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Think German Chocolate Cake, without the cake. Think German Chocolate Frosting, in a cookie.
It’s a cookie. No, it’s a candy. It’s a cookie that tastes like candy.
It’s a cookie that causes the person eating it to roll their eyes, moan and say:
“oh my gosh” (socially acceptable version).
This [...]
Think German Chocolate Cake, without the cake. Think German Chocolate Frosting, in a cookie.
It’s a cookie. No, it’s a candy. It’s a cookie that tastes like candy.
It’s a cookie that causes the person eating it to roll their eyes, moan and say:
“oh my gosh” (socially acceptable version).
This is one lovely, delectable cookie.
Be prepared to swoon.
German Chocolate Macaroons
1 pkg. sweetened, shredded coconut (14 oz), divided
1 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans
1 can sweetened,condensed milk (12 oz): 1/3 cup for cookies, the rest for topping
3 egg whites
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp pure vanilla
Topping:
4 oz sweet chocolate, chopped
Sweetened, condensed milk (see above)
Dash of pure vanilla
For the Macaroons:
1. Mince 1 1/2 cups coconut in a food processor.
2. Transfer minced coconut to mixing bowl. Add remaining coconut and pecans; toss to combine.
3. Whisk together 1/2 cup sweetened, condensed milk, egg whites flour sugar, butter, and vanilla in a bowl with a pour spout.
4. Gently mix egg white mixture into coconut and pecans until combined. Chill dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, or 375 degrees for high altitude. Line baking sheets with parchment or Silpat. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets with a #60 cookie scoop (about 2 tsp), spacing 1-inch apart.
6. Bake cookies until brown on base and golden on tops and edges, 16-18 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.
For the Toppings:
1. Cook remaining sweetened, condensed milk in a double boiler until slightly thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour, 15 minutes.*
2. While sweetened, condensed milk is thickening, melt sweetened chocolate in microwave, in 35 second intervals until chocolate is halfway melted. Stir to continue melting.
3. Drizzle and spoon chocolate over tops and sides of macaroons.
4. When sweetened, condensed milk has thickened, add a dash of vanilla, stirring well.
5. Drizzle thickened condensed milk over macaroons.
*Note: Recipe called for 45 minutes over double boiler to thicken, but it took much longer for the condensed milk to thicken (over an hour). The extra time is worth it. I suggest starting the process while you are making the macaroons, instead of waiting until the cookies are baked.
Thank you to Cuisine Holiday Cookies magazine for a delicious recipe! (I eliminated the shortening in the chocolate topping, increased the vanilla in the cookies, and added the dash of vanilla to condensed milk topping).
15-18 Chicken Wings, washed and patted dry
Canola Oil
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place prepared chicken wings skin side down onto a rimmed baking sheet which has been greased with a small amount of canola oil. Bake for 20 minutes, turn each wing over, and continue baking until both sides are golden brown, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vinegar (I use white wine vinegar)
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced finely
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
Measure out all ingredients into small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Heat over medium heat until sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while chicken wings are baking, stirring occasionally. Sauce will thicken and reduce.
After last turn and when chicken is golden on both sides, remove chicken from oven, reduce heat to 350 degrees. Carefully drain fat from baking sheet. Pour sauce over chicken wings. Turn each wing over, ensuring both sides are coated in sauce. Return pan to oven and bake sauced wings for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce is sticky and wings are tender.
Transfer wings to serving dish and pour sauce over to coat.
It’s Sunday. The Sunday following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. A Sunday in which I am seeking comfort. There probably will be many unanswered questions as to why something so horrific can happen in our schools and to our children.
Friday, I was busy trying to get my Christmas wrapping done and I could not hang around the TV watching the day unfold. Yesterday, we had a birthday in the family and I was lucky enough to be very busy. Busy cooking and cleaning and getting ready for the celebration we would have, except none of us really seemed really ready to celebrate. Being together was nice, despite the snow that threatened to put a damper on the nights’ festivities, by way of icy roads. The snow, with its cold, biting sting, was actually very beautiful, and fitting, in a way. We needed a change. A break in the usual. I’m not complaining about the weather; I have loved the mild, warm fall we have had.
