Recipes

Apple Cranberry Sauce

November 14, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

This week, I have a few Thanksgiving themed recipes to share. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the whole year. I love spending time with family, I love that the weather is getting cooler, and I love the food better than any other holiday of eating.

Probably my very favorite Thanksgiving dish is cranberry sauce. In the last few years, I’ve been enjoying the flavors for the whole month of November, and this year was no exception. I tried a different recipe for cranberry sauce this year, one I read in Cooking Light and then made some changes to it. The one I made last year and in year’s past is great too! It has a lot of fruity flavors like apricot and orange. But wanted to try this one this year, which has a lot of apples.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
3 apples, I used Granny Smith, peeled and chopped
1/2 C maple syrup
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 C Apple juice or apple sider
3/4 C Apple cider vinegar
1/4 C lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C Dried apricots, chopped

Instructions:

Add everything to a pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and let cook until cranberries start to pop and bubble. Remove bay leaf.
Serve hot or cold. Keeps in the refrigerator 4-5 days.

What I loved about the sauce was the bites of apple, and apricots and the pops of cranberries. While refrigerated, it gets thick and delicious. From the original Cooking Light recipe, I added the sugars and apricots because I like my cranberry sauce sweet.

To go with the sauce, we made cheddar chicken fingers from How Sweet Eats. I am trying to like chicken better and wondered if I just don’t know how to make good chicken, so we followed a recipe that looked delicious and hoped we liked it. Jeffrey thought it was great, I thought it tasted like chicken. And also took poor pictures of it, sorry. The link’s pictures make it look much better!

Easy to make, smelled good, nice concept of soaking in buttermilk and dunking in bread crumbs and cheese, but I still can’t get over the chicken. Bluggghhh is what I say to chicken.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: chicken, Dinner, Holidays, Thanksgiving

We Made Marshmallows

November 9, 2011 by Marci 2 Comments

If you’ve been reading a while, you know that Ina Garten is a love in our house. We have her books, we record her shows. Jeffrey LOVES Ina. We looked for her when we were in the Hamptons last Spring, Jeffrey loves her voice. We love her dishes.

One episode a few weeks ago was homemade marshmallows. Who actually MAKES marshmallows? Seems like a lot of hassle for something you buy at the store. But for the same reason you make challah or a homemade pie, we made marshmallows.

Ina did make it look simple. There were few ingredients, and the bulk of the time was inactive rest. They don’t bake in the oven. It was a simple process. It was our first time cooking with gelatin (in the baking aisle with pre-packaged Jell-o if you’re looking), and using a candy thermometer ($4 at the grocery store.)

Homemade Coconut Marshmallows

Ingredients

7 ounces sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 recipe Homemade Marshmallow batter, recipe follows
Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

On the stovetop, add coconut to a skillet with no Pam or butter. Mix around for about 15 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove before burning.

Sprinkle half the toasted coconut in an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal pan (not greased either). Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands or spatula. Sprinkle on the remaining toasted coconut. Allow to dry uncovered at room temperature overnight.

Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. Roll the sides of each piece carefully in confectioners’ sugar. Store uncovered at room temperature.

Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients:

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Instructions:

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup. Don’t whisk, just let it sit.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

The process was actually very simple, didn’t dirty many bowls, and the batter whipped up to a white and fluffy mix. The long part was letting it sit out. We started this on a Sunday at about 11 a.m., and let it sit all afternoon.

Really not that bad. Many variations we thought of after–like subbing almond extract for vanilla, adding a color, dipping in chocolate. Not using coconut and subbing something else. I think I’m going to make them for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner again! And how perfect for Winter holidays? Ina wrapped a few up in plastic with a ribbon and gave as gifts.

Here are a few progress pictures–mixing the batter for 15 minutes, toasting coconut, pouring the batter on the coconut, topping the pan with more coconut and letting it sit for 8ish hours.

Marshmallows

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 8 hours

Total time: 8 hours 40 mins

Serves: 30

Ingredients

7 ounces sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 recipe Homemade Marshmallow batter, recipe follows
Confectioners’ sugar
Homemade Marshmallows
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Instructions

On the stovetop, add coconut to a skillet with no Pam or butter. Mix around for about 15 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove before burning.
Sprinkle half the toasted coconut in an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal pan (not greased either).
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup. Don’t whisk, just let it sit.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands or spatula. Sprinkle on the remaining toasted coconut. Allow to dry uncovered at room temperature overnight.
Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares. Roll the sides of each piece carefully in confectioners’ sugar. Store uncovered at room temperature.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Dessert, Hanukkah/Xmas, Holidays

Semi-Homemade Chili

November 4, 2011 by Marci 4 Comments

No harm in taking a little help from the grocery store and letting someone else measure the spices for you so you don’t have to buy a whole jar for one use. I’m such a saver.

