Clawson Live

Thai Pasta Salad

2013-05-06T08:32:00.001-06:00

I've posted this salad before, but it's such a good one, AND I took a better photo of it this time. It needed a repeat:) It is such a standout salad at any gathering. The colors are beautiful, and the salad is so fresh, and light. You could turn it into a main dish item by adding the meat from a rotisserie chicken, or maybe some grilled shrimp over the top. Yummy!! Again, thanks to my sister-in-law Susan who introduced me to this salad. And also to Mr. Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) who first posted it. I used rice noodles this go around, but it turns out just as lovely using linguine noodles as well. I had a bit left over and I was worried it would be a yucky mess the next day, but Emma claimed it tasted better the second day. So the verdict is the salad is awesome freshly made, and it's amazing after a Fast Sunday at church. And I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we were STARVING right after church:) Enjoy!!

Thai Pasta Salad
Make's 1 enormous bowl of salad
recipe adapted from a recipe on The Pioneer Woman and originally from The Naked Chef TV show.

1 lb. of linguine pasta cooked or 1 lb of rice noodles (For rice noodles a quick minute or two in boiling water should soften them up sufficiently.

In a really large bowl ( I love my IKEA honking huge silver bowl) add:

1 head Napa cabbage chopped
peppers sliced (A combination of red, yellow, and orange is best. You know it's all about the presentation!)
purple cabbage
matchstick carrots if you don't have colorful peppers
fresh bean sprouts
a bunch of green onions sliced
some cucumbers sliced
1 bunch of cilantro chopped or a lot of chopped fresh basil (Basil is best!)
sliced water chestnuts
a few big handfuls of baby spinach (you can add more or less of this to stretch the salad)

Any of the veggies can be adjusted to your liking. If you don't have something don't worry. Just improvise or add a little more of something else. Once the noodles are cool toss them in the bowl with all the veggies.

Dressing

1 c. olive oil
3/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. sesame oil (optional)
1/2 t. ground ginger

Toss the salad all together and make all sorts of yummy sounds! Sprinkle a handful or two of chopped peanuts, or sugar glazed almonds. Taste it. I usually add a little more sugar, but it's up to you.

Hollie's Grape Salad

2013-05-03T07:50:00.001-06:00

You know I have a sister. She's fabulous! We're only 18 months apart, but we are definitely different people. We don't look much alike. She's dark with dark brown eyes and resembles my mom's side of the family, and I'm lighter with blue eyes and look just like my dad's side of the family. My kids say our voices sound alike, but that's about it. We do like a lot of the same things. If I read a good book it's usually because Hollie did. If I try a new recipe, it's because Hollie liked it. I bought bright blue skinny jeans because Hollie pulled it off awesome. I can pull it off too right? One thing we do have a ton in common is cooking. I'd say between the two of us, Hollie is the best cook. She makes the best cookies (always has), the best orange rolls by far, and always has the fun new ideas. A few weeks ago we spent 19 hours, to be exact, at her home in Idaho for a baptism. It was a great day, and of course I was wow-ed by a new salad. Really not anything way out there, but it was so tasty! Hollie's Grape Salad was awesome! Maybe it's the spicy sweet nuts, or the blue cheese, but it's a good one. Since the warmer months are just around the corner this will be a great new salad for all the gatherings.

Thanks Hollie for the great new idea. Enjoy friends!!

Hollie's Grape Salad

Purple Grapes

Green Grapes

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Spicy Sweet Pecans (recipe follows)

(Use as many as needed for the people you're serving. Hollie served a ton, and used a 4 lb. container of Purple and Green Grapes from Costco. She used about 1 c. Blue Cheese, and about 1 c. chopped nuts. Adjust the measurements for your personal taste.)

Dressing:

3/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 c. White Balsamic (or any other yummy vinegar)

1 T. Honey

1 T. Lemon Juice

1 t. Salt

1 t. Pepper

Throw this salad together right before serving. In a big bowl place all your washed grapes. Add Blue Cheese and Spicy Sweet Pecans. Drizzle on dressing until it's coated. You may not need all of the dressing. Serve immediately.

Sugar Spice Pecans

1/3 c. sugar

1 c. whole or chopped pecans

In a dry fry pan place the sugar and nuts and put over a medium high heat. Be diligent and stay right by these babies until they're done. I've burned a few nuts in my day, and even the kitty won't eat them:(

Don't stir until you start to see the sugar melting. Gently stir the nuts so they don't burn. Keep stirring until all the sugar melts and turns golden brown. This part goes fast. It takes a while for the sugar to start to melt, but once it does watch it. Poor the nut onto a WELL GREASED pan. Immediately sprinkle with a shot of salt and chili pepper. Let cool and then break up and add to the best salad.

Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)

2013-04-26T04:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I think about the things my family eats for dinner, and it makes me laugh. I've said before how many times my mom has come to my home to babysit or stay for a while, and she always comments on the strange ingredients that have become staples at my house. Fish sauce, 3-4 different curry pastes, black bean paste, sriracha sauce, pesto, and the list goes on and on and on. I've had this discussion with James many times how the most exotic meals we had as kids growing up was hard shelled tacos with orange shredded cheese every Weds. night. This is by no means intended as a slight to my mom or James' mom. That was all that was available at the time. When you had a salad it was with Iceberg Lettuce. Now I have so many lettuce options just at my local small town grocer it's crazy!
The world has become so small. My family can eat from 3-4 different countries without even having to order take out. I can make it in my own home.

My brother-in-law Dave served an LDS Mission to Thailand and is the person I credit with my family's love of Thai food. He's the one that showed us how simple making these dishes at home could be. He introduced James and I to our first Thai restaurant as well. I remember Dave making this salad on a beautiful summer day on the beach at Bear Lake. Out of the tailgate of his Suburban he threw together this salad in a Ziploc bag, and we feasted! It was so tasty!

I will say that finding green papaya IS a little tricky. I have a favorite Thai Food Market in Ogden that always has green papaya, and sometimes you can buy bags of it pre shredded. If you don't have access to green papaya (And regular papaya isn't the same. Sorry!) you could substitute shredded cucumber, or shredded cabbage for a Thai Coleslaw version:) This salad is best served with Thai Sweet Sticky Rice, but regular Calrose, or Sushi rice would work great. It's great served on its own as well. It's raw, and fresh, and full of really great flavors. Enjoy!

Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)

adapted from this recipe

1 small green papaya, OR 1/2 large about 2- 2 1/2 cups

1/2 cup roasted peanuts or cashews chopped

1 carrot grated

1 to 2 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges or long strips

3 spring onions, chopped

handful of fresh cilantro

1 red chili, sliced, seeds removed (totally optional)

DRESSING:

2 Tbsp. fish sauce OR soy sauce for vegetarians

3 Tbsp. lime juice

sugar to taste- I used about 1/8 c.

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. chili flakes or sriracha sauce

Preparation:

About Green Papaya: You may be able to find an unripe papaya in your local supermarket - it should have greenish-orange to green skin. If not, the best place is an Asian food store or market. It should be firm on the outside; inside flesh will be white to light orange.

Use a sharp knife to peel the green papaya, then slice it in half and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Using the largest grater you have, grate the papaya, or you can use a potato peeler to create thin, ribbon-like strips. Place in a large bowl.

Add sliced tomato, spring onion, chili/cayenne, basil. Pour over the dressing, tossing well to combine.

Add nuts and toss again. Taste-test the salad. If not sweet enough, add a little more sprinkling of sugar. If not flavorful enough, add a little more fish sauce or soy sauce. If too sweet or salty, add more lime juice. Add more chili for a spicier salad.

To serve, scoop into individual bowls or onto serving plates. Top with cilantro and a sprinkling of more nuts. Serve immediately with rice or on it's own and ENJOY!

Breakfast Pizza

2013-04-23T09:29:00.000-06:00

This was pure loveliness in every sense of the word. Two of my favorite things rolled into one delicious dish! Relatively quick, easy, and it produced tons of yummy sounds when served. I'm sure there's many out there in the great big world who are big breakfast fans. If you were to offer me a huge surf and turf buffet or a glorious breakfast buffet, I bet you can tell which one I'd choose. Breakfast for sure. Easter Sunday for this little family of mine was wonderful. James only had a few church meetings early on, and was able to attend all of our regular meetings with the fam. Granted he doesn't sit next to us, but I can smile at him up front, and he smiles right back. It's nice to see him:) Church got out early, and we had decided Easter Brunch was in order. I had seen this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks prior, and decided it was the perfect meal for Easter.

