Category Archives: Desserts

Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling

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Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling

Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling



I’ve always been a doughnut fan. I mean, it’s fried dough which is then usually covered in a glaze or frosting. What’s not to love, right? Back when I was a kid (heck, even now. I admit it) getting a treat of Dunkin Donuts made my day. My favorite was always the Bavarian Creme. And the Boston Creme. And the ones with the thick vanilla filling. And the ones with…. erhmmm, ok, I liked them all. As I got older though, and my palate become more sophisticated (saith the woman who brags about loving Cheetos) I would wish they had more interesting flavors. Not that that stopped me from eating 98 doughnuts in one sitting, just that I wanted more variety. So how do you get more interesting flavors? You make them yourself. Or live in a city with a gourmet Doughnut shop, but that’s not here in rural Kentucky. Gourmet here is “Franks Doughnuts”; good but not fancy.

I made this recipe for Orange Curd knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it. Other than spoon bites of it into my waiting mouth at 2am when no one is looking, that is. Along with Lil’ Smokies sausages. Don’t ask… just don’t ask.

I wanted to use the curd (gosh, curd is a word that soooo doesn’t do justice to the smooth creamy, buttery topping that it is.) as a doughnut filling. And what better way to do that then a yeast doughnut covered in chocolate. Chocolate…orange…classic, right? While my doughnut shapes leave something to be desired, namely, symmetry lol, they taste fantastic. You have a puffy, fluffy and tender yeast doughnut that is mildly sweet with a subtle hint of orange, then a smooth rich chocolate icing and finally that wonderful slightly tangy orange filling. Pure heaven. And oh so easy to eat way more than you need, this why I don’t make doughnuts often. I’d weigh 800 pounds. This is a multi step recipe, but none of the steps is difficult. If you’ve made any recipes using a yeast dough before, this is no different. You’re just frying it instead of baking it. Just make the curd the day before, so that it’s thoroughly chilled when you fill the doughnuts. If orange curd isn’t to your liking, you could use jam or pastry cream or even instant pudding if you’re feeling lazy lol.

You know the drill… 🙂

Chocolate Iced Yeast Doughnuts With Blood Orange Filling

  • Doughnuts-
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 1 envelope dry yeast
  • 3/4 cup milk, warmed to between 115-120 degrees
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Orange Oil
  •  1 egg
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • vegetable oil (enough to fill a pot about 4 inches deep)
  • Icing- (Alton Browns Recipe)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • Filling- Orange Curd
  1. For the doughnuts- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the yeast and warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add in the milk, egg, sugar, vanilla, softened butter, orange zest and orange oil and one cup of the flour. Mix with the paddle attachment just until it is mixed.
  2. Switch over to the dough hook, then add the rest of the flour. Mix at low speed until the dough pulls away cleanly from the side of the bowl. Scrape once or twice if you need to. When the dough is smooth and elastic looking, dump it out into a lightly greased bowl. Turn to coat all sides, then cover with a clean cloth and set somewhere warm to rise. Let rise until doubled in bulk.
  3. After is rises, pat or roll it into a circle that is about 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a 2.5 inch cutter (obviously, if you want smaller or larger doughnuts, change the cutter size but remember to watch your frying time in that case). Cut out the doughnuts, then set them aside on a clean baking sheet. Allow them to rise again until they are doubled in bulk.
  4. While they are rising, slowly heat 4 inches of oil in a large pot to 350 degrees.
  5. When the doughnuts are risen, carefully slide a few at a time into the hot oil. Let cook for one minute on each side (if making 2.5 inch doughnuts), until nicely browned on both sides.
  6. Carefully scoop the doughnuts out and lay them on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. While they cool, make your icing.
  7. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, milk, corn syrup and vanilla. Heat until the butter is totally melted. Add in the chopped chocolate and swirl the pan around, then let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir to finish incorporating the chocolate, then sift in the powdered sugar. Whisk well until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
  8. Filling the doughnuts is easy- pour the orange curd into a plastic squeeze bottle, the type you see ketchup in. You can find them for a dollar at Wal-mart. Poke the top of the squeeze bottle into the side of the doughnut. Squeeze the bottle gently, pulling back as you do so, until the tip comes out of the doughnut. If it looks like you need more filling, squeeze a little more in.
  9. Dip each filled doughnut into the warm icing, swirling as you lift up to get rid of the excess.
  10. Set the doughnuts aside to let the icing dry…. or just eat them. I’m fine with that.