My family has been eating chili with spices from a box for many, many years. The box is Wick Fowler’s 2 Alarm Chili. It’s found by the taco seasonings. I like this chili in a box because it is really just spices, and they are all labeled so you can control how much you add, like of salt. The spices are chili pepper, red pepper, salt, oregano, garlic/onion, masa flour for thickening, and probably something else. Not too harmful! You add your choice of meat, 8 oz of tomato sauce and 16 oz water. It’s a winning dish for our family and husband approved every time! We usually eat it on New Year’s Day with cornbread.

On a very hot October day, we decided to have our first chili of the season. At least we’re pretending it’s cooler temperatures by eating hot chili. It’s actually in the high 80s still. Sadface.

We dress up our chili with turkey meat, an onion, bell peppers, corn, and toppings and cook away until it’s spicy and thick.

Since you can make chili earlier and let it sit for a while, I had some extra time to make homemade cornbread. I used the recipe on the back of the Jif cornmeal bag and cut it in half. A regular amount makes a whole cornbread pie, or about 12 muffins, and half made about 16 cute mini-muffins, great for crumbling and taking for lunch during the week. I added corn kernels and only baked for about 8-10 minutes. Otherwise, it was as instructed. They are pretty cute.

This was a great weeknight meal, and really didn’t take that much time, or cleanup! I also made a veggie side dish, to come later this week!

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: Dinner, Soups

How to make brussels sprouts taste good

November 2, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

I understand that many people think of brussels sprouts as one of the worst vegetables ever. It had a bad rap when I was growing up, and my mom never made them. So I assumed they were a boring vegetable until I became more adventurous. I actually like these sprouts that look like mini cabbages. They are easy to cook, versatile, and really healthy. You just have to dress ‘em up right. They just need a little PR makeover or someone to stand up for them.

Recently, I read a recipe on Eat Live Run that added some sugar to the sprouts. Well that must be good. She cut them into ribbons, but I like the bite and crunch of just splitting them in half. I generally followed her recipe, but added a little more salt and pepper.

Sweet and Crunchy Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lb brussels sprouts (can use less and adjust other measurements)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
Approx. 3 tbsp brown sugar (start with 2 and add if you need more)
1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

Cut the bottom off the sprout, and then slice in half. Don’t worry about leaves that fall off.
Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large skillet and saute the garlic for 30 seconds.
Add the brussels sprouts and continue sauteing for another 4-5 minutes, until bright green and tender.
Add the sea salt and brown sugar and toss together.
Finish by adding the toasted nuts.

Don’t be scared of the sprout, just learn how to make them right!

Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: How To, vegetables

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

October 26, 2011 by Marci 2 Comments

I hope you’re not tired of pumpkin yet, I just opened another can for this recipe!

Over the weekend, I was looking for a classic pumpkin muffin recipe without any frills of added things like raisins or apples. Been there cooked that.

I looked on my favorite blogs, and then found a great one to try in Ellie Krieger’s cookbook, The Food You Crave. I used to watch her Food Network show and really like this cookbook for many different recipes.

Don’t be alarmed by a longer ingredient list. If you have a well-stocked pantry, you might have most of these ingredients. I actually only had to buy buttermilk. The four spices–cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, are classic Fall and Winter ones. You should buy them and keep them a while. Wait until I do gingerbread cookies again this year. It’s an undertaking (and when I made them last year, I told myself I’ll do this once per year!), but so cute in the end.

I was most surprised that Jeffrey LOVED these muffins. He told me he doesn’t like pumpkin things, but this week alone, he ate these muffins, and also this loaf that he said was great too. Look who is growing a new taste palate.

I thought these muffins were so fluffy, thick, and full. They were nice without an added crunch that I used to want, like raisins or nuts. Just all about the pumpkin and spices. They would be GREAT with cream cheese. I ate mine for breakfast two days with yogurt and fruit, ate one out of the oven (for the picture above), and then we froze the rest.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

By Ellie Krieger, Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan withcooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

5.0 from 2 reviews

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan withcooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, muffins, pumpkin

Hukuna Frittata

October 24, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

For a recent Sunday night dinner, eggs were on the menu. Instead of scrambling like we usually do, we made our first frittata. Last December, we bought a Le Creuset cast iron skillet at an outlet store in Florida. The thing probably weighs ten pounds, but we wanted to try the cast iron method of cooking meat, and on sale was a good way to try it.

