Category Archives: Baked Goods

Jun17

Platinum Blondies

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platinumblondies

Ingredients:

 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (omitted)
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped, or 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions: 

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high. (I used a round baking pan.)Using an electric mixer or mixing by hand, beat together the sugar and egg until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and butter and beat to mix well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating until just incorporated. Do not overmix. Using a spoon, stir in the pecans and white chocolate. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and use a flat metal spatula or a butter knife to smooth the top. Bake the blondies for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is dry and golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached (not wet, but not perfectly dry). Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut the blondies into 2-inch squares. The blondies can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days (these seem to get better as they sit) or frozen for up to 2 months (thaw before serving).

 From: Taste of Home

Jun13

Lemon Sugar Cookies

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DSCN0389

These cookies are probably the easiest cookies I’ve ever made… and the most popular! I made Funfetti cookies (with Funfetti cake mix) one day and then later decided to try to make lemon cookies with cake mix, too. This is what I ended up with, based on the lemon cake that I make as well. You can’t really mess these up. So good! 

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 box Pillsbury Classic Yellow cake mix
  • 1 package lemon instant pudding mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • granulated sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix and pudding mix.  Add oil, eggs, and extract; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten to 1/4 thickness with the bottom of a glass dipped in flour. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are a light golden brown.

Feb1

Iowa Applesauce Cake

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My mom made this cake for New Year’s.  She was so excited to use the new cake pan that I gave her for Christmas from Williams Sonoma.  It was so beautiful! And it tasted great, too. You should have heard my mom scream when my dad attempted to cut the cake normally. “You have to follow the curve!” LOL

The recipe called for a cream cheese frosting but my mom just used a simple glaze made with confectioner’s sugar and water.  She also omitted the raisins and nuts.  She added  2 tablespoons of meringue powder which is something we both do with every cake.  It helps them rise more. 🙂

Iowa Applesauce Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine or butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter or margarine for 30 seconds. Add both sugars and egg; beat until combined. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Add flour mixture alternately with applesauce to butter mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan and spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

From: ecookbooks

Dec24

Christmas Sugar Cookies

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A few days ago, Lindsey (Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings) posted this recipe on the What’s Cooking board.  They looked so good and she raved about them so much that I decided to try them myself.  I am so glad I did!  This really is a great classic sugar cookie recipe.  I added royal icing to some of them and I finally managed to make a cookie that compared to the iced sugar cookies that Scott has always talked about that his Aunt Barbara used to make.  Yay!

Lindsey says that these are her dad’s favorite recipe.  When I made these, I couldn’t help but think about and miss my dad this Christmas as he loves sugar cookies and I know he would love these! I am going to have to make them for him very soon! I also miss my mom as making sugar cookies on Christmas Eve is something we did together for many years when I was growing up.  But.. I think they will make great New Years’ cookies, too. 🙂

Christmas Sugar Cookies

From: Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings

Ingredients

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup Oil
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 1/4 cups Flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp. Salt
Colored Sugar

Directions:In a large bowl cream butter and sugars.

Beat in eggs one at a time, until mixture is light.

Add oil and vanilla.

Beat until well blended.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.

Gradually add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat until blended.

Wrap dough and chill for several hours.

Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

Flatten dough with the bottom of a glass dipped in colored sugar.

Bake at 325 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until just set.

Let stand on cookie sheet before two to three minutes before removing.
(Makes about seven dozen)

Royal Icing using Meringue Powder

From: Joy of Baking

4 cups confectioners’ sugar 

3 tablespoons meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon extract (vanilla, lemon, almond)

1/2 – 3/4 cup warm water

Food Coloring

For Royal Icing with Meringue Powder: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder until combined.  Add the water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water. To cover or ‘flood’ the entire surface of the cookie with icing, the proper consistency is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for a few seconds before disappearing. Add desired food coloring.

The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Makes about 3 cups

 

Dec24

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I have used this original Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe for several years.  I’ve tried a few other popular recipes but, believe it or not, these always seem to be the favorite.  So I guess the saying is true- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

From: Very Best Baking

Ingredients:

 

 

 

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
  • 1 cup chopped nuts

 

 

 

Directions:

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.

 

 

I like to make these into bars, too.

DSCN1204

Dec15

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins

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I made these muffins to take to work and share with the teachers on my grade level.  The recipe was suggested to me on my cooking board and I couldn’t wait to try them.  Apparently this recipe is on a few blogs but I was referred to and used the one on Baked Perfection. Risa added cinnamon the the batter which I thought was a good idea. These muffins were easy to make and baked up nicely.  They were done in about 13 minutes.  I am not entirely sure why they are called doughnut muffins but I kept the original title of the recipe. 🙂

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
adapted from Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper cups.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix with light strokes until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not overmix; batter will not be smooth.

Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in one or two of the muffins come out clean, 12-15 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, melt 1/2 stick butter and place in a bowl just large enough to hold a muffin. Combine ½ cup of sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a small, shallow bowl. As soon as the muffing are done, dip them one at a time in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar mixture. Set on a rack to cool.

Yields 12 standard muffins.

From: Baked Perfection

Nov28

Thanksgiving Desserts

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This year, I made three desserts to take to my in law’s house for Thanksgiving: lemon cake, chocolate pie, and apple pie.  I am especially excited about the apple pie because it was my first one! It was so easy, I don’t know what took me so long. But I have to admit that I planned to make the crust from scratch and ended up using a Pillsbury crust… so I still need to conquer that goal!

Lemon Cake

I usually make this lemon cake in a bundt pan and top it with glaze but I wanted to decorate it for the holiday so I used Wilton’s decorator frosting. My plan was to make a really big turkey that took up the top half of the cake but I realized that I didn’t have enough frosting so I settled for a small one in the middle of the cake. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted but I was satisfied with my first attempt at drawing a turkey on a cake. 🙂

Chocolate Pie

This is literally the easiest pie ever. Three filling ingredients: chocolate pudding mix (1 large box), milk ( 2 cups), and whipped cream (1 cup).  Whisk them together and throw them into a large graham cracker crust and top with more whipped cream.  Set in the refridgerator for a at least a few hours.  I made this a couple years ago for Thanksgiving and everyone liked it so my mother in law asked me to make it again.

Apple Pie

I did a lot of searching for the perfect apple pie recipe.  My mom is the queen of pies.  So, when she suggested this Paula Deen recipe, I stopped looking for one.  It calls for a crumb topping but I didn’t make it. Instead I brushed the top with milk and sprinkled sugar over it, which is what my mom does. It came out beautifully! It browned nicely and was done in about 55 minutes.

Ingredients

  • two 9 inch pie crusts
  • 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1 1/4 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Dash salt
  • 3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples (I used Granny Smith and Fuji apples) 
  • 1 (16-ounce) jar applesauce (I used chunky applesauce)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of dough. Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon the apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.

From: Food Network

Nov9

Brownie Cupcakes

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 Several years ago, I made Hershey’s Best Brownies and they were such a hit that they became my standard brownie recipe. Today, I decided to make the Hershey’s deep dish brownie recipe but at the last minute made them into cupcakes.  Shania helped me make them and I have a big announcement to make- she can finally crack eggs! Without getting them all over the floor! 🙂

One thing I love about making brownies from scratch is that you can easily make them by hand.  This is an easy and fast recipe.  As cupcakes, they were done in 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. We topped some of them with Reese’s topping mix.

Hershey’s Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Combine butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 16 brownies.

From: Hersheys

Jun25

Brown Sugar Angel Food Cupcakes

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bsangelfood

I’ve always loved angel food cake and when I saw this recipe, I could not wait to try it. I love brown sugar and cinnamon.  They turned out really well! Naturally, the brown sugar and cinnamon makes them taste completely different from regular angel food cake. But it’s a great twist and they are delicious! I really enjoyed them and they made for a great fat free treat. I had to freeze them immediately to keep from eating them all!

Brown Sugar Angel Food Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 10 egg whites, about 1 1/2 cups, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups light or dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 cups cake flour

    • Directions

    Line 24 muffin pan cups with paper liners. Heat oven to 350°.

    Press the brown sugar through a sieve; set aside.

    Beat egg whites and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl on high just until foamy.

    Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. (Soft peaks will curl over slightly.)

    Sprinkle half of the sugar over the egg white mixture and beat until stiff peaks form.

    Sift the cake flour and combine with remaining sugar and cinnamon.

    Gently fold the sugar and flour mixture, a little at a time, into the egg white mixture.

    Spoon into the prepared pans and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched with a finger.

    Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

    From: About.com

    Jun16

    Vanilla Cupcakes with Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

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    I made these cupcakes for Father’s Day weekend. I make Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” chocolate cake all the time but I never make the frosting because I don’t like chocolate on chocolate. I was happy when my mother in law asked for these cupcakes because it meant I could make the frosting recipe for a change.

    Vanilla Cupcakes

    Ingredients

    · 3 cups sifted cake flour

    · 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    · 1/2 teaspoon salt

    2 tablespoons meringue powder

    · 2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

    · 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

    · 3 eggs

    · 1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

    · 1 1/4 cups milk

    · 1 package vanilla instant pudding

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

    2. Line pan with baking cups.

    3. Sift together flour, baking powder, meringue powder and salt; set aside.

    4. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

    5. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

    6. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Add pudding. Continue beating one minute.

    7. Pour into prepared cups.

    8. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.

    9. Cool 10 minutes.

    10. Turn out onto cooling rack; cool completely.

    Makes 24 standard cupcakes

    Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting

    1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
    2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
    3 cups powdered sugar
    1/3 cup milk
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

    Cupcake recipe altered from www.cupcakefun.com

    Frosting recipe from: www.hersheys.com/recipes