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Blood Orange Curd

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Blood Orange Curd

Blood Orange Curd




I may have mentioned once or twice that I absolutely love citrus fruits. The plethora of lemon posts on the blog shows how much I love them, but my heart really lies with oranges. Back when I was young, eating an orange if you lived in most of the U.S. meant a navel orange. While those are good and I still love them, now, with the world so much smaller in many ways thanks to good methods of transportation, they are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Now, this time of year, you can get in season citrus of so many varieties it boggles the mind. Cara Cara, navel, Sweet lemons, Myer lemons, Mandarins. Tangelos, Pummelos, Kumquats, Clementines and so many others. But my favorite, one that is only around for a couple of short months, is the Blood Orange. Such an ick name for such a tasty fruit. In case you don’t know what it is, a blood orange is a somewhat smallish variety of orange with a reddish-orange rind and a medium to dark red flesh. The flavor is similar to a “regular” orange, but with a bit of a raspberry or even a somewhat winey flavor to it. The scent is intense and a bit more floral. They are absolutely delicious oranges. You can usually find them at any decently stocked grocery store these days.

Since they are in season for such a short time, after I get my fill of eating them, I like to do things with them that keeps around the house for a while longer. This curd is one of those things. It’s made like a basic lemon curd, but obviously subbing in the blood oranges. I personally add in the zest and juice form one lemon because otherwise, the flavor can be a bit one dimensional and flat since oranges are sweeter than a lemon. I also add in a few drops of orange oil at the end of cooking, but that is entirely optional, though I DO recommend it. It adds just a but more of that orange zest flavor and brings it out in the curd itself.

As yummy as this is, hold on to a good portion of it because we’ll be using it in something else that will be utterly delicious in a few days. So resist the temptation to just stand in front of the fridge with the bowl and a spoon. Or just make two batches. 😀

You know the drill… 🙂

Blood Orange Curd

  • Zest from 3 Blood Oranges (about 3 to 4 tablespoons. If there is more, use it)
  • Zest from one lemon (about 1 tablespoon. Again, use it all)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 6 eggs
  • juice from the oranges and the lemon (you should end up with just about 2/3 a cup of juice)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon Boyajian Orange Oil (optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Blend in the citrus zest and the sugar.
  2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, just until combined.
  3. Add in the blood orange/lemon juices, the vanilla and the salt. Blend well.
  4. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepot. Over medium heat, cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a temp between 170 and 175. Do NOT let this boil. It should take about ten minutes.
  5. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of all the zest and any lumps of eggs that may have cooked too fast.
  6. Pour into a container and store in the fridge. The curd will keep for about a month or so. But we’ll be using some of it up here this week. 😀

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Lemon Pots de Crème

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Lemon Pots de Crème

Lemon Pots de Crème



I will now join the club.. I’m ready for Spring to be here. I want to go out and have adult dirt playtime, otherwise known as gardening. I want to see my Hyacinths bloom as well as put in all of my yearly herbs, flower bulbs and seeds. I want to see leaves on our fruit trees and smell the scent of freshly cut grass. I want to hear the crickets and frog serenade me in the evening.