I have a favorite Pizza Crust recipe here, that only requires a little advanced thinking. The night before the dough needs to be stirred together, but that's it. The day of, all that is needed is topping prep, assembly, and a quick bake and breakfast is served. I can't think of anything better for a Mother's Day brunch. Serve with some fresh fruit, or a Green Lemonade, maybe some bacon or sausage, a Ratatouille would be awesome, and some fresh Rice Pudding for dessert. Oh that sounds soooo good! Your mom will love your guts even more than she does now. Or if you're in the same shoes as me and will be preparing your own Mother's Day meal, this menu is easy, and quick. I hope you like it as much as I do:) xoxoxo

Breakfast Pizza

recipe adapted from this recipe from the New York Times

Dough

Recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine Mar. 2012

Ingredients

7 1/2 cups (1000 grams) all-purpose flour plus more for shaping dough

4 teaspoons fine sea salt plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

3 c. warm water

Toppings (create your own)

Olive oil

eggs (I used 4 on each of the 2 pizzas I made)

4-6 slices of bacon chopped per pizza (I pre cooked the bacon slightly to give it a start. It finished perfectly in the oven since the heat is so high.)

Any other sort of favorite toppings:

sun dried tomatoes

fresh tomatoes

olives

thin sliced red or other waxy potato

prosciutto

crumbled sausage.....the list goes on and on

Preparation

Whisk flour, salt, and yeast in a medium bowl. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add 3 cups water; stir until well incorporated. Mix dough gently with your hands to bring it together and form into a rough ball. Transfer to a large clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature (about 72°) in a draft-free area until surface is covered with tiny bubbles and dough has more than doubled in size, about 18 hours (time will vary depending on the temperature in the room).

Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Gently shape into a rough rectangle. Divide into 6 equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, gather 4 corners to center to create 4 folds. Turn seam side down and mold gently into a ball. Dust dough with flour; set aside on work surface or a floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining portions.

Let dough rest, covered with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, until soft and pliable, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap each dough ball separately in plastic wrap and chill. Unwrap and let rest at room temperature on a lightly floured work surface, covered with plastic wrap, for 2–3 hours before shaping.

To Make the Pizzas

During the last hour of dough's resting, prepare oven: If using a pizza stone, arrange a rack in upper third of oven and place stone on rack; preheat oven to its hottest setting, 500°–550°, for 1 hour. If using a baking sheet, arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to its hottest setting, 500°–550°. (You do not need to preheat the baking sheet.)

Working with 1 dough ball at a time, dust dough generously with flour and place on a floured work surface. Gently shape dough into a 10"–12" disk or in my case I tried to spread the dough as big as my cookie sheet. You can do individual pizzas or 2 family sized pizzas.

Top pizzas. Here's what I topped my pizza with: A light drizzle of Olive oil

I cracked 4-5 eggs on top of the dough

Sprinkled the par cooked chopped bacon

liberal salt and pepper

*(Here's my tip inserted here. I didn't use a pizza peel or a pizza stone. We formed our pizzas on a silver cookie sheet and called it good. They turned out amazing and crisp and blistered. So don't worry if you don't have a pizza stone.)

Bake pizza, rotating halfway, until bottom of crust is crisp and top is blistered, 5–7 minutes.

At this point I took the pizza out of the oven and drizzled about 1/4 c. cream over the surface of the pizza and sprinkled 1/4-1/2 c. of Parmesan cheese on top. Return to the oven for 1-2 minute until cream and cheese are bubbly. Top the cooked pizza with fresh sliced green onions and serve.

No Bake Cheesecake

2013-04-15T04:21:00.000-06:00

So I'll just put it out there in the great big world. I really really really like No Bake Cheesecakes. I like them better than the baked kind. I probably shouldn't. It's not very sophisticated, or gourmet, or refined. It's just FLUFF! Pure, luscious, simple, fluffiness in all its 3 ingredient simpleness. And to be strictly honest, and transparent...........everyone who eats it loves it too. You will never get more yummy sounds coming out of peoples mouths than when they eat a No Bake Cheesecake! My mom would make them on very special occasions. We knew it was a special occasion BECAUSE we had this Cheesecake. I didn't even know there was a baked Cheesecake version until I was probably in my late teens, and really it took awhile before I liked it.

I made these for the Annual Paradise Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt bake sale this year. A little different than what I usually make, but they were a hit in all their 3 ingredient loveliness. All pies sold before they hit the table. That is a confidence booster for sure, but really this recipe is as easy as could be. It would be lovely for Mother's Day Brunch, or Father's Day or your son's High School Graduation, or Mission Farewell! Let's just say before I break down into tears, this confection would fit the bill for any of your upcoming events. I hope it makes you smile even if your son is leaving on a mission on the other side of the world like mine. I may just have to try sending No Bake Cheese Cake to Albania:)

No Bake Cheesecake
by my very own MOM!

Cheesecake Filling

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese at room temp.
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz. tub of Coolwhip or 8 oz. of cream whipped and lightly sweetened

Place the cream cheese in mixer and mix until mostly smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the sweetened condensed milk. Mix until thoroughly combined and smooth and delicious looking. Fold in cream or Coolwhip and pour into prepared pie shell. I used a regular baked pie crust, but a graham cracker crust or shortbread crust would work well. Top with your favorite fruit of choice. I used fresh strawberries lightly glazed.

My Favorite Pie Crust Recipe

3 c. flour
1 1/2 c shortening
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 egg
1/4-1/3 c. water
1 T. vinegar
3 T. cornstarch

Combine flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening. I actually like to use Manteca Lard a lot of the times. My sisters friend Makita gave us this tip a few years ago and it make delicious pie crust! Mix egg, cold water, and vinegar. Blend into flour mixture until it forms a ball. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. Makes 4 single pie crusts. I always make the whole recipe. If I have dough left over I just plop the dough ball into a Ziploc and put it into the freezer. All you have to do is thaw and roll when needed.

For the Strawberry Pie you need to blind bake the crust. That's just prebaking. I usually roll out the crust and crimp the edges and then put another pie pan on top of the crust to bake. That keeps the dough from slipping down the pie pan. Bake at 375 for about 15-20 mins. or until browned.

Strawberry Glaze

I use this all the time. It is so easy and cheap to make. No need to buy Danish Dessert anymore, but you totally can if you want.

1 c. water
2/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. raspberry or strawberry jello powder
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients and cook until mixture comes to a boil. Cool and add to fresh berries for a beautiful glaze.

I used about 1 1/2 lbs. of strawberries for each pie. I like the berries whole or just cut in half. I don't add a ton of the glaze. Just enough to cover all the berries and then pile them as high as you can on top of the cream filling. You need to eat the pie the same day. It looks terrible the next day, but it tastes divine still.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

2013-04-08T05:37:00.000-06:00

Have you ever felt like you were chasing something elusive? Something that maybe you just made up in your mind and it doesn't really exist? I've been chasing this cake since I was 12. That's a long time. But with the Easter holiday just passed the quest for this cake came around again. You see, most years when I was a child, my family would spend Easter in St. George Ut. Granted this is the same location that gave me my intense dislike of Easter Egg hunts, but it also brought my love for a good Poppy seed Cake. Every Easter Sunday my family would get all gussied up in our Easter finest, head over to church, and then as soon as it was over, we'd pile into the enormous custom van and head to Vegas baby! There we'd head to the long line at Caesar's Palace for their famed Sunday Brunch. I remember my mom always saying how we had just been to Heaven with our Sacrament Service, and now here we were standing in the middle of Babylon. Hell to be exact. You know if the end of the world was going to come that day we probably would have been right in the middle of it, but it didn't and I got to eat another few Poppy Seed cakes to last me until the next year. I took James there on our honeymoon. He didn't like it, and needless to say I haven't been back to Vegas in 20 years! So it has been a 20 year draught for these cakes!

They were so moist and delicious, and mini. You could eat quite a few. They were baked in a mini muffin tin and were so tasty. So for years now I've tried a lot of recipes. Ones out of cake mixes. Ones with pudding added in. You name it, I've tried it. But last week I gave it another shot. This was a winner! Perfection!! Nothing funky, or fancy, just straight goodness. I made this cake in a bundt pan, but muffins would work, or two loaves would be lovely too. So here's to Easter miracles!

Lemon Poppy seed Cake

recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

(I owe her my firstborn for this recipe! Thanks Christy!)

Cake:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/8 cups cooking oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 T. poppy seeds
zest of 2 lemons
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Note you can substitute almond extract in the cake and omit the lemon zest if you want an Almond Poppy seed cake. It would be lovely!

Glaze:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into greased and floured 12 c. bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 60-75 minutes. Insert thin knife in center and make sure it isn't doughy. The top should spring back when touched. My cakes usually take 75 minutes.

For the Glaze: Pour all ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil 1 minute. Remove cake from pan and pour glaze over warm bread. I actually use a pastry brush and brush it on.

My Morning Lemonade

2013-04-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I joined a friend and went on a "Spring Clean" juicing week. For 7 days I did it! The first few were hard. The best way to describe how I felt was blue. I wasn't really hungry, and I didn't really have horrible cravings, I just wanted to eat. I had lost a favorite thing, and I missed it. Eventually that went away, and I felt great! Fantastic is a good word to describe it. James kept looking at me and commenting on how I was glowing:) He's just a nice guy, but really my skin did look so pretty. To be honest I didn't loose any weight, but I would do it again in a heartbeat for how it felt. You felt clean, and I was still able to keep running and do everything I usually do. Thanks to my friend Kristie for challenging me, and many others. Here's a link to her website. (She actually just started a 30 day RAW challenge if you're interested.)

