Cranberry Salsa

How?  How have I not posted my recipe for cranberry salsa yet?  It's so, so good.  The original came from a friend's sister about 8 years ago, but I have tinkered with it substantially over the years to make it just right.  I make it almost every Thanksgiving/Christmas. 
 

This salsa is really good, and rather unique.  It's sweet and tart, but also a little spicy and on the savory side.  It's actually kind of hard to describe, but I love it, and most of the women who have tried it love it as well.  For some reason most guys don't like it, but I did bring it to a potluck the other day and one guy came up to me to tell me that he loved it, so there are obviously exceptions!

 

I always serve this salsa with tortilla chips, but think it would also be great served over cream cheese with crackers, in the style of the traditional low effort but mind blowingly tasty cream cheese and jalapeno jelly appetizer.  It would also be an interesting alternative to cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving or on turkey sandwiches.  It would also be a good appetizer recipe to make if you expect vegan guests and want something different from regular salsa.

 

Quick Note:  The onion can get very overwhelming in this salsa, you really do not want very much.  A quarter of a small onion doesn't sound like a lot, but stick with that amount, at least the first time you make it!  Also, don't just dump everything into the food processor at once or you risk over processing the cilantro and cranberries.

 

Cranberry Salsa

 

leafy parts of 1 bunch of cilantro

12 oz cranberries, rinsed and any icky ones picked out

1 granny smith apple

1/4 small red onion (take the "small" part to heart!)

1 jalapeno, veins and seeds removed

3 Tbsp lime juice

2/3 C sugar

 

Pulse cilantro in a food processor and then dump it into a large bowl.  Add cranberries to food processor and pulse until they're finely chopped.  Add to the bowl with the cilantro.  Cut apple, onion, and jalapeno into large chunks and place in food processor with lime juice.  Pulse until as chopped up as you'd like.  Add to bowl with the cilantro and cranberries, then stir in sugar.

 

Let salsa sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving so the flavors can marry, then serve with tortilla chips.

 

Yield: about 3 cups of salsa

Pumpkin Pie Spice

It's so much cheaper to mix up your own pumpkin pie spice than to purchase it!  Plus you can customize the ratio of spices in the mix to your own preferences.  I've only bought pumpkin pie spice once in my life and it was when I was about 16 and very new to cooking.  It sat in the pantry for a long time because I didn't like the flavor, it had too much cloves or nutmeg or something.  This version has lots of allspice because I adore allspice!  

   

Note that you can use this in pretty much any recipe that calls for cinnamon.  So far I have used it in pancakes, pumpkin bread, apple pie jam, apple dump cake, and several other things.  The one thing I haven't used it for is pumpkin pie, but we aren't big pumpkin pie fans in this house!  Also, the blend stores very well.  Just put it in a glass jar and keep it in a cabinet.

 

Pumpkin Pie Spice

 

3 T cinnamon

1 T ginger

2 t allspice

1 t nutmeg

1/2 t cloves

Yield: 1/2 cup

Secret Recipe Club: Chocolate Apricot Marshmallow Crunch

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned the blog Mother Would Know, which is written by a wonderful woman named Laura.  Laura is the mother to two grown children, but is ready and willing to be the fill-in mom for anyone who needs cooking advice!  Her blog has great recipes, lots and lots of tips, and is incredibly welcoming.  I really enjoyed poking around on the blog.

 

There were plenty of very appealing recipes to pick from.  I strongly considered Overnight Holiday Dinner Buns, Moist Almond Bread, and Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes, and will probably make all three very soon.  The recipe I ended up choosing was Chocolate Apricot Marshmallow Crunch: Rice Krispie treats topped with mini marshmallows and diced up dried apricots.  Why have I never thought of putting apricots on Rice Krispie Treats?  The combo just sounded amazing, and I was already looking for a dessert recipe to try, so the choice was simple.

 

How did they turn out?  Every bit as good as I hoped!  My husband and I were happy I made a double batch.  I'm also grateful for the trick I learned from Laura- use parchment paper to press down the cereal mixture and the topping!  It won't stick and works much better than a spoon or hands.  Why didn't I think of that before?  The funniest part is that a few hours before I made these treats, my own mom called and in the course of the conversation, she mentioned that parchment paper was awesome for pressing sticky Rice Krispie Treats into the pan.  So, thank you to both Mother Would Know and my actual mother!

  

My tiny changes were to not soak the apricots in juice because the chewy texture of the plain apricots appealed to me, and I added vanilla extract, because why not?  Regardless, what a fun and slightly different dessert choice for any time of year, but especially autumn/Halloween because of the colors.  I actually chose them in part because of the colors.  We live in Alaska and I love it here, but the end of summer is always sad and a tiny bit panic inducing as we gear up for another 6+ months of nonstop snow and cold.  I make a real effort to to try to get excited about autumn: wintry foods, Halloween movies, fall decorations, etc.  These Rice Krispie Treats fit in perfectly.  Thank you, Laura, both for the great recipe and for helping ease the transition into fall!

 

  

Chocolate Apricot Marshmallow Crunch

 

1/2 C finely diced dried apricots

1/3 C mini chocolate chips

3 Tbsp butter

8 oz mini marshmallows (by weight)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

5 C Rice Krispies cereal

 

Cut two long strips of parchment paper to fit the inside of an 8 by 8 baking dish with a few inches of overhang on each end.  Overlap the strips so they make a + sign in the dish.  Set aside.

 

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat, then add marshmallows and cook, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows are melted.  Immediately remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then the cereal.  

