Cookie Wednesday

Crème Brûlée

2010-08-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Grab your torch and spoon! We attack the ramekins at 10:00 AM!!

There are a lot of variations to Creme Brulee. You can play a little with ratios to suit your tastes and preferences. But what an amazing creation made from such simple ingredients. Cream, Sugar, Vanilla, and Egg Yolks.

I hope I'm not breaking any code of secrecy by posting this recipe. We basked in the tutelage of a certified Le Cordon Bleu graduate who shared her expertise and recipe with us.

1 qt Heavy Cream

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

10 egg yolks

Here are the instructions straight from the recipe:

1. Heat cream, sugar, and vanilla bean over low flame until bubbles form around edges.

2. Whisk egg yolks. Stir in hot cream being careful not to create air bubbles or foam.

3. Strain and pour into ramekins. Place in a water bath to come halfway to the level of the custard.

4. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until set.

5. Remove from water bath and chill.

6. Brown with blow torch.

OK. Gourmet Chefs don't need much instruction. So here it goes for us kitchen warriors.

Get set up for success.

1. Set your ramekins in a large, deep roasting pan. Separate your eggs. Split your vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine cream, sugar, and vanilla bean. Scrape vanilla from the bean and then drop the whole thing in. You'll be able to fish out the vanilla shell later.

3. Heat the creamy mixture over a medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Stirring constantly.

4. When the cream is ready, turn off the heat and use it to temper the egg yolks. Temper the yolks by:a) whisking the egg yolk itself, just until it is smooth; b)continue to stir as you gradually add about 1/4 cup hot cream to the yolks; c) repeat the previous step at least 3 more times. This will ensure that the eggs have reached the temperature of the hot cream without immediately cooking. Try not to create air bubbles or foam.

5. Pour the egg/cream mixture back into the saucepan. Over a medium heat, sitr and heat the mixture until it sticks to the back of a wooden spoon. In other words, stir and pull the wooden spoon out. Scrape your fingernail across the back of the spoon. If the cream runs down through the line you scraped, keep heating the cream. If the cream does not run through the line you scraped, it is done.

6. Once your cream passes the wooden spoon test, you are ready to pour into the ramekins. If you tempered your eggs correctly, you will not need to strain the mixture. If you think you have some chunks in your creamy mixture, all is not lost. Just pour through a fine sieve before you pour into the ramekins.

7. Place your pan of full ramekins in the middle rack of the oven. Use a pitcher to fill the roasting pan with water until it comes half way up the sides of the ramekin.

8. Bake in the oven fro 45 minutes to an hour or until set.

9. Remove the whole thing from the oven and allow to cool until you can touch the ramekins.

10. Remove and cover ramekins and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

11. Sprinkle about a teaspoons worth of sugar on the top of the chilled pudding. Torch until brown and serve!

Good luck, ladies! And see you on the other side.

Death By Chocolate Cookies

2010-05-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

So, um, we didn't have Cookie Day this week, but I've been reading Joanne Fluke's murder mystery with recipes series. The main character, Hannah Swensen, runs a cookie shop, and is always trying new recipes which are posted at the end of the chapters. So, I got the urge to bake. This is one I've been wanting to try for a long time. Sinful. Rich. Delicious.

Ingredients:

2 pkgs (8 one-ounce squares each) semi-sweet baking chocolate (you could probably use chips if you don't have this, but make sure it's high-quality)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans, but you could substitute anything here: other nuts or candy chips, dried fruits etc.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
Coarsely chop 8 squares of baking chocolate and set aside.
Melt remaining 8 squares chocolate in large bowl.
Stir in sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder. With a spoon, stir in chocolate chunks and nuts (this is more of a batter than a dough, with lots of chunks).
Drop onto ungreased sheet with medium cookie scoop and flatten slightly.
Bake 11-13 minutes or until puffed and feel set to the touch. Cool on cookie sheet for a minute or two (this helps the centers set, and keeps them on the chewy side).
Move to cooling racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Bars!

2010-05-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

These are so wonderful! I didn't have a jelly roll pan and I made them in a 9x13 pan. I liked how nice and thick they turned out. The frosting is a little thick if you use it all, but man are they good!

