Butter meltaways with Cream Cheese Frosting

I hope that everyone has had a Merry Christmas, and is ready for the New Year. I know that I am. These cookies are the easiest cookies that you will ever make. These are my sister in laws favorite and she asks for these every Christmas. I first made them for Abby's tea party one year and have made them ever since. Just 4 ingredients for the cookie base, things that the bakers should already have as a staple and a quick 10 minutes in the oven and you have it. These cookies are tender and crumbly like a shortbread cookie. I have rolled these into thumbprint cookies as above, and I have rolled them out and cut them into shapes. This dough is that easy to deal with.

Butter Meltaways with Cream Cheese Frosting
By: Paula Deen

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Separate dough into 4 equal parts and roll each into a smooth log. Wrap each log in flour dusted wax paper. Chill dough for at least 6 hours. After six hours, allow dough to sit out for 15 minutes to soften.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets. Slice dough into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.

Frosting:
1 cup confectioner sugar
1 (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 to 1 drop food coloring

In a medium bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Pipe or dollop a small amount on top of cooled cookies.

***Here are my notes on this recipe. This recipe calls to make 8 dozen cookies. That is why you roll it into logs. I did not do this. I also did not chill my dough. Once it was mixed, I rolled it into 1 inch balls with floured hands and it worked fine. When I roll it out and cut into shapes, then I chill it, but not for 6 hours. Only until it is firm enough to roll.***

Merry Christmas and a Red Velvet Cheesecake!

I have seen this recipe pop up all over blogland here lately, and it sounded fantastic, and well, it is. It is perfect for this time of year because of the colors, red and white, but it really is worth the time to make it. I made this to take to my inlaws Christmas celebration on Monday night and this is the before picture. The one below is the only one that I could snap before it was finished off.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!!!

Red Velvet Cheesecake:

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 (1-ounce) bottles red food coloring
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute. Add eggs and next 6 ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center is firm. Run knife along outer edge of cheesecake. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Beat 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth; gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake. Remove sides of springform pan.

Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies are one of my favorites to make, they always turn out. They are from Gale Gand's book Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs. I make them when I am in the mood to bake and nothing is sounding worth the time. These are worth the time, trust me. This time around I used the raspberry jam that I received from the jam exchange, and they were just as good.

Giant's Thumbprint Cookies

from: Gale Gand

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, soft insides scraped out

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 cup jam of your choice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3 sheep pans or use 1 pan and bake the cookies in 3 batches.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) until fluffy. Add the vanilla scrapings and salt and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and mix at low speed until incorporated.

Using your hands, roll the dough into golf ball size balls and arrange them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet flattening them out a bit as you go. Using your thumb, press the top of each cookie to make a shallow well. Roll your thumb back and forth to widen the well. Using a small spoon, fill the wells with jam.

Bake until very lightly browned around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Store in an air tight container.

Gingerbread Popcorn

I am not sure if I like this or not. I love popcorn, I love gingerbread, but put them together and I am not sure about it. I have a ton of recipes that I have collected over the years from magazines or ones that I have printed from places while web surfing. I have had this one for a couple of years, but I am not sure where I found it.

Making it was pretty simple, but I think that it needs to be tweaked some. I think next time, I will add a little cloves and maybe a little more brown sugar to it. Here's the recipe in case you want to try it out, and let me know if you make any changes to it and how it turns out.

Gingerbread Popcorn:

15 cups popped popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Line 2 large baking dishes (I used a 9x13 inch) with foil and coat with cooking spray. Fill each with 7 1/2 cups popcorn.

Combine butter, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a large, heavy bottom saucepan. Heat over medium heat until mixture boils. Boil for 5 minutes; stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Pour over popcorn; toss to coat.

Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, carefully stirring the warm mixture about every 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Trim the Tree Thursday

Yes, I am a total slacker this week! I completely forgot about this weeks Trim the Tree. You know when you have one of those weeks when you know that you need to do something on a certain day, and think that you still have time? But, then it is brought to your attention that this is the day to post? (Yes, you know who you are) Well, this is one of those weeks. So head on over to The Southern Hostess and check out her list of blogs to check out.

Ma Tanta Minnie's Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms

I am starting to think that Megan and I should call this cookbook project, Chocolate with Marcel instead. For the last 3 weeks, we have chosen recipes from this book. There are so many more that I want to make, and it is sure to cure the chocolate craving.

This weeks recipe was Megan's choice and she picked a great one. But then, there hasn't been one that I haven't liked. This is a great one right here at the holidays. Who doesn't like a good cookie?

