Today's deals with Halloween recipes, since Halloween is tomorrow. Here are six cool (and yummy) recipes to help you through the day, including Spooky Ghost Cupcakes and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting. Enjoy!
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
Ingredients
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Directions
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Frosting:
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
Ingredients
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Directions
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This came from Brett Moore, who wrote for The Spruce Eats. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Makes 12 cupcakes
To view this online, click here.Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
Showing posts with label Gingerbread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gingerbread. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Double-Post Tuesday - Halloween Recipes
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post deals with Halloween. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Spooky Ghost Cupcakes and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting. Enjoy!
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Frosting:
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Frosting:
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Halloween - Double-Post Tuesday
Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post deals with Halloween. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Spooky Ghost Cupcakes and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting. Enjoy!
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Halloween Recipes
Are you ready for Halloween? I am - sort-of. That's about as close as it gets here. Since Halloween is Monday, I figure it's time for a few more spooky recipes. I'm sure someone is thinking, "But didn't you just post Halloween recipes earlier this week?" Not a problem...I most likely won't post any more Halloween recipes in this blog again - until next year!
That said, here are today's six pumpkin recipes to help you get in the spirt of things over the weekend. Enjoy!
BLACK MAGIC CAKE
This comes from the Food Network Kitchen, and begins, “This deep, dark chocolate cake is the perfect canvas for a spooky holiday dessert. Top it with a spider web or a mummy made from melted and stretched marshmallows.” Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes; Prep Time: 30 minutes; Inactive: 2 hours 15 minutes; Cook Time: 50 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Level: Easy.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/black-magic-cake.html?oc=linkback.
Ingredients
Cake:
2/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the baking pans
1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Filling and Frosting:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch fine salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Spider Web or Mummy Decoration:
2 cups mini marshmallows (about 4 ounces)
Cooking spray
Candy spider or candy eyes, for decorating
Directions
Special equipment: two 9-inch round cake pans
For the cake: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment, and grease the parchment and the sides of the pans with oil.
Stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water, and let sit to bloom for 5 minutes (this step intensifies the chocolate flavor in the cake).
Whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the bloomed cocoa, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the cocoa mixture into the sugar mixture, and stir until smooth (the batter will be thin). Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake until the cakes bounce back when pressed in the middle and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pans on a rack.
For the filling and frosting: Heat the cream in a double boiler over low heat, whisking occasionally, until it begins to steam. Whisk in the cocoa powder, chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla and salt until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated. Let the frosting cool completely.
To assemble: Put 1 cake, bottom-side up, on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top but not all the way down the side. Top with the other cake, bottom-side up, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
For the spider web or mummy decoration: Microwave the marshmallows in a microwave-safe medium bowl until they start to grow in size and are soft enough to stir, about 1 minute. Let sit a few minutes until cool enough to touch. Spray your hands with cooking spray. For a spider web, pick up a tablespoon-sized blob of the melted marshmallow and stretch it over and around the cake; repeat so that the strings of marshmallow crisscross one another in many directions, and continue until you have what looks like a spider web. For a mummy, stretch the marshmallow so that all the strings on the top of the cake run in the same direction, leaving a small gap between strings for the mummy's eyes to peek out. Garnish with a candy spider or candy eyes.
Cook's Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
PUMPKIN CAKE ROLL WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING
This comes from Diana Rattray, About.com's Southern Food expert. She writes, “This pumpkin cake roll recipe is filled with a cream cheese filling. Keep one of these pumpkin rolls frozen, in slices, and bring some out when guests drop in. This is the perfect fall or winter holiday cake!” Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 35 minutes; Yield: 10 servings
To view this online, go to http://southernfood.about.com/od/pumpkins/r/blbb465.htm.
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
8 ounces Cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons Butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
In large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating with an electric mixer until thick and light yellow in color. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, mixing until blended.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture, mixing well. Spread batter into greased and waxed-paper lined 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan.
Bake at 350 ° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes.
Place cake on clean tea towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes longer. From 10- inch side, roll cake up in towel. Set aside.
While cake is cooling in towel, prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese and butter; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.
Unroll cake. Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll up cake (without the towel). Wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Slice before serving. Keep leftover slices refrigerated. This pumpkin roll freezes well, and makes about 10 servings.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, anc can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
That said, here are today's six pumpkin recipes to help you get in the spirt of things over the weekend. Enjoy!
BLACK MAGIC CAKE
This comes from the Food Network Kitchen, and begins, “This deep, dark chocolate cake is the perfect canvas for a spooky holiday dessert. Top it with a spider web or a mummy made from melted and stretched marshmallows.” Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes; Prep Time: 30 minutes; Inactive: 2 hours 15 minutes; Cook Time: 50 minutes; Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Level: Easy.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/black-magic-cake.html?oc=linkback.
Ingredients
Cake:
2/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the baking pans
1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Filling and Frosting:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch fine salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Spider Web or Mummy Decoration:
2 cups mini marshmallows (about 4 ounces)
Cooking spray
Candy spider or candy eyes, for decorating
Directions
Special equipment: two 9-inch round cake pans
For the cake: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment, and grease the parchment and the sides of the pans with oil.
Stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water, and let sit to bloom for 5 minutes (this step intensifies the chocolate flavor in the cake).
Whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the bloomed cocoa, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the cocoa mixture into the sugar mixture, and stir until smooth (the batter will be thin). Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake until the cakes bounce back when pressed in the middle and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pans on a rack.
For the filling and frosting: Heat the cream in a double boiler over low heat, whisking occasionally, until it begins to steam. Whisk in the cocoa powder, chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla and salt until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated. Let the frosting cool completely.
To assemble: Put 1 cake, bottom-side up, on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top but not all the way down the side. Top with the other cake, bottom-side up, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
For the spider web or mummy decoration: Microwave the marshmallows in a microwave-safe medium bowl until they start to grow in size and are soft enough to stir, about 1 minute. Let sit a few minutes until cool enough to touch. Spray your hands with cooking spray. For a spider web, pick up a tablespoon-sized blob of the melted marshmallow and stretch it over and around the cake; repeat so that the strings of marshmallow crisscross one another in many directions, and continue until you have what looks like a spider web. For a mummy, stretch the marshmallow so that all the strings on the top of the cake run in the same direction, leaving a small gap between strings for the mummy's eyes to peek out. Garnish with a candy spider or candy eyes.
Cook's Note: When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
PUMPKIN CAKE ROLL WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING
This comes from Diana Rattray, About.com's Southern Food expert. She writes, “This pumpkin cake roll recipe is filled with a cream cheese filling. Keep one of these pumpkin rolls frozen, in slices, and bring some out when guests drop in. This is the perfect fall or winter holiday cake!” Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 35 minutes; Yield: 10 servings
To view this online, go to http://southernfood.about.com/od/pumpkins/r/blbb465.htm.
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
8 ounces Cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons Butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
In large bowl, combine eggs and sugar, beating with an electric mixer until thick and light yellow in color. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, mixing until blended.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add to egg mixture, mixing well. Spread batter into greased and waxed-paper lined 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan.
Bake at 350 ° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes.
Place cake on clean tea towel sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes longer. From 10- inch side, roll cake up in towel. Set aside.
While cake is cooling in towel, prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese and butter; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.
Unroll cake. Evenly spread filling over cake. Roll up cake (without the towel). Wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Slice before serving. Keep leftover slices refrigerated. This pumpkin roll freezes well, and makes about 10 servings.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, anc can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Halloween Weekend Recipes
Enjoy!
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH POTATO TOPPING
This comes from Kathy Kingsley, About.com's American Food guide. Kathy writes, “Although this dish is called a “pie,” there isn’t any pastry involved. It is simply a mix of ground turkey and vegetables in a sauce with a topping of mashed potatoes. The dish is browned in the oven for a delicious example of comfort food. For a pretty effect, pipe the topping over the filling, using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Serve this hearty meal with a steamed green vegetable.” The recipe serves 6 to 8 and can be viewed online here.
If you'd like to make this a vegetarian meal, substitute the ground turkey with a vegetarian meatless crumble of your choice.
Ingredients
Potato Topping
3 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inches pieces
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup thawed frozen peas
3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Preparation
Make the potato topping: In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes well in a colander. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes to blanch. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in the ground turkey, breaking up the large pieces with a fork, and cook until browned. Add the blanched carrots, peas, corn, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Mix well. Cook, stirring often, until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.
Spray a 3-quart gratin dish or shallow casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spoon the vegetable-turkey mixture into the prepared dish. Top with dollops of mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until heated through. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
• You can mash any type of potato, but those with a high starch/low water content, such as russet and Yukon Gold, produce perfect results. The starch creates a fluffy texture, and the low water content allows them to absorb milk and butter without becoming gummy.
• Never try to whip potatoes in a food processor or you will have a gluey mess.
• Ideally, mashed potatoes should be served freshly made, but this is not always possible. Mash them up to 1 hour before serving, reserving one-third of the milk. Place them in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water. Pour the reserved milk over the top. Just before serving, stir the milk into the potatoes.
• Potatoes are more fragile than you might think, so handle them carefully to prevent bruising. Keep them unwashed in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. If stored in a place that is too hot, the sugar will convert to starch and the potatoes will lose their natural sweetness.
• Choose fairly clean, smooth, firm potatoes. For even cooking, pick potatoes that are about the same size. Do not select ones with wrinkled skins, soft dark spots, cut surfaces, or green areas. Green spots mean they have been exposed to light; cut the spot off before cooking to eliminate bitterness.
LIZARD LOUNGE TEA
This comes from my e-cookbook, titled Off the Wall Cooking, found on Amazon.com.
My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. Everyone asked what their secret ingredient was.
This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry herb tea or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.
1/2 gallon apple cider
4 – 5 herbal tea bags
Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH POTATO TOPPING
This comes from Kathy Kingsley, About.com's American Food guide. Kathy writes, “Although this dish is called a “pie,” there isn’t any pastry involved. It is simply a mix of ground turkey and vegetables in a sauce with a topping of mashed potatoes. The dish is browned in the oven for a delicious example of comfort food. For a pretty effect, pipe the topping over the filling, using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Serve this hearty meal with a steamed green vegetable.” The recipe serves 6 to 8 and can be viewed online here.
