Butter Meltaways--Week 7

Can you believe that we are over half way mark? Week 7 and we have 5 more weeks to go. I make these every year for Christmas, these are the ones that will always be on my goodie trays. They are simple and quick and delicious!

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.***

Week 7 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Week 1--Cheesecake Cookies

I know it seem crazy to be talking about Christmas already, but I believe that you can never have too many cookies around the holidays. You may remember last year there was only a handful of us that baked, but I am so excited that this year we have close to 30 of us baking along...I can hardly stand myself thinking of all the cookies that will be made!

We are a family of cheesecake lovers, what better way to start off the first week with a cheesecake cookie? No better time than the present I say. I liked these cookies and will probably make these for my goodie trays this year. The texture reminded me of shortbread with a little tanginess (is that a word?!) from the cream cheese that is added. You could also roll these in any type of coating you want, I chose to go basic with graham cracker crumbs. You could also put some chocolate in the middle..I may go with a rolo candy in the middle the next time. The possibilities are endless on topping/filling combinations. Happy Cookie Baking!!!

Cheesecake Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
Graham Cracker Crumbs, for coating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Mix in vanilla extract. Stir in the flour until well combined.

Scoop the dough and form into 1" balls. Roll in graham cracker crumbs so cookie is covered.

Place covered cookie balls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops are slightly puffed.


Week 1 Twelve Weeks of Christmast:

Happy 4th of July!

How about celebrating with this Red, White and Blue Cream Cheese Poundcake, except I used blackberries instead of blueberries. The cream cheese makes this cake dense and moist, with the tang of the cream cheese, mixed with the sweetness of the berries and you can't resist another piece! This is another link that Beth sent my way and you can find the original recipe here.

Happy 4th of July!! Have a safe and fun day celebrating our freedom!

Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, but not quite room temperature

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened slightly

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

6 ounces raspberries

6 ounces fresh blueberries---I used blackberries

lemon glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, and place on a cookie sheet.

2. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese. Pour in sugar and mix until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well until each is incorporated.

3. While ingredients are mixing, whisk together four, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

4. Fold berries into batter.

5. Distribute batter evenly into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool completely. Drizzle with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar

juice of 1 lemon

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Add more juice or cream as necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Low Sugar Pineapple Pudding Cake

I get daily emails from Taste of Home and this was one that I got earlier this week. I knew right then I would make it. This cake is on the healthy side and all the kiddos, including the hubby, liked it too. The recipe originally called for pineapple..and while that is good too...I could so see this with fresh sliced strawberries or bananas, even peaches. I think whatever fruit you like, it would go well with this dessert.

Pineapple Pudding Cake
From: Taste of Home

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cups cold fat free milk
1 pkg (1 oz) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 pkg (8 oz) fat free cream cheese
1 can (20 oz) frozen fat free, sugar free whipped topping, thawed

Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions; pour into a 13x9 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in pudding mixture until blended. Spread evenly over cake. Sprinkle with pineapple; spread with whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

I have made these for a few years now and thought that I would share with you. This has only a few ingredients, easy to put together, but takes just a little prep time. And just for the record, I don't think that you could make it healthy. I did use low fat cream cheese, but honestly, I don't think that really made a difference in these...once you read the recipe you will understand why.
Oh, and I really don't have complete measurements..you just kind of go with it.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

1 loaf of white bread
block of cream cheese, at room temperature
melted butter
cinnamon/sugar mix..I just dumped some of both until I thought it looked good

Cut the crust off of the slices of bread and flatten with a rolling pin. Spread with a thin layer of cream cheese and roll up. Cut this roll into 3 pieces. Dip the rolls into the melted butter and then coat them with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake for 15-17 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Enjoy!!

Martha Mondays-Molasses Spice Cake

This is my first week of the group Martha Mondays. This group was created by Martha and Me. I think that I liked this group because 1) it is laid back, if you need to miss, it's ok! and 2) it is not only cooking/baking, but also crafts.

This weeks assignment was chosen by Pru of My Life-Pru Singer and she chose this cake. This cake made me excited when I saw what it was. I am ready for fall and this cake just screamed fall to me.

So, the verdict? It's ok. The cake is moist and has the right amount of spice. A couple of the girls didn't like the cream cheese frosting, because you add sour cream and they thought it was too sour. You can definitely taste the sour cream come through, but I liked it. It is not very sweet, but the brown sugar glaze gives you the sweetness that you need. Oh, and I should warn you...if you are watching your calorie intake, this is not one that you will want to make. I can just feel the bulges in my thighs getting bigger just by thinking of the amount of butter that went into this! :)

Will I make this again? Probably not. But, I'm glad I made it. So far, one of the kids likes it, and will be a great after school snack!

You want the recipe? You can find it here.

I'm back with a Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake!

I have been away from here for way too long! I don't intend on staying away like this again, I have missed you guys! So, what better way to make a come back than this pound cake? You will want to try this one! I am not really a coconut lover, it seems that the older I get, the more I can tolerate it, but I really think that I could eat this whole cake. Maybe because it makes me think of a tropical island. Not sure, but I really like it! Sweet, coconutty, moist...just delicious!

I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday!!

Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 8oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups flaked coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract

Beat butter, shortening and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition just until yellow disappears.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in coconut, vanilla, and coconut extract.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30-40 minutes (mine only baked for 1 hour and 10 minutes), or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

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.

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.***

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I saw this recipe on a forum that I am a member, and it was originally made with raspberries, but for some reason cranberries popped into my mind and sounded really good with this recipe. And I was right. I had some cranberries in the freezer and this was a perfect way to use them. But, I really didn't realize that cranberries would float in batter! I love these and have eaten 1 every morning for breakfast. I like the tartness of the cranberries with the cream cheese and sweetness of the muffin. The hubby does not like cranberries, but liked the muffin and thought they would be good with blueberries. I bet they would!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins

3 ounces cream cheese

3 eggs

1 c. sugar

1 c. milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

6 Tbsp. butter

2 c. flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the muffin tins or line with paper cups. In a small bowl, beat together until smooth the cream cheese with one egg, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, butter, and one tsp vanilla. Stir over medium heat until the butter melts. Cool until warm to the touch, then beat in the remaining two eggs. In large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar. Add the milk mixture and stir just to blend. Fold in the cranberries. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups. Spoon about 2 tsp cream cheese mixture on top of each muffin. Pull knife through each top to swirl slightly. Bake about 20 minutes or until top springs bake when lightly touched.

Baking with Shane

This is my 13 year old son Shane. When I asked him what he wanted to bake, he immediatly said brownies. This kid is a true chocoholic! Always has been, and I don't see any sign of that changing for a long time. So, we got searching the blogs and came across these Peanut Butter Marbled Brownie from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen, I love it when I come across a new blog that I haven't seen before!

Pay no attention to my messy table! :)

This is the only picture that I could get of him, actually making the brownies, although he did make them himself. First you mix the PB mixture, with cream cheese, PB, sugar and a couple of other ingredients, set them aside. Mix the brownie mixture, layer them in the baking dish, swirl with a knife and bake.

Here is the finished product. Delicious, if I do say so myself. We tried one warm, but I have to say that we liked them better once they were completely cooled to room temperature. If you like a gooey brownie, this is one to try!

PB Marbled Brownies:

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp milk

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (We used 1/2 cup mini chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, egg, and milk until smooth. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix in the remaining eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; mix into the batter. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Remove 1 cup of the batter. Spread the remaining batter into the prepared pan. Spread the peanut butter filling over the top. Drop the reserved chocolate better by teaspoonful over the filling. Using a knife, gently swirl throught the top layers for a marbled effect.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out almost clean. Cool completely, then cut into bars.

TWD #3- Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

First of all, let me say that this looks nothing like the one in the book. The one in the book has a perfectly brown crust, as well as the filling being the perfect cream color. I have got to find out how they do that! Mine turned out a little brown and cracked on top. Anyway, it still tastes wonderful! Next time, I will use a little more jam on the bottom, but it still tastes great. I love the fact that you have that little bit of fruit taste with the cheese cake. This filling calls for both cream cheese and cottage cheese, you put them into a food processor and pulse until it is smooth. The verdict on this one? Wonderful, and I will absolutely make it again. I would also try mini size to go on a tea party menu!

Don't forget to check out Laurie and Michelle and see what their experience with this one is! Also, next week will be Perfection Pound Cake--yum!

Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte:

For the Crust:

1 3/4 Cup all-purpose flour

1/2 Cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the filling:

1/3 Cup thick berry jam (I used strawberry)

9 oz. cream cheese, at room temp

8 oz (1 cup) cottage cheese, at room temp

3/4 Cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

2 large eggs, preferably at room temp

Butter a 9-inch spring form pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

To make the crust: Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse just to blend. Toss in the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse mail. Stir the egg yolks and villa together with a fork, and, still pulsing the machine, add them and continue to pulse until the dough comes together in clumps and curds-restrain yourself, and don't allow the dough to form a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. If you want to roll the dough, gather it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate ti for about 20 minutes before rolling. Or simply press the dough into the pan. The dough should come about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the spring form. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Fit a piece of buttered aluminum foil against the crust, covering it completely. Fill the crust lightly with rice, dried beans or pie weights and slide the sheet into the oven. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 minutes or so-you don't want the crust to get too brown. Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the filling.

Lower the oven temp for 350 degrees.

To make the filling: Stir the jam, and spread it over the bottom of the crust-it's okay to do this while the crust is still warm

Put the cream cheese and cottage cheese into the food processor and process, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times, for 2 minutes, until you've got a smooth, satiny mix. Add the sugar, salt and spices and process for another 30 seconds. With the machine running, add the eggs and process, scraping the bowl as needed, for a final minute. Pour the filling over the jam.

Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes, or until the filling is uniformly puffed and no longer jiggly. Gently transfer the spring form pan to a cooking rack and allow the torte to cool to room temperature, during which time the filling will collapse into a thin, elegant layer.

Run a blunt knife between the crust and the sides of the pan, then open and remove the sides of the spring form pan. If the sides of the crust extend above the filling and you don't like this look, very gently saw off the excess crust using a serrated knife. Chill the torte slightly or thoroughly before serving.