Egg Nog Rice Krispie Treats

This is a favorite holiday treat for us. A great twist on a classic rice krispie treat. Thanks to Lauren's Latest for the original recipe.


Servings: 18
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 5 min

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter
6 cups mini marshmallows, divided
1/2 tsp. run extract
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
6 cups rice krispies cereal

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. egg nog
nutmeg

Directions:
1) Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2) In a large pot, melt butter and 4 cups marshmallows over medium low heat until marshmallows are melted completely. Remove from heat. Stir in rum extract and nutmeg. Pour in cereal and stir to coat in marshmallow. Stir in remaining 2 cups mini marshmallows. Pour into prepared pan and press down with buttered fingers. Cool to room temperature, about 20-30 minutes.
3) In a small bowl, stir powdered sugar and egg nog together until smooth. Drizzle over bars and sprinkle with more nutmeg. Cut into bars and serve.

Snickerdoodle

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies. Over the years I have attempted to make them, but have never been satisfied with the results. Finally I found a snickerdoodle recipe I like. This one is from the allrecipes.com website.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened and room temp
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar ( or 2 tsp lemon juice)
1 teaspoon baking soda - fresh
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons white sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. Set aside
3. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs, and the vanilla. Mix the flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Do not over mix.
4. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Roll balls of dough in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
5. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets a few minutes.

Scones

I grew up eating 'scones' made by my father. As today is Fathers' Day, it is only appropriate that I share a recipe that I learned from him. My dad is a wonderful baker/cook and I am grateful for his example which has inspired me towards my love of cooking.

This is not the traditional scone from Europe. According to wikipedia:
"In Utah, the bread products locally called 'scones' are similar to Indian Frybread and are made from a sweet yeast dough, with buttermilk and baking powder and/or soda added, and they are fried rather than baked. They are customarily served with butter and honey."

This recipe is probably closer to sopapillas or Indian Frybread and I use them in a similar fashion. Usually I fry up some dough to make some 'Navajo' Tacos, and then follow up with some cinnamon sugar desert ones. They are also wonderful with butter and honey.

Caution!
This recipe makes a lot! Either cut in half or else form extra into rolls and let rise. Bake in 350F oven.





3 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast

Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes to let the yeast start.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp salt
7 - 8 cups flour

Add the oil and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix in flour until desired consistency. The dough should be slightly sticky.

Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.

Roll out dough and cut into rectangles.

Fry in hot oil and drain on paper towels.

For 'Navajo' Tacos, I poke holes with a fork in the dough rectangles before frying. This helps keep the bread flat instead of puffing up like a balloon. For desert, I sprinkle the fried bread with a cinnamon sugar mixture as soon as I pull it out of the hot oil. Delicious!

Navajo Taco

ground beef
kidney beans
taco seasoning

Toppings
cheese, shredded
refried beans
tomato, diced
olives, sliced
avocado


Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain excess fat.

Add kidney beans to meat. Mix in taco seasoning to taste. Add water and let simmer.

Serve on fried bread along with refried beans, cheese, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, salsa, etc.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels - Copycat

This is another family favorite. The kids absolutely love the cinnamon sugar while Sarah enjoys the salt pretzels. Even plain ones are great. Check out this video link for instructions on rolling out the dough. There are other videos on how to twist, etc.


Picture is from a double batch I made to share with friends.

From Copykat.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups flour

2 cups water
2 tbsp baking soda
2-4 tablespoons butter (melted)
coarse salt
cinnamon sugar

Procedure:
1. Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve.

2. Add sugar, salt, and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic.

3. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

4. While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda.

5. Be certain to stir often

6. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape.

7. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.

8. Allow pretzels to rise again.

9. Bake in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden.

10. Brush with melted butter.

11. Toppings: After you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt.

12. Or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

13. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously.

14. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture.

