Cookie Press Cookies

Yet another holiday cookie complements of my Mom.  This time of year is always reminiscent of baking for me, and I have tried to carry the tradition on with my kids.  I always thought that cookie press cookies were so cool!  If you don't have a cookie press, you can roll this dough out and cut it with cutters.

Ingredients

1 lb butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten (or egg replacer equivalent)
5 cups flour
food coloring (for Christmas I make green wreaths and trees)

Directions

1. Mix ingredients together and use cookie press to form cookies.
2. If you want to embellish with candies, do it now (I used red hots on the wreaths)
3. Bake at 350 degrees F until done (about 10 minutes).

Ring-a-ling

This is another recipe that I got from my Mom.  I was looking through recipes last Christmas and I picked this one to try because it didn't have eggs in it and I had recently found out about J's egg allergy.  Too bad he's also allergic to pecans now!  Oh well. I still really like them!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
dash salt
1/2 cup butter at room temp
3 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
your favorite jam or jelly (I used cherry jam, but I also like raspberry and apricot)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2. Sift flour and salt.  Cream butter and sugar.  
3. Combine parts and add pecans and vanilla.
4. Chill several hours.  Roll into balls and press hallow with thumb.  Fill with jam.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool then enjoy!

Gingerbread

This recipe is one that I have been eating my whole life.  For as long as I can remember, my Mom has made Gingerbread every Christmas.  She made a ton so that all eleven of her kids could decorate houses.  Sometimes we shared big houses and sometimes she made small houses for each of us.  This gingerbread always just brings back good memories for me.  When I bake it now for my kids, the smell brings me back to my own childhood.  This year I decided to make four houses so that each of my kids could decorate their own house.  We went to the candy shop in the mall to pick out candy (they each got to fill a bag with what they wanted).  They had so much fun decorating!  This recipe makes a TON of gingerbread.  I was able to make four medium sized houses, plus a whole bunch of gingerbread men (and a few gingerbread dinosaurs just because A wanted to).


 
Ingredients

1 lb margarine
2 cups sugar
1 12oz bottle of molasses
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp dry ginger
other spices that you like (nutmeg, cloves, etc)
10 cups flour

Directions

1. Cream together margarine, sugar and molasses.  Add water and mix well.
2. Sift the salt, baking soda and spices with a little bit of flour, and then add.
3. Add remaining flour or more to make a soft dough that you can kneed.
4. Roll out on ungreased cookie sheet and cut.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F.  I'm not sure exactly how long - when I'm doing cookies I do it a little shorter because I like them soft, but when I do houses I let it get a little more done so that it is more firm.

** The pattern for the houses you can make out of card-stock - simply spray your card-stock with cooking spray so that it doesn't stick to the dough - then cut around them with a knife.

Frosting

2 egg whites (or egg replacer equiviant - this works well with the egg replacer)
1 lb of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tarter

Beat until peak holds shape


** This frosting is good for putting the houses together, since it will dry very firm.  I put the houses together earlier in the day so that they are set when it comes time to decorate.  I actually use cake frosting to put the candy on, simply because it is easier for the kids to use.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

So, I haven't posted in a long time, not because I haven't been baking, but because I've been baking so much that I haven't had time to post stuff!  So today I'm posting a whole bunch of holiday baking.

This recipe is one that my friend Katie gave me.  She's a Pampered Chef consultant, and I'm pretty sure she got it from there.  This is like rice crispy treats gone wild.  They are so delicious!  If you ever want to wow someone with a fancy rice crispy, this is definitely the way to go.


Ingredients

1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
3 cups mini pretzels (about 1 2/3 cups crushed), divided
3 cups crispy rice cereal
3/4 cup butter, divided
1 bag mini marshmallows (10.5 oz bag)
1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided
1 bag peanut butter morsels (10 oz bag)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with butter and set aside.  
2. Coarsely chop the peanuts; set aside.  Place pretzels into a large resealable plastic bag; coarsely crush with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.  Set aside 1/3 cup of the pretzels.  Place remaining pretzels and cereal in a large mixing bowl.
3. Place 6 Tbsp of the butter in a microwavable bowl and microwave until melted.  Add marshmallows; microwave again for 60-90 seconds.  Stir until marshmallows are completely melted.  Immediately add marshmallow mixture to pretzel/cereal bowl and mix thoroughly.  Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan, and firmly press down.
4. Combine 2 Tbsp of the butter and half the corn syrup in microwavable bowl, and microwave until butter is melted.  Stir in the peanut butter morsels and mix until melted (this mixture is going to be stiff).  Spread peanut butter mixture over cereal/pretzels.
5. Place remaining butter and corn syrup in another microwavable bowl and microwave until butter is melted.  Stir in chocolate chips and mix until smooth.  Spread chocolate mixture evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
6. Sprinkle with peanuts and reserved pretzels.  Allow to harden (you can place in freezer for 5-10 minutes for faster set time).  Cut into pieces and eat!