Every morning I started with this Lemonade. Actually I still make it most mornings because I love it! If you google benefits of Lemon Water there are a ton. I'm no expert, so I won't tout any great benefits other than it's such a nice way to start the day. Don't worry if you don't have a juicer. Just do your best to squeeze all the love out of that lemon and orange and you'll be just fine. I like to use warm water when I make this, but ice cold would be great too.

My Morning Juice

recipe courtesy The Belly Fit Club

1 orange peeled and juiced

1 lemon peeled and juiced

Place in quart sized Mason jar, and fill to the top with water. I like warm water, but do what you like. Add sweetener to taste. I use a good squeeze of Stevia, but anything would work. Sip and enjoy!

Soda Cracker Pie

2013-03-27T09:55:00.003-06:00

I do believe this recipe is an "Heirloom" recipe. You know how there's Heirloom Tomatoes. I think they get that distinction by being consistently used for over 100 years. At least that's what my local garden expert Mark Anderson said the other day:) So therefore this recipe falls within that 100 year old category. But I will confess to never having it until just this last year. My granny is famous, actually I will call it infamous, for bring all sort of crazy concoctions to Sunday Dinner or some other family gathering. Deserts are usually something fluffy, and creamy, and delightful, and sometimes my dad doesn't like them, but this pie I thought was delicious! The crust IS the pie, but I topped it with a little cream filling. In retrospect I will do it differently next time around. Many of the recipes I found for this pie called for merely a generous dollop of fresh whipped cream, but the one that really caught my eye was the fresh, lightly sweetened cream with frozen or fresh raspberries folded in. Yup! That's the one for me!

My pictured pie included a lovely lemon cream filling, but truly, it was over the top sweet. We liked it in very small portions:) I actually made 2 pies, and the second was filled with the same cream, but instead of lemon curd I added Nutella. That pie was actually not as sweet as the lemon version. Quite interesting. So I'll list a few suggestions for filling, but truly the crust is the star. It kind of has a Macaron texture and feel to it. Light and Springy! A perfect dessert for Easter this Sunday. Enjoy!!

Soda Cracker Pie

recipe courtesy of my granny Navine:)

3 egg whites

1 c. sugar

12 sm. soda crackers, crushed

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. chopped nuts (I actually ground them up.)

Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually beat in sugar and add crackers immediately. Add in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Once cool top with filling of choice.

Lemon Cream Filling

1- 8oz pkg. cream cheese

1 c. lemon curd (I had a jar from Trader Joes, but you can make your own. Recipe here.)

1- 8oz carton coolwhip or fresh whipped cream

In mixer beat cream cheese until smooth. Add lemon curd, and continue beating until smooth and creamy. Fold in Coolwhip or cream. Spoon into cooled Soda Cracker Pie crust.

Nutella Cream Filling

1- 8oz pkg. cream cheese

1 c. Nutella

1- 8oz carton coolwhip or fresh whipped cream

In mixer beat cream cheese until smooth. Add Nutella, and continue beating until smooth and creamy. Fold in Coolwhip or cream. Spoon into cooled Soda Cracker Pie crust.

Berries and Cream Filling

*my filling choice from now on!

1 1/4 c. cream whipped and lightly sweetened

1-2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries or any other berry of choice

Whip cream and add a little vanilla or almond extract and lightly sweeten. Fold in fresh or frozen berries. Pour into prepared Soda Cracker Pie crust, and top with more fresh berries. Serve immediately.

Blood Orange Bars

2013-03-18T08:09:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had a Blood Orange? The last month or so my local grocery store has had a plethora of different oranges. I have cases of just regular Navel Oranges hanging around my house at all times, but lately we've had Tangelos, Tangerines, Cara Cara Oranges, and most recently some Blood Oranges. And I do believe they are named very appropriately. Cut into one of these beauties, and they definitely look as if they are bleeding. My kids were amazed at the color, and we decided to make something interesting with the pretty little fruit.

I love a good Lemon Bar, so I thought how pretty a pink version would be. James loved them. I wasn't quite as smitten. Something about the tangy, squeeze your cheeks-ness of a Lemon Bar was missing. You know, oranges just aren't tart enough in my mind for these bars. The flavor was a nice orange-y. The color was beautiful, but I missed the tartness. It did get my mind going though. I think a lovely key lime bar might be in the near future at the Clawson home. I can just imagine a lime green colored bar with all the tanginess of a lemon bar. Yummy! So just to get your mind going. Use any kind of citrus in your next bar. Who says you have to just stick to lemon? The Lord made so many beautiful fruits,why not try something new.

Blood Orange Bars

recipe adapted from Ina Garten

For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated Blood Orange zest
1 cup freshly squeezed Blood Orange Juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Lunch Lady Bars

2013-03-11T07:56:00.001-06:00

This is actually a repeat post from a few years ago, but it's such a great recipe. I made them the other day for "The Opening of the Mission Call!!!" My son Jed will be serving in the Adriatic South Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints!! He leaves July 3rd and we're all a little stunned. He'll be serving in the countries of Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. He will learn Albanian. Honestly the only thing I knew of these countries was they were embroiled in a deep civil war during my high school and college years. But from the research I've done over the last few days they all seem like beautiful countries, that I'm sure Jed will love. We've heard so many good things from others who have served in Albania, and travelled there. Big changes for the Clawson's:)

So here's the recipe for these lovely bars. I hope they make you happy!!

Previous post:
Oh Lomond View we love you. You fill our hearts with pride. Your loyal sons and daughters are forever on your side. We will always love and serve you.........as long as there are Peanut Butter Fingers for dessert!! OK so how many of you out there can remember your school song from elementary? Hopefully someone out there went to Lomond View and was singing along as I sang. The best thing about Lomond View Elementary was the desserts at lunch. I'm sure my brother Josh was thinking it was Mrs. Stewart, our favorite 1st grade teacher, but believe me her middle name is actually "Trunchbowl". She was one mean woman. The cooks at Lomond View made the best darn desserts in this world making up for every mean thing Mrs. Stewart said.

I miss all the homemade food that lunch ladies were famous for. Back when I was in school, every lunch was made from scratch with a lot of TLC. Even the mashed potatoes were real. I loved the days that rolls were on the menu. The whole school smelled like fresh bread. You couldn't wait until lunch. The only thing I really had to gag down was hamburger gravy. Yuck! but let's not talk about that. Today my kids eat a lot of processed fried stuff. Chicken nuggets, chicken patties, corn dogs (don't get me wrong. I love a good corn dog!), even PB&J sandwiches out of a wrapper. Everything is heat and serve and nothing is actually made in the school cafeterias. I vote to go back to the old days when lunch ladies were the domestic goddesses of the school kitchen, and made the most divine desserts ever.

Remember, how every Fri. we had tacos and the most delicious, hot, cinnamon twists in this world. How about the little specimen cup full of warm chocolate pudding with the perfect dollop of whipped topping on top, or the hot apple crisp with another perfect dollop of whipped topping. I'll admit, every time I make apple crisp I strive to make it just like those lovely ladies at Lomond View. The dessert of all desserts though was PEANUT BUTTER FINGERS. I don't know how my mother did it, but she got her little fingers on the recipe to make those perfect love nuggets at home. I'm ashamed to admit that I have made these before, but not with such stellar results. My sister Hollie and sis-in-law Katie make an exquisite Peanut Butter Finger, but I have fallen short in my attempts. Today was different though. Today I made the best Peanut Butter Fingers in the whole entire world. I could have been a lunch lady at Lomond View today. Hollie would be proud. Today I had a really good excuse to use up an entire pound of butter in the making of these cookies. It was Achievement Day at the pool!! All 8-11 year old girls and a few super fun leaders from my ward spent a warm July day soaking in the sun, splashing in the water, and eating Peanut Butter Fingers for our lunch. Perfect!

Peanut Butter Fingers

From the world famous Lomond View Lunch Ladies!

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. butter

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1 c. flour

1 c. oats

Mix butter, sugars, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in flour and oats. Spread the mixture on a grease 9X13 inch pan. Bake in a 325' F. oven for about 10 minutes until puffed. Don't over bake. Cool. Meanwhile whip 1 c. of peanut butter until slightly fluffy. Spread on top of cooled cookie. Top with fudge frosting and let sit in refrigerator for a few hours. I actually doubled the whole recipe and baked it in a silver cookie sheet. There was a little cookie dough left over and a little frosting, but it turned out great.