  

Once the cereal is completely coated, dump it into the prepared baking dish and press it in evenly with the back of a spoon.  You can use the parchment paper ends to press the mixture down, too.  Sprinkle the apricot pieces and mini chocolate chips evenly over the cereal mixture.  Use the long ends of parchment paper to firmly press the topping down.  

  

Let set for a couple of hours until cutting into pieces to serve- you can use the parchment paper overhang to lift the Rice Krispie Treats out of the dish and then cut them into serving pieces.

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Jellied Pineapple Rings

I have an odd fondness for Jell-o, considering that I didn't grow up in a household where Jell-o was made frequently (the one time I remember making it with my dad as a kid, it didn't set up!), and I've never really cared for the texture of plain Jell-o without anything added to it, but the fondness is there nonetheless.  It's no surprise, then, that I decided to make these pineapple rings right after I came across the recipe on Joy of Jell-o.

  

This is seriously one of the quickest, easiest recipes a person could ever make and is about 1/2 a step up from just making a plain box of Jell-o.  It's been around for quite a while, as evidenced by the cute 1960s style ads describing how to make it.  My one change was to use the drained pineapple juice in the Jell-o instead of just dumping it and using water.  I've included that in the directions below, because the added pineapple juice really punched up the flavor.  My husband and I both really enjoyed them, much more than I expected.  

  

As adorably tacky as these pineapple rings are, I'll probably make a can with lime Jell-o and a can with cherry Jell-o for Christmas.  How cute would they be arranged in alternating colors in a spiral on a platter?

  

Quick Note:  I suggest using name brand pineapple vs store brand.  We tried it both ways and liked the name brand better.  We also tried both strawberry and lime Jell-o and preferred the lime.

  

 

Jellied Pineapple Rings

 

20 oz can pineapple slices

3 oz box Jell-o powder (I used lime)

 

Drain pineapple juice from can into a measuring cup.  Add enough water to it so that you have 1 cup total liquid.  Bring liquid to a boil in a small sauce pan, remove from heat, and stir in the Jell-o powder until completely dissolved.  Pour Jell-o mixture over the pineapple rings.  You will have some Jell-o mixture left over, just pour that into an extra bowl to enjoy as a snack.  Place the can of pineapple rings and bowl of extra Jell-o in the refrigerator to solidify.  This will take several hours.

 

When you're ready to eat the pineapple, dip the can into a bowl of hot water for about 10 seconds.  Flip it upside down over a plate and open it from the bottom with a can opener.  If the can is the traditional style that you had to open with a can opener, you can just gently push/shake the pineapple out of the top of the can.  If the can is the newer style with the pull tab, flip it right side up again and gently push/shake the pineapple slices out the bottom of the can onto the plate.  You want the pineapple to come out the bottom of the can because they will get mangled if they come out the top, since pineapple cans have the pull tabs and are slightly narrower at the top.

  

Gently slice the rings apart with a knife, and serve.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

This is another recipe from Tasty, I've made a couple so far.  I can't help it, I like tater tot casserole, and for some reason had never thought of making a breakfast version before.  This one turned out really well, and I think it could be great for dinner, too.  The original called for 2 lbs of pork breakfast sausage and no veggies, but I hate pork sausage, so subbed ground turkey and sausage seasoning, and added mushrooms and a bell pepper.  My husband and I both thought the veggies added a lot and that it would be rather boring without them.  If I happen to have more bell peppers and mushrooms next time, I'll go ahead and toss them in!

 

Quick Note:  I used sausage seasoning I bought at a store, specifically the Prairie Sage variety from Hi Mountain.  I used 1 tablespoon.  If you don't have that, you can just use the garlic and spices from this recipe.  Also, I don't see why you couldn't prepare the recipe through putting the meat, veggies, soup, and cheese in the baking dish the night before, then covering it and refrigerating it.  In the morning,  you could add the tater tots and egg mixture, then bake.

 

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

 

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 lb ground turkey

sausage seasoning to taste

1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 can condensed french onion soup

2 C grated cheddar

2 lbs tater tots

seasoned salt to taste

4 eggs

1 C milk

 

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  Set aside.

 

Preheat large skillet over medium-high and add oil.  Crumble in ground turkey, and sprinkle with sausage seasoning.  Cook until cooked through.  Spoon into prepared baking dish and wipe out any remaining turkey bits.

 

Return skillet to stove and add bell peppers, cook for about 2 minutes, then add mushrooms and cook until both veggies are tender.  Add to baking dish with turkey sausage.

 

Pour soup over meat and veggies in baking dish and stir until well mixed.  Spread evenly in dish.  Top with grated cheddar, then tater tots.  

 

Beat together eggs and milk, then pour over tater tots.  Sprinkle lightly with seasoned salt.

 

Bake casserole until center is completely cooked through (temperature should reach 160 degrees so you know the eggs are cooked).  I covered mine with foil after 40 minutes so the tater tots wouldn't over cook, then baked it 20 minutes longer.

 

Remove casserole from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes so it can set up a little bit.  Serve with fresh fruit.

 

Yield: 8 servings

Creamsicle Fruit Dip

This is my tweaked version of The Best Fruit Dip Ever from Iowa Girl Eats.  It's really good and I've made it twice now.  Creamy, a little tangy, nice orange flavor.  It's kind of like dipping your fruit into cheesecake!  I served it with mango, apple slices, raspberries, and grapes, and they were all really good.  My husband and I both agree that this fruit dip doesn't replace Sour Cream Fruit Dip as our favorite (he even suggested adding cinnamon to this one), but it's definitely yummy and a nice alternative.

