Tag Archives: Butter

Bakery Miscellaneous

Hot Apple Dumplings w/Crescent Rolls

I told my girlfriend I wasn’t “going to mess with blogging today” since my mama just got out of the hospital yesterday and I am playing catch up at home, BUT, I certainly wanted something to take to the staff who cares for mama here in town to celebrate her homecoming, and I thought about these great, and quick, apple dumplings! The recipe is also included in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook.  Here we are then!

Most of the ingredients you will have on hand for this recipe; you will need two apples and two packages of refrigerated crescent rolls and a can of soda, however.  The dumplings are easily prepared and ready for the oven in under 15 minutes.

I used Granny Smith apples today as they hold up well for baking and I like the contrasting tartness they offer to the butter-sugar mixture in the recipe.  The apples bake up soft and moist and the crescent rolls provide the dumpling taste.  Flavor with ground cinnamon.  Do try this one when you want something fast yet delicious!  Enjoy every bite of moist dumpling!

Hot Apple Dumplings w/Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

2 Granny Smith apples
2 tubes crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-(12 oz.) can of 7-up or Mt. Dew soda

Directions Preheat oven to 350. Peel apples, core, and cut each apple into eight slices. Roll one apple slice in one crescent roll triangle. Repeat until you have 16 dumplings. Place in a 9×13 pan; sprinkle with the cinnamon. Melt butter in small saucepan. Add sugar to the melted butter and mix well. Add a little more cinnamon to this mixture, to taste, or not at all, and drizzle over the dumplings. Pour the can of soda over everything. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool slightly and serve with ice cream or prepared whipped topping.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Sugar Crusted Raspberry Muffins

 

Knowing there was no way I was not going to use the last cup and a half of fresh raspberries today, I went looking for a recipe for raspberry muffins.  The recipe I used, from Real Simple magazine, resulted in 12 large moist muffins flavored with the first  raspberries  of the season.  Hello Spring!

The batter is simple and was ready in just 10 minutes.  It is a soft batter with milk, melted butter, and an egg for liquid.  Combine your dry ingredients then whisk the milk and egg and add to the dry ingredients.  Fold in the raspberries and nuts gently then scoop the batter into your muffin tins filling each tin 3/4 full for a nice pop to the muffin tops.

Today I added chopped pecans to my batter knowing the nuts would provide texture.  Cool slightly in the muffin tins then remove and cover tightly with foil until ready for serving. This healthy looking batch is today’s  Added Bonus for mama and myself with 10 muffins left for the staff at Woodland Hills; fresh, warm, and savory they make a great start to everyone’s Easter weekend!

Sugar Crusted Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup pecans, chopped small (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat it with cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter. In a medium bowl, combine 1-3/4 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and combine. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined; the batter will be lumpy. Toss the berries with the remaining flour in a bowl. Gently fold the berry mixture into the batter .Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining sugar. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve while still warm.

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Recipes - Desserts

White Texas Sheet Cake

Bring your sweet tooth for this one!  This great cake, perfect for winter with its frosty cool look, is also perfect for spring with its delicate almond flavor. The simple frosting only adds to the cake’s allure. this is a sweet creamy frosting, yes indeed, so serve cut into small squares. You can substitute slivered toasted almonds or walnuts for the chopped pecans, but definitely want to add nuts for texture in the frosting. Public Service Announcement: for users of my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook, please note that the recipe, as written in the cookbook, has two typos.  The recipe should say begin with 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar so e kalamai, please excuse that mistake.  The recipe is correct below.

The cake requires just a short prep yet it nets you big results.  Allow your butter-water mixture to cool slightly before adding the dry ingredients; whisk and stir well from this point so that the batter is free of lumps.  The batter is thin so don’t worry that you have made a mistake; the hot liquid thins an otherwise traditional cake batter. The thinness of the batter produces a finished almond-flavored moist cake.   Today I baked it closer to 28 minutes than 22 as my oven runs slow of late; bake it definitely  for 22 minutes, minimum, then give it more time to set and brown slightly on top.  Two great things about this true sheet cake are that what isn’t in a tall cake is definitely made up for in volume and the cake will serve 20 easily so great to take to a potluck or a picnic, and, also this cake tastes even better the next day so any leftovers are always welcome.

Cool at least 20 minutes before frosting.  Almond extract also goes into the frosting; whisk well to remove all lumps before spreading on the still-warm cake. Guaranteed, every sweet bite will remind you of soft breezes and trees ready to burst forth into glorious bloom.  Ahhhh, Happy Spring to You!

White Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, mix and stir the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Bring butter and water to boil in saucepan on stove. Add to dry ingredients and add beaten eggs, sour cream, and almond extract. Stir all until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into a greased 15x10x1” pan (jelly roll pan) and bake for 20-22 minutes, until set and browned on top. Cool 20 minutes.

FROSTING Ingredients and Directions Prepare by melting 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup milk in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add  4-1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix and whisk well. Fold in 1 cup chopped pecans, thoroughly blending. Spread over the slightly warm cake.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Aunt Dixie’s Chocolate Saltines

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Ut ohh and ohh no! More nasty winter weather on the rise! I wanted to make something quick and tasty to take mama today if I can’t get out tomorrow and my Aunt Dixie’s Chocolate Saltines were just the ticket I needed to pass GO! These sweet and salty treats have no prep, are ready in just 30 minutes, and give up an awesome moist nibble for a snow day! They were a big hit with mama and her friends at Woodland Hills and I absolutely cannot wait to enjoy several (or more) along with my book tonight.

I used both saltine crackers and a row of graham crackers today and added chopped pecans over all and dried cherries also over the graham crackers. The pecans gave an added nutty crunch and the cherries a sweet, but tart, chewy texture. The cracker crust flavored with the rich toffee mixture, made from melted butter and brown sugar. If you don’t like nuts or have no dried fruit, these are also delicious as the recipe lists in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook. In that recipe use only saltines with the toffee middle, and plain chocolate chips over the top. I sprayed the foil lightly with cooking oil and there was no sticking at all. You freeze this after the chips melt and today mother nature supplied my front porch freezer space with a temperature out there of entirely 16 whole degrees.

If you have little helpers, they will get a kick out of placing the 40 saltines in the pan and spreading those chocolate chips as they melt, earning themselves first bite privileges maybe. A pizza cutter slices them into cracker-sized squares or just break them into pieces. Ten minutes to put them together and 20 to freeze and it’s another happy  snow day! A little sweet, a little salty. Altogether perfect!

Aunt Dixie’s Chocolate Saltines

Ingredients

40 saltine crackers
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1-1/3 cups)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
Dried cherries or cranberries, minced, optional

Directions Preheat oven to 425. Line a large jelly roll pan with foil and place the saltines on top. In medium saucepan, melt butter and add brown sugar, bring to a boil. Gently boil for five minutes, remove from heat, and pour over crackers, spreading evenly. Place into oven and watch closely for five minutes, until the top mixture becomes bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers. When chips begin to melt, spread them over crackers with a knife. Transfer pan to freezer for 15-20 minutes or until completely chilled. Mixture will form a solid layer over crackers; take from freezer and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Makes approximately 20 servings or, around here, 5 really large servings, shared liberally.  =)

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Lemon Sunshine Bursts


Day 2 of “use-up-the-buttermilk” cookie baking plan led straight to preparing these fabulous shortbread-type cookies on Wednesday. I added the “burst” to their name because the lemon zest in the cookie dough bursts through with every bite, and there is  NO gloomy winter day that isn’t brightened by taking the time to bake these flavorful morsels.

These are not at all sweet but they are buttery and crumbly and tangy all in one bite! Like all shortbread batters, the ingredients are simple: butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour. Set your butter out early to soften and don’t skip chilling the dough for 30 minutes once mixed; once chilled you can slice the logs easily before baking them resulting in pretty and uniform pieces to enjoy with a cup of tea and your book.  Allow the powdered sugar-fresh lemon juice glaze to dry before storing the cookies in an airtight container. The glaze does ‘sink in’ to the cookies and while you can’t see it, when you taste a cookie, you definitely will enjoy a pop of lemon.  If you love sunshine, lemons, and rich buttery flavor, this is the cookie for you!

Lemon Sunshine Bursts

Ingredients

6 T. unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup flour
2 T. buttermilk
1-1/2 tsps. finely grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add flour and beat until dough begins to form. Add buttermilk and beat well.  Add lemon  zest and salt, fold well, and stir until dough comes together. Divide dough into two parts. Roll each part into a log that is about 1.5″ wide. Wrap each log in plastic wrap. and chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Take dough out of refrigerator and cut into 1/4 inch” slices. Arrange cookies on baking sheets and bake until dry and turning golden at the edges, about 14 minutes.

Cool cookies completely. In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar and lemon juice. When cookies are cool enough to handle, dip the top of each cookie in the glaze. Let dry for 10 minutes before storing, airtight.  Yields 2 dozen cookies.

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