3/4 C Butter or marg.
3/4 C Sugar
3/4 C Brown Sugar
3/4 C Peanut Butter
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
3/4 t. Soda
1/2 t. Salt
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 Cups Flour

Beat together Butter, Sugars, PB, Eggs and Vanilla.
Mix in dry ingredients.

Spread in a Jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 10- 15 minutes.
Dab on more PB and spread evenly. Let cool before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting
1 C sugar
5 T. Butter
1/3 C evaporated milk
Mix in a sauce pan and boil for 45 seconds. Remove from heat and add 1 Cup of chocolate chips, still until smooth. Spread onto bars and enjoy!

Hungry Girl

2010-05-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Joanna recently bought the book Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200 by Lisa Lillien, and yesterday we tried out one of her dessert recipes. We made Cheesecake Brownies, and at only 133 calories a piece, I was skeptical that they'd taste good. I was also wary that the pumpkin puree would make our brownies taste like, well, pumpkin. Everyone pronounced them very tasty, although we decided that if we made them again, we'd probably forgo the cream cheese swirls altogether (Chad confessed that it was a little "slimy" for him). We thought mini chocolate chips mixed into the batter would be yummy instead. At any rate, now you know that you can make simple, "healthy" brownies with only a cake mix and a can of pumpkin! Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients:
One box devil's food cake mix
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
6 ounces fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup Splenda, granulated
1 tsp sugar-free vanilla powdered creamer
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix cake mix and pumpkin in large bowl. Batter will be very thick. Spray a 9x13 baking pan and spread batter evenly.
In a medium bowl, mix creamer with 2 Tbsp warm water, and stir until dissolved. Add cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until smooth.
Spread creamy mixture over batter in pan, and swirl with a knife.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool.

Makes 16 servings. PER SERVING: 133 cal, 1.75g fat, 29g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 3g protein.

I also thought I'd post a link to the meatballs I made for lunch. I use a package of Jenny-O lean ground turkey instead of beef (it's a little less than 1-1/2 pounds but it works). I vastly prefer the turkey meatballs; they come out so tender. A medium cookie scoop works wonderfully, and be sure to only use 1 tsp of salt! Simmer the meatballs in whatever jar of pasta sauce thrills you (or make your own). Delicious!

Chocolate-Vanilla Meringues

2010-03-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I was a fan of meringues, but I think the only meringue I've encountered is the stuff on top of a lemon meringue pie. These little cookies, however, are nothing like that stuff. My friend Londa found this recipe on FoodNetwork.com. The recipe is supposed to yield 20 cookies, but we got more like 60 (it DOES say pipe by the tablespoon). So just divide whatever you get into 5 servings, and chow down. We each got to eat 12 cookies as a serving! Awesome and low-cal.

Ingredients

3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup superfine (caster) sugar* (we used regular granulated)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (the recipe originally called for almond, but I'm not a fan)
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer and beat until foamy. Add sugar and almond extract beat until meringues hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Fold in chocolate gently until just incorporated. Using a pastry bag or a sealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off, pipe meringue by the tablespoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from parchment paper. Transfer to an airtight container.

*You can make your own superfine sugar by placing sugar in a food processor and processing on high for 30 to 45 seconds.

Per Serving (recipe yields 5 servings):

Calories 120; Total Fat 3.5 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 1 g, Poly Fat 0 g) ; Protein 3 g; Carb 21 g; Fiber 1 g; Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 35 mg

Chili's Southwest Egg Rolls

2010-02-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Friends, Great Food, laughter, and sunshine made this weeks cookie day a success and an added plus we got to meet Jaime from the LV cookie group (Thanks to her this post has pictures). The kids also took full advantage of the sunshine and played outside the entire time.

Friends in our ward made these and brought them to dinner a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't stop munching on them. They are delicious and pretty simple to make.

This makes about 6 egg rolls.

