The Best Cookies Ever!

I'm not even sure I can accurately describe how much my family loves these cookies. I'll just say that I made 3 dozen cookies on Monday and by Wednesday they were gone! These lovely little treats are made up of a soft lemon-scented sugar cookie coated with the best strawberry icing you've ever tasted! My sister passed this recipe on to me a few months ago from the The All-American Dessert Book and I have made them about 10 times since and they get better and better every time I make them.

Big Soft Sugar Cookies With Strawberry Icing

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 (10 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2/3 cup solid white shortening
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 cup sour cream


To Make the Cookies:

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside. In a large bowl,
combine the sugar, butter and shortening. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until well blended and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs, then the corn syrup, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon extract until smoothly incorporated. Beat in half of dry ingredients, scraping down the sides as needed. On low speed, beat in the sour cream, then beat or stir in the remaining dry ingredients just until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. On a ungreased cookie sheet, use a cookie scoop to form balls of dough. This dough can be very sticky even after it's been chilled, so if you use your hand, work quickly. The recipe says it makes about 2 dozen, but with a cookie scoop, I get a little more than 3 dozen. Lightly dust your palm or a juice glass with flour and flatten each ball of dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Remember, you're going to be icing these so you need the top to be relatively flat. Bake for 10-14 minutes until the edges are just barely browned and the tops just spring back when lightly pressed. Be careful not to overbrown the cookies, the tops should still be fairly pale. Let cookies stand on sheet one minute to firm up and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. Set the cooling racks over parchment or wax paper to ice the cookies.




Strawberry Icing

1 1/4 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter, so soft it's almost melted
1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup (do not omit or substitute)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Water, if needed


This is easiest done in a food processor but you can also coarsely chop the berries by hand and also mash them by hand. In a food processor combine the berries, lemon zest and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Process until berries are completely pureed. (Or you can mash them by hand with a fork, let them sit for 5 minutes and then mash again) Using a wooden spoon or stiff spatula, press as much of the strawberry puree mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl, discard the seeds. Whisk in the butter, corn syrup and vanilla into the berry mixture. Stir in 3 3/4 cups more powdered sugar until well blended and smooth (if you're smarter than I am, you'll sieve the sugar first to avoid lumps) . Ice the cookies with a small spatula or table knife (I had more luck with a small spoon), and for the best looks, swirl the icing in the middle and let the icing flow outward toward the edges. Thin the icing with water if it stiffens as you work. Let the cookies stand until the icing sets, at least 2 hours.

Snickerdoodles

This has to be my family's favorite cookie, a whole batch never lasts more than 2-3 days around here. These are the original Betty Crocker recipe, not a thing changed....why mess with a good thing?

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
2. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
3. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Fudgy Cream Cheese Surprise Brownies

The Recipe:

2 sticks unsalted butter, each cut into thirds
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


One 13x9x2-inch pan, buttered

Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl, beat until smooth and set aside.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and microwave in intervals of 30 seconds or so, until melted (stir in between heatings).

Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in the salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in the flour.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly, dollop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter, draw a thin knife through the batter to swirl. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust. Cool in pan, or enjoy hot from the oven.

Favorite Blueberry Muffins

My Favorite Bluberry Muffins

Topping
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (3 1/2 ounces)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and warm

Muffins
2 cups fresh blueberries (about 10 ounces), picked over
1 1/8 cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons lemon juice (fresh)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1. THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and flour in small bowl until combined. Drizzle with warm butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Set aside.

2. THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries, 1 teaspoon sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Following photos below, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.








I've taken a bit of a break, as you can see, but I am back and ready to bake again. I had to have a few months off to deal with a string of disasters in our home, including a 2 week power outage and the long, painful, infuriating breakdown of our 2 refrigerators! Refrigerator repairmen are NOT our favorite people right and the Best Buy service department is on our list too. But things are looking up and I have 4 pounds of butter burning a hole in my fridge so I've got lots of goodies planned!

These delicious muffins were the first things I decided to make after the kitchen was in working order again and we just loved them. The filling, I think, is what pushes these muffins over the top and they wrap very well, so we will be taking them to work all this week for breakfast! Hope you all are having a cooler summer than we are!

Boston Cream Pie

Boston Cream Pie

Adapted from Good Housekeeping Best Loved Desserts

Pastry Cream

3/4 c. + 6 Tbsp milk
2 large egg yolks
1/3 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

1. In a heavy quart saucepan, heat 3/4 c. milk to boiling over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat eggg yolks with whisk, along with remaining 6 Tbsp. milk and sugar until smooth. Add flour and cornstarch and whisk until blended. Gradually add hot milk, whisking until blended.

