Paula Deen’s Chocolate Pound Cake… whoa Nelly!

I happened to catch Paula making her Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake on her television show. I’m not a big “cake” person… for me, the PIE takes the cake, so to speak… But… my husband LOVES cake, especially pound cake. He happened to see this segment and said that was what he would like for his birthday… Hmmm, I tried to talk him out of two sticks of butter, but as he said, it WAS his birthday (but wouldn’t you like ANOTHER birthday, was my response, hee). So I gave in. I made the cake. It was fabulous. Despite the 3 cups of sugar, it’s not sweet. The recipe isn’t super specific… I used SALTED butter (since there was no salt in the recipe), I used Large eggs, and I used all purpose flour (not cake flour). Depending where you pull this recipe from it will show different types of flour. I DID sift the flour first. It was fabulous. The cake was moist and perfect in almost every way. I kind of flunked the “pretty” factor… the cake didn’t come out of my pan in one piece… but, on the brighter side, it came out in TWO pieces which I just puzzled together. Apparently I didn’t grease/flour the pan well enough. NEXT TIME I will! So, that’s why there isn’t  a photo of the entire cake… If you’re looking for a cake recipe that is nothing short of perfection, give this one a whirl!

Paula’s recipe via FOODNETWORK.com

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup cocoa

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sour cream, and sugar. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beat well, add the remaining 1/2 flour mixture, and continue to beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary, but do not open the oven to check the cake for at least 1 hour.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Every Celebration Deserves a Great Cake! Italian Cream Cake from Cooking Light magazine!

Don’t you agree? Every celebration deserves a great cake! Well let me tell you from experience, this one is a doozy! I originally made this many many years ago when we had a surprise birthday party for our next door neighbor. She was surprised and delighted with the cake. And owie, that cream cheese frosting is too good! This recipe received rave reviews. We have also had this cake on a cruise that we took out of Charleston on the Norwegian Cruise Line… it’s nice that they offered Cooking Light options that were heavenly! I have subscribed to Cooking Light magazine shortly after they first came on the market… Great recipes! If you need a new magazine to check out, I love this one! (Cooking Light recipes may be found on the MyRecipes.com website). Now… for the recipe… then a special Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary message at the end…!

From the MyRecipes.com website:

Italian Cream Cake

This layered Italian Cream Cake is the perfect dessert for a birthday or dinner party because it is moist and full of flavor from the chopped pecans and cream cheese frosting. The stunning 5-star dessert continues to get rave reviews every time!

• Print

Cake Ingredients

• Cream Cheese Icing

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon butter extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 egg whites (at room temperature)
• Sugared kumquats (optional)
• Orange rind strips (optional)
• Kumquat leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Prepare Cream Cheese Icing; cover and chill.
2. Coat bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray, and dust with flour; set aside.
3. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine 2 cups flour and baking soda; stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans and extracts.
4. Beat egg whites at high speed of a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Fold egg whites into batter; pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes. Let cool in pans 5 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen cake layers from sides of pans using a narrow metal spatula, and turn out onto wire racks. Peel off wax paper, and let cool completely.
5. Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spread with 2/3 cup Cream Cheese Icing; top with another cake layer. Repeat with 2/3 cup icing and remaining layer, ending with cake. Spread remaining icing over cake. Garnish with kumquats, orange rind, and kumquat leaves, if desired.
6. Note: To make sugared kumquats, dip kumquats into lightly beaten egg whites, and drain; roll in sugar.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• Print

• 1 tablespoon light butter

• 1 (8-ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese
• 1 (1-pound) package powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Cream butter and cheese at high speed of a mixer until fluffy. Add sugar; beat at low speed until well-blended. Add vanilla; beat well.

Cooking Light
NOVEMBER 1995

Recipe and photo from MyRecipes.com website; Photo by: HOWARD L. PUCKETT

*********************************************************************************************

There are several celebrations happening today … My parents 54th wedding anniversary, my sister Bridget and brother-in-law, Bill both had birthdays (a day apart) over the past few days… ! The place has GOT to be festive!

