Molasses Cookies

It's been far too long since I last posted anything on my blog. Today is a beautiful fall day, perfect for baking fall cookies! These turned out delicious!

from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, molasses, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll into 1-1/4-in. balls; roll in remaining sugar. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350° for 10-14 minutes or until tops crack and edges are slightly firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 5 dozen.

Cinnamon Pickles

This month I had my first official canning experience. I really wanted to try canning cinnamon pickles ever since my Aunt Sue shared a jar she made last year. The process took a total of 4 days, but it was worth doing. I didn't post the recipe, but I thought it would be fun to share the experience.

Separating the pickles from the syrup.

Heating the jars in the oven.

Heating the syrup, jar lids, and rings.

I turned the jars upside down to cool and help seal the lids.

The beautiful, finished product.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Mandy, my old roommate, just celebrated her 29th birthday. Waiting until the last minute, Mandy and I decided we should bake a cake for the dinner party that night. After laying out by the pool, we hurried home to look through recipes at my house. I came upon a banana cake recipe my cousin passed along to me. Lucky for me, I had all the ingredients at my house, minus the sour cream. I end up running to the store and then get back to the house just in time to throw it all together, jump in the shower, and get ready for dinner! I think everyone enjoyed it!

Cake:

3 small ripe bananas or 2 large ripe bananas

4 large tablespoons sour cream

1 white cake mix

3 egg whites

2 tablespoons oil

1 1/3 c. milk

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Frosting:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1 stick butter

1/3 c. nuts of your choice (i use walnuts)

1 box of powdered sugar (4 cups)

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Blend bananas with mixer, adding your sour cream. When mixture is well blended, not lumpy, add your cake mix, egg whites, oil, milk, flavoring together and mix. Add milk last so you will be able to judge the consistency of the cake and adjust as needed.

Once well blended, pour mixture into a greased/sprayed, 9x13 cake pan or 3 cake layers.

Bake at 350F for about 25 min. or until the cake is done. (I had to bake the cake about 20 minutes longer!!!) Cake will spring back in the center when touched if done, don't over bake! Remove cake from oven and allow to cool.

Tip: Place wax paper over cakes to capture the moisture while cooling; this adds to a really moist, delicious cake!

Mix cream cheese and butter together in a bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until you get the consistency you like.

Add a little milk to the frosting while mixing if you like it to be creamy. When icing is done, add 1/3 chopped walnuts to the icing. Crush them right out of the package with the end of a blunt object to make smaller pieces.

Stir walnuts into frosting well. After cakes have cooled, frost each layer with icing.

Lemon Cornmeal Cake

For Mother's Day, Kris, Rachel, and I decided to make dinner for my mom, dad, and grandparents. Nanny and Huey came to visit both of our homes in Nashville and then we cooked out at Kris's house. I was in charge of the side items and dessert. I decided something light and refreshing would go great with the fresh picked strawberries Nanny brought me.

INGREDIENTS

Baking spray (cooking spray with flour)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp each baking soda and salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

4 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

Sugar Glaze

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 325°F. You’ll need a 10-cup decorative tube pan or a 12-cup Bundt pan coated with baking spray. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until blended. With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk until batter is smooth. Scrape into prepared pan; level top with spatula.

3. Bake 55 to 65 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the sugar glaze: Whisk glaze ingredients in a small bowl just until combined (sugar will not be totally dissolved). Invert cake from pan onto rack; place rack over a baking sheet. Brush glaze all over hot cake until absorbed (sugar crystals will be evident). Cool completely. Transfer cake to a serving plate and cover. Let cake rest several hours, or overnight, before serving. Store cake covered at room temperature up to 4 days. Cut into thin slices to serve.

Lemon Dimples

A few weeks ago, my friend Travis invited me to a shrimp boil. When I volunteered to bring something, he suggested I bring a dessert. Usually, I am a huge fan of anything chocolate or something that involves a TON of icing. However, I decided on lemon cookies, since it would be a hot day and I didn’t want anything to melt! These cookies were light and refreshing, perfect for a hot day. I assume they were well liked, because I didn’t have any left to take home!