3. Return mixture to saucepan, cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture has thickened and boils. Cook 1-2 minutes more, over low heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.

4. Pour pastry cream into a shallow dish, press plastic wrap diretly onto the surface to keep skin from forming as it cools. Cool to room temp, then chill in refrigerator at least two hour or up to overnight.


Golden Butter Sponge Cake

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large large eggs
1/2 c. water
3 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, line bottoms with a round of waxed or parchment paper and then grease and flour the paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed with an electric mixer until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat water and butter to boiling, remove from heat, add vanilla. (I did this in the microwave, in a heavy glass measuring cup, just to save washing another pan)

5. With mixer at high speed, gradually add sugar to eggs, beating until thick and lemon colored and mixture forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 5-8 minutes more. Add flour mixture in two additions, folding gently just until blended. Pour in water mixture and stir gently until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly between pans and bake until toothpick inserted int he center comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.

7. Run a thin knife around edges to loosen layers from sides of pan. Invert onto wire racks, remove waxed paper and cool completely.

8. When cake is cool, prepare chocolate glaze.

9. Cool glaze slightly until it warm, not hot. Take out your pastry cream and whisk it to loosen it up. Set aside.

10. Place 1 layer, flat side facing up, on cake plate and spread with all of the pastry cream. Top with second layer, rounded side up. Pour glaze over top and smooth with a small angled spatula so that it's even, letting some glaze slide down over the edge and down the side of the cake. Let glaze set.

Store cake in refrigerator, bring to room temp to serve.


Chocolate Glaze

3 squares (3 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used 4 squares)
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. milk

Combine all ingredients in a heavy 1quart saucepan and heat on low, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth.

Guinness Chocolate Stout Cake

Happy Birthday to Me! I made my own birthday cake yesterday and it turned out delicious, moist and a huge hit with everyone that tasted it! It's the Guinness Chocolate Stout Cake from Epicurious and the Fool-Proof Chocolate Frosting from Cook's Illustrated.

The reviews on this cake do not lie...it's the perfect chocolate cake. You really can't taste the beer at all, it only deepens and highlights the chocolate flavor of the cake. I made this same cake last year for my birthday as well, topping it with a White Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream. This time I made my cake in 2- 8 inch pans and had enough batter left over for a medium sized Bundt cake pan. Here is a picture of last year's cake:

I can't recommend this cake enough...I mean, how could any cake that starts with four sticks of butter, nearly two cups of dutched cocoa and 2 cups of Guinness possibly be anything but delicious?


The recipe for the cake is linked up above but here is the recipe for that delicious fluffy, incredibly smooth chocolate icing! I used a premium milk chocolate for mine, but you can sub bittersweet or semi-sweet, whatever you prefer.

Fool-Proof Chocolate Frosting

20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
A pinch of table salt
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Add butter, sugar, cocoa and salt to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and corn syrup and process about 10 seconds more, then stop and scrape down sides again. Add melted chocolate and pulse on and off, about 15 seconds, until smooth.

You can use this immediately or make it up to 3 hours in advance. If you're holding it longer than that, refrigerate the frosting, covered until ready to use. Let stand at room temp one hour before using.

Baking Illustrated Carrot Cake

If there is one cake that I absolutely adore, it's carrot cake. I know it's not the best thing for me, full of vegetable oil but there is just something about the simplicity of carrots, walnuts and cream cheese...it just gets me every time. I've made a million and a half carrot cake in my time, some so heavy and dense the cake felt like a ton of bricks when you picked it up and others that tasted more like fluffy carrot-flavored cotton. So I decided to go where I always go when I want a recipe that works....Cook's Illustrated.

This is cake is beautifully moist but not heavy and paired with walnuts and a beautiful cream cheese frosting....it is the most heavenly springtime dessert. I decorated mine with royal icing carrots....my very first royal icing endeavor. They were a hoot to make...and so incredibly easy. They probably aren't the best looking carrots ever and they would have looked a lot nicer had I noticed I was using a PETAL tip to make the leaves but I'm pretty pleased with them!