15. Notes: the longer and thinner you can make the dough rope, the more like Auntie Anne's they will be.

Cream Puffs ( Choux Pastry)

Cream Puffs are one of my favorite deserts. They look fantastic but are not really that hard to make. The only hard part is getting them to not collapse after pulling them out of the oven. I typically fill my cream puffs with instant vanilla pudding and sliced strawberries. I went a little heavy on the powdered sugar in the photo bellow.

You can also use this recipe to make other pastries such as eclairs.



Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Procedure
1. In a medium saucepan combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each. Bake as directed below or use as directed in other recipes.

2. Drop Cream Puff Pastry dough by heaping tablespoon into 12 mounds 3 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in a 400F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet; cool on a wire rack. Cut off the tops of each puff; remove any soft dough from inside. Fill each with 1/4 cup whipped cream, pudding, ice cream, or as desired. Replace cream puff top. If desired, sift powdered sugar over tops of the filled puffs.

Tips

• Use large eggs; add them one at a time.


• Add the flour as soon as the butter is melted and the water boils so that the water doesn't boil away in the saucepan..


• Set a timer so the pastry dough cools for 10 mintues - then beat in the first egg..


• Be sure the puffs are golden brown, firm, and dry before you remove them from the oven..


• Fill the shells just before serving, or fill and chill the puffs up to 2 hours to keep the bottoms from getting soggy..

Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Pops

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was incredible! The challenge was hosted by Elle ( Feeding My Enthusiasms ) and Deborah ( Taste and Tell ). They chose the challenge recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor.

I had never made cheesecake before, so I was a little nervous about this challenge. The recipe was actually rather easy to follow. I did, however, end up cooking my cheesecake for around 60 minutes. The center looked too soft at the suggested baking time.

As for toppings, I decided to melt some Hershey's Milk Chocolate Symphony bars. I then rolled the pops in coconut, Andes Mint chips, Heath Bar chips, or sprinkled them with colorful sprinkles. After the milk chocolate ran out, I melted some white chocolate Ghirardelli chips. These I drizzled with some left over milk chocolate.

I actually had some trouble with the white chocolate. I tried to melt the chips, but ended up with a hard, lumpy mess. After a quick google search, I found up that the chocolate had 'seized' up. This can happen if the smallest amount of liquid gets in the chocolate, or if you try to heat the chocolate too fast. In any case, I ended up adding some more vegetable shorting and the chocolate came out alright.

These little delicious desserts are fun to make, look great, and are simply wonderful. I hope that you have as much fun making and sharing these little treasures. Let me know what other toppings you think up.


Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)


Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes (or longer).

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Suggested Toppings:
Coconut Flakes
Andes Mint chips
Heath Bar chips
Candy Sprinkles
White Chocolate with crushed Oreo cookies
White Chocolate with crushed pepermint candies

Daring Bakers: Perfect Party Cake

This months Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Morven from Food Art and Random Thoughts. She chose Dorie Greenspan's "Perfect Party Cake" from her cookbook Baking from My Home to Yours. Even though we had permission to change the recipe flavors, I followed the original because I absolutly love raspberries.

One reason I love these monthly challenges is it gives me an excuse to get new kitchen gadgets. This month, I went out and purchased a Microplane zester. This tool is awesome! I was able to zest two lemons in no time at all.

Making the swiss merengue frosting was a lot of fun as well. I watched a video on youtube that demonstrated the process. This frosting is so light and tastes great. You really need to give this a try. You're going to love it.

This cake is absolutly delicious! I love the tartness of the raspberries with the lemon flavor. Add the coconut and I'm in love. This is now one of my favorite desserts. I hope you enjoy it as well. Check out what other Daring Bakers did with their cakes.

Perfect Party Cake
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours (page 250)

Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

For the Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Caramel Apples

Here is a wonderful treat that doesn't take much time. My friend Cheri introduced me to this recipe, and I've loved it every since. I love the mixture of tastes between the sour apple, sweet caramel, and salty peanuts. I think my favorite topping is peanuts, although I'm thinking of trying some peanut M&Ms next time. A crushed up heath bar would be good too.