 

 

Creamsicle Fruit Dip

 

4 oz cream cheese, softened
5 oz container plain greek yogurt

7 oz jar marshmallow fluff

3+ Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
milk (optional)

 

Place first 3 ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with paddle until smooth.  Mix in orange juice concentrate.  The mixture will be quite thick, so add either more orange juice concentrate (which is what I do since we love orange flavor), milk (if you don't want it too orangey), or a combination of the two until it has about the consistency of ranch dressing.  It will firm up some in the refrigerator.

Yield:  About 12 servings

Creamy Orange Jell-o Mold

Ah, the Jell-o mold!  So weird looking, so full of weird ingredients!  Jell-o molds have always intrigued me, but many of them have ingredients I'd prefer to avoid.  I found a recipe for Under the Sea Jell-o on the Joys of Jell-o blog, which thankfully does NOT feature fish or anything ocean based.  It has lime jell-o on top with a creamy layer underneath, full of pears.  I made it a few months ago and enjoyed it, but my husband didn't like the pears and thought the creamy part needed to be sweeter, so I experimented and made an orange version that was a big hit.  Usually I don't like orange Jell-o (lifelong aversion to certain orange flavors, thanks to a medicine I had to take as a small child!), but this one is really good.  I made it for Thanksgiving and it was a great addition.

  

I've listed the cinnamon as optional.  The original has ginger mixed in with the pears, but I thought cinnamon would go better with oranges.  My husband and in-laws all really liked the cinnamon, and I did, too, but could see it not appealing to some people.  Don't worry about the little cinnamon clumps in my photo.  I made the mistake of mixing the cinnamon in with the oranges, and that didn't go so well.  In the directions below, I have you mix the cinnamon in with the actual Jell-o powder, so it should dissolve better.  When you whisk the Jell-o with the cream cheese, it should end up being very well dispersed.

  

  

Creamy Orange Jell-o Mold

  

6 oz package orange Jell-o powder

3 oz package orange Jell-o Powder

2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

2 15 oz cans mandarin oranges, with juice

12 oz cream cheese

  

Grease a 2 quart Jell-o mold with a little canola oil on a paper towel (I used a bundt pan) and set aside.

  

Bring 2 C water to boil, then mix with the large packet of Jell-o until smooth.  Pour juice from canned oranges into a measuring cup and add water to make 1 1/2 C liquid.  Add 2 Tbsp of the lemon juice.  Stir into the hot Jell-o.  Measure out 2 1/2 C of the Jell-o mixture and pour into the greased Jell-o mold and set the rest aside.  Refrigerate until set but not firm, about 45 minutes.

  

Immediately after placing the mold in the fridge, bring 1 C water to a boil and stir in the small packet of orange Jell-o and cinnamon (if using) until completely dissolved.  Stir in remaining 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice.  Add this to the reserved Jell-o mixture and let sit on the counter.

  

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, then whisk smooth.  Whisk in the reserved Jell-o mixture 3 Tbsp at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth.  Stir in drained mandarin oranges.  Spoon gently over set Jell-o in refrigerator.  Let set over night.

  

When you're ready to serve the Jell-o, simply place a plate over the top of the mold and quickly flip the two over so the plate is on the bottom.  If the Jell-o doesn't release, dip the mold into hot water for 5-10 seconds, dry it off, and try again.  Don't let it sit in the hot water too long, or you'll have a real mess on your hands when you unmold it!

   

Yield: 10 servings

Grandmother's Corn Pudding

Here's another family recipe, and definitely among my most treasured.  I have no explanation for why it's taken so long for me to share it.  This is from my paternal grandmother, a remarkable woman who was born in Kentucky in the 1920s and lived there her entire life.  She was a fantastic cook, and my personal favorite thing that she would make was corn pudding.  My parents got divorced (amicably, thankfully) when I was a teenager, and my mom likes to joke that the three most treasured things she got from her marriage were her two children and my grandmother's recipe for corn pudding.  My parents aren't married anymore and the four members of our nuclear family are spread in 3 states thousands of miles apart, but we all make corn pudding for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.  You can see from all the cream that it is very far from being a healthy veggie dish, but some things are just special and worth it and this is one of them! 

Quick Note:  You can very easily halve this recipe, just use an 8 by 8 baking dish and reduce the baking time some.  For Christmas I made a full recipe, but baked part in a 7 by 11 dish and part in a loaf pan, which is what you see in the photo.
 

Grandmother's Corn Pudding

4 C corn (frozen or freshly cut from cobs)
8 eggs
4 C cream
2/3 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 baking dish.  Evenly spread corn in bottom of dish.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth.  Whisk in remaining ingredients until evenly mixed.  Pour carefully into the baking dish with the corn.  Bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Yield:  About 12 servings

Copycat Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies

This was a completely impromptu recipe that I made the night before Valentine's Day.  I took a nap in the afternoon, and woke up wanting to make Lofthouse style cookies to take to work for the kiddos to enjoy.  Truly I have no idea why this occurred to me, I've only had Lofthouse cookies (or crack cookies, as my husband calls them) a few times, and not for years.  Regardless, I quickly found a recipe (a slight variation on this one from Back to Her Roots) and whipped it up.  The cookies turned out great.  Very similar to Lofthouse, but I think better!  Note that I don't always say that about homemade things- for instance, Twinkies have a charm all their own that can't be replicated at home- but these ones are better.  They're thick and pillowy, but not dense, and the cookies themselves are not overly sweet.  The frosting adds plenty of sweetness, though, and the almond extract just really makes them special.  They have a lot of kid appeal, too.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Copycat Lofthouse Soft Sugar Cookies

 

for cookies:

2 sticks salted butter, softened

1 C sour cream

1 3/4 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

6 C flour

 

for frosting:

2 sticks salted butter, softened

4 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

5 Tbsp cream

food coloring

sprinkles

 

Preheat oven to 400 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

 

Beat together softened butter and sour cream until smooth and creamy.  Beat in sugar, extracts, and eggs, then add baking powder, baking soda, and flour.  Mix just until well combined.

