Lemon Bars

This is my all time favorite, go to recipe for lemon bars. I have made them several times, and they turn out every time. This recipe comes from my Southern Living: The best recipes of 30 years, cookbook. This book is right up at the top of my favorites. I would highly recommend adding it to your bookshelf.

This bar has a shortbread crust, gooey lemony center, and a thin, crisp topping. It is not so tart that it makes you pucker, but tart enough with the sweetness. Just perfect for that girls luncheon, or just a pan for yourself!

Lemon Bars
From: Southern Living

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, divided
1 cup cold butter or margarine, cut up
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Combine 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.

Spoon flour mixture into a 9x13 inch pan; press into pan evenly and firmly, using fingertips. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine 1/2 cup flour and baking powder; set aside. Combine eggs, 2 cups sugar, and lemon juice; beat well. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture, and pour over baked crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and cut into bars.

Peach Cream Tart

I have made this tart several times before, and had forgot about it really, I made it over a year ago, only I used apples and loved it just as much. It is kind of like a cobbler in tart form. You have the crunch from the crust, a bite of fruit and the creamy, soft filling. And, don't worry about having fresh fruit, I used canned peaches and worked out fine!

Peach Cream Tart
Crust:
1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup (1 stick)butter, softened
2 Tbsp sour cream

Filling:
About 3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced thickly--or just a can of peaches
3 large egg yolks
3/4 Cup sour cream
3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1/2 Cup peach jelly, warmed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, place the flour, butter and sour cream in food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2 inch sides. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

To make filling, arrange the peach slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it's completely covered. Overfill the crust, as the peaches will draw up during baking. Combine the yolks, sour cream, sugar and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the peaches.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark.

Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan. Spread the peach jelly with a pastry brush over the top of the tart.

Cherry Yum Yum

This is a recipe that I grew up on. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have this dessert. I think my mom found this in an old church cookbook, made it, and it stuck. Shane's birthday was last week and the tradition for my kids and hubby, is that they can choose any type of cake, pie, or whatever for their birthday "cake" and I will make it, or at least attempt it. Shane chose this recipe this year for his birthday. I would think that you could use any flavor of fruit filling and it would be just as delicious. I used a can filling, but if you have homemade around use it too. No need to heat your oven, this is a no bake dessert!

Cherry Yum Yum

Crust:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 stick of margarine

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

12 oz cool whip, thawed

1 can of cherry pie filling, or fruit of your choice.

To make the crust, melt the margarine and mix with the graham cracker crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture. Press the remaining 2 cups into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.

For the filling: Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and milk until smooth. Fold into the cool whip.

Spread half of this mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. Spread the pie filing evenly over the cream cheese mixture. Once pie filling spread, top with the remaining half of the cream cheese mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining graham cracker crumbs over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Daring Bakers do Cheesecake..

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I ran out of time to get creative for this challenge, so here it is, a basic cheesecake. I will probably never make this recipe again, as I like my go to cheesecake recipe better, but this one was fine. Thanks Jenny for choosing a simple recipe for this months challenge!

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

I have had this recipe bookmarked for a while now and had the perfect opportunity to finally make them. They were super yummy! They were very rich, but, oh, so tasty! It is also very versatile, you could swap out the flavor of chocolate chips, I used almonds instead of pecans...pretty much, whatever you have in the pantry, use it. I now have a new bar to add to my cookie list at the holidays!

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars
From: Megans Cookin

2 1/3 C. All Purpose Flour
2/3 C packed light brown sugar
3/4 C butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 C. (12 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 C. chopped nuts
1 Can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 3/4 (10oz) toffee bits, divided

In large bowl, stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until it resembles small coarse crumbs. Add egg; mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and nuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups mixture. Press remaining crumbs into greased 9X13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Pour condensed milk evenly over hot crust. Top with 1 1/2 cup toffee bits. Sprinkle reserved crumbs and remaining chips over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. cut into bars and enjoy!

Brunch! By Gale Gand

A couple of weeks ago, Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness sent me an email asking if I would be interested in reviewing Gale Gand's newest cookbook, Brunch. All I needed to do was read it, choose a recipe and type up a post about it. I am not sure if she knows this or not, but I love Gale Gand. I have all of her books, I have made several recipes from each of them and they have always turned out. Believe me when I tell you that Gale's new book, Brunch, ranks right up there with her others.

