Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Cream/ Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I'm writing this one down because I definitely don't want to forget it! These were GREAT. I got the recipe from www.theburghbaby.com I'm sure they are perfect as written, but I didn't have angel food mix, but I did have a box of strawberry cake. Really, I don't think the cake is important. The fruit center was awesome and the icing is one to write home about. Oooh, that icing.

Make these - you won't be disappointed!

We have an overabundance of peaches right now from our neighbor's tree, so I'm going to make these again using those, but adding ginger,cinnamon and nutmeg to the centers...I have a feeling they are going to be out of this world.

Use any cake recipe you'd like - here's the recipe for the filling and icing (mmmm) taken directly from it's original source http://www.theburghbaby.com/burghbaby/strawberry-shortcupcakes.html

Strawberry Filling
1 quart fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons white cornstarch
3/4 cup water

1. Divide the diced strawberries into two mostly equal piles. Place half aside and place the other half into a medium saucepan.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the saucepan.

3. Add 1 cup sugar to the saucepan and stir everything up. (If your strawberries are super sweet, feel free to reduce the quantity of sugar in the sauce.)

4. Heat on medium heat until the strawberries are soft. Use a immersion blender or potato masher to mash the larger pieces of strawberry. It's OK if there are some chunks of strawberry in the end, but you don't want it to be super lumpy.

5. Allow the strawberry sauce to cool. Add the remaining (raw) chopped strawberries to it and mix.

Whip Cream Icing
1-8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy cream

1. Throw your creamed cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract into a large mixing bowl.

2. Use an electric mixer on low speed to mix everything up. Once the sugar is well dissolved, begin adding the heavy cream a little at a time. Increase to medium speed. Keep mixing and adding heavy cream until you have "peaks" of icing.

Mamaw Pie

 

A lady at work gave me this recipe and it was delish! You have to have a verrrry sweet tooth for this one, but it was super easy to throw together if you have unexpected company coming over.

•2 pie shells
•1/2 stick butter
•1 bag flaked sweethened coconut
•1 1/2 cups pecans (rough chop)
•1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
•1 can sweetened condensed milk
•1 (16 ounce) cool whip
•1 jar of caramel ice cream topping

Toast the pecans and coconut in the butter, then let them cool. Beat the cream cheese and the condensed milk until smooth, then fold in the cool whip. Now put 1/4 of the mixture on the bottom of each pie (1/2 total). Drizzle 1/4 of the caramel sauce on each pie (1/2 the jar total). Sprinkle 1/4 of the pecan/coconut mix on each pie (1/2 total). Lather, rinse, Repeat. You're done! Pop those babies in the freezer so they set up and thaw before serving (I actually preferred it partial frozen).

I made one of the two pies with sugar free caramel and sugar free cool whip and it was equally delicious. For the regular pie, I used butterscotch sauce and it was a bit too sweet for me - stick with caramel.

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos (15-16 oz)

1 block of cream cheese (8 oz)



Use food processor to pulverize the cookies and then add softened cream cheese. Roll this black mush into balls, and dip in melted chocolate. Get fancy if you wish and drizzle white chocolate over them. These taste awesome and like you put waaay more work and ingredients into them than you really did :-)

Strawberry Cookies (Candy?)

Makes  approx. 35 depending on size

1 large box strawberry Jello (6 oz)

1 cup chopped almonds (really any nut)

1 cup flaked coconut

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Jar of red sanding sugar

Plastic strawberry stems



In a food processor, grind the nuts, then add the coconut and then the jello and milk. Shape this mushy mixture into strawberries and roll in the red sugar. Top with stem. Easy peasy and adorable!

White Almond Sour Cream Cake with Cheesecake Mousse Filling

I made this cake for Labor Day, coloring the filling in red and blue stripes, but this cake would be wonderful for any event. Sorry, I only took a picture of the outside, not a cut piece - it's not very exciting, just a round cake, so I won't include the photo. I think this is actually meant to be a wedding cake form what I've read. I added the cheesecake filling between the layers of cake (do.not.skip.this.step. It's sooo delicious) and it turned out to be one of the best white cakes I've ever made. I read all the claims about the WASC cake, and was very underwhelmed when I tried the cake when it cooled. The next day after it sat overnight it was MUCH better and very impressive. If you're planning on making this, definitely put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours, also let it come close to room temperature before serving. Buttercream is always better soft :-)

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (found on Plain Chicken blog)

1 box white cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups water
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 325.