 

Roll dough into golf ball sized dough balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Grease the bottom of a drinking glass with butter and flatten the dough balls to 1/4 inch thick.  Bake until cookies are set and barely, ever so slightly beginning to think about turning golden (but mostly white), about 7-9 minutes (mine took 9).  

 

When cookies have cooled, prepare frosting.  Beat together butter and powdered sugar until smooth and thick, then add extracts, cream, and desired amount of food coloring.  Beat for a couple of minutes, until thick and fluffy.

 

Spread frosting on top of cookies and top with desired sprinkles.  I suggest you frost a few cookies at a time, and add sprinkles as you go, pressing them down lightly so they adhere.

 

Let frosting set on top before storing in a covered container.

 

Yield: 48 cookies

Brown Sugar & Cloves Baked Ham

This is the ham recipe I've used for Christmas the past two years, and I plan to stick with it indefinitely.  It's not as pretty as the pineapple and cherry studded hams, but it tastes amazing, so I'm sticking with it!  The recipe comes from Our Best Bites, which is a blog just bursting with great recipes.  Usually I'm not a huge meat eater, but I really love this ham, and so does my husband, who suggested we make it at Thanksgiving instead of turkey.  The glaze and the sauce it's served with are just great.  I've used a 9 lb Private Selection (Kroger brand) spiral cut ham wrapped in foil both years, and it's turned out great each time.  The leftover ham is perfect reheated or made into sandwiches, and the serving sauce goes well on sandwiches, too.  I put the ham bone in the freezer to make into pinto beans or hoppin' john.

  

 
Brown Sugar & Cloves Baked Ham

 

for serving sauce:

1/2 C mayo

1/4 C dijon mustard

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

 

for glaze:

2 Tbsp melted bacon grease

1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard

3 Tbsp thawed, frozen orange juice concentrate

3/4 C dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp ground cloves

 

If possible, make the serving sauce the night before so the flavors have time to meld.  Just stir the ingredients together in a small bowl and stash it in the fridge.

 

When you're ready to bake your ham, preheat oven to 325, lower the oven rack to the second lowest position, and line an approximately 8 by 12 inch baking dish with foil.  Place the ham in the dish fat side up.  Insert an oven safe thermometer probe into the thickest part of the ham (in the non-sliced region).  Cover the ham with foil.  Bake until temperature of ham reaches 110 degrees.

 

While the ham bakes, make the glaze by stirring together all of the glaze ingredients.  Remove ham from oven and generously brush the glaze all over, on the outside as well as between the slices.  It can be a little tricky to get the glaze between the slices, but it's worth it, just try not to tear the slices off the bone.

 

Return ham to oven and continue to bake to the temperature recommended on the package, or 145 degrees.  It will probably take about 3-3 1/2 hours for the ham to get up to temperature.  Check on it occasionally and cover again with foil if it starts getting over browned.  Remove ham from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving with the sauce on the side.

Slow Cooker Honey Carrots

I made these carrots for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner in 2015.  They couldn't be any easier and are quite tasty!  Usually we eat steamed carrots either completely plain (not even salt added), with a little butter and dill, or we have Rosemary Roasted Carrots.  Adding sugar and lots of butter to carrots isn't something I'd do usually, but I figure the holidays are the time to do it!  There are lots of different versions of these carrots to be found on the internet, and I made up my own proportions anyway, so I'm not going to link to a source recipe.

  

 
Slow Cooker Honey Carrots

2 lbs baby carrots

1/2 stick salted butter

1/4 C brown sugar

2 Tbsp honey

Place all ingredients in small brown crock pot, cook on high 2 hours, stir, cook on high 2 hours more, or until as tender as you'd like.
 
Yield: 6-8 servings

Secret Recipe Club: Coconut Oatmeal Cake

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned the blog A Taste of Madness.  It's written by a Canadian woman named Cathleen.  Cathleen is a math teacher (how cool!) and enjoys doing yoga and traveling, in addition to making- and eating- desserts.  Sounds like we have a lot in common!

I'm not sure I'd seen A Taste of Madness before, but believe me, I'll be back frequently to try new recipes.  There were about 25 looking awesome ones that I bookmarked, and I didn't even go through her whole blog.  I actually made two recipes of hers this month, the Cottage Cheese Pancakes (which I added a smidge of vanilla to, they were amazing), and Coconut Oatmeal Cake.  My husband and I both really wanted to make her crumpet recipe but ran out of time, it's one we plan to make soon, though!  Cathleen is originally from the UK, so we figure she would know a good crumpet recipe!

