Ruth’s Christmas Cookie Recipe

I don't know who Ruth is but she has a great Christmas cookie recipe that has a nice bite of nutmeg in it. My mom would cook these every year and I would help decorate. This year was my first baking the cookies myself and they're not too hard to make. The cookies usually come out a golden cream color but I use whole wheat flour so they came out a darker, almost gingerbread color.

Roll out and decorate:
2 1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. Baking powder (not soda)
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 T. milk
3/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 C. butter, softened
1 C. sugar
2 eggs, well beaten

Directions:
Cream sugar and butter well. Add eggs. Sift dry ingredients and add along with milk. Mix well. Chill several hours.

Roll out (helps a little to knead each portion in some flour). Cut out with cookie cutters and place on greased sheet (I don’t grease). Bake 350° for about 8 min.

Frosting:
Combine 1 C. confectioners sugar and 1 egg white
If too runny, add more conf. Sugar (should flow freely).
Just before removing from mixer, add 1/2 tsp. Cream tartar. Mix.
Add color if desired and spread on cookies. Immediately decorate cookies before icing hardens.

Peanut Butter Bon Bons Recipe

MY FAVORITE!


Ingredients

2 C. peanut butter

1 stick butter or margarine

3 C. rice krispies

2/3 box confectioners sugar (approx. 2 2/3 C)

12 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate bits

Directions

In heavy pan, melt 2 C. peanut butter and 1 stick butter or margarine. Stir to mix well. Watch carefully—it catches easily. Set aside.

In large bowl combine 3 Cups rice krispies, 2/3 box confectioners sugar and peanut butter mixture and blend

with wooden spoon. Then, by hand, form into 1” balls (It’s easier if you put the dough in the freezer for an hour or so before forming the balls).

Melt 12 oz. Chocolate chips (microwave works fine). Dip balls into chocolate (not completely). Place on cookie sheet, lined and chill. Store in freezer for best results.

Carmelitas Recipe - Chewey and Gooey

 Crust
2 cups flour
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, softened

Filling
1 (12.5-oz.) jar (1 cup) caramel ice cream topping
3 tablespoons flour
1 (6-oz.) pkg. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350°F. for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine caramel topping and 3 tablespoons flour; blend well.

Remove partially baked crust from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Return to oven; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into bars.

Mint Sticks Recipe

My mom always makes these for Christmas so I made them myself this year for work. The recipe is very easy despite the three different steps. Just don't forget to grease the pan like I did . . . oops.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 C. butter
1 C. sugar
2 sq. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. Peppermint extract
1/2 C. flour

Frosting:
1 C. confectioners sugar
2 T. butter, softened
1 tsp. Peppermint extract
Enough cream or milk to make into smooth consistency

Topping:
1 1/2 sqs. Unsweetened chocolate
2 T. butter

Directions
Melt chocolate and butter together. In medium bowl, beat eggs, add melted butter,
sugar and chocolate. Mix well. Add peppermint extract and flour. Pour into well greased
9x9” pan. Bake 350° for 20-25 minutes. Cool.

Frosting: Cream 2 T. butter, conf. Sugar and 1tsp. Peppermint extract. Moisten with
cream or milk. Add 1 drop green food coloring. Spread on cooled cake and place in fridge for 15 mins. Cover with topping.

Topping: Melt 1 1/2 sqs. Chocolate with 2 T. butter. Spread evenly over frosting.
Let it stand in fridge until firm. Cut into 16 small bars. You can double this recipe
and bake in 9 x 13 pan. These squares taste best made a day ahead.

Cook Book for Boys and Girls . . . and anyone else with a limited attention span

I hate it when you find an “easy” recipe but you read through the instructions to discover there’s quite a bit of chopping, mincing, sifting and mashing to be considered “easy” to anyone except a Julia Childs reincarnate. With Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Girls and Boys however, everything really is easy and it just so happens to be online for your viewing pleasure http://www.archive.org/stream/bettycrockerscoo00croc#page/46/mode/2up. It’s a neat book to flip through if nothing else.

I was planning on making apple crisp for a Halloween movie night I am going to this Saturday and was looking for a recipe since I’ve only made apple crisp with the box mix you find at grocery stores. I was expecting that making apple crisp from scratch was going to be a project but then my office mate, Heather, said her Betty Crocker recipe is excellent and very simple. That’s when she found this cook book online.

Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So what's so special about red velvet cakes? The food coloring. That's it. I found a recipe from the Food Network and altered it a little. I used substituted some healthier ingredients but you can just use the basics. The cake is very light and fluffy and the frosting is sweet and creamy. They're are very tasty. They didn't turn out very red but that may be because I didn't add the vinegar. WARNING: This makes a ton of frosting that isn't necessary. You can half the frosting ingredients listed below.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 15 1/2 ounces all-purpose whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 13 ounces granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs

Directions

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring

• 1 1/4 teaspoons vinegar (I forgot this. Maybe they would have turned out more red if I did.)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 pound (2 Cups) Smart Butter, room temperature
• 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough. I hand mixed the batter towards the end.

Line cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week.

Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting. You can just smear it on but I used a tip_ with a frosting bag which I think was easier. It might be messy though because the frosting is runny.

Fruity Rum Popsicles

Fruity and refreshing! This was purely an experiment but my rum popsicles turned out to be somewhat of a hit. I was searching for fruity popsicles that contained alcohol for a BBQ but they all involved making sweet syrup and putting fresh fruit in a food processor, neither of which I felt like dealing with. So this is the recipe I made up:

- one part Malibu coconut rum
- three parts pineapple orange banana juice
- mix and pour into mold (and insert sticks if necessary)
- let sit in freezer for 6-8 hours depending on freezer temp

I'm sure actual popsicle molds work best but it is late summer so I had to make due with ice cube molds from Home Goods and candy sticks from Michael's Arts & Crafts.

