Off the Radar

Life is a strange thing. It can take you from one month to another in a blink of the eye. It was just yesterday that we were sitting outdoors on a crispy October afternoon enjoying the wedding of my nephew and his beautiful bride.

Congratulations, Thad and Kelly! And thanks, Lisa for the best Molasses Cookies recipe. My new favorite cookie.

Now it is April! What do I have to show for the last 5 months? Oh, the usual...sewing, knitting and baking.

 Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup butter, melted and cool

1 cup sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon grounded cloves

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1. In mixing bowl, add sugar, molasses and egg to melted butter. Mix well.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

3. Roll into small  balls, roll in sugar and place on greased pan.

4. Bake 350° for 7 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Enjoy...

Crazy Winter

The weather this winter has been strange. Rain one day, sunshine the next day. Freezing temperatures one day, 60s the next day. Blue skies one day, overcast the next day. Even this weekend we had rain, snow flurries, sunny skies, overcast skies, more flurries, even some thunder and hail - all in one day. Whew! I'm ready for spring.

While avoiding the crazy weather this weekend, I did some baking...

White Chocolate Lemon Shortbread(adapted from Miss in The Kitchen)

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 ¼ cups flour

1 (3.5oz bar) white chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup butter, softened

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Add sugar to mixing bowl along with lemon zest. Using your fingers rub the zest into the sugar.

2. Add flour, chocolate and butter. Combine until the dough begins to stick together.

3. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about ½ inch thickness. Cut out into desired shape.

4. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 300° for about 20 minutes or until light browned around the edges. Cool cookies and spread with the glaze

Creamed Corn Muffins

1 cup self rising cornmeal mix

¾ cup self rising flour

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup frozen creamed corn

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1. Combine all ingredients and stir until moist.

2. Fill greased muffin tins and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown at 375°

Sourdough Coffee Cake

1 cup sourdough starter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour

1. Combine sourdough starter, oil and egg.
2. Stir together dry ingredients and add to sourdough mixture.
3. Put dough into greased 9 inch square pan.
4. Crumble topping ingredients together and sprinkle topping on top of batter.
5. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Enjoy...

A Glimpse of Christmas

 

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without cookies.

 

Sand Dabs

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup pecans, chopped

1.Cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.
2.Whisk together flour and salt and add gradually to butter mixture.
3.Stir in pecans.
4.Chill if dough is too soft.
5.Form into small balls and place on ungreased baking sheets.
6.Bake at 400º for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly brown.
7.Cool slightly and roll in powdered sugar.

 Snickerdoodles (adapted from Taste of Home)

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar, divided

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1.Beat butter and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.
2.Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Gradually add to butter mixture.
3.In small bowl combine cinnamon and remaining sugar.
4.Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in cinnamon sugar.
5.Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes.

Orange Cookies (adapted from Your HomeBased Mom)

2 cups flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ sticks butter

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

1 egg

1 teaspoon orange extract

Icing:

2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice.

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

1.Beat butter, sugar and 1 tablespoon orange zest until fluffy.
2.Add egg and extract. Mix until combined.
3.Add flour and baking soda until combined.
4.Spoon onto a ungreased cookie sheet.
5.Bake 350° about 15 minutes or lightly golden brown.
6.Once cooled, mix powdered sugar, juice and remaining orange zest together. Spread on cookies.

Enjoy...

Super Easy Dessert

For Thanksgiving this year, I tried a new and different kind of dessert. Instead of the usual sweet potato pie or coconut pie, I decided to try a new recipe from Trisha Yearwood's new show on the Food Network - Trisha's Southern Kitchen. It was so simple and an absolute hit.

 Skillet Almond Shortbread took about 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes later, it was baked and ready to be eaten. So simple, so easy and so delish!

Almond Shortbread (adapted from Trisha's Southern Kitchen)

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup sliced almonds with skins

1. Line a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, stir 1 1/2 cups of the sugar into the melted butter.

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

4. Add flour and salt and stir well.

5. Add almond extract and stir well.

6. Pour the batter into the skillet. Top with sliced almonds and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

7. Bake until slightly brown on top, about 35 minutes.

8. Cool the shortbread in the skillet. When cool, use the foil to lift the shortbread from the skillet; remove the foil before serving. 

Enjoy...

You Say Brookies, I Say Delicous!

Over Christmas break, I have been "reading" my favorite genre of literature. Cookbooks, recipes books, or what my grandmother would say receipt books. Cookbooks can be considered literature, right? If not, they should be. One can find very creative works between the covers of these books. 

After spending some time reading Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook by Dede Lahman and Neil Kleinberg, I had to try one of the cookie recipes. The authors called these chunky chocolate cookies a cross between brownies and cookies or Brookies.  Clever name, isn't it? I guess they could be called Crownies, too :)

I'm betting these would go great with a cup of joe. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I don't drink coffee, but it has what seems to go well with coffee.  I know a tall, cold glass of milk works nicely with these babies.  Mmmm, Mmmm, good!

Brookies

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

2 eggs

¾ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1. Melt oil, butter and 1 cup of chocolate together in microwave.

2. In separate bowl whisk together eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Fold melted chocolate into egg mixture.

3. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture.

4. Fold in remaining chocolate chunks.

5. Scoop out tablespoon size balls of dough and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350⁰

 


Enjoy....

Most Wonderful Time of The Year

This has been a wonderful Christmas for me and my family. 

Nothing says Christmas more than spending time with family and friends,

and traveling to Philadelphia to spend Christmas with our favorite doctors. 

Unlike last year, there wasn't twelve inches of snow. No snow at all. In fact the weather was wonderful.

We attended the performance of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, visited the Longwood Gardens to see the Christmas lights, prepared and consumed some wonderful and amazing meals,

and ate way too much of the Christmas goodies like these babies....

Lemon Truffles
2 cups white vanilla chips
10 oz lemon curd
3 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup powdered sugar
Optional: chopped pecans and toasted coconut

1. In  a microwave, melt vanilla chips until smooth. Stir in lemon curd, vanilla wafer crumbs, and powdered sugar. Chill until firm enough to handle.
2. Roll into 1/2 inch balls. Roll either in chopped pecans or toasted coconut. Chill until firm.

It was indeed a wonderful, wonderful time. Thank you, Lord for all these blessings!

Enjoy...