Egg Roll:

1 chicken breast (grilled)
1 Tablespoon veg. oil
2 Tablespoons minced red bell peppers
2 Tablespoons minced green onion
1/3 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup canned black beans, drained
2 Tablespoons frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 Tablespoon diced canned jalapeno peppers
1/2 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
egg roll wraps

Dipping sauce:

1/4 cup smashed avocado
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 dash dried dill weed (I didn't have, so left out)
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash pepper

Add oil to bowl, add minced red pepper and green onion. Dice the chicken into small cubes add to bowl. Add corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper to bowl. Add in shreaded cheese and stir well. Spoon mixture into egg roll wraps and roll. Preheat 4-6 cups of oil to about 375 degrees. Deep fry until golden brown and remove to rack or paper towel to drain. Service with dipping sauce.

I hope you enjoy!

Homemade egg rolls

2010-02-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

Our LV Cookie Wednesday group met recently to make these yummy egg rolls. They are so easy to freeze and pull out one at a time. Make sure you pick up some delicious chili or sweet and sour sauce to dip them in. DIVINE!

The recipe is not specific. Just a little of this and a little of that.

ground pork or chicken (We used four pounds of ground pork for nearly 80 egg rolls)
bean sprouts (Jena sprouted these on her kitchen counter for us)
shredded carrots
cabbage, chopped (we used a head and a half - I like to chop it into just smaller than bites-sized so you don't get chunks that are too large when you bite into the egg roll)
salt and pepper to taste
egg roll wrappers (best picked up in a China town or at an Asian Mart - they freeze well for a few months and can be used in other dishes)
egg, beaten
vegetable oil (for frying)
chili sauce or sweet and sour sauce for dipping

Cook the pork. Add the chopped cabbage and carrots just before the pork is completely cooked thru. Add bean sprouts at the end and heat thru. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Set wrap out on counter in a diamond shape so a corner points toward you. Spoon mixture onto corner of egg roll wrap - not in the center. Wrap corner over mixture and begin roll. Fold side corners into center like you are wrapping the edge of a present. Keep it nice and tight but do not rip wrapper. Continue rolling to end. Dab a little bit of the egg mixture on top corner and press to seal. Make sure you do not put too much mixture into wrap or the roll will fall apart and make a mess in the oil.

To Freeze: Place in freezer safe bag and place in freezer.

To Cook: Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Slide egg roll into hot oil and cook until brown on outside. The wrap will be crispy and delicious while the inside is warm and tasty.

"Hostess" Chocolate Cream Cupcakes

2010-01-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw this recipe in my latest Cook's Country magazine, I knew it was destined to be our next Cookie Day feat. So, even though it's been over a month since our last meeting, I hosted this week's bake-fest with an ambitious goal. The filling looked a little intimidating, what with the gelatin and marshmallow creme, but it was so worth it! And I made a couple adjustments to make it a little easier. This recipe is definitely worth a little extra work! But double it, because we each only got to eat one, and that was such a shame! Ours did not come out as pretty as Cook's Country, but I chalk it up to the fact that by the time we got to the decorating phase, our mouths were watering so badly that we rushed it along to get to the tasting phase!

Cupcakes:
(Okay, so I didn't use the real cake recipe from the magazine. I cheated. But I can't seem to stray from this easy pudding cake version! It's too yummy.)
1 devil's food cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix (4 serving size)
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cup water
4 eggs

Filling:
3 Tbsp water
3/4 - 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 jar marshmallow creme

Glaze:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:
1) Make cupcakes. Mix all cake ingredients for 2 minutes. Spoon into lined muffin tins (makes approx. 24). Bake about 20 minutes at 325 or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove and cool completely (I baked mine the day before).

2) Prepare filling. Combine water and gelatin (I used 3/4 tsp, and our creme wasn't quite firm enough) in medium-large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla (recipe originally called for 1 tsp vanilla, but we agreed that it was too much), and salt until well combined. Let mixture cool about 5 minutes. Whip in marshmallow creme until smooth. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Put 1/3 cup mixture into pastry bag with small tip or plastic bag with hole cut out (be gentle; my hole was a little big).

3) Make glaze: Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl for 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, microwave another 15 seconds, and stir until smooth. Cool to room temp.