Mom and dad, you are the best and I wish you another 54 happy years together!

Bridget and Bill… H A P P Y   B I R T H D  A Y ! Hope it’s the best ever!  I have no doubt that you will all celebrate well! Love you! xoxo me

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Cheese Crackers… quick and easy for an evening treat!

These little cheese crackers are the tastiest crackers in all the land… you can search high and low, near and far, and i’m telling you nothing beats these scrumptious little slices of heaven. This is the recipe Fred’s mom (Bobbie!) uses. The first time she made them for us we thought our tastebuds were going to explode, ha ha… they were way too good… dangerously good. I make a recipe and freeze half of it, then when you really want a tasty morsel you just defrost, slice and bake. Insanely simple and quick to throw together, you won’t believe it! And YES, if you’re wondering, these ARE the crackers often seen during the holidays! A few in this photo got a little brown… I like them that way, darn… thought I ate all the brown ones before Fred got home, hee.., I mean, shhhhhh! Ok, here goes… **Special note… I just received a call from my mom… seems I didn’t put the temperature or time to bake… heavy sigh! Also for those of you who would like to print, see the bottom of the page, the recipe in its entirety for you to copy/paste into a document/email… or send me a comment with your email and I’ll send it to you!

C H A R L E S T O N  C H E E S E  C R A C K E R S 

I N G R E D I E N T S

8oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I think I used a bit more… I used Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp 2%, which is so wrong to use light cheese, but they taste great so why not?? And if you’re wondering… the answer is YES, I do realize that light cheese and a stick of butter is quite like a diet drink and a candy bar, ha ha, not light, but still tasty!)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (heaping if you like, but be careful, it’s hot, or omit if you don’t care for spicy)

D I R E C T I O N S

Grate the cheese…

Put a stick of room temperature butter in the mixing bowl… a stand mixer is mighty helpful for this recipe, if you’re mixing by hand… find someone with some muscle (either than or you may want to train for a few days first)

Mix together salt, flour and cayenne pepper, then whisk it to mix it well, you don’t want to get a big bite full of cayenne!

Cream together the butter and cheese (this is where a muscle bound friend comes in handy if you don’t have a stand mixer), I swear my mixer was bucking like a horse, but it mixed the dough, no problem! THANK GOODNESS!

Add the flour mixture to the butter/cheese mixture.

Mix until dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl (it won’t be in one big clump and that’s OK!)

Now empty the bowl onto a clean counter dusted with flour. You won’t need a lot of flour on the account of the, ahem, amount of butter… it’s not a sticky dough, it’s just perfect… just beautiful and perfect…

Now form the dough into one log… try to make it even, so you can divide it up evenly… perfection is not necessary (whew, how often do you hear that?)…

Now you want to divide the dough in quarters, so you can refrigerate it and it will chill quickly… the easiest way to do that is to cut it in half, and then cut each of the halves in half… whoa! Sounds as if I might be a math wiz…

Now take each quarter and form an even log, it can be round, it can be square, it can be shaped like a pear (ohmygosh… now i’ve turned into Dr. Suess?) you’re the boss, make it however you like! I made some square and some round, not sure why, it’s the way they ended up, and I like a change! I make the log approximately the diameter of a quarter (give or take… I promise not to send the recipe police after you! If you want bigger crackers you may have bigger crackers!!).

Now you’re going to continue on, making four logs total. We need to wrap them so they don’t get funny in the fridge, I use wax paper, put one log, roll it, when it’s covered I put the next one… I’m only going to refrigerate two, and I’m going to freeze two for later… If you only have plastic wrap that’s fine too!

Pop them in the fridge for about 30 minutes… longer if you need… (I mean, if you can… it won’t be easy KNOWING that perfection is so close….!)

