The Best BOX Cake

Was it really more than a month ago that I updated my blog? Yes, it’s true. We’ve had a lot of changes come about recently in my family and the blog just wasn’t a priority.

A couple of friends emailed me today and asked if, “I was still cooking?” They were being cute of coarse- “Yes, I’m still cooking….all the time!”

Let me explain the delay in my posting on the blog first.
1.) I have a one-year-old! Yes, Caston will turn ONE tomorrow. Wow…that is so hard to say. Can my baby really no longer be a baby?

2.) I have begun making cakes. I finally finished my professional cake classes (2 night classes a week) and started making cakes. It’s been a blast and a ton of work, but it was on my bucket list and I’ve got it knocked out. I promise to post some of my cakes is the future! (PHOTO: One of my first cakes for my mother-in-law)

3.) I went from a part-time working mama to a full-time employee in October! HUGE change for our entire family, including the youngest- Caston. I was working part-time as a writer and marketing consultant (although the last couple months had really became a full-time job). Then, a blessing and dream job popped into my lap! I’m working as an editor for a farm publication and I get to do what I’ve always wanted to- tell the story of agriculture!

So, between all of this….the blog has suffered. I do hope to change that now! So, stay with me all…I promise not to let you down.

From the title of my post, you can tell I’m going to share a great recipe! I’ve been doing some baking to find the best cake mix and I have a winner! Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake Mixes- truly the best cake mix I’ve eaten. And, I’ve ate a lot of cake.

My favorite has become the Golden Butter mix. But, I don’t just follow the mix recipe – I add to it. Lots of folks do this…they take a mix and add some things to make it taste homemade! Well, this really does taste homemade- ask anyone that I’ve made cakes for lately.

Here is how I turn a boxed mix into something delectable!

Add to a boxed mix some of the following:
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 box instant pudding
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Butter instead of oil
- Milk instead of water
- Add vanilla flavoring
- Add extra butter flavoring
- Add other extract flavorings (lemon, mint, orange, almond)Add some spirits to the spice up the flavoring. Rum is always good, but my favorite is Irish cream or amaretto. You will substitute for half of the water called for in the mix.
- Do the same with coffee (strong). Great with chocolate!
- Grate in some citrus peel

By adding some of the above ingredients you can make a boxed cake mix moist and tasty! You will follow the boxed mix instructions, but replace the water and oil with butter and milk and add extra vanilla flavoring (usually about 1 T.).

Or, you can follow the mix recipe and add instant pudding before you add the liquid ingredients. Next, add the liquid ingredients and mix well. When your mix is mixed well and not powdery add sour cream and beat.

That’s all you do! Enjoy and happy baking….

Mama's Chocolate Cookies

I'm going to share a HUGE secret today! One that is probably going to be surprising to many, so sit down.

I make chocolate cookies for a lot of picnics and occasions. The cookies are always gone in no time and a lot of friends have asked for the recipe. I say, "it's my little secret."

Well, I'm going to share the secret recipe and it's going to be a shocker to most that have tried these lovely cookies!

It's starts with a chocolate cake mix (YES, really!) I like to use Duncan Hines Moist cakes mixes. There it is, my secret is no more.

Chocolate Cookies from the Heart
by Lane

1 stick of butter
3 T. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 chocolate cake mix

Mix and place on cookie sheet. DO NOT GREASE THE COOKIE SHEET.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Muffins with Fresh Strawberry Sauce

Some friends and I have been tampering with Weight Watchers recipes because each recipe is nutritionally balanced and I've heard good things about many of the system's meals. So, I had to try some to see if it was worth it. It is!

Since having a baby I've become very health conscious (not that I wasn't before), but I'm really trying to cut back on the butter (Paula Deen would be disappointed) and pump up good oils (like olive and canola).

I want to live a long life and see my babies (yes I meant to use the plural word and no I'm not pregnant right now - I know that would be the next question) grow old, marry and have babies of their own. I want to Live Strong - have you checked out that website?

Our family has always eaten well, but too much of anything isn't a good thing. So, that's why we've decided to make healthier eating choices. Now, don't think that means you won't see deliciously divine desserts or my favorite southern foods- anything fried! It's just I'm going to be trying to combine a little health kick here and there.

Starting with this. The first Weight Watchers recipe I decided to try was of coarse a dessert! I love my sweets. These muffins with homemade strawberry sauce are amazing and healthy!

I was stunned on how good the strawberry sauce was.....I could have just eaten it alone. The best part is it's almost strawberry season in Missouri...look for strawberries to be ripe for the pickin' in about two more weeks!

Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

Lemon Yogurt Muffins with Fresh Strawberry Sauce

from Weight Watchers

2 spray(s) cooking spray
2 cup(s) strawberries, finely chopped, divided
2 Tbsp strawberry jam
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cornstarch
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
2 large egg(s)
8 oz Yoplait Original 99% Fat Free Lemon Yogurt, or similar product
1/3 cup(s) sugar
1/4 cup(s) canola oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest, or more to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-hole muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup strawberries with next 4 ingredients; set over medium-low heat. Cook until boiling, whisking constantly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 cup strawberries; set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, lightly whisk eggs; whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth.

Make a well in center of dry ingredients and spoon in egg mixture; gently fold to combine.

Fill each muffin hole 3/4s full with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven and serve each muffin with 1 heaping tablespoon strawberry sauce on top.

Another Day, Another Story

Our son has been persistent on waking up at 4:30 am every morning the past week- which before he slept till at least 5:30 am. He's teething so, I'm sure that has a little to do with it. But, we've been trying to make him hold off for a feeding 10 minutes extra each morning. (That's what I've read to do...but I've learned that the so-called expert books don't know it all.)

My husband was out of town one night this week and Caston woke up crying like no other...nothing would make it better so I made a bottle for him. (He's been switched over to formula now.) He went to town eating...when Caston is hungry you better watch out! I usually burp him when he's half way through, so I proceed to do so. But, he just would not burp and his little belly was so tight! (Caston has acid reflux very bad...so it sometimes take forever to get him to burp.)

He wouldn't burp and was screaming by this time bc all he wanted was his food. So, we started feeding again. After he finished he was completely satisfied. I laid him on my shoulder and he laid his head down gently and was cooing. (Nothing is more sweet than a baby cooing.)

Then is came.

On big ole loud, nasty, hard burp! I mean LOUD...

And the chair, my back, my hair and my neck was covered in baby puke. (We call Caston "Mr. Puke" around the house...his reflux makes him spit up a lot and even hours after a feeding.)

I couldn't believe I was sitting in living room at 5 am covered in puke...funny thing Caston didn't have a drop of spit up on him. Just my luck right. I had to laugh...I mean my husband was gone, it was the wee hours of the morning and I was covered in puke. I was just thankful that our furniture was leather, not cloth.

Oh, what we go through for our children, so that someday they can grow-up and become teenagers and forget all the things their parents did for them. The sacrifices they made, the many nights they stayed up with us when we had a cold, those blow-out diapers, the puke, the sleeplessness...the list goes on and on.

Wait. I need to call my parents and thank them. You should do the same.

If you are really trying to tell mom how much you appreciate all she's done for you...try these Chocolate Cupcakes. You are sure to make her day! (BTW I lived off these when I was pregnant...so good.)

Chocolate Cupcakes
from JoyofBaking.com
Makes about 16 cupcakes

1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water
1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups (160 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls.

Chocolate Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).

Cookies that Will Save Your Soul

We haven't been cooking a whole lot around our house lately- with a new baby and packing up the house for our move down south it's been a lot easier to get take out or throw a pizza in the oven. We do manage to cook a big breakfast about every morning though- bc my husband is what I call "the Breakfast King." He enjoys making breakfast and I'm not going to turn down his offer to make a meal.

We've been having a lot of meals at our friends houses lately since this is the last week that we will be residing in Jefferson City. We have been getting together with many of our friends for dinner and I always offer to make a dessert. The main dessert I've been turning to is Orange Baby Cookies- a recipe that comes from a dear friend and previous manager- Cyndi Young.

I recently wrote an article over my friend Cyndi and her cookie making skills for Missouri Farmer Today. When I went to Cyndi and her husband Jim's farm, they had four different cookies laid out for me to take photos of and taste for the article! I fell in love with the Orange Baby Cookies and I know you will too!

These cookies are delicious and can be whipped up in a snap! I say that these cookies will save your soul bc no matter what mood you are in- after one cookie you will feel like you are in heaven! And I bet you can't eat just one...

Orange Babies
By Cyndi Young
1 C. softened butter
½ C. sugar
½ C. brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1½ T. grated orange peel
2¼ C. flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1½ C. vanilla baking chips

Cream the butter and sugars. Beat in egg and orange peel. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in vanilla chips. Form into walnut-sized balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

I've been doing a lot of baking lately it seems- brownies, cakes, muffins and cookies. But I have an excuse- I'm pregnant. And when the cravings hit- it's better to have some sweets on hand.