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a whisk. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans. Fill about half way full.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting (from the Food Network)

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar


• 1 cup butter


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 4 tablespoons whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Cheesecake Mousse

1 small box Jello instant cheesecake pudding mix

1 pint whipping cream

Use a hand mixer and whip until fluffy consistency - don't go too long or it will be cheesecake flavored butter.

My Adventures In Making the Elusive Macaron

I’ve read lots of different recipes and tried my hand at a few, and I’m walking away from this project with these tips that I think are essential for great macarons:

Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is ridiculously expensive. ($10-15/lb?!?!) I’m calling BS on this one. Go to Trader Joe’s and get their almond meal. It isn’t blanched, but the almond skin just adds more flavor. It gives them a cute speckled look.

 

Buy a kitchen scale if you don’t have one. I ironically bought the Biggest Loser one for the express purpose of making cookies. It was pretty reasonable ($20 at BB&B).

 

Age those egg whites, or at least get them to room temperature. Yeah, this sounds gross, but I lived to tell the tale.

 

Don’t over-mix! Undermixing is better than over-mixing. Show some self-control and know when to stop. 40 strokes max. Use a rubber spatula.

 

Let them rest. I really think this was a crucial step in my successful batch. After you pipe the batter, whack the tray on the counter a good 3-4 times to release air bubbles (pop them with a toothpick), and then let them sit for at least 30 minutes to form a nice skin. They are much less likely to crack this way.

 

They NEED to mature. Don’t question this. These take advanced planning if you are making them for a specific date. If you taste them right after they are baked, you’re not going to be impressed. These babies absolutely need filling (yummy buttercream is my preference) and they need to sit in the fridge for at least 3 days before you eat them. On that note, let them come to room temperature before you devour.

*****

Attempt #1 – Brave Tart’s recipe

4 oz. (115g) almond flour

8 oz (230g) powdered sugar

5 oz (144g) egg whites – temperature and age not important!

2 ½ oz (72g) sugar

½ tsp (2g) salt

Scrapings of 1 vanilla bean

 

You can read more here http://bravetart.com/recipes/Macarons but basically this recipe calls for you to beat the egg whites like they owe you money. This recipe differs from the others I’ve seen in that regard, also in that she says that temperature and age of the egg whites are not important, and that you do not need to let the piped macarons sit and form a skin.

 

This was my first attempt at macaron making, and I’m pretty sure that I over-mixed, therefore creating hideous little cracked monsters that were in no shape or form a macaron. While they were ugly, they were delicious. I’ll give them that.  I was very frustrated since these were supposedly pretty easy to master, and apparently everyone else had success. So…I moved on to a reeeally “fool proof” recipe for attempt numero dos.

*****

Attempt #2 – The Sucre Cuit Style – Italian Meringue

200g almond meal

200 g powdered sugar

200g sugar

50g water

150g egg whites, divided into two 75g portions

 

You can see detailed pictures and the whole recipe at http://dessertfirstgirl.com/2010/10/making-macarons.html  This recipe is supposed to produce much more consistent results, because the meringue is cooked, and therefore very stable and pretty resistant to over-mixing (which, as you will recall, is where the problem was in attempt #1) So…they “worked”. Kind of. They baked up lopsided, but did get something that resembled feet. I will not be making this recipe again, because the taste was nothing in comparison to Brave Tart’s recipe. Hers tasted fastastic, and these tasted…well…blah. They were very sweet and really couldn’t hold their own without intensely flavored filling.

*****

Attempt #3 – Not So Humble Pie’s Recipe (the one where the clouds parted and the angels sang)

5g dehydrated egg white powder (this is hecka expensive but necessary)

28g sugar

225g powdered sugar

125g almond meal

100g aged egg whites (mine were 3 days out at room temperature)

Scrapings of one vanilla bean (I added this)

Success at 295 degrees for 18 minutes

If you are pulling your hair out desperately awaiting the next coming of the macaron gods, please go here http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/08/macaron-troubleshooting-new-recipe.html They turned out to be tasty and perfect and looked exactly right. I made them for Christmas and everyone was thoroughly impressed.