If you'd like to make this a vegetarian meal, substitute the ground turkey with a vegetarian meatless crumble of your choice.
Ingredients
Potato Topping
3 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inches pieces
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup thawed frozen peas
3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Preparation
Make the potato topping: In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes well in a colander. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes to blanch. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in the ground turkey, breaking up the large pieces with a fork, and cook until browned. Add the blanched carrots, peas, corn, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Mix well. Cook, stirring often, until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.
Spray a 3-quart gratin dish or shallow casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spoon the vegetable-turkey mixture into the prepared dish. Top with dollops of mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until heated through. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
• You can mash any type of potato, but those with a high starch/low water content, such as russet and Yukon Gold, produce perfect results. The starch creates a fluffy texture, and the low water content allows them to absorb milk and butter without becoming gummy.
• Never try to whip potatoes in a food processor or you will have a gluey mess.
• Ideally, mashed potatoes should be served freshly made, but this is not always possible. Mash them up to 1 hour before serving, reserving one-third of the milk. Place them in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water. Pour the reserved milk over the top. Just before serving, stir the milk into the potatoes.
• Potatoes are more fragile than you might think, so handle them carefully to prevent bruising. Keep them unwashed in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. If stored in a place that is too hot, the sugar will convert to starch and the potatoes will lose their natural sweetness.
• Choose fairly clean, smooth, firm potatoes. For even cooking, pick potatoes that are about the same size. Do not select ones with wrinkled skins, soft dark spots, cut surfaces, or green areas. Green spots mean they have been exposed to light; cut the spot off before cooking to eliminate bitterness.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Friday!
Friday! It’s the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend. And if your Friday (and weekend) is anything like mine, you probably have tons of plans, even if it means yard work, tidying up the house, running errands, or simply kicking back and relaxing. But no matter what those plans are, it always seems that Sunday evening rolls around too fast, with at least half or our weekend plans on hold until next weekend. We still need to eat, though, and to that end, here are a few recipes to help start the weekend off. Enjoy!
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
CINNAMON-APPLE FRENCH TOAST
This vegan recipe, from page 38 of the October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times, starts off, “Tart apples like Pippin, Empire, Winesap and Granny Smith retain their shapes when cooked, so choose them for this recipe.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.
Apple Topping
4 large tart, firm apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
French Toast
2 cups plain or vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup apple butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
12 slices soft-crust French bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
To make Topping: Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Saute apples 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened. Reduce heat to medium. Add sugar and cinnamon, and cook 5 to 10 minutes more, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice, and remove from heat.
To make French Toast: Blend soymilk, apple butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in blender until smooth. Pour into shallow bowl.
Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Dip bread slices into batter, coating evenly. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Place 2 slices bread on each plate, and divide topping among servings.
Per serving: 273 cal; 6 g protein; 1.5 g total fat (0.5 g sat. fat); 55 g carb; 0 mg chol; 345 mg sodium; 3 g fiber; 25 g sugars
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH POTATO TOPPING
This comes from Kathy Kingsley, About.com's American Food guide. Kathy writes, “Although this dish is called a “pie,” there isn’t any pastry involved. It is simply a mix of ground turkey and vegetables in a sauce with a topping of mashed potatoes. The dish is browned in the oven for a delicious example of comfort food. For a pretty effect, pipe the topping over the filling, using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Serve this hearty meal with a steamed green vegetable.” The recipe serves 6 to 8 and can be viewed online here.
If you'd like to make this a vegetarian meal, substitute the ground turkey with a vegetarian meatless crumble of your choice.
Ingredients
Potato Topping
3 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inches pieces
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup thawed frozen peas
3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Preparation
Make the potato topping: In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes well in a colander. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes to blanch. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in the ground turkey, breaking up the large pieces with a fork, and cook until browned. Add the blanched carrots, peas, corn, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Mix well. Cook, stirring often, until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.
Spray a 3-quart gratin dish or shallow casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spoon the vegetable-turkey mixture into the prepared dish. Top with dollops of mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until heated through. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
• You can mash any type of potato, but those with a high starch/low water content, such as russet and Yukon Gold, produce perfect results. The starch creates a fluffy texture, and the low water content allows them to absorb milk and butter without becoming gummy.
• Never try to whip potatoes in a food processor or you will have a gluey mess.
• Ideally, mashed potatoes should be served freshly made, but this is not always possible. Mash them up to 1 hour before serving, reserving one-third of the milk. Place them in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water. Pour the reserved milk over the top. Just before serving, stir the milk into the potatoes.
• Potatoes are more fragile than you might think, so handle them carefully to prevent bruising. Keep them unwashed in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. If stored in a place that is too hot, the sugar will convert to starch and the potatoes will lose their natural sweetness.
• Choose fairly clean, smooth, firm potatoes. For even cooking, pick potatoes that are about the same size. Do not select ones with wrinkled skins, soft dark spots, cut surfaces, or green areas. Green spots mean they have been exposed to light; cut the spot off before cooking to eliminate bitterness.
SPOOKY GHOST CUPCAKES
This is from The Baker Chick. It makes 20 cupcakes, and can be viewed online here.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Seven Minute Frosting:
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
mini & regular chocolate chips for the face!
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with liners, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Make a small well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together and then incorporate the dry until smooth and lump-free.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.