This is a recipe I got from our recent vacation to South Carolina. This is a very simple recipe to make and makes delicious bars!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars
1 (18.25 oz) box lemon cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 egg
1 stick butter
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
2 eggs
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon extract



Combine cake mix, pecans, butter, and 1 egg in a medium mixing bowl. Press mixture lightly in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, 2 eggs, powdered sugar, and lemon extract. Pour over cake mix mixture. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Refrigerate until set. Cut into small squares. serves 12 to 15.

Gotta a Craving

What to do when a craving hits…that’s been my dilemma lately. Do I indulge, do I ignore the craving, what is a healthy option to fulfill the grumble in my tummy.

I’ve had cravings and food aversions all at the same time for the past month and a half- how does this happen- will being pregnant your body is totally out of wack. At least that is what I have decided, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! (Yes, many readers lately have been asking about the new label on the blog “pregnancy recipes” and yes they were correct the McConnell’s are expecting a little one November 18.) We are very excited - here is our Week 9 photo!

I’ve been reading What to Expect When Your Expecting and I laugh at some of the things I have learned about the pregnant body. Like that “gotta go feeling” that stays with you, the sleepless nights because you have to get up to go to the bathroom 5 times a night, or maybe it’s the way I can be so sick feeling at my stomach- BUT at the same time crave Honey Nut Cheerios or Bananas by the dozen! (Yes- that’s right Cheerios!) Or my favorite- being so tired that I fall asleep at 6pm after eating dinner.

You have to love being a woman! And no matter what-I wouldn’t change it for the world!
I’ve read that for those that have the all day morning sickness or upset stomachs that lemons help- and it’s worked for me. Drinking lemonade, making lemon spaghetti, or simply putting lemon in my water has soothed my stomach so far.

But, if you’re craving a nice indulging dessert this Lightened-Up Lemon Bar recipe from one of my favorite new websites , http://www.fitpregnancy.com/, is a true winner.

Lightened-Up Lemon Bars

From FitPregnancy.com

Crust

Nonstick cooking spray

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Topping

1 whole egg

2 egg whites

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about 2 juicy lemons)

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Confectioner's (powdered) sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat an 8-by-8-inch pan with cooking spray. For crust: Cream together butter and sugar; add flour, salt and lemon zest. Beat until crumbly and pat into pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven; let cool. While crust is baking, prepare the topping: Whisk egg and egg whites until frothy. Add sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and lemon zest; mix until combined. Pour mixture over crust and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until topping is set and slightly golden. Cool on a wire rack; dust with confectioner's sugar and cut into 16 2-inch squares. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.

Serves 8.

Christmas Dinner Menu

Many folks stress about the holidays and for good reason. Our country is in economic distress, food prices are sky high and Christmas is just next week…which means all those presents, decorations, wrapping paper that you paid for by credit will be coming to haunt you in January!

I have to make frequent trips to the grocery store during the holidays because all of the baking I do. I was there this week and could not believe just the few items I had totaled $69.54 – and I only had two bags! WOW – I was speechless.

Of course, looking back on the receipt I ask myself – “Did I really need those Goat Cheese Stuffed Olives, or the extensive selection of Spanish cheeses. Or how about those oh so tasty, but so darn expensive gourmet potato chips.” I did however skimp on some things: sour cream, cream cheese and marshmallows. But, it just goes to say that sometimes we splurge a little too much, when we could be more thrifty.

Saying that though, there are just some things I will never cut corners on – and that’s my Christmas dinner!

We are hosting the McConnell family for the holidays next week and I’m so very excited! Last year I hosted Christmas for my family and it was so much fun and less stressful. You see we live 3 hours from both sides of our family and our families live about 2 ½ hours apart. So, this makes for very long holidays and gets very tiring going to and from. This year though will be a piece of cake since we only have to drive south for one Christmas.

I finally have the Christmas dinner menu planned out (and as you can tell – I’m not cutting any corners on this menu). In my opinion when it comes to food, especially Christmas dinner – you can only buy the best in ingredients for the ones you care the most about!

Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours!