NOW for the fun part! Slice and Bake Cheese Crackers! Woot Woot! Sorry, I got carried away, these crackers they make me smile

Slice them fairly thin (but not too thin), about 1/8″, if you slice them thicker they won’t be as crunchy and cracker like, but they will be good, like little cheese cookies, hee.

Note that I had the crackers placed fairly close together on the cookie sheet. They don’t puff up much, so you don’t have to worry about them spreading and becoming one big uni-cracker. Once out of the oven, cool on a wire rack (for as long as you can stand it). Then once cool you can store them in a sealed container. The dough lasts a few days in the fridge. You will enjoy the heck out of these, I know it can’t just be us! I hope these make you smile!

Here’s the recipe to copy and paste…

C H A R L E S T O N  C H E E S E  C R A C K E R S

1/2# (8oz.) extra sharp cheddar cheese (I use Cracker Barrell 2%)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

H O W:  Preheat oven to 350. In stand mixer (ideally) or in large bowl with hand mixer or by hand (if you’re strong) cream together the cheese and butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Add to butter/cheese mixture in mixing bowl. Combine until mixture comes away from the sides. Empty mixing bowl onto clean counter dusted with flour. Shape dough into a log, divide that log into quarters (easiest to divide in half, then divide each half in half) wrap each log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes or hard enough to slice easily. (At this point you can put it in a freezer bag and freeze it to bake later). Slice about 1/8″ thick. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes. (You don’t want them to get real brown, but they are good nice and crispy like a cracker should be, so if it starts getting brown, test one, if it breaks apart like a cracker then they’re done, if still soft but outside is beginning to brown turn OFF the oven and let them stay in until they get more like a cracker (crunch). 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

How to make dog cookies for Fido – couldn’t be easier!

I’ve been wanting to bake something. BUT, if I bake it I eat it… Oh, dilemma… I love to bake… then a **brilliant idea** happened upon me… Make CHARLIE cookies! Woot woot! No temptation to eat the dough OR the cookies! AND they’re so good for him. These cookies are a treat your dogs will love. The beauty of it is that you can make them as big/small as you like, so they fit your dog’s appetite. I found a recipe online and then I added some things and changed quantities on others. Also, I didn’t want to roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter, so I made them like human peanut butter cookies, rolling the dough into a ball and then using a fork dipped in a little water to press down on the cookie. They are adorable, and according to CHARLIE they are out of this world delicious! His little lips curled up into a smile after he ate it, I swear!

These are quick and easy, you will never buy treats again! Another plus, after I made the dough I cut it in half, shaped it into a disk, wrapped in plastic wrap and then put it in a freezer bag. I put that in the fridge until it got nice and cold and then plopped it into the freezer. Don’t forget to label it!

So here’s the recipe, like I said E A S Y !

Oatmeal, Pumpkin, Peanut Butter Dog Cookies

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cups oatmeal (Old Fashioned Oats if possible)

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

With a whisk or mixer beat the pumpkin and eggs until combined. Add the cinnamon and peanut butter. Mix. Then add the flour and oats and mix until dough forms a ball. If it’s dry you can add another tablespoon or two of pumpkin and see if that whirls it into a ball, if not add a tablespoon (or two) of water. Remove from bowl and place on clean counter that’s been dusted with whole wheat flour. [If you want to save 1/2 the dough to bake at a later date now is the time to split it in half].

Pinch off about teaspoonful (small spoon) of dough, and roll into a ball, place on ungreased cookie sheet. (About the amount of dough as if you were making a small peanut butter cookie, make it bigger for bigger dogs and smaller for smaller dogs and adjust baking time accordingly). My cookies were about the size of a large malted milk ball… to give you a reference… doesn’t matter how big/small you make them, just keep an eye on them.

This is what they looked like before they got popped into the oven…

Once on the cookie sheet, dip a fork in water and make a fork mark, (just like you would as if you were making human peanut butter cookies) just don’t press too hard, leave them kind of thick.

