Goodies from Granny's House

Shepherd's Pie

2013-03-08T22:37:00.000-08:00

This is my version of a delicious home style meal that can be thrown together
with the ingredients you have already in your cupboards and freezer . Of course
you can substitute green beans for peas , frozen carrots for fresh,or canned peas and
carrots instead. Use whatever you have on hand. Just add the canned veggies
towards the tail end with the corn.

For mashed potato topping;
Boil 4 large peeled and cubed potatoes until tender .
Meanwhile;
Add 1 Tbs oil to large fry pan and saute over low heat for 5 mins;
2 peeled and chopped carrots
1 large chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1 cup frozen peas
Add;
1 cup beef broth and simmer until liquid is cooked down
a bit but not dry
Add 1 can drained whole kernel corn.
Pour this mixture into a 9x13 baking pan or
similar size casserole dish and set aside.

Brown in frying pan ;
1+1/2 lbs of ground beef and drain off fat.
Stir in 1 can undiluted tomato soup,
1 tsp garlic powder,
1 tsp Italian seasonings
salt and pepper to your taste
Mix this together in the casserole with veggies .
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mash potatoes with butter,milk,salt and pepper and drop scoops
of potatoes over top of the meat veggie mixture.Gently spread
to cover completely.
Sprinkle shredded cheddar, monterey jack or whatever cheese
you might have on hand over potatoes and cover dish with foil.
Bake at 350 for 45 mins. Uncover and bake for 15 mins to
lightly brown potatoes a bit.
Remove from oven and let set 10 mins to allow potatoes to firm a little.

This makes 6 generous servings or 8 smaller.

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

2013-02-10T21:00:00.002-08:00

This is another recipe from that really old cookbook I have that
doesn't give exact measurements on the flour amount.
These are thick , soft cookies with the occasional crack in
them like the old days.

Beat in Lg. bowl;
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
Add;
1 cup molasses
4 tsp.s soda
2 tsp.s ginger
2 tsp.s cinnamon
1/2 ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
Alternate into batter;
2 cups flour
1 cup sour milk ( tsp vinegar to regular milk)
Next;
Add up to 4 cups more flour to make a soft dough.
Start with 3 and add more as needed to be able to roll them out.
Sprinkle board with flour, roll 1/4 thick and cut out in large circles.
Sprinkle sugar on tops and bake 5 to 8 mins in 375 mins.

Orange Jello Fruit Salad

2013-01-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

This is a tasty jello salad that sets up quicker because you add ice cubes to it. Feel free to experiment with other flavors of jello. Also you may double the recipe as well.

Dissolve;

1 pkg. 3 oz. orange jello in 3/4 cup boiling water .

Add;

2 cups ice cubes stirring constantly until jello starts to thicken about

3 to 5 mins. and remove any unmelted chunks of ice .

Add;

1 cup thawed cool whip and blend till smooth.

Add;

1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges (drained well)

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1 can 15 oz . crushed pineapple in syrup(drained well)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Pour into serving bowl or dessert glasses and chill till completely set. Garnish with extra fruit if desired.

Makes 4 cups or 8 servings

Enchilada's

2013-01-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

Mexican food is so yummy and here is my version of cheesy baked enchilada's.

2 lbs lean g. beef
1 packet taco seasoning mix

2 small( 8oz) can's mild green chili enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sliced black olives
2 small cans mild white Queso cheese sauce
I package large size package tortilla wraps

optional toppings;
sour cream
green onions
Sliced jalepenos
diced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
guacamole

Filling;
Prepare beef according to taco seasoning packet.
Add 1 cup sliced olives,and cheddar cheese.

Pour one can green chili sauce in a pie plate.
Wet each tortilla with that and spoon some meat
down the middle of each.
Roll them up tucking sides in like burritos.
Place seam side down in large baking dish.

Blend remaining can of green sauce and 2
cans of white queso sauce and cover rolled tortillas.
Sprinkle the olives over top
and bake them for about 45 mins.