4) Assemble cupcakes: Cut a "cone" or "plug" out of top of cupcakes (the magazine used a small paring knife. We used a medium cookie scoop, and figured that although it wasn't as pretty, it was a heck of a lot quicker!) and trim the plug to a 1/4 inch disc. Using a Tbsp spoon or a small cookie scoop (love Pampered Chef!) sprayed with Pam, fill cupcakes with creme and replace tops. Frost with cooled glaze and let sit for 10 minutes (We didn't. Couldn't wait that long.). Using bag of reserved creme, pipe curlicues across glazed cupcakes.

5) Eat and remark how these are way better than Hostess!

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2009-11-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Oh. My. These are so yummy. Forget that you think you don't like pumpkin muffins/bread/pie. Try these!

Batter:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups peeled cored and finely chopped apples

Streusel:
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 teaspoons butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F .
2. Lightly grease 24 muffin cups or use paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil.
5. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten.
6. Fold in apples.
7. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
8. In a small bowl, mix together dry streusel ingredients.
9. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
10. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.
11. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

And here's a picture of all the kids at my house today (not shown: Mason in the high chair, and the babies Ryan and Madeline).

Cookies Out....but Tortilla Soup In!

2009-10-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

So, I have to say the cookies didn't turn out so well, but the Tortilla Soup was Yummy!

2 Tbsp. oil
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can peeled chopped tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup green chili
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 pound chicken, cooked and cut into small pieces
6 cups chicken broth
Juice of two limes
1 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Tortilla chips
Grated cheddar cheese

In a large pot, saute garlic and onion in oil until tender. Add tomatoes, green chilis, jalapeno and chicken. Cook for 5 min. Add the chicken broth, lime juice, cilantro, pepper and salt. Simmer for 30 min. Place tortilla chips in the bottom of the soup bowls and pour the soup on top. Garnish with grated cheese. Serves 6-8.

I have modified my recipe a little I use only 1 lime and add more cilantro. I also chop some cilantro to add in individual bowls for those who would like more. I like the chips to stay crunchy so I add them to the top of the soup instead of the bottom. I hope you enjoy!

Um...Mini Apple Pie??

2009-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

You all missed out on a delicious desert! It doesn't have a name, and I am not creative enough to think of a name... so mini apple pie it is! It is really easy to make....

To make it, heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, stir together 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of butter, and a pinch each of nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring this mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes to make a syrup. Core and peel the top third of 4 baking apples, such as Cortlands. Place them in a baking pan, fill them with raisins and walnuts, then pour the syrup over them. Bake the apples for 40 minutes. Serve them warm -- topped with ice cream, if you like.

I used an apple peeler to core my apples so that is why my apples are sliced. I added the ice cream to the tops, which I think added to the flavor! Hope you will enjoy!

Lush-ish vanilla

2009-10-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Things heard today at our Cookie Wednesday gathering:

"I'll bring the Vodka."
"Let's break out the Vodka."
"We need some more Vodka."
"Smirnoff is probably the best, but we can just get the cheap stuff."
"Vodka is vodka."

Before you freak out, we are making homemade vanilla. A local farmer's market sells high quality vanilla beans... 5 for $3. We thought we would make some homemade vanilla and give them away as Christmas gifts. Here's how we are doing it...

Cook's Country says: "Most of vanilla's flavor compounds are soluble in either water or alcohol, so the most shelf-stable form of vanilla is vanilla extract, produced by soaking vanilla beans in a solution of 65 percent water and at least 35 percent alcohol. We wondered if we could make our own vanilla extract by soaking a split vanilla bean in heated vodka (which would contribute very little of its own flavor). After testing several ratios of vanilla beans to vodka, we arrived at 1 bean per 3/4 cup of vodka as the proportion most closely resembling the potency of our recommended store-bought brand, McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract. We then tested our homemade extract against this supermarket product in sugar cookies, creme brulee, and vanilla buttercream frosting. In each case, our extract outperformed the commercial version, boasting cleaner, more intense vanilla flavor.