Pumpkin Loaf

Labor Day. The glorious segue from summer into fall. In honor of the most fantastic season being right around the corner, I'm going to give you all a fabulous recipe to get your warm and fuzzy fix. I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbuck's this morning, and this recipe would have been a perfect match. This pumpkin bread is to die for. I personally think it's better than Starbuck's pumpkin loaf and it's easy to make. It's rainy and chilly here in Pittsburgh (which I happen to love) and I'm planning on snuggling up to a movie tonight and waiting for the incredible scent of pumpkin spice to fill my house while this bakes. What are you waiting for? You do it too!

 

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and in a big bowl, mix these together:

1  (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (or 2 cups if you have a bigger can)

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup lukewarm water

3 cups sugar

Now in a separate bowl, whisk together:

3 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

and all the fragrant lovely spices: 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. I love it with lots of spice, but if you want a milder flavor, feel free to cut back on them.

 

Stir all the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients just until combined. Don't over-blend. Pour into (2) 9x5" loaf pans that have been greased and floured. My oven takes about 55-60 minutes.

Ready for this? Sit down, because this is going to knock your socks off. As if this wasn't delicious enough already, we're going to push it right over the top. After you take the loaves out of the oven, while they are still hot, poke several small holes in the tops.  Melt some butter, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl and  drizzle over the loaves. No specific amounts, just add enough til you think it's awesome. You can thank me later.

While it may feel like torture to have these incredible delights tempting you on the counter, do yourself a favor and let them sit overnight. If they rest for about a day, all those spices get to know eachother and become friends. While the loaves are still warm, wrap them up in saran wrap, and they'll become even more delicious and moist and fabulous.

More S'mores, please!

This recipe is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Everyone loved these and I thought they looked absolutely adorable.

First off, use the graham cupcake recipe from my key lime pie cupcakes. Fill these little guys with marshmallow fluff (from a jar, because you know I'm not making homemake fluff. Please.) Then frost them with my sent-from-the-heavens chocolate ganache frosting.

I decorated these with mini marshmallows, a piece of Hershey's chocolate bar, and then drizzled them with some of the liquid chocolate ganache. Gorgeous!

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Because Key West is calling my name but I’m dirt poor, I opted to bring a little bit of the Keys to me. There’s nothing like a cool, refreshing key lime pie on a hot summer day. And because I’m the local cupcake dealer and my coworkers are cupcake junkies, I modified this classic treat into a portable delight. Like most of my cupcakes, there are 3 parts to this recipe – the cupcake, the filling, and the frosting. These were absolutely delicious. Just a few tips – they were better on the first day, so make these right before you plan to eat them. They were fine as leftovers, but the filling sort of soaked into the cake and just…eh…eat em while they’re fresh. Also, if you have to refrigerate them and then serve, make sure they come back to room temperature. They are definitely not as good while cold. The flavors are so much more pronounced when you let them warm up a bit. Who needs Margaritaville when there’s cake?

Graham Cupcakes
Makes about 3 dozen

1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
2 cups flour
3 cups graham cracker crumbs (do yourself a favor and just buy the box of crumbs – it would take forever to smoosh graham crackers into a powder. However, if you’re feeling angry and need an outlet, this might be a perfect project for you.)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Break out the Kitchenaid (you’ll need it – there’s a lot of wet batter and it’s kinda messy) and mix the butter until it’s creamed. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix for another couple of minutes until it’s nice and fluffy. Slowly add one egg at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one. Incorporate some of the dry mix into the butter/sugar/eggs, then add some of the milk. Switching back and forth, add the flour mix and the milk, a little at a time, ending with the dry. Continue to mix until it looks like it came together nicely.
Scoop into cupcake liners and bake for about 16-18 minutes.

Easy Peasy Citrus Curd

While that’s baking, you can make your “Why the Heck Have I Painstakingly Been Using A Double Boiler and Timing It Precisely For Years” Key Lime Curd (remember this when you want to make lemon curd, you hear that, self?! Don’t be a dummy - do it the easy way!)
This makes about 2 cups and you’re going to need…

1 cup sugar
3 eggs (the whole egg, not just the yolks as most other recipes have)
1 cup citrus juice (I used key lime, but you can use lemon, lime, orange, meyer lemon…mmm)
1/2 cup melted butter

In a large microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth and thoroughly combined. Whisk in citrus juice, and then a little bit of the melted butter. You don’t want the eggs to scramble, so incorporate the melted butter slowly.