Add toppings of your choice at the table.

No Bake Banana Cream Pie

2013-01-08T16:26:00.001-08:00

I love this pie because I can throw it together in a jiffy. Hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients you will need;
graham cracker pie crust
banana's
nonfat dry milk
water
cool whip
chocolate syrup
nuts
instant banana pudding
Line a graham cracker pie crust with 2 medium sliced bananas and set aside
Beat in a bowl well;
1 - 4 oz. box of instant banana pudding
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
1+1/3 cup cold water
Blend into pudding ;
1/4 cup cool whip and pour over the bananas. Chill for 15 mins.
Spread 3/4 's cup cool whip evenly over the pudding.
Drizzle chocolate syrup over the cool whip.
Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired and chill well.

Raspberry Zinger Cupcakes

2012-11-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I have had since high school that tastes similar to the Hostess Zingers they sell in the stores, or at least before Hostess went out of business.. which means this recipe is even more valuable now! This would be a fun rainy day recipe to make with the kids:)

If you prefer a whole cake instead of a cupcake then just spread the filling on one cake layer, and then top with the raspberry and coconut. (see picture)

Raspberry Zinger Cupcakes

1 yellow cake mix

2 cans coconut or 1 bag

1 cup raspberry jam or preserves

1/4 cup sugar

For filling: 1 batch of whipped cream made with unflavored gelatin or continental frosting **recipe follows**

Bake cupcakes according to package.

Slice cooled cupcakes in half and put a spoon of whipped cream in the middle of each.

Replace the cupcake tops and chill.

Heat jam and sugar in a saucepan and boil 1 min while stirring. Spread top and side of cupcake with jam and press in the coconut. Eat and enjoy!

**Continental Frosting**

5 Tbsp Flour

1/8 tspn salt

1 cup milk

1 cup shortening or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

In a pan blend flour and salt and then add milk slowly while stirring over low heat. Cook while stirring until it thickens. Cool completely.

Combine shortening and sugar and blend at high speed for 5-10 minutes or until smooth. Add cooled flour mixture 1 Tbsp at a time and beat at high speed. Add vanilla extract and blend through. When well creamed it should be the consistency of whipped cream.

Frosting can be used as cream puff filling, cake frosting, or jelly rolls.

Crockpot Barbecue Beans

2012-08-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

Beans have a bad reputation. I know it, and I'm here to stick up for them. I love beans. I love them in soup. I love green beans. I love chili beans. I love white beans. I love.. well you get the picture. And they don't have to taste awful. When you make beans for a cookout or bigger gathering they don't have to be the basic beans, brown sugar and pineapple concoction. (No offense to them, my Grandma's were delicious.)

Give this recipe a try, you won't be sorry! (they do take a lot of time to cook, but after the initial prep they do the work themselves and people will rave about them.)

Crockpot Barbecue Beans

32oz dried pinto beans

2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained

1 c. crumbled cooked bacon

1 medium onion, diced

2 16oz bottles of Wegmans Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce (or make your own but I don't do well with liquid smoke so I rely on good old Wegmans)

1 c. Ketchup

1 1/4 c. Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 c. water

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1/2 tspn ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tspn salt

In a large mixing bowl, cover the pinto beans with boiling water and soak overnight (at least 8-10 hours) and then drain and rinse. In the crockpot mix together all the ingredients. Cook them on high for 8-10 hours, or until beans are soft, but not mushy.

If you like more kick, feel free to add more cayenne! These are the perfect dish for a family gathering. They are also full of protein so you could actually serve them along side a nice salad and roll for dinner.

Acini Fruit Salad

2012-08-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

Acini Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

One container of Cool Whip

2 quarts sliced strawberries, half of them mashed

4 bananas

2 Tbsp flour

2 eggs beaten

3/4 c sugar

1 box strawberry jello

1/2 box Acini di pepe pasta, cooked, rinsed and cooled

Instructions:

Cook mashed berries, jello, flour, eggs and sugar until thick. Let cool.