Cardamom Dark Chocolate Tart with Raspberries

I found this recipe while I was browsing through food gawker and thought it looked so scrumptious!  I was going to make it exactly as I found it, but when I couldn't find culinary lavender (and I was a little afraid it would taste like soap), I decided to add raspberries instead.  The chocolate ganache is delicious (but, really, when your mixing chocolate and cream, can you really go wrong?).  I love the cardamom lemon flavor in the crust, but I thought it was a little tough.  I might try to do a more traditional pie crust next time and just add lemon and cardamom.  Regardless of the texture, it tasted really rich and yummy!

Ingredients

Pastry

2 cups + a little more flour
1 tsp ground cardamom
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
7 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
2 Tbsp cold water

Ganache

10 oz heavy whipping cream
12 oz dark chocolate, chopped
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp butter
coarse salt

Raspberries

Pastry

1. Using a stand mixture, mix together flour, cardamom, lemon zest, salt and sugar until combined.  Add in the butter and mix until mixture has the texture of small peas.
2. Add in the egg yolk and then slowly add the lemon juice and water, just until the dough begins to form when pressed between two fingers.
3. Form the pastry into a ball and refigerate for at least an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Press the pastry dough into ungreased pan (I used a nine inch spring-form pan, but a pie pan should work as well).  Prick the dough all over with a fork.  Place a sheet of parchment paper over the dough and fill with dry beans.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden.  Remove the beans and parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the crust is golden all over.  Allow to cool.

 Ganache

1. Combine the cream, honey and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Remove from heat and add chocolate.  Whisk together until smooth.  
3. Immediately pour into prepared crust.  Sprinkle with the coarse salt.  Allow several hours for the chocolate to set.  Serve at room temperature with fresh raspberries on top.

Sugar Cookies

I can't take credit for the decor of these cookies, that was all the kids doing.  The great thing about sugar cookies is that they are so versatile and just so much fun!  They are also E's favorite flavor to eat.  I got this recipe from my sister who got it from a friend.  Who knows where it originated....  It is by far my favorite sugar cookie recipe.  It also works well egg free - which not all recipes do.  The recipe makes lots of cookies - I halved it and we still had plenty - but when I make them to give away at the holidays, it's nice to make the full batch.  The frosting recipe is yummy, but I didn't use it this time... sometimes store bought is just easier.

Ingredients

3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup margarine
2 cups sugar
4 large unbeaten eggs (or egg replacer equivalent)
2 tsp vanilla
5 or 6 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt

1. Cream shortening, margarine and sugar until whipped looking.
2. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla and mix until fluffy.
3. Add baking powder, salt and flour - start with 5 cups and add more if it is too sticky.  You want the dough to be fairly firm when you are done.
4. Chill dough overnight (I don't always do it this long, just make sure to chill for a few hours at least).
5. Roll out and cut into shapes.  Put similarly sized cookies on each ungreased cookie sheet to ensure even cooking.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 9-10 minutes (don't let them get brown!).  Cool.
7. Either eat as they are or frost and enjoy!

Frosting

1/3 cup soft margarine
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb (3 1/2 cups) powdered sugar
food coloring optional

Mix together and frost cookies!

