee Irish Gran called Rosie. It has a really nice light texture and rises high and soft. Perfect to go with some corned beef, cabbage and anything else you've decided to dye an unearthly green colour.

Rosie's Irish Soda Bread

3 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like your bread)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pint sour cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (also optional)

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
-Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

-Combine dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
-In a smaller bowl beat eggs and stir in the sour cream.
-Add the egg and sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon. The dough will be very thick.
-Add the raisins and caraway seeds (optional) and stir well with wooden spoon or knead in with your hands.
-Place the dough in your pan.
-Dust the top with enough flour that you can pat it down evenly into the pan without it sticking to your hands.
-With a sharp knife cut an X on the top. 
-Bake for 50 minutes or until a rich golden brown.

What do you do with a Lonely Rhubarb?

Okay, so I had some frozen rhubarb that needed to be used up, too. My parents have a gi-normous rhubarb patch in their garden and I squirreled a few bags of it away for the winter months.

I love rhubarb, but I run out of ideas when it comes to putting it in things. I noticed strawberries were cheap again, so I started searching...I was delighted to find this recipe on the web. It's originally from Guide to Southern Cuisine.

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Filling

3 cups rhubarb (cut into 1 inch pieces, fresh or frozen)
2 pints fresh strawberries, mashed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 and 2/3 cups sugar (you may add more or less to taste, depending on how tart you like your rhubarb)
1/3 cup cornstarch

Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar

To make the filling:

-Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice in a saucepan.
-Cover and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
-Combine the sugar and cornstarch.
-Stir into the strawberry mixture.
-Bring to a boil, stir constantly until thickened, remove from heat.

To make the cake:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
-In a seperate bowl, beat together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.
-Stir into the flour mixture until just moistened.
-Spread half the mixture into a greased 9x13x2 baking dish.
-Carefully spread the strawberry rhubarb filling over the top.
-Drop remaining batter evenly over top with a tablespoon until well covered.

Topping:

-Melt the butter.
-Stir in the flour and sugar until crumbly.
-Sprinkle over the top of the batter.
-Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or until it tests done. (You may need to lay a sheet of foil or a baking sheet on the lower rack under the pan if the juices from the filling start to leak out so you don't have burnt rhubarb all over the bottom of your oven.)

Coffee Cake on the Run

I have a freezer full of frozen fruit (say that 5 times fast!) that I usually use to make smoothies. Sometimes though, a girl just gets smoothied out. So I had a whole bunch of frozen blueberries that needed to be used up.

I decided to make a last minute treat to take to work yesterday and this is what I came up with. I thought they were faboo...and so did the people who were fighting over the last two in the pan.

These are just the right size for a breakfast on the run. And much more economical than your local java joint. Take that Starbucks!

Blueberry Coffee Cake Crunch Muffins

for the crunch topping

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

for the muffins

3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
8 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 and 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Lightly grease the top of your muffin tin (so when they rise they won't stick!) and line with 18 paper liners.
-Put the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl. Stir until well mixed and crumbly. Set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
-Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well between each and scraping down the bowl.
-The stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, sour cream and milk.
-In a seperate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined.
-If you are using fresh blueberries, pick through for stems and rinse thoroughly. If you are using frozen blueberries, put them in a bowl or strainer, rinse with water and drain.
-Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed.
-Use a standard size ice cream scoop to scoop the batter, fill each muffin paper to just over the top.
-Sprinkle each muffin generously with crumb topping.
-Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes about 18 muffins

Cups and Cakes

I broke down and made the Samoas Cupcakes (these uns ri' chere >>) a couple of weeks ago, thinking that if I made them miniature sized (so they weren't so rich) and skipped the caramel filling to save time that they wouldn't be quite so scary.

FOUR hours later I ate my words. Literally. They were incredibly tasty morsels, but not worth all that work. In fact, I thought the Brown Sugar Butter Cupcakes on their own were completely perfect. So did Dana who ate four of them before I realized what she was sneaking away with. They were so good plain that I almost felt bad that I put all that stuff on top of them. Once they were covered with chocolate and coconut frosting you couldn't taste how good the cupcakes were anymore.

I'm including the recipe for the ganache because that part was easy and they look really gorgeous dipped in shimmery chocolate, but I imagine they'd be equally at home with a nice buttercream.

