Champagne Cupcakes

So my friend Helen and I decided to hold a Ladies Day for a bunch of friends.  We had a friend come and share her Pure Romance business with us.  It was a fun and educational day.  It was also a great day to get together with friends that I don't see nearly often enough, catch up on our lives, and share in a little laughter. Helen and I are both great cooks, so the food was delicious.  We had Buffalo Chicken Dip, Spinach Dip, fun colored drinks with umbrellas, cucumber with hummus, and more food than an army could eat.  We made a great dent in it and everyone went home happy.  I was in charge of making cupcakes and after being inspired by a drink at a restaurant in Bellefonte called The Smashing Pumpkin, I decided to try to make a cupcake version of that, as well as Champagne Cupcakes.  Women occasionally need pampered and this was going to be our day.  My Smashing Pumpkin Cupcake needs some reworking, but it'll be appearing on the blog soon.  However, the Champagne Cupcake recipe that I used from Sprinkle Bakes, is a wonderful recipe and I used the cake and butter cream recipe, but I made some changes to the filling recipe.   I used a sweet champagne, I used Cupcake Vineyards Prosecco.  I chose this champagne after much staring and reading all the labels of all the sparkling wine on the shelves.  I felt that the hints peaches, nectarines, and the fruity burst would be perfect in cupcakes.  Turns out, I'm right.  So chose a champagne or prosecco that you think could be good in a cupcake because you cook down the alcohol, which will enhance the flavor.  I made some changes to the filling recipe, for some reason, I thought it tasted weird when I made it from the original recipe, so the few changes I've made are here.  If you're looking for an easy but decadent, show stopping cupcakes, these are it!

Cake: 

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup champagne, processco, or sparkling wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and mix.    Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.  Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream (mixture will fizz and bubble a little).  Add flour and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Batter will be thick.

Fill cupcake papers  3/4 of the way to the top of the liner with batter.  Bake for 17-22 minutes.  Set aside.

Champagne Pastry Creme Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup champagne or prosecco
2 tbsp cornstarch 
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 tbsp unsalted butter
In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch in 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Combine the remaining heavy cream, sugar and 1/2 cup champagne in a saucepan; bring to a boil then remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg  into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture.  Pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook.  Return the remaining champagne/heavy cream mixture to a boil.  Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and beat in the butter.
Cut a divot into the top of each cupcake and fill with champagne cream.  Fill so that the filling is almost level to the top.  

Champagne Frosting:
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. champagne or prosecco
2 sticks of butter softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan.  Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons.  Transfer to a small bowl or condiment cup and allow to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together.  Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced 2 tbsp. champagne plus  1 tbsp. champagne from the bottle and mix well.

Decorate with fun sprinkles... or take them to your party and bring several small bags of Pop Rocks.  Before each guest takes a cupcake, sprinkle them with Pop Rocks.  This will simulate the fizz that champagne has!  Guests gets a sweet treat with a surprise fizzzz! 

World's Best and Grandpa's Favorite Apple Pie

My grandfather turned 90 March 27th.  That in itself is quite an accomplishment, but the fact that he is still active, farming and not on any medication is downright amazing.  I have a special bond with my grandpa; even though he can be ornerier than an angry mule.  He taught me how to fish, hunt, drive a tractor, stack bales, fix fence, give shots, love animals auctions, and a whole host of other necessities.  I remember summer days when I was young when we could pack the fishing poles, egg salad sandwiches that Grandma had made, dig for worms and head back to the pond on the 4-wheeler to go fish for the afternoon.  He taught me how to take off my own fish, avoid catching frogs and stay away from snakes.  He picked splinters from my feet when I ran down the unfinished wooden stairs barefooted and took me with him to the feed store.  Another of my favorite memories is being taken to the feed store, wandering around for a bit, and then sitting on the counter swinging my feet off the ledge, sniffing the musty, woody, feed smell and listening to the old men on the porch gossip.  To this day, I love the smell of feed, it takes me back to those days.  As Grandpa gets older, he's not quite as spry as he once way, but he still loves anything sweet, especially pie.  Grandpa hates cake, he's just not a fan of the texture.  He's always had pie for his birthday, going back as far as I can remember.  Berry pie is a standard favorite, but apple pie is his absolute favorite.  I made an apple pie that is one this website a while back, but I wasn't happy with it.  So I was looking for a new apple pie recipe.  My mother makes amazing pie crust; her pie crusts are legendary in our family and town.  My pie crusts need help, major help, but I figured I could give it a shot for Grandpa's 90th birthday.  This pie crust is one of the easiest and the best EVER!  If you love apple pie, this is the recipe for you!  I also had to chuckle, Grandpa has never had a drink in his life, but this crust has Apple Jack in it (it cooks out) but it seems fitting that Grandpa had some liquor on his 90th birthday.  If you know him, please don't ever say anything.  I think he would kill me.  However, please make this pie and please think of him when you do.  He's still doing well and I hope that I'm blessed enough to have him for a few more years.