It was just time for snow.
As a family, we have all been affected by the news.
How can you not be?
So celebrating took on a different tone this year. It became less about a birthday and more about togetherness.
Today, I had the time to watch and hear about some of the details. Those details sent me right back into the kitchen. I did the only thing I knew to do, I baked. The house was scented with pumpkin and cinnamon and vanilla. It was all I could do to offer up a tiny sense of saneness, amid such an insane tragedy.
Our thoughts and prayers to all of the families and friends affected by this day. We are all deeply, deeply saddened.
Pumpkin Bread
2 cups canned pumpkin
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 canola oil
2 tbsp softened butter
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/3 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, butter, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl (or the bowl of your mixer). Beat until well mixed. Set aside. Stir together remaining ingredients in another bowl. Slowly add to pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth. Grease and flour two 9″x5″ loaf pans, or 6, 5 1/2″ x 3″ mini loaf pans. Divide batter between pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 to 15 minutes; invert bread onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 2 loaves or 6 mini loaves.
Adapted from Coming Home by Gooseberry Patch
Our spirit can never be taken from us for it is the part of us that is eternal. It is the part of us that goes on forever. All the people we know who have left the planet are still here in pure essence and pure spirit.
They always have been, they are now, and they always will be.
Our spirit, our soul, and the very essence of who we are is always safe, always secure, and always alive.
~ Louise Hay
In a saucepan, combine water with tea bags and cinnamon sticks.
Bring to boiling. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and cinnamon sticks.
Stir milk, sugar or honey, vanilla, ground ginger, and ground cardamom into hot tea. Cook and stir over medium heat just until mixture is heated through. Do not boil.
To serve, pour hot tea into warmed mugs.
If desired, sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon and add a cinnamon stick to each mug.
A cup of comfort.
We like cinnamon-y desserts in our house. They go so well with coffee. Lately, coffee is the star in our house. My husband bought me a very cool coffee machine, the kind that makes espresso and steams the milk. An impressive gadget with an instruction guide that intimidated me into waiting just a bit to even attempt to make it work, but together with my brilliantly smart son, we are on our way to coffee heaven. At certain times of the day, our house has the aroma of a coffeehouse and the soundtrack to go along with it (this machine is not quiet). Soon I won’t need that fake coffee candle, at all.
Yes, we love cinnamon. Haven’t they determined cinnamon is good for the heart?
This is my husband’s favorite “road trip bread”. A piece of this bread and a cup of coffee between his knees and he is a happy man. I can get him to stop whenever and wherever I want. This bread didn’t last long. That’s the sign of major deliciousness around here. In fact, there was a race this morning to see who could get their hands on one of the last two pieces to go with their morning coffee.
Yesterday, we had a fun gathering with our son and daughters – a day full of laughter and Christmas music, with babies and one certain 3-year-old who never fails to delight us with her beautiful spirit. I swear that little girl is just what my world needs right now. Hearing her sing “fa-la-la-la-la” warms the cockles of my soul. Oh, and those babies, well, they are pure heaven on earth.
There is certainly nothing finer than a day spent among family. An ordinary day, made all the finer with love and joy and contentment, highlighted by tales of Santa from one very special little girl.
Merry Christmas!
Butter Swirl Loaf
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups unbleached flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk, room temperature
Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, melted
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 3-inch loaf pan.
- With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until thick. Add the sugar and melted butter.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk. Blend well.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- To make the topping, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the batter in the pan, avoiding the sides. Pour the melted butter over the sugar and cinnamon and cut through the batter with the tip of a sharp knife several times, swirling as you go.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.
Recipe adapted from: Innkeepers’ Best Quick Breads, from Yankee Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast, Copyright 1999 by Laura Zahn – a favorite cookbook of mine.
Salted Caramel Mocha Latte 
Single or Double-Shot of espresso or strong, black coffee
1 tsp Ghirardelli or Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
Steamed milk w/ drop of Madagascar vanilla, enough to fill mug, about a cup
Sugar, to sweeten, if desired
Whipped Cream
Caramel sauce
Sea Salt
Make espresso or use strong, black coffee, to taste. Place in warmed mug and stir in the cocoa powder. Steam milk, add vanilla. Stir into espresso and cocoa mix. Can sweeten with sugar, if desired. Which I do. Top with whipped cream, caramel and a teensy bit of sea salt.