This recipe made almost four dozen cutesy miniature cupcakes, so I think that regular sized they'd probably make a dozen and a half or so.

Brown Sugar Butter Cupcakes

3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
-Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
-Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.
-In a seperate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
-Measure out milk and vanilla and mix together.
-Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter mixture and beat to combine.
-Add about one third of the milk/vanilla mixture and beat until just combined.
-Repeat as above, alternating the flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
-Scoop into cupcake papers about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
-Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Adjust time to about 12-15 minutes for miniature cupcakes.)
-Cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Ganache

1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips like Ghirardelli
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-Put chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.
-In a small saucepan heat cream gently until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, then pour cream over the chocolate.
-Let sit for 1 minute and then stir until combined.
-Add vanilla and stir until combined.
-Let cool slightly.
-Dip tops of cupcakes into warm ganache and turn as you pull up, swirling the chocolate back onto the cupcake to avoid drips. Let the ganache cool on the cupcakes.
-If the ganache becomes too hard to dip, put the bowl of ganache over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring until it becomes warm and smooth again.
-If you'd like a more "frosting" like consistency, you can let the ganache cool to room temperature and spread it on the cupcakes.

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If you want the rest of the Samoas Cupcakes recipe (my hat is off to you, my friend), want to send me random comments or are just bored you can e-mail me at: joelnbots at gmail dot com.

Apple Cider Syrup

Oh my goodness, this stuff is fabulous. I made french toast the other morning for Valentine's Day and this made it taste like heaven. It was easy and we had everything I needed to make it in the cupboard and fridge. It will make your house smell fantastic while it's reducing...like Christmas and fresh baked cinnamon rolls and cozy holidays where you're snowed in with the people you like best.

If you want to make it in advance you can just let it cool down after cooking and pour it in a jar or glass syrup dispenser, store it in the fridge and then reheat it when you want to use it. It's best when it's warm and the butter in the syrup will solidify and needs to be heated back up and stirred in.

I just had a thought. This would be amazing on ice cream...OOOooh!

Apple Cider Syrup

1 cup apple cider or apple juice
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

-In a medium saucepan whisk together the apple cider or juice, the brown sugar, cloves and cinnamon.
-Bring the mixture just to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer until thickened and reduced to about one cup, about 8 to 10 minutes.
-Stir in the butter until melted. Serve warm.

Challah!

I found out during my Valentine's day preparations that no one in Salt Lake City (or at least not where I live) makes loaves of Challah, and I needed it to make a french toast recipe. So I did a little searching and found a Challah recipe that turned out so beautiful and was so easy that I couldn't believe I hadn't tried my hand out at making this bread earlier!

If you've never had Challah (pronounced "holla") it's a rich Jewish bread made with egg and braided into a long loaf. It's absolutely stunning when you take it out of the oven.

Now, I don't own a stand mixer (but anyone that wants to buy me a KitchenAid is welcome to do so!) so I do it by hand and it wasn't too hard at all. But if you do own a stand mixer I imagine it would do your wrists some good without all that stirring. The instructions are very thorough, and you may feel a little daunted looking them over, but the recipe really is easy and the instructions help you come out with the perfect bread. It's only about 30 minutes of active work time. The results are completely worth it!

This recipe makes two big loaves, one to keep and one to eat now or share with a friend. We even made a tiny loaf for Dana to have all to herself. If you're going to use it for french toast like we did, leave it out overnight wrapped in a dishtowel so it gets a little stale, which is best for french toast.

Tante B's Famous Challah

3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus
3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dry yeast 2 (1/4 ounce) packages dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you want your Challah (I used 3/4 cup for mine and it was just slightly sweet)
2 cups warm water (80-90 degrees)

Glaze
1 egg, beaten
poppy seeds (optional) or sesame seeds (optional)

1. Measure out your sugar and take one tablespoon of the sugar you've measured and combine it in your mixing bowl with the yeast and the warm water. (You know you have the right temperature of warm water when it's the same temperature as the inside of your wrist).

2. Let the yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes or until it's nice and foamy.

3. Now add the rest of the sugar, the salt and the first 3 and 1/2 cups of flour to the yeast.

4. Mix well. If you're using a stand mixer use the bread hook.

6. Add the beaten egg & oil.

7. Slowly start mixing in the remaining 3 and 1/2 cups of flour (you will not need all of it). The dough will become quite thick.