This Coconut Oatmeal Cake was great.  I've seen recipes that called for a broiled coconut-pecan topping and always wanted to try it. I brought it to a friend's get together where we got to paint, and it got rave reviews from everyone.  It's so moist and the topping is delightfully sweet, crunchy, and a little chewy from the caramelization.  This is a perfect cake for winter because of the spices, oats, and rich topping!  I can picture it perfectly on a Thanksgiving or Christmas table.

My only change was to decrease the salt in the cake (I worried it would be too salty with 1 1/2 tsp), and for the topping, there was a difference between the types of sugar mentioned in the ingredients list and the recipe itself.  I decided to go with what the ingredient list said, and it turned out wonderfully!

Coconut Oatmeal Cake

for cake:
1 1/4 C boiling water
1 C quick cooking oats
1 1/3 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick salted butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs

for topping:
1/4 C milk
1/2 C salted butter
1/4 C packed dark brown sugar
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C shopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 pan.

In a heat safe bowl, pour boiling water over oats and stir to combine.  Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the batter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar, then stir in eggs until smooth.  Mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time, until smooth.  The mixture will be thick.  Mix in cooked oats.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

When cake is almost done baking, prepare the topping.  Place the milk, butter, and brown sugar into a medium sauce pan and cook over medium until everything is melted and well combined.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans.

When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately top with the topping mixture.  Spread the topping as smoothly as possible so no bits of coconut or pecan sticks up, this will help prevent burning.

Place an oven rack at the highest setting, turn the oven to broil, and place the cake on the top rack.  Watch it very carefully (don't walk away!) and remove the cake immediately when the topping turns golden.  This will only take about 2 minutes.

Let cake cool, and serve.  It's great both warm and at room temperature.

Yield:  about 10 servings

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Eyeball Cupcakes

My boss asked me to make some Halloween cupcakes, and of course I was happy to oblige.  Other people were already bringing owl, witch hat, ghost, and spider cupcakes, so I was left looking for an easy to decorate cupcake that would still look good.  My enthusiasm for cupcake decorating is strong, but my talent is less so, and these eyeballs from The Brewer & The Baker were a great choice!  The cupcakes went over very well at work and were immediately recognized as eyeballs.  Several people also commented on enjoying the lime flavor.

When I made these eyeball cupcakes, I just placed the gummi candies right on top of the veiny cupcakes.  Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me that the red from the vein frosting would show through the translucent gummis and they ended up looking more brown than green.  Below, I included instructions to spread a small amount of white frosting on the bottom of each gummi so the red veins won't be visible.

Quick Note:  If you can't find Lifesaver Gummis, you can just use regular Lifesavers.  Adhere the Mini M&Ms with a tiny bit of frosting.  I went with the gummis because these cupcakes were for toddlers and preschoolers and I feared the Lifesavers could be a choking hazard.

Eyeball Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix (enough to make 24 cupcakes)

1 small box lime Jell-o powder

1 can white frosting

1 squeeze pouch red frosting (or you can add lots of red gel food coloring to additional white frosting)

1 package Lifesaver Gummis (one package had 27 green candies, you can always make different colored eyes if you run out of green)

24 brown Mini M&Ms (you can buy these in either a large bag or small tubes, two tubes had enough brown candies)

Preheat oven and prepare cake mix according to package directions, adding the box of Jell-o powder to the mix.  Bake in 24 cupcake papers according to box directions.  Cool completely.

Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the white frosting, then frost the cupcakes with the remaining frosting.  Pipe red frosting over the cupcakes to look like veins.  

Place one Mini M&M into the center of each green Lifesaver Gummi, it should be a perfect fit.  I did it so the M and Lifesaver logo were facing the same direction.  

One at a time, spread a small amount of white frosting over the bottom of the Lifesaver Gummi (do this on the side with the M and the Lifesaver logo), then immediately place frosting side down on the center of a cupcake.  Repeat with remaining candies and cupcakes.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins and Donuts

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon my blog's soulmate: Macaroni and Cheesecake!  In addition to loving the name of the blog, I found tons of fantastic looking recipes that I want to make really soon.  This is the first recipe I've made from the blog, but we're having another of the recipes for dinner tonight.

  

This recipe for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins was supposed to make 30 muffins.  I have exactly enough muffin tins for 30 muffins, and even had exactly 30 orange muffin papers.  Perfect!  Unfortunately, as I was prepping the tins for the (already made) batter, I couldn't find one of my 12 hole muffin tins.  This seemed like the perfect time to finally use the donut pans my mom gave me, so in addition to 18 muffins, I got 6 normal sized donuts, 12 mini donuts, and the rest of the batter I baked in 3 Fiesta bouillon bowls.  I'm honestly a little skeptical that the batter would have only made 30 muffins!  

  

Regardless, everything turned out great.  I brushed the donuts with melted butter and rolled them in cinnamon sugar.  My husband loved them.  I liked them, too, but preferred the plain muffins.  They're very moist and light, with a delicate pumpkin flavor, barely a hint of cinnamon, and of course, the melty little chocolate chips.  I chose to use mini chocolate chips (personal preference in muffins), and that was definitely a good call since I ended up making mini donuts with some of the batter and full sized chips would have been huge.  For some reason, in my opinion, when they were freshly baked, a bit of the flavor of the muffins was lost with the addition (and added texture) of the cinnamon sugar.  By the next day, the flavors of the donuts had melded nicely and I actually liked them better then.

   

I froze most of the muffins so I could put them in my husband's work lunches.  I'm pretty sure I'll be making this recipe again because we both really enjoyed them!