Making the carrots:



I did these without any instruction at all, just sort of guessing on everything. I learned it's important to ease pressure off the bag at the bottom of the carrot to make the pointed tip and that it's important to pay attention when piping decors or else you will end up piping leaves on the wrong end!
Carrot Cake

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pound of carrots, peeled (about 6-7 medium)
1- 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil

Now the cookbook's instructions were for making this in the food processor but I didn't feel like hauling that out, so I made this in my Kitchen Aid mixer, you can make it however you want, in a food processor or with a hand mixer, or even by hand.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray with nonstick cooking spray a 15x10 jelly roll pan or a 9x13 baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and then grease or spray the paper too.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, eggs and sugar and beat until thoroughly combined and light in color. Stir in the carrots and then the dry ingredients until incorporated no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until cake tests clean, 20 minutes (30-35 if using 9x13 pan). Cool cake to room temperature before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 pound (2-8 oz packages) cream cheese, softened slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened slightly
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners sugar

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the sugar and beat until well incorporated.

Sno-Ball Cupcakes

In the mood for a Sno-Ball but you don't want to run out to the store? I found a great little recipe over at Leite's Culinaria but decided to make them in cupcake form (the recipe made 12 regular sized cupcakes). The cupcake itself is amazingly dark, bittersweet, fine-crumbed and very rich. I filled it with a marshmallow frosting, topped it with pink marshmallow frosting and drenched them with pink coconut. The sweet frosting contrasts perfectly with the barely sweet cupcake and the coconut was the perfect foil to the pillow-y frosting and soft cake. You'll find the recipe for the cupcakes HERE and the frosting below.

Marshmallow Frosting

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 large egg whites
1 seven ounce jar marshmallow creme

Combine sugar, water and egg in medium saucepan over low heat, beat with hand-held mixer until soft peaks form, making sure to keep cord away from the heating element. Remove from heat, add the marshmallow creme and beat until stiff peaks form. Divide in half and set one bowl aside. Tint the other half pink with red gel food coloring, beating on high to make sure the food coloring is mixed in completely.

Use white frosting to fill cupcakes, then top with pink frosting. Cover with pink coconut and press lightly to help it adhere. Enjoy!

Steamed Chocolate Pudding

It might be springtime but we've had a sudden spate of cold weather and to me, cold weather is the perfect time for a nice steamed pudding. I also had a craving for chocolate and this recipe combines them both perfectly. This is a very moist, velvety smooth, intensely chocolate steamed pudding that stands alone very well but I can't ever leave well enough alone, so I like to top it with chocolate whipped cream. You can top it with regular whipped cream, ice cream, creme anglaise or go crazy and smother with with a dark ganache glaze. It tastes equally good hot or cold but I prefer it warm enough that it melts the whipped cream on top...so delicious!

Steamed Chocolate Pudding

2 1/2 cups (150 grams) dark bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
2 cups soft fresh white bread crumbs
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
a pinch of table salt
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Fit a deep stockpot with a steamer rack and place your pudding tin/bowl onto rack, fill the pot with water until it comes 3/4 up the side of your pudding mold. Remove the pudding mold and set the water to boil over medium high heat.

Generously butter a 2 Liter capacity pudding tin or pudding bowl, making sure to get each crevice (this is key to un-molding the pudding) . Freeze bowl/tin for one minute and remove from freezer, then set aside while you prepare the pudding.

Melt the chocolate and milk over gentle heat and mix well so that no lumps remain. Add the bread crumbs to it. Mix well and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl till light and fluffy, beat in egg. Add the condensed milk, vanilla extract, walnuts and dark chocolate mixture and mix well.

If you're using a pudding tin, snap on lid and place the pudding on the steamer rack in the pot of boiling water, cover with pot lid. If you are using a bowl, take a double square of foil and a square, the same size, of parchment paper and grease the bottom . Make a pleat in the center and fix it over the pudding, tying it securely around the rim with string. Lower the bowl onto the steamer rack in the pot of boiling water and cover with pot lid.

Steam the pudding for 60 minutes, check water level and replenish if necessary. Steam 25-45 more minutes. A cake tester will not test clean, it should hold it's shape but still look very moist. Remove the pudding mold from pot, let rest 1 minute and then turn out onto serving dish.


You can serve this warm or cold, it's soft and squidgy when warm and as it cools, it firms up to a nice consistency. I had mine warm with softly whipped cocoa cream which melted immediately into a wonderful sauce.

Raspberry Jelly Roll

My favorite kind of desserts are the simple ones....rice pudding, carrot cake, pineapple upside down cake, chocolate pudding and one of my most favorite and one of the easiest to prepare is a jelly roll. All you need is a good jam and a recipe for a nice sponge cake and there you have it....easy peasy!