Fudge Frosting

1/2 c. butter

4 T. cocoa

3 T. milk

1 t. vanilla

1 lb. powdered sugar

Cook all the ingredients on the stove except for sugar and vanilla. Cook until the butter is melted and the sauce begins to bubble around the edges. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. I couldn't spread the chocolate without ruining the peanut butter so I poured the frosting out in ribbons and it turned out great!

Chicken Salad with Sugar Spiced Pecans

2013-02-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Sounds fancy smancy huh? It's not. Not a single thing fancy about this, but dang it tastes delish! I love Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Not too mayo-y, and loaded with lots of crunchy things. On a croissant, or Honey Whole Wheat from Great Harvest, or homemade Focaccia it all makes me happy. Last week James had to come home a little earlier than normal from work. Something to do with taxes and gathering, sorting, categorizing and other really fun stuff like that. But he brought home a super fresh and delicious loaf of the above mentioned Honey Whole Wheat. In all reality James believes on most days he makes the BEST Whole Wheat Bread on the planet. Well this was one of those days. It was a perfect loaf of bread, and as James was driving home he called and asked if I'd make something really tasty to go on it. Well of course I would! Chicken Salad! It was scrumptious! We both made yummy sounds as we were eating, and all that tax stuff just didn't seem so bad.

So here's my opinion on Chicken Salad. A just right amount of mayo. Not Miracle Whip. A little sweet, a lot of crunchy, and a really great nut involved. I love adding these Sugar Spiced Pecans. Just a little heat, but a toasted sweet crunch is AWESOME! The pictured sandwich is on some homemade Focaccia (HERE"S A LINK) that I made the next day. Yup! It hit the spot as well. And by the way............that was a breakfast picture. Not lunch, but brekky:) Enjoy!

Chicken Salad with Sugar Spiced Pecans

Chopped chicken (I used canned chicken and it was wonderful. Leftover chicken of any sort works, as well as fresh boiled, grilled, or baked chicken.)
Mayo (To your liking. If you like it a little creamier then go for it!)
1/2 T. Spicy Mustard (dried mustard, or regular yellow mustard works too.)
1/4 c. sugar
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 Apple chopped
2-3 Ribs of Celery chopped
2-3 T. Fresh Chopped Parsley

1 c. chopped Sugar Spiced Pecans (Recipe Follows)

Sugar Spice Pecans

1/3 c. sugar
1 c. whole or chopped pecans

In a dry fry pan place the sugar and nuts and put over a medium high heat. Be diligent and stay right by these babies until they're done. I've burned a few nuts in my day, and even the kitty won't eat them:(
Don't stir until you start to see the sugar melting. Gently stir the nuts so they don't burn. Keep stirring until all the sugar has fully melted and turns golden brown. This part goes fast. It takes a while for the sugar to start to melt, but once it does watch it. Pour the nuts onto a WELL GREASED pan or plate. Immediately sprinkle with a shot of salt and chili pepper. Let cool and then break up and add to the best salad or Chicken Salad.

Mix all ingredients together and serve on bread of choice. It's even better the second day:)

Green Lemonade

2013-02-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here's another favorite juice that we make at the Clawson home. We call it the Green Lemonade. One trick I've found when juicing is that a lemon will make any concoction taste better. Let's be honest here, I've had my fair share of juices that I've had to plug my nose, and just swig. Sometimes the gag reflex kicks in, and it's all I can do to keep that juice down. But a lemon or a lime can brighten and mask a lot of "not so tasty" ingredients. If you've got a pear, or apple that will help any "veggie juice" as well too. Mary Poppins always says, "A spoonful of sugar, helps the medicine go down." Well I say a lemon will always make the juice go down:)

I really like my morning juice. Lots of fresh oranges, and carrots, but sometimes I need something that isn't fruit based. This Green Lemonade hits the spot. We juice a lot through the winter months. I buy oranges, and apples by the 40 lb. case, and 25 lb. bags of carrots almost weekly. My kids seemed to tolerate the juices at first, but they are actually starting to crave them now. My Red Head asks for them almost every morning before he catches the bus. Here's a great little something we've noticed around here lately that we attribute to the juices. Our complexions are pretty fantastic right now. James' skin is so good looking! The three older kids have had beautiful skin. The acne that usually follows teenagers has been held at bay. There's a healthy something going on, and they say that your skin and hair are the first things to show if you are healthy or unhealthy. It's a great side effect of juicing I've decided:)

Give this juice a try. Add an extra apple, or pear for more sweetness if you like. I love the addition of fresh parsley. It makes the juice the most beautiful green color. Spinach alone makes a muddy green, but the parsley really brightens the juice. It's great for fresh breath too:)

*I've had a few people ask what kind of juicer I use. Well let me tell you, I just happened to be at the local kitchen store one day right as they were demonstrating the Hurom juicer from Sweden. I was amazed and smitten instantly. So much, that even the price tag didn't keep me from taking one of the shiny Hurom's home. It's a wonderful juicer. It's a slow, press juicer that is quiet, and just smashes the fruit, veggies and even nuts. I love it, BUT.........I'm not convinced it's the only way to go. I've used the cheaper juicers from Costco, and been pretty happy with those too. So get the juicer that fits your budget, and start getting healthy!

Green Lemonade

1/2 bunch of celery
1 lemon or lime peeled
1 asian pear (a regular pear or apple works great)
2 big handfuls of spinach
1/2 big bunch of fresh parsley
1 orange
1/2 cucumber

You can always add whatever you've got in your fruit bowl. This is just a suggestion, but I love it!! You can substitute kale, or other greens for the spinach, but for me I like spinach. It doesn't have a strong flavor like kale, and is easy for me to drink. I love kale cooked or in a soup, but I actually don't love it juiced. It's a little bitter for me. Good luck and let me know of any great concoctions you come up with!

Shortbread Hearts

2013-02-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

I should get an A on my last assignment. I think I've spent enough time, energy, and calories on it. Actually it should be an A+. That's what I give myself:) This Thurs. morning at 11am I will transform myself into the Sugar Cookie expert on Studio 5. I was given the assignment last week from our dear family friend Darin Adams on Studio 5. What makes the best sugar cookie? was the question. Do I use butter, Crisco, refrigerate or not, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt? What makes the best cookie? So I did a very scientific poll. On Instagram and Facebook. But my favorite friends and family came through with flying colors. And the consensus is......................

There isn't ONE best sugar cookie! The only conclusion I came to is: Every person on the planet has a favorite recipe, texture, doneness, and preference to their sugar cookie. There isn't a one size fits all Sugar Cookie:) Not one person agreed on all aspects of a sugar cookie. Most like soft thick cookies with a great tasting frosting, but there are still those that like a more sturdy cookie with a little crunch. I am definately in that camp, but still there was NO consensus what so ever.

I have baked my little guts out this last few days. 6 very different recipes, and a lot of different cookies. One thing I did notice is my kids like naked sugar cookies. 3 batches were gobbled up before being dressed with frosting, and they were just as happy as could be. A few things I did discover though that are very important for any sugar cookie baker are:

1- Butter is best! There is a lot of discussion about using butter vs. Crisco. Even Alton Brown weighed in on this. I found that the cookie using Crisco or butter has the exact same texture, and crunch, but the flavor of the butter cookie was much tastier. MUCH TASTIER. I was worried about replacing butter for the Crisco. I worried that the moisture content in butter would make the cookie spread, but I was pleasantly surprised. The dough with butter was softer, but baking yielded the same results as a Crisco cookie.

2- Refrigeration is personal preference. The New York Times did an actual experiment with Chocolate Chip cookies and found that refrigeration yielded a tastier cookie. 36 hours of refrigeration actually, but I found that refrigeration didn't change anything for the sugar cookie. Some cookies required refrigeration to make the dough easy to work with, but if the recipe didn't specifically require it, don't worry.

3- Sour Cream recipes yield a "Lofthouse" type fluffy soft cookie. If that's the kind of Sugar Cookie you like then make sure you use a sour cream recipe. They were a lot fluffier than a standard Sugar Cookie recipe, but a little bland on naked cookie flavor. These cookies needed frosting:)

4- Don't ever, EVER criticize someones Sugar Cookie preference!! There is a deep, personal, passionate feeling when it comes to Sugar Cookies. There is usually a story, a tradition, a memory, something truly sentimental to people's sugar cookies. People like their cookies a certain way because it was how granny made them. It was their favorite Christmas treat from their Great Aunt. It is their family tradition dating back to 1948. Or they got the recipe from a dear friend from a life long ago. You know what I'm talking about don't you.

So today I'm sharing my favorite sugar cookie............today. It's the mood I'm in, or maybe it's the fact that I created a cookie that is crisp around the edges and has a subtle hint of lemon. It's pink too. With cute little sprinkles and all.

If you don't make these Shortbread Hearts today, at least it will spark a desire to make YOUR favorite Sugar Cookie recipe today or tomorrow for your loved ones. You know you will. Happy Valentines! I love your guts!! XOXOXOXO

Cake Mix Sugar Cookie Recipe My Cousin Lindi's Famous Sugar Cookies

Here is the actual segment from yesterday's Studio 5.