 

 Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
  

15 oz can pumpkin puree

2 C sugar

1 1/2 C canola oil

4 eggs

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 C flour

10 oz bag mini chocolate chips
  

Preheat oven to 400 and either line approximately 30 muffin holes with paper liners, or grease the wells of donut pans.
  

Stir together pumpkin, sugar, oil, and eggs until smooth, then stir in baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir in flour until batter is smooth, then stir in the chocolate chips.
  

If you're making muffins, you can just spoon batter into the muffin liners 2/3 full.  If you're making donuts, I suggest placing the batter into a gallon sized Ziploc bag, cutting off one of the corners of the bag, and piping the batter into the pans.  You want the pans to be about 2/3 full.
  

Bake pans of muffins/donuts until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes for muffins for about 10 minutes for donuts.
  

If you're making donuts, as soon as they come out of the oven, melt butter (probably about 4 Tbsp, maybe more) in a bowl.  Stir together about 1/2 C white sugar and 2 tsp ground cinnamon.  Run a plastic knife around the edges of the warm donuts to loosen them from the pan, then place them on a wire cooling rack.  Brush both sides with the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.  Place them back on the cooling rack to cool off.
  

If you want to freeze the muffins, let them cool completely, then place them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.  Transfer them to the freezer until they're completely frozen, then place them together in a gallon Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer.  You can either let them thaw at room temperature, or warm them in the microwave.
  

The leftover donuts can be stored in a container at room temperature.
  

Yield: Approximately 36 muffins (my guess) or a lot more donuts!

Yeast Waffles

I came upon this recipe on the Ben & Birdy blog a couple of weeks ago, and was so intrigued that I made the batter that night so we could have waffles the next morning.  They were so good that we had waffles again this morning, too!
 

This is a very old recipe and was first published in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook in 1896.  This is an amazing cook book (read more about it here), and I've actually owned it since I was a teenager, but hadn't made these waffles until now!  What makes this recipe unique is that the batter has yeast in it.  You mix most of the ingredients up the night before (very quick and simple), cover it, let it sit out all night, then just stir in a couple more ingredients in the morning and get waffling.  What's even better is that you can keep the batter in the fridge for several days.  I haven't tried this yet and have cooked all of the batter each time (the leftovers are great heated in the toaster), but definitely will at some point.  These will probably become a Christmas morning tradition because the prep time in the morning is so minimal, and the waffles themselves are amazing!
 

I had what I considered to be the best waffle recipe before, but plan to only make raised waffles from now on unless we're suddenly facing a waffle craving and don't have time to let the batter rise.  The other waffle recipe is very good, but this one undoubtedly blows it out of the water.  It's even dethroned pancakes as my favorite breakfast food.  These waffles have a thin, crisp crust that softens very quickly.  My husband prefers his waffles very anemic and floppy, but likes the delicate crust on these.  Inside, they are very light, airy, and soft, not unlike the inside of a really fluffy, fresh from the oven roll.  The smell while they cook is incredible if you're a fan of yeast breads, and the waffles themselves have a bit of a yeast flavor.  The waffles actually remind us a tiny bit of french toast.  If you're at all fond of waffles and have a waffle iron, you really should try this recipe once!
 

This recipe is very slightly changed from the original, in that 1/4 C butter is used instead of 1/2 C.  That's how it's written on the Ben & Birdy blog, and we have absolutely no complaints about it this way.  I'll probably try the full amount of butter at some point, just because.  Also, when I made the waffles this time, I waited to add the salt with the eggs and baking soda because salt kills yeast.  There was no noticeable difference in the outcome, so I didn't change the recipe.
 

Quick Note:  I used a regular waffle iron for this, not a Belgian waffle iron.  No promises on how the recipe turns out with a Belgian iron!  Also, because the waffles lose their crisp exterior very quickly, I suggest putting the waffle iron right on the breakfast table and serving the waffles as they come out of the iron.  You can also add a little (1/2-1 tsp) cinnamon to the batter if you want something extra special.

 

 It's a miracle, I managed to take a non-disgusting photo!  Thanks, natural light!
 

Yeast Waffles

1/2 C warm water

1 packet yeast

2 C warm milk

1/4 C butter, melted

2 C flour

1 t sugar

3/4 t salt
 

later:

2 eggs

1/4 t baking soda
 

In a very large bowl (must be large so the batter doesn't overflow as it rises!), dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Stir in the warm milk and melted butter, making sure they aren't hot enough to kill the yeast.  Add the flour, sugar, and salt, and whisk until well combined.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature over night.

In the morning, preheat your waffle iron.  Whisk the eggs and baking soda into batter, until smooth.  Grease waffle iron and pour on batter.  The amount will entirely depend on your waffle iron, best to start out with just a little batter so it doesn't overflow!  Close waffle iron and cook until waffle is golden.  Repeat with remaining batter.
 

Yield: About 6 full size waffles (so 24 small ones when torn apart), or enough to feed about 4 people.

Orange Snowmen

Ah, Orange Snowmen.  I first came upon this recipe on AllRecipes a couple of years ago and immediately wanted to make it because of my lifelong love of snowmen.  Orange Snowmen are kind of hard to describe.  They're intensely orange-y and refreshing, but creamy and slushy and vanilla-y as well.  Look elsewhere if you're trying to make an Orange Julius, though, because this is not the same (I actually had a perfect Orange Julius recipe posted but it disappeared, I will re-post it in a couple of weeks).  These are definitely their own thing and very good if you love orange juice as much as I do! 