8. When the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, turn it onto a floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes.

9. Add only enough of the remaining flour to make the dough manageable.

10. Knead until dough has acquired a "life of it's own"; it should be smooth and elastic, springing back when pressed lightly with your fingertip.

11. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, turning once so the dough is oiled on all sides.

12. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and put in a warm place to rise for 2 hours, punching down in 4-5 places every 20 minutes.

13. It helps to write down the time you start so you don't forget when the two hours are up and set a timer for every twenty minutes so you remember to punch down your dough.

14. After 2 hours, turn your dough out onto your work surface.

15. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

16. Prepare your baking sheet(s) lining with parchment paper.

17. Now comes the forming part: Take a large, sharp knife and cut the dough in half.

18. Take one of the halves and cut into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 10-12 inches long. Braid the 3 pieces together pinching the top and bottom pieces together and turning them under. Place on the baking sheet.

19. Repeat the same for the other loaf.

20. Let the challah rise for 1/2 an hour.

21. After the challah has risen, brush with the beaten egg. You may sprinkle on poppy seeds or sesame seeds if you wish.

22. Almost done!

23. Put in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine were brown in about 20 minutes and were getting quite dark by this point, so watch your bread in the last 10 minutes of this step in the baking and go to the next step when they're golden.)

24. Turn off the oven and leave the loaves in for another 10 minutes.

25. Remove from oven.

26. Enjoy! You deserve every compliment you get.

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Tip: The only tip I have this time is this: if you want really good bread, use really good flour. I absolutely swear by King Arthur Flour because it's very high quality, unbleached and unbromated and it makes your baked goods shine. I used a half and half mix of their bread flour and all-purpose flour for this recipe. I buy mine at Albertson's where it's on sale for half price right now!

King Arthur also sells lots of other fine baking goods on their website and have loads of great recipes.

Next time I'll post the recipe for the glorious Apple Cider Syrup I made to go with the french toast. It was absolutely sinful! (Oh, and the french toast was the best I'd ever made, bar none.)

A Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love

I made this cake today.>
It took me about 2 hours all in. Dana even helped stir the batter. Awww!

I thought I'd go with a chocolate cream cake...this is 2 previous recipes--
Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake and the cream filling recipe from the Banana Cake--juxtaposed on each other. I think it turned out really well. Or at least the decorating job did, if I do say so myself. I didn't actually get to taste any of it...though I did try some of each component as I was making it and they were all good. :)

I literally had 2 minutes to snap the pictures before we had to run out the door, so that's why the pics are not so great today...we had too many errands to run today and a trip to the swimming pool. Life!

I also find it's hard to get an interesting angle on a decorated cake when you want to get it all in. And I had to lean over it to get the top, which made the pictures dark because I was blocking the light. It was 8 layers if you count the frosting...alternating layers of chocolate cake and cream filling topped with milk chocolate buttercream. (Ooh la la! C'est manifique!) It's a shame that I didn't get a picture of the cake when it was cut. I was going to give Ray the camera to get a shot at work, but I forgot. Oh well...



The point I am trying make here is that experimenting in the kitchen is a great way to teach yourself to be a better cook. Just like sewing (which I also do, but not as much now that we have a wee kiddo who is far too interested in the mechanics of the machine and it's furiously fast needle...) you can take the parts you like and leave out the things you don't and make it your very own.

Another thing I wanted to say while I'm rambling on here is that anyone and everyone can feel free to leave comments...someone pointed out a glaring error (!) I had made on my brownie recipe the other night and I'm so greatful! (Thanks Cheri!) I love to get feedback and comments and anything else you might feel like sharing. It makes me feel that all this tomfoolery is worth it in the end.

Pea-Nut, Peanut Butter!

I thought these Peanut Butter Cup Tarts looked so darn cute I had no choice but to make some. Besides that, my mini muffin tin doesn't get out much and I felt bad for it being stuffed in with all my well used cookie sheets. They look like a lot of work, but I cannot even begin to tell you how easy they are.

A big bag of miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups will be more than enough for the recipe, so you'll have a couple to munch on while you're waiting for them to cool. Trust me...that wait to get them out of the pan is LOOOONG.