My Favorite Shortbread Hearts

Shortbread recipe was adapted from Ina Garten.

Disclaimer: This is a crisp, buttery cookie. MY personal fave, but just so you know.......James hates it. He likes soft under baked sugar cookies. See what I told ya!

1 1/2 c. butter softened (no subs here folks!)

1 c. powdered sugar

3 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. lemon extract

zest from 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix until combined. Dough may seem dry, but just give it a few seconds. It should come together. Roll dough out to desired thickness. I like about 1/4- 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shaped and place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350' oven for 12-18 minutes. Depending on thickness of cookie and desired doneness. I like my cookies to barely have a hint of brown around the edges. Take out of oven. Let sit a few minutes and then remove them to wire rack or towel lined countertop. Frost with your favorite frosting, or eat totally naked or dip in dark chocolate. Enjoy!!

Thai Coconut Chicken Red Lentil Soup

2013-02-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Winner!!! This soup is a knock out winner! It was so good, and made such an enormous pot, I ate it for lunch and dinner for about 3 days straight. I may have even had it for breakfast one of those days. Last week a very fun friend was talking to James after a church meeting, and mentioned she had a recipe for us. She knew we'd love it. She had tasted it at her daughters home a little while before and loved it and was kind enough to think of the Clawson's!! (Joni and Erika I will FOREVER be in your debt.) There is one preface I must make before heading on to the recipe. You must have RED LENTILS. You can't substitute regular brown/greenish lentils. I had already made that mistake a few weeks prior to receiving this recipe. There is nothing appetizing to a soup that is the color and texture of vomit. Yup, you read that right. I had tried to make a similar soup before Christmas, and I hadn't looked hard enough for red lentils. I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, but trust me, it did. The entire pot, of lovely brownish- chunky-ish soup was fed to the kitties. They loved it, but I just couldn't.

Red lentils are actually a lovely salmon-ish, pinkish, orange-ish color. The more fancy, upscale grocery stores will have them, or if you know of a store with a great bulk food section. If you're lucky enough to live near a Winco Foods they have these lentils. After my huge disaster a month or so ago, I had picked up a bag of red lentils at my not-so-local Winco, and had them just waiting to be used. Talk about being prepared. My 1 year food storage will now include red lentils to go along with my split peas, chocolate chips and cocoa. I totally know what is going to be important should they end of the world befall us:) The only other funky ingredient is the red curry paste. If you've read my blog long enough you will now have a bottle of that curry paste in the back of your fridge. It's another staple at my house. It will last forever, and lends such a great flavor. Here's a link and here and here and here and here, to a couple of other recipes that you could use your new curry investment in:)

The soup tastes even better the second day. You will love it, and it is so pretty. The texture is somewhat similar to split pea soup, and I included chicken to make it a little more hearty. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Thai Coconut Chicken Red Lentil Soup
Recipe adapted from Erika Andrus (Thanks Erika!)

Olive oil drizzle for the pan (about 1-2 T.)
1 large onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 large yam or sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 large baking potato peeled and chopped
1 c. red lentils (A must! No substitutions unless you don't mind nasty colored soup.)
2 t. salt
4-6 c. vegetable or chicken broth (I went with 6 c.)
2- 15 oz cans Great Northern or white beans rinsed and drained
2-3 T. Thai red curry paste (Here's a link to an image of the curry paste I see in the grocery store most often. I think I actually used about 4 T. Just check seasoning and add more.)
1- 15 oz can coconut milk
28 oz. can of diced or crushed tomatoes
2-3 large chicken breasts sliced into thin bite size chunks
1/8 c. sugar
Fish sauce to taste (optional- if you don't have fish sauce just use salt to taste.)
1/2 c. cilantro
Lime for garnish
Red peppers or jalapenos sliced thin for garnish

Preheat a large stock pot and pore in the oil and onions and peppers. Saute until almost tender and then add the garlic. Saute a minute or two more. Don't let the garlic burn.

Add the yam, potato, red lentils, salt and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling turn the heat down and let cook for 15-20 minute until the lentils are starting to break down and the potatoes are tender. Stir frequently so the lentils don't burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. When the veggies are tender add the curry paste, tomatoes, raw chicken chunks and continue to cook about 5- 10 minute until chicken is cooked through. Add the coconut milk, and sugar. Adjust seasoning to your liking. This is where I like to add fish sauce to adjust the saltiness. You can totally just use salt. Throw in some cilantro, and garnish with fresh lime slices and more cilantro. So dang tasty!!

Korean Bibimbap

2013-02-01T03:48:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine, and it's one of my guilty pleasures! Sitting on the couch and delving into the latest issue with nothing to distract me is pure loveliness. Some of my all time favorite dishes have come from this beloved mag. This pizza especially has been a favorite, as well as many other recipes. There is always a recipe or two, and sometimes three that get ripped out of the magazine and make their way into my bulging recipe book to be cooked sometime in the near future. Well this Korean Bibimbap recipe made it all of two days before it was a must to be made at my house. This is how it went. I sat down and read the mag, and consequently ripped a few pages out from between the covers. Those said pages made it to the kitchen where my oldest son saw them and immediately BEGGED for this recipe to be made. I will say I was smitten as soon as I saw the picture of this dish, but I didn't quite expect the reaction I got from my kids. So needless to say I made the recipe the next day, and dang it, it was a HUGE hit!! If I can just say, it was soooooo stinking good!! As James was eating he said, "This is definately a keeper. Something you need to make quite often." Exact words! We loved it.

My brothers and their families are going to be making the trek to my house in the next few weeks for our annual Chinese New Year festivities. With a husband, two brothers, and a sister-in-law who all served LDS missions to Taiwan, and an adorable niece, and nephew who were adopted from Vietnam we ALWAYS celebrate the Chinese New Year. It's usually full of pot stickers from Taiwan, Mango Rice from Thailand, maybe some Pho from Vietnam this year as well as this Bibimbap from Korea. I'm definately putting Bibimbap on the menu:) Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Bibimbap:

Bibimbap (비빔밥, Korean pronunciation: [pibimp͈ap̚][1]) is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed rice". Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating.[2] It can be served either cold or hot.

Well we ate it hot, and it was splendid. There is nothing strange, odd, or weird in this recipe. Just a wonderful mix of fresh veggies, meat and rice. Amazing!! I can honestly say I have never had anything Korean before. I'm a little scared of Kimchi, but who knows, maybe I'll try some. Since Bibimbap is so good I'm sure Kimchi would be too.

Korean Bibimbap
recipe from Bon Appetit (Thanks for a FANTASTIC recipe!)

(Click on this link to take you to Bon Appetit's site. From there you can click on other links for all the veggie recipe.)

Ingredients
Meat
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup finely grated Asian pear with juices
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
1 pound thinly sliced (1/8-inch) boneless beef rib-eye steak or short ribs
Crisp Rice and Assembly
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, divided
8 cups steamed sushi rice or mixed grain rice (from 2 1/2 cups dry rice)

Bibimbap Mix-Ins Click here for a link to all the veggie recipes.

(Sesame-Pepper Bean Sprouts, Sesame Carrots, Garlicky Spinach, Soy-Glazed Shiitake Mushrooms, Sauteéd Zucchini, Scallion Slaw, Wakame, Gochujang Date Sauce)
8 fried eggs
Kimchi

Preparation

Meat

Whisk first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss to coat. Cover; chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
Crisp Rice and Assembly
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add rice; pat out in an even layer. Cook, rotating skillet for even browning (do not stir), until rice is golden and crisp on bottom, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add one-quarter of beef and cook, turning once, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat in 3 batches with remaining oil and beef.
Divide rice among bowls. Top with beef, Bibimbap Mix-Ins, and eggs. Serve kimchi alongside.

My Mother-in-law's Famous Carrot Cake

2013-01-29T12:30:00.003-07:00

This cake is delicious!! I may have made it a couple time over the last few weeks. It's totally James' fault. We've been juicing MANIACS at the Clawson home for quite a while now, and those of you who juice anything know, there's a lot of fruit and veggie pulp that is just thrown in the garbage. If I was really good, or green, or lived somewhere where I was forced to recycle everything, I place these scraps in the compost bin, BUT I don't. BUT James had a great idea to use the carrot pulp in some carrot cake. He's so brilliant! So I guess in my own way I'm recycling or composting my carrot scraps. And it makes fantastic bread, cupcakes, sheet cake or layer cake. All these different options with one really great recipe.

James' mom made wedding cakes for years. Gorgeous cakes! Hand formed and painted flowers were her specialty. This Carrot Cake was the cake she made for most of those wedding cakes. It had to be a hearty cake. One that could stand up to the stacking, and decorating. One that tasted amazing as well. I think you'll love it. Go ahead and vary some of the add in's if you'd like. Add raisins, or omit the nuts. Make it your own. The first time I made this cake last week, I made it in 2- largish loaf pans. Last weekend I made the cake in a 9x13 in pan. I've made it into 24 cupcakes as well, and you can make it into 2- 9 inch cake pans for a layer cake. It all just depends on how you're feeling. I didn't frost the loaves, but I did frost the sheet cake. Both were delicious. Enjoy!!