This is actually a slightly odd time of year for me to be posting the recipe for Orange Snowmen, because they've become a Christmas morning tradition!  Just because we drink them on Christmas doesn't mean they wouldn't be great any other time of year, though.  They'd also make a good afternoon snack or dessert, too- not just for breakfast.

Quick Note:  This recipe halves very well.  I've never made the full batch since it's just the two of us.

Orange Snowmen

14 ice cubes
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C milk
1/2 C water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Ginger and Spice Apple Pie

There's something really cozy and special about apple pie, isn't there?  Well, about a week ago I was all set to make an apple pie with a filling that included a generous amount of pineapple juice that was thickened with cornstarch.  Had my apples ready to go and arranged in the pie crust, just waiting for the pineapple juice mixture, when I realized I was out of cornstarch!  What the heck?  How does someone run out of cornstarch and not even realize it?  My plans of course had to change, so I just kind of tossed some ingredients together -measuring all the way- and shoved my pie creation into the oven. 

Happily, it turned out great!  Not runny like many pies, and the spices are wonderful, but don't overwhelm the flavor of the apples.  I used a variety of apples and you could taste the difference between them, quite nice.  My husband liked the pie enough that he ate over half of it within in an hour of its emergence from the oven.  He loves pie!  I put the leftovers in the fridge and my husband reported that the remaining slices heated up great in the microwave.

Ginger and Spice Apple Pie

pastry for a double crust, deep dish pie (can do homemade or frozen, whatever floats your boat)
1/2 C white sugar
4 Tblsp flour
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 good sized apples (I used 2 Granny Smith, 1 Braeburn, 1 Pacific Rose, and 1 Golden Delicious, but use whatever you want)
a little bit of milk and sugar for the top of the crust

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with foil.  Line a deep dish pie plate with the bottom pie pastry.  In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, and spices.  Peel, core, and chop apples into chunks about the size of playing dice.  Put the chopped apples in the bowl with the sugar mixture, and toss thoroughly until apples are completely coated.  Spoon apples into prepared pie plate, mounding them in the center.  Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture on top (there shouldn't be much left over).

Top with remaining pie crust, cut off the excess pastry, and seal the edges with a fork.  Use a knife to cut 4 vents in the top crust.  Brush the top lightly with milk, then sprinkle with a little sugar.  Use long, narrow strips of aluminum foil to cover the crust of the pie so it doesn't burn in the oven.  Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet (this is so there won't be a mess if it overflows).

Bake until a fork can be easily inserted into pieces of apple near the center of the pie (you can poke the fork through the vents in the top crust).  You can cover the top crust with foil if it gets too brown for your liking.  The pie took about an hour and 15 minutes in my oven, but all ovens are different and I'd check the apples for doneness for the first time at about the 45 minute mark.  Remove pie from oven and let cool at least half an hour before serving.  Keep leftover pie in the refrigerator.

Cookies and Cream Cake

My husband's parents were in town for Christmas, and they love Oreos, so I decided to make this cake!  The cake itself is just the recipe from the back of the Hershey's cocoa can.  If I recall correctly, it was the first from scratch cake layer cake I ever made about 10 years ago.  It always turns out perfectly: moist, yummy, chocolaty, and stays good for several days.  Easy to make, too!  The frosting is slightly adapted from a recipe called "Cookies and Cream Brownies" on The Girl Who Ate Everything blog.  It's really, really good!  Fluffy, great flavor, and just all around amazing, especially on top of chocolate cake!  Definitely will be making this one again, and I'll add crushed Oreos to the cake batter as well.

Quick Note: I made this as a 9 by 13 cake, but think it would work fine as a layer cake.  Just pour the batter into two 9 inch pans and bake a few minutes less, just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Make the frosting after the layers have cooled, and stick the cake in the refrigerator right away so the frosting can firm up some more.

I decorated my cake with red and green sprinkles and the penguins for Christmas!

Cookies and Cream Cake

Chocolate Cake:

2 C sugar
1 3/4 C flour
3/4 C cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 eggs
1 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 C boiling water
Optional: 10 lightly crushed Oreo cookies (not completely pulverized)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 by 13 pan.  In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Beat in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.  Bring the water to a boil and immediately beat it into the batter.  Batter will be thin.  If you're using the Oreos, stir them into the batter.  Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting.


Oreo Frosting:

2 sticks salted butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon milk, plus a little more if necessary
12 oz powdered sugar by weight, plus a little more if necessary
10 Oreo cookies, crushed

Place butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until well combined, about 1 minute.  Add powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk, and beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated.  Increase speed of mixer to medium-high and beat until frosting is very fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add more milk or powdered sugar, just a little at a time, if the frosting is too thick or thin.  Scrape down sides of mixing bowl and mix in crushed cookies.  Serve immediately or cover the cake and refrigerate a few hours- it's great either way.  Just be sure to store the cake in the refrigerator because the frosting has cream cheese in it.

Yield: Enough to very generously frost a 9 by 13 cake.

Sparkling Chai Sables

I can't remember how I stumbled across this recipe from The Naptime Chef, but immediately decided to make it when I saw it!  The cardamom intrigued me and I liked the look of the sugar on the edges.  It was a good decision, because the cookies turned out great.  Deliciously crisp and buttery, surprisingly light with a melt in your mouth texture, and the perfect proportion of spices.  Definitely a good choice for anyone who enjoys warm, sweet spices and shortbread cookies.  Also, I made these cookies over a week ago and they've held up wonderfully!