I used the Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Sponge Cake for the jelly roll and some seedless raspberry preserves for the jam but you can use any flavor you like (even Nutella makes a great, if not somewhat decadent, cake roll).

Gâteau Surprise Chocolat Pistache

Gâteau Surprise Chocolat Pistache

Spring Is In The Air.....

And here in the South that means a lot of gloomy rainy days, but I have just the recipe to brighten a rainy day. My favorite springtime flavor is lemon and this cake is full of it! This was one of the very first cakes I ever made as a child, it's incredibly simple to make and so very delicious.

A tip: The lemon syrup can be made very quickly in the microwave if you'd rather not dirty a pan, and this cake is very tender, so slice it thick!

Sweet Lemon Loaf
The New Doubleday Cookbook, 1985

Cake:

1 1/2 c. sifter flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
Finely grated zest and juice of one lemon

Glaze:

Juice of one lemon
1/4 sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift flour with baking powder and salt, set aside. Cream butter in large bowl until light, slowly add sugar and cream together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the dry and adding about one-third of the total at a time. Add lemond rind and juice and beat just until smooth. Pour into greased 9"x5"x3" loaf pan or three mini loaf pans.

Bake 1 hour (or about 25-30 minutes for mini-loaves) or until golden, springy to the touch and a cake tester comes out clean when insterted in the center.

Let cool upright in pan on wire rack while you make the glaze.

Heat lemon juice and sugar in nonreactive pan on stove over low heat until sugar dissolves. Pour evenly over the top of cake(s) and let cool thoroughly in the pan before turning out. Wrap tightly and store overnight before cutting.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chips Cookies....my second favorite cookie (only to Girl Scout Tagalongs). I use the Nestle Tollhouse Original Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe with a few minor changes...comes out perfectly every time!

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco (1/2 stick)
  
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Testing

Just testing the new layout.

Hot Apple Cider Cake

Mmmm...nothing like smell of hot apple cider! I was in a hurry to make something for dessert, so this was whipped up from a boxed cake mix. Nothing to be ashamed of! It tastes delicious, very moist, damp, dense and full of apple chunks! If I were to make this again, I would skip the powdered sugar icing and glaze it with (reduced) apple cider syrup.

Hot Apple Cider Cake

1 pkg. yellow or spice cake mix
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding (4-serving size)
1 3/4 c. apple cider (plain)
3 medium Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and roughly chopped)
4 eggs
1/3 c. oil
1 c. apple cider
2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil 1 c. of apple cider in medium pan until it reduced to 1/4 c. about 8-10 minutes. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, reduced apple cider, the remaining 3/4 c. cider, eggs and oil in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat on high speed 2 min.
Gently stir in apples. Pour into prepared pan.
BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Again, reduce 1 c. of cider to 1/4. c. Whisk into 2. c powdered sugar until smooth, add more cider if necessary. Drizzle over cake.

The Smell of Autumn

The house was filled with the scent of autumn today. I made this wonderful pie that is similar to one my grandmother made me when I was little. It's sort of like pecan pie, but made with raisins, walnuts and a healthy dash of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. It smells absolutely wonderful and tastes even better!

Spicy Raisin Walnut Pie

3 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 c. light or dark corn syrup
1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. raisins

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pastry, beat eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, corn syrup and butter with hand beater until blended. Stir walnuts and raisins in. Pour into pastry lined pie pan and bake until set, 45 to 50 minutes.

King Size Cupcakes!

Look what I found at the store! I can't wait to try them out.....Wilton's King Size Cupcake Pan
and Liners. I saw at post at Not Martha awhile back with the cutest cupcakes. How cute would these be for a children's party?

Bread Baking Day

32 Large yeast rolls and 10 cinnamon rolls. The rolls got an egg wash before baking and the cinnamon rolls got some icing after baking. The house smelled wonderful!

Various Pics

Things I have made in the past few months:

Birthday Cake: Four Layer Midnight Cake filled with ganache, covered with Italian Meringue buttercream and topped with chocolate shavings.




Buttermilk yeast rolls from the Bread Bakers Apprentice, Variation #2.


Four layer of jaconde, soaked with coffee syrup, with alternating layers of French chocolate and coffee swiss meringue buttercream

Guinness Stout Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

Almond jaconde soaked with coffee syrup, coffee-flavored swiss meringue buttercream, ganache and chopped almonds.

I really do love to bake, it's such a stress reliever. I'm not very good at presentation, but I think truly good sweets are more about taste, anyway.

My first post

test :o)