Place egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water.
On medium-high heat cook the sugar mixture until boiling. At that point- turn the mixer on medium high speed to get the egg whites to soft peaks. When the sugar mixture has reached 230F, slowly pour it down the side of the bowl in a steady stream while the mixture continues to run.
Beat on medium-high for about 7 minutes or until the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch and stiff glossy peaks have formed. Add the vanilla right before you finish beating the frosting.
Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes right away (it gets a bit firm otherwise.) and decorate with the chocolate chips!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
THREE-BEAN SOUP
This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.
Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.
Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.
Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.
Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.
Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.
CINNAMON-APPLE FRENCH TOAST
This vegan recipe, from page 38 of the October 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times, starts off, “Tart apples like Pippin, Empire, Winesap and Granny Smith retain their shapes when cooked, so choose them for this recipe.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.
Apple Topping
4 large tart, firm apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
French Toast
2 cups plain or vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup apple butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
12 slices soft-crust French bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
To make Topping: Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Saute apples 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened. Reduce heat to medium. Add sugar and cinnamon, and cook 5 to 10 minutes more, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice, and remove from heat.
To make French Toast: Blend soymilk, apple butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in blender until smooth. Pour into shallow bowl.
Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Dip bread slices into batter, coating evenly. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Place 2 slices bread on each plate, and divide topping among servings.
Per serving: 273 cal; 6 g protein; 1.5 g total fat (0.5 g sat. fat); 55 g carb; 0 mg chol; 345 mg sodium; 3 g fiber; 25 g sugars
GINGERBREAD
This recipe is from a no-longer-remembered emailing list. I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it to the list got it from ARM & HAMMER, since it mentions A&H baking soda. The recipe begins, "Sweeten the season with our gingerbread. This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family." The person who sent it to the emailing list ends this with, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
Directions
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH CARDAMOM CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food expert. He wrote, "I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially around the holidays. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon. Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009)." Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
SHEPHERD'S PIE WITH POTATO TOPPING
This comes from Kathy Kingsley, About.com's American Food guide. Kathy writes, “Although this dish is called a “pie,” there isn’t any pastry involved. It is simply a mix of ground turkey and vegetables in a sauce with a topping of mashed potatoes. The dish is browned in the oven for a delicious example of comfort food. For a pretty effect, pipe the topping over the filling, using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Serve this hearty meal with a steamed green vegetable.” The recipe serves 6 to 8 and can be viewed online here.
If you'd like to make this a vegetarian meal, substitute the ground turkey with a vegetarian meatless crumble of your choice.
Ingredients
Potato Topping
3 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inches pieces
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup thawed frozen peas
3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Preparation
Make the potato topping: In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes well in a colander. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes to blanch. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in the ground turkey, breaking up the large pieces with a fork, and cook until browned. Add the blanched carrots, peas, corn, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Mix well. Cook, stirring often, until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.
Spray a 3-quart gratin dish or shallow casserole with vegetable oil spray. Spoon the vegetable-turkey mixture into the prepared dish. Top with dollops of mashed potatoes. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until heated through. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
• You can mash any type of potato, but those with a high starch/low water content, such as russet and Yukon Gold, produce perfect results. The starch creates a fluffy texture, and the low water content allows them to absorb milk and butter without becoming gummy.
• Never try to whip potatoes in a food processor or you will have a gluey mess.
• Ideally, mashed potatoes should be served freshly made, but this is not always possible. Mash them up to 1 hour before serving, reserving one-third of the milk. Place them in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water. Pour the reserved milk over the top. Just before serving, stir the milk into the potatoes.
• Potatoes are more fragile than you might think, so handle them carefully to prevent bruising. Keep them unwashed in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. If stored in a place that is too hot, the sugar will convert to starch and the potatoes will lose their natural sweetness.
• Choose fairly clean, smooth, firm potatoes. For even cooking, pick potatoes that are about the same size. Do not select ones with wrinkled skins, soft dark spots, cut surfaces, or green areas. Green spots mean they have been exposed to light; cut the spot off before cooking to eliminate bitterness.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Baked Goodies
Many of us have fond memories of various foods from our childhood, while other good food memories come from later periods in our lives. Two of the cookies recipes in today’s offerings come from my mom’s mom, Lillian Longmuir Hallock. While both of my grandmothers’ places always smelled wonderful from all the great food they cooked, Grandma Hallock’s cookies were something to really look forward to.
When I was growing up, my family (parents, sister, brother and I) lived in New York (state, not city). I’d been home sick with the flu, while my sister had gone to school. By late afternoon, the skies turned grey. My grandmother had come to our house with a batch of her peanut butter cookies and oatmeal cookies. After my sister got home from school, just ahead of the rain, my grandmother regaled us over stories of her youth while we had tea and cookies. One of her stories entailed being introduced to one of her teacher’s friends, whose stage name happened to be Buffalo Bill Cody. So I’m always reminded of that when I bake either cookie recipe.
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
This was one of my grandmother's recipes, along with the oatmeal cookie recipe that follows. You can find them in my e-cookbook, Off The Wall Cooking.