Only special pans can go from the stovetop to oven, and Le Creuset makes their products special for that. Eggs are also a great food to start on the stove and finish in the oven.

The frittata turned out to be a fun way to eat vegetables and eggs in a pie shape. We loved it! So many ideas of how to alter the ingredients to make this again. I had mine with a little salad of lettuce and tomato and a bagel on the side. And we shared some bacon.

The best part was the leftovers for lunch! I ate it cold twice for lunch during the week with a salad.

We loved the potatoes and egg together, and bacon would have been great in the frittata too. Can’t wait to make more frittatas!

Vegetable Frittata

Makes 8 wedges

Ingredients:

3 baby yellow potatoes, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt {divided}
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 C grated Pepperjack cheese, plus more for sprinkling
2 scallions, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a cast-iron skillet (important), drizzle with 2 T EVOO and let heat up. Cook diced potatoes and garlic for about 8 minutes until tender.
Add chopped bell pepper for last 3 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs with salt, pepper, milk and cheese.
In the skillet, spread vegetables evenly so they don’t overlap. Pour eggs on and don’t stir.
Let sit for about 3 minutes, until sides are getting geled and inside is still wet.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until top is firm and starting to brown.
Remove from oven and add scallions and more cheese for melting.
Cut into wedges, and it should remove easily.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: Breakfast, Dinner, Recipes, vegetables, vegetarian

Squash and Farro Salad

October 19, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

Besides pumpkin, the other flavor that makes me think of Fall is squash. I had a giant butternut squash and used half in a Yom Kippur dinner dish, and used half for this dish. I based if off of a Daily Garnish dish and then made it my own with what I had on hand.

My grain of choice was farro. I used 1.5 cups of uncooked farro and it made a huge bowl. Since I was the only one eating this, most was wasted unfortunately after a few days. I would cut this back a whole lot, even to have leftovers if it’s just for you! Farro is a chewy grain that I like when I want something different. You can use rice, quinoa, cous cous, millet, etc. Any grain will work.

I love the squash and cranberry combo, and it would also be great with an herb like parsley or a nut like slivered almonds. A really hearty salad. Serve atop mixed greens for a balanced lunch!

Squash and Farro Salad

1.5 cups dry farro (could sub any grain–rice, quinoa, etc.)
3 cups water (do the proportion for your grain)
1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried apricots
salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
dash of salt and pepper
(Emily’s recipe used a little Dijon, but I didn’t have any. I would probably add that in because the dressing was strong in orange juice taste, which was fine, just strong.)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and cube a large butternut squash. Then toss with olive oil and salt and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Pop it into the oven and roast for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.
While the squash is roasting, cook your farro according to package.
In a small dish, combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk to combine.
With everything ready, add farro, squash, and dried fruit in a mixing bowl. Add dressing and stir well to combine all ingredients.

Squash and Farro Salad

Ingredients

Squash and Farro Salad
1.5 cups dry farro (could sub any grain–rice, quinoa, etc.)
3 cups water (do the proportion for your grain)
1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried apricots
salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
dash of salt and pepper
Emily’s recipe used a little Dijon, but I didn’t have any. I would probably add that in because the dressing was strong in orange juice taste, which was fine, just strong.)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and cube a large butternut squash. Then toss with olive oil and salt and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Pop it into the oven and roast for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.
While the squash is roasting, cook your farro according to package.
In a small dish, combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk to combine.
With everything ready, add farro, squash, and dried fruit in a mixing bowl. Add dressing and stir well to combine all ingredients.

Filed Under: Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: Fall, Holidays, squash, vegetables

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

October 17, 2011 by Marci 1 Comment

If you haven’t had you first bite of something pumpkin flavored this season, it’s about time! The first thing I made this year with pumpkin was my favorite loaf from last year. It’s a gingerbread loaf with pumpkin in the mix and pumpkin in the middle. I don’t think Jeffrey realized the amount of pumpkin in it because it tastes like gingerbread. He liked it too.

(pardon the lighting in some of these photos. I made it on a super rainy Sunday, and took a few inside photos on Sunday and then ate some, and then took more the next day on the patio, but a few slices got eaten!)

A very easy recipe to make, the time comes from the baking. I love the gingerbread flavors (just spices like nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and others), and I like the secret layer of pumpkin butter in the middle and on top.

This is a great loaf for breakfast or dessert. It’s got great spices and a strong Fall feeling flavor. Also cuts well to be frozen so I can enjoy it for a long time. Now what to do with the rest of the can of pumpkin?