I think that Megan was going to get a little fancy with these cookies, go and check out her take on them too! Next up, is my choice of recipe. Not sure what it will be yet...

Ma Tanta Minnie's Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms
By: Marcel Desaulniers


1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp pieces and softened
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
16-18 Miniature Reese's Peanut butter cups, unwrapped




Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.

Place the flour, butter, chocolate, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the peanut butter, egg, milk, baking soda, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on low for 1 minute, until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle, then beat on medium for 10 seconds, until a dough forms (it does not take very long) and comes off the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer. (At this point you will notice this dense dough exudes and amazingly seductive aroma of peanut butter and chocolate, giving you an indication of the good things to come. But due to the presence of raw egg in the dough, please refrain from nibbling any.) Just for the record, I did not pay any attention to this little warning! :)

Portion 3 level tablespoons or 1 level #50 ice cream scoop of the dough for each Blossom. Use your hands to form each portion into a smooth ball. Roll the balls in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, lightly coating each.

Place the balls on the baking sheets, about 4 inches apart width wise and 2 inches apart lenghtwise. Place the baking sheets on the top and enter racks of the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until light golden brown, switching the sheets between top and center and rotating each 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.

Remove from the oven and immediately top each Blossom with a peanut butter cup, pressing down so the cup is positioned about halfway into the cookie and creates cracks around the edges (it now resembles a flower blossom). Cool on the baking sheet until room temperature. Store in a tightly sealed plastic container.

Chewy Granola Bars

My two youngest kids are allowed to bring a small, healthy morning snack to school. It really makes no sense to me, because when I was in school, we were not allowed to bring snacks. Well, I guess alot has changed since then too, but back to these bars. Blake and Abby really like granola bars. They like the peanut butter and chocolate chunk ones. Week after week, I buy them for more than $2 for a box of 8. That really isn't that bad, but when I came across this recipe from Make and Takes, I just had to try. I made a couple of minor changes, but you could change them up however you would like. The verdict on these? Great. My kids loved them, and the hubby loved them too. I made them into an 8X8 baking dish, and got 12 bars. I will definitely be making these, instead of buying them in a box from now on.

Chewy Granola Bars Recipe:

2 1/2 c. Oats - quick rolled oats
1/2 c. Rice Krispies
1/4 c. coconut (I did not add this)
1/2 c. M&M minis (I used peanut butter and chocolate chips here)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla


Add all of the ingredients and mix together until combined. Press into a square 8×8 pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars. For thinner bars, press mix into a 9×13 pan. They seem to set a little better in the 9×13 pan.

Have a great weekend!

Trim the Tree Thursday!

Here we are again for Trim the Tree Thursday, hosted by Brett from The Southern Hostess. My house is all decorated so for this week, I thought I would share with you my gingerbread kitchen.

I have a 4 foot tree in my kitchen decorated in only gingerbread or candy land decorations...



Here is the tree topper....

And next are some ornaments....

Oh, and let's not forget my little Christmas frog, he is even holding his own gingerbread man!

This little guy greets me by my stove.

And this is my new favorite thing. I found it at Cracker Barrell! It is fiber optic and the top spins. You can plug it up or it has a place for batteries. Love it!

Hope you enjoyed my kitchen, don't forget to check out everyone else's Trim the Tree Thursday!

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Macaroons

For this edition of the cookbook project, it was my choice of recipe. Now, I know that the whole point of a cookbook project is to cook out of different cookbooks until you have used every book that you have. Well, I have a little problem with that, when Megan sent me this book I read it from cover to cover and there are so many that I want to make now. And since we have no rules on this cookbook escapade, two recipes, from the same book, in 2 weeks in a row, was completely fine.

You see, I don't really care for coconut. I think that the older I get, the more it grows on me and flipping through this book these macaroons just stuck in my head. They were easy enough to mix together and a little bake in the oven for 15 minutes, and they were ready to be sampled. My first thought was, well, I really don't know what I thought. They were ok, but not great. Probably won't make them again. They are a little crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. But, when I came home and sampled them again, they changed my mind. I think that they are better the next day. Still crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle. So, with that said, I may make them again. I haven't written them off completely, yet.

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Macaroon
By: Marcel Desaulniers

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
4 large egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
6 oz. semi sweet baking chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with some of the melted butter. Line the sheets with parchment or wax paper, then lightly coat the paper with more melted butter.

In a sifter, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper.

Place the almonds and the sugars in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse for 10 to 12 seconds until combined and the almonds are coarsely chopped.