I have to say, these are absolutely the BEST oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever made!  I usually make the recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook, but I have never been happy with the texture of the final product.  I don't know what causes the difference, maybe it's the sour cream, but these are fabulous! Christian found this recipe for me, and I'm not sure where he got it.  I know it was from some food blog somewhere.... When I find out I'll add the link.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg (or egg replacer equivalent)
6 Tbsp sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Using a stand mixer, cream your butter and brown sugar.  Mix in the oil.  Add the egg and beat until fluffy.  Beat in the sour cream and vanilla, scraping the sides of bowl down, until well mixed.
3. Stir in the raisins and oats.  Add the dry ingredients and beat until fully incorporated.  Stir in the nuts.  Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
4. Drop the dough by tablespoons (I use a mini scooper) onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Use a spatula to flatten your cookies slightly.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until light brown.  Transfer to a rack to cool then enjoy!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have all this lovely pumpkin puree that I made, and I want to make good use of it, so I made some yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  So good!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg (or egg replacer equivilant)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (or more) chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg, pumpkin and vanilla - this mixture will look slightly curdled.
3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Mix until well blended.
4. Add chocolate chips and mix.
5. Place by rounded teaspoons on an ungreased baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until they just begin to turn golden.  Let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes then remove to a cooling rack.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

So I've been feeling like seasonal cooking lately.  I am not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy other pumpkin yummies!  I was inspired to make these when Jacen told me out of the blue that he wanted pumpkin muffins.  Keep in mind that he has never had pumpkin muffins in his life, so I'm not sure where he got the idea, but I was game for trying, even if it was a bit random.

For the pumpkin puree in the recipe, canned puree should work, but I made some fresh - I had always wanted to try it, and it was easy and I think tasted so much better!  If you want to make your own puree, take a pumpkin, cut off the top then cut it into quarters.  Cut out the seeds (like you would a butternut squash) and place on a baking sheet.  Stick it in a 350 degree oven for around 45 minutes, or until it is tender.  At this point the skin will peel right off.  Stick the pieces in a food processor and blend until smooth.  You can keep it in your fridge for about a week or so, and in your freezer for much longer (several months at least).  Easy and, oh, so good!

I get this recipe from this site.  She calls them muffins, but I think they are sweet enough (especially with the frosting) to be called cupcakes.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 heaping cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg (or egg replacer equivalent)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup golden raisins (I soak mine in boiling water for 5 minutes to plump them up)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare your pan with cupcake liners.
2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in stand mixer.  Cut in butter and blend until fully incorporated.  
3. In a separate bowl mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg (or egg replacer) and vanilla.  Pour into the flour mixture.  Add raisins and fold together gently until combined.
4. Pour into cupcake pan - fill each cup about 1/2 full.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then remove and frost.

Frosting:
1/4 cup softened butter
1 oz cream cheese
1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Whip together ingredients until well blended.  I actually added a little more vanilla than called for and it was good.

Apple Pie Filling

Eilenora really wanted to go apple picking this year.  Apple picking is not like berry picking - picking that many apples means that you have to find something to do with them, so I decided to try to make canned apple pie filling.  Then we went to go picking the apples and found out that Butler's Orchard was already done with apples - so we bought some instead.  Next year we will pick them!

Never having canned anything before, I was expecting a much more grueling process than what we actually had to do.  And it was fun!  I got this recipe from Mormon Cooking - a cookbook I got for my wedding and haven't actually used much.  I should use it more, because this turned out really well.  Some of the cans I will use for pies, but I wanted to try it right away.  So I put it over vanilla ice cream.  It worked great as an ice cream topper. 


4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
10 cups water
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 or 3 drops of yellow food coloring
6 lbs apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1. Blend the first five ingredients together, then stir in water.  Cook and stir until thinkened.
2. Add lemon juice and food coloring.  Fold apples into cooked mixture.  Heat thoroughly.
3. Pack into sterilized hot quart jars (I used pint jars) leaving 1 inch of head space.  Put into hot water bath and process for 20 minutes.  One quart makes a 9 inch pie.  (Okay, so I deviated from this part quite a bit.  If you wash your jars in the dishwasher, and then use the heater in the dishwasher to dry them, the jars will come out clean and hot.  Add the hot apple mixture to the hot jars and put the lids on.  Then turn the jars upside down to cool.  The heat from the jar and apple mixture will seal the jar.  I got this tip from my sister, Tammy.  It seemed to work really well! - Then you don't have to use the hot water bath to process the jars.)

Halloween Decorated Cupcakes!

Yesterday I went to a "Craft 'til you Crash" night at church, and I signed up for the cupcake decorating class.  It was totally fun!  So, this isn't really a recipe, but I am going to talk about how to decorate like this.  I thought the chocolate work would be difficult, but it was really easy.  Both the cat and the tree are made out of chocolate. 