1/2 C butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/4 C flour
3/4 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Cream butter & peanut butter together. Add sugar gradually & cream thoroughly. Add egg. Sift flour once before measuring. Sift flour, soda, baking powder & salt together & add to creamed mixture. Chill dough well, then form into balls the size of walnuts. Place balls on lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten with fork dipped in flour, making criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
GRANDMA'S OATMEAL COOKIES
Another one of my grandmother's recipes. When it came to baking, cookies were her specialty. You can also find these in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking
1 C flour
1 C brown sugar
3 C quick cooking oatmeal (NOT the instant oats!)
1 C butter or margarine
1/4 C boiling water
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Mix flour & brown sugar. Add oatmeal; stir. Melt butter; add to dry ingredients. Mix baking soda into boiling water; add to other ingredients, stirring well. Place batter into loaf pan, lined with aluminum foil & place in freeze for several hours. Slice & bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
Oatmeal Cookie dough, taken from the freezer; showing first cuts before baking
Then cut down the center, like so:
Placed on parchment paper-covered baking sheet, for easier handling
PEANUT BUTTER PIE
There’s also a story that goes along with the Peanut Butter Pie. I’d driven cab for several years. One Friday afternoon, I got a call to pick up a single dad from the store. When I dropped him off, his son and daughter came out of the trailer to help bring in the groceries.
“Did you remember to get the stuff for the peanut butter pie?” his daughter asked. They were taking it to an early Thanksgiving gathering that weekend.
“Sure did,” he answered.
“Peanut butter pie?” I asked, as we finished unloading the groceries. “How do you make that?”
“With peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, and a few other things,” came the answer.
The following week, I managed to pick the dad up again. This time, I managed to get the ingredients: pie crust, peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese and Cool Whip. It wasn’t until the third (and final) time I picked him up in as many weeks that I got the exact amounts. He used 1/3 cup each of peanut butter and sugar, both of which I upped to 1/2 cup each.
8-ounce tub of Cool Whip (see note)
8-ounce block of cream cheese (see note)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth is preferable)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Pie crust (see note)
Put Cool Whip, cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With beaters, beat on high. Pour into pie crust, smooth out, and freeze for 1 hour.
Note: Cool whip (or store equivalent) can be fat-free. Cream cheese can be regular cream cheese or the 1/3 less fat kind, but do not use fat free, as the pie won't set up right. I usually use a store-bought graham cracker crust for the pie, which is what the man used to make this. However, you can also use an Oreo cookie crust.
GINGERBREAD
Sweeten the season with our gingerbread.
Whoever first posted this (probably on one of the emailing lists I was on, years ago), added, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!" The recipe starts, “This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family.”
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
DIRECTIONS:
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
CINNAMON EGG BREAD
I first found the recipe that this morphed from in an old, long-since-lost cookbook. Since losing the cookbook, the recipe has changed to this version. I've had numerous friends and relatives rave over this. One lady I knew said that it was one of the few bread recipes that could almost double as dessert.
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 eggs
1 cup warm (not hot) water
2 Tablespoons honey
2 packages yeast
6 – 7 cups flour
3/4 – 1 cup margarine, melted
2 – 3 cups cinnamon sugar
Heat milk to almost scalding, stirring fairly constantly so that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Add ½ cup margarine, and stir until melted. Let milk and margarine cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place very warm water, add honey and yeast, then stir to dissolve. Let stand for 5 – 10 minutes.
Add salt to milk, then add yeast and water to milk. Add flour, 2 cups at a time, for a stiff, non-sticky dough. Knead for about 8 – 10 minutes.
Wash and dry bowl, then place dough in bowl. Place cooking oil (I recommend canola or olive oil) in hands, then rub over dough. Place clean towel over the top of bowl and allow dough to rise until almost double, about an hour.
Take 3 loaf pans and spray with cooking spray. Take dough out and divide into thirds.
Melt ¾ – 1 cup margarine. Set aside.
With a floured rolling pin, roll out first third of dough. Pour some of the margarine over the bread and spread 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar over the dough. Roll dough, then place in loaf pan with the bread-seam down. Repeat with other two thirds. Place towel over all three loaves and allow to rise again, approximately one hour.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Then, removing towel, bake loaves for 45 – 50 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes on cooling rack.
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake! This can also be found on in my ebook, Off the Wall Cooking.
Cake
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup mini-marshmallows
6-oz package chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup water
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Grease & flour 2 9” pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl.
In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may & water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased & floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
Icing
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl & cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
When I was growing up, my family (parents, sister, brother and I) lived in New York (state, not city). I’d been home sick with the flu, while my sister had gone to school. By late afternoon, the skies turned grey. My grandmother had come to our house with a batch of her peanut butter cookies and oatmeal cookies. After my sister got home from school, just ahead of the rain, my grandmother regaled us over stories of her youth while we had tea and cookies. One of her stories entailed being introduced to one of her teacher’s friends, whose stage name happened to be Buffalo Bill Cody. So I’m always reminded of that when I bake either cookie recipe.
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
This was one of my grandmother's recipes, along with the oatmeal cookie recipe that follows. You can find them in my e-cookbook, Off The Wall Cooking.