Mix with cooled acini.

Add sliced berries, mix and chill.

When ready to serve, add sliced bananas and cool whip. Mix through and serve.

**note: This is one of those desserts that is delicious but doesn't always look very sophisticated.. we've had to talk people into trying it before to get them over the idea of "pasta in a fruit salad", but most people agree it's yummy.**

Irish Nachos

2012-03-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

With the passing of St Patrick's Day over the weekend I thought I'd share a recipe. A restaurant in town makes something similar to these and we really like them.

Irish Nachos

4-5 pounds of washed potatoes, sliced into 8 wedges each.

oil

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 lb sliced corned beef from the deli

sauerkraut

sour cream

chopped green onions

Preheat the oven to 400* and soak the potato wedges in a mild salt water for a bit. When the oven is hot, drain them, blot them dry with a towel and toss them in oil. Spread them across a greased cookie sheet and bake them for 45 minutes.

While they are baking, chop up the corned beef into small chunks. Heat up the sauerkraut in a pan on the stove until hot. (no need to cook it, just heat it)

After the wedges are done, pull out the pan and sprinkle cheese and corned beef over the top generously. Put the pan back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Top the potatoes with sauerkraut and eat! (We actually top ours with sour cream and green onions too) I'm not a huge fan of corned beef and cabbage.. but this I can eat!

Cookie Sheet Apple Pie

2011-07-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is so yummy! When you are looking for a dessert for a large group this is always a hit.Took this to a birthday party recently and everyone really enjoyed it. I made an Amish "perfect pie crust recipe" for it and it really was perfectly tender and just the right size for my 15 inch long jelly roll sheet pan.

*Crust;
Mix;
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
Cut in;
1+1/4 cups Crisco
Add;
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 Tbs. vinegar
Mix well and form into a ball.
Divide in two and chill .

Filling;
6 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin
2+1/4 cups sugar
6 Tbs. small tapioca
2 tsp cinnamon
Mix filling and set aside to soften the tapioca.

You will also need some
butter for dotting apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out bottom crust to completely fit rectangle pan.
Spread apples evenly over bottom crust.
Dot apples with butter here and there.
Roll out top crust and place over top.
Seal and crimp edges and bake 1 hour .
Cool and cut in squares.

* This recipe will make 5 single crusts.

Chicken Spinach Salad with Orange Balsalmic Dressing

2011-07-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

This summer has proved to be a very busy one so whenever I can throw a salad together as a meal I'm all for that. I decided to try adding orange marmalade to white balsamic vinegar and I liked the results a lot. As I always say play with this if you like a sweeter or more tangier dressing before you serve it. I also used frozen chicken tenderloin strips but any chicken will work.

Cook in a non-stick fry pan about 7 Min's on both
sides till lightly browned :
5 frozen tenderloin strips
1 tsp oil
Sprinkle 1 Tbs. white balsamic vinegar over chicken and
cook a couple more minutes to glaze.
Cut chicken in large chunks to toss in the
salad before adding dressing.

Make salad with;
1 bag fresh spinach,which can be cut if desired
1 small sweet onion chopped
1 chopped tomato
2/3 cup dried craisins(cranberries)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 Lge. drained can of mandarin oranges

In salad cruet shaker blend well;
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 dashes of soy sauce
2/3 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
2 drops orange extract flavoring
Add 1 cup canola oil and blend well.
drizzle over salad with chicken and toss at serving time.

Dirt Road Sopapilla Cheesecake

2011-05-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 cans crescent rolls

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened - not low fat - go for the good stuff!

2 C sugar (divided)

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C butter

ground cinnamon

*Roll one can crescent dough into bottom of greased 9x13 baking pan.

*Stretch dough and pinch seams together to form crust.