"To make vanilla extract, split a fresh bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and split pod in a 1-cup sealable container. Add 3/4 cup hot vodka (we used Smirnoff -a premium brand is not necessary) and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Seal the container and store at room temperature for one week, shaking gently every day. Strain the extract, if desired, and store in a cool, dark place. The extract should keep indefinitely."

chocolate peanut butter chip cookies

2009-10-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

Oh the yum of these delectable cookies. They are smooth. They are chocolaty. They are delicious.

First, mix together th following:

1 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Next, add the following:

1-1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 large package chocolate instant pudding
1 package peanut butter chips

Bake @ 375, 8-10 minutes

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2009-10-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Subway's cookies, especially their White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. From the little research I did online, I discovered they use Otis Spunkmeyer dough, which is an amazing frozen ready-to-bake dough that you can usually only buy from fundraisers, or in huge $200 units from food suppliers. So, I analyzed Otis Spunkmeyer's recipe for ingredients and nutrition, and decided that this recipe came the closest. I was really happy with it, though if I had higher quality white chocolate, and I think it would have been spot-on.

Ingredients
1 cup margarine, softened (yes margarine, not butter!)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs (these need to be at room temperature)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips (go to a specialty store if you want the good stuff!)
1 1/2 cups chopped dry roasted macadamia nuts (make sure you toast them a little first)

Directions
1) Don't preheat your oven yet, since you'll be chilling these before baking.
2) Cream butter and sugars until fluffy.
3) Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and beat well.
4) Blend in flour, baking soda and salt.
5) Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia pieces.
6) Cover dough and chill for 30 minutes (this really helps the cookies spread the right amount)
7) Preheat oven to 325.
8) Scoop onto un-greased baking pans.
9) Bake for 12-15 minutes (bake until just browning on the edges--don't over bake!).
10) Let cool on pans for about 5 minutes before taking them off.

**To keep ready-to-bake dough in your freezer Otis Spunkmeyer style, spray a cookie sheet and scoop dough remaining dough out, then flatten each scoop slightly. Freeze on tray. When frozen, transfer to freezer container. To bake: 325 for 13-16 minutes. I love doing this because I can rarely enjoy day-old cookies anymore! It's also great if you need to take a meal to someone, because you can make them in a pinch, or just give the dough as a gift!

Soft Sugar Cookies

2009-10-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

We didn't take a picture but these are so good!

2 Cups Butter
3 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2 T. Vanilla
6.5 Cups Flour
4t. Soda
1t. Salt
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients I usually add a bit more flour if it is to sticky.
Roll thick, cut and bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. Do not brown or they won't be soft.

Sugar cookie frosting
4 Cups powdered sugar
1/2 Cups Shortening
5T. Milk
1 t. Vanilla
Mix powdered sugar and Shortening. Gradually mix in milk and vanilla. color if desired.

Peach and Strawberry Satin Pies

2009-08-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Let's hear it for the successful return of Globe Cookie Wednesday! With the combination of a couple of my friends no longer working (yay for SAHMs!), Mackenzie's new baby now being 2 months old, and Amy hopefully over the worst of her morning sickness, I decided it was high time we got back to making some serious weekly treats around here.

Strawberry Satin pie is perhaps my favorite kind of pie out there, and I like a lot of pie. It's a strawberry glaze pie with a vanilla custard-like filling. I've often wondered how it would taste with other types of fruit, like peaches, so today we tried both. I have to say, the strawberry version is still by far my favorite, but it was fun to try something new!

Strawberry Satin Pie

1 (9 inch) pastry shell, baked
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Cool Whip (approximate)

1 pound strawberries

1 small packet strawberry instant jello

1) In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened (I use a whisk).

2) Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg (this tempers the egg; otherwise, your egg would cook in chunks if you added it straight to the pan). Return all to the pan, stirring constantly.

3) Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Cover with plastic and cool in fridge to room temperature.

4) Whisk in Cool Whip until blended (the amount of Cool Whip I add depends on how stiff I want the filling, or I just taste it until it seems right). Spread in pie shell. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

5) Slice strawberries into pretty 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange on pie.