Yield: 6 pieces

Ingredients
6 medium granny smith apples
6 Popsicle sticks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
chopped nuts (optional)
chopped candy (optional)

Procedure
1. Wash apples and dry thoroughly. Insert Popsicle stick in stem end of each apple. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or spray plate with cooking spray.

2. In 2 quart saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, milk and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly to 230 F on candy thermometer or until a few drops of syrup dropped into cup of cold water forms a small ball that flattens when pressed lightly. Remove from heat, add vanilla and cool slightly.

3. Quickly dip apples, swirling until covered. Dip bottoms in candy, sprinkles, or nuts if desired.

Dutch Oven: Peachy Cobbler

Who doesn't love cobbler? What a great way to end a meal around the campfire. This is an easy recipe that ends with great results. I tend to like white or yellow cake mix, but feel free to mix things up a bit. You could also try different fruit. How about some pears or apricots? Let me know about any of your ideas.

For an easier clean up, line the bottom and sides of the dutch oven with aluminum foil.



Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Yield: 8+ servings

Ingredients
2 cans (30 oz) sliced peaches, drained
1 cake mix
1 can 7UP
1 tbsp butter
ground cinnamon

Procedure
1. Spread drained peaches on bottom of 12 inch dutch oven. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

2. Sprinkle cake mix evenly on top of peaches.

3. Pour 7UP evenly on top of cake mix.

4. Place slices of butter on top of the cake mix.

5. Using 12 briquettes on bottom and 12 briquettes on top, cook for 45 to 60 minutes. Turn the dutch oven a quarter turn every 15 minutes.

6. When cobbler is done, crush the briquettes on top of the dutch oven with a hammer. This will release a lot of heat and brown the top of the cobbler nicely.

7. Serve warm. Goes great with ice cream.

Crepes

While living in Brest, France as a missionary, I had the wonderful opportunity to learn this recipe for crepes from a great lady, Mrs. Aasbo. She would invite my missionary companion and myself over for dinner and we would sit at her kitchen table with her two sons while she made us crepes. As Mrs. Aasbo would make the crepes, we would tell her what kind we would like. Hawaiian ( ham, pineapple, and cheese) was my favorite. We would eat until we could not eat anymore. Mrs. Aasbo would continue to cook up the crepes and sent us home with a large stack of crepes for the next few days.

Original Recipe from Mrs. Aasbo
1 kg flour
700 g sugar
12 - 14 eggs
8 wooden spoonfuls of oil
2 litres milk

I have done my best to convert the original recipe. Now be aware that this makes a lot of crepes. Even though I have a nice Kitchen Aide mixer, I still prefer to mix these crepes up by hand, the way Mrs. Aasbo taught me.

Ingredients
7 cups flour
3 cups sugar
14 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
8 cups milk

Procedure
Dump the flour into the bottom of a large bowl. (This recipe makes approximately 4 quarts of batter) Pour the sugar on top followed by the eggs and oil.

With a wooden spoon, mix the batter until smooth. This is going to take some muscle as the batter will be rather thick. Make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl really good so that all the flour is mixed. The batter should be really thick and sticky.

Add the first half of the milk a little at a time, mixing in a figure eight pattern. When the milk is mostly incorporated in the batter, add a little more. This will help prevent lumps in your crepe batter. Make sure to only mix in the figure eight pattern. You can throw in a few large circles around the edge of the bowl. Mix in the second half of the milk in a similar fashion.

Let rest in refridgerator for a few hours. This will allow the froth in the batter to come to the top. I usually put the batter into pitchers which makes removing the froth a little easier.

When you are ready to cook the crepes, make sure to remove as much froth from the top of the batter as possible. This will reduce the number of holes in your crepes. Now I use an electric crepe cooker, but you could also use a crepe pan, or a traditional crepe maker. I have tried all three and prefer the electric crepe maker method for it's ease of use.

After your crepes are cooked, you can fill them with almost anything. Here are some of my favorites.

Black Forest Ham with Swiss Cheese
Fresh Strawberries with Cool Whip