Cake Course 4: Fondant & Gum Paste

The final cake class! Intense but fun. I'll miss it but it's time to find something else to do with myself.

Pomegranate Cosmo: Great Cool Summer Drink

Pomegranate Cosmos

by Ina Garten, Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups (16 ounces) good vodka (recommended: Stolichnaya or Finlandia)

• 1 cup (8 ounces) orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)

• 1 cup (8 ounces) pomegranate juice (recommended: Pom Wonderful)

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)

• Lime peel strips, to garnish

Directions

Combine the vodka, orange liqueur, pomegranate juice, and lime juice in a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to use. Pour the

mixture into frozen martini glasses with a twist of lime peel and serve immediately.

Hired for a Cake

This is a cake I was "hired" by a co-worker to make for another co-worker who also happened to interview me while I was applying for my job. This was a fun cake to make although I was nervous since it was the first time I was making a cake for money. I was mostly concerned about writing in frosting and I think it would have actually come out better if I wasn't so hesitant about it. I use to write on cakes when I worked at a bakery in high school but that was forever ago. I need to practice.

Cake Course 3

These are cakes I made from my Wilton Cake Course 3. The first cake was suppose to look like the top of a funky 70's wedding cake. This is probably my least favorite cake I've made but we learned several different techniques during this class.

The gift box cake was very cool and my first time using fondant. It was not too difficult but the down side of fondant is that it does not taste very good. It's rather bland, in fact. I told my guinea-pigs at work to just peal it off before they ate the cake.


The final cake I designed myself. I did not use fondant but I added some royal icing lillies that I painted with white pearl dust. I loved how it came out but if I did it again I would definitely add some piping gel to my frosting so my cornelli lace would come out smoother.

Easy Peasy Alfredo Sauce

• 1 clove fresh minced garlic (or a tiny scoop from a minced garlic jar)
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (gourmet or the pre-shredded in bags)
• 1/3cup grated romano cheese
• 1 pint heavy cream

In a saucepan combine butter, heavy cream

Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Simmer this for a few minutes on low 

Remove from heat.  Quickly whisk in the Parmesan cheese and garlic.

--You may wish to season with a little salt and pepper.

Optional:  Add pesto for a great cream pesto sauce.  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, sage for pumpkin ravioli

I got this sauce recipe from a co-worker. He's Italian so obviously it's good. I like this recipe because it can be as easy as you want it to be. I used Hanaford's cheeses and shredded them myself but this step can be made easier by just buying the shredded cheese that comes in bags. I used Dreamfield's linguini pasta and chicken. When I use this recipe again I'll let the chicken soak in the sauce for a few minutes before serving. I'll also add broccoli to get that extra food group in.

Cupcakes for Kids

I made these cupcakes for Daughters and Son's Days at work. I used a 4B decorating tip and sprinkles. They're nothing special or complicated but the bright colors really gave them a kick. No one can resist a cute cupcake.

Easter Egg Cakes

I made these cakes with Dunkan Heinz's strawberry cake mix and buttercream frosting. I used a tip 21 for everything except for the leaves and I used my mom's leftover royal flowers. Good thing they keep for a long time. I have been wanting to make Easter cakes but all the ideas on the internet look more complicated that I was looking for.

Cake Decorating: Course 2

Cakes from course 2! The lattice cake was a little tricky just because the cake was so high. Are my roses getting better? The royal icing flower cake took three weeks to finish since we did a lot of prep work ahead of time. The basket weave wasn't nearly as hard as I though it would be, which means it's definitely a do-again. I bring all my cakes to work and this one was gone real fast.

Just for Fun

Here is a St. Patty's Day cake and some cupcakes I made for fun (and practice) and brought into work. My mom has a recipe for awesome chocolate cake with chocolate sour cream frosting so I took the opportunity to stray from the Wilton course recipes and used it for these.

Here is what I followed for the cupcakes:

http://www.wilton.com/idea/Bear-Hug-for-One

Cake Decorating: Course 1

These are cakes from my first cake decorating class I took with my mom. The courses are offered at Michael's craft stores and they teach Wilton's method. There are four classes in total and I totally recommend them if you have a little extra time. It's great to take in the winter when you can't get out much.

I'm not a huge fan of clowns but the clown cake was pretty fun. The rainbow cake came out cute and it wasn't too hard. The rose cake was a real pain in the ass, though. I made tons of roses but only three or four came out half decent. I still have a hard time with roses.

Chocolate Chip Cookies by the Snowvillage Inn in NH

My grandmother got this recipe somehow from this Bed and Breakfast in NH. It has lots of butter and makes lots of cookies.

1 pound butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 pound dark brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
6 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups real chocolate chips (largest pkg. 24 oz.)

Place the butter in a large bowl and stir until fluffy. Using an electric hand mixer, beat in the sugars, eggs, and vanilla.

Mix the baking powder and salt into the flour. Gradually stir the flour into the cookie batter. Finally, add the chocolate chips (and nuts if you want to). Batter will be quite stiff; you may have to finish the mixing with your hands on a pastry board, as if you were kneading bread. (I use my Kitchen Aid Mixer and it works fine).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop a heaped tablespoon (we use the smallest ice cream scoop) of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Cookies will still be soft but become firm while cooling. If 12 minutes does not bake them right, turn up the oven to 375 degrees. Let cookies cool completely before removing from baking sheet.

NOTE: These cookies freeze beautifully, so you can make a big batch and always have them on hand. Or you can divide this recipe in half (using 1 egg). In that case, you could use a stationary mixer with a dough hook for the final mixing – a lot easier!

Makes about 100 cookies.