Santa hat cupcakes
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Cakes/Cupcakes, Chocolate, Dessert, Frosting, Holiday Recipe 1 Comment »Ahhh just in time for the holiday season…santa hat cupcakes. I saw these on pinterest from Diane’s blog and knew they would be PERFECT for our annual holiday party. Each year we host a wine/holiday party. Everyone brings a bottle of wine and an app/dessert to share and we kickoff the holiday season together. Well I can never decide on one or two things, so I make like 4-5 things to share. 2 of which are a dessert. This year as soon as I saw these I was either making them for my H’s work or our party. Our party was first, so they got the cute cupcakes. (I made ahead to practice and froze the rest for the party)
All you need is one batch of chocolate cupcakes (I made 24 cupcakes) baked and cooled. Make 2-3 batches of butter cream (I doubled and had JUST enough so you might want to make more than I did if you are heavy-handed), and use 1/4- 1/3 for stars and leave white. Make that batch a bit stiffer to hold star shape. The rest of the frosting, dye a deep, bright red and use a round tip to create a very high fluffy santa hat. Once the red part is done, pipe white stars around the base of the hat and a nice sized star on top for the ball of his hat. And it’s that easy. I did add almond instead of vanilla to my butter cream as I always prefer almond flavor during the holidays.
ENJOY!!!
Rum Cake
Posted: November 28, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cakes/Cupcakes, Dessert, Holiday Recipe 1 Comment »For H’s work pot lucks, I always make a dessert or two or three as I can never decide what to make, so I make many. Besides the pumpkin bars, I had been dying to make this rum cake. OMG OMG OMG it is to die for. It does have a lot of rum in and on it, so becareful with kids, but for adults…MAKE THIS TODAY. Honestly this cake was great and super easy to make. Would be perfect for any holiday party or dessert table!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
for the cake:
1/2 cups walnuts, crushed
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3 tablespoons + 1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil, separated
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
3/4 cup dark rum
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
for the rum syrup:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup dark rum
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan, and drop crushed walnuts into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
In the base of a mixer, cream the 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and the 1/2 cup butter. Add the 3 tablespoons oil, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and kosher salt combining until evenly distributed. (Mixture will look like fine crumbs.) Mix in the pudding mix.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, rum, vanilla extract, and remaining vegetable oil. Add to the dry mixture and mix well until combined. The batter will be smooth, thin, and pour easily.
Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the cake comes up clean.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes.
While the cake cools, prepare the rum syrup: In a large saucepan with high sides, combine the butter, water, granulated sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the butter completely melts and the sugar dissolves. Let reduce slightly, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum (it will bubble).
Wash and dry the bundt pan, then place over the cool cake and invert the cake back into the pan. Pour the hot rum syrup all over the cake and let soak for 8 hours (overnight). In morning, invert the cake back onto a serving platter. Keeps covered for 1 week at room temperature.
Bourbon Pumpkin Bars
Posted: November 25, 2011 Filed under: Bars-dessert and cookie, Cakes/Cupcakes, Dessert, Halloween, Holiday Recipe, Pumpkin 1 Comment »H’s work was having a Thanksgiving potluck and I was asked to make a dessert once again. I have so many desserts I want to try that I always make two. The first of the two was to be something pumpkin to celebrate fall. I always love to try new and fun desserts with his work as they are willing to try anything, so when I saw the bourbon pumpkin bars on this site, I thought it would be a great dessert for them. I cut them into 16 small bars and put each in a cupcake liner for easy grabbing!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree, drained on a paper towel lined fine strainer
1 egg
1 Tbsp bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp bourbon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line and prepare an 8×8 baking pan.
In medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, spice and salt. Whisk to combine thoroughly and set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer, add eggs, sugars, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add bourbon, vanilla and mix to combine.
Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until just combined.
Spread evenly into prepared pan.
Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean–it took about 45 minutes with
Cool completely before frosting.
Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and bourbon and mix to combine well. Slowly add in powdered sugar until completely combined.
Frost cooled bars with icing, cut, and serve.
Oatmeal cake
Posted: November 23, 2011 Filed under: Brunch, Cakes/Cupcakes, Holiday Recipe, Quick Leave a comment »With the holidays just about upon us, I find I am baking all the time for different events. Sometimes I have all the time in the world to whip up a dessert or dish, but some events/parties/get-togethers are very last-minute. So when I find great desserts or dishes that can be made in a short amount of time using pantry ingredients that are fantastic, I get excited…I lead a fun life..LOL! I found this recipe on Annie’s Eats and was instantly excited about it as I love spices, oatmeal, nuts and coconut but the best part is it whips up pretty quickly! Just have time to cool it at the end and you are all set!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 cup quick-cooking oats (not old
fashioned or instant oats)
¾ cup water, at room temperature
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
For the icing:
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp. milk
¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
½ cup pecans, chopped
Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the oats and water. Stir together, then let sit until absorbed, about 5 minutes. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter and sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Blend in the egg and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low-speed, add the flour mixture in two additions and mix just until incorporated. Add in the soaked oats and mix until combined, about 15 seconds.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and tap lightly against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Smooth with a spatula.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Let the cake cool slightly in the pan, at least 10 minutes.
While the cake cools, place an oven rack about 9 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler. In a bowl, whisk together the
brown sugar, melted butter and milk. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Spread the mixture evenly over the warm cake. Return the pan to the oven and broil until the topping is bubbling and golden, about 3-5 minutes. Let cool in the pan at least 1 hour. Use the foil to lift the cake from the pan, then discard. Slice and serve.
Chicken and goat cheese strudel (Clean eating)
Posted: November 21, 2011 Filed under: Brunch, Cheese, Chicken, Clean eating, Light and healthy, Quick, Spinach 2 Comments »WOW oh WOW was this fantastic. For a healthy, clean eating recipe, this is the best!I absolutely loved this and have made it twice already in a week and a half time. Definitely add this recipe, found in the latest Clean Eating Mag, to your meal plan soon!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 lbs extra lean ground chicken breast
2 tsp dried Italian seasonings
5 ounces baby spinach
4 ounces goat cheese crumbled
4 sheets whole-wheat phyllo dough, thawed
Evoo cooking spray
2 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions:
Brown chicken over medium heat until cooked through. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook about another 1-3 minutes. Set aside.
Add spinach to skillet and cook covered one minute. Transfer spinach to fine mesh strainer in sink or over bowl and let cool two minutes. Make sure all the juices/water is strained out of spinach. Mix with chicken.
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place 1 phyllo sheet on counter. Coat with evoo spray. Continue with all 4 sheets each on top of the other.
Spoon chicken mixture onto phyllo stack. leaving a 2 inch edge. Roll bottom of phyllo over top of filling and continue rolling into a tube. Mist with evoo spray. Score top about 1 inch apart of easy cutting after baking. Bake on a cookie sheet or baking pan for 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool 3-5 minutes and then cut into 4 equal pieces. Serve immediately.
Southwest turkey burgers with avocado dressing
Posted: November 18, 2011 Filed under: Clean eating, Grilled, Light and healthy, Quick, Turkey 2 Comments »As you know, I love burgers, especially turkey burgers. So when I find a new recipe for one, I have to try it. This one was no only delicious when freshly grilled, but we had leftovers and they were great reheated the next day for lunches! The dressing really makes this a perfect burger!
We topped our burgers with the dressing, provolone cheese, spinach and tomatoes..YUM!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
4 oz can diced green chiles
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using your hand, mix until all the ingredients are blended together.
Cook the burgers either on an outdoor grill or an indoor pan; you want to cook them about 6 minutes on each side until completely cooked through.
Dressing:
1 Hass avocado
1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
1 lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Directions:
Mash avocado in a bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use. Yield: 2 cups (16 servings – 2 tablespoons each).
Top burgers and enjoy!
Acorn donuts
Posted: November 16, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Brunch, Holiday Recipe 1 Comment »I saw this cute idea on a chat board I frequent and knew my H work would love them. I needed a non-fried donut tho, as frying things is always a disaster for me. Luckily I found this recipe and it was a hit!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Directions:
Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn’t too hot or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt – just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. This is where you are going to need to make adjustments – if your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.
Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place (I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop. Most people don’t have a doughnut cutter or use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles (I cut into 36 small pieces and rolled into a ball instead of cutting for doughnut holes). Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes – start checking around 8. (for doughnut holds 5-8 mins or until golden)
For the glaze: (I eyeballed this..play around with measurements and tastes until you get what you like)
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon
Milk
Melted butter
Directions:
Mix milk and powdered sugar til desired consistency. Add in cinnamon to your liking. Whisk in butter until thick (for me about 1 tbsp).
Dip in cooled donuts let dry.
For acorns:
Donut holes
Nutella
chocolate jimmies
Pretzel sticks, broken in half-I used sunflower seeds
The directions are pretty much self-explanatory. Dip the donut hole in the Nutella, making sure to cover about 1/3 of the top. Then roll it in the jimmies. Stick a half of a pretzel stick in the top and set on wax paper. Keep in a covered container until serving time.
Apple strudel muffins
Posted: November 14, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Brunch, Muffins Leave a comment »I love fall. It’s the only cool weather I enjoy. Jeans, tees, soups, stews, and lots of baking!! I found this recipe and knew with all the great apples out I had to make them for H’s lunches this week!!! Found on Allrecipes.com, these were delicious and easy to make. I did add some oatmeal to the batter and topping for added flavor! I added about a 1/2-1 cup of old-fashioned oats to the batter and about a 1/4-1/2 cup to the topping. The original recipe is below.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped apples
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.