My Mother-in-law's Famous Carrot Cake

2 c. sugar
3 eggs whipped first
1 c. oil
3 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. toasted pecans
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda (put in very last so it doesn't get wet)
2 c. finely shredded carrots
1/2 c. shredded coconut
2 t. grated orange rind
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple WITH juice. (The regular sized can. Not the small ones)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together until smooth. Add everything else except for the soda. Mix well. After the batter is completely mixed add the baking soda. (I don't know why except James' mom said it is a must!) Spoon into prepared 24 prepared muffin tins. Bake in a 350'F oven for 20-25 mins or until the muffin centers are springy. Cool and frost. The frosting was the best!!!

For 2 loaves, grease and flour 2 9x5 loaf pans and bake 55-60 mins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For 9x13 in pan, grease and flour the pan and pour batter in. Bake for 50-60 mins. or until toothpick comes out clean.

For 2- 9 inch round cake pans, grease and flour the pans and divide batter between the two. Bake for 40-55 mins. or until the center is springy or a toothpick comes out clean.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
This amount of frosting will frost 24 cupcakes, or frost a 9x13 inch sheet cake. I'd double the amount to make a layer cake. Just to be on the safe side:)

8 oz room temp. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter at room temp.
Mix until smooth. Add:
4 c. powdered sugar
2 T. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Whip until fluffy. I didn't have to add any milk to thin the frosting. I piped the frosting onto the cupcakes and used the whole batch. If you don't put it on the cupcakes you can eat the whole bowl by yourself. Just make sure you wash the evidence.

Roasted Romaine and Chicken Caesar Salad

2013-01-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

I order Caesar Salads just about every chance I get. There are two places that I especially love their Caesars. Both are very different renditions of the traditional favorite salad, but both are so stinking good!! I love them, and I crave them, and I can't wait to taste either one some day soon. The first favorite is from a cute little restaurant on the Big Island. It's called Cafe Pesto. Great food there. Yummy calzones, and pizzas, and their Bleu Caesar is the BEST!! A heaping plate of Romaine lettuce chopped up perfectly, drizzled with a homemade Caesar dressing, and then topped with Bleu Cheese. (And of course a beautiful little edible flower garnish.) Delish!! It's heaven in Paradise.

My other favorite Caesar Salad is at the Elements restaurant here in Logan, UT. It perfect. Long perfect leaves of Romaine hearts with just the right amount of homemade dressing. It's topped with homemade croutons, grape tomatoes, and Parmesan Cheese. Again- another taste of loveliness:) I will admit I'm smitten with a good Caesar.

Last weekend the fam spent a few days in beautiful Sun Valley ID. The weather was..........so dang COLD, but I will admit it was colder at home. One night out we ate at Rocky Mountain Pizza and Jed had their Hearts on Fire Salad. It was dang good! I've never dreamed of roasting or grilling lettuce, but it worked. So tonight that's what the Clawson's are having for dinner. A Roasted Romaine and Chicken Caesar Salad. The salad comes together quite easily. Lettuce only takes about 5-7 minutes to roast so have everything ready before you put the lettuce in. You can use whatever chicken you have. A rotisserie chicken would be great, or I just grilled some chicken bosoms and put a little teriyaki sauce. What ever you've got will work. A easy homemade dressing and some cheese of choice and dinner is done. Good luck and don't let cooked lettuce scare you:)

Roasted Romaine and Chicken Caesar Salad
recipe slightly adapted from this recipe at Food.com

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray
2 romaine lettuce hearts
Grilled chicken breast or left over rotisserie chicken
Croutons crushed

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire and pepper. Stir in the Parmesan Cheese.

Preheat oven to 425' F

Cut romaine hearts in half length-wise and leave end in tact so each half holds together. Place on a cookie sheet and set in preheated oven. It will only take about 5-7 minutes. You want some browned leaves.

Take lettuce out of oven and top with the chicken, dressing, Parmesan cheese, and crushed croutons. Delish!

Good Morning Juice

2013-01-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

I juice a lot this time of year. Something about all the beautiful citrus available, and my need to have a healthy family. They go hand in hand you know:) Each morning as my children are just about to head out the door for the bus, they each get a big glass of Carrot Orange Juice. I usually sneak an apple or two in as well, and I really try to up their carrot consumption. Some of the kids love it, and others tolerate it, but they all drink it.

I'm turning into my mom actually. As a kid she juiced all the time. In fact I remember the skin on the palms of her hands being a lovely shade of orange most of my growing up years because of her carrot juice habit. I believe my mom came by it naturally though. Her parents were big juicers. I used to run over to my Grandma B's house on a summer morning, bust through their door without knocking, and walk into the kitchen to say hi, just as my grandma and grandpa were drinking down their Carrot Celery Juice. My grandma told me the carrot helped the celery not taste too bitter and the celery helped the carrot not taste so sweet. They drank a cup of this concoction everyday I'm sure. If you walked through their door early enough in the morning, you could always have a sip if you wanted.

There's so much out there about juicing. It's the "buzz" word right now. But you know, it's tasty most of the time, and dang good for you so why not drink up. Mary Poppins always said a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Well an apple or a pear makes kale go down too:) I'll share a few of my favorite juices over the next few days and share what I like, and what I don't. So to start here's the juice that James and I have almost every day. Good Morning Juice. Feel free to add what you have on hand. I love it with some pineapple, and James doesn't particularly love the grapefruit in his, but beggars can't be choosers. And remember, the recipe is a "guideline", not an exact recipe. Mix it up, and see what you like.

Good Morning Juice

Ingredients

1 Grapefruit
3 Oranges
1 Pear
6-7 Carrots
1 Apple

Cooking Directions

Wash carrots, apples and pears. Peel oranges and grapefruit. I cut all my fruit into quarters to fit in my juicer, but depending on your juicer, you may not have to. This amount of fruit makes approx. 32 oz. of fresh juice.

French Onion Soup with Bleu Cheese Toasts

2013-01-08T13:12:00.001-07:00

It is cold around these parts. Really cold! Like, freeze your boogers the minute you take a breath cold:) You know what I mean? Eyelashes are frosted over in a matter of minutes, and shoe choices are very important. I will admit to going with style instead of function a few times in the last few days. I'm staying very warm though thanks to a wonderful husband that keeps our wood stove burning day and night, and keeps this house absolutely toasty! A fire in the fireplace is wonderful. It's a different heat than just the furnace. It warms the house from the core out. The walls are warm, the tile floors are warm, and I am warm as long as I stay inside.

Soup is important this time of year. It's like a wood burning stove. It totally warms you from the inside out. I love soup at all times of year, but during these cold, beautiful, bleak winter days it's on the menu more than a couple of nights a week:) James and I went on a date the other night and had a wonderful meal. If you're ever in Logan Utah check out The Elements. Lovely! James had French Onion Soup for his soup/salad course, and I decided since I couldn't give up my lovely Caesar Salad, I'd just have to make some French Onion at home. Glad I did because it has now warmed me up twice. Dinner last night, and lunch today. It actually tastes better the second day. James makes fun of me for this, but I think the flavors enhance overnight, and taste more wonderful on a lot of things. This soup being one of them.

I take a bit of the easy route in this soup recipe, but if you're more of the fancy/perfectionist type, go ahead and make a lovely beef stock from scratch. I don't think you can go wrong with that. You'll need 2 quarts of broth for the soup. I also switched up the cheese melted on top a bit too. I used Swiss, Asiago, and Bleu Cheese!!! It was delish!! Definitely a must. I served with some roast beef sandwiches to dip in the soup and a big Everything Salad. My all time fave. So if you need a little warming up I hope you enjoy:)

French Onion Soup with Bleu Cheese Toasts

5-6 good size yellow onions sliced thin

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. salt

In a large stock pot or even better a large saute pan, place all the onions, olive oil and salt. Turn the heat up to medium and let those onions start to sweat. I had the lid on my onions for about an hour and they still weren't really turning brown. Once I removed the lid, the liquid the onions released, evaporated quickly and the onions started to brown/caramelize. Once they start to brown turn the heat down to low and just let them cook until they are a a deep brown color. It usually takes a good 20-30 minutes. I burned mine quite quickly by becoming too preoccupied when the heat was still high so make sure to turn the onions down, and check and stir them frequently.

Once the onions were a really pretty color I added:

2 qts. water (or beef broth)

1 packet dry Au Jus mix (If you add broth don't add the Au Jus.)

5 beef bouillon cubes

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 of a 6oz. can tomato paste (Freeze the rest for use later.)