*Blend together cream cheese, 1 C sugar and 1 tsp vanilla

*Spread over dough - not too close to edge

* Stretch second can of crescent rolls over cream cheese layer to form top crust

*Melt butter and 1 C sugar and 1 tsp vanilla and pour over crust

*Sprinkle with cinnamon

*Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

2011-05-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

1 can of pillsbury crescent rolls

2 8oz packages of softened cream cheese

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup of real bacon bits

1 8oz package of shredded cheese (I prefer Monty Jack or a Monty Jack mix but Mozz works too)

3 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and chopped

Spread crescent roll dough on the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish. Pinch together to make a crust and bake at 375* for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

While that's baking, mix up cream cheese, bacon bits and garlic. When the crust comes out of the oven, spread the cream cheese mixture on top evenly. Sprinkle the peppers all over, and then cover with shredded cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes at the same temp, or until the top is bubbly and melted. Cut and serve.

*if you like it hotter, add more peppers, if you like it milder cut them smaller and use less of them.. but for heaven's sake, do not forget to remove the seeds and don't handle them with your bare hands. They sting when they get in your skin and you don't want to chance rubbing your eyes with that juice in your skin..*

Summertime Strawberry Jello

2011-05-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Jello Salad

Ingredients:

2 Large boxes Strawberry Jello (reg or sugar free)

2 cups boiling water

2 Large Cans crushed Pineapple, drained well, juice reserved

Whipped Cream

Sour Cream (fat free)

quart of Strawberries, sliced

chopped walnuts, if desired

Instructions:

Dissolve jello in boiling water, add pineapple juice. Cool slightly and stir in pineapple. Chill til slightly set, stirring often. Stir in strawberries. Chill until set. Spread a thin layer of sour cream over the top, and then a thin layer of Cool Whip. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

**Note: The men in this family really like this jello.**

Grandpa's Favorite Apple Pie

2011-05-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I found using macintosh apples that are my husbands favorite. They are a less tart, quicker cooking apple.

Mix:
5 cups sliced peeled Macintosh apples
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbls.minute tapioca

Measure in a bowl:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
Cut in with pastry cutter:
2/3 cup crisco
Measure :
6 level tbls. ice cold water and blend in with
the flour mixture
Divide into 2 balls and roll out one crust on floured
board. Place bottom crust in pie pan
Add apples evenly and dot with butter.
Roll out top crust and place over the pie.
Trim ,seal edges together and then crimp .

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

My Spaghetti Sauce

2011-05-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

I remember a young bride calling me once to tell me she had been thinking about my spaghetti sauce all night. If you use your crockpot leave cover on to retain the heat the first few hours. Hope you like it.

3 large cans Hunt's or home canned whole tomatoes,blended in processor
1 medium can tomato paste
1 medium chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic or 2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbls. brown sugar
1 tbls. italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
1 tap basil
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbls. grated parmesan cheese
Browned Italian Sausage or Meatballs

Cook in a crockpot all day or over low heat
on stove all day stirring occasionally.
Serve over pasta.

Milk Onion Gravy

2011-04-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

This was a recipe my mother used to make when she wanted something other than butter for our potatoes with a meal. I remember as a teen coming home from high school dances and making this to have over toast all the time.

Place 3 Tbs.s butter in a deep pan over medium heat.

Stir in: 1 large chopped onion and cook stirring until transparent.
Sprinkle 2 Tbs. flour over the onion and stir over low heat
until mixed well.
Slowly add 2 cups milk while stirring constantly until mixture
comes to a boil.A drop more milk can be added if it seems too thick.
Add salt and pepper.

Salmon Patties

2011-04-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

There seems to be so much hype in the news today about how healthy Salmon is for us that I thought I would post my salmon patties recipe here. I think it's one of the most reasonable meals you can put together and if you brown them nice and crispy even the kids will enjoy them. You could also serve them on a bun with Mayo and lettuce. The tender little rows of bones can actually be crushed right in for more nutritional value or easily removed if you prefer to.