But… what I want doesn’t mean squat to mean old Mother Nature. She is a harridan who does things on her own schedule and this Winter, she has been in a really really bad mood. Kentucky (the part I live in at least) has seen more snow and ice than I recall seeing here in over a decade. But compared to what other parts of the country have endured, it’s been a cake walk here. I don’t know anyone at this point who isn’t ready for a little warmth. I feel like an aging cat who wants nothing more than to find the nearest sunbeam and let it soak into my body lol.

Spring isn’t going to be here for a while though, even here in the south, so I have to content myself with making foods that make me feel like it is almost here. This Lemon Pots de Crème is definitely one of those foods. This is smooth, ultra creamy and rich and intensely tangy; very much a taste of Spring. The recipe is straight from FineCooking.com. The only change I made was to add 1/4 cup of Limoncello to the lemon syrup mixture, but you can always omit that if you don’t want to bother with it. The Mascarpone Cream is also my own touch. I adore having an excuse to make it and use it and it adds so much to a tangy dessert like this one. This is also a touch more involved than some recipes I post, but nothing you can’t handle. Like I’ve said before, just remember to get your ingredients ready beforehand and it makes putting this together a lot quicker and easier. Prep in cooking is SOOOO important.

What is a  Pots de Crème btw for those of you who may not know? Simply a fancy name for a rich baked pudding/custard. This is egg yolk and cream rich so bakes up very smooth if you don’t overcook it.

You know the drill… 🙂

Lemon Pots de Crème With Mascarpone Cream

  • zest of 4 lemons
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup Limoncello Liquor (optional)
  • 3 1/2 heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out (hold onto the pod; you’ll use it too) or 2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract (but the sight of the speckles form the beans in there adds some visual appeal)
  • 10 egg yolks (save those whites and make some meringue cookies or egg white omelets!)
  • Boiling water for the water bath
  • For the mascarpone cream-
  • 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place 8 6 ounce ramekins inside a large baking dish. Set aside.
  2. In a small pot, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the Limoncello (if using). Simmer the mix until it has reduced down to about 1/2 cup. This will take about 15 minutes. Set aside.
  3. In a medium pot, combine the 3 1/2 cups cream, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla beans and reserved pod (if using extract instead, you’ll add it later) and bring the mixture to just below boiling over medium heat. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  4. Gently whisk the egg yolks with the last 1/4 cup of sugar, just until smooth. Don’t make it airy, just smooth.
  5. Add a ladleful of the hot cream into the egg yolks, whisking the whole time. Do this one more time to temper your yolks. Whisk the egg yolk mix into the rest of the cream mixture.
  6. Cook slowly, stirring constantly (wooden spoons or silicone spatulas work best to make sure you hit all edges of the pot), until the mixture reaches 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Stir in the reserved lemon syrup, then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the lemon zest and vanilla pod. Add your vanilla extract now if that’s what you’re using.
  7. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and carefully transfer the whole baking dish to the 325 degree oven.
  8. Gently pour in boiling water, using enough to reach about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Be careful here, it’s easy to splash it into the puddings and you don’t want to do that. Cover the pan with a large sheet of foil. Don’t tighten it, just lay it over the top. This holds in the steam and also prevents browning.
  9. Bake at 325 for 25 to 45 minutes (start checking it at the 25 minute mark), until the  Pots de Crèmes  are set at just about 1/4 inch in from the edges. You’re not making a firm pudding here; these are looser. If you insert an instant read thermometer in the center, the temp should be between 150 to 155. If so, they’re ready to come out. If you’ve made other baked puddings or custards, you’ll think “no way are these done”. They ARE. They will firm up to the perfect texture as they cool. Take them one at a time out of the baking pan and let cool for about an hour at room temp, then transfer to the fridge to finish chilling and firm up.
  10. When ready to serve, combine all the ingredients for the mascarpone cream and beat at high speed until it forms nice creamy semi firm peaks.
  11. Garnish the Pots de Crème with lemon zest and the mascarpone cream. I also used some sliced Kumquats because I love them. They’re so darn cute!