2 T. fresh thyme or 1 t. dried

Bring ingredients to a gently boil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Depending on how sweet your onions are, you can add a little sugar. I didn't need any last night, but I have in times past.

To serve:

Ladle the soup into soup bowls or crocks. I toasted some French Bread Slices ahead of time to use in the soup. In each bowl I place a small slice of Swiss cheese in first and then topped it with the toast. It helps with the sog factor. Then I placed another slice of Swiss cheese, a T. or so of shredded Asiago Cheese and 1T. of Bleu Cheese crumbles. Make sure your bowls are broiler proof and place bowl under the broiler. I waited until the cheese was completely bubbly, and starting to brown a bit. The bowls are dang hot so be careful, but dig in and enjoy!

New Years Noodles

2012-12-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

I know what I'm having on New Year's Eve. How about you? Nope it's not Prime Rib, steak, shrimp, or anything of the sort. It's going to be my favorite meal on the planet. My Granny B's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup! Now these noodles are truly tradition. The first gal I know who made them was my great granny on my moms side. Her name was Viola Telford, but we always just called her Grandma Great. My mom has an old photo of her and her sisters up somewhere near Morgan making these noodles al fresco (outside). It is a great pic. They're all in there dresses and aprons rolling and cutting noodles for another great family meal together. Grandma Great then passed this tradition onto my grandma Barker and what a treat that has been.

Grandma Barker wasn't the warm fuzzy kind of granny who would squeal and hug the guts out of you, but she loved you in her own way. She never gave big gifts for birthdays or Christmas, but she never forgot your birthday either. I think I was her favorite (OK so Hollie really was but that's ok) because every birthday she would call me and tell me to come over for a little something. At her house sitting on the counter would be big brown grocery bag filled with noodle especially for me!! I know it took her hours to make those noodles, but Grandma knew they were my favorite thing in the world. Just shows she really did love me best! I would take them home and my mom would fix a big pot of Chicken Noodle soup for me. I loved it. I loved Grandma Barker.

My kids now love this noodle soup as much as I do. It was one of them that suggested this soup for New Years. We're going to be with family, and trust me, my brothers are going to be in childhood heaven once they start slurping! Here's to a fantastic 2013!!

dough balls

rolled as thin as possible

cut as thin as possible

Grandmas Noodles

3 c. flour

7 eggs

2 t. salt

Mix all the ingredients together and form into 5 balls. Let the dough rest a few minutes. Roll each ball into a thin sheet. Let sit until almost dry. This part takes awhile. I usually set my convection oven to 150' F. and drape the noodle sheet over a rack until somewhat dry. Otherwise you're going to be waiting hours for the sheets to dry. You don't want them completely dry or they just crack and break when you cut them. Still pliable, but dry enough that they don't stick together. When dry cut into 2 1/2 in. strips and then cut into super thin noodles. Let dry. When ready to cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 5 mins. Drain noodles and add to chicken broth. Serve with shredded chicken, green onions, and bug juice. (soy sauce) Serve with blueberry muffins.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

2012-12-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

I have a neighbor. Only one neighbor that lives within voice range. Their family has heard me yell a time or two at my kids, but they still like us:) My neighbor is a fantastic cook. Her daughter was the supreme cookie maker for years until she just recently got married and and moved. I think it's rude:) But my neighbor's mother is a fantastic cook as well and every once in a while she sneaks me a new recipe she's tried. This happened last summer and I just got around to making these cupcakes.

They are wonderful!!! Now I'm gong to tell a secret here. The picture shows a lovely frosted cupcake, but in all reality the frosting was plucked off of every cupcake and they were eaten stark naked! The entire family agreed that these cupcakes can totally stand on their own. They need no extra dressing and to top that off, they are AMAZING right out of the oven! So if you want to make them pretty, frost them, but if you want to eat something amazing, don't.

The recipe reminded me of a Red Velvet cake just minus the red food coloring. It's lovely. But the cream cheese filling with mini chocolate chips was heavenly! I think from now on I'm going to call them muffins. The connotation of muffins is that they're healthy, good for you, breakfast food that you can eat everyday. Not like a cupcake which is dessert. These little treats deserve a spot on your regular "muffin" rotation. Thanks again dear neighbors for the recipe. Sorry I didn't share:)

Ruth's Black Bottom Cupcakes (Muffins)

Blend and set aside:

8 oz cream cheese softened

1 egg

1/3 c. sugar

6 oz. mini chocolate chips

(This mixture made more than enough to fill a double batch of the cupcakes. ) I made 27 cupcakes (A double batch) and still had a little of the cream cheese mixture left.

Mix together until smooth:

1 1/2 c. sifted flour

1 c. sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. water

1/3 c. oil

1 T. vinegar

1 t. vanilla

Fill 12-15 cupcake liners with batter. I scoop them about 2/3 of the way full and the plop a big tablespoon full of the cream cheese mixture in the middle. Bake at 350' F. for 25-30 minutes. Until the tops are set. No icing is need, but if you want you can top with cream cheese frosting or just a chocolate frosting. They are so good right out of the oven!

Beef Stew with Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

2012-12-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

It was my birthday last week and I turned 40! 40 used to be so old, but my word, I feel better than ever:) It's totally better than 25. You are so much wiser, and happy too..............Happy Birthday to you! The bakery has been on overdrive the entire month of Dec. It usually doesn't happen quite like that most years. We have a few weeks after Thanksgiving to gear up for the rush, but the rush came, and the entire family has been working at the bakery, everyday for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Bless their hearts! They have been mixing, baking, stacking, packing, tying, and shipping THOUSANDS of cookies, so needless to say my birthday was spent............doing just that. Cookies! That's ok. I had tons of well wishes, my Visiting Teachers plastered hearts all over my door, and after the cookies were done for the night, we went out to dinner. A fast dinner mind you. We didn't have time for something spectacular. It was too late.

All I wanted to eat on my birthday was this Beef Stew. So the day after I started dinner early. Something about the potatoes being in mashed form and served on top of the stew instead of cubed chunks inside, make me so happy. It is so comforting and delicious, and totally makes weary family members melt at the sight and smell. This recipe is a compilation of a couple of different recipes, but it has everything I like. It's a crock pot meal so you can make it ahead and let it cook low and slow all day. When you get home you're just about ready. I love the step I learned from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. She places most of the ingredients to her stew in the crock pot, but the carrots go in a foil pouch and then is set on top of the stew mixture during cooking. It keeps the carrots a more bright orange instead of the dingy brown from simmering in beef juices all day. Either way it will taste the same.

Now don't feel like you have to make fancy mashed potatoes. You can use instant mashed potatoes if necessary. Or you can put potato chunks in the stew itself. Whatever you need, or have the time for. The Bleu Cheese Massed Potatoes are a staple at my house. We love Bleu Cheese. I always have a giant tub in my fridge so it's an easy addition. You don't have to make a special purchase. You can just have naked mashed potatoes, or add Parmesan, Cheddar, or Ranch Dressing. All of the above will make a great mashed potato. Enjoy!!

Beef Stew with Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

3-4 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons oil (you'll need more)

2 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

8 oz. mushrooms

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

4 cups water

1 beef stew seasoning packet

1/4 c. Red Wine vinegar (or 1 c. red wine)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/8 c. sugar

1 pound carrots, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 15 oz. cans green beans or 1 bag frozen peas

In a large fry pan or wide stock pot place the oil and saute the meat until browned. You'll have to work in batches or the meat ends up boiling instead of searing. You want some nice browned chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Once all of the meat is browned and seasoned place in the crock pot. In the same pan you cooked the meat, now add a little more oil, the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Let them sizzle around until softened. Add the tomato paste at this time. Stir it around until it spreads evenly through the veggies and then add the water, beef stew seasoning packet, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir until combined. At this point I usually check the seasoning of the sauce. I usually add just a little bit of sugar and more salt and pepper if necessary. Adjust to your liking. Now pour the veggies and the sauce in with the meat. Turn crock pot to low, and get your carrots ready.

You're going to want to use some pretty heavy duty tinfoil, or a double layer of foil. Place all the chopped up carrots on the foil and drizzle a little olive oil and salt and pepper over top. Fold up as you would a tinfoil dinner. Make sure there's no holes. Place the foil packet on top of the meat mixture and cook according to directions. You'll want to cook on low for 6-8 hours. My crock pot cooks everything on high even on the low setting, so the stew only took about 4 hours. You just want your meat to be extra tender. I placed my stew on the "Keep Warm" setting for quite a few hours and it still turned out great. right before serving take the carrots out of the foil and pour them and the juices they created into the stew. Add the drained green beans or frozen peas. Whichever you want to use. Just let them sit in the stew until they're warmed through.