1/2 C butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/4 C flour
3/4 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Cream butter & peanut butter together. Add sugar gradually & cream thoroughly. Add egg. Sift flour once before measuring. Sift flour, soda, baking powder & salt together & add to creamed mixture. Chill dough well, then form into balls the size of walnuts. Place balls on lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten with fork dipped in flour, making criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
GRANDMA'S OATMEAL COOKIES
Another one of my grandmother's recipes. When it came to baking, cookies were her specialty. You can also find these in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking
1 C flour
1 C brown sugar
3 C quick cooking oatmeal (NOT the instant oats!)
1 C butter or margarine
1/4 C boiling water
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Mix flour & brown sugar. Add oatmeal; stir. Melt butter; add to dry ingredients. Mix baking soda into boiling water; add to other ingredients, stirring well. Place batter into loaf pan, lined with aluminum foil & place in freeze for several hours. Slice & bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
Oatmeal Cookie dough, taken from the freezer; showing first cuts before baking
Then cut down the center, like so:
Placed on parchment paper-covered baking sheet, for easier handling
PEANUT BUTTER PIE
There’s also a story that goes along with the Peanut Butter Pie. I’d driven cab for several years. One Friday afternoon, I got a call to pick up a single dad from the store. When I dropped him off, his son and daughter came out of the trailer to help bring in the groceries.
“Did you remember to get the stuff for the peanut butter pie?” his daughter asked. They were taking it to an early Thanksgiving gathering that weekend.
“Sure did,” he answered.
“Peanut butter pie?” I asked, as we finished unloading the groceries. “How do you make that?”
“With peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, and a few other things,” came the answer.
The following week, I managed to pick the dad up again. This time, I managed to get the ingredients: pie crust, peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese and Cool Whip. It wasn’t until the third (and final) time I picked him up in as many weeks that I got the exact amounts. He used 1/3 cup each of peanut butter and sugar, both of which I upped to 1/2 cup each.
8-ounce tub of Cool Whip (see note)
8-ounce block of cream cheese (see note)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth is preferable)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Pie crust (see note)
Put Cool Whip, cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With beaters, beat on high. Pour into pie crust, smooth out, and freeze for 1 hour.
Note: Cool whip (or store equivalent) can be fat-free. Cream cheese can be regular cream cheese or the 1/3 less fat kind, but do not use fat free, as the pie won't set up right. I usually use a store-bought graham cracker crust for the pie, which is what the man used to make this. However, you can also use an Oreo cookie crust.
GINGERBREAD
Sweeten the season with our gingerbread.
Whoever first posted this (probably on one of the emailing lists I was on, years ago), added, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!" The recipe starts, “This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family.”
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
DIRECTIONS:
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
CINNAMON EGG BREAD
I first found the recipe that this morphed from in an old, long-since-lost cookbook. Since losing the cookbook, the recipe has changed to this version. I've had numerous friends and relatives rave over this. One lady I knew said that it was one of the few bread recipes that could almost double as dessert.
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 eggs
1 cup warm (not hot) water
2 Tablespoons honey
2 packages yeast
6 – 7 cups flour
3/4 – 1 cup margarine, melted
2 – 3 cups cinnamon sugar
Heat milk to almost scalding, stirring fairly constantly so that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Add ½ cup margarine, and stir until melted. Let milk and margarine cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place very warm water, add honey and yeast, then stir to dissolve. Let stand for 5 – 10 minutes.
Add salt to milk, then add yeast and water to milk. Add flour, 2 cups at a time, for a stiff, non-sticky dough. Knead for about 8 – 10 minutes.
Wash and dry bowl, then place dough in bowl. Place cooking oil (I recommend canola or olive oil) in hands, then rub over dough. Place clean towel over the top of bowl and allow dough to rise until almost double, about an hour.
Take 3 loaf pans and spray with cooking spray. Take dough out and divide into thirds.
Melt ¾ – 1 cup margarine. Set aside.
With a floured rolling pin, roll out first third of dough. Pour some of the margarine over the bread and spread 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar over the dough. Roll dough, then place in loaf pan with the bread-seam down. Repeat with other two thirds. Place towel over all three loaves and allow to rise again, approximately one hour.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Then, removing towel, bake loaves for 45 – 50 minutes. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes on cooling rack.
ROCKY ROAD CAKE
I was taking a speech class at a local junior college. One week we had to give a demonstration speech; one lady demonstrated how to make this cake, passing out copies of the recipe along with pieces of cake. It’s absolutely delicious. The icing can be used on almost any kind of cake; it would be really good on carrot cake! This can also be found on in my ebook, Off the Wall Cooking.
Cake
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup mini-marshmallows
6-oz package chocolate chips
4 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup water
1 package (18.25 oz) Devil’s Food cake mix w/pudding
Grease & flour 2 9” pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix first four ingredients in medium-size bowl.
In large bowl at low speed, mix cake mix, eggs, may & water until blended. Increase speed to medium & beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nut mixture. Pour into greased & floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Cool in pan 15 minutes on cooling rack.
Icing
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 box confectioners sugar
Place ingredients in bowl & cream together. When cake is cool, ice. ENJOY!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Six Pumpkin Recipes (And One Gingerbread)
I know, I know...Two days after Thanksgiving, and if you're like many Americans, you have a ton of turkey and other leftovers in your 'fridge, just begging to be used. What's a person to do? Look for recipes for all that food. And I very nearly started blogging recipes to use up turkey and leftover mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes/stuffing/everything else in all those containers.