1 can wild Alaskan salmon
1 package of saltine crackers, crushed
1 small minced onion
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tbs. Lemon juice
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2tsp pepper

Drain Salmon and section it down the middle
to remove tiny bones if desired.
Take a fork and mash salmon in a medium bowl.
Add everything but crushed crackers and mix well.
Add crackers in and blend well with your hands.

Preheat enough oil to crisp both sides of
patties over medium heat in a large frypan.
Form into smooth burger style patties with your hands.
Fry on one side until brown and crispy.
carefully flip them over and brown the other side.
Turn fire down and cook a couple more
minutes on each side until centers are set.

Serve plain or with a sauce of your choice that goes well with fish.

Fried Apples

2011-02-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

This is a great recipe for those yummy fried apples you get at the great homestyle restaurant with the rockers on the porch :) . Yes I know even Paula might be shocked at the butter content but portions are supposed to be served sparingly along side a meat dish such as pork chops :)

6 firm peeled thick sliced apples

1 cup sugar

1 cup real butter (this is important!!!)

Melt 1 cup butter in a large fry pan. Add apples and cook stirring for about 10 mins. Stir in the sugar and cook till apples become transparent but not mushy and hold their shape.

Cheddar Stuffed BBQ Meatloaf

2011-02-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! A while ago we made an awesome cheese filled meatloaf and had a pic ready to post along with the recipe but things got really hectic around here so we never got around to it. Well we made it again so I decided today was the day to get back in the swing of things so without further delay.... lol

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend together well in bowl with your hands:
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 med. minced onion
2 eggs
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Divide meat mixture in half and pat one half into a 9 by 13 in pan.

Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese generously over the top of the meat in pan.

Carefully pat the other half of meat over the cheese pressing the edges down into other meat to help seal the cheese center.

Bake about 40 mins in 350 oven while you prepare the sauce for the top.

Mix well:
1 cup catsup
1/2 cup brown sugar
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Remove from the oven and spread the sauce over the top of the meatloaf and bake another twenty mins. Let set for 5 mins before serving.

Delicious Endeavors Recipe Carnival Fifth Edition!!!

2010-11-11T00:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! The return of the Delicious Endeavors Blog Carnival looks like a great success! There are recipes of all different sorts, which is always fun to see. We here at Granny's house submitted our Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe which is incredibly awesome, if I do say so myself.

Romanesco cauliflower – easy-peasy recipe was submitted and posted at Miss Thrifty. This is so fascinating to me because I've never even seen Romanesco cauliflower and I worked in a pretty extensive produce department for a while. Miss Thrifty has me curious, and I'm thinking of special ordering it so that I can try it.

Mr Salsa submitted a Red Hot Salsa Recipe posted at Salsa Recipes For You. Homemade salsa is always a good idea for sure.

Wenchypoo posted In Advance of Thansgiving: What To Do With Those Leftovers at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket. There are a couple great ideas for how to use leftovers, one of which is a fabulous idea for a sort of Shepard's Pie. Who would have thought to use stuffing as a crust??

Lisa posted Harvest Stuffing at akawest. Another great submission that sounds like a guaranteed win for the holidays!

Celeste submitted Cooking Creation: Homemade Ricotta-Parmesan Ravioli in Marinara posted at Cooking Creation. Wow. I have an Italian husband so homemade pasta definitely makes my list of favorite meals!

Patti submitted ONION SOUP ON THE CHEAP by P.B.Lecron posted at A French Education. Everyone should have a few "go-to" soups in their repertoire.. and what better than to have a French Onion Soup as one of them?

Last but not least Michele submitted Parisian Apple Tartlet posted at Fit Foodista. This recipe looks fabulous, pretty simple yet delicious and would be a great dessert for any meal.

Thanks for playing everyone! Be sure to submit again for next week's carnival, the link should be up soon... and speaking of links, be sure to check out all the recipes and to link back here to this carnival post so that everyone can benefit from these great submissions!

Pumpkin Spice Latte (who needs Starbucks??)

