Yellow Chocolate Chip Cake

The Occasion: Fourth of July gathering at Aunt Pam's house.

The Recipe: From this blog, except I used yellow cake mix instead of chocolate. Icing recipe is from here.

How it Went: This cake was unbelievably easy and delicious, the kind of dessert that gets you compliments you feel guilty receiving because you hardly did anything.

What You Need:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C water
8 oz sour cream
3 eggs
6 oz chocolate chips
1 C powdered sugar
1 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Your Turn:
In a large mixing bowl, combine

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 C water
• 8 oz sour cream
• 3 eggs

Add 6 oz chocolate chips. I used a combination of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Check for done-ness with toothpick inserted into center of cake.

Let cool completely, if possible, before turning out of pan onto serving platter.

Whisk together

• 1 C powdered sugar
• 1 T milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Drizzle onto cake with a spoon.

Slice and eat!

Lemon Poppy-Seed Muffins

The Date: 8 April 2012

The Occasion: Easter Lunch

The Recipe: Food Network’s website. Original recipe here.

How it went:

I really loved these! They would have been best warm, but I had to bake them Saturday and take them to Easter lunch Sunday afternoon. I still thought they were great, especially zapped in the microwave.

I had poppy seeds in the pantry already, but after reading online that they go bad unless frozen or refrigerated, I went out and bought new ones just to be safe. I put the new bottle in the freezer, so next time I should be OK to use them.

What You Need:
2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butter, at room temperature

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (about one whole lemon, zested)

2/3 C sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top

2 eggs, at room temperature

4 tsp poppy seeds

1/2 C milk

Your Turn:
Preheat oven to 375. Line 12-cup muffin tin with papers, or butter insides of cups. Zest one whole lemon with a fine grater. 

Sift together into a medium bowl

· 2 C flour

· 2 tsp baking powder

· 1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together

· 1/2 C butter (1 stick)

· 1 tsp lemon zest

· 2/3 C sugar

until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 

Scrape sides of the bowl, then add the 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one.

Stir in 4 tsp of poppy seeds with a spoon.

Now, this is the important part. This will determine whether your muffins rise properly or not. You really have to just barely blend the ingredients; don't overmix it.  Mine didn’t do so well this first time. Using a spoon, gently fold in about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Don’t over-stir it! Then fold in about half of your 1/2 C milk. Fold in another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Don’t overmix! Fold the rest of the milk, then the last 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among your 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar. 

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm, if possible. 

Happy (belated) Easter!

Peach-Berry Cobbler

About the Recipe: The potential issue with this cobbler, if you're not careful, is a mushy center. You really have to bake it a good long time. I've made it often with frozen fruit, but it's more risky. Fresh fruit is less likely to create excess liquid to cause mush.

What You Need:

1 stick of butter

1 & 1/2 C flour

1 & 1/2 C sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 & 1/2 C milk

about 2 1/2 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2-3 whole peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced (or 2 C frozen peach slices)

Your Turn:
Place the stick of butter in a 9x13 casserole dish and melt in the oven at 350. Yes, a whole stick of butter. Don’t think about it too much. 

While it’s melting, whisk together

· 1 & 1/2 C flour

· 1 & 1/2 C sugar

· 2 tsp baking powder

· 1/2 tsp salt

Add 1 & 1/2 C milk and whisk to form batter.

Pour batter into dish over melted butter. I try to pour it in near the edges for a more even batter/butter distribution. Otherwise the butter pools in the corners as you pour the batter into the center.

Scatter fruit over top.

Sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake 60-70 minutes at 350 until batter is brown and fruit is bubbly. You don’t want it to jiggle. If you shake the dish and the middle looks jiggly, put it back in. Cover with foil if the top is getting too dark. Let sit uncovered for about 30 minutes before serving.

Cranberry Chess Pie

The Date: 26 November 2011

The Occasion: Thanksgiving with Pete's family. I am pie-mistress on both sides of the family.

The Recipe: Again, from Williams-Sonoma Pies and Tarts.

How it Went:
I thought it was a little too tangy, but others loved it. I might cut down on the orange zest next time. I was a bit too generous there. Otherwise, it was fairly easy, unique, and tasty. Good texture and flavors. I used a store-bought pie crust for this one too, but I think the handmade crust would be superior if you have the time and inclination.