6) You can use any strawberry glaze method you want (but if you use that tub of gelatinous muck they sell by the berries, I don't want to know!). I've tried several, and my favorite thing to use is actually strawberry freezer jam! When I don't have that, the jello is my next favorite thing, and it's easy. Just prepare the jello as directed, and chill it for a couple hours so it's cool but still pretty runny (you might notice in the peach pie photo above that I let the jello set a little too long before spreading it on the pie!). Then just spoon the jello evenly over the strawberries (you'll only need a small amount; save the rest of the jello for the kids), and refrigerate.

Granola

2009-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Although I LOVE having cookie Wednesday, I don't think it is helping with my weight loss goals! :) I decided to try something a little on the healthy side! Boy does it smell good while cooking.

5 cups rolled oats
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, wheat germ, coconut and sunflower seeds. In a small pan over medium heat, stir together the oil and honey. Cook and stir until blended. You could also do this in a large measuring cup in the microwave, heating for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Pour over the oat mixture, and stir to coat evenly. Spread out in an even layer on two cookie sheets.

3.Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the oats and nuts are toasted. Immediately after it comes out of the oven, stir in the raisins and dried cranberries. Let stand until cooled, and stir again to break up any large clusters. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, but I guarantee it won't be around that long!

Next time I might add a teaspoon or two of Cinnamon. Yummy!

PS this recipe is not exsactly "Lowfat" That was more or less the though behind it though! :)

Lunch with jam, jam and bread

2009-07-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: there are no actual cookies, bars, or cakes of any kind here, but I figured today's get-together had enough sweet indulgence to qualify for this post!

Today Amy and I both needed to make bread, so we teamed up at her place, and made the delicious whole wheat bread that has become a staple at both our houses. We made some of the dough into rolls, and topped them with butter and strawberry freezer jam:

Strawberry Jam:
4 lbs strawberries
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 packet Ball Freezer Jam Pectin
Just mash or blend the strawberries, stir together with pectin, and let set (official directions are on the pectin packet).

For the other part of our lunch, we had yummy spinach salad with Craisins, candied pecans, and Honey Celery Seed dressing.

Candied Pecans:
1 tsp cold water
1 egg white
4 cups pecan halves
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
Whisk water and egg white together. Add pecans and coat. Add rest of ingredients and coat well.
Spread onto sprayed jelly roll sheet.
Bake at 225 for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Then increase oven to 275 and bake for a final 15 minutes (if the nuts don't come out crispy enough, increase final temp to 300). Cool.

Honey Celery Seed Dressing: (from The Essential Mormon Cookbook)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp finely grated onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp celery seed
Mix all ingredients except oil and celery seed in a blender. Gradually add oil and celery seed, and blend until incorporated.
*This is a very sweet dressing, which is also delicious on a strawberry spinach salad with almonds.

Ultimate Brownies

2009-06-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

These confections are best described as bars in the best old-fashioned sense of the word--when bars, piled on a plate, dominated the bake sale or commanded the attention of anyone coming into a diner looking for dessert. Yum!

BARS:

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks

4 large eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder, measured and then sifted

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, optional

1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray an 11x7-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and place it on a parchment paper-lined baking baking sheet.

In a food processor, blend sugar and butter until pasty. Add eggs and vanilla; blend well. Fold in flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and blend well. Fold in nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut and blend briefly. Spoon into prepared pan.

Bake until set and firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Spread marshmallow creme on hot cake and refrigerate, uncovered, 3 or more hours.

MUD ICING:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa power, measured and then sifted

1/2 cup evaporated milk

Blend all ingredients in food processor until stiff and glossy Using a metal spatula, dipped as required into hot water, spread icing on chilled uncut bars. Chill briefly to set icing. Cut into bars. These are messy. It is a good idea to serve them in splayed-out paper liners to hold all the gooey stuff and to keep chocolate from getting all over your hands.

Fruit Pizza

2009-06-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

FRUIT PIZZA
allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Mix in egg. combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.

Press dough into an ungreased pizza pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until light. Spread on cooled crust.

Arrange desired fruit on top of filling, and chill.

Date: June 10, 2009

Welcome

2009-06-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Cookie Wednesday, a group of fun, good-looking stay-at-home moms who gather to absorb calories and conversation.