Lemon Dimples (found in Women's Day magazine)

INGREDIENTS

1 1⁄2 sticks (3⁄4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1⁄2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting

1⁄4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 scant cup prepared lemon curd

PREPARATION

1. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla. On low speed, beat in baking powder, then flour, until incorporated. Cover; chill dough 1 hour. Place lemon curd into a small ziptop food-storage bag; seal bag.

2. Heat oven to 350°F. You’ll need baking sheets lined with nonstick foil, liners or parchment. Shape scant tablespoonsful of dough into balls; place 2 in. apart on prepared sheets. With index finger, make a deep indentation in center of each. Snip a tiny corner of ziptop bag and pipe lemon curd into dough indentations to fill completely (about 1 tsp per cookie).

3. Bake 15 minutes or until cookie edges just begin to lightly brown. Cool completely on baking sheet on wire rack. Dust cookie edges with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Cupcakes

These cupcakes were too cute not to post! Around 10:00pm the other night, I decided it would be awful of me to not bring cupcakes for my friend's birthday lunch! Everyone needs some type of cake on their birthday, right? I decided to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, since they are a favorite around my office. However, when icing them the next morning, I ran out of icing for the last four cupcakes! I wasn't about to let these go to waste, so I whipped up some vanilla buttercream icing and went to my cabinets to see what kind of flair I could add to the appearance of the cupcakes! I found some coconut to sprinkle on top of the cupcakes and added a chocolate covered strawberry! I was pleasantly surprised to see how they turned out!

Ginger Pear Muffins

These muffins have been on my "to-do" list for about 4 months now. I tore the recipe out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. They were delicious. They were not too sweet, but just right. They also had a great spice flavor which paired fabulously with a cup of coffee!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup mild-flavor molasses

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup boiling water

2 small pears, cut in wedges each

3 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate broken in small pieces

raw sugar, optional

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly coat twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray and flour.

2. In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a second bowl whisk together molasses, butter, brown sugar, and egg. Pour into flour mixture. Stir until combined. Whisk in boiling water. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Add 1 pear wedge to each muffin, press lightly.

3. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Add chocolate piece to top of muffins. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Use table knife to smooth melted chocolate. Remove from cups. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes 12.

Also, I didn't have raw sugar to sprinkle on top, but I think it makes a huge difference on the presentation if you do add it!

Fresh Apple Cake

I went home last weekend to spend time with my friends and family. Saturday afternoon, Dad must have been craving something sweet, because he asked me if I wanted one of his fresh apple cakes. Little did I know, he was really asking me to make it. He grabs the church recipe book and pulls up his favorite fresh apple cake recipe. He asked me to start making the cake while he ran to the store to buy the apples. I suppose this cake was a team effort. I put everything together and Dad cut up the apples and mixed the nuts and apples in the batter. It turned out pretty tasty and paired nicely with a cup of coffee.

Fresh Apple Cake Recipe:

Blend in a bowl:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla

Add and mix well:
3 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped nuts
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pour mixture into greased and floured tube pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10
minutes at 325 degrees.

Oreo Balls

Oreo balls have become a necessity with all the girls in my office. All they want for Christmas is Oreo balls! Actually, any day is a good day to have an Oreo ball. This is probably the easiest recipe I have ever posted. You will not be disappointed!!!!!

1 container of Oreo Cookies
8 oz cream cheese
1 lb of white chocolate or milk chocolate (or buy a package of white candy coating)

Using a food processor, grind cookies to a fine powder. With a mixer, blend cookie powder and cream cheese until thoroughly mixed (there should be no white traces of cream cheese). Roll into small balls and place on wax-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Line cookie sheets with wax paper. In double boiler, melt chocolate. Dip balls and coat thoroughly. Place on wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Let cool in refrigerator. Store in airtight container, in refrigerator. Makes around 36 balls!