McConnell Christmas Dinner Menu
Appetizers
Olives (Black, Spanish and Stuffed with Goat Cheese)
Spanish Cheeses, Burgers Smokehouse Sausage (local Missouri company) and Crackers
Spudmaster Potato Chips and a Dip
Rosemary Pinwheels

Dinner
Three Meat Dish (Chicken, Ham and Beef Roast)
Holiday Sweet Potato Casserole
Country Green Beans
Pecan Grape Salad
Croissant Rolls
Corn Casserole

Desserts
Southern Red Velvet Cake
Texas Pecan Pie
Very Cherry Pie
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes
Smooth as Silk Chocolate Pie

Be looking for these recipes to come…

Holiday Baking 2008 Gets Underway

Today is goodie day…I’ve been dropping off holiday goodies I spent the weekend making to co-workers, friends and neighbors. It has become somewhat of a tradition in our house. I told my husband yesterday as I was making the last batch of pecan brittle that we needed some little ones in the kitchen to help out and make the experience even more of a family tradition.

Nothing beats receiving homemade goodies during the Christmas in my opinion. I would much rather someone give me something they spent time thinking about and making that any store bought gift.

It might be a lot of work for the cook, but making holiday goodies brings smiles to faces and joy to the heart!

I switch up the menu each year when I bake. This year’s menu: Cashew and Pecan Brittle, Mini-Pound Cakes, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Almond Bark Popcorn (Pictured to the left), Fantasy Fudge and I still have three homemade Pumpkin Pies to make for some neighbors.

The Mini-Pound Cakes are my favorite because they are light and airy. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart, but of coarse!

Classic Pound Cake
Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is golden and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack, and let cool completely. Before serving, dust cake with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Cake can be stored at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic, up to 3 days.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Can the weekend really be over? I mean, just yesterday I was looking forward to a very long weekend and now it’s Sunday night.

One things for sure: this weekend was filled with “to do” lists. I was off Friday and spent the morning finishing up Christmas shopping (both at the mall and online, * note to self next year try to do as much online shopping as possible, it is so much easier and no crowds and cranky people to deal with). The afternoon was spent wrapping the final gifts and cleaning the downstairs of the house. I hadn’t realized how neglected our downstairs had gotten.

Saturday was spent getting Corn Beef and Cabbage in the crock pot and cleaning the rest of the house. Boy was I glad when my husband got home from a day at Lake of the Ozarks (he competed in another bass fishing tournament). The house looked amazing all decorated for Christmas and shiny and clean. (He commented on how pretty the house looked and thanked me for everything I do. Ladies we all know how sweet it is when our husbands notice things like that- I’m so lucky to have my keeper!) Later on that night we headed to the movies (two movies we want to see Australia and Twilight). We decided on Twilight that night, since my folks were coming up this weekend and we could take them to see Australia. For the record: I would give Twilight only a 6 out of 10. it was a typical teenage love story, but with vampires.

Now it’s Sunday! Today was spent baking all day practically. I did however get a couple scarves crocheted this weekend, which are Christmas gifts for a couple close friends.

I started baking around 10 am and just now finished and it’s 6pm. My feet hurt, my back aches, I’m covered in flour and smell like fudge, but it’s all worth it.

Check back tomorrow for photos of the holiday goodies!

(PHOTO: Christmas time is a special time at our house. I love having a tree in every room of the house. This is the "Red Tree" in the Dinning Room.)

Holiday Candy Makin’

Do you remember when you were a child and you watched your grandmother or maybe even mother make candy for the holidays? Fudge, peanut butter cups, peanut brittle, sugared pecans, divinity…these are the types of candy I helped my mother make in our country kitchen.

I loved to watch my mother’s hands when she was cooking. I thought they were magical and it always amazed me how she could make such sweet tasting treats.

My mother would make goodies for neighbors that lived in the Ozarks that had helped us with farm chores, like getting cattle up to be worked, pulling a calf, or rounding all the cattle up when they got out. She would also make goodies for folks that provided great services like the postal man, hairdresser, school bus drivers and even the local 4-H leader.

My mother still makes her holiday goodies each year, but now they are focused around her grandchildren (Sydnee, Hunter, Luke, Logan and Landon). She likes to make mini pumpkin breads, peanut butter cups, snowmen cookies and many other special treats for her grandbabies. Pictured to the right is Sydnee, Luke, myself and Hunter at Luke's 4th birthday party this past weekend.

One of my favorite holiday candies is brittle. I found this brittle recipe from the Martha Stewart website. BTW- there is no other site to log on to – to find the best in everything than Martha Stewart. I don’t care what you think about the lady- she is classy through and through and has helped me survived many dinners and holiday dinners.

Nut Brittle
From Martha Stewart
Makes 1 1/2 pounds

Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups mixed nuts, such as pecan halves, cashews, pistachios, coarsely chopped if large
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Spray a rimmed baking sheet and a wide metal spatula with cooking spray; set aside.