Cook in the microwave in one minute intervals, stirring after each minute. The timing will depend on the strength of your microwave, but mine took 4 minutes. You will know the curd is done cooking when it coats the back of a metal spoon. I tasted this while it was still hot, and I wasn’t very impressed. There was just something off. Wait until it’s cooled off and you’ve refrigerated it for at least an hour before you taste test. It thickens up and has a nice tang to it. Yummy!

 

My Go-To Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Beat one package of cream cheese (8 oz) with 5 Tablespoons of softened butter and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until combined. Very slowly (seriously, this is going to puff out of the mixer like it’s snowing) add 3 cups of powdered sugar. Mix until it’s nice and creamy and delicious looking. Since I was putting this on a key lime pie cupcake, I added about 2-3 Tablespoons of key lime juice to the frosting. It was very subtle but tasty.

Striped Jello

Let's be honest:  I love jello.  It's a weakness.  Whenever I was a kid, Jello came up with the Jello "jiggler" idea and I was sold.  I've always thought Jello was awesome...and this is the ultimate summer Jello dessert.  You can use any kind of jello you want, which makes this dish perfect for just about any occasion.  For instance, if I took this to my family's Italian Picnic at the end of summer, I would maybe only use red and green jello.  Or if this was for my sister's graduation from Virginia Tech, I would have used dark red and orange jello.  See what I'm saying?  It's versatile and delicious.  Although if you are not making this dish for a specific event, follow my "suggestion" for flavors below.  It's a proven winner.  Plus, once this is finished, it's absolutely beautiful.

 

6 small boxes of jello, any flavors (my favorite combo is cherry, orange, lemon, lime, blue raspberry, and grape)

2 cups sour cream

 

Dissolve 1 box of jello with 1 cup boiling water.  Take out 1/3 cup of the jello mix and combine with 1/3 cup of sour cream; whisk together and set aside.  Pour the clear layer of jello in a 9x13 inch glass pan.  Let this layer gel (it will be very thin, but it needs to be firm).  Once the first layer is gelled, pour the jello/sour cream mixture over top and let this layer gel.  Repeat the above steps with the remaining 5 boxes of jello.  Be sure to let each gel layer set before adding the next layer.  This is time consuming, but once the first layer is set, the others will set quickly.

Peach-a-Berry Cobbler

My grandma is a phenomenal baker.  PHENOMENAL.  And when summer rolls around, she has been known to knock our socks off with this delicious dessert.  I love most cobblers, but this one is special.  If peaches and blueberries (the latter of which I usually despise) were in season in November, I would ask for this as my birthday "cake."

 

Filling:

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups sliced fresh peaches

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 

Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 and a half teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup softened butter

 

Start with the filling.  Mix the cornstarch, brown sugar, and cold water together.  Then add the peaches and blueberries.  Cook the filling mixture on the stove top until thickened, then remove from the heat and stir in the 1 tablespoon of butter and lemon juice.  Pour the filling mix into a 8 or 9 inch deep baking dish.  Next, make the topping.  Sift together the dry ingredients.  Add the milk and butter all at once and beat the mixture until smooth.  Pour or dollop the topping mix over the fruit.  Sprinkle the top of the batter with an additional 1 tablespoon of sugar and a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.  Bake at 350 degrees until the top is golden brown - the actual baking time will depend a lot on your oven!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

There are many, many versions of this recipe floating around on the internet...and in my kitchen.  Unfortunately I didn't write down the source of my recipe, but I think it is a combo of my grandma's version and an internet recipe I found at some point.  Some versions for this call for crushed pineapple, but I am not a fan of that...I think it takes away from the deliciousness.  Feel free to add that though, if it's your style!

Do your family a favor this weekend and make this for your Fourth of July festivities.  Then do yourself a favor and make a separate batch, just for yourself.  This stuff never lasts long at picnics!

 

Crust:

2 cups crushed pretzels (regular ones - not the thick ones)

3/4 cup melted butter

3 tablespoons sugar

 

Middle Layer:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

8 ounces cool whip, thawed

 

Top Layer: 

1 six ounce package of strawberry jello

2 cups boiling water

2 ten ounce packages of frozen, unsweetened strawberries (sliced if you can find them)

 

Mix the ingredients for the crust together and press into a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes and then let cool completely.  Beat the cream cheese and the sugar together for the middle layer.  Once these ingredients are combined, gently mix in the cool whip.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled pretzel crust.  Next, combine the jello and boiling water together and stir until the jello is dissolved.  Set this aside for a few minutes to cool.  Then, mix the frozen strawberries into the jello mixture (it's okay if the jello starts to thicken at this point...it's because of the frozen berries).  Pour the jello/strawberry mixture over the cream cheese mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

 

Or you can dig into it early, and it will be a little sloppy...but you won't care because it's so yummy.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone - have a safe and happy holiday weekend, and remember the reason that we are celebrating!