Problem is, most people know how they're going to use up their leftovers. Turkey becomes turkey sandwiches and/or turkey casserole. Mashed potatoes become potato pancakes; that's not a bad idea for mashed sweet potatoes, too. This year was the first that I actually found a new leftover turkey recipe that I might use (turkey sliders); unfortunately, after cutting it out from the flier (I'm thinking a Publix flier), I promptly managed to lose it.
But then, it seems that recipes for using up the leftovers are everywhere. So, rather, I've put together six pumpkin recipes and one gingerbread one. Many of these have graced this blog before, while a few others are new contributions. None of these are my inventions. If I know where they came from, I mention it; if not, and if someone knows where they came from, let me know. (Thanks, in advance.)
Pumpkin Smoothie
Prep: 4 min
Yields: 6 servings
Probably from Nestle/Libby's
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin, chilled
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk, chilled
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 small sliced banana
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 dozen ice cubes (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions
PLACE pumpkin, evaporated milk, orange juice, banana and sugar in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour over ice. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
NUTRITION FACTS
Amount Per Serving 6 servings
Serving Size 1/6 of recipe
Calories 150
Total Fat 1.5g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Pumpkin Carrot Swirl Bars
Prep: 20 min
Cooking: 25 min
Yields: 48 servings
Probably from Libby's/Nestle
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup finely shredded carrot
Cream Cheese Topping (recipe follows)
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.
COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl. Beat granulated sugar, butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin and carrot; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; mix well. Spread into prepared pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of Cream Cheese Topping over batter; swirl mixture with spoon.
BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Store in covered container in refrigerator.
FOR CREAM CHEESE TOPPING:
COMBINE 4 ounces softened light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in small mixer bowl until thoroughly blended.
NUTRITION FACTS
Amount Per Serving 48 servings
Serving Size 1/48 of recipe
Calories 70
Total Fat 2g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Wow a holiday crowd with this amazing pumpkin cheesecake!
From Recipe Cookbook Nestle® Very Best Baking
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cooking Time 55 minutes
Serves 16
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted OR 1/3 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 can LIBBY ® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2/3 cup NESTLÉ ® Carnation ® Evaporated Milk
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 container sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F.
FOR CRUST:
COMBINE graham cracker crumbs, butter and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
FOR CHEESECAKE:
BEAT cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust.
BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly.
FOR TOPPING:
COMBINE sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well. Spread over surface of warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan.
Vegan Pumpkin Risotto
A vegetarian and vegan twist on classic Italian risotto - pumpkin! Why not? Pumpkin adds a sweet and unique flavor perfect for fall, as a vegetarian Thanksgiving7 entree, or anytime. This Italian risotto recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.
Ingredients:
1 onion. diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
1 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp margarine
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sautee the onion in olive oil over medium heat for three to five minutes, or until soft. Add the rice. Allow to cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Slowly add the wine. Start to add the vegetable broth8, 1/2 cup at a time. Allow the moisture to cook off before adding the next 1/2 cup. Stir frequently.
Add remaining ingredients, stirring well, and cook for just a few minutes, until heated through.
Pumpkin Orange Cake Roll
This angel food cake roll is filled with a cinnamon-orange scented pumpkin filling. A lighter alternative to heavy holiday desserts.
from Recipe Cookbook Nestle® Very Best Baking
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 30 minutes
Serves 10
Ingredients
1 package (16-oz.) angel food cake mix
2 1/2 teaspoons orange peel, grated, divided
1 1/4 cups LIBBY ® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tablespoon CROSSE & BLACKWELL® Red Currant Jelly, optional
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan with foil. Foil should extend 1 inch above edge of pan. Sprinkle a clean towel with powdered sugar.
PREPARE cake mix according to package direction, adding 1 ½ teaspoons orange peel at end of mixing time. Spread into prepared pan.
BAKE for 30 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off foil. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
COMBINE pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and remaining orange peel in a medium bowl. Carefully unroll cake; spread pumpkin mixture over cake. Re-roll cake. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Spoon jelly into small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Cut off corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle jelly over cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pumpkin Soup
For a dramatic presentation, serve this warm, creamy soup inside a scooped-out pumpkin. It's just as delicious ladled out of a pot.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 20 minutes
Serves 6
Not sure where this came from.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons flour
6 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
one 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
one 8-ounce jar applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
freshly ground pepper, to taste
croutons, optional
Directions
Heat the butter in a large saucepan and saute the onions over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until mixed. Add the chicken broth and pumpkin and stir until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients except the cream, pepper, and croutons. Stir well, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until hot and the flavors have blended.
Stir in the cream and heat until hot. Garnish with freshly ground pepper and serve immediately with crisp croutons, if desired.
GINGERBREAD
Sweeten the season with our gingerbread.
This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
DIRECTIONS:
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
Whoever first posted this (probably on one of the emailing lists I was on, years ago), added, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
Problem is, most people know how they're going to use up their leftovers. Turkey becomes turkey sandwiches and/or turkey casserole. Mashed potatoes become potato pancakes; that's not a bad idea for mashed sweet potatoes, too. This year was the first that I actually found a new leftover turkey recipe that I might use (turkey sliders); unfortunately, after cutting it out from the flier (I'm thinking a Publix flier), I promptly managed to lose it.