Bake 30 minutes, check them occasionally, the bottoms shouldn’t get dark. You want them to bake for a good amount of time so that they harden. I baked for 30 minutes and then I turned off the oven and let them sit for another hour or so.

I also tried the roll-out-the-dough method and cut with a bone shaped cookie cutter… I rolled them thinner, so I kept my eye on them, just adjust the time, if you take them out and they’re still soft (try to break a piece off) put them back in, if they’re brown but not hard then put them in and turn off the oven, leave them for an hour or until oven cools… I had to do this, and at first I just cracked open the oven door for a few minutes so they wouldn’t  brown anymore… they turned out adorable. Bottom line… it doesn’t matter to Charlie which way he gets them, and I think they’re cute as little peanut butter cookies!

After you take them out of the oven let them cool thoroughly, then… surprise your dog! I was so excited I woke mine up from a nap… he loved it! Another added bonus is all the fiber… very good for your little beast!

See, I did find a way to bake and not eat it, ha! Catch you back here tomorrow!

"WOW, this is the best cookie EVER!" - C H A R L I E

Coconut Oil… what’s looking to be a very healthy oil that doesn’t get stored in the body as fat!

Image: Amazon

Coconut Oil… have you heard the rave reviews about all the wonderful things it can do? From what I’ve read this past weekend it can aid in losing weight, help prevent or even help those with Alzheimer’s, moisturize skin and hair, increase HDL (good cholesterol), decrease LDL (bad cholesterol), decrease triglycerides, the list goes on and on. We’ll have to wait for long term studies, but for me, I’m jumping on the bandwagon, and taking 1 tablespoon a day. It can’t hurt. Let me know if you’ve tried it. WHY are YOU taking it?  HOW are you taking it? I tried eating it off the spoon (it’s like lard), that was a little difficult, so I heat it ever so slightly and swallow… a tablespoon is doable, I personally chase it with a Triple Ginger Cookie from Trader Joe’s some people but it on toast, in coffee, in oatmeal, in smoothie’s, use it as oil and topping when making popcorn… AND the reason I bumped into the health benefits about coconut oil was because I saw a recipe for Double Coconut Muffins on the Smittin Kitchen website… whoa, they sounded good, and I had just spoken to my mom who told me about a video that someone just told her about (click HERE to see it) about how it’s helping Alzheimer’s Disease, and also helping to prevent. I’m sure long term studies are a ways off, but if you have a family history of Alzheimer’s you know how devastating it can be. I vowed to try this, it’s worth it to me… so now, I think everyone I know is taking this for one reason or another. I just didn’t want you to be left out of the loop!

Google Coconut Oil  and you will see so much information it will make your head spin. Try to read from reputable sources and realize that anyone can post anything to the Internet… From what I’ve read, you should buy VIRGIN coconut oil. Ideally Organic virgin (or extra virgin) coconut oil. UNREFINED, since they alter the makeup of the oil when it’s refined. Refined is good for using as a moisturizer for skin and hair. One more thing… you can often find it in the grocery store in the baking aisle, however, often times these are NOT the virgin organic varieties… those are mostly found in the health aisle… ask if you are unsure. Read HERE the Health Benefits of Coconut Oil by Charles Mattock, I got this from Dr. Oz’s website…

Here is a blip from Nutiva (extracted from Amazon):