Place the egg whites and the cream of tartar int eh bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whip (the bowl and the whip need to be meticulously clean and dry, otherwise the egg whites will not whisk properly). Whisk on high until stiff peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in half the almond mixture. When combined, fold int eh remaining almond mixture. Fold in half of the sifted dry ingredients, when combined, fold in the rest. Now fold in half the chocolate and coconut, and when incorporated, fold in the rest until thoroughly combined.

Using 2 slightly heaping tablespoon or 1 heaping #50 ice cream scoop of the dough to portion 9 macaroons, about 2 inches apart width wise and 3 inches apart lengthwise, on each of the baking sheets. Place the baking sheets on the top and center racks of the oven and bake for 15-16 minutes, until light golden brown, switching the setts between top and center and rotating each sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven, and immediately transfer from the paper to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature (if the macaroons are not removed from the baking sheets within moments, they will stick to the paper). Store the cooled macaroons in a tightly sealed plastic container.

Barbie Cake For Saylor's 3rd Birthday!!!

This is Saylor. She is my good friend Megan's daughter, who just turned 3 yesterday. This little chick will be the next Ms. Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart, she knows exactly what she wants!

Happy

Birthday

Saylor!!!

Just for the record, this was my first Barbie cake. I can't wait to make her again! She wasn't as hard as I thought she would be. :)

Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread

You know when you see a recipe that you just aren't sure of? Well, I found this recipe on the back of our Ingle's Grocery Store weekly sale ad. Sometimes, I don't trust the ones that aren't by a famous chef, or a legit cookbook. I had a bowl full of fresh cranberries that were just screaming to be used, and I figured what will it hurt? The worse thing that could happen would be that it would be awful and find a home in the trash can. The mix came together quickly, smelled fantastic while baking and looked pleasing when it came out of the oven. I had a little leftover orange juice, so I mixed up a little orange glaze to pour over the top. I let it set for a little bit, sliced off a little slice and prepared my taste buds for disappointment. We, the taste buds and myself, were shocked to discover that this little slice was actually not bad. In fact, it is really, really good! Tart from the cranberries, citrusy from the orange zest and juice, and moist. I am so glad that I made it!

Now is the time to start the Christmas baking. Whether it be for the holiday cookie swap, gift baskets, or just because you are in the holiday spirit. This will be one that I add to the list. Mini loaves of this will be perfect for that little gift for a special friend.

Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp grated orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts, I used pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange zest, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Wrap and store overnight. (I skipped that part)

This was fantastic with the orange glaze. I mixed powdered sugar and orange juice together until I got the consistency I wanted and drizzled over the bread.

Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting for Daring Bakers

It is that time again when bloggers all over the globe will be posting about this cake. This is the day of the great reveal of the Daring Bakers Challenge. I wasn't excited about this months challenge when I read what it would be, but after making it and loving it, I quickly changed my mind. I made the cake on Saturday morning and by the next morning, it was completely gone. Just crumbs, that I really wanted to lick off of the plate. :) So, let's get on with the details, shall we?

This months hostess is the lovely Delores from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. She also had a couple of co host this month, Alex, aka Brownie, of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray into Food. This recipe came from Shuna Fish Lydon, who is the originator of this cake.

I am glad that I made this cake, and already have other plans with the cake recipe. My mother in law, Laura, already has plans to make this into a pineapple upside down cake! All I am saying, is she better save me some!!

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan. (I used a bundt pan)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it. Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.

Chocolate Chunk Celebrations!!

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Megan, sent me a great surprise in the mail. It was a copy of the book I'm Dreaming Of A Chocolate Christmas By Marcel DeSaulniers. I was super excited because Megan had one this book last year, and gave it nothing but great reviews. I mean, how could it be bad? It is full of chocolate! Thanks Megan!! I love it!!

With that being said, it was her turn to choose a recipe for our cookbook project, and she chose these Chocolate Chunk Celebrations. I almost want to introduce these as....Is it a cake, is a brownie? NO!! It's a chocolate chunk celebration...Celebration for you taste buds! :) Yes, I know. A little cheesy, but these are that good! I ate 2 at one time, and another for breakfast this morning.

The next cookbook project recipe is my choice. I have a couple of recipes that I am fighting between. Not sure which one will win! Until then, go and make some of these. They are really easy, and worth it!!


Chocolate Celebrations
by Marcel DeSaulniers

18 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 TBS (I stick) butter
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 TBS Vanilla
1 Cup pecans
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place eighteen foil muffin cup liners in a cupcake pan.