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Coconut Tres Leches Cake

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Coconut Tres Leches Cakes

Coconut Tres Leches Cakes



It’s been an interesting few weeks. The weather practically nationwide has been astonishingly cold. We even got noticeable snow (like 6 inches) of snow here in Kentucky. More mass chaos world wide, politics still suck donkey toes and I STILL haven’t won the lottery. Go figure. Plus, I had surgery and surgery when you’re an old fogey like me is just not quite as easy as when you’re a young pup.

Today was the first day I had cooked since having the surgery. I stood and wobbled over the stove making dinner as my field of vision got smaller and smaller and things got gray while I tried not to pass out lol…. I have this really really bad habit of overdoing things.

I did finally manage to make the cake I mentioned wanting to make a few days ago on my facebook page. Wow, that sentence was awkward grammatically. Sorry… moving on… cake, facebook, yada yada… I said days ago that I was gong to make a Tres Leches Cake. Well, here it is. This was my first time ever having Tres Leche cake and I’m going to be 100% honest with you….. I know this cake is a favorite dessert of many people and quite a popular recipe with many variations if you google it. But…. it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I am, of course, still posting it, because it isn’t always about what I like. Sure, most of what I blog about I enjoy but sometimes I will post things that I didn’t care for just because I know some of you WILL enjoy it. This was a nice moist cake and the way I flavored it, it was wonderfully flavored. But the whole sauce soaked into cake thing didn’t work for me. But again, I know some of you will love this…. soft cake, creamy coconut flavored sauce, and not difficult to make.

The original recipe for this came from Bon Appetit. I made only minor changes, those being the use of coconut extract and coconut milk as well as the lime zest.

You know the drill…. 🙂

Coconut Tres Leche Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon lime zest
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon coconut flavoring
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking pan. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and lime zest.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add in the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, beating just to blend after each one. Beat in the 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring.
  5. Alternately add in the flour and the 1/2 cup half and half,  starting with and ending with the flour (flour, half and half, flour, half and half, flour), beating well after each addition.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 325 and continue to bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched on top.
  7. While cake is baking, in a large measuring cup, combine the coconut milk, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon coconut flavoring.
  8. Cool the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then poke holes all over it with a wooden skewer or fork.  Slowly pour about half of the cream topping over the cake, smoothing it to get it down in the holes. Let that soak in for a few minutes, then pour about half of what is left on it, again letting it soak in. The rest can be used to pour over individual slices of cake (or just eaten with a spoon…hey, i said I liked the topping! 😛 )
  9. Serve the cake with extra topping poured over it, if desired.

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Chocolate Triple Berry Snack Bars

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Chocolate Triple Berry Snack Bars


You know how after Christmas, you’re just never sure what kind of baking to do? You definitely don’t want cookies because you gained 35 pounds eating the little boogers over Christmas. Bread is always good when it’s freshly made and I make a lot of that. But even though I’m rather burnt out on sweets (well, baked ones anyway. I can ALWAYS manage things like flan or ice cream), my family still manages to get to me with puppy dog eyes and heavy sighs when there is nothing home made to nosh on.

So I bake. Well, I also bake for all of you because I lurveseses you. 😀

I love things like these bars. They could also be called a snack cake because the texture is fairly cake like. Cut these in small squares and serve them to the kids after school. Top with a scoop of ice cream and they make a great dessert. leave the pan sit out and watch your husband devour them in ten minutes. Wait… maybe that’s just my house and I need to get a padlocked cabinet. Preferably see through so that he could look through it, see the goodies and whine piteously. Yes, I’m cruel hehe

These are easy as can be to throw together. The fruit makes you feel like you are doing something a little healthy for your families snacks and the small amount of cornmeal in these gives theses a punch of fiber plus a rustic feel. And chocolate of course is just…well, chocolate! Need I say more? These aren’t gorgeous. They aren’t food porn to look at. But they are sweet and chocolatey and when chilled, have a lovely texture and a slightly sticky, you have to lick your fingers sort of top and will definitely take care of your sweet tooth. You could add a drizzle of sauce to the top of these, but truthfully, they are great as they are.