This book is filled with sweets, savories, baked french toasts, crepes, waffles, toppings and beverages. Fantastic brunch recipes that are quick to make, delicious, kid friendly, and uses staples that you normally will have on hand. I chose to make the basic waffles, just to get me started..and the hubby and kids loved them. The waffles were light and fluffy, and not too sweet.

Looking for a new cookbook to add to your collection? This is the one that you need to get. You won't be disappointed!

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have always been fascinated on how the Amish live, and want to some day, very soon, take a road trip and visit the Amish country. A couple of weeks ago, I went to our used book store with a friend, and came across this book, The Amish Cook at Home and glanced through it. I normally would never even give this type of a book a second glance, but I guess it was just fate, because when I opened the book, I couldn't put it down! It was a good thing that there were 2 of these books, or I believe that my friend Amanda and I would be fighting it out right there in the middle of the store! :) This book gives little stories and insight to their beliefs and way of life...and of course, their cooking! This is where the sourdough comes in. I have tried starters before and they didn't work, so I tried this one and it turned out nicely!

Sourdough Starter

3 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

Starter Feed
3/4 cup sugar
3 TBSP instant potatoes
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

To make the starter: Mix the yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Put into a plastic container, seal, and refrigerate 3 to 5 days.

To make the starter feed: Combine the sugar, potatoes, and water in a small bowl and stir into the starter. Cover loosely (to allow some of the pressure to escape as the gases build) and let stand at room temperature for 5 to 12 hours. The mixture will be bubbly.

Take out 1 cup to make bread and loosely cover the starter and return it to the refrigerator. Feed again after 3 to 5 days. If not making bread after feeding the starter, throw away 1 cup to avoid depleting the starter. Note: Do not put the lid on tight.

To make the cinnamon rolls:
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F)
6 cups bread flour
1 cup Sourdough starter

6 Tbsp margarine, or butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine the sugar, oil, salt, water, flour, and starter in a large bowl. Stir to make a dough. Form the dough into a ball. Grease another large bowl. Put the dough in and turn to coat. Cover and let stand overnight. (Do not refrigerate.)

After the dough has risen overnight, punch it down, divide it in half, and form two balls of dough. Take a ball of dough and roll it out as thin as possible on a floured surface. Brush the dough with half of the butter. (I found this was easier to spread with your fingers.) Sprinkle half of the brown sugar evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon.

Roll up the dough like a jelly roll. Cut each roll into slices 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Place the slices 1/2 inch apart in a buttered jelly roll pan, cover. Repeat with the remaining ball of dough and remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Let rise for 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly while making the icing:

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz Cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbsp milk

Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the milk, 1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency.

Drizzle over the warm rolls.

This recipe made two 9x13 inch pans.

Black and White Cookie Ripple Coffee Cake

This cake is from A Passion For Baking by Marcy Goldman. I think that I have only made one other thing from this book and it turned out just fine. This turned out great as well. I haven't seen alot of publicity on this book while blog surfing, and I think that it is one that it is one that is over looked. This book is filled with wonderful recipes that I can't wait to dive into.

This cake is moist and dense and not overly sweet, just like a coffee cake should be. But, the addition of the crushed cookies gives it an extra sweetness and crunch. I would recommend this recipe for any occasion!

Black and White Cookie Ripple Coffee Cake

By: Marcy Goldman

Cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

6 large eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup s buttermilk

4 cups all purpose flour

4 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

30 chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

2-6 Tbsp water, as required

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 30 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Generously spray a 9 inch tube pan with nonstick cooking spray and place pan on prepared baking sheet.

In a mixer bowl, cream softened butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 2 at a time, and blend on medium speed until blended, scraping bowl often to make sure no butter or sugar sticks to bottom. Add vanilla and buttermilk and blend well. Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and blend until batter is smooth, about 2-4 minutes.

Pour two-thirds of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle two-thirds of cookie pieces over batter, putting more on perimeter than directly in middle area (cookie pieces are less likely to sink when dispersed this way). Top with remaining batter and top batter evenly with remaining cookie pieces.

Bake 45 minutes and then reduce oven temp to 325 degrees F. Finish baking cake until cake tests done with a cake skewer that almost comes out clean, another 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan before turning cake out onto a serving plate.

For Glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together confectioner's sugar, water, and vanilla to make a drizzly glaze. Drizzle glaze over top of cake with a fork or whisk. Let glaze set.