A deliciously healthy cooking oil. Better than butter. USDA organic. Unrefined & no trans fats. Rich in lauric acid. A soothing body oil. The coconut oil myth. Coconut oil has been mistakenly described as not healthy. The fact is, coconut oil is cholesterol-free and rich in medium-chain good fats that doctors recommend. Why is it that baby formulas often include coconut oil? Because coconut is one of the world’s most nourishing super foods. Nutritionists suggest enjoying up to 3 tbsp of extra-virgin coconut oil each day, so help yourself to this heavenly, creamy taste of the tropics. Nutiva’s cold-pressed Coconut Oil is: Extra-virgin & pure white: not refined, deodorized or bleached! Organic: so it’s free from pesticides, GMOs and hexane. Versatile: Ideal as high-heat cooking oil (up to 350 degrees), as a nutritious substitute in baking, a better-than-butter replacement on bread, vegetables or popcorn, and as a luscious oil for skin care, hair care, and massage. America needs an oil change. While doctors suggest we consume a 4:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3, the average American diet provides a ratio of 20:1 or more – contributing to heart disease, skin disorders, and arterial inflammation. So avoid out of balance soy, corn, and canola oils with their trans fats, oxidation, and GMOs. Cook with coconut oil (with only 1% Omega-6), and use olive oil (also low in Omega-6), and hemp oil (with the perfect 3:1 Omega ratio) for unheated recipes. Nature’s ideal all-purpose cooking oil. No trans or hydrogenated fat; no cholesterol or hexane. Unlike other brands, we press our coconuts within 2 hours of chopping. No refrigeration required. Solid at room temperature and melts at 76 degrees. Any coconut husk fibers at the bottom of the jar are indigenous to the processing and harmless. Coconut oil contains medium-chain good fats with 50-55% lauric acid – a healthful nutrient that supports the metabolism. Certified organic by QAI. Product of the Philippines.

A disclaimer… I in no way am trying to provide medical advice, only passing along what many others have told me. Ask your doctor if you need to know if this is OK for you…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

A granola recipe you will make for the rest of your life!

Years ago, well, 2002 to be exact my sister was telling me about this wonderful granola recipe she was addicted to. She sent me the recipe, and I made it several times, it was wonderful, I think she got it out of a magazine in a waiting room somewhere… since then I have made a few notes, sometimes I use less sugar, more cinnamon, different nuts, different dried fruit. It’s just granola, so add more of what you like and less of what you don’t! It’s wonderful on top of yogurt, in a bowl with milk (and fruit) or all by itself! I add more cinnamon if I think i’ll be eating it out of hand, less if I think I’ll be topping yogurt and fruit, but it’s up to you my friend, do what you like! This is what I do…

Hint… this is especially good… plain Greek yogurt, a swirl of honey, a few tablespoons of granola and a sliced banana… it will keep you going strong for hours!

INGREDIENTS

4 cups old fashioned oats (any brand will do, but old fashioned and not the quick cooking, it won’t be the same, I speak from experience!)

1 1/2 cups (or more) slivered almonds (this is key… the thicker crunch, the TASTE of the almond, oh yeah, SLIVERED, not SLICED)

1/2 cup (or less) LOOSELY packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon (or less) cinnamon

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon (real) vanilla

1 1/2 cups (more or less depending on your taste) of dried tart cherries (you can use ANY DRIED FRUIT YOU LIKE, I find cherries to be especially scrumptious, decadent and GOOD FOR YOU!)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. If you’re using a dark pan, you might want to bump it down a bit, every oven is different, just keep an eye on it!

In a LARGE bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, sugar, salt and cinnamon with a wooden spoon. (This is the pre-stir together pic, go ahead and stir it up good, but gently, don’t want to break up the oatmeal).

HINT: when measuring this mixture, use the measuring cup to measure the OLIVE OIL first, then the honey, it will slide right out!

Warm the olive oil and honey mixture. You warm this mixture by placing it in a small pan on the stove (low), or in the microwave if you PROMISE not to walk away from it, you don’t want it HOT, you just want it warm enough to mix together… it doesn’t take long! Hmmm, sounds like I’ve repeated this step before, doesn’t it?

Once the olive oil and honey mixture is WARM (not hot), add the vanilla… PURE vanilla please.