You know the drill… 🙂

Chocolate Triple Berry Snack Bars

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (optional but it adds a nice flavor)
  • 1 can triple berry pie filling (can sub any berry flavor you’d like)
  • 5 to 6 ounce bag of dried berry mix
  • 1 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 inch pan.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and extracts and beat well.
  4. Pour the flour mix into the butter and beat on low speed just until combined.
  5. Using a wooden spoon (or a plastic spork if it makes you happy) gently fold in the pie filling and dried fruit just until well combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes. When testing with something with chips in it, always make sure to poke twice if the first one comes out goopy. You may have just poked right into a gooey chocolate chip.
  7. Let cool in the pan on a rack. When cool, you can either chill this before cutting (I prefer the texture chilled myself) or serve it at room temp.

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Silky Cheesecake Flan

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Silky Cheesecake Flan

Do you ever have those moments when you see something become a trend and you can only think to yourself “mannnn, I’ve been doing that/making that/going there/whatever for years now. WAY before it became trendy. Then you’re torn between feeling ahead of the game and wanting to make sure everyone knows you did it first so you don’t seem like a follower. There are a ton of foods I feel like that with. It’s like “no fair! I was making that way before any of you did it!!”

Flan is one of those foods. I was making it way back in the early 80’s, long before it became trendy restaurant food. WHY was I making it? Like duhhhh man; it’s made with high fat heavy cream and this is me. Need I say more? 😛 As a variation of the “If you build it, they will come”, with me, it’s always been “add cream and I will eat it”. Hey, we all have our weak spots. Cream is one of mine.

For years, I used a flan recipe I found in one of those old Pillsbury paperback cookbooks they sold monthly. I still do periodically when I’m feeling like a purist.  But sometimes I like to change it up and make a cheesecake flan. It’s called that because you use cream cheese in it. The cream cheese contributes a silkiness you don’t get with regular flan (though the regular stuff is pretty damned amazing texture wise itself) and a subtle tang. That flavor mixed with the caramel sauce is outstanding.

Word of note- when I make flan, I do NOT do the whole invert and let the caramel run down it, yada yada yada. I want to get to eating and half the time, it droops when inverted and doesn’t look nearly as pretty as it does just spooning it out of the dish and drizzling (or in my case, pouring on by the quart) the caramel sauce on top of each serving. If you want to invert, go for it. But I promise you, no one will care if you don’t.  This is smooth, creamy, just melts in your mouth. The flan itself isn’t overly sweet and the burnt sugar taste of the caramel just sets it off so well, you will find yourself eating and eating…and eating…and cursing me…and eating..and cursing more.

You know the drill….

Silky Cheesecake Flan

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups boiling water
  1. Take a 3 quart baking dish and place it inside of another larger (a 13×9 pan or bigger works well) and set near the stove. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pot.
  3. Over medium high heat, let the sugar mixture cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the color is a dark reddish brown. When it gets to that, even if there are still some sugar lumps, remove from the heat. If you keep swirling for a few seconds, the lumps will melt and even if they don’t, it’s not a big deal.
  4. Immediately pour the caramel into the waiting pan.
  5. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on low until creamy. Add in the eggs and egg yolk and using a whisk, gently mix with the cream cheese. You’re trying to make as little foam as possible here because the air bubbles won’t dissipate and will leave unattractive pock marks all over the flan, though they obviously don’t effect the taste.
  6. Gently beat in the condensed milk, then the heavy cream and vanilla extract.
  7. Carefully pour the custard into the prepared pan. Put the pan into the oven and then carefully pour the boiling water around the baking dish with the custard in it, being careful not to splash any water into the pan. Lightly cover the pan with foil.
  8. Immediately turn the heat down to 325 degrees and bake the flan for 45 to 60 minutes, until just the center third of the flan is slightly jiggly (not liquidy, just rather like half set jello). Carefully remove the flan pan from the other pan. I’ve found that the best way to do this without burning your fingers with the water is to use a baster to drain out most of the water, then lift the pan out. Let the flan cool for about an hour at room temp, then refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours more.
  9. If you want to invert it, you run a butter knife all around the edges and then lay a large serving plate over the top. Quickly but carefully flip the dish and pan over and the flan should slide out. Spoon the caramel sauce remaining in the pan over the flan. But, as I said, I rarely bother with the inversion. It tastes just as good and is far less work, if not as dramatic looking.