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup pumpkin butter (or a different type of jam might be ok, or leave out)
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped and toasted if desired

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
Add wet to dry and stir well until fully incorporated. Fold in the nuts.
Pour half the batter into the pan and spread out with a spatula.
Take half of your pumpkin butter and scoop out onto the middle of the pan. Now grab a spoon and swirl the pumpkin butter all around. Now take the rest of the batter and pour over top. Spread around with spatula to smooth out. Now take the rest of your pumpkin butter and scoop onto top and swirl throughout the batter.
Place the pan into the oven preheated to 350F. Bake for approx. 50-55 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan for about 30 mins. Makes enough for 8-10 slices.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Ingredients

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf
1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin butter (or a different type of jam might be ok, or leave out)
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped and toasted if desired

Instructions

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a loaf pan with parchment and then lightly grease with oil. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Add wet to dry and stir well until fully incorporated. Be careful not to over mix. You want to stop stirring just when it comes together. Fold in the nuts.
Pour half the batter into the pan and spread out with a spatula. Take half of your pumpkin butter and scoop out onto the middle of the pan (see below). Now grab a spoon and swirl the pumpkin butter all around (see below). Now take the rest of the batter and pour over top. Spread around with spatula to smooth out. Now take the rest of your pumpkin butter and scoop onto top and swirl throughout the batter.
Place the pan into the oven preheated to 350F. Bake for approx. 50-55 minutes. The bread will very slowly bounce back when pressed with your finger. Allow to cool before removing from pan for about 30 mins. Makes enough for 8-10 slices.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Breakfast, Dessert, pumpkin

Peanut Butter Blondies

October 12, 2011 by Marci 3 Comments

My freezer of goodies was very bare and I needed something good to grab after dinner. Even Jeffrey was asking for a cookie! There was nothing sweet in our house, it was hard to believe.

I pulled a recipe in September’s Cooking Light for these brownies, and actually had all the ingredients at home. They were very simple to make, and turned out quite fluffy and peanut butter-y. The chocolate chips and pb chips were a tasty bonus. I also really liked that they cut nicely. I remember when I used to make box brownies as a kid, they were jagged and ugly. I guess if you put the time into making them from scratch, they cut nicer too!

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
4 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped (I subbed Reece’s peanut butter chips)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

I served these for our Yom Kippur dinner, but still had most of them leftover, so to the freezer they went! We’ll enjoy them for sure.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Blondies
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
4 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped (I subbed Reece’s peanut butter chips)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, chocolate, Recipes

Perfect for Fall Apple Cake

October 5, 2011 by Marci Leave a Comment

This is just a perfect Fall recipe. I didn’t realize before that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is perfectly aligned with apples for Fall. I made my first apple cake this year to take to a holiday lunch, and it sure was pretty. Compared to the two challahs I made the day before, this was easy as…cake. Just mix and cook. And spend some time peeling and slicing apples. If you’re looking for another great apple dish that takes a bit more time, try this apple pie.

I have mentioned before that I have a big recipe binder separated into categories like appetizers, vegetables, etc. This recipe is from the Everyday With Rachael Ray August/September 2006 issue. I can’t believe I have recipes over five years old that I haven’t tried yet!

Regardless, I am happy to have kept this recipe, and it was great. The inside of the cake was apple heavy on top, and soft and cinnamon-y like a pound cake or soft cake below. Sorry for no inside shots, I had to keep it whole to serve at someone else’s house. Kind of sad I didn’t get to take the leftovers home! It was a really delicious cake, and another great alternative to something chocolate.

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 Granny Smith apples (about 1¼ pounds)—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2¼ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt or tube pan. In a medium bowl, combine the 2-1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon. In a large bowl, toss the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup of oil with the eggs, orange juice, vanilla and the remaining 2 cups of sugar on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the flour in 3 batches, mixing until just combined. Add the apples and stir to combine. Transfer to the pan, leaving about an inch at the top, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1½ hours. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before unmolding it onto a rack to cool completely.

While not considered healthy by any means, it sure was good. And perfect for Fall, now that Rosh Hashanah has passed. I recommend buying a bucket of apples (or six) and baking a cake for your friends. Apples are a perfect intro to Fall.

Perfect for Fall Apple Cake

Ingredients

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake
1 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 Granny Smith apples (about 1¼ pounds)—peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2¼ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt or tube pan. In a medium bowl, combine the 2-1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon. In a large bowl, toss the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and set aside.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup of oil with the eggs, orange juice, vanilla and the remaining 2 cups of sugar on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the flour in 3 batches, mixing until just combined. Add the apples and stir to combine. Transfer to the pan, leaving about an inch at the top, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1½ hours. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes before unmolding it onto a rack to cool completely.

Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes · Tagged With: Baked goods, Holidays, Recipes

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