Pumpkin Scones

I am really bad at keeping up with my blog. It would have been much nicer if I would have posted this recipe around Thanksgiving, when people were really into pumpkin treats! Better late than never

These scones came from my friend Liesl. (You can check out her blog for more fabulous recipes!)

Pumpkin Spice Scones

1 C. all purpose flour
1 C. cake flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger
6 T. unsalted butter
1/2 C. raisins (optional)
1/3 C. pumpkin puree
1/3 C. heavy cream
6 T. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Pumpkin Spice Icing

(recipe from Liesl)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

2 Tablespoons milk

Combine all ingredients in a small dish. Brush over cooled scones, allowing some icing to drizzle down the sides.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

This was another item I baked for Thanksgiving at Mom's house. We always have a huge dinner with about 30-40 family members. It is my favorite holiday ever!!!! Everyone brings a few dishes and we eat all day long! I have been addicted to trying out new cupcake recipes and ever since I first found this recipe, I knew I had to make it. I LOVE cream cheese icing! These were perfect for fall. You could even make a few without the icing and enjoy them for breakfast!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners. (I found they bake up nicer with foil liners, rather than paper) Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside. In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into cupcake cups. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Allow to cool. Frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting, or whipped cream.

PUMPKIN-CREAM CHEESE TRUFFLES

I was trying to come up with pumpkin recipes for Thanksgiving. There were so many options out there and I wanted to try something new. Mom put me in charge of making two desserts and here is what I came up with. The first one I found came from Whole Foods!

They were a little difficult to make. I had to keep putting them in the freezer because they were getting soft before I dipped them. In the long run, it was all worth it! They turned out to be really yummy!

Makes about 30
These truffles pair pumpkin with gingersnap and graham cracker crumbs. For
the best results, chill truffles until you're ready to serve them.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks
1/3 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of fine salt
2 ounces cream cheese, softened

Method
Melt 1/2 cup of the chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat or in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir often to keep the chocolate from burning. Transfer to a large bowl. Add gingersnap crumbs, pumpkin, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, zest, cinnamon, salt and cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Transfer to a shallow bowl, cover and chill until just solid enough to roll into balls, about 2 hours.

Line a large sheet tray with parchment paper. Melt remaining 2 cups chocolate and transfer to a small, deep bowl. Roll 1 heaping teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture into a ball in your hands, then drop into the chocolate. Working quickly, gently spoon chocolate over to coat. Using a small spoon or fork, lift the truffle out of the chocolate, shake off excess and transfer to prepared sheet tray. Dollop a bit of extra chocolate on any parts that remain exposed, then sprinkle a few gingersnap or graham cracker crumbs over the top, if you like. Repeat process with remaining pumpkin mixture and chocolate, then chill truffles until chocolate is completely set, about 1
hour.

Starbucks VIA Coffee Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake

This is another tasty recipe I found on my friend's blog! Liesl always finds great recipes so I trust anything she makes! I really wasn't in the mood to bake a cake last night, but one of my girlfriends (who used to be a Starbucks employee) insisted we bake the cake.  It was easy to make and paired well with a nice cup of Starbucks decaf coffee, compliments of Jessica Campbell!

Here is the recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 packet Starbucks Via
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 medium bananas, mashed (approx 1 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, Via,
sugar and brown sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed
bananas, vegetable oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract until
smooth and well-combined. Pour into dry ingredients and stir only
until no streaks of flour remain. Add in chocolate chips and stir to
evenly distribute. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the
center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on a wire rack.

For the glaze:
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 Tablespoons Starbucks VIA Coffee
(I used about 1 teaspoon of the VIA and then added enough water to
make 2 Tablespoons). Brush glaze over cooled cake. Let some of the
glaze drizzle down over the sides.

Oreo Cheesecakes

I stumbled across these little cheesecakes while looking at another blog and immediately knew I had to try them out. 

They were pretty easy to make and tasted delicious. Enjoy!

(recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook)

42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1
whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually
sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in
chopped cookies.

Divide batter among pans. Bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set.

Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Remove from pans just before serving.

Makes 30 cheesecakes.