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Snickerdoodle Banana Bread

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Snickerdoodle Banana Bread

Snickerdoodle Banana Bread



Wow. Been almost two weeks since I’ve posted. Well, Christmas break is over. Right now is the perfect time for some baking since the bulk of the nation is feeling their wittle toesies freeze off and baking gives you a chance to stand in front of the oven and cry out “oh, my God, I’m freezing to death!” Then again, maybe it’s just me that whines that much when I’m cold. But, native Chicagoan I may be, but I’ve lived in Kentucky since 1988, so a temp of -1 with a wind chill of just about 20 below zero is a weeeee bit chilly. So I whine. I wear 32 pairs of socks, 12 hoodies and 8 pairs of gloves. Try walking in 32 pairs of socks. I look like a fat drunk penguin.

When I was trying to figure out what to bake, I went to my Pinterest account to look through my Foods/Recipes To Try board. I found one I pined ages ago- Snickerdoodle Bread. The recipe, as far as my google digging can tell, originally comes from Barbara Bakes though there are now a bazillion incarnations on the web. When I started baking, I saw I had a ton of bananas I needed to use up, so I figured I’d try making this into Snickerdoodle Banana Bread. I thought i was being sooooo original. Then, just before I got ready to post this, I googled it only to find out that 900000 other people were just as “original” as I was lol. Just goes to show that the old saw about there is no original thought, is rather true. Either way though, I was really pleased with how this turned out and 900000 versions aside, mine was still MY version. This is a nice moist bread and as I made it, has a really nice banana flavor along with a yummy cinnamon sugar one.

You know the drill…. 🙂

Snickerdoodle Banana Bread

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup mashed banana (about 4 medium)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon banana flavoring (optional but adds flavor)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 bag Hersheys Cinnamon Chips
  • 2 tablespoons each of sugar and cinnamon, mixed
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and either spray 2 loaf pans with Bakers Joy or grease them and lightly flour them.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon chips and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the mashed banana and sour cream and mix well. Add in the vanilla extract and banana flavoring. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Dump the flour mixture into the butter/egg mixture. Stir just until thoroughly combined. Don’t overbeat.
  5. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Sprinkle the tops of the batters with the combined sugar cinnamon mix.
  6. Bake at 350 until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. let cool in the pan for five minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

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Thumbprint Cookies

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Thumbprint Cookies

Back when my oldest (now grown) kids were little, I started a tradition that has stuck to this day and will probably continue until I am too old and feeble in mind and body to get to the stove. Mind you, there are some who would say that I already am feeble in mind, but that’s another story. And those people don’t get cookies from me. 😛

The tradition started because when they were little, I was too broke to buy them Christmas presents. I always had food in the house though so I figured that I may not be able to get them gifts, but they could have cookies. Plus, I always seemed to be trying to recreate a festive Norman Rockwell sort of holiday (even though my family is more like one of those Christmas movies where they are dysfunctional as all heck, yet are funny and have each others backs) and cookies seemed one way to do it.

So even now, I make cookies. Lots…and lots…of cookies. Oh my gosh, do I make cookies. I am the reason there is a shortage of baking supplies in Kentucky every year. And the reason my kids, husband and myself all need larger clothing come New Years Day. I usually make about 15 different kinds of cookies plus fudge, scones, all sorts of baked goods. Then we get fatter.