2010-11-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

This recipe is great because not only does it taste like one of the expensive seasonal lattes from a coffee shop, but it's also available year round so if you find yourself missing autumn flavors in the middle of spring you can feel free to whip one up. Plus you never have to go out in the cold on a coffee run if you don't want to!

Pumpkin Latte

1 1/2 c. Half & Half Cream

2 Tbsp Canned Pumpkin

2 tspn Vanilla

1 tspn Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 Tbsp Sugar

Very Strong Coffee or Espresso (one big mug's worth.. this recipe makes 2 mugs of latte)

whipped cream (optional)

In a small sauce pan stir together Half & Half, pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and sugar over medium heat until blended and hot. (but not boiling) Remove from heat and whisk quickly until it gets foamy. Split between two large mugs, and then fill them the rest of the way with the extremely strong coffee. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Delicious Endeavors Recipe Carnival

2010-11-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that our blog carnival hasn't been active in quite some time... which is mostly because of the lack of participation, but also because of the busy lives we lead. I think we're going to get the carnival back up and running and see if we can get some good participation this fall.

With the holiday season approaching us, it should be easy to come up with seasonal favorites to share! Please come out and join the fun! For those who don't understand what a blog carnival is, bloggers of all types submit blog posts (in our case the post should include a recipe) and then since we are the hostesses of this carnival, we will post the carnival post here on the scheduled date. We can all check out each other's recipes, which is so fun. Not only do we learn some awesome new recipes, but we also increase blog traffic to our sites.

Want to play along? Click on the submit link, and submit a recipe, along with the permalink to your post.
Then on the day of the carnival post a link on your own blog that leads to the carnival post. Easy Peasy!
The deadline for next week's carnival is Tuesday Nov 9th, at 8AM. The carnival itself will be posted by Wednesdays.

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

2010-11-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

This recipe is a favorite, and while I've made it "by scratch" before, when I do it's never the same because I end up just altering any homemade chocolate cake recipe. Because of this, I decided that in order to post it, I'll stick with the original recipe, which is essentially a doctored cake mix recipe but it's delicious just the same.

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

1 Box(18 25oz) cake mix --

(devil's food)

1 pk Instant pudding mix --

Chocolate, 4-serv

1 c Sour cream -- (1/2 pint)

1 c Vegetable oil

4 Eggs

1/2 c Water

30 Mini chocolate peanut butter, crushed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, with an electric beater, combine all the ingredients except the crushed candies; mix well. Stir in the crushed candies and mix well. Pour into a well-greased 10-inch Bundt pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake slightly, about 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and continue to cool thoroughly on a wire cooling rack. Yield: 10-12 servings

I usually drizzle on a glaze of some sort, in the picture above I opted for a Peanut Butter Glaze.

Peanut Butter Glaze:
3-4 tsp water (add until thin enough to drizzle)
2/3 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp Creamy Peanut Butter

Stir ingredients together until smooth and drizzle over cake.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I normally don't decorate it quite as intricately as I did this one. This particular cake was baked in honor of my daughter's dedication which happened on a beautiful fall day, hence the fall theme. The "harvest fruits" were made of marzipan that I had dyed and shaped appropriately, and the autumn leaves were actually made from spreading melted chocolate discs on top of wax paper using a maple leaf stencil and then letting it harden.

A recipe-less cookie post

2010-10-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

I normally don't post "personal" posts on this blog.. but considering the content of the pictures, I decided to do it anyway. This is what happens when you decide to bake some Autumn cookies for some special out-of-state family. First you bake the cookies and let them cool on the rack:

Then you hear the pitter patter of little feet who have used their sense of smell to track down something that they've figured out they're missing out on:

And since they look so cute you agree to let them "help" which turns into more eating than helping so you send them on their way, each having consumed a satisfying amount of both sprinkles and frosting:

And after they are banished from the kitchen you finish frosting them yourself, equipped with fall colors.

And by late that night you'll be able to package up delicious little apples, maple leafs and acorns to take on your weekend visit which shall include a great-grandson's soccer game, lunch at Sonic, and whatever other surprises show up along the way.