1. First, decide what you want to make and draw a picture of it - a simple outline is all you need.
2. Put your chocolate in a ziploc sandwich bag and microwave it in short bursts until it is all melted.  If you heat it too much, your bag will melt, so keep an eye on it!
3. Place your picture under a piece of wax paper.  Snip the corner of your plastic bag (make sure it is a small hole) and "draw" your picture on the wax paper using the chocolate.
4. If you want to put dusting sugar on it (like the cat above) make sure to put it on before the chocolate hardens.  Place your chocolate in the freezer to get them extra hard before putting on the cupcakes!

The rest of this decorating is just frosting, bone shaped candies and dusting sugar.  It was so fun!  I'm going to be trying more fun decorating soon.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week I decided to make a classic.  The chocolate chip cookie.  I used to make these all the time.  Probably at least once or twice a month.  I stopped making them so often when we found out about Jacen's egg allergy.  I didn't want to make stuff that he couldn't enjoy also.  Then I found the egg replacer, and I was able to make them again!  They are pretty close to regular with the egg replacer, but they are just not quite the same.  If you aren't dealing with an egg allergy, I would totally just do it normal with the egg.  But, if you are trying to go eggless, the egg replacer works pretty well.  This is a recipe that I got from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg (or 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer whisked with 2 Tbsp water)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Beat sugars and butter with electric mixer until well creamed.  Add vanilla and egg and mix until blended.  
3. Stir in baking soda, flour and salt (dough will be stiff).  Add chocolate chips - I don't usually add the whole 2 cups.  Eyeball it to the desired amount of chips.
4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft).  Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire cooling rack.
6. Eat with a big glass of cold milk!

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I found the recipe for these cupcakes a while ago, and have been waiting til I was in the mood for non-chocolate sweets to try them.  Then Aedan wanted to go berry picking this week, and raspberries are what's in season right now.  I decided it was the perfect time to try these lemon cupcakes, and to make the frosting with the raspberries.  Since I made up the frosting, it isn't quite right yet.  Don't get me wrong, it tastes good, but the texture isn't quite right.  In the written recipe here I'm suggesting using more powdered sugar than I did to make the frosting thicker.


Cupcakes
 
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare cupcake pans with papers.  
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. 
3. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. 
4. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.  (If making mini cupcakes bake for about 15 minutes.)

Frosting
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp cream
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1. Using an electric mixer, mix together butter and 1 cup powdered sugar.  
2. Add the lemon juice, almond extract, cream and raspberries and mix.  Allow the raspberries to mash up in the mixing process.  
3. Add powdered sugar until frosting is the desired consistency.

Orange Blueberry Pound Cake

I know I already made something this week, but my husband was looking for egg-less recipes (since our 2 year old is allergic to eggs) and he found this.  It looked so tasty that I wanted to try it.  So I guess this week is my twice a week... I have the feeling that some weeks are just going to be two treat weeks.

The original recipe called this a bread, but I thought it had a very pound cake like consistency, so I'm calling it a cake.  In fact, I may tweak this recipe in the future for other pound cake flavor options.

1  1/2 cups flour 

1/4 tsp baking soda 

1 1/4 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

5 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cupsugar

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup plain yogurt

4 Tbsp orange juice

1 Tbsp orange zest

1/2 cup milk

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Prepare a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. 
2. In a small bowl whisk together the applesauce, yogurt, orange juice and zest.
3. In a large bowl mix the sugar and melted butter for about 5 minutes.  This is going to look somewhat crumbly.  Add the applesauce/yogurt mixture to this.  It will look a little curdled.
4. Add the dry ingredients and milk, mixing after each addition.
5. Fold in the blueberries and pecans.
6. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until the cake is golden brown.  Allow it to cool and then enjoy!

Orange and Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts

This week is a semi-failure.  Well, it started out as a failure, but I was able to fix it.  I've been wanting to try to make doughnuts for months now, but I never seem to do it.  So this week I decided to try - homemade doughnuts are so good!  Except they just weren't as good as I was hoping!

I combined a couple of recipes and came up with this one.  I liked that you made the dough the night before and then cooked them in the morning.  When I tried that, they didn't really rise!  Problem was, I think that the warm setting on my oven was too warm for the yeast, and after rising a little bit, the yeast ended up dying before they got big enough.

I also liked the idea of a baked doughnut - it would be better for you. I ended up making two trays of doughnuts and one tray of holes.  Since only two pans would fit in my oven, the holes sat on the counter to rise (instead of proofing in the oven).  They rose much better than the actual doughnuts. I also decided to fry them instead of baking them.  Wow!  What a difference proper rise and frying makes in a good doughnut.  I learned that if I am going to make a delicious treat, if I try too hard to be healthy also I might just end up not satisfying my craving and then wanting more junk food later. 

I also thought that the chocolate glaze would be my favorite, but the orange glaze was so good that I just couldn't keep away from the orange doughnuts!

Dough:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast (1 package)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp salt
6 cups flour

1. Combine milk, shortening, maple syrup and sugars in small sauce pan over medium heat.  Heat until shortening melts and sugars are dissolved then remove from heat.
2. Allow milk mixture to cool until it is between 100 - 110 degrees F and then add the yeast.  Allow this to sit for about 5 minutes.
3. Combine 4 cups flour, salt and applesauce and then add the milk and sugar mixture.  Continue adding flour until the dough is sticky, but doesn't stick to your fingers (about 2 more cups).
4. Cover dough and lit rise until double - or about an hour.
5. Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut into doughnut shape and place on greased cookie sheets.

Here's where the directions diverge.  You can either...

1. Place cookie sheets in refrigerator overnight.  In the morning set your oven to its lowest setting (if your oven has a proofing setting this is what you want) and allow doughnuts to rise in oven for 30 minutes to an hour, until they have doubled.  
2. Turn oven to 350 degrees F and cook doughnuts for 10-15 minutes.  Glaze them while they are still hot.

Or you can....

1. Allow doughnuts to rise again for about an hour or until doubled.  
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Fry the doughnuts in batches, flipping them over halfway through, until they are golden brown.  Glaze them while they are still hot.

Personally, I'm going to fry them from now on.  So much better!


Glazes

Orange Glaze
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp dried orange peel or 1 tsp fresh orange peel
1 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 Tbsp milk

Whisk ingredients of glazed in small bowls and dip doughnuts in when they are done.

Panna Cotta with Fruited Tapioca

Last April I was in Utah on vacation, and while we were there we went to this restaurant where they had the best dessert! This is my attempt to re-create it. The Panna Cotta itself was easy, there are tons of recipes online and they are all basically the same. The tapioca topping, however posed a problem. I found plenty of tapioca pudding recipes, but I didn't want a pudding. In the end I improvised, and here's what I came up with!



2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 packet powdered gelatin (about 2 1/4 tsp)
6 Tbsp cold water
1/4 cup small pearl tapioca
1 cup fruit juice (I used Juicy Juice Apple Raspberry)

1. Heat the cream and sugar over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  You want to get it hot, but don't let the cream boil.
2. While sugar is dissolving, add the powdered gelatin to the cold water and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
3. Take the cream-sugar mixture off the heat and add the vanilla and almond extract.
4. Pour the hot cream mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.
5. Pour mixture into serving cups and chill for 4 hours.
6. Cover the tapioca pearls with plenty of water and soak for two hour.  Drain.
7. Combine the tapioca pearls and fruit juice and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The tapioca is done when the pearls are completely clear.
8. Allow tapioca to cool, then spoon over your set panna cotta.  You can keep them in the fridge this way for up to 2 days.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting

I have to admit, the main reason I wanted to make these was so that I would have a means of shoveling peanut butter cream frosting into my mouth. The cupcakes themselves turned out pretty good, too!


I found the cake recipe here, but I altered it slightly. My 2 year old is allergic to eggs, so instead of using eggs, I used Ener-G Egg Replacer. It worked great! I added more cocoa powder than the original recipe, and the original recipe was for a cake, and I made cupcakes instead. The butter cream I took straight from this site.



Cupcakes

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked w/ 4 Tbsp water (or use 2 eggs)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of batter per cupcake.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

• 1 cup butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

1. Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the sugar.
2. Add the vanilla and cream.
3. Beat in the peanut butter until creamy.

Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!

Once a Week Treats

After having my fourth baby, I knew I wanted to loose some weight. The problem comes in when I say I want to eat healthier. Though I don't regularly eat junk every day, as soon as I tell myself I can't have sweets, that's all I want! So, in order to alleviate the crazy sweets cravings, I'm going to make something delicious every week. The only rule is that I can't eat the whole thing by myself, and sharing with neighbors and friends is always good.

Wish me luck! Here I go!