Peanut Butter Cup Tart Cookies

36 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter cups, unwrapped
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
-Cream peanut butter, butter and sugars until fluffy.
-Add egg and vanilla and beat well.
-Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
-Roll into 1 inch balls (or use a small cookie scoop) and place in miniature muffin tins.
-Bake 8-10 minutes or until they just start to brown.
-When tin is removed from oven immediately press 1 peanut butter cup into the center of each hot cookie.
-Allow cookies to cool completely before removing from tin.

Makes 36 cookies

Rolo Cookies

I'm on a candy-cookie jones this week. I wonder if it has something to do with Valentine's Day being right around the corner?

I posted this recipe quite some time ago with another recipe for "Better Than Sex Brownies", so I thought I'd bump them back up to the top on their own. (Plus now I have a lovely picture of them!) They are definitely worth repeating! The cookies have a rich brownie flavor, coated in sparkly sugar and a Rolo is tucked inside for a spiffy surprise.

I find it amusing that so many people wonder how I got the Rolo in there... :)

Rolo Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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 until fluffy.
-Beat in vanilla. Then beat in eggs one at a time.
-In a seperate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.
-Pour into butter mixture and mix well. (The dough is very stiff)
-Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Pour 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
-Roll the dough into walnut size balls (or use a cookie scoop) and push a frozen Rolo in the middle. Wrap the dough around the top of the Rolo until completely covered, then roll the ball in sugar.
-Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
-Bake for 10 minutes.
-Let the cookies cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then remove to cool on racks.

Makes 40 cookies.

Brownies Du Jour

I know that people are devoted to their chewy, fudgy, deep, dark, buttery evil brownies like nothing else in the world. So I found a recipe that everyone swore was the best. Ray says they're amazing. How can anything with over a pound of chocolate in it be bad? They're best cold, straight out of the fridge, in my opinion. Mmmmm...sinful.

This recipe has been seriously scaled down and revised from a giant bakery batch size, but if you have a half sheet pan (12x18x1 inch deep) and you need lots of brownies, just double the recipe. (If you do choose to go this route you will probably need to put another pan or foil under the brownie pan to catch brownie batter spillover and avoid an oven fire or smoked brownies.) I've never made them with the optional walnuts, but I bet those are good, too. You can also make an Oreo version which is fabulous!

Outrageous Brownies
(adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 and 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate*
3 extra large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour, plus 2 and 1/2 tablespoons for the chocolate chips
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (whatever your preference is)
1 and 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
-or- 1 (8 ounce) bag of mini Oreos for the Oreo version (also optional)

-Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil that overhangs the ends (this will make your brownies easier to remove and cut). Butter and flour the foil in the pan and set aside.
-Melt together the butter, the 1 and 1/3 cups semi- sweet chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate* in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring until smooth.
-Remove when melted and allow to cool slightly.
-In a large mixing bowl stir together (do not beat) the eggs, vanilla and sugar.
-Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
-In the meantime preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
-In a seperate bowl mix together 2/3 cup flour, baking powder and salt.
-Add to the cooled chocolate mixture and mix until just blended.
-In a bowl toss the remaining cup of chocolate chips (and nuts or oreos, if using) and the 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of flour until well floured. This will keep the chips from sinking to the bottom of the batter while baking.
-Add the flour and chips mixture to the brownie batter and mix until just combined.
-Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread out. Smooth the top.
-Bake for 15 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough.
-Bake for another 13 to 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. (It's okay if it comes out with a few crumbs or a little chocolatey/buttery, but not sticky with batter). Don't overbake!
-Allow to cool completely and cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. (These can be baked and refrigerated up to a week in advance.)
-When ready to cut, lift the brownies out of the pan using the overhanging foil as handles, peel the foil away from the sides, then cut into squares.
-These cut easier when cold out of the fridge, using a sharp knife dipped in hot water and cleaned between cuts.

Makes about 16 brownies, depending on how big you cut them.

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Tips!

*Unsweetened Chocolate: If you don't have any of this in your pantry, you can use unsweetened cocoa powder. 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil equals one ounce of unsweetened chocolate. This recipe will use 9 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. Just add them to the recipe and follow along as usual. Easy peasy!

*Make sure that your brownie batter is completely cooled to room temperature when you add your chocolate chips at the end, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies.

*For some reason butter works better than anything when you grease your pans for brownies. I've never had a problem removing them when I grease with butter, unlike when I use cooking spray. I suspect it's the propellant in the spray. Using butter is like magic--they come right off the foil.

Muffins Are Just Ugly Cupcakes.

I don't know what it is about coconut and cupcakes that makes everyone crazy but these are simply the most divine cupcakes anywhere. The cream cheese frosting, the coconut, the almost obscene amount of butter...heavenly!

Coconut Cupcakes
(adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook)

1 and 1/2 cups butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
2 cups sugar
5 extra large eggs (or 6 large) brought to room temperature*
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 bag (14 ounces) of sweetened shredded coconut, divided
Cream Cheese Icing (recipe follows)

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
-Grease the top of two 12 cup cupcake tins (this will help you remove your cupcakes after they bake, otherwise it'll be messy!) and line with 24 paper cupcake liners.
-In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
-Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each.
-Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.
-In a seperate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In three parts alternate adding the flour and buttermilk to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just blended. Don't overmix!
-Fold in 3 cups of the coconut. Set aside the rest to top the cupcakes with later.
-Fill each cupcake cup to the top with batter. (Using an ice cream scoop makes this really fast and easy.)
-Bake for 25-35 minutes until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
-Remove from oven and let cool in the tins for 15 minutes. You will probably need to cut the cupcakes apart to seperate them since they'll rise over the top of the pan and spread--do this while they're in the pan.
-Remove cupcakes and cool completely on cooling racks.
-Frost generously with cream cheese icing and sprinkle with remaining coconut (press down lightly to keep coconut from falling off).

Makes 24 cupcakes

Cream Cheese Icing

8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup butter, room temperature (1 and 1/2 sticks)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups powdered sugar

-Make sure your cream cheese and butter are at room temperature to avoid lumps in your frosting.
-Put the cream cheese, butter and extracts in a mixing bowl. Blend together until creamy.
-Blend in the powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy.

----------------------------------------------------
Tips!

* Bringing your eggs to room temperature before using them in a recipe will give your baked goods greater volume (read: light and fluffy!). An easy way to bring them to room temperature quickly is to submerge your eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.

*An easy way to bring your cream cheese and butter to room temperature for the icing is to put them in the mixing bowl when you start to make your cupcakes and set them somewhere out of the way. By the time the cupcakes are baked and you're ready to make your icing, the butter and cream cheese should be ready to mix. I put the extracts in the bowl at the same time so all I need to do is mix them up and add the powdered sugar.

* If you are using imitation vanilla extract as opposed to pure vanilla extract you will need to use twice as much in your recipe because it's not as strong as pure vanilla. The difference is that imitation vanilla is just vanilla flavored alcohol, while pure vanilla extract is alcohol that has had real vanilla beans soaking in it, so it's much stronger in flavor. It may cost more, but the flavor is much more intense and real than the imitation vanilla. You'll notice when you bake that you can smell vanilla everywhere when you use it. It's wonderful!

You can make your own vanilla extract if you have a bottle of vodka and a dozen vanilla beans laying around (put the beans in the vodka and let them marinate for a month) but I can't imagine a situation where I'd have either one of these ingredients in my pantry on a regular day...*hic!*

P.S. Don't drink vanilla extract (or orange or peppermint) no matter how good it smells. It's yucky.

Apple Cinnamon Goodness

My apologies for not posting this coffee cake recipe sooner. I made so many things this week that it had completely slipped my mind. Ray said a few people had been asking for the recipe and that I must post STAT! :)

This particular recipe is one that is sitting in my recipe file (read: a big pile of papers that sits in a drawer in my kitchen...I really wish I was more organized) scribbled down on the back of an old Comcast bill, so I have no idea where it comes from originally, but I've made it so many times I don't even really need to look at the recipe anymore. It's been used so much it's spotted with vanilla!

This one is easy peasy to throw together that you'll be quite pleased with the wonderfully tasty results. It's a good way to use up apples that are on their last legs. You might even find yourself going out to buy apples just to make it. It's been known to happen at our house.

Apple & Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 cups apples, diced (about 2 large apples)

For the topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, cold

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Grease a 9x13 pan or a 10 inch round springform pan.
-Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then blend in vanilla.
-Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a seperate bowl.
-Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
-Fold in the apples until evenly distributed.
-Spread batter into prepared pan.
-In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
-Cut in the cold butter until it is crumbly with a few chunks of butter remaining.
-Sprinkle over the top of the batter evenly.
-Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
-Drizzle with vanilla butter glaze while warm if desired (recipe follows).
-Serve warm.

Vanilla Butter Glaze
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
milk as needed

-Mix together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until well blended.
-Add milk as neccessary until desired consistency is reached.

Ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches!

Believe it or not, I think I might have topped the Exalted Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. I found a recipe in Fine Cooking Magazine a few weeks ago that looked positively sinful...peanut butter cookie sandwiches that were generously slathered with peanut butter cream and chocolate chunks. However, the cookie recipe was for crunchy cookies. I don't like crunchy cookies. I thought the filling would be better married to a chewy peanut butter cookie. So after some searching and a bit of recipe tweaking I think I've come up with the perfect, divine combination.

I made a test batch last night to take to work with me and everyone who tried them thought they were magic.

The peanut butter cookie is chewy and light, but buttery and just the slightest bit crispy on the outside. And the peanut butter cream is flecked with tiny chunks of creamy milk chocolate. What's not to love? All you need to add is a tall glass of cold moo juice.

They're insanely easy to make, so whip up a batch for your favorite people and bring on the love. Happy friday everyone!

Peanut Butter Cream Sandwich Cookies

For the Cookies

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I like Skippy)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

For the Peanut Butter Cream

6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons cold heavy cream
1/2 cup small diced milk chocolate (I like to use a big Hershey's Symphony bar--you'll only need a little more than half the bar) or mini chocolate chips


-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
-In a large mixing bowl combine sugars, butter, peanut butter, vanilla and egg. Beat well.
-Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix until well combined.
-Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (about the size of a large walnut...a cookie scoop makes this process go much faster) onto an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Flatten each slightly with your fingers.
-Bake for 9-10 minutes or until edges just start to brown.
-Cool completely on wire racks.
-To make the Peanut Butter Cream put the butter, peanut butter and powdered sugar in a bowl.
-Beat together until smooth.
-Add the heavy cream and beat just until smooth and fluffy.
-Fold in the chocolate.
-Flip your cookies upside down and spread with a generous dollop of peanut butter cream. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich.

Makes 20 sandwiches

Crazy Takes the Cake

I finally got around to making the bundt that got ruined on the first try--and this time it came out GLORIOUS. (Thank you Nordic Ware!) What's not to love about orange and chocolate? Use a good brand of chocolate and you will be rewarded even further. I find that Ghirardelli chips are worth the extra pocket change just to have really wonderful chocolate.

So without further ado, here is the recipe. It's a bit labor intensive, but it's a labor of love and oh my are the results worth it!

Orange Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 extra large eggs (or 5 large), at room temperature
1/4 cup grated orange zest (about 4 large oranges)
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the Syrup

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the Ganache

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
-Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan and set aside.
-In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and light yellow, about 5 minutes.
-Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 30 seconds and scraping down sides of bowl after each egg.
-Zest the oranges, stir zest into the butter mixture.
-In a seperate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In another bowl stir together the orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.
-Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter mixture beginning and ending with the flour.
-In a bowl toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of flour (flouring the chips helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake while it's cooking).
-Stir the chips and flour into the batter until evenly incorporated.
-Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan. Smooth the top of the cake and put in the oven.
-Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean (my oven takes about 55 minutes...it varies depending on the oven, so watch your cake so it doesn't burn.) Remove cake and let it cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
-Meanwhile prepare the syrup. In a small saucepan combine the orange juice and sugar. Cook over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.
-Remove the cake from the pan onto a cooling rack. Set the rack over a tray with sides and spoon all the syrup over the cake. Let the cake cool completely.
-For the ganache put the chocolate chips and heavy cream in the top of a double boiler (a small saucepan that you can fit an ovensafe glass or ceramic dish on the top of will work just as well) over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Tangy Lemon Cake(s)

I was put off blogging over the weekend by a major mishap with a bundt cake some time between thursday night and friday morning. Let's just say I was really upset and ended up chucking about 4 pounds worth of simultaneously raw and burnt bundt into the garbage. The moral of the story? Never, ever buy a silicone bundt pan. I have taken the trial hit for you, my friends. They don't work.

Now that that is all said and done, the recipe I made earlier in the day came out just wonderfully. A lovely, lusty lemon cake that is drizzled with lemon syrup and glazed with lemon icing. I was a bit worried that--for the casual cake eater--the syrup had made the top part of the cake a bit too tangy, but it turns out that the juxtaposition of light and sweet cake and the suddenly tangy top just work together. My husband said it was gone and gone quick. I was delighted to hear this after the sad death of my bundt!

Since the weather is cold, and citrus fruits are relatively cheap this time of year, you should have fun making this one. It's so nice and summery and perfect with a tall glass of cold milk or a hot cup of tea. Plus it makes two loaves! Nice.

Lemon Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 and 1/2 cups sugar, divided
4 extra large eggs brought to room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest* (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
3 and 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

-Grease, flour and line the bottom of two 8 and 1/2 inch loaf pans with parchment or waxed paper.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-Zest* the lemons and then juice them. Set them aside for later in the recipe.
-Cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
-Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well, scraping down the bowl between each. Then add the lemon zest and mix until combined.
-In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In another combine 1/4 cup of the lemon juice, the buttermilk and the vanilla.
-Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter mixture beginning and ending with the flour.
-Divide the batter evenly between the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
-While the cakes are baking combine the remaning 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.
-When the cakes are done let them cool for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans (you may need to run a knife around the edges to loosen them).
-Peel the parchment or waxed paper carefully from the bottoms. Set them on a cooling rack and set the cooling rack in a pan or tray with sides.
-Spoon all the lemon syrup evenly over the cakes. Let them cool completely.
-For the glaze combine the confectioners sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides. -Let the glaze dry before serving or wrapping.

Makes 2 loaves.

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*Zest: zest is the outside colored part of the skin on citrus fruits like limes, lemons and oranges. This is where all the essential oils are contained and those oils make a lot of the difference in taste for baked goods.
If you have never zested before, it's easy! Using either the smallest holes on your grater or a zester (which you can buy pretty much anywhere...they are fabulous) grate the colored part of the skin off, stopping just short of where the fruit's skin will turn white. You don't want the white part. This is the pith and it's very bitter. Make sure you take off all the colored part you can get before moving on to the next fruit. A nice added bonus is that your hands will smell wonderful!

Clearly Not the Craziest

I was starting to think that when it came to cooking, short of being some kind of pastry chef, I was the craziest baker out there. After a short search on the internet the other day I found out that this is not true, and that maybe I have only hit the tip of the iceberg as far as my foodie ways are concerned.

I cant remember where I found this page, but it is all about cupcakes. And not just your everyday cake in a paper with buttercream slathered on top. Nope. This woman is serious about cupcakes. The thing that brought me to her page was the promise of Samoas(tm) cupcakes. If you don't know what Samoas(tm) are then you've clearly never been accosted by a Girl Scout in the spring. They are diabolically evil little cookies that are coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasty coconut and then dipped in chocolate. They are really, really good.

But this recipe was even enough to scare me. Make your own homemade caramel filling and chocolate ganache? Ummm--no thanks. Remember how I'm all about things being fairly achievable on any regular given day? Yeah, this is not going to happen at my house.

There were a few recipes that seemed like they might be doable. I'm really toying with the idea of making the chocolate chai cupcakes or the caramel apple ones--so cute! The pumpkin ones look really amazing. And I love the paper cups she uses so you can do them on a baking sheet instead of muffin tins. Very clever.

I have to admit that I am fascinated and her ideas are as out there as any I've seen. Plus she has gorgeous pictures to show the steps of the cooking process that could turn anyone into a foodaholic.

Still, there is no way I'm ever going to be crazy enough to make cupcakes that take three days to make and are filled with lavendar and honey ice cream.

Curious? Visit Chockylit's Cupcake Bakeshop page for some stunning cupcakery.

I'll invite everyone over when I get around to being brave enough to make the Chocolate Bread Pudding Cupcakes with Toasted Walnuts, Homemade Toffee, and Cream.

Chicken Soup for the Busy Person

I have made this soup a lot over the colder months. It's really easy to put together and a good way to use up leftover and frozen vegetables from your fridge/freezer. Just make sure you have some chicken stock or broth in your cupboard and you're good to go. This is a really thick, hearty and tasty soup. Much better than anything you'll ever find in a can!

30 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 pound chicken tenders or chicken breasts, diced
1/2 pound wide egg noodles (I like the No Yolks brand)
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley)

-Place a large stock pot or saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil.
-Put your cutting board next to your stove and add vegetables to the pot as you chop them in the order listed, stirring well after each addition.
-Add the Italian seasoning and season vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
-Add the stock or broth to the pot and raise the heat. Bring the liquid to a boil.
-Add the diced chicken, return the soup to a boil and then reduce heat back to medium.
-Cook the chicken for 2 minutes, then add the noodles. You can also add the frozen peas at this point if you want them in your soup.
-If you are using dried parsley add it now.
-Cook the soup for an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender. This is a thick soup, if you want more broth add 2 cups of water.
-Once the noodles are tender, remove from heat. If you're using fresh parsley stir it in now.

Makes 2 quarts

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Tips:
-You can add in whatever vegetables you like to this soup. Just remember if you're adding fresh veggies they need to go in the pot before you add the stock or broth. (You will want to add the more dense vegetables first so they can cook longer) If you're adding frozen veggies they need to go in with the noodles.
-This recipe goes perfectly with the Batter Rolls recipe!

Bread for the Masses

While I love to make yeast bread, I don't usually have time with a rambunctious 3 year old on my hands. When I get around to thinking about dinner, there's not enough time to let the dough rise and bake and I usually end up just sending poor husband out to the store for a loaf of french bread or something similar.

A serendipitous find came to me over the Christmas holidays...2 recipes for yeast breads that require little or no time to raise! The first is one of the tastiest rolls I've ever eaten, let alone made myself. I had them whipped up and baked by the time I had finished the soup I made to go with them. They were so good Dana didn't want to eat anything but the rolls!

The second recipe is for no rise pizza crust. I was skeptical at first, but it turned out the best pizza dough I've made at home and I didn't have to do much more than mix it up and put it on the pan. Easy peasy!

Recipe #1
Batter Rolls (total time to make: about 1 hour)

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup very warm water (no hotter than 115 degrees)
2 packages dry yeast (or 2 tablespoons)
1 egg
3 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour

-Place milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until hot--about 2 minutes.
-Stir in the sugar, salt and butter and set aside.
-Measure the warm water in a large mixing bowl and stir in yeast.
-Let the yeast stand for a few minutes until foamy.
-Add the milk mixture (should be lukewarm) the egg and 2 cups of the flour.
-Beat until smooth
-Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
-Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and set in a warm place until doubled--about 30 minutes.
-Punch down the dough.
-Shape into 20 rolls. (I only got 18, but I like mine bigger)
-Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 pan or jelly roll pan. Cover again and let raise about 30 minutes (as above).
-In the meantime preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
-Bake rolls 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

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Tips From Mrs. McMitchell:
These rolls are easy to incorporate into your dinner routine! Here's how I fit them in:

I mixed up the dough and set it aside to rise while I made a pot of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. The rolls were done with their first rise by the time the soup was simmering, so while the soup did it's thing, I shaped the rolls and put them in the pan for their second rise and I covered them with the same piece of plastic wrap I used on the bowl and left them to rise.

While they were rising I added the noodles to the soup and preheated the oven. Just as the soup was finishing up the rolls were ready and they only took 10 minutes until they were brown. Dinner was completely homemade and ready to go in an hour!

Recipe #2
No Rise Pizza Crust (total time to make: about 25 minutes)

1 package yeast (or 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 and 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
-Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir until dissolved.
-Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Knead dough a couple of times to mix in all the flour.
-Let rest 5 minutes. (I let it sit while I cut up my pizza toppings.)
-Roll out into the size and shape you need. (I have used the same recipe on a jelly roll pan and on round baking stones)
-Add toppings of your choice.
-Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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Tips:
-You can add dried herbs to the dough if you like. Italian seasoning blend is always nice to add to the dough. I think garlic powder would be really good too!
-We made really good cheesy breadsticks with this the other night too: Put about 1/4 cup olive oil or butter in a saucepan with 3 or 4 cloves of finely minced garlic. Heat until the oil for a few minutes to release the garlic flavor and let cool until warm. Once the dough is in the pan cut it into sticks with a pizza cutter. Brush with the garlic oil and sprinkle with parmesan or mozzarella (or both) or whatever kind of cheese you like. You can add a little sprinkle of dried parsley or Italian seasoning on top if you like. Bake and enjoy!
-This dough is really good with half whole wheat flour and half white flour.
Use your imagination. This dough is really hard to mess up!