TBT - Southern Style Peach Cobbler

Okay, one more Southern recipe before I let Mardi Gras go.  I remember having an entire week off of school for Mardi Gras.  So it's kind of a week long celebration for me still.  Southern Style Peach Cobbler is so good, so easy.  It's topped with a pie crust instead of a crumb crust.  But still full of ripe, sweet, juicy peaches.  Find the full recipe here.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I HAD to take a break from working this week to whip up some cupcakes for Valentine's Day.  Granted, I had to row an extra 2000m in order to enjoy one, but they are worth it.  I asked K1 what kind of cupcakes she wanted me to make for her class, and she requested something with strawberries.  So wandering around the baking isle, looking at the various pudding mixes, I stumbled across and idea that brought The Hubs to his knees.  Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes.

I didn't want the cupcakes to just be strawberry flavored.  I wanted chunks of strawberries in rich, white cake.  Adding cheesecake pudding and lemon extract gives it a little sour taste, but not too much.  Add the cream cheese frosting, and the cupcakes become something between cake and cheesecake.  The combination of the sour and sweet flavors makes them rich.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 pint ripe strawberries, washed
1 box white cake mix
1 small box Jello® cheesecake pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
4 eggs
Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with cupcake liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Chop strawberries into small pieces.  Set aside.

3. In a stand mixer, combine cake mix and pudding.  Mix on low to combine.  Add sour cream, water, oil, vanilla, lemon extract, and eggs.  Mix on low speed until all ingredients are incorporated.  Do not over mix.  Using a spatula, fold in strawberries.

4. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

5. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting.  Pipe onto top of cupcakes.  Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Makes 24 cupcakes

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Lemon Bundtlet Cakes

It's celebration day here!  Today is my 1st Blogiversary!  Happy birthday to my little blog!  It's been a year of learning and experiments.  Some of those have been successful and some incredible failures.  But making mistakes in the kitchen is part of the learning process.

For my Blogiversary, I thought I'd make one of my favorite desserts - Lemon Bundt Cake with a Cream
Cheese Frosting.  But I really love to make miniature versions of these.  Not only are they super cute but they are already portioned for one person.  Or in the case of The Hubs, two per person.  I had to beg him to let me frost these before he had one.

Lemon cake can be both light and rich, depending on how you serve it.  This version, with the cream cheese frosting and raspberries, is light and perfect for anytime of the year.  And yes, there is another version out on the market that you can buy already made - it's called Nothing Bundt Cake.  If you've ever had one of their cakes, then you will know what I mean when I say "OH.MY.GOSH!"

Lemon Bundtlet Cakes

Ingredients:

1 box lemon flavored cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Fresh Raspberries for topping

Frosting:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbs. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease mini bundlet pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine cake mix and pudding in a stand mixer.  Add water, oil, eggs, and sour cream.  Mix on low until ingredients are incorporated.

3. Fill pan cavities with 2-3 Tbs. of batter, each.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until edges of cakes begin to brown around edges. Remove from oven and transfer cakes to a cooling rack.

4. While cakes are cooling, prepare frosting.  In a bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on high speed.  Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbs. milk.  Beat on high speed until fluffy.  Repeat with remaining powdered sugar and milk.

5. Spoon frosting into an icing bag and cut off tip of bag.  Pipe frosting onto each cake, beginning on the outer edges and working inward. Top each cake with a few raspberries and serve.

Makes 24 cakes

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Sugar Cookies

How many of you make sugar cookies with your kids for the holidays?  You know, those cookies with the ABUNDANCE of sugar sprinkles that makes the cookie very crunchy and sends your kids into a frenzy like this after they've eaten just one?

We do.  And there's one recipe that I follow every year that gives me perfect, soft cookies every time.  It was handed down to me by my Great-Aunt Elaine.  Elaine is my Grandma Cook's sister.  And I'm pretty sure this recipe was given to her by my Great-Grandma Mair, their mom.  Yup, another heirloom recipe that I just absolutely adore.










Something I have learned over the years of making cookies is that the key to these is that you refrigerate the dough overnight and DO NOT roll the dough out too thin.  I even measure the thickness of the dough, every single time.  If they are too thin they'll be crunchy.  You want them soft and flaky.  And addicting.  And I love to use  Wilton's® rubber grip cookie cutters so I don't destroy my hands when I cut them out.

With the frosting, I suggest using it when it is room temperature.  It's not a glaze or a fondant frosting to make them look super pretty.  It's a good, creamy buttercream frosting.  But the nice part about the cookies is that they aren't super sugary so a rich frosting isn't going to destroy you.  But that's okay, the kids can destroy you with those sugar sprinkles afterwards.  It's amazing to me that Santa isn't a diabetic!  :)

Great-Grandma Mair's Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cups sour cream

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tbs. milk

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated.  Add sour cream and beat on low speed until combined.

2. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup flour.  Mix on low speed until flour is incorporated.  Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, and mix until flour is incorporated.