Now you want to drizzle the warm honey/olive oil/vanilla mixture over the dry oat mixture. You want to drizzle and not pour like I did in this photo… Do what I say, not what I do… ha. I was trying to take a photo and pour, apparently I don’t have those skills down pat… yet! Give me time! Good grief, what part of DRIZZLE didn’t I get?? It’s all good, some quick subtle stirring is needed to coat the oat mixture with the oil mixture… gentle, remember you don’t want it to be the consistency of flour when you’re done…

I know, I know! This looks a tad pale… trust me, after it basks in the warm glow of the oven it will turn a magical color… Now pour this mixture onto an ungreased 9 x 13 cookie sheet. It’s ready for the oven! Bake it at 300 degrees for 40 minutes total… STIR IT AROUND EVERY TEN MINUTES!

After it’s done, pull it out of the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, go ahead and add the dried fruit. In my batch, I’m adding dried tart cherries.

Store the granola in an airtight container and it will last for 7-10 days, or freeze it and it will last 3 months!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

THE world’s best Christmas cookies (and most beautiful!)

I don’t lie when I say these are the best tasting cookies ever! These have been a ‘tradition’ in our family since we were little kids… and we make them every year… they make beautiful cookies to hand out as gifts to neighbors and friends. If you’re going to do that then you need to (at least) double the recipe, this makes a fair amount depending upon the size of your cookie cutters…

I featured this recipe back in February as Valentine’s Day cookies… but the recipe came out of a magazine many years ago (1960′s) in an article about the best Christmas cookies… Here’s the recipe…

CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES

Sift 2 3/4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

In mixer bowl add 3/4 cup soft butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Beat until fluffy and light. Slowly beat in flour mixture. CHILL ONE HOUR.

Flour your work surface and roll out dough. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

YIELD: 4 dozen (IF you don’t eat the dough… good luck to ya!)

FROSTING

Mix 1/4 cup butter, 4 cups (1 box) confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup scalded cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Blend until smooth. Scoop into separate bowls and add food coloring (hint: yellow and blue mixed makes an awesome ‘grinch’ green). Scoop colored frosting into Ziplock bag (I use freezer) and snip a little off the corner. Squeeze onto cookie to decorate! If you need the frosting thinned a bit more, I have great luck just using light cream, add a little at a time until it will easily come out of the bag to decorate.

Fred's end of the cookie lineup, LOTS of frosting, his are the ones everyone wants to eat!

The fun part is the decorating!

Catch you back here tomorrow!!

A five star fall dessert… Cinnamon Apple Cake – from Cooking Light Magazine!

Image: MyRecipes.com

Fall is in the air… or at least in Charleston, SC it will be soon! What do you think of when you think of fall? I think of apple cider, I think of Yate’s Cider Mill in Rochester, MI. One of my all time favorite places to grab some great crisp, sweet apples, a cup of apple cider, aaaaahhhhhh, and one of those sinful cider mill doughnuts rolled in granulated sugar and cinnamon. Ah, wish they were right around the corner, but its probably a good thing they are far away… VERY far away. If you want a dessert that isn’t too bad for you and has the bonus of making your house smell FAN-TAS-TIC! This is the recipe for you! It’s from Cooking Light magazine and you can click HERE to go to MyRecipes.com where you can quickly print the recipe, otherwise, see below! This recipe was featured in 1997, it was the reason I asked for a springform pan for Christmas that year. The recipe was updated in 2000, it’s fabulous and you know what’s good for you I think yout’ll absolutely love it! The only change I made was that I used low fat cream cheese, not fat free… fat free is chalky in my opinion. But I haven’t tried it in this recipe. I need to… I also used butter instead of margarine. ok, here goes…

Cinnamon-Apple Cake

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups chopped peeled Rome apple (about 2 large)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition; set aside.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, and beat at low speed until blended. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon mixture and apple in a bowl; stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake pulls away from the sides of pan. Cool cake completely on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife.
• Note: You can also make this cake in a 9-inch square cake pan or a 9-inch springform pan; just reduce the baking time by 5 minutes.