One of the ones I have been making since the first year I started this is Thumbprint Cookies. Who doesn’t like those, huh? The ones I make aren’t fancy; there are no unusual ingredients in them though I have branched out in the toppings since back in the day. These are simple, easy for a beginning cook, great for the kids to help with and they taste yummy. You can top these with jam, marmalade, different curds, chocolate kisses. You name it. This makes a LOT of cookies but the recipe is easily cut in half.

You know the drill… 🙂

Thumbprint Cookies

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 bag mini chocolate chips (make sure it’s the mini ones; the regular sized ones poke out and get hard when baked plus make it difficult to shape the cookies)
  • toppings of choice
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs until light and creamy.
  3. Add in the flour and baking powder. Mix well.
  4. Fold in the chips; mix well.
  5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
  6. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Make a bowl shaped indent on the top of each cookie ball. I use the cap from a 2 liter bottle of pop; it works perfectly.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes; until the edges of the cookie are light brown and the tops are set. While still in the pan, lightly repress the indentation since baking will have made it puff out.
  8. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack. When they are cool, fill with your choice of toppings. Store with waxed paper between the layers so they don’t stick together.

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Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

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Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

 


Out of my six kids, three are already grown and married and I have 7 grandkids. Yes… seven. Four from my oldest son and 3 from my only daughter. My son Cameron and his wife Tiffany haven’t decided if I am getting any from them, the boogerheads. But that’s ok… I mean, here I am, at the age of 29 with 7 grandkids! That should keep me going, right? At my young age? (You’re falling for this, aren’t you? Humor me here.)

My daughter in law Tiffany has a strange addiction to anything Red Velvet. Until I met her years back, I had never even tasted anything red velvet-ish. Not even once. Truthfully, I still prefer my chocolate cakes, cupcakes and brownies to be a deeper chocolate flavor but I can see the allure that red velvet has for others, so I make it. Don’t get me wrong… I also eat it when I make it lol.

Tiffy unfortunately wouldn’t like this version. Why? Because it has mint and as much as she loves red velvet, she has an aversion to mint. We keep her around even in light of these fatal flaws of heres.

These however are a chocolate/mint/red velvet/ cheesecake/  lovers dream. You get all of these things all mixed up in these brownies. They are a peppermint red velvet brownie swirled with a creamy vanilla cheesecake topping.. Ummm, I think I will manage to eat one or two or eight of these even without being a major fan hehehe.  These are a slightly cakey brownie when they first cool, but if you refrigerate them, they get fudgier and firmer, which is more to my liking. They are also easier to cut that way. These brownies don’t take but a few minutes to throiw together and get into the oven, then they have an approximately half hour bake time. So these are perfect for those “oh crap, I need something for that church Christmas dinner” or just as an easy treat for your family or best yet, as a pretty brownie to put out on your Christmas cookie tray.

These originally came from Southern Living. I made very little in the way of changes, just the type of chocolate used and the amount of cream cheese in the topping and I quadrupled the amount of peppermint extract. The original called for 1/4 teaspoon and first time I made these, I couldn’t taste even a hint of peppermint. Not a bit.

You know the drill….

Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

  • 2 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/3 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 small (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • pinch salt
  • 6 ounces cream cheese, room temp
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • crushed peppermint candies to sprinkle on top (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 inch pan with foil, making sure to have enough to overhang the pan somewhat and then grease the foil.
  2. Microwave the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl at about 60% power for 1 minute. Stir, then do again in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted.
  3. Stir in 2 cups of the sugar, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until well blended after each one. Add the food coloring, the peppermint extract and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla; mix well. Add in the 1 1/2 cups flour and mix just until the flour is blended in.
  4. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
  5. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, the remaining vanilla, egg whites and 2 tablespoons flour. Beat well.
  6. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the top of the brownie batter and swirl in with a butter knife.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 30 to 34 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool on a rack in the pan for about an hour, then use the foil to lift the brownies out onto a cutting board. Carefully remove the foil and cut the brownies into bars. Store these tightly wrapped in the fridge.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With A Honeyed Glaze