2. Melt the coarsely chopped chocolate with the better in the top of a double boiler and stir till smooth

3. In a sifter, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper.

4.Place the sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat on medium for 2 minutes until light in color and slightly thick. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the melted chocolate and mix on low to combine, about 5 seconds. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Once all the dry ingredients have been incorporated about 10 seconds, stop and scrape down again. Add the vanilla and nix on low for 5 seconds. Remove the bowl and use a rubber spatula it fold in the pecans and the chocolate chunks and to finishing mixing until thoroughly combined.

5. Portion 2 slightly heaping tablespoons into each cup. Place in the center of the oven and bake till a tooth pick comes out clean but still slightly gooey, almost 18 minutes. Rotate baking pans 180 half way thru baking.6. Remove from oven and let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.Keep the celebrations in a tightly sealed plastic container and they will stay fresh at room temp 4-5 days, or refrigerate for a week to 10 days, bring to room temp before eating.

Trim the Tree Thursday

Here we are again, time for Trim the Tree Thursday hosted by the lovely Brett of Hostess with the Mostess. I still do not have my Christmas Decorations up, but after this weekend, the house will be all decked out very shortly! So, I thought I would share with you pictures of the Christmas Tea. Keep in mind that the theme was Holy Express, based on the movie Polar Express.

Here is the ticket booth, where you would buy your train tickets. This was set up downstairs as soon as you walked through the door. We had 2 teenagers sitting there that sold the tickets to the basket raffle.

Here is the bakery. We had 2 girls working behind the counter that sold all of the goodies. We also had a general store, that I didn't get a picture of! Ugh...


Here is the "train" before you got on the elevator.



Following are pictures from some of the decorated tables. I think we had a total of 27 tables that each had a hostess. That hostess was responsible for decorating her own table.

Love Hershey Chocolate???

If you love baking, and Hershey chocolate then hop on over to Marye at Baking Delights and leave a comment to win this fantastic basket! Just in time for the holiday baking to begin!! You have 3 chances to win and she is going to be giving 4 of these away...go now and check it out!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I have made these cookies for years and they are always a hit. I made these for the bake sale for the Christmas Tea and sold out. These are perfect for your cookie swap or a gift. Very chocolaty and chewy in the middle.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

Mix sugar and oil together, whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until combined. Mix in the rest of ingredients, batter will get stiff. After mixing, cover bowl and let chill for 1 hour. Scoop out spoonfuls of the dough and roll into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball heavily in powdered sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes only.

Gingerbread Men

This is my first time making gingerbread men from scratch, instead of the roll of dough, and I am truly addicted to it! During a conversation with my closet blogger friend, who happens to live in the same town that I live in, Shanna, talked about her gingerbread recipe. She gave me nothing but fantastic reviews on this dough. Of course, I had to have the recipe and she willingly shared it. I totally agree with her on this. It is easy to mix together and very forgiving. One of the things that I really liked about it was that it did not spread. And the flavor is amazing! Thanks for the recipe Shanna! You rock! :)

This weekend is the annual Ladies Christmas Tea at my church. This thing is amazing each year. A theme is named and a committee of women get to planning. This year's theme is Holy Express based off of the movie Polar Express. There will be a general store, and this is where the baskets will be displayed for raffling off. And then there is the bakery and that is where these little guys come in handy. Every bakery has gingerbread men in stock at the holidays, right?

I will be making these again closer to Christmas!

Gingerbread

2/3 C brown sugar, packed
2/3 C molasses
1 t Ginger
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t crushed cloves

3/4 T baking soda
2/3 C butter
1 egg
5 C all purpose flour

Heat brown sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to boiling point. Remove from heat, add baking soda, and pour over butter in a large mixing bowl. Stir until butter is melted, then stir in egg and flour thoroughly. Knead for a few minutes, then gather dough into a ball. Refrigerate dough until firm enough to roll easily. Roll on a lightly floured board and cut w/ shaped cutter of choice. Place on greased cookie sheet or parchment and bake in 325 degree oven for 8-12 minutes.

Trim the tree Thursday

Yes, I know, that is not a picture of my Christmas tree, and it goes against the whole trimming the tree thing, but....My tree is not up yet.

My new blog friend Brett from Hostess with the Mostess, is a blogging newbie and this is her first blog event. Trim the tree Thursdays. The good thing is that she said that it could be a holiday wreath on your door, it doesn't have to be just Christmas decorations. So, here it is, my front door with my fall wreath. Hopefully next week, I will have some sort of Christmas going on, but for now, just the fall wreath.

Hop on over to Hostess with the Mostess and show her some love. She has some yummy recipes posted as well!

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

A week or so ago, my friend Megan from Megan's Cookin, and I decided to this cookbook project. I have a ton of cookbooks, some of them I have not opened the first time, so this would be something to get me to use them. So, for the first round, I chose this Pumpkin Creme Brulee from Gale Gand's book Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs. I first saw her on the Food Network show Sweet Dreams. How I miss that show!