Quick Note:  The original recipe calls for unsalted butter and then table salt.  I only had salted butter and planned to leave out the additional salt to compensate, but made the recipe by memory and forgot to leave it out.  We liked the cookies just fine as they were and did not find them salty, but you may want to either use unsalted butter or leave out the added salt if you're worried.

Sparkling Chai Sables

3 sticks salted butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 egg
3 C flour
1/2 t salt
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t ground cardamom
1 t ground ginger
egg white for sugar crust
coarse white sugar for crust

Beat together butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.  Beat in vanilla extract and egg.  Add the flour, salt, and spices, and mix in thoroughly without overworking the dough.  Form dough into two approximately 9 inch logs on pieces of plastic wrap, and wrap them tightly.  Chill in the refrigerator between 6 and 24 hours. 

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Beat the egg white with a fork in a small bowl, then brush the egg white on a dough log.  Sprinkle generously with the coarse sugar.  Cut the dough into approximately 1/3 inch slices and arrange 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets (they won't spread much).  Chill cookie sheets until ready to go in the oven.  Bake until very light golden, about 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool completely before storing in an air tight container. 

Yield:  This recipe produced 55 cookies for me.

Cheese Straws

Okay, yesterday I said I'd sit on this recipe until I make them again next year since I didn't have the cayenne pepper amount quite right.  They turned out less hot than I wanted (though extremely flavorful!) so I sprinkled cayenne pepper on some of them before baking.  My plan was to up the amount of cayenne pepper in the actual dough next year and then post the recipe here with that amount included.  However, many of the cheese straws went to work with my husband and he returned home with feedback that his coworkers (all guys who usually like spicy stuff) preferred the cheese straws without the extra cayenne on top.  Also, I'm pretty sure the ones without extra pepper would be fine for kids and people who don't like hot things.  Decided to just go on ahead and post the recipe as is with the recommendation to either add more cayenne pepper in the dough or sprinkle some extra on top if you want them hotter.  My in-laws are visiting for Christmas and I'm actually glad I made the cheese straws as I did, because they'll be able to enjoy the less spicy ones while my husband and I eat the ones with extra cayenne.

Until I made these the other day, I'd only had cheese straws once in my life.  On one of the Christmases I spent with my dad in Louisiana as a teenager, lots of neighbors and friends gave him tins of treats.  One of those tins contained cheese straws!  Neither my dad nor I have all that much of a sweet tooth, and the cookies all went neglected because we only had eyes for the cheese straws.  They were so cheesy, crunchy, and very spicy.  I don't have an especially high tolerance for hot things, but loved those cheese straws.  Yum. 

A few nights ago, I got to thinking about how good they were, and decided to try to make some myself!  Basically picked this recipe from the Food Network because it had the highest cheese to flour ratio of all the recipes I saw, and cheese is of course what it's all about.  I then halved the recipe but kept the amount of cayenne and black pepper the same and added some other spices.  I also used my cookie press with a flat extruder plate to make long, rectangular crackers, then cut them in half down the middle and slightly separated them on the cookie sheet, but you could roll the dough out and cut it into long, skinny strips instead.  Lucky for me, the cheese straws turned out extremely well and basically just like I remember, especially the ones with the extra cayenne sprinkled on top!  My husband loved them just as much, if not more.  They're very similar to a cheese cracker, but richer, cheesier, and just all around better.  I can't promise these will be made every Christmas from now on because there are so many other recipes we love and still others I want to try, but they will definitely appear frequently.

Update: I made these again for Christmas 2014, and we somehow forgot about them after a few days.  The tin was in the pantry for a solid month and the cheese straws were still very good and quickly eaten!

Cheese straws with extra cayenne on top, and plain on the bottom!  This is a very small tin.



Cheese Straws

15 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated, then covered and allowed to sit out until it reaches room temperature (not the bagged, shredded cheese, it won't combine with the butter properly- also 15 oz is an odd amount, but you can just take care of that extra ounce by having a little snack!)
1 stick salted butter, at room temperature (needs to be quite soft)
1 1/2 cup white flour, plus a bit more
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you could try 1/4 t cayenne if you want them spicier!)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat your oven to 325 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the cheese and butter.  Attach the paddle and beat on low until the mixture is very soft, about 15 minutes (you could try this with a hand mixer as well, make sure your ingredients are very soft to start with).  You'll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently.  While that's happening, whisk together 1 1/2 cup flour and the spices.  Add to the cheese mixture about 1/3 cup at a time and beat in each flour addition thoroughly.  When all the flour has been added, add more flour 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time- up to 1/2 cup total- until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky, but still pretty soft.  I only needed about 3 tablespoons more.

If you're going to use a cookie press, fill the press according to the manufacturer's instructions and choose an extruder plate that will allow you to make long, skinny crackers.  If they're still fairly wide (mine were about an inch wide), cut them in half down the center and separate slightly.  The dough doesn't spread much, so you can put them fairly close together.  If you don't have a cookie press, you could just roll the dough out directly on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cut into skinny strips, and separate them.  If you'd like, you can sprinkle extra cayenne pepper on top of the cheese straws, but remember that a little goes a long way!

Bake the cheese straws until they turn light golden and are crunchy, about 20 minutes.  I confirmed they were done by taking one out of the oven and sticking it in the freezer so it would cool quickly.  They're good while still soft, but are more like a cheese cookie than a cracker!  Let the cheese straws cool completely, then store them in an air tight container. 

Yield:  Lots!  I failed to count, but got 3 large cookie sheets full.  Guessing about 100 cheese straws.