3. Lay 2 sheets of plastic wrap on the counter.  Divide dough in half and form each half into a ball.  Place balls on plastic wrap and flatten into a round about 1 inch thick.  Chill in the fridge overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Lightly flour the countertop and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cook cookies completely before frosting.

6. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at medium-high speed for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired, and beat until combined.

7. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles, if desired. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

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Easy Turtle Candy

So with all this preparation of cookies and fudge, it's nice to have a little extra candy that is simple.  One that is sweet but also salty because, frankly, all this sweetness can be a little overwhelming.  These little bites are just that.  Traditional Turtles are chocolate, caramel, and pecans.  This version makes it simple and gives it a little saltiness and depth.

I've seen these made all over the place using chocolate kisses.  But for me, I love, love, LOVE caramel.  I love turtle candy.  And one of my favorite candies are Rolos.  So using the same concept as the original candies, I wanted to make my own turtle candy.  There are 2 tricks to these though - make sure you only "bake" these for a few minutes.  You don't want chocolate caramel puddles!  And when you put the pecans on top, only press lightly!  Seriously, it will not take much pressure to push them into the Rolos.  Oh and one more trick - make sure you stash some for yourself or else you won't get any.  That's how fast they go!

Easy Turtle Candy

Ingredients:

1 bag mini pretzels
1 bag Rolo® candies, unwrapped
1 bag pecan halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place pretzels on parchment.  Top with a Rolo candy.

3. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 4 minutes.

4. Remove baking sheet from oven.  Immediately place pecans on top of chocolate by lightly pressing down on pecans, just to make sure they are sealed onto the chocolate.

5. Leave on baking sheet and allow to cool.  Remove cooling rack and allow to set until hardened again.

Makes 3-4 dozen candies

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Peanut Butter Cookies

One of my all time favorite cookies is a recipe handed down through my family from my Grandma Cook.  Peanut Butter cookies.  I've had it with creamy peanut butter and chunky peanut butter.  I like it both ways. The one thing I do know is that I love them with a big glass of cold milk.  These are also a great cookie to make with the kiddos - they love to roll them into balls and can even use the fork to make cris-cross marks in the cookies.  Just make sure you don't press too far into the cookie or it will be flat.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. Cream together peanut butter and butter.  Add sugars and cream together on medium speed until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until incorporated.

3. Add baking powder, salt, and half the flour.  Mix on low speed until incorporated.  Add remaining flour and mix on low speed until incorporated.

4. Take about 1 Tbs. of dough and form into a ball in your hands.  Place on cookie sheet.  Using a fork, lightly press into the top of each ball to form hash marks.

5.  Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned on edges.  Allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

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Fudge

Fudge is the one, universal piece of candy that is made during the holidays.  And I think it is totally under rated as far as it's simplicity goes.  Most candy, you have to have candy thermometers and double boilers.  I'm here to tell you that it does not have to be that complicated.  All you need is some chocolate chips, some marshmallows, and patience.

It is VITAL that you follow the cooking instructions in this recipe though.  If you don't, you'll end up with fudge that does one of two things: the sugar will crystalize or the fudge will not set up.  But if you just follow the instructions, you'll have soft, rich fudge.  Again, not complicated, just important you follow the directions.

Fudge

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows
4 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Butter/grease a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside.

2. Pour chocolate chips and butter into a large glass bowl.  Set aside.

3. Combine marshmallows, sugar, and evaporated milk in a large stockpot - use a large pot to avoid mixture bubbling over.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Cook for 10 minutes.

4. Pour hot sugar mixture over chocolate chips and butter.  Using a hand beater, beat for 5 minutes to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.

5. Pour fudge into buttered pan and allow to cool completely.

6. When cooled, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.  Allow to sit overnight.  Slice into 1 inch squares and serve.

Serves 24

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Red Velvet and Candy Cane Blossoms

Every year at Christmas our family had a tradition of caroling to our friends and neighbors and dropping off plates of goodies to each one.  Specifically, they were plates of delicious cookies that we would make with the occasional dipped chocolate or bite of fudge.  All homemade.  It's a tradition that I've carried on, minus the caroling.  Maybe I should start taking around our iPod and playing that instead.  :)  But I'm going to take the next few days and share some goodies recipes with you.

One of the cookies that my mom would make were Peanut Butter Blossoms.  But I have a cookie of my own that I like to make instead.  Red Velvet Candy Cane Blossoms.  I think I've mentioned my obsession for Red Velvet.  Holy smokes, it's amazing.  And so very perfect for Christmas.  They're red, chocolate and rich, and topped with Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses!  These disappear literally within 24 hours of me making them.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Red Velvet and Candy Cane Blossoms

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. red food coloring
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cup flour

Red sugar sprinkles
24-36 unwrapped Hershey candy cane kisses

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add egg, milk, food coloring, and vanilla.  Beat until well blended.

3. Add cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 cup of flour.  Mix well until dry ingredients are incorporated.  Add another cup of flour and repeat mixing.  Add final 3/4 cup of flour and mix until incorporated.