I like my stew a little thinner, but if you want a thicker stew you can add a little cornstarch and milk mixture to the stew and stir quickly to prevent lumps. The mixture needs to come to a boil after the milk mixture is added to fully thicken up. If I was doing this I'd use:

1/4 c. milk

1-2 T. cornstarch

To serve the stew I use big deep dishes as bowls. We ladle up the stew and then top with a big spoonful of mashed potatoes. The thinner stew is so tasty with the taters. If you don't want to make the mashed potatoes, then by all means add 3-4 c. chopped potatoes with the carrots in the foil packet and cook away.

Bleu Cheese Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. Russet or Red Potatoes (I use both at different times. Either one.)

Peel and cube potatoes and place in a pot and pour enough water to almost cover the potatoes. Add a good size pinch of salt. A good 2 t. usually. Bring the potatoes to a boil and then turn the heat down and let them boil gently for 20 minutes. Check for tenderness when done. If they're still a little crunchy, let them cook a little longer until soft.

Drain water and mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Once they are mostly mashed I add:

Butter (approx. 1/4 c.)

Sour cream (appox 1/2 c.)

Bleu Cheese crumbles 1/2 -1 c. depending on how strong you want them to be.

Onion salt

Pepper

milk or half and half. (appox. 1 c.)

I use my hand mixer at this time and star blending. I've noticed that I usually have to make my potatoes a little wetter than I would like to eat because by the time they get to the table they usually stiffen up a bit. Taste seasoning. If you need more bleu cheese bite, then add it, or salt and pepper. You want these potatoes to be able to stand on their own. You don't want them to just be the filler for the sauce, you want them to be tasty just by themselves. Serve on top of stew. Enjoy!!

Pistachio Wedding Cookies

2012-12-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've never done something like this before. I sent cookies to three perfectly perfect strangers:) One from Texas, one from Florida, and one from Alaska. It was fun, and I was dang excited to participate. It was the 2nd Annual Food Blogger Cookie Swap. Who doesn't love getting things in the mail. So thank you to the two lovely ladies who sent me and my family a treat. Ashton @ Something Swanky and Christine @ Chew Nibble Nosh. The family devoured the cookies! Before the cookies even made it into the house they were gone. (That's saying a lot since all of the Clawson children are up to their eyeballs in cookies at the bakery. Our count is now up to 28,800 cookies to be baked and shipped by next week.) Both cookies we received were lovely. Ashton sent a glorious Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Truffle cookie, and Christine sent a scrumptious Pecan Raspberry Thumbprint cookie. I love those girls guts! Thanks again!!

So now on to what I sent. I decided on a Pistachio Wedding Cookie. The chocolate orange version graced the blog a few days ago, but these pistachio babies were the star. (Here's a little story if you care about a Mexican Wedding cookie fiasco a few years ago.) I have always loved pistachio stuff. I loved Jello Pistachio pudding for Family Home Evenings, and I love the pistachio ice cream at Farr's as a kid. The lovely pale green color was beautiful too. Thanks to the lovely Mother Thyme blog. That's where I got the recipe, and I will forever be in her debt.

Happy Christmas baking!!

Pistachio Wedding Cookies

Recipe from Mother Thyme

Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar, divided

2 teaspoons pure almond extract (or vanilla)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3.4oz package pistachio instant pudding mix

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl cream butter. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add in almond extract.

In a medium bowl combine flour, pudding mix and salt. Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients until combined.

Divide dough in half and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove dough from plastic wrap and make teaspoon size balls. Place on baking sheets and press down on the balls slightly spacing them about 1 inch part.

Bake in preheated oven for 10-11 minutes. Don't overbake. Remove from oven and let them sit on baking sheet for about 5 minutes. While cookies are still warm toss them in remaining confectioners sugar and set on wire rack until cooled completely.

Store in airight containers.

Christmas Stollen

2012-12-07T06:26:00.003-07:00

The Christmas baking has begun. Just a little here and there. Enough to make the house feel cozy, and get all 7 Clawson's in the Christmas spirit. It started out with cookies, but I decided to try my hand at a traditional German Christmas bread. A few years ago I bought a loaf of Stollen from a van on the corner of Main St. A bakery from a town far away would send a van every Sat. to all the larger cities and peddle their bread. Being a bakery owners wife I scout out all the competition:) It's my job. I taste test most of the baked goods in our little valley on a regular basis.

The bread being sold out of the van was more of a European hard crusted variety. Lots of long baguettes, and free formed loaves. They were beautiful, but the one I decided to purchase was a German Stollen. If you're interested in the history of Stollen click here. Needless to say, it cost about $7 or $8 for a smaller loaf, but it was tasty. A yeasted bread loaded with all sorts of fruit and topped with tons of powdered sugar. It's pretty, and festive, and I love all that fruit in a toasted slice of bread.

So this year I decided to try making it. After doing a search I found that sometimes the loaves are made with a surprise of Marzipan inside. That's what I wanted! I love that stuff. It's just ground up almonds and sugar that is made into a paste. I decided to use my favorite bread recipe since it's easy, and it has never failed me, and I used the fruit and nuts that I wanted. Lots of raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, chopped almonds, lemon and orange zest and peel. The marzipan center is a treat I think. The recipe made 3 enormous loaves, so if you don't want or need to feed an army, go with the numbers in parenthesis. That would be a little more manageable for a family and it will still give you 2 BIG loaves. It's great the day of, or toasted a day or two later. With all the dried fruit the bread dries out a bit quickly, but I can imagine it would make a lovely bread pudding, or some delicious French Toast Sat. morning. Good luck!

Christmas Stollen

(numbers in parenthesis are for a 2/3 sized batch)

3 cups warm water (2)

3 tablespoons active dry yeast (2)

3 teaspoons salt (2)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil (3)

1/2 cup white sugar (1/3)

8 cups bread flour (6)

(From this point on all measurements are approx. Add what you like and as little or as much as you want. This is the fruit I added but there are many others. Try dried apricots, mangos, currants, plums, golden raisins. Try cinnamon, or nutmeg as well as some of your spices.)

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. craisins (dried cranberries)

1/2 c. dried blueberries

1/2 c. crystallized ginger

1/2 c. candied lemon peel (I found this in the holiday baking aisle next to those red and green fruit thingies.)

1/2 c. candied orange peel

1 t. cardamon

1 c. chopped almonds

8 oz. almond paste or marzipan (again I found this in the baking aisle. It's usually in tubes or a can. I used Solo brand Pure Almond Paste.)

Now I know why they charged so much for this bread:)

Directions

I you don't have a Bosch or a 5+quart capacity Kitchenaid mixer then reduce the recipe by 1/3. (The numbers in parenthesis) and the recipe will make 2 good loaves.

In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, and flour. You may need up to 9 c. of flour. It just depends on the weather, and where you live and your flour. You want a semi soft dough since all that fruit makes it a little harder for the bread to rise. Mix thoroughly. After you've formed a dough add all the fruit and nuts and spices. Not the almond paste yet though. Mix thoroughly and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled. At least an hour, or more.

Punch down the dough, let it rest a few minutes. Divide dough into three equal parts. (or 2 parts for the smaller recipe.) Press the dough into a large circle. Divide your almond paste into as many pieces as you have loaves. Roll the marzipan into a snake and place it down one half of your dough circle. Now fold it over like a tart. Pinch the seams and roll them under a bit. Taper the ends of the loaf into a point if possible. Place on a greased cookie sheet and cover with a towel and let rise again until doubled. Approx. 1 hours.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes. The loaves may need to be covered for the last few minutes with foil to prevent excess browning. When cooled dust with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar. Good Luck!!

Chocolate Orange Butter Cookies

2012-12-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm making cookies. Thousands of cookies! 21,600 cookies to be exact. Plus or minus a few extra dozen here and there for a fun cookie exchange. Actually we're (as in every Clawson child I own) making lots of cookies at the bakery this week. It will probably continue on into next week and the next. Tis the season for tired bakers you know. It's all good. We've got a fantastic system down and we can crank out a few thousand cookies in no time.

I really love Mexican Wedding cookies. The actually have many names that they go by, but the recipe is the same no matter what country your baking from. When we won our trip to the Food Network a few years ago, Emeril made these cookies on the show we were in the audience for. He called them Russian Tea Cakes, but same thing. I made a chocolate orange variety and I really liked them. You won't mistake these for powdered doughnut holes:) Cute little mouthfuls of chocolate. Don't inhale as you're eating. You know what happens with all the powdered sugar around. So enjoy some baking the next few weeks. Boy I know we will.

Chocolate Orange Butter Cookies

1 c. butter (2 cubes) softened

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/4 t. salt

zest of 1 orange

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

more powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350' F. In a large bowl cream butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla, flour, cocoa, salt, zest, and chocolate chips. Mix until pulls away from the bowl. At first you'll think you need some more moisture. Just give it a minute or two and the dough will come together. Roll the dough into little balls. I got about 28 balls per batch. Place all the dough balls on a cookie sheet and place in the fridge for 1 hour. Bake in batches, returning the unused dough back to the fridge until it gets used. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set. Let cookies cool and then plop them into a bowl of more powdered sugar. Enjoy!!