This is all that you would want in this dessert, pumpkin, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg...love it. The recipe said that you would get 4 creme brulee's out of this recipe, but I got 6! Bonus!!

Next up is Megan, I can't wait to see what she picks!

Pumpkin Creme Brulee
By:Gale Gand

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup coarse sugar or raw sugar


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse at least 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture. Whisk in the pumpkin puree. Pour the mixture into 4 ovenproof ramekins and arrange in a hot water bath. Bake in the center of the oven until almost set but still a bit soft in the center, 30 to 40 minutes. The custard should "shimmy" a bit when you shake the pan; it will firm up more as it cools.

Remove from the water bath and let cool 15 minutes. Tightly cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, preheat a broiler to very hot (or fire up your kitchen torch).

Uncover the chilled custards. Pour as much coarse sugar as will fit onto the top of 1 of the custards. Pour off the remaining sugar onto the next custard. Repeat until all the custards are coated. Discard any remaining sugar. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and broil until the sugar is melted and well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool 1 minute before serving.

November's edition of the Cookie Carnival

I completely bailed out on the Cookie Carnival for October. The baking slump bug had bitten me, and nothing much was coming out of this kitchen. A couple of weeks ago, I borrowed The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley from the library and wasn't sure if I like the book or not. This book is really thick, but there are not many pictures and half of it is baking tips and how to's. I know that stuff is helpful, but I was expecting all recipes.

A couple of days ago, I received my email from Kate revealing the November's Cookie Carnival and the chosen recipe was from this book. The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Now, I have been looking for a great chocolate chunk/chip cookie, had all the ingredients on hand, so what was I waiting for? Nothing. Mixed these babies up, baked them off and the verdict: Very, very good! Slightly crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle. I think the key to these cookies are that they don't spread, they puff up a little. And if you are looking for a cookie that is a great dunking cookie, this one is it. The day after, they are not as chewy in the middle, but not crisp and again, great for dunking in a glass of milk.

After having my doubts about this book, I am ready to dive into some more of the recipes.

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
3. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

Pumpkin Cloverleaf Rolls

Fall is here, and all I can think about is pumpkin and cranberries. I found this recipe in the newest addition of Family Fun Magazine and thought that they sounded good and thought I would give them a try. The verdict...they were ok. I think sweet, cinnamon and nutmeg with pumpkin. These are not very sweet at all. The only sweetener is honey in this recipe, so these would be good if you wanted to serve them at the dinner table. Now, my kids loved them with a little pad of butter on them. I did sprinkle a little sugar cinnamon mix on the top before baking, but I think next time I will add a little pumpkin pie spice to them.

Pumpkin Cloverleaf Rolls
By: Family Fun Magazine

3 3/4 cup all purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
1 package or 2 1/4 tsp instant or bread machine yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup canned or frozen and thawed pureed pumpkin
1 large egg
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup (1 stick) butter

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, and salt, and set it aside.

Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl or 4-cup glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk in the honey, pumpkin, egg and water. (The liquid mixture should be less then 110 degrees, anything hotter will kill the yeast.)

With a fork, blend the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture until you have a soft dough. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Two hours before baking, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead lightly. Melt the butter and set it aside in a small bowl. Divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 6 portions. Divide each portion into 3 pieces. With floured hands, roll each piece into a ball and dip it into the melted butter. Place 3 balls in a muffin cup. Continue until 12 muffin cups are filled.

Drizzle or brush each roll with 1/2 tsp of the leftover butter. Let the rolls rise in a warm spot until they are doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The 3 balls of dough will rise together to form a cloverleaf shape.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden, about 15-17 minutes.

Caramel Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze

If you are a caramel lover and love poundcake too, this is the cake for you! Easy to put together a little over an hour in the oven, easy as....well, cake. I can honestly say that I have never made this cake before now, and I am kicking myself in the behind. I should have made it a long time ago!!

Caramel Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed (I only had light brown sugar, so I used 2 cups of it)

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup oil

5 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter until creamy; add sugar until blended. Add oil until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time beating until yellow disappears. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla. Beat at low speed just until blended.

Pour batter into a greased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely before drizzling with glaze.

Caramel glaze:

1 pkg (16 oz) light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 can (5oz) evaporated milk (I used 2% milk)

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan. Boil, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking powder and vanilla. Mix occasionally while mixture cools and thickens. When it is cooled enough to drizzle, pour on top of cake. It took mine about 15 minutes to get to this thickness.