What You Need:
cranberries
sugar
butter
salt
eggs
flour
buttermilk
cider vinegar
orange zest

Your Turn:
Prepare your pie crust in the pie plate. The recipe asks you to pre-bake the pie crust for about 25 minutes. This matters more, I think, if you're using a homemade crust which is more likely to be a bit wet. The purpose of this pre-baking is to prevent the somewhat juicy filling of the pie from making the crust soggy. I pre-baked my store-bought crust for about 10 minutes, and that worked fine. You just press the crust into the pie plate, and put it in a 375 oven. Ideally, put some pie weights or heavy rice or something down inside the crust to prevent bubbling, but I didn't do that. It's alright. Just keep an eye on the crust. You don't want it to get dark, or overly bubbly, or dry or anything.

Chop 2 C of cranberries, fresh or frozen, coarsely.

Now, start the filling by blending

• 1 & 1/3 C sugar
• 1/2 C butter, melted
• 1/8 tsp salt

Whisk this well.

Now add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each one.

Stir in 1/4 C flour followed by 1/3 C buttermilk and 1 tsp cider vinegar.

Now -- it's time to zest the orange. I don't have a zester, and I'm not entirely sure how zesting is supposed to be done. I have an inkling I did it wrong. But here's how it went.

First, wash off your orange. Then grate it against the fine side of a cheese grater. You'll need 2 tsp orange zest. I think I used a bit too much. Feel free to start light on the orange and add more next time if you think it's bland.

Stir this into the batter well. Now add your cranberries.

Pour the mixture into your partially-baked pie crust.

Oops. Sunset mode.

Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes, until the top is lightly golden brown and the filing is firm. Transfer to a wire rack and cool before serving.

The cranberries will rise to the top as it bakes, and the orangey custard will firm up underneath them.

Short Version
CRANBERRY CHESS PIE

1 pie crust, partially baked (10 min in 375 oven for store-bought crust)
1 & 1/3 C sugar
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/4 C flour
1/3 C buttermilk
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 C fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

Whisk together sugar, melted butter, and salt.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.
Add flour, buttermilk, cider vinegar, and orange zest.
Stir well.
Add cranberries and stir.
Transfer to partially-baked pie crust.
Bake at 375, 50-60 minutes, until top is lightly golden and filling is firm.

Apple Cinnamon Crumb Pie

The Date: 24 November 2011 and 26 November 2011

The Occasion: Two Thanksgiving celebrations!

The Recipe: From this excellent book.

How it Went: Loved by all! An apple pie is pretty standard fare at a holiday gathering, and this one was traditional without being boring. Flavorful, juicy, spicy... Even Husband loved it. And he doesn't like any sweets. When I had such success with it on Thursday, I made it again for the gathering on Saturday. Excellent both times. I'm sure it would be really good with the homemade crust recipe that the cookbook suggests, but I cheated with a store-bought pie crust both times this week. Somebody be bold and make your own; let me know how it is.

What You Need:
apples (I used Empire. The book says Braeburn, Jonathan, and Newtown Pippin are also acceptable. I wouldn't use Granny Smiths in this. It's not quite that tart. A rustic slightly sweet apple is what you want.)
lemon juice (fresh squeezed is ideal, but I used it from the plastic lemon in my fridge)
sugar
cornstartch
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
salt
flour
brown sugar
butter

Your Turn:
If you're making the crust, do that first. Or just unroll your store-bought crust and press it into your pie plate. Set this aside.

Now, the recipe calls for "7 large, tart, firm apples." I used a 5-lb bag of apples. It was perfect. You don't want to skimp at all on this. The appleier, the better. 

Peel the apples. Then cut the cores out and dice them up.

Place the apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 T lemon juice and toss.

Mix up

• 1/3 C sugar
• 2 T cornstartch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• pinch of salt

Sprinkle over the apples and toss to coat evenly.

Transfer to the dough-lined pie plate.

Now, time to mix up the crumb topping.

Blend

• 1/2 C flour
• 1/3 C firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

After stirring this together, add 5 T cold butter, diced into cubes.

Blend with a pastry cutter (or a whisk or potato masher if you don't have one of those).

Sprinkle over the top of the pie.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden.

Let cool before serving.

This is Saturday's pie. The prep pictures were from Thursday.

Thursday's pie

Short Version
APPLE CINNAMON CRUMB PIE

Preheat oven to 350

5 lb apples (Empire, Braeburn, or Jonathan are good choices)
1 T lemon juice
1/3 C sugar
2 T cornstartch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of salt

Peel, core, and dice apples.
Toss with lemon juice.
Mix up remaining ingredients and toss with apples.
Pour mixture into prepared pie crust in pie plate.

1/2 C flour
1/3 C firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
5 T cold butter, diced into tiny cubes

Mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl.
Blend in the butter with a pastry cutter.

Sprinkle crumb topping over the pie.
Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, until filling is thick and bubbling, and crust is golden.

Pecan Pie

The Date: 24 November 2011

The Occasion: Thanksgiving! I've made this pie every year for... probably more than 10 years. It's become a family favorite and something I love contributing to Troxell Thanksgiving each November.

The Recipe: I think it came from a magazine years ago. The crust portion is a family recipe.

How it Went: Excellent as always. My Grammy said it was the best one I've ever made. Making the crust is important for this pie. Don't use a store-bought crust. The crust is part of the goodness of this pie.

What You Need:
flour
salt
sugar
vegetable oil
milk
light corn syrup
dark brown sugar
eggs
butter
vanilla
pecans

Your Turn:
You'll start with the crust. Sift

• 1 and 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 T sugar

into the pie dish.

Pour 1/2 C vegetable oil into a 2 C measuring cup.

Add 2 T cold milk.

Whip with a fork.

Now pour this on top of the sifted dry ingredients in your pie plate. Mix with the fork until blended.

Press the pie dough into the pan. It's easiest if you put a layer of plastic wrap down first so your finger don't get all stuck in the dough. If you're using a glass plate, it's easy to see when the dough is evenly pressed. Just hold it up to the light.

Set this aside. Time to make the pie filling.

In a large bowl, pour 1 C light corn syrup.

Add 1 C dark brown sugar, firmly packed. You can use part dark brown and part light brown sugars if you don't want the pie too rich.

Sugar on sugar

Melt 1/3 C butter in the microwave.

In the meantime, add to bowl

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Whip well. Then add the melted butter, but not while it's still steaming hot or it might cook the eggs. At least that's what Mom always warned me of. Whip with a whisk again.

Then add 1 heaping C coarsely chopped pecans.

Pour into prepared pie crust.

Embellish as desired. [TIP: I used to put a little flowerette of pecan halves in the center of the pie, but that becomes difficult to cut through when you're slicing it into thin pieces, which is all anyone can handle after a huge Thanksgiving meal. So putting the pecan halves around the edge is much easier in terms of serving.]

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Serve with real whipped cream for best "Mmmm's."

The gooey filling blends with the crumbly crust for a delicious texture.

Short Version
PECAN PIE

Preheat oven to 350.

1&1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
2 T sugar
1/2 oil
2 T cold milk

Sift flour, salt, and sugar into pie plate.
Whip oil and milk together.
Add to pie plate and blend into flour mixture with fork.
Using a sheet of plastic wrap between your hands and the dough, press the dough into the pie plate until even.
Set aside.

1 C light corn syrup
1 C dark brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C melted butter
1 heaping C coarsely chopped pecans

Whip all ingredients together except pecans.
Stir in pecans.
Pour into prepared pie crust.
Bake at 350, 45-50 minutes.

Cinnamon-Pecan Bread Pudding Cake

The Date: 16 October 2011

The Occasion: My homemade bread got a little too stale to eat. I was going to make croutons, but I gave in to my sweet tooth and decided I'd rather have bread pudding to eat all week.

The Recipe: From Paula Deen at foodnetwork.com, with some modifications.

How it Went:
I made this one time before, and it was perfect. This time I didn't have pecans, so I had to make it sans pecans. Also, the sugar seemed a bit much. I've cut down the sugar quantities in the recipe below. It's a wonderful indulgence dessert to make for yourself, but also nice enough to serve to guests.

Your Turn:
Cut slightly stale bread into cubes, about 6 cups cubed bread.

Mix in a large bowl

Bread soaking, sugar and butter being blended.

• 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
• 5 beaten eggs
• 1 and 3/4 cups milk

Then stir in 2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp cinnamon.


Pour this mixture over the bread. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Mix together

• half a stick of butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Pour bread mixture into greased pan (9x13 or a smaller casserole if you like it deeper). Sprinkle brown sugar and nut mixture over the top.

A little juicy. Too much sugar in this batch.

Bake for 35-45 minutes (longer if you're using a deeper pan) at 350. You want it not to be jiggly when you take it out. If it jiggles, give it another minute or two, then check again.

This time mine turned out a little juicy. There was too much sugar, and I think too much milk. Now, Paula Deen's recipe calls for just 3 cups of bread. But I used almost six. So I can't fathom how juicy her pudding must be! I like it more like a bread pudding cake - something you can cut slices of.

Ginger Snaps

The Date: 20 September 2011

The Occasion: Mom's Birthday. Her actual birthday is tomorrow, but since I won't be able to see her tomorrow, I am making a double batch of these cookies she loves to take to her at her Small Group tonight. A little birthday surprise. Later, for Pete and me, dinner tonight will be chili - a pound of ground turkey cooked on the stove with peppers and onions, then stirred with a can of diced tomatoes, a can of black beans, a can of kidney beans, and a packet of chili seasoning. Not worth blogging about. So this isn't dinner, exactly, but it's what I'm making when I'd normally be making dinner.

The Recipe: Can't remember where I got this one. Probably online somewhere, but now it's scribbled in sharpie on a recipe card in the fattest section of my recipe box: Desserts.

How it went:
Since I'd made these before, I wasn't too concerned about it working out. I knew that the dough would be kind of greasy and plop neatly on the cookie sheets in little shimmery piles. I knew it was pretty quick and called for things I'd have in the cabinet already. All of that was true. What I didn't remember was how fast they baked. My recipe said 10-12 minutes, but the cookies on the lower rack during the first batch were burned black on the bottom after just 10 minutes. I did just 7 minutes for the rest of the batches and had much better success. When they start to look light brown and puffy, wait just one more minute until they just barely start to flatten out. Then take them out. They will be soft still, but transfer them to a wire rack and they'll firm up around the edges almost immediately. The centers, though, will still be chewy.

Ginger Snaps: Just out of the oven

These cookies are splendid to make. They infuse the whole house with the smell of Christmas: ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar, cloves... And when they come out of the oven they are the perfect texture. Not crunchy like Sweetzel's Spiced Wafers (an autumn favorite of mine) but just a bit crisp around the edges and still warm and soft in the middle.
I made this easy recipe extra easy for myself, knowing I'd come home from work and have to whip these babies up and get them over to Kelly's where Small Group was being hosted. So this morning I measured out all the dry ingredients and left them in a mixing bowl on the counter. When I got home, I just had to blend the brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and molasses, then mix in the flour, baking soda, and spices. The double batch made probably six dozen cookies or so. Smallish ones, about the size of a Spiced Wafer. For normal purposes, a single batch is probably enough, but if you want enough to give your mom (or serve your guests) plus some for the next few mornings at breakfast, I recommend the double batch. They really are divine.

Your Turn:
Preheat oven to 375. 
Beat in electric mixer

• 1 C brown sugar, packed (light or dark, or a mixture)
• 3/4 C vegetable oil
• 1/4 C molassas
• 1 egg

Then add

• 2 C flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• slightly less than 1 tsp ginger (add more if you like ginger; I prefer the cinnamon to take center stage, so I go light on the ginger)
• almost 2 tsp cinnamon (add less if you prefer a more gingery cookie)

and beat until smooth. Dough will be very soft and greasy-looking. Using two spoons, drop small blops of dough on cookie sheet. About the size of a silver dollar is good. Leave about two inches between cookies. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with white sugar. Bake at 375 for about 7-8 minutes (depending on your oven, it might need the full 10-12) just until the cookies puff up and then just barely start to flatten.
Transfer immediately to wire racks and let cool.

PS: If you're making these as a gift, I found a great way to package them. Buy a large "take-out box" at your local craft store and line the inside with scrapbook paper. (Just trace the outside of the box onto the back of the paper.) Then line again with waxed paper, and fill up with cookies! A cute tag identifies the contents. Yum-yum and pretty too!

Happy Birthday, Mom!