Cowboy Coffee Cake

What do you do when you are getting to the bottom of the gallon of milk and find out it's gone sour? Pour it down the sink? WAIT! Save a cup and make this coffee cake! Not only does this recipe create a way to use some of that spoiled milk, it's also delicious. I also get a very nostalgic feeling when I bake this recipe because it's the first thing I ever learned to bake. P.S. If you don't have your own spoiled milk, you don't need to wait for it, you can sour your own...just keep reading and I'll tell you how!

 Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 

2 cups packed brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2/3 cup shortening 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 cup sour milk* 

2 beaten eggs 

Instructions: 

In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar and salt together. Cut in shortening until resembles course crumbs; reserve 1/2 cup. To remaining crumbs, add baking powder, soda, and spices; mix well. In medium bowl, mix together beaten eggs and milk. Pour wet mixture into the dry and stir until combined. Pour mixture into greased and floured 13x9 cake pan; sprinkle top with reserved crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean in center. Cut into squares and enjoy! 

 *To sour your own milk: replace 1 tablespoon of the milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice OR vinegar. Prepare this mixture first and by the time you need to add the milk, it will be sour.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

As I was driving around with my kids, they complained of being hungry. So when we stopped at the grocery store, I allowed them each to select a snack.  Two of them chose your standard cookies in the snack aisle, but the third set his sights on the freshly baked carrot cake in the bakery.  Instead of buying something there, he liked the idea of making his own at home with me. I also liked that I had a good use for all those carrots in my veggie bin. This super moist, decadent cake is what we made.

Ingredients:

For the cake:
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13inch pan. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugars and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in nuts, if you chose to include them. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter and cream cheese; beat until combined.  Add in confectioner's sugar, to taste ( you can stop at 3 cups for a stronger cream cheese flavor, or use more sugar for sweeter frosting) and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. (This is the point at which you could reserve about 1/2 cup of frosting to color in order to decorate the cake with little carrots. Color about a tablespoon green and the rest orange.  Then pipe using freezer storage bags to create the carrots.)    Stir in chopped nuts, if you chose to include them. Frost the cooled cake.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Apple-Cranberry Bread

I just love when the fresh cranberries show up in the supermarkets so I can make this bread.  It's sweet and tart and so satisfying.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/12 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups peeled, diced tart apples
1 cup fresh OR frozen cranberries
(Optional - 1/2 cup chopped walnuts)

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and oil.  In a medium mixng bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soad and salt.  Add dry mixture to wet until just combined (batter will be VERY thick.)  Stir in apples, cranberries (and nuts).
Transfer to a greased 8x4 inch loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Handheld Pumpkin Pies

The kids and I decided to watch all 8 of the Harry Potter movies and we needed some snacks to go along with them.  So we whipped up some butterbeer while munching on these "Pumpkin Pasties."  They're so good, they're almost magical!

Ingredients:

2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 lb. canned pumpkin (or 2 cups fresh, roasted in the oven)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves 

1/2 tsp. allspice
12-oz. can evaporated milk

2 pie crusts

2 Tbsp. 1/2 & 1/2

1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar

Instructions:

To make filling,  add eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl, mix until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, salt and spices. Add evaporated milk and mix well.

Bake the filling in a large casserole dish that has been buttered or sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Keep oven door closed and reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until table knife inserted in center of dish comes out clean. Cool filling completely on a wire rack.

Make or purchase pie crust pastry. Roll pastry thin and cut into circles approximately 4 inches in diameter. Put a spoonful of the cool pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Wet edges of crust (with 1/2 & 1/2) and fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed with a fork.  Brush tops with 1/2 & 1/2 and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut with a paring knife three small slits in the top for venting. Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees only until crust is a light golden brown, approximately 12 minutes.  Remove to cooling rack.

Serve at room temperature.

Chai Spice Sugar Cookies

It's no secret that chai tea is one of my favorite things.  So when I saw this recipe, I just had to try it.  I knew I'd be addicted to these cookies, but I didn't know my entire family wouldn't be able to keep their hands off these slightly spicy, chewy-in-the-center, crispy-on-the-outside, snickerdoodle-esque cookies!  So, if there's more than 2 people in your household, make a double batch!

Ingredients:

2¼ cups (11 ¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 ½ cups (10 ½ ounces) sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch ground black pepper
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Combine 1 ½ cups sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper in large bowl; add cream cheese. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine. (Some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later.) Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft homogenous dough forms.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces about 2 tablespoons each. Using hands, roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with 4 teaspoons remaining sugar (2 teaspoons per tray), discarding any remaining sugar.

4. Bake, one tray at a time, until edges are set and beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Note: The final dough will be slightly softer than most cookie doughs. For best results, handle the dough as briefly and gently as possible when shaping the cookies. Overworking the dough will result in flatter cookies.

Thanks to Cook's Illustrated who wrote this recipe! 

Snickers Fudge

I wanted something really special to make as a treat for the family during a weekend we'd be camped out watching lots of TV and movies on a first weekend of Fall


Ingredients:

For the first layer:

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

For the second layer:

4 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme (This is conveniently an entire 7oz. jar.)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped salted peanuts

For the third layer:

14 ounce package caramel cubes (UNWRAPPED!  I enlisted my kids to unwrap all the caramels.)
1/4 cup heavy cream

For the fourth layer:

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Instructions:

To make the first layer

In a glass bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water (a double boiler), add milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter. Stir often until completely melted and smooth. Pour mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking pan lined with parchment paper for easy removal later (the original recipe called for just spraying the pan with cooking spray, but I found it a little difficult to wrestle outta the pan using this method, but totally doable.). Using an off-set spatula, spread the mixture to an even layer and place in the refrigerator until set...about an hour. 

(Wash the bowl and utensils and dry out the pan...you'll need them again!)

To make the second layer

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Mix in sugar and evaporated milk. Once it comes to a boil, let cook 5 minutes while stirring...the mixture will turn a pale caramel color. Remove from the heat and QUICKLY stir in marshmallow creme, peanut butter and vanilla. Stir in peanuts.  Still working quickly because this layer firms up faster than you'd expect, pour over the set chocolate layer (I think it would be a good idea to pop the chocolate layer into the freezer as you begin preparing this second layer because it's quite hot and you need as much help and time as possible to not melt the first layer.) and use an off-set spatula to gently spread mixture in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator until set...about half an hour.

(Wash the dishes again!)

To make the third layer

Place the unwrapped caramel cubes and heavy cream in your double boiler set-up again.  Simmer over medium heat and stir until the mixture has completely melted and is smooth. Pour in the pan and quickly spread to an even layer with an off-set spatula. Place in the refrigerator until set...about an hour.

(Yep, you guessed it...wash the dishes again!)

To make the fourth layer

Add milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter so your double boiler set-up once more. Stir often until completely melted and smooth. Pour over the third layer and use an off-set spatula to spread to an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (but 8 is better...or overnight is best) before cutting into squares.