Cooking Light 
JANUARY 2000

Owie, I can smell it baking already! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Quick, easy and delicious! KEY LIME PIE, perfect for a hot summer day!

Image: Amazon.com

Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice… it makes a tasty and tart Key Lime pie. What’s more perfect for dessert when the weather makes you want to melt?? I was making dessert to take to some friends who were having us over for dinner… I needed something nice and cold and refreshing… Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Pie recipe is a hit on all counts… It couldn’t be quicker to put together and toss in the oven for 15 minutes, let cool and refrigerate. Then serve topped with whipped cream (or meringue) which you need to cut some of the sweetness. It looks a little flat in the graham cracker crust, but it’s leaving room for the whipped cream, so before you serve it, pile it high, then add a little lime zest/lime slices! Ok, here’s the recipe, it’s also on the back of the Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice bottle! You can find their key lime juice in most grocery stores, usually with the bottles of drink mixers (margarita mix, etc.) OR in the juice section… photo of pie served on friends pretty green plates is below the recipe…

Oh and don’t do like I did… DO NOT USE THE EGG WHITES. I separated the eggs and tossed the yolks, that’s right… apparently I’m in a caffeine deficit right now, heavy sigh! Luckily I hadn’t yet poured it into the crust… so I just needed to go back to the store for another can of sweetened condensed milk…

Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Pie 9″ graham cracker pie crust 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk 3 egg yolks (whites not used) ½ cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, or meringue, and garnish with lime slices.

Oh no, now I’ve got keylimepieonthebrain…ugh! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies – THESE are seriously fabulous!

Image: MyRecipes.com

Whenever I make these cookies and take them somewhere, people go nuts! Seriously… These are too good, and when I give out the recipe, NO ONE can believe they’re “light”. This recipe is from Cooking Light magazine. Make no mistake, part of what makes them so light is the serving size (one). With 81 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1.4 gm saturated fat, and 0.5gm fiber you have to be careful to not eat more than one (or two), but if you exercise a lot and can burn off what you eat… by all means, have at it! I love the cookie dough (I’m aware of the safety issues… to me, the dough is worth risking my life for taking a wee bit of a risk… I’m happy to report that in my little world there is no calorie content in the dough UNTIL IT IS BAKED… (and if you believe that I have swamp land, I mean a deep water lot for sale, hee hee).

I do make a few modifications, ALTHOUGH they’re perfectly fine as the recipe indicates. Here are some of the changes I’ve made throughout the years.

Leave out the brown sugar. OOPS… it happened once and I thought they turned out BETTER. But the difference between it being there and NOT being there is barely negligable (therefore why waste the extra calories?).

I use regular chocolate chips instead of mini. I didn’t care for the mini chips, they were, ahhhh, TOO MINI… I like a hefty bite of chocolate not a tiny smear where you THINK you may have just gotten chocolate (or maybe not)…

I usually use walnuts and I don’t always toast them. One reason, I’m almost always in a hurry. Another reason, I forget about them until I smell them burning. Soooo, since nuts are good for you I use a generous amount, usually a few handfuls. Same with chocolate chips… I put a few handfuls… I buy good chocolate chips, free of allergy causing soy and other miscellaneous ingredients that takes away from the flavor of the chocolate.

I usually (not always) make the cookies SMALLER. I like them bite size. No crumbs that way, boy do I have things figured out or what? You just have to watch them closely because they won’t always take as long to bake.

Lastly, I use a Silpat cookie sheet liner instead of parchment, but either way it’ll work just fine!

 

Give these a whirl, I do believe they’ll quickly become your favorite! Click HERE for the recipe from MyRecipes.com where you can easily print (as well as see the full info on nutritional info) or see below…

 

 Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

These easy drop cookies are crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. Chocolate minichips disperse better in the batter, but you can use regular chips.

YIELD: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

 Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
• 1 cup regular oats
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

 Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in pecans and minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Julianna Grimes and Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2007

Catch you back here tomorrow! If you get a chance, check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !