Baking and Creating with Avril

Glazed Maple Oat Pecan Scones

2012-05-22T22:32:00.002-04:00

Having tea or coffee with a friend is one of my very favorite things to do in life. Making a special treat to go along side our hot beverage makes me even happier. It really does. These scones make me happy. Easy to make. And yummy. Totally yummy. How can you go wrong when you put maple syrup, chopped pecans and oats together to make a crumbly sweet scone topped off with a fabulous glaze? You just can't!

Invite a friend (or two or three or more) over and bake up a batch of these scones. They will make everyone happy!

Glazed Maple Oat Pecan Scones

(recipe discovered on food.com)

Scone Ingredients:

1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned)

1 1/2 cups flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tbsp maple syrup

2 1/2 Tbsp cold butter (cut into small pieces)

1 egg

1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

1/2 - 3/4 tsp maple extract

2/3 cup chopped pecans

Maple Glaze Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp maple extract (I used 1 Tbsp real maple syrup instead)

5 tsp water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Using a food processor or blender, finely grind the oats.

3. Mix together flour, oats, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add in maple syrup and butter pieces - mix well all together.

4. In a small bowl beat together egg, cream and maple extract. Pour mixture into flour mixture and mix until combined.

5. Add in chopped pecans and mix just until incorporated.

6. Place dough onto a floured surface and gently pat into an 8-10" circle and cut into 8 lovely wedges.

7. Place wedges onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly brown.

8. Make glaze while scones are baking. Combine powdered sugar, maple extract (or the real stuff) and water all together until smooth in a medium bowl. Adjust water to get to the desired consistency.

9. Remove scones from oven to a wire rack to cool for about 5-7 minutes before pouring glaze over them. Allow scones to dry with glaze on them about 15 minutes before serving.

Happy Glazed Maple Oat Pecan Scone Baking!

Decadent Vanilla Layered Cake with Strawberry Frosting

2012-05-04T09:53:00.001-04:00

Last month two events took place in my life. Two events which I had never experienced before. One being that I turned 39 and the second was that I made myself a birthday cake. Yup, that's right I am now 39 years of age. Simply amazing how that happens I tell ya! And yes, this year was the very first year in my whole 39 years of life that I actually made myself a birthday cake. I couldn't help it! - I came across the recipe for this cake and and just had to make it.

It had ALL my favorite ingredients in it....such as, strawberries, butter, sour cream, heavy cream, lots of vanilla extract, cream cheese, seedless strawberry jam and lots more strawberries. Definitely a cake that you have to make once a year as it is just decadent in taste, texture and sight.

I adore strawberries. I am passionate about strawberries. I also seriously adore layered cakes. Layered cakes are meant for birthdays in my book.

Honestly, baking this cake for myself was one of the best parts of my birthday celebration. It allowed me to review and cherish the memories, my own personal growth along with all the treasured adventures I have had over the past year as I mixed up the batter, baked the cake and then assembled it all together. I have promised myself to make every attempt for my future birthdays to continue such a tradition.

Decadent Vanilla Layered Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

(recipe from the lovely and oh-so brilliant Perry's Plate)

Frosting Ingredients:

2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

7 large eggs

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

6 Tbsp plus 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam

2 lbs strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 6 cups)

Frosting Directions:

Beat cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in sugar and then the jam - set aside. Beat heavy cream in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture. Cover and chill for a couple of hours until it's firm enough to spread.

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9" cake pans. Lining bottom of pans with parchment paper wouldn't hurt either.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda - set aside.

3. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each additon. Beat in vanilla extract. Add in sour cream and then beat for 30 seconds.

4. Add in flour mixture in three addtions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter into prepared pans.

5. Bake cake 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.

6. Once the cakes are fully cooled cut each one in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Spread 2 Tbsp's of jam and then 3/4 of frosting on bottom layer. Then arrange 3/4 cup of sliced strawberries on top of frosting in a single layer and then top with another cake layer. Repeat two more times with cake layers, jam, frosting and strawberries. Top with last cake layer and frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Such a magical cake. A very yummy magical cake.

Not the most perfect picture of the cake...but as you can see it is just delicious in every possible way. And such a perfectly decadent birthday cake! Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Decadent Vanilla Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting Baking!

(Crumblicious) Rhubarb Coffee Cake

2012-04-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hooray it is rhubarb season here in Southern NH! Yes, indeed. Last year a good friend of mine gave me a rhubarb plant (I think he was sick and tired of hearing me always wish and moan and groan for my very own rhubarb patch in my back yard). The funny thing is is that I totally forgot about the plant until just last week when as I walking around in my back yard and came upon the lovely large leaves of the rhubarb stalks. Yippee my VERY own rhubarb is growing! I am happy girl.

I was even a happier girl when I came upon a lovely recipe for Rhubarb Coffee Cake from The Culinary Enthusiast (my blog assignment for the month of April from The Secret Recipe Club). Such. A. Good. Recipe. A yummy recipe that makes a moist layered coffee cake filled with fresh rhubarb and topped with a thick layer of crumbled sweetness - which is why I had to add to the name of this recipe "CRUMBLICIOUS" as the crumble topping is a large part of this cake. So good! And the beauty of this recipe is that you could easily substitute a different kind of fruit for the rhubarb filling such as berries, apples or even a mixture of strawberries and rhubarb. YUM. I just love a versatile recipe!

Kelley, from The Culinary Enthusiast is a young woman from Chicago that enjoys being in the kitchen and loves food to the fullest. I could definitely picture myself becoming good friends with Kelley for not only does she LOVE food but she LOVES to travel - my kind of gal! Her blog is well rounded for not only does she have a large selection recipes for baked goods (2 thumbs up from me!) but also a large variety recipes for savory dishes. She also does a great job in reviewing new/recently released cookbooks which is always fun to read about in my eyes. I really enjoyed getting to "know" Kelley through her blog this past month! Thank you Kelley for all your sweetness, happiness and talent that you have added to the food blogging world. :-)

(Crumblicious) Rhubarb Coffee Cake

(recipe from The Culinary Enthusiast)

Rhubarb Filling Ingredients:

2 (heaping) cups rhubarb, sliced into 1/4-1/2" pieces

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

Crumb Ingredients:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 3/4 cup cake flour (all-purpose flour will work also)

Cake Ingredients:

1/3 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup cake flour (or all-purpose flour)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp softened butter, cut into 8 pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan and set aside.

2. In a medium size bowl add in all filling ingredients - toss to combine well. Set aside.

3. Prepare crumble topping in a medium bowl. Add in sugars, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Whisk all together and then pour in melted butter. Mix together until smooth. Add in flour until well combined. It will resemble a solid dough. Pack down into the bowl and then set aside.

4. Prepare cake batter. In a small bowl combine sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract. - set aside for the moment.

5. In a Kitchen Aid bowl fitted with a paddle attachment add into bowl flour, sugar, baking soda and powder and salt. Mix together well. Add in softened butter pieces and one spoonful of the sour cream/egg mixture. Beat together on low speed for a good 20 seconds and then increase speed for another 30 seconds.

6. Add in remaining sour cream/egg mixture. Mix all together for about 30 seconds.

7. Pour 1/2 of cake batter into prepared pan and then the rhubarb filling. Then dollop remaining cake batter over filling.

8. Break up crumble mixture with your hands or a fork into uniform pieces and sprinkle evenly over cake. Pop cake into preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. Inserted toothpick will come out clean when coffee cake is fully baked. Cool to desired temperature - warm or cold - and serve.

Yummmmmy.

Even my littlest enjoyed a little bite of it....she enjoys all of my baked treats....and I love her.

Happy (Crumblicious) Rhubarb Coffee Cake Baking!

Blueberry Pie Pancakes

2012-04-15T17:15:00.003-04:00

I am always on the look out for new pancake recipes. I kind of have a thing for pancakes....my girls do to. When I came across a "pin" on Pinterest for these lovely blueberry pancakes I couldn't resist trying my hand at the recipe. Goodness am I glad I did! Such. Good. Pancakes this recipe created!!! And yes, these pancakes do taste like blueberry pie. I believe it is the combination of oats and blueberries along with a touch of sugar, a sprinkling of cinnamon and vanilla extract that makes such a taste possible in these pancakes. Honestly, I can not wait to make these pancakes again. They are my new favorite pancakes.

The original recipe was only enough for one serving so I tripled the recipe. And unlike many pancake recipes are NO eggs in this recipe. If you are a pancake lover like me and like blueberries these pancakes are a must for you. :-)

Blueberry Pie Pancakes

(recipe slightly adjusted from Chocolate Covered Katie)

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen
1 cup flour (of your choice - I used all purpose)
6 Tbsp rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp sugar
1 cup milk (I used 2 %)
1 Tbsp oil (if you wish)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and then wet ingredients. Stir together just to combine - do not over mix.

2. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a hot and greased frying pan or griddle. Flip pancakes once. Serve with topping of your choice....such as warmed REAL maple syrup and sweet cream butter....d'lish!

Happy Blueberry Pie Pancake Making!

This post has been linked up to A Slice of Southern :-)

Kielbasa Pasta Casserole

2012-04-05T19:47:00.002-04:00

As a full-time working mom I always rejoice when I have a recipe that is comforting and delicious up my sleeve. Something that comes together easily and that everyone (hopefully) will eat in the family. If I am lucky there will be left-overs for the following day as a snack, lunch or even another dinner - I am NOT afraid of left-overs!!!

I hope your family enjoys this delicious casserole as much as mine did. Simple ingredients of sauce (homemade or from a jar...your choice), diced tomatoes, pasta, cheese, spices, a little seasoned bread crumbs and kielbasa are the characters that make up this dish. Of course adding mushrooms, black olives, green peppers or even some nicely sauteed onions would be lovely additions to this dish. Go ahead and make it as simple or as colorful as you wish.

Kielbasa Pasta Casserole

(recipe from Just A Pinch Recipe Club)

Ingredients:

16 oz dry ziti pasta (I used gremelli)

1 lb kielbasa, sliced in 1 inch pieces

1 Tbsp oil

2-3 (14.5 oz) cans diced or stewed tomatoes

1 large jar tomatoe sauce

1 tsp oregano, dried

1/4 cup parsley, fresh ( I used 2 Tbsp dried)

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/4 cup italian bread crumbs

8 - 12 oz. shredded cheese (I used a mixture of mozzerella and parm)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil large pot of salted water and cook pasta for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Drain pasta.

2. Cook sliced kielbasa over medium heat in oil until lightly browned - about 5 minutes.

3. In a large bowl combine pasta, cooked sausage, tomatoes, sauce and spices. Mix well all together. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.

4. Sprinkle bread crumbs over pasta mixture and then top with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until cheese has melted and golden.

Yum!

Serve with warm crusty bread, a salad and a smile on your face...all will be happy!

Happy Kielbasa Pasta Casserole Making!

Chunky Monkey Oatmeal Cookies

2012-03-30T22:36:00.001-04:00

Coffee is pretty important to me. It is part of my day. Part of my daily routine I would say. Every day before work you can usually find me either going through the drive-thru at Starbucks (if I'm running late) or stopping on Main St. in my lovely town at a delightful little coffee shop called, Brewbakers Cafe. It is here at Brewbakers Cafe that I found inspiration to make these cookies. Not only do I worship the coffee served at this establishment but also the wonderful muffins that are baked fresh every morning right there in their tiny little kitchen. Such flavors as Raspberry Mango, Four Berry and Pineapple Apple are just some of the muffins that are sold at BC. On Saturdays Chunky Monkey Muffins are available for my eating pleasure. Yet another reason for me to live for Saturdays! Bananas, chocolate and pecans all together for breakfast in the form of a muffin....goodness is that just simple yumminess. So good!

If all three flavors could be in a muffin than why not exist in a cookie? Sure enough after a little browsing through the internet (Pinterest to be exact) I came upon the perfect recipe for such cookies. Hooray! One of the best parts of this cookie recipe is that it has oatmeal in it! I love adding rolled oats to my cookies as it gives the cookies a hearty and healthier appeal.

I loved this recipe. I had to share! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (and my family).

Oatmeal Chunky Monkey Cookies

(recipe found on Martha Stewart's site)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (1 medium/large banana)

1 cup rolled oats

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch chunks (I used Nestle semisweet chunks)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Whisk together flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl - set aside.

3. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla extract - mix until combined. Add in mashed banana and then flour mixture - just until combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks and nuts.

4. Drop cookie batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Allow 2 inches between each cookie scoop. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on sheets for 5 minutes before removing. Then grab a glass of milk and enjoy!

Happy Chunky Monkey Cookie Baking!

Fluffernutter Blondies (for the Secret Recipe Club)

2012-03-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

I have a delightful treat of a recipe for you today! Yum, yum, YUM....Fluffernutter Blondies. I found this recipe on the blog, The Spiffy Cookie that was assigned to me this month through the Secret Recipe Club. Definitely a recipe to make for those that you love, that you adore, that you know REAL well and even those that you may just know by name. You will make ALL of them happy with these blondies (except those that are allergic to peanut butter as there is indeed PB in them as predicted by the name of these treats). When you bite into one of these bars you will take a double take to the treat in your hand as you will think you just took a bite of a fluffernutter sandwich. The taste of peanut butter and fluff melts in your mouth as you enjoy

The owner of The Spiffy Cookie, Erin is just adorable! She is a graduate student that just adores to cook and bake - hmmm, sounds like someone else I know! Erin has worked hard on filling her blog with lots and lots of recipes. Definitely take a moment to hop over to blog to check out her recipes. Also be sure to keep your eyes open for the gorgeous pottery in some of her pictures as SHE is one that has made them! Erin is an all around talented

gal. :-)

Fluffernutter Blondies

(recipe from The Spiffy Cookie)

Ingredients:

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened + 2 Tbsp for melting

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 cup flour

1/4 + 1/3 cup peanut butter, divided

1/2 cup marshmallow creme (otherwise known as, fluff)

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 pan (I used a 9x9 pan with success) - set pan aside.

2. Cream together 8 Tbsp butter, white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla extract - mix to combine. Add in salt and flour - again mix until incorporated. Next add in 1/4 cup peanut butter.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4. In a small sauce pan add in the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter, 1/3 cup peanut butter and marshmallow creme. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly as it melts until it is smooth. Drizzle this lovely mixture over the batter in the prepared pan.

5. With a knife swirl the peanut butter/fluff melted mixture into the blondie batter. Lastly, sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the top.

Pop pan into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes (23 minutes was just right for my blondies). Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Yum! Enjoy!

Happy Fluffernutter Blondies Baking!

DEEP Dish Cookie Pizza

2012-03-02T22:47:00.002-05:00

Pizza is so good. In our house we have it at least once a week...sometimes twice in a good week. So yes, I have special place in my heart (or should I say tummy?) for pizza. And as you all know very well by now I have a very special place in my soul for sweet baked treats. Combine the two together and you have a SWEET pizza pie....HEAVEN. A DEEP Dish Cookie Pizza - there is nothing wrong with that! Yup, a lovely sugar cookie crust which is topped with a sweetened cream cheese frosting and fresh colorful fruit for the very top = a cookie pizza.

Not only does this recipe feed a crowd but it is a dessert that is fun. Kiddos LOVE it and so do the grown-ups. A crowd pleaser of a dessert! :-)

DEEP Dish Cookie Pizza

(recipe from the Pioneer Woman - I am waiting on pins and needles for her NEW cookbook to show up on my front door!! Can't wait!!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups shortening (butter can be substituted...which is what I used - unsalted)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp orange zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

8 tsp whole milk (I used 2%)

4 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

*2 jars (13 oz. each) marshmallow creme (I only used 1 jar)

*2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese - at room temperature (I only used 1 package)

A variety of FRESH fruit of your choice - berries, kiwi, pears, peaches, bananas

Directions:

1. Cream together shortening (or butter) with sugar, orange zest, and vanilla extract for a couple of minutes until mixture is light and fluffy. Add in eggs and beat again until light and fluffy. Add in milk and mix.

2. Sift together dry ingredients - flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture.

3. Remove cookie dough from bowl and slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze for 20 minutes.

4. Press dough into cookie sheet that has a 2" deep rim. Or you can divide dough into 2 pieces and roll out into large circles and place in a pizza pan (I used one cookie sheet).

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookie dough is cooked and is lightly browned but not overly crisp. Remove from oven and cool completely.

6. Make frosting while cookie sheet cools. *Combine marshmallow creme and softened cream cheese - beat until light and fluffy. I only used 1 jar of marshmallow creme and 1 package of cream cheese for my frosting - which gave me plenty to cover my cookie crust with some left over.

7. Spread frosting over cookie crust and then generously decorate with sliced fruit of your choice. Slice into wedges or squares.

Enjoy!

Happy DEEP Dish Cookie Pizza Baking!

FRESH Raspberry Crumb Bars

2012-02-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

It has been two years since I started this blog. It really is simply amazing how fast two years has gone by. Within these past two years I have grown to love, respect and appreciate greatly the world of blogging - especially food blogging. The talent, creativity and passion that is put into food blogging is immense. When I am not updating my own blog (which unfortunately recently has decreased a great deal for me since I have gone back to work full time) I am enjoying discovering other blogs that are devoted to food. And it has been through my involvement of the Secret Recipe Club that I have been introduced to countless other food blogs that leave me in awe and amazement of all the work, devotion and deliciousness that exists in food blog land.

This month my blog assignment from the Secret Recipe Club was a lovely blog by the name of Lemon Drop. Isn't that name just adorable!?! I love it! And what a fun blog Linda, the owner of Lemon Drop has created. It is packed with fresh and delicious recipes all which have been paired with wonderful pictures that leave your mouth watering. And for those of you that are searching for gluten-free recipes this is the place for you. Lemon Drop has countless gluten-free recipes that are sure to catch your eye....and your palate.

The recipe I choose to make from Lemon Drop is called, FRESH Raspberry Crumb Bars (which are not gluten-free). Man, oh man are these bars GOOD!!! What a treasure of a recipe!!! Four words come to mind when I think of these bars; SIMPLE, EASY, DELICIOUS and VERSATILE. In a nut shell they are super delicious, easy to make, the ingredients are nothing fancy and the recipe allows for flavor changes or substitutions if so desired. I highly, highly recommend that you make this recipe for yourself especially if you are a berry lover. The raspberries in these bars are show cased perfectly along side the tender crumbs of the crust and topping. Instead of using chopped walnuts as the original recipe asked for I used silvered almonds. Yum. Raspberries and almonds are just made for one another in my book.

FRESH Raspberry Crumb Bars

(recipe slightly altered from Lemon Drop)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract (this was my addition)

1 heaping cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans are a great choices)

1 cup fresh raspberries (I used 1/2 cup fresh and 1/2 cup frozen without any problem)

3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper so that 2" are above the top of the pan.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in flour and then egg followed by almond extract. Add in nuts of your choice by stirring quickly but gently just to incorporate into the batter. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl add in raspberry jam and stir to loosen then add in raspberries and stir just to coat with jam.

4. Press 1/2 of the batter into bottom of prepared pan to create the crust of the bars. Dollop berry/jam mixture over crust....this is where a little helper comes in handy...

....and then take remaining batter and break pieces all over berry/jam layer as this will be the "crumble" of the bars....

5. Pop into oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Enjoy with yummy happiness! And a HUGE thank you to Linda from Lemon Drop for sharing such a wonderful recipe! I am delighted to have discovered your blog and this recipe.

Happy FRESH Raspberry Crumble Bar Baking!

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

2012-02-06T22:12:00.004-05:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I suggest you make this recipe for chocolate sauce for EVERYONE that you adore, love and cherish (and that likes chocolate of course). It is a simple recipe that is just divine. You can eat it by the spoonful or warm it gently and pour over ice cream. It is the perfect gift for Heart Day!

The recipe makes enough sauce to fill two 8 oz. jars + one 6 oz. jar. I especially like filling empty Bonne Maman jam jars with the sauce because of the pretty red and white lids which make for a very attractive decadent gift. I filled 12 Bonne Maman jars with chocolate sauce and gave them away to anyone that would accept them (no one turned them down) this past Christmas. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Unfortunately, with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays I have lost the original source for this recipe. If it is your recipe please let me know! I want to give you a huge hug for such a yummy creation. I also want to commend you for the brilliance of making the recipe without corn syrup. For years I have been searching for a chocolate sauce recipe that is yummy, easy and doesn't contain corn syrup in the ingredient list. My search has finally come to end with the discovery of this recipe. Hip Hip HOORAY!!! Hopefully I will be able to provide many of you with the same yummy happiness as I share this recipe now on my blog.

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

5 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 stick butter, unsalted

1 14 oz. can evaporated milk

3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a double boiler melt chocolate and butter. Stirring gently on occasion to help with the melting process.

2. Remove double boiler from heat and add evaporated milk and then powdered sugar - whisk all together. Place pan back on heat and gently continue to whisk all ingredients together until smooth and shiny.

3. Keep sauce over heat for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally until sauce starts to thicken (sauce will thicken much more when it becomes cold). Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Pour into jars and cool slightly before covering and storing in refrigerator until you gift away or eat your Heavenly chocolate sauce yourself.

Heat uncovered jar of sauce in microwave for 20-25 seconds, stir and serve.

Enjoy!

Happy Homemade Chocolate Sauce Making!

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

2012-01-29T23:17:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been dreaming I warmer days. Days filled with beautiful sunshine hot enough to make us yearn for cool waters to play and swim in. Berry picking is another activity that I identify with warm and sunny days. Unfortunately right now here in Southern NH warm weather is far far away....well at least another 3 months away I should say. So in the meantime I have chosen to bake with berries. If I don't look outside (at the snow and ice) and just stay cozy in my kitchen (with my berries) warm weather is possible in my world.

I love how this recipe provided such yummy muffins. The texture was soft and almost cake like - many thanks to the buttermilk. The flavor of the berries along with the lemon zest gave off a delicious sweetness with just a touch of tartness from the lemon. The original recipe only called for blueberries but because I had some lovely raspberries frozen from last summers picking I decided to add those in too.....thus the "berry" muffins.

I consider buttermilk the magic of all recipes when part of the ingredient list as it adds such a perfect taste and texture to the recipe. Please don't let buttermilk intimidate you as it is made so easily with milk and a splash of lemon juice. Let those two characters sit together for a couple of minutes unstirred and viola you have buttermilk!

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

(recipe recipe slightly adapted from Warmth in the North)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter - at room temp

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs - at room temp

2 cups flour - divided

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 heaping cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 heaping cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

2 Tbsp sugar - for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. I used regular size muffin tins but will make jumbo muffins next time I make this recipe.

2. In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at at time.

3. In a medium bowl combine 1 3/4 cup flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Mix all together just until incorporated.

4. Toss berries with remaining 1/4 cup flour in a medium bowl and then gently fold into batter. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Enjoy!

Dreaming of warm weather! :-)

Happy Buttermilk Berry Muffin Baking!

White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

2012-01-24T21:03:00.002-05:00

I often find myself thinking ahead to the next holiday. Not only to plan an activity or event around it but also to make sure I have plenty of fun things to bake for that particular holiday. I guess its all part of my passion for baking.

This past holiday season I did a huge amount of baking - not only for my family and friends but also for a local gift shop that wanted to sale homemade baked goodies for the holiday season. I was a baking fool! And I was in "baking HEAVEN" as I had an opportunity to bake to my hearts content many of the recipes that I had been accumulating on my wish list. One of the recipes that I made was called, White Chocolate Cranberry Bars. I found the recipe in the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook - originally the recipe was just for White Chocolate Bars but because I was in the mood for some dried cranberries I decided to sprinkle some into the batter. Success I say! The tart sweetness of the cranberries was perfectly paired with the smooth richness of the white chocolate. I was delighted with the results!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. These brownies would be just perfect for Heart Day as it is made with chocolate (how can you not bake something with chocolate in it for Heart Day!) and it has a sprinkling of red from the dried cranberries. I am thinking that I will make a batch of these brownies and then cut out servings with heart cookie cutters. A perfect Valentine's Day treat!

White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

(slightly adapted from Fat Witch Brownies)

Ingredients:

6 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped

5 Tbps unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking pan with butter and dust with flour lightly. Tap out any excess flour.

2. Melt white chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly so as to make sure that the chocolate does not burn. Remove chocolate and butter from heat before completely melted and continue to stirring until mixture is completely smooth. Set saucepan aside to cool.

3. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla extract all together in a large bowl until smooth. Add in white chocolate butter mixture and mix until well combined.

4. Measure flour, baking powder and salt into a sifter or fine sieve - sift together directly into batter. Mix until well combined and there is no trace of the dry ingredients remains.

5. Spread batter into prepared baking pan with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is light brown and cracked. Turn off oven and leave pan inside oven for 8 more minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting and serving.

YUM!

Happy White Chocolate Cranberry Bars Baking!

A gift of a soup...Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

2012-01-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

Recently a good friend of mine (Hey, Melissa!) made a big pot of this soup and handed me a lovely container of it for me to enjoy with my family. What a gift of a soup! Not only did we enjoy a delicious lunch of hot soup on a damp cold day but I then acquired recipe that I have been able to use over and over again since then to make as gifts for other friends of mine. One of my friends even said that it was the BEST soup she had ever tasted. Goodness did that make me happy!

The flavors of pumpkin, curry and cumin all come together to form a delicious party in your mouth. The texture of the soup is fun too as it has the smoothness of the pumpkin puree but also the perfection of the small black beans along with soft diced tomatoes. All of the textures and tastes come together to make one delicious soup.

And the soup is very easy to make! It would make a lovely week-night dish as it can be made and on the table within 30 minutes.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

(recipe from Rachel Ray)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes in juice, undrained

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed

2 cans (15 oz) pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2)

1 heaping Tbsp curry powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt to taste

chives, chopped for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat a large soup pan over medium high heat with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add in chopped onion and cook until translucent and soft.

2. Add in broth, diced tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir all together and bring soup to a gentle boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream (or 1/2 and 1/2), curry powder, ground cumin and salt. Simmer soup for at least 5 minutes. Taste soup and adjust seasonings if need be.

Sprinkle soup with chopped chives and serve with a lovely hearty bread. D'lish!

Happy Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup Making!

Almond Torte for the Secret Recipe Club

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today I greet you with a beautiful recipe for an Almond Torte. This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to an amazingly savory and creative food blog called, Gastronomical Sovereignty . My goodness is Kristy a talented cook! She makes dishes that I dream of having on my table every night. Vegetables of all kinds is one of her focuses along with many, many spices all coming together to make beautiful dishes.

As many of you know so well, I tend to gravitate towards the sweets of life. I choose an Almond Torte to make from Kristy's collection of recipes. A simple recipe that requires simple ingredients yet has a very satisfying result. As mentioned by Kristy this cake is perfectly paired with a nice HOT cup of tea. I do have to say that in order for this cake to be a success you must have a food processor as you will need to grind roasted almonds and granulated sugar to achieve the right consistency for the recipe.

Almond Torte

(recipe from Gastronomical Sovereignty)

Ingredients:

450 g whole blanched almonds, lightly roasted

10 1/2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

6 eggs

1 cup flour

2 tsp grated lemon rind (1 lemon gave me the perfect amount)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease 9" spring form pan.

2. Place roasted almonds in food processor and grind for about 20-30 seconds to obtain a fine consistency. Do the same with the granulated sugar.

3. Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time to combine well after each addition.

3. Stir in ground almonds, sugar, flour and lemon rind. Mix just until all combined.

4. Pour batter into prepared spring form pan and bake for 1 hr and 20 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing side of pan.

Share with dear friends and family - serve with hot tea or coffee. YUM!

Happy Almond Torte Baking!

Shrimp Fried Rice

2011-12-06T21:45:00.001-05:00

It is essential to have a quick, super yummy, stress free and healthy dinner recipe up your sleeve for this time of year. I am sure many of you are starting to get that heavy almost dizzy feeling of holiday craziness swirling around in your head by now. Goodness it is almost 2 1/2 weeks until Christmas (yes, I said 2 1/2 weeks!) by golly! Don't panic. It will ALL get done some how or another. And if it doesn't....well, there is always next year. Can you tell how I calm myself down when I start to panic about not being able to fit it all in or complete all those last minute "most make" or "must bake" or "must finish" projects? I reason with myself. That's all there is to it. And then I eat something delicious and all my stress disappears just like that! Magic. Simple and pure magic.

Today I want to share with you a little magical recipe for dinner time (or lunch if you are so inclined). It is simple. It is quick. It is even flexible as far as ingredients are concerned. And yes, it is SUPER good! Shrimp Fried Rice. And, if you really want you could add cooked beef or chicken to the rice instead of shrimp. Or you could just load it up with lots of veggies and call it a Veggie Fried Rice. Go nuts with this recipe. Make it your own variation of fried rice with what you choose to add in to it. No matter what it will be magically d'lish!

Shrimp Fried Rice

(recipe found on my go-to recipe source, Tasty Kitchen - I just LOVE this site!!)

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (white or brown)

4-6 Tbsp butter (you choose how crazy you want to get with your butta...I used 4 Tbsp and it was plenty)

1 lb shrimp, washed, shelled and deveined

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 onion, chopped

1/3 cup soy sauce (more or less depending on your taste)

3-4 green onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook rice in 2 cups water until done. Add in butter and toss around a bit so that it melts into rice nicely.

2. Saute chopped onions until soft and translucent. Add to rice along with soy sauce, peas and shrimp. Cook all together for a good 5-7 minutes making sure peas are no longer frozen and shrimp is not over cooked.

3. Just before serving toss in chopped green onions and then sprinkle some on top of dish just for good measure (and to make it pretty).

Enjoy!

Happy Shrimp Fried Rice Making!

Honey Challah Bread for Secret Recipe Club

2011-11-27T17:01:00.001-05:00

There are many things in life that make me happy. For example; a beautiful tablecloth, a cup of tea/coffee shared with a close friend, precious baby leaves on the branches of a tree in the Spring-time, the hands and smiles of my children and the process of making bread made with yeast. Yes, I love to make bread. I love the process of taking simple ingredients and creating a soft and full bowl of dough that comes alive before my eyes creating a master piece of yumminess into a loaf of bread.

This past month I was given a gift of a new recipe for a bread made with yeast, Honey Challah. I discovered this recipe as I was exploring the blog, Farm Girl Gourmet as I was assigned this amazing blog for the month of November from the Secret Recipe Club. I felt so fortunate to be assigned Farm Girl Gourmet's blog. I actually double checked my email that contained my blog assignment just to make sure my pure happiness was in the right place as I was over the moon excited to have been given the blog Farm Girl Gourmet. Heather's blog is packed with beautiful recipes that are explained to perfection and shown with amazing and very helpful pictures. I have had so much fun frequenting her blog and getting to know her from afar. If only we lived closer I might have just invited myself over for tea as she seems like someone I would just adore getting to know in real life. :-)

I have been looking for a good Challah recipe now for some time so when I opened Heather's blog to discover that she had the very recipe I had been searching for I couldn't resist making her bread. What a gem of a recipe! So easy and out-of-this-world delicious! It will be a perfect bread for me to make as gifts for this holiday season.

Honey Challah
(recipe from Farm Girl Gourmet)

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
4 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup sugar + 1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour (more if needed)
1 egg beaten, for the egg wash

Directions:
1. Add warm water to the bowl of a standing mixer. Attach dough hook. Sprinkle yeast and 1 tsp sugar over the warm water. Stir all together briefly and allow the 3 ingredients to grow together for 5 minutes.

2. Add in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, honey, butter, 3 eggs, salt and 4 1/2 cups flour to the bowl. On the lowest speed, mix all together until the flour is mostly incorporated and then increase speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes. Dough will become smooth with elasticity. Add in more flour if needed to make a soft craggy ball (I had to add in at least another cup to get to this stage but don't add too much flour as you want your dough to be very soft).
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand about 5 times. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat all sides of dough. Cover with a damp, clean towel and place in warm draft free area for 2 hours, or until doubled in size. (I placed my covered bowl in a closed oven that I had warmed briefly on the lowest temperature and then turned off as Heather so brilliantly suggested to do in her recipe. It worked like a charm!)

Hello there magical dough!

4. Gently punch down dough and then place on a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll out each piece to a 14" rope. Pinch the 3 ropes together and then braid loosely, pinching together at the end.

5. Place braid on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Allow dough to rest and double in size in a draft free location - which should take about 45 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush braided bread completely with beaten egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make sure you slice off a piece of this heavenly bread while it still holds some heat from the oven. Slather it with butter, close your eyes and take a bite. You won't regret it. I promise you!

Served with your favorite jam is also quite yummy....

I want to take a moment to show my deep appreciation to Amanda, who created the Secret Recipe Club and Tami who does such an amazing job as the hostess of my group (Group D). I am having so much fun discovering new blogs and making new friends through the fun of the Secret Recipe Club!

Happy Honey Hallah Bread Baking!

Apple Pie Cake

2011-11-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

I actually have an APPLE recipe for you today instead of a PUMPKIN recipe! I feel like all I do is bake with pumpkin these days. Which is not a bad thing at all believe me (I ADORE pumpkin!!) - but I like to provide a little variety in my baking to keep my friends, family and blog readers happy. :-)

When I came across this recipe for an Apple Pie Cake my eyes grew wide, my heart started to beat faster and bounced in my chair with happiness. An Apple Pie Cake sounded AMAZING! Boy, oh boy was it ever! So yummy. So easy to make. AND it only requires 6 ingredients to make!!!! Yup, only SIX.

You will need a 9 inch springform pan to make this apple-lious treat. A lovely mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and (COLD) butter form the bottom, sides and top of this pie/cake. You will first gently press a large portion of the brown sugar/flour mixture on the bottom and sides of the springform pan, fill the inside with all your prepared tart apples and then top apples with the remaining brown sugar/flour mixture. Which becomes the top of the pie/cake. It all comes together like magic as you are using such simple ingredients to make a wonderfully unique and delicious dessert. So grab some apples, your springform pan, a couple of ingredients from your pantry and fridge and preheat your oven to create a perfect Fall dessert. Then invite me over for a piece - I will bring freshly sweetened whipped cream to go on top! ;-)

Apple Pie Cake
(from the famous Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
about 12 tart apples - such as Granny Smith
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. With a pastry cutter add in butter pieces and cut into flour mixture until small pea size pieces remain.

2. Press 2/3 of the brown sugar/flour/butter mixture on the bottom and up 1 inch of the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set pan aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare apples by peeling and then slicing into thin slices and placing in a large bowl. Sprinkle apples with lemon juice so that they do not turn brown and then sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp of ground cinnamon.

4. Place sliced apples into the shell of your prepared springform pan, pressing down gently as you pack them in. If the apples mound over the edge of your pan that is ok - the more the better! Sprinkle remaining brown sugar/flour/butter mixture over apples.

5. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and then place prepared dessert on top before popping the whole thing into the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. When pie/cake come out of the oven carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan and then allow to cool so that the magical yummy treat can set.

Serve at room temperature if you wish!

Happy Apple Pie Cake Baking!

Pumpkies (the cutest name ever)

2011-11-05T12:51:00.000-04:00

I mean seriously doesn't it make you want to say, "ahhh" when you hear the word pumpkie? I just love that word! And I love what a pumpkie actually is! Can you guess what it is? It is not a cookie. Not cake. Not even a mini pie. It's a.....brownie! Yes, a pumpkin brownie! A lovely, sweet and easy to make pumpkin brownie. A Pumpkie. Go ahead, you can say it - it will make you smile. :-)

Want the recipe? I know you do!

Pumpkies

(recipe from Mother Thyme - I so LOVE Jennifer's blog)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan - set aside.

2. Beat butter until light and fluffy - about 2-3 minutes. Add in sugar, egg and pumpkin puree. Mix all together until well combined.

3. Add in flour, spices and salt to your pumpkin mixture. Mix all together until well combined.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and then pop into preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool as much as you wish and serve.

*I served mine slightly warm and wished that I had some freshly whipped cream to dollop on top as I think that would have been super yummy...next time I will do so!

Happy Pumpkies Baking!

It Is Secret Recipe Club Time!

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Recently I joined a fun cooking group online called, The Secret Recipe Club. Oh. My. Goodness what fun! I was assigned a LOVELY blog and from that blog I got to choose a recipe to make and then share with all of you. But I couldn't reveal the blog or the recipe until today! So without any further waiting my secret recipe for today is, Mini Pumpkin Muffins....

.... from the wonderful blog, Everyday Sisters. :-)

Not only did I enjoy this recipe (as I am sure you guys will too) but I fell head over heels in love with this blog! Four (yes, FOUR...two of which are identical twins and all four of which are just lovely inside and out - I can tell by their sweet smiles.) sisters have created and contribute to Everyday Sisters. All of them are just lovely - I feel like I know them personally now that I have been following them for the past month. I felt honored to get to know them via their blog. I love the variety of recipes that they offer such as Bistro Style Pasta Neapolitano (super yum looking and simple to throw together), White Zinfandel Sangria (one of my all time favorite kinds of drinks...the recipe lots so GOOD!) and Blueberry Cheesecake (which won an award!). Yup, I did a lot of drooling as I looked through their blog. So many yummy recipes!! :-)

I loved these Mini Pumpkin Muffins! These little gems only required 5 ingredients - simple, yummy and fun. Nothing better than that. Amen! And because they were so yummy and simple to make I made a batch to send to my oldest daughter's Halloween party at school today. I think all the kiddos will love them!

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

(recipe from Everyday Sisters)

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (NOT pie filling)

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil (I used canola)

sunflower seeds - optional - (I used chocolate covered sunflower seeds as that is what I had on hand... which worked out pretty well!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease mini muffin tins or line with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients except for sunflower seeds. Mix until well combined.

3. Stir into batter sunflower seeds or you can wait until muffin batter has been scooped into tins.

4. Scoop batter into muffin tins. I did so with my small scoop from Pampered Chef.

5. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes in pan and then remove to serve and enjoy.

YUM!

A special thank you to Ellen, Nanci, Karen and Susan from Everyday Sisters for being part of the Secret Recipe Club so that I could have you as my first Secret Recipe Club blog. Also, I'd like to thank Amanda who created this cooking club and Tami for hostessing my group. I can't wait to find out which blog I get for the month of November!

Happy Mini Pumpkin Muffin Baking!

A PERFECT Bake Sale Cookie Recipe

2011-10-28T22:10:00.001-04:00

Recently I made a new cookie recipe. It had peanut butter in it and LOTS of chocolate chips. It made a HUGE amount of cookies and they tasted AMAZING. Every time I bit into one of the cookies all I could think of is how perfect the recipe would be for a bake sale. Especially if the cookies were wrapped up in a pretty little package with a ribbon. :-)

Now I just need to find an opportunity to make these cookies again! Anyone have a bake sale coming up that you need some cookies for it? Let me know if you do because I've got just the recipe destined for a bake sale.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(recipe from the lovely Jamie Cooks it Up! )

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, Jaime used chunky)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 (12 oz.) bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 oz.) bag milk chocolate chips (I stuck with just milk chocolate and used 2 bags of them instead of 1 of semi and 1 of milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat softened butter and peanut butter together in a standing mixer until light and fluffy - a good 4-5 minutes.

2. Add in sugars and eggs. Beat for another 2 minutes. Mixture will appear frothy when it is done.

3. While butter, sugars and eggs are beating together combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Add dry ingredients to the beaten wet ingredients. Mix all together for 1 minute.

4. Next add in chocolate chips and mix just until combined. Scoop out cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with either parchment paper or Silpat. I used my medium size scoop that I purchased from Pampered Chef.

5. Bake cookies for 8 to 9 minutes - just until they start to crack. The cookies will appear that they need more time to bake but you do NOT want to over bake these cookies. They will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after they come out of the oven. I let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then removed them onto a platter.

So yummy! Enjoy!

Happy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting and the Tate's Bake Shop WINNER

2011-10-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

I am delighted to announce that Michelle Ells is the winner of the Tate's Bake Shop giveaway. Michelle, you have won a fabulous gift of cookies - 3 packages of Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat cookies from Tate's Bake Shop and their cookbook (to add to your collection). Thank you so much Michelle for entering into my giveaway!

And for the rest of you I have a lovely recipe just perfect for the season of Fall - Apple Cinnamon Rolls frosted with none other but Cream Cheese Frosting - super yum! Layers of all things tasty that I associate with the Fall are in these sweet rolls. Once your dough is made and rolled out you will layer it first with a brown sugar cinnamon mixture and then chopped apples sprinkled on top. Simply yummy!

I was delighted with how easy these special cinnamon rolls came together. The dough can actually be made in a bread machine but because I do not own one I made my dough in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and had great success. If you would like to make your dough in a bread machine just follow the directions from your machine manufacturer as to which ingredients that I share below should be added first. It is my understanding that usually all the wet ingredients/liquids go first followed by the seasonings, the flour and then the yeast placed in a well of the flour.

The recipe originates from a blog that I have recently discovered called, Mrs Happy Home Maker. Such a lovely blog full of mouth watering recipes. Scrumptious main dishes, breakfast foods and of course desserts of all kinds are just some of the delicious recipes that I have found on this blog. Definitely take a moment to take a peak at Mrs. Happy Home Maker. I want to point out that I did not use the original recipe for the frosting, Caramel Cream Cheese Icing but instead made original Cream Cheese Icing. I was missing a key ingredient for the caramel flavor, caramel ice cream topping as to why I didn't make the icing that went along with the original recipe for these rolls.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

(ever so slightly adapted from Mrs. Happy Home Maker)

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (I warmed my milk in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to warm it)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled for a couple of minutes

4 1/2 cups bread flour (AP flour is fine - I used AP flour)

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp regular yeast (if making your dough in bread machine use yeast for bread machines)

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling Ingredients:

5 Tbsp butter, softened (original recipe called for a whole stick which I didn't end up using)

1 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Apple Filling Ingredients:

4-5 medium sized baking apples, peeled, cored and diced

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cornstarch

*Cream Cheese Icing:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

*If you would like to make your icing into a caramel icing add in 5-6 Tbsp of caramel ice cream topping....should be a lovely result of a frosting for these special rolls!

Directions:

1. Make the dough. Warm milk in a medium size heat proof bowl in microwave for about 1 minute (do not get it too hot or the yeast will be killed when added to milk...trust me on this as I have learned the hard way). Sprinkle yeast over milk, let sit for a couple of minutes and then gently stir to combine and set aside. Add flour and salt into large bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer. Melt butter and set aside for a couple of minutes to cool then pour into flour mixture. Add in slightly beaten eggs and then milk/yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Mix to combine. At this point I switched over to my dough hook. Run mixer for a good 5 minutes until dough comes away from bowl and is shiny in color.

2. Lightly grease a large bowl and then remove dough from mixing bowl into your prepared greased bowl. Cover with a clean damp towel and set in a warm place without any drafts. Allow dough to rise until at least doubled in size - about an hour.

3. Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured and allow to rest for 15 minutes before rolling out.

4. While dough is resting make apple filling. In a medium size sauce pan melt 3 Tbsp of butter. Add in diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every so often.

Cool apple filling as you prepare the dough for layering of all the yumminess.

5. Roll out rested dough into a large rectangle. Mix together 1 cup brown sugar and 2 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon, set aside as you spread 5-6 Tbsp of softened butter over your rectangle of dough....

....and now sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the butter layer....

...and then finally the apple filling....

6. Starting on a long side of the rectangle carefully roll up the dough.

No worries if the filling comes out a little bit as you can just spoon it over the rolls once placed in pan.

7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a 9x13 baking pan. Remove pan when butter has melted. Cut rolled up dough into 1 1/2 inch slices - place slices in prepared pan. Put any remaining filling on top of rolls in pan.

Pop in oven and bake for 15 minutes - rolls should be lightly browned when they are done.

8. While rolls are baking, make the icing as you will want to frost the rolls while they are still warm. In a large bowl combine cream cheese and butter. Beat together for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Slowly add in sifted powdered sugar along with vanilla extract (and caramel topping if you choose to use it). Beat all together until well combined and smooth - about 2-3 minutes.

9. Spread icing over rolls while they are still warm. Such a lovely sight I tell ya!

Serve and enjoy this delightful treat!

Happy Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese (or Caramel Cream Cheese) Icing Baking!

Before I leave you, here is a picture of my precious oldest daughter and the newest addition to our family.....Mitten the Kitten :-)

A Fall cookie recipe and a COOKIE GIVEAWAY!

2011-10-13T08:30:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the month of October is National Cookie Month?! How fun and yummy! In honor of such a special month I want to share with you a lovely Fall flavored cookie recipe along with a fabulous cookie giveaway from Tate's Bake Shop.

Last December I had the opportunity of receiving a variety of cookies from Tate's along with their wonderful cookbook - as seen here. When I was contacted once again to review one of their newest kind of cookies -Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip - I jumped for joy! Dark Chocolate is one my all time favorite kinds of chocolate. Honestly, I like any kind of chocolate but dark chocolate is pretty special.

Let me tell you when I took my first bite of one of these cookies my eyes feel back into my head with happiness. SO good! The cookies are chewy yet crisp - the best of both worlds. And the taste is perfect - not too sweet with plenty of dark chocolate chips throughout the

cookie.

If you would like THREE (yes, THREE) bags of these cookies along with the Tate's Bake Shop cookbook please feel free to enter this giveaway. You can do so three ways...

1. Leave a comment at the end of this post. Any kind of happy comment is welcome.

2. Follow Tate's Bake Shop on Facebook here (just let me know that you've become a follower of Tate's via another comment below).

3. Become a follower of Baking and Creating with Avril on FB - make sure to leave a comment on my FB page to let me know you are one of my newest followers.

That's THREE opportunities to win this giveaway! You can do it!

Winner will be chosen this coming Sunday evening (10.16.11) - all entries must be received by 12 noon on Sunday. Winner will be announced Sunday night. I can't wait to find out who the winner is!

AND the good news is that everyone that reads this post can go over to Tate's e-bakery and order anything they would like with a 15% off discount for the remainder of the month of October. Just enter "COOKIE" at checkout.

SAWEET! :-)

Now I get to share with you the fun Fall cookie recipe I recently made. This cookie recipe would be a great treat for kids, especially for an after school snack as these cookies are super easy to make and bake in a jiffy!

Apple Cinnamon Chip Cookies

(recipe slightly adapted from So Domesticated)

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith apples (or any kind of baking apple), peeled and chopped

1 tsp lemon juice - keeps the chopped apples from browning

3 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup half and half (I used 2% milk instead with success)

1 egg

1 cup cinnamon chips (I added this to the original recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with non-stick baking oil.

2. Peel and chop apples into small pieces. Place apples in a bowl and toss with lemon juice. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl mix together Bisquick, both sugars and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

4.Whisk together half and half (or milk) and egg. Pour into Bisquick mixture and stir to combine.

5. Add in chopped apples and cinnamon chips. Stir to combine.

6. With a medium ice cream scoop, drop dollops of cookie batter onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Makes a good 2 dozen cookies. Store cookies covered in a tightly sealed container.

Enjoy!

Happy Apple Cinnamon Chip Cookie Baking!

And good luck with the Tate's Bake Shop giveaway! :-)

Super EASY and Super YUMMY Chicken Chili

2011-10-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

Recently as I was browsing through one of my favorite food sites, Tasty Kitchen, I came up upon a lovely recipe for Chicken Chili. The list of ingredients were very simple (all of which I had on hand) and it was put together in a crock pot. I was sold! Simple ingredients, easy prep and slow cooker friendly - I couldn't ask for anything better.

I altered the original recipe from TK member, forevernowandthen, in a couple of places. The original recipe called for a large (16 oz.) jar of salsa of which I didn't have so I used a small jar of salsa and a can of Rotel tomatoes. The original recipe also called for 2 cans of white beans - I only had 1 can of white beans so I added a can of light kidney beans. I have to say my alterations resulted in a very yummy meal.

Chicken Chili

(recipe altered from Forever Now and Then )

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken, diced and cooked

1 jar (16 oz.) salsa (I used a small jar of salsa and 1 can Rotel tomatoes)

1 1/2 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (you could easily use a combo of Monterey and Cheddar cheese instead of all Monterey)

2 cans (15 oz. each) white beans (I used 1 can white beans and 1 can light kidney beans)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients (cooked chicken, salsa, cheese, beans) in crock pot and stir well to combine.

2. Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Stir one about half way through the cooking period.

Serve with tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream (if you wish). Enjoy!

Happy Chicken Chili Making!

Apple Crumble Pie Muffins

2011-09-29T07:04:00.003-04:00

Fall has arrived and I am totally embracing the season by baking as much as I can with apples. Watch out because I have a bunch of apple recipes coming your way in the next couple of weeks.

Here is a little picture of our first apple picking outing of the season this year....so much fun but TONS of mosquitoes nagged at us as we picked. I seriously have no patience for mosquitoes (especially when they bite my kiddos!!!). Rrrrrrr!!!

One of the first things I made with the apples we picked that day was a lovely batch of muffins called, Apple Crumble Pie Muffins. Seriously, seriously good muffins is produced by this recipe. And yes, the muffins do remind me of apple pie as they are packed full of chopped apples, cinnamon goodness and a perfect crumble topping. Best of all they are super easy and quick to make. The longest part of this recipe is the peeling, coring and chopping of the apples.

The original recipe suggested making regular size muffins but I choose to make the muffins in my jumbo size muffin tins. I was able to make 9 jumbo muffins out of the batter.

Apple Crumble Pie Muffins

(recipe was found on This and That - lots of fun recipes found throughout this blog)

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Muffin Batter Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup veggie or canola oil

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (I made my own by squirting in a couple tsp's of lemon juice into the milk and letting it sit for a couple of minutes)

2 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups peeled and diced apples

Directions:

1. Prepare topping by combining all crumb ingredients in a medium size bowl. Set aside as you make the muffin batter.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin batter by taking a large bowl and whisking together brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla extract and buttermilk all together until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add sifted flour mixture into wet mixture.

4. Fold in diced apples - mix just to combine....you don't want to over mix batter as your muffins will have a tough consistency if over mixed.

5. Grease muffin tins or line with muffin cups. Fill 2/3's of the way up. Sprinkle muffin batter cups with crumb topping. Pop in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (time maybe less if making regular size muffins). You will know that the muffins are done when they are golden brown and tops will spring back when touched.

I know you will enjoy these muffins!

Happy Apple Crumble Pie Muffin Baking!

Brrrrrookies - THE bar to make :-)

2011-09-22T21:20:00.000-04:00

Today I am sharing with you a bar recipe that will seriously...Change. Your. World. I'm reaching out particularly to those of you that enjoy a good brownie. I am also reaching out to those of you that enjoy a good chocolate chip cookie. For those of you that enjoy BOTH brownies and cc cookies hold onto your hats because this treat of a recipe has BOTH of them in it....thus the name BROOKIE comes alive.

Oh yeah....first you have a layer of brownie and then a layer of chocolate chip cookies together they become a union of sinfully delicious yumminess.

How in the world can you resist such a treat like this?!? Unless you don't like chocolate....there are a few of you out there in the world (which is totally fine, more chocolate for me!).

Brookies

(This fabulous recipe was found @ Shugary Sweets)

Brownie Layer Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 eggs

3/4 cups butter, melted

1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Cookie Layer Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco (butter can be substituted if need be)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp real vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk

1 egg

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Make brownie layer by combining ALL "brownie ingredients" in a large bowl. Mix until just combined. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan.

3. Make cookie layer by beating Crisco and brown sugar together until well combined. Add in vanilla extract, milk and egg. Slowly add in flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Once all dry ingredients are combined to the wet stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop cookie dough batter by the spoonful (I used a small ice cream scoop) evenly over brownie batter layer....

5. Pop in oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until brownie edges have come away from the edge of the baking pan.

Cool completely before cutting into squares. Putting the pan of Brookies in the refrigerator is a great way to speed up the process as recommended by Aimee.

SOOOOO good!!! And just a little FYI, a small piece of this treat will make your eyes roll back in your head. BIG pieces are optional. ;-)

Happy Brookie Baking!