Almond Cookie Cake

You're going to love this one! It's really easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already. It's like a giant, dense, almond flavored sugar cookie. Hello, love.

Cream together:

1 ½ cups sugar

1 1/2 sticks melted butter

Then add:

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups + 2 Tablespoons flour

Mix together and spread into a greased quiche dish. Sprinkle top with almond slices and granulated sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

EDIT: I experimented a bit with this recipe since the original posting, and found that if you make these in cupcake tins (no paper liners, just sprayed with baking Pam) they are INCREDIBLE. Seriously, no one was able to resist them. They are possibly the best cookie I've ever made. The first comment from everyone was that they thought it was marzipan because of all the chewy goodness. Please, for the love of Pete, make these. If you don't make any other of my recipes, at least try this one. I'm sorry but I don't remember the exact baking time on these - just take them out when they are beginning to get golden and perfect :-)

If you like pina coladas...

and gettin caught in the rain (excuse me while I burst into song...we'll get to the cupcakes in a minute...)

ahem. now I'm ready...these tasty buggers were a big hit at the birthday party I brought them to. I can't think of anyone who stopped at just one... When you make these (because I know you will - who can resist?) give them a day to rest - they were much better the day after I made them. I was a bit disappointed when I first tested them out, but after they sat overnight...yummo. Also, don't judge on cake alone. The texture is more muffin-y than cake-y, but you need it to be firm to stand up to the big old glob of pudding you're going to put in the middle (and you all know my feelings about things with pudding, right? If not, refer back to my eggnog pie recipe :-) )

makes 24 cupcakes

Pineapple-Coconut Cake

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter, room temperature
1-1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup crushed pineapple in juice, well drained (save the juice)

1/3 cup of the pineapple juice you just drained off

1/3 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

In a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the whole eggs in and then add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Decrease to low speed and add the crushed pineapple. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the pineapple juice/coconut milk, beginning and ending with dry.

Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

While you are baking the cupcakes, you can now start on the really good stuff. To make the coconut pudding for the centers, make instant vanilla pudding according to the pudding pie instructions on the box and then stir in a few teaspoons of coconut extract to taste. I needed more than I thought I would, probably about 3-1/2 teaspoons before it was sufficiently coconutty. I also made a batch with the jello instant coconut cream pudding mix. Don't go down this road. Use the vanilla and coconut extract. It was just vanilla pudding with coconut bits in it. It did not have the flavor of coconut, it was just vanilla pudding with a weird texture. blah.

After you get done stirring up the coconut deliciousness, move on to making the crack. Wait...I mean the pineapple-rum whipped cream. Go ahead and try to restrain yourself from this fluffy bowl of heaven. Won't. Happen.  In a stand mixer, whisk together 3 cups of heavy whipping cream and 4 Tablespoons of sugar. Start on low and bump it up to as fast as it will go without splattering. Continue until you have stiff peaks, but don't let it go so far that you turn it into butter. Fold in pineapple rum, I think I put in about 4 Tablespoons.

Now that all your beautiful golden cupcakes are cool, cut a cone out of the center and cut off the point (and then remove some of the middle too - we're filling this sucker with pudding, don't be cheap) Add a nice big spoonful or two of the coconut creme filling. Put the top of the cupcake cone back over the filling. Pipe the pineapple rum whipped cream on top and then garnish with toasted coconut, a cherry, and if you're feeling really fiesty, a drink umbrella .

Take a big bite and signal to the pool boy that you need lotioned. (or other beach fantasy of choice) :-)

Pecan Tassies

I think these little suckers are an aquired taste. They are like mini pecan pies. I never used to like them, but now I think they are delicious. This recipe is a little shoutout to Grandma, because these are one of her favorite cookies to make (and eat)...I give you the pecan tassie.