Yummo.
If you like muffins, you’ll love these. If you don’t like muffins, you’ll like these. I love muffins. I love these muffins. Full of banana flavor with texture from the oats and spice from the cinnamon and nutmeg, and topped with more sweet cinnamon goodness – these muffins are just sweet enough and not too sweet.
Perfect with a cup of coffee or hot tea. Perfect for breakfast. Perfect for lunch. Perfect for snacking. Perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up. Perfect in a gift basket.
Perfect. Little. Muffin.
Muffins
1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 cup (2-3 med) mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk*
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
Topping
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
*Exchange 1/2 milk plus 1 tbsp buttermilk powder for fresh buttermilk
Adapted from a recipe by C&H Sugar.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, add all dry ingredients and stir with a whisk to combine. In a small bowl, combine and mix thoroughly all of the wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined and dry ingredients are moistened. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping and set aside.
Fill muffin liners 2/3 full. Sprinkle each muffin with sugar-cinnamon.
Bake for 14-18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Cinnamon Rolls
For the Dough:
3 ½ cups unbleached flour
2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp Bakers Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
4 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
4 tbsp soft butter
2/3 cup lukewarm water
½ cup lukewarm milk
Tip: combine cold milk with hot water to get lukewarm liquid
For the Filling:
softened butter, enough to spread evenly over dough
Cinnamon and Sugar mixture (I use Cinnamon Sugar Plus from King Arthur Flour)
A good ratio is 1/2 sugar to 3 tbsp. cinnamon.
1) Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together and knead (using your hands, a stand mixer with a dough hook, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle) to make a soft, smooth dough.
2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it’s doubled in bulk. If using a bread machine, let dough go through first rise, remove the dough and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
3) Punch down the dough and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Pat and roll dough into a large even rectangle. Spread surface with softened butter leaving one long edge dry (to ensure a good seal after rolling). Use a good amount of butter or the cinnamon rolls will be dry. Sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Roll dough evenly. After rolling, pinch together the edges to seal. Trim ends if very uneven. Slice into 12 equal pieces. Place rolls into a greased pan. Cover rolls with oiled or buttered plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel. Allow to rise for another hour to hour and a half. Keep in warm area free from drafts.
4) After the final rise, bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 26 minutes until golden brown.
5) Frost after cooling.
Frosting: 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 2 tbsp soft butter, milk (use enough milk for a nice fluffy frosting.)
Beat until fluffy. Beat powdered sugar and butter together and gradually beat in enough milk for a nice creamy and fluffy frosting. Add vanilla and beat for an additional 30 seconds or so.
Yesterday was our daughter’s birthday, a milestone birthday. She turned 30. Which makes me feel, well, older (insert picture of myself looking perplexed and surprised).
I sometimes think of myself as 30, how could I have a child that age? Seriously.
Anyhow, whatever our ages, the blessings go on. We get to share our life with the beautiful, intelligent, insightful, artistic, strong and delightful young woman that is our daughter. Our first child, thirty years later, is every bit the woman we would have dreamed she would be.
I’m lucky I often get to be the official birthday cake baker for the family.
This Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Glaze was a perfect choice for her birthday cake this year, the first day of autumn. It is that cake that gets the crowd in the room quiet after the first bite and then soon you hear the compliments -
the mmmm’s and the oh my gosh’s.
The family loved it, the birthday girl loved it, her kids loved it and my husband said “This is the cake you take next time we go somewhere and have to take a dessert. It’s event worthy.”
I can’t wait to eat another piece.
Apple Spice Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp pure vanilla
3 cups chopped apples, granny smith or golden delicious (I used golden delicious)
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
Caramel Glaze
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half-n-half)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
Preheat oven to 325 degrees or 350 degrees for high-altitude. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside. (Note: I used 1 tsp apple pie spice from King Arthur Flour.)
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, canola oil and the melted butter until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides with a spatula. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add in the flour mixture in 3 additions. Using a large wooden spoon, stir in the chopped apples and the walnuts, if using (I didn’t). Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Batter will be thick.