4. Take about 1 1/2 Tbs. cookie dough and roll it into a ball in the palm of your hands.  Roll ball in red sugar sprinkles and place on cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining cookie dough.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.

5. Remove cookies sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool for about 5 minutes.  Press candy cane kisses into the center of each cookie and remove cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies

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A Lorax Birthday Party

This weekend is kind of a blur to me.  I told you all last Friday that K2 and I share our birthdays.  Well up until this year, we've had our birthday party together. But, with her getting to a certain age, she's to the point where she wanted to have a birthday party of her own with her own friends.  Sniff.  My baby is no longer a baby - at.all!

We debated for MONTHS over what kind of party she wanted to have.  Big sister had a cowgirl party back in September, and so she definitely wanted a cool theme.  We went back and forth between princesses, Ariel, Wreck it Ralph (yeah, she's pretty cool), and finally we decided on The Lorax.  She loves this movie and book.  Seriously one of her all time favorites.  And I knew exactly the type of cupcakes I was going to make for her.  Here's a glimpse into the party.

First of all, the decorations had to be bright colors.  With a lot of patterns.  Whenever I think of Seuss, I think of these things.  (Do you like the dog?  He refused to get out of the picture.  Little turd.)  And then I loved these honeycomb balls, very truffula tree-ish.  And of course the Lorax had to make a showing!












We had such a fun time at K1's party with the kids playing a "pin the tail" game.  So incorporating that into K2's party was easy - I call it Pin the Mustache on the Lorax!  It was very simple.  A little orange and yellow poster board from Michael's, some permanent markers, and a white paint marker later and our little rolley-pollie took shape.  For not getting great grades in art, he turned out not too shabby!

All the kids had a blast playing this game.  It helped that The Hubs was in charge spinning the kids around and then sending them off.  We had the mustache all over the place, including a human hip!  All the kids wanted multiple turns.  They also had little bags of "Barbaloot" - chocolate Teddy Grahams and mini-marshmallows - to snack on and toss in the air and catch with their mouths.

I wanted the kids to have some type of art project to take home and enjoy.  Candy is an easy handout, but kids love creating something that they can call their own.  For me, it was suncatchers.  I found individual flower suncatchers at Michael's, along with a box of paints and paintbrushes.  That was the biggest hit for the kids.  They all were able to mix paints and create their own little flower.  K2 mixed every single color for hers.

The favors were little metal buckets, filled with various Lorax items - a crazy straw with Lorax mustache attached, temporary tattoos of flowers and butterflies, bubbles, a marshmallow candy stick, a pen with truffula type fluff on it and a butterfly, and a packet of flower seeds that (to me) look like truffula trees.  I wanted to give each child a flower pot and have them plant a seed AT the party, but with the onset of winter, I thought it would be better to just send home a packet of seeds and let the kids plant them in the Spring.   On the buckets was a label with a line from the book.

And now for the cupcakes.  This was quite possibly one of the easiest cupcake ideas I've had.  It had to be fun, and I knew I wanted to make Truffula Trees for the toppers.  I used my cupcake base, using a Funfetti cake mix and vanilla pudding.  Then I made Cream Cheese Frosting and colored it with Wilton's Kelly Green gel coloring.  The truffula trees are made out of cake pop sticks and cotton candy.  And of course I had to add the little Barbaloot Bears, chocolate Teddy Grahams.  They turned out so dang cute and just perfect for our little party.

It was a fun and simple party.  One that I was okay with just sitting back and watching while my baby girl grows up.

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BC Blueberry Pie

I lived in British Columbia (Vancouver) for a little under a year.  I loved it.  The climate, the culture, the food.  I seriously do.  There is such a diversity in the cultures there.  And being on the Pacific Coast, you get all kinds of fresh seafood.  But one of my favorite things there are the blueberries.  Huge, plump, sweet blueberries.  There are stands all over the place.  And then there's Granville Market.  Isles and isles of big fresh blueberries.  I found a restaurant there that serves fresh blueberry pie.  And I became addicted to it. That's right, I had to make it for myself.

We're not talking canned pie filling blueberries.  This pie still has those plump blueberries that pop in your mouth when you take a bite.  Holy cow, I'm drooling as I'm writing this!  The trick is to cook only half your blueberries to make a simple sauce.  That way you still get that "pop" when you bite into a fresh fruit pie.  It's an open pie (one crust) and if you want to really fill the shell, you can add another cup of uncooked blueberries.  Personally, I like to fill the rest of the shell with whipped cream.

BC (British Columbia) Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 prepared 9 inch pie crust, baked and cooled
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. butter, melted
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:

1. Combine flour, butter, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of the blueberries and cook over medium heat. Stir frequently until sauce begins to boil and berries begin to pop open.  Remove from heat.

2. Add remaining 2 cups of blueberries and stir gently to combine.  Pour immediately into cooled pie crust.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until pie has chilled and is set up.  Serve with whipped cream.

Makes 1, 9 inch pie

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