 I followed Alton Brown's recipe , even layering the apples like he suggests, see the picture beside this.  This pie is just awesome, light, flaky crust and delicious apple filling.  I beg of you, make this pie!


 Ingredients
For the crust:
6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ounces vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 to 7 tablespoons Apple Jack
12 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

For the filling:
3 to 3 1/2 pounds apples, mixture of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn and Golden Delicious, about 6 large apples
1/2 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons apple jelly
1 tablespoon apple cider
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
For the crust:

Place the butter, shortening and applejack into the refrigerator for 1 hour.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.  Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of the applejack. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more applejack as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Weigh the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

For the filling:
Peel and core the apples. Slice into 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain for 1 1/2 hours. Transfer the drained liquid to a small saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool. Toss the apples with the remaining sugar, cornstarch, jelly, cider, lime juice, and salt.

For assembling and baking the pie:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator. Place the dough onto a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Place into a 9 1/2 to 10-inch tart pan that is 2-inches deep. Gently press the dough into the sides of the pan, crimping and trimming the edges as necessary. Set a pie bird in the center of the bottom of the pan.

Place the apples into the unbaked pie shell in concentric circles starting around the edges, working towards the center and forming a slight mound in the center of the pie. Pour over any liquid that remains in the bowl. Roll out the second pie dough as the first. Place this dough over the apples, pressing the pie bird through the top crust. Press together the edges of the dough around the rim of the pie. Brush the top crust with the reduced juice everywhere except around the edge of pie. Trim any excess dough. Place the pie on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake on the floor** of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to the lower rack of the oven and continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the apples are cooked through but not mushy. Remove to a rack and cool a minimum of 4 hours or until almost room temperature.

**If you're using an electric oven with coils on the bottom of the oven, place the pie on the sheet pan on the lowest rack over the coils, NOT directly on top of them.

Strawberry Cupcakes

Since I've been trying to catch my blog up to speed with things I've made, these are a must.  I had to attend a Farm Bureau Strawberry Social this past summer.  The idea is that Farm Bureau members host an adult and kid friendly pizza party to get people out and about and to learn more about Farm Bureau.  It's locally famous because Farm Bureau gets several gallons of vanilla ice cream and strawberries and this is the main attraction for dessert.  Meanwhile, everyone brings dish and enjoys.  Think giant community potluck.  If not sure what Farm Bureau is, definitely look them up at http://www.fb.org/.  They are a great organization that does a lot of lobbying for farmers and nature lovers alike.
  I decided that I needed to stick with the theme of the party and go with something strawberry.  The only problem with these cupcakes was that my strawberry butter cream broke, meaning that it wasn't light and fluffy like it should have been, I think I over whipped it.  But this recipe is something that you definitely need to try, they were a huge hit and went really fast.  People raved about the light lemon tang and fresh strawberries in the actual cupcake itself and the strawberry butter cream was good enough to eat with a spoon.

Ingredients
1 box of Betty Crocker Butter Cake mix
Butter, eggs, and water called for on the cake box
1 1/2 cups finely diced strawberries
1  tsp of finally minced lemon zest
1 Tbsp of Lemon juice

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/8 tsp salt
1 (16 oz) package powdered sugar
1/2 cup of fresh strawberries, chopped
additional strawberries to garnish

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put liners in the cupcakes pans.  Finely dice 1 1/2 cups of strawberries and set them aside.  Open the cake mix and take two Tablespoon of dry cake mix out of the bag, put into a small bowl.  In a big bowl, add the remaining cake mix, water, butter, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  Mix according to the package directions.  Once that is accomplished, add the reserved dry mix to the strawberries and mix to coat the strawberry pieces (this will keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the cupcake).  Add the strawberries to the cake mix and fold them in gently.  Scoop the cupcakes batter into the cupcake pans with a large ice cream scoop, this gives you even cupcakes and better baking.  Gently pick up the trays to about six inches above the counter and drop them gently on the counter.  This gets all the air bubbles out of the cupcakes.  Place in the oven and bake for the time on the box.  To check if they are done, insert a toothpick in the center of the cupcake and make sure it comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely and then frost.

For frosting.  Dice the strawberries into very fine pieces.  In a large bowl, put the softened butter, salt, powdered sugar and strawberries.  Beat until smooth.

To garnish, slice a strawberry in half, place cut side down on a paper towel for 5 minutes to absorb the juices.  Then garnish and serve!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Since moving to the Deep South (near New Orleans) three years ago, my brother has discovered that Southern food is some of his favorite food.  He enjoys seafood boils, crawfish, red snapper, beans and rice, boudin, and foods that are delicious but that I have no idea how to spell.  He and his best friend Dale (who is native Louisianian) go hunting and cook together all the time.  Craig has learned how to make some really great food in addition to his mouthwatering steak.   He has also found that he loves some of the South's baked goods, including Red Velvet Cake.  After I messed up my first recipe for Red Velvet Cake for his birthday (ALWAYS READ THE DIRECTIONS BEFORE YOU START MAKING ANYTHING), I decided to try again.  This time though, I figured Red Velvet Cupcakes would be a perfect sweet treat.  These Red Velvet Cupcakes are fluffy, chocolaty, and the perfect vehicle for the delicious not too sweet, not too tangy cream cheese icing.  With the holidays approaching, these are a festive dessert to take to Christmas parties, or die the icing red or orange and take them to a Halloween party.  This recipe is from Paula Deen (with very little variation)

 Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Peanut Butter Cookies

So these were the second cookies that went in the care package to Kris.  I wasn't kidding when I said that I loved making cookies.  These cookies were great peanut butter cookies; smooth, creamy peanut butter mixed with mini chocolate chips.  Those little mini chips were the perfect amount of chocolate in these peanut butter cookies.  Even Kris had to rave about these cookies, they might become a new favorite.

Ingredients
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup  smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
drizzle of milk

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.   Beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the peanut-butter mixture, beating gently until everything is well combined. It may take awhile for this rather dry dough to come together; and when it does, it'll be quite stiff.  Add the mini chocolate chips.   Only if necessary, drizzle in enough milk to make the dough cohesive.   Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here), leaving 2" between them.  Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/2" thick, making a cross-hatch design. Bake the cookies for 12 to 16 minutes, until they're barely beginning to brown around the edges; the tops won't have browned. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Original recipe from King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

So after a conversation with my friend Kris out in Seattle, where he had just received the 6 dozen cookies that I had sent him, he told me not to send anymore cookies.  Well, I took that to mean he never wanted cookies from me again.  Well, fine, I'll just send them to people who appreciate them.  Well fast forward three months and several thousand text messages and phone calls, we're on the phone one night and in a sad voice, he asks when he's going to get cookies again.  I laughed and told him that I thought no cookies meant no cookies ever again.  His very strangled gasp reinforced the idea that maybe I had taken his words to the extreme.  Needless to say, a couple days later I had a free day and decided to make him some cookies.  At first he told me that he didn't have any cookies preferences, but after threatening to send him Pina Colada cookies, his preference become peanut butter cookies.  (The Pina Colada cookies might need to be something I experiment with sometime, hmmm!)  So needless to say, I decided to make two types of cookies.  This is the first cookie.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flours
• 1/4 cup dark baking cocoa 
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate cocoa (you can also use 1/2 cup regular cocoa)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter morsels 

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla, egg, and water, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well. Stir in the peanut butter morsels. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Use a small ice cream scoop.  Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they're set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies.

Original recipe from King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Angel food cake (No Dairy, No Soy)

So my friend Rachel is pregnant and unfortunately the baby is a little fussy.  Rachel has had to cut out dairy, soy and a whole host of other foods that she really enjoyed.  As we were talking one day, she mentioned about how much she was missing dairy, especially cheese and chocolate.  Well, I didn't think I could do much about the cheese part, but I could definitely fix the chocolate craving.  I went home and immediately started looking for chocolate recipes that didn't include some kind of dairy.  A recipe for chocolate angel food cake popped up on my screen and I immediately thought about what a perfect dessert it would be.  After checking to make sure that there was no dairy and no soy in the recipe, I set to work making my own angel food cake.  I should mention that angel food is one of my favorite desserts, so making this was really fun for me.  The only special equipment that you will need for this is either a bundt pan or an angel food cake pan.

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups egg whites (about 10)
  3/4 cup cake flour
  1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
  1/4 cup baking cocoa
  1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  1/4 teaspoon salt

  CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE
         8oz of semi-sweet chocolate
         1/4 to 1/2 cup water
          1/4 tsp coffee crystals

Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sift the flour, 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and cocoa three times. Set aside.  Add cream of tartar, vanilla and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time. Mixture will be thick.  Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest oven rack at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.
Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.

For the drizzle, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate, water and coffee together until smooth.  Start with a 1/4 cup of water and then add more to get desired smoothness.
Yield: 12 servings.

Original recipe from Taste of Home

Banana Nut Muffins with Vanilla Frosting

These muffins came about because I had some bananas that were turning brown.  I also needed to try this cooked Vanilla frosting because my mother's birthday was coming up and she had requested a family legacy recipe that called for this frosting.  Well, since my great grandmother's directions were literally: 1/2 cup milk, 3 Tbsp flour, cook to lump stage,  then add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup butter, beat.  Well, I didn't think about it, but I added the cooked milk and flour mixture to the other ingredients while it was still warm, resulting in this slightly drizzly but absolutely delicious vanilla frosting/glaze.  It was a happy accident, but I was glad that I tried it before I did the cake, it is supposed to be light and fluffy.  I ended up getting it right for the cake, but I would totally "mess it up" again to make these delicious muffins.  I also used a giant muffin pan to make these; these are not muffins for the faint of heart.  You don't have to make mammoth muffins, but I thought they were fun and no one at the gym complained.  Make whatever kind of muffins you like, but definitely try this frosting.  Don't worry, I'll give you better directions.

Ingredients
 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a muffin pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine banana, oil, eggs, and milk; add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.  Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

Vanilla Frosting
1/2 cup milk (use whole milk, at the least 2%)
3 Tbsp of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
In a small sauce pan, add the milk and flour.  Cook, stirring pretty constantly, until the mixture resembles a white paste.  Do not let it burn.  In a bowl, combine the salt, vanilla, sugar and butter.  Add the warm flour and milk mixture and mix with a hand mixture until it is smooth and thick.  Immediately drizzle the top of each muffins with the frosting and let cool.  I actually took my muffins and dipped them into the frosting mixture, letting them cool on a wire rack afterwards.

Originally a Paula Deen Recipe

Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes

 Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes

These cupcakes were made from the idea of the Chocolate Turtle Cake.  In fact, it even uses the same batter, because, let me tell you, that is some AMAZING cake batter.  These cupcakes are a fun way to make a smaller version of the cake and I actually used the frosting recipe that came with the Betty Crocker recipe.  I don't know that it's my favorite frosting, I think store bought frosting is overly sweet, but I'll include the recipe.  If I were to make these again, I would probably make an actual caramel frosting recipe, which I will include.


Unsweetened baking cocoa
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil’s food cake mix
1 box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup canola oil
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or crystals
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup canned dulce de leche (caramelized sweetened condensed milk)
1 jar (12 oz) caramel topping
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted


Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening or cooking spray; sprinkle with cocoa.  In large bowl, beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and coffee granules with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Use a large ice cream scoop to scoop even amounts of batter into cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans to cooling racks; cool completely. In medium bowl, stir frosting and dulce de leche with whisk until well blended; set aside. Use a large decorator tip and a pastry bag and frost the top of the cooled cupcakes.   Drizzle caramel topping over top of cake, allowing some to drip down side. Garnish with pecan halves.

S'more cookies

S'more Cookies

So I have a good friend ;)  who lives in Seattle who I send care packages to on a regular basis.  Whenever I feel the urge to bake, I bake him about 6 dozen cookies and I send them all to him.  He jokes with me that whenever he gets a package he has to workout double.  I told him he could take them to work, but for some reason, he doesn't like to share them.  I don't get it!  :)  Anyway, we were talking one night and he was joking with me about all the "complicated" things I bake.  I told him they are not complicated.  He's an electrical engineer and does complicated things every day at work, all I do it take, flour, sugar, chocolate, eggs and various things and combine them into delicious goodies.  (He does make a mean coffee cake, so he has some good skills.)  Anyway, after this conversation, I told him I would send him some simple cookies.  Since he loves ice cream, I figured a take on Rocky Road Ice Cream would be a brilliant idea.  It wasn't until I was figuring out how to package the melty marshmallows that I realized this might not have been my most brilliant moment.  However, will some wax paper on my end and some peeling on his part, these cookies were a hit.  I would not advise making these cookies to ship across the country, but they would be a perfect idea for little kids.
Be careful, make sure to watch the marshmallows bake, they will burn quickly and secondly, make sure to serve them when they are very cool, melty marshmallow can leave some nasty burns in your mouth.
 
 Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cups baking soda
2/3 cups cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2  cup chopped, almonds
1 cup mini marshmallows


Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Place softened butter in an electric mixer and beat for 30 seconds until whipped. Add in sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa and mix well. Add dry ingredients into the mixer in four parts and beat for 2 minutes.
Add almonds into the cookie dough and beat for 1 minute.
Scoop dough with a tablespoon and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until the dough is risen and remove from the oven. Add a few mini marshmallows to each individual cookie. Bake for another 2 or 3 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool.

Make sure they are cool and enjoy with a glass of milk!

Original recipe from Emma Clare Eats

White Bean and Sausage bake

I stumbled across this recipe last fall and for some reason it has yet to make the blog.  As the weather is getting colder in Pennsylvania, I was bringing out the comfort foods and this is a classic go to recipe.  Best of all, it's HEALTHY! That's hard to find in heart warming, hearty, and comforting casseroles.  The first time you try this, you'll fall in love with it too.  It's so easy to whip up, it's cheap, and the leftovers are even better!  Use some turkey or chicken sausage for a low calorie meal, but if you're not worried about the calories, then feel free to use kielbasa or whatever type of sausage makes you happy.  The spicier, the better!  I beg you, try this dish this fall or winter!  It smells so good when you come in from the brisk outdoors, it makes me think snowy days, warm scarves, cold noses and hot cocoa.  This will be a huge hit with everyone.

 Ingredients:

• Cooking spray 
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)  (I don't use onions because I hate their texture, but feel free to add for yourself) 
• 1 (16-ounce) package light smoked (smokey)  turkey sausage (such as Hillshire Farm), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)   (I use a 1/4 of a teaspoon, but you can use up to a 1/2 of a teaspoon) 
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (they are extra crunchy) 

Directions 

   

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and turkey sausage to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until browned. Add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar, tomato paste, dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper, cannellini beans, and bay leaf. Add ground red pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over bean mixture, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until browned. Discard bay leaf. 

 Original recipe at Cooking Light

Chocolate Turtle Cake

 Chocolate Turtle Cake
This cake was made for a friend who needed it for a cake raffle.  I was so excited to make this cake because I got to go a little crazy with it.  This recipe was a luscious mix of chocolate, caramel and pecans, decadently rich and awesome to walk into a gathering with.  If I were to change one thing about this cake, I would have made the chocolate ganache on top thicker.  I'll make that modification in this recipe so your chocolate "frosting" isn't quite as running as mine.  This recipe is originally from Betty Crocker, but I didn't like the idea of using canned frosting when it is so easy to make your own frosting (when it doesn't involve massive amounts of powdered sugar).  I don't know about you, but I always manage to get powdered sugar everywhere!  It's on me, head to toe, the counter, the floor, the ceiling, and sometimes even places where there shouldn't be powdered sugar, like in my living room and bathroom.  It's really weird and I think it's a powdered sugar curse.
     So with the holidays coming up, this is a cake that I would definitely take to a party.  It's a showstopper, it's fairly easy, and it's absolutely beautiful!  Give this cake a shot and I guarantee you'll love the taste and the attention!

     Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil’s food cake mix
1 box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup canola oil
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or crystals
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup canned dulce de leche (caramelized sweetened condensed milk)* 
1 box (7 oz) turtle candies
1 jar (12 oz) caramel topping
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted

Ganache
8 oz   chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
1/4    heavy cream
1/4   caramel topping
*If you can't find this, use caramel topping, the thick stuff in the jar.  Be warned though, it will thin out the ganache.

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening or cooking spray; sprinkle with cocoa.  In large bowl, beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and coffee granules with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Pour batter into pans.  Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans to cooling racks; cool completely. Wrap cake layers; refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Cut 6 of the turtle candies in half; set aside. Chop remaining candies.

In a double boiler (a small pot filled with 2-3 inches of water, with a bowl over it).  Add the 8oz of chocolate, 1/4 c. of cream and 1/4 c. of caramel topping.  Heat until the mixture is smooth, let cool.  When it is cool, place 1 cake layer, top side up, on serving plate. Spread with half of the ganache filling, sprinkle some pecans and turtle candies over the ganache.  Place second cake layer, top side up, on candies. Spread remaining ganache mixture on top of cake. Cover; refrigerate until serving time. Drizzle caramel topping over top of cake, allowing some to drip down side. Garnish with pecan halves and reserved turtle candies.

Apple Pie Cheesecake bars

So it's back to school and back to baking again for me.  Over the summer, I'm too busy on the farm to really bake.  We work from early in the morning to late at night and by the time I get home, I'm lucky if I have enough energy to pour a bowl of cereal.  When I'm home I really miss baking and cooking, so the minute I come back to school it is tempting to go crazy and make EVERYTHING.  My guy friend out in Washington state requested peanut butter cookies, so I made Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies and Peanut Butter cookies with mini chocolate chips.  Those recipes will be posted in the coming days.    So this recipe was the combination of a recipe I found and what I had on hand.  The original recipe is for Pear Custard Bars, but I didn't have an pears.  What I had instead was homemade apple pie filling (that hadn't sealed and needed to be used quickly).  This recipe is quick, easy, and tastes AMAZING!  It might even be better than apple pie (and I love apple pie) .  I imagine that you could try this recipe with raspberries, blackberries, or any other fruit you wanted.  Definitely try this recipe, it is one of the best!

Ingredients:  
Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
Filling: 

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (I used neufchatel) 
 

• 1/2 cup sugar
 

• 1 egg
 

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 

• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (or less depending on your taste) 

Topping: 

• 1 can apple pie filling (or whatever fruit filling) 

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    1/2 to 1/4 cup sliced almonds (brown them gently on the stove first) 
Assembly:In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour to creamed mixture. Press into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the sugar, egg, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over crust.On top of the cream cheese mixture place giant spoonfuls of apple pie filling.  Take a knife and swirl the apple pie filling into the cream cheese mixture (kind of like you make a marbled cake).  

Sprinkle the browned almonds on top of the pie and cream cheese mixture. Bake at 375° for 28-30 minutes (center will be soft-set and will become firmer upon cooling). Cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes.

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Raspberry Peach Jam

My mom started back to work this week and it's been a rough week.  So I wanted to do something really nice for her.  We have a grape arbor at home and in the fall we often pick the grapes and make grape jelly.  The grape jelly is delicious, but my mom doesn't like grape jelly.  Unfortunately for her, we have about 75 jars of grape jelly, 3 gallons of grape juice from last year, and more grapes coming on this year.  Needless to say, we have lots and lots of grapes and not a lot of ideas.

   So today while I was browsing some Taste of Home recipes, I came across a great and easy recipe for Raspberry Peach jam.  The ingredients were simple and so was the process, so I figured I would surprise my mom with this jam that featured her two favorite fruits.  Here is the original link.  While normally I try to tweak recipes a bit, jam recipes are touchy, so I literally followed the recipe and I'm so glad I did.  This might be the best jam ever!!! It's so good, I think I'm going to use it on vanilla ice cream instead of toast. Yummm!   

   If you're leary about canning, this is a good recipe to try it on. So put your fears behind you and try this recipe, you'll be so happy you did.  

   Here is a link to the national home preserving website for information on water bath canning.  However, I'll give you some of my tips and tricks , especially for this recipe.

    1. Use little jelly jars and you can water bath them in a large pot, so you don't need any special equipment.   Pick a large pot that fits all your jelly jars.  This makes between 4-6 little jelly jars, so use a pot that fits the jars in fairly tightly, so they won't tip over.   

  2. Make sure that the pot is deep enough.  You want about an inch or two of water over the top of the jelly jars. Remember,there will be hot water in the pot, so a snug fit for the jars.
  3. Have great tongs.  Since the water in the canner will be hot, you need a way to get the hot jelly jars into the hot water.  Get good tongs!
  4. Boil gently for the allotted time.  In a real canner, there is a metal frame that holds the jars up off the bottom.  In this set up, if it boils too hard they will bump against the bottom and could crack. Boil gently.
   5.  Only make one batch at a time! It will not set up right if you try to double it!!
   6.  This sugar mixture will burn you badly! Always cook with shoes on and handle everything CAREFULLY!!
 
Here is the recipe:

    2 2/3 cups peeled, diced peaches
    1 1/2 cups raspberries
     3 cups of white sugar
      1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice
    4 - 6 little jelly jars, lids and bands
     Hot pads
      Tongs
      Giant pot
      Skillet
      Metal funnel
      Metal scoop

  In a large sauce pan, combine the peaches, raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar.  Over low heat, let the sugar dissolve, about 10 minutes.  Then turn the heat to medium and bring to a roiling boil (when you stir the boil doesn't stop).  Boil for 15 minutes.
   In the meantime, get your "canner" ready and bring the water to a boil.  Also, get your hot jars ready.  Use a skillet and about 2 to 3 inches of water, put the jars in the skillet and water, mouth down, along with the lids.  The bands, do not need to be heated.  To tell when the jars are ready, touch the bottom of the jars with your fingers quickly.  If it is hot to the touch, your jars are ready to use.
  After the raspberry and peach mixture boils, bring out a hot jar and place it on a hot pad. Use the metal spoon to pour the jam mixture into the jar, leaving 1/4 inch of space. Take a butter knife and insert it down the inside of the jar to make sure there are no air bubbles.  Wipe the rim off with a damp paper towel.   Be careful, its HOT!  Take the lid out of the hot water and place it on the jar.  Hand tighten the band down and set aside on a hot pad.  Repeat until you're done.
   To hot water bath, take the tongs and gently lift the jelly (on a hot pad) over to the pot of water.  Gently set down the jelly in the water. Repeat until all the jars are in the hot water bath.  Bring the water back to a gentle boil and boil for 15 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure it's not boiling too hard.  You can use a lid to keep the temperature consistent.
   After the 15 minutes are up, gently grab the jelly jars and immediately place them on the hot pad.  As they cool, you will hear a "pop".  That pop is the sweet sound of success!  Congratulations on your delicious jam! 

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

My friend Lisa visited this weekend.  She is a math teacher in Connecticut and we became friends living next to each other in our apartment complex.  Her daughter Bailey is a beautiful and busy 5 year old who always makes us laugh and smile with her antics but since Lisa and Bailey moved to Connecticut it's been a while since we have seen each other.  By a while, I mean about a year.  However, this week is Lisa's spring break and she decided that the best place to spend her first weekend off would be with me at Penn State!  What a great decision that was!  She arrived in the evening on Friday and got to spend time grading papers and catching up on sleep while I worked.  After sleeping in on Saturday morning, we hit our favorite restaurant  Waffle Shop, for breakfast and the decided to hike Mt. Nittany with my upstairs neighbor and mutual friend Nicole.  We had an awesome, sweaty, laughter filled time.  Coming back exhausted we decided to spend a simple night hanging out and enjoying some girl time.  

  Sunday found Lisa and I shopping and walking downtown.  We went into just about every store in downtown State College and had a blast doing it.  From some super cute summer dresses to Penn State souvenirs, there was never a dull moment.  As we headed back to my place to watch movies and enjoy a quiet Sunday evening, I decided that I needed to make Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes.  I had willing and very enthusiastic tasters (Nicole and Lisa) and all the stuff to make these delicious morsels.  

   I'll be honest with you, at first I didn't think that there was enough cherry flavor in the chocolate batter.  I mean come on, I wanted it to scream CHERRY.  However, with the trusting taste buds of my friends, I realized it did taste like cherry and that I should just bake them already.  (Truth is, I think they might have just been hungry.)  So into the oven these little darlings went.  However, 14 minutes is a lie or else I fill my cupcakes a little full.  These took more like 16 to 18 minutes, but make sure to check on them fairly frequently.  Maybe my oven isn't as hot as where this recipe originally came from, so just pay attention is the best advice I can give you.  

   The frosting is also divine, who would have thought?  Butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, cherry juice and some raspberry extract... yumm, not a bad combination.  Here is the original recipe that I found, but I've done a few small changes.  Instead of just milk chocolate cocoa powder, I did a 1/4 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder for a rich dark chocolate taste and a hint of raspberry extract in the frosting really helped bring out the cherry flavor (If you don't have it, don't worry, it'll still be awesome!) I also made chocolate dipped cherries for decoration on top.  Delicious and easy! 

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter (softened)
1/2 cup light sour cream or mayonnaise (this makes the cake super light and
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 cup cherry juice (from a jar of maraschino cherries)
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups flour

Frosting
1/2 cup butter (softened)
8oz cream cheese (softened) 

3 cups powdered sugar 

1/2 tsp raspberry extract

3-5 tablespoons cherry juice (from a jar of maraschino cherries)

Directions 

 Preheat oven to 350*.   In a large bowl beat together butter, mayonnaise/sour cream, and sugars until smooth. Add in the cocoas and cherry juice and mix well.  Add the salt, eggs, and milk and mix until well combined.  Gradually add in the soda, baking powder, and flour. Once combined mix on high for one minute. Place 24 liners into cupcake pans and fill with cake batter 2/3 of the way. Bake about 16/18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Let cool on racks completely before frosting.

Frosting
 Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add in powdered sugar and beat really well.  Pour in cherry juice one TBS at a time and continue beating until it reaches the desired consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a cherry. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Dipped Cherries 

Take 24 maraschino cherries and lay them out on a paper towel.  Take another paper town and lay it over the cherries, press VERY GENTLY until the cherries are dry.  In the meantime take about 4 Tbsp of milk chocolate chips and melt them gently in the microwave, about 30 seconds at a time until melted.  Then dip the dry cherries in the chocolate and place on wax paper.  Put in the refrigerator for 10/15 minutes  or until hard.  Peel off the wax paper and place them on top of the frosting.  Eat and Enjoy!