3 ounces softened cream cheese

 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon softened butter

1 cup flour

 1 egg

 3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar

 1 teaspoon vanilla

 dash of salt

 2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter & flour. Mix thoroughly and chill for at least an hour (I usually let them sit in the fridge overnight). Cut dough into 24 equal parts, roll into little balls, and press into sides and bottom of 2 ungreased miniature muffin tins. Combine egg, brown sugar, vanilla, salt & remaining 1 tablespoon butter and beat until smooth. Sprinkle 1/3 cup pecans equally into the little tarts you just pressed. Divide egg mixture equally among the 24 cookies, pouring on top of the pecans you put in the bottom. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup pecans on top of the egg mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Ginger Cookies - Amish Style

Oh, Christmas, I love how your warm inviting flavors let me forget about the chill of winter outside; the smell of delicious spices wafting throughout the house and the laughter of family and friends. These cookies have Christmas written all over them.

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and molasses; beat until combined. Add flour, baking soda and spices, then mix until well combined. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar (please be festive and use red and green sugar). Place balls on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 7 - 9 minutes until very lightly golden. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to wire racks to cool completely. This recipe makes around four dozen.

Chocolate Mint Snowtops

Dear Chocolate & Mint,  Thank you so much for getting together and creating the most delicious flavor combination ever.  I have loved you two ever since I was little and I had my first after dinner mint at the Olive Garden.   Then my Gram made a cookie featuring both of you, and my Christmas became even better.  You are a delight.  Love, Jenny.

Okay, but in all seriousness...these cookies are amazing.

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 ounces Nestle mint/semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.  Melt 1 cup of the chips.  Add the melted chips and vanilla to the butter and sugar, and then beat in the eggs and the flour mixture.  Stir in the remaining unmelted chips.  Once mixed, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.  Then, roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then roll each ball in powdered sugar.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops of the cookies begin to look cracked.

So yummy!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

In honor of Cookie Week, I am posting the recipe for my favorite Christmas cookies ever!  My grandma is a stellar baker, and my Christmas is basically incomplete without these.  From the recipe, it looks like this is actually the Pillsbury version...so here you go!

1 and 3/4 cup Pillsbury flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

48 (approximately) Hershey's kisses

Combine all ingredients except for the Hershey's kisses and mix on low speed.  For each cookie, take a rounded full teaspoon of dough, roll into a ball and then roll in sugar.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.  Gently press a Hershey's kiss into the top of each cookie before they cool.  Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Pumpkin Dip

I’m pretty sure everyone has their tried and true Thanksgiving staples – turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing. I really think that no matter how great a new recipe is, nothing tastes quite as good as the way your own family makes it. Thanksgiving is all about family and tradition and I don’t think you should mess with a good thing. That being said, I’m never against trying something new as long as it doesn’t replace an old favorite. Here’s a tasty treat that can be put out as an appetizer or a dessert on turkey day. Enjoy!

2 cups (or a little more) of powdered sugar

1 can (8 oz) pumpkin

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened (this is important! SOFTENED!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

A little extra fresh ground nutmeg (depending on how spicy you like it)

Mix the softened cream cheese together (I mean really softened and creamy or else it will have weird white lumps that are impossible to smooth out later - I microwave mine for about 25 seconds) with the powdered sugar until very smooth. Add in the pumpkin ½ cup at a time and mix well. Mix in the spices and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving (it's better overnight). If you want to be really cute and festive, hollow out a little pumpkin (and eat the delicious scrapings and seeds, of course) and use that as your serving dish. Serve with ginger snaps or Nilla wafers.

Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes

Oh, fall…how I love you and your crisp chilled air perfect for cuddling up in sweats, sound of crunching leaves, and inspiration for pumpkin everything. These cupcakes are super moist and spicy and everyone will love you. Ahem, I mean them. These are so easy and actually taste homemade.

1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe spice cake

15 oz Libby’s pumpkin puree

¼ cup Tazo liquid chai mix

The icing is just a tub of Duncan Hines whipped cream cheese icing and a packet of dry instant chai mix (a powder, not the tea bag). This worked out really well and was the perfect compliment for the spiciness of the cake. I’ve also done it with a tub of cool whip and a packet of instant chai – much lighter and also extremely delicious. If you use fat free cool whip, this is a great ‘diet’ cake. Because you don’t use the eggs or oil as suggested on the box, you cut out a lot of the fat and calories – win win!