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Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With A Honeyed Glaze

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With A Honeyed Glaze




I’ve mentioned more than once that I was born and raised in Chicago. Right on “Da Sout’ Side” in the neighborhoods you didn’t want to be stuck in alone after dark. I didn’t know enough to be frightened then; it was just home.

One Winter, after my parents were divorced, I think when I was about 7 or so, my dad had us for the weekend. He and my older brother Steve used to play this driving game of sorts. Steve would have his eyes closed while dad drove and when dad pulled in, Steve had to say whether or not we were at our destination. or if dad had pulled in somewhere else. One day, a particularly snowy Chicago early evening, they were playing the game as my sister Sandra and I tittered every time Steve got it wrong. So then dad pulled into a random driveway and stopped the car. Steve guessed whether or not we were home (it escapes me now if he got it correct or not) and opened his eyes. They went through the typical “awwww mannnn” stuff and dad tried to start the car. It didn’t start. He tried again. Still didn’t start. There we were, with it getting dark outside, very gray, dreary and cold, in a strangers driveway, in a broken down car lol I wish I could tell you that the strangers invited us in, we all had hot cocoa and became fast friends, or even better that they came out with an Uzi,  they and dad got into a wild west shootout and we made the WGN news that night, but in truth, I don’t remember what happened. I know dad went to their door to ask to use the phone (WAYYYYYYYY before cell phones here. Remember, I’m old.) but I have no idea how we eventually got home or if dad got his car fixed. Lol. I am willing to bet however, that that game never got played again on a snowy cold night. 😛

Today has been dreary as all git out here in Kentucky. No snow unfortunately which would have made it worth it in my eyes, just very gray skies, cold weather and a ton of rain. I keep trying to tell myself that it is good for the trees we recently planted but I’m not convincing myself very well. So I had a baking therapy session. It’s hard to feel blah when surrounded by the scent of fresh lemon zest and then the scent of baking scones.

These scones are quite yummy if I do say so myself. They are also huge lol. I think next time I make these I will use a square cut and make about 12 of them rather than the 8 wedges. I used wedges out of habit but these are some big arse scones! But it’s easy to eat a whole one which is another reason to make them smaller hehe. They are just lemony enough; not tart but with that lovely lemon peel flavor. They aren’t overly sweet but the glaze adds a nice touch of sweetness to them and a bit of that tart lemon flavor many of us like.

These are simple to make and perfect for Christmas morning breakfast. Nothing can make a Winter day brighter than something citrus.

You know the drill. 🙂

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones With A Honeyed Glaze

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon Boyajian Lemon Oil (optional but highly recommended. If you can’t get any, add in an extra tablespoon lemon zest)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and sliced thin
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Glaze-
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cream (more if you want a thinner glaze)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a cookie sheet.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, Poppy seeds, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Make sure to mix well because lemon zest has a tendency to clump.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, cream, lemon juice, lemon oil and extracts. Set aside.
  4. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
  5. Pour the entire bowl of cream mixture into the flour/butter mix. Use a fork to mix well, until the dough forms a bowl. The dough will be slightly sticky. Don’t be tempted to add more flour.
  6. Dump the ball of dough onto a lightly floured counter or board. Pat down into a circle about 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 wedges and place next to each other, but not touching, on the prepared cookie sheet.
  7. Bake at 375 degrees until the tops of the scones are lightly browned (the edges and bottoms will look browner than the tops) and firm. Transfer to a rack to cool.
  8. For the glaze, simply mix together the glaze ingredients. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the scones or dip each scone, top side down, into the glaze and let the excess drip off.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.