But then, it seems that recipes for using up the leftovers are everywhere. So, rather, I've put together six pumpkin recipes and one gingerbread one. Many of these have graced this blog before, while a few others are new contributions. None of these are my inventions. If I know where they came from, I mention it; if not, and if someone knows where they came from, let me know. (Thanks, in advance.)
Pumpkin Smoothie
Prep: 4 min
Yields: 6 servings
Probably from Nestle/Libby's
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin, chilled
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk, chilled
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 small sliced banana
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 dozen ice cubes (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions
PLACE pumpkin, evaporated milk, orange juice, banana and sugar in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour over ice. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
NUTRITION FACTS
Amount Per Serving 6 servings
Serving Size 1/6 of recipe
Calories 150
Total Fat 1.5g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Pumpkin Carrot Swirl Bars
Prep: 20 min
Cooking: 25 min
Yields: 48 servings
Probably from Libby's/Nestle
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup finely shredded carrot
Cream Cheese Topping (recipe follows)
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.
COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl. Beat granulated sugar, butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin and carrot; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; mix well. Spread into prepared pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of Cream Cheese Topping over batter; swirl mixture with spoon.
BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Store in covered container in refrigerator.
FOR CREAM CHEESE TOPPING:
COMBINE 4 ounces softened light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in small mixer bowl until thoroughly blended.
NUTRITION FACTS
Amount Per Serving 48 servings
Serving Size 1/48 of recipe
Calories 70
Total Fat 2g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Wow a holiday crowd with this amazing pumpkin cheesecake!
From Recipe Cookbook Nestle® Very Best Baking
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cooking Time 55 minutes
Serves 16
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted OR 1/3 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 can LIBBY ® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2/3 cup NESTLÉ ® Carnation ® Evaporated Milk
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 container sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F.
FOR CRUST:
COMBINE graham cracker crumbs, butter and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
FOR CHEESECAKE:
BEAT cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust.
BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly.
FOR TOPPING:
COMBINE sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well. Spread over surface of warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan.
Vegan Pumpkin Risotto
A vegetarian and vegan twist on classic Italian risotto - pumpkin! Why not? Pumpkin adds a sweet and unique flavor perfect for fall, as a vegetarian Thanksgiving7 entree, or anytime. This Italian risotto recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.
Ingredients:
1 onion. diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
1 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp margarine
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sautee the onion in olive oil over medium heat for three to five minutes, or until soft. Add the rice. Allow to cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Slowly add the wine. Start to add the vegetable broth8, 1/2 cup at a time. Allow the moisture to cook off before adding the next 1/2 cup. Stir frequently.
Add remaining ingredients, stirring well, and cook for just a few minutes, until heated through.
Pumpkin Orange Cake Roll
This angel food cake roll is filled with a cinnamon-orange scented pumpkin filling. A lighter alternative to heavy holiday desserts.
from Recipe Cookbook Nestle® Very Best Baking
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 30 minutes
Serves 10
Ingredients
1 package (16-oz.) angel food cake mix
2 1/2 teaspoons orange peel, grated, divided
1 1/4 cups LIBBY ® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tablespoon CROSSE & BLACKWELL® Red Currant Jelly, optional
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan with foil. Foil should extend 1 inch above edge of pan. Sprinkle a clean towel with powdered sugar.
PREPARE cake mix according to package direction, adding 1 ½ teaspoons orange peel at end of mixing time. Spread into prepared pan.
BAKE for 30 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off foil. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
COMBINE pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and remaining orange peel in a medium bowl. Carefully unroll cake; spread pumpkin mixture over cake. Re-roll cake. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Spoon jelly into small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Cut off corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle jelly over cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pumpkin Soup
For a dramatic presentation, serve this warm, creamy soup inside a scooped-out pumpkin. It's just as delicious ladled out of a pot.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 20 minutes
Serves 6
Not sure where this came from.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons flour
6 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
one 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
one 8-ounce jar applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
freshly ground pepper, to taste
croutons, optional
Directions
Heat the butter in a large saucepan and saute the onions over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until mixed. Add the chicken broth and pumpkin and stir until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients except the cream, pepper, and croutons. Stir well, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until hot and the flavors have blended.
Stir in the cream and heat until hot. Garnish with freshly ground pepper and serve immediately with crisp croutons, if desired.
GINGERBREAD
Sweeten the season with our gingerbread.
This simple recipe is the perfect holiday dessert, especially when topped with yogurt or fresh fruit. Just grab a fresh box of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda- an important ingredient for great baking and prepare a treat for the whole family.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
DIRECTIONS:
Sift together flour, Baking Soda, ginger and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream shortening in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Beat in egg thoroughly; blend in molasses. Gradually stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Stir in water. Turn into greased and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on rack. Makes one 8-inch square cake. Cut into 16 servings.
Whoever first posted this (probably on one of the emailing lists I was on, years ago), added, "I LIKE MINE TOPPED WITH A DOLLOP OF COOL WHIP!"
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