Bake the cake for 65 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.
Make the caramel glaze.
In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and cream (or half-n-half). Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes or until glaze thickens slightly but is still pourable. Stir in the vanilla. Slowly pour the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing glaze to drip down the sides of the cake. Let the glaze set before serving.
This cake is scrumptious served with vanilla ice cream!
Recipe adapted from Sweet Treats Dessert Cookbook by Mary Engelbreit 1999.
Yesterday we celebrated the baptism of two of the newest members of the family, Luke and Griffin.
It was a beautiful September day, one filled with blessings and with the great love of a family. As sunlight streaked through the stained glass windows of the church, a feeling of calm optimism came over me. I’m looking forward to watching my grand babies grow and learn. They will be raised with love.
Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it. ~Proverbs 22:6
Afterwards, we shared a great big pot of vegetable beef soup and lots of good crusty bread. We watched football and spent some time outside before dark settled. For dessert we had carrot-pineapple cake and pumpkin pie. A very lovely day, indeed.
As you gather together this fall, whether with friends or with family, take a moment to let the people you love know just how much they mean to you. Time passes swiftly and we don’t always get a chance to tell our loved ones we care. Life gets in the way with its hurry and bustle, so take the time while you can to say “I love you”. Make it a priority to connect and share. Let go of the unimportant details that often get in the way and just have some fun.
Here is a recipe for a citrusy punch perfect for your get-togethers and fall picnics. The recipe is adapted from Gooseberry Patch’s Fall, Family & Friends cookbook. The original recipe was published by Gooseberry for Kelly Anderson of Erie, PA. Thank you Kelly and Gooseberry Patch for a delicious punch that has become a family favorite.
1 cup sugar syrup*, cooled
1 cup strong brewed black tea
4 cups orange juice
2 cups pineapple juice
4 cups lemonade
1 tsp vanilla
2 liters ginger ale, chilled
*For the sugar syrup, combine one cup water with one cup sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer until sugar is dissolved and water is reduced slightly, becoming a light syrup, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
Combine in a large pitcher or punch bowl the sugar syrup, vanilla, tea and juices. Stir to combine. Chill. Just before serving, stir in the ginger ale. Serve over ice.
Delicious!
Note: I used sugar syrup, reduced the pineapple juice from 4 cups to 2 cups and added the vanilla to change the original recipe.
One of the things I look forward to each spring is planting an herb garden. I love the plants. I love the smell. I love cooking with herbs. I love the process of chopping and mincing herbs. I love herbs!
This year my herb garden was very successful. I have been cooking with basil, dill, sage, pineapple sage, German thyme, English thyme, cilantro. Yet, here it is almost September and my herb plants are so large, it looks like I haven’t used them at all.
I have been looking and looking for my herb rack and have yet to find it, so today I made herb butters. I love cooking with fresh herbs, so making and freezing herb butters allow me to have that fresh herb taste all winter.
All you have to do is wash your herbs, pat dry, chop or mince and add to softened butter. Roll the butters up in wax paper, place in freezer bags or freezer containers. You can also slice after freezing and store the slices in the freezer bags or containers if you wish.
I like using my olive wood citrus reamer to mix the herbs with the butter.
When you need fresh herbs for cooking, take the herb butter out of the freezer, unwrap, cut a slice off of the log, re-wrap and return to the freezer.
Be creative. Try different herb combinations.
Try my favorites – chive butter for baked potatoes and scrambled eggs or omelets, parsley butter, parsley, sage and lemon thyme butter, sage butter for pork & chicken, basil and Italian parsley butter for Italian dishes and pizza and for the best roast chicken, a mixture of them all. Add some to your veggies. Add a thin slice to a grilled steak or pork chop. Brush some on warm bread or use to make garlic toast.
Often, all it takes is a bit of butter and herbs to liven up your cooking. A little goes a long way.
Melt and mix with olive oil. Or add chopped or minced herbs to olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays. Pop out and keep frozen in freezer bags or freezer containers.
Be sure to make and save some for your Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing.
Use to flavor roasted tomatoes.
For a savory treat, melt herb butter over popcorn!