In a 2-quart glass measuring cup, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring until sugar is moistened. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir in butter and nuts; return to microwave for about 5 minutes, until the sugar mixture is thick, bubbly, and very pale brown in color. Mixture is very hot; use handle when holding and pouring.

Remove from microwave, stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture may foam up). Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheet, spreading mixture as thinly as possible with the prepared spatula. Let stand 20 minutes until hardened, then lift off sheet, and break brittle into bite-size pieces.

Parking Lot Cookies

My gal pal Danni passed along this recipe to me about a week and half ago. When I first read the ingredients I didn’t know how these cookies would turn out (with oatmeal and rice crispies). Plus, when I started to mix the cookies up how thick they became the more ingredients I added.

But, these are very tasty and easy to prepare….would be perfect for a football tailgate!

Thanks Danni for sharing.

Parking Lot Cookies
From the kitchen of Melody Lawson

1 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla (it's okay to spill a little bit)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups rice crispies

1 cup pecans ( I toast the pecans before putting them in the cookie dough, brings out the taste)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix both sugars well, removing all lumps. Add shortening, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Mix well. Mix in flour (it’s starting to get thick). Mix in pecans and chocolate chips (getting thicker). Mix in oatmeal (very thick). Mix in rice crispies (use your hands, it's too thick for a spoon). Roll up into teaspoon sized balls and smash with fork. Bake for 13 minutes or until light brown (don't overcook the cookies).

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Kid Style Peanut Butter Cookies

I love cooking with kids. They ask the funniest questions while cooking, things that us adults just don’t think about.

My favorite part though is that I know I’m teaching the beauty and joy of cooking to a young person.

My niece Sydnee called me the other night and told me she needed a recipe with peanuts in it, as she was learning about George Washington Carver in school – Carver was a peanut farmer. So, I thought about it for awhile and remembered a cookie recipe I had come across and was in my recipe box that I had never tried before. I emailed the recipe to my sister-in-law so she could get the ingredients.

I traveled down to my brother’s house the next night, to spend the night as his house…I was traveling on business all this week putting on farmers’ market workshops for my job. That night Syndee, my nephew Hunter and I baked up some of the yummiest cookies.

The best part of this recipe is that it is very kid friendly. Hope you enjoy these wonderful cookies as much as we did.

Take a look at Syd rolling up her cookies.

Kid Style Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe courtesy Family Circle Magazine

1 package (about 18 ounces) prepared sugar cookie dough

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.


Beat together cookie dough and peanut butter in large bowl until blended and smooth. Stir or knead in mini chips, peanut butter chips and peanuts until evenly distributed.

Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool slightly on baking sheets. Then transfer to wire rack and cool.

Chocolate Lava Muffins

My good friend Danni passed along this recipe to me the other day. If you are looking for a chocolate rush here is the perfect recipe for your taste buds...

Chocolate Lava Muffins
From Dunn Bros Coffee

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 teaspoon Dunn Bros Coffee espresso blend beans ground to a powder
Butter to coat muffin tin

Preheat oven to 375degrees F.

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water or use your double boiler. Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, flour and salt. Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color. Approximately 4 minutes.

Chill mixture. Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter. Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and center should be gooey. While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan. Stir in the Dunn Bros Coffee espresso powder. Serve over warm muffins.

If you are preparing these for an event you can complete the last step right before serving.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Every year we make New Year Resolutions…to loose weight, to eat healthier, to be kinder, to call family more, to give back to the community…the sad thing is most of these good intentioned resolutions are never followed through with.

So, I don’t make New Year Resolutions. Instead I make promises to myself throughout the year that I try to achieve. That way I never have to think about all the resolutions I break every year…I just think about all the wonderful things I accomplished. To me life is about focusing on the positive.

Whatever your New Year plan are this year….I wish you safe and Happy New Year!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
2 c. sugar
¾ c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs, beaten
2 (1oz) squares semisweet chocolate, melted
2 c. grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 c. miniature semisweet morsels

Preheat 325 degrees.

Grease 2 loaf pans. In a large bowl- beat sugar, oil, eggs and melted chocolate. Stir in zucchini and vanilla.

In a small bowl- sift flour, baking powder and soda. The stir flour mix into the large bowl until smooth. Stir in miniature chocolate morsels.

Bake for 45-55 minutes.

Oh the Butter

Paula Deen is the “Queen of Butter.” I laugh every time I watch her in the kitchen, cooking with any recipe that includes butter. She even had a whole show on “Butter” which was absolutely wonderful and full of great recipes.

But I will say out of all of the Paula Deen dessert recipes my favorite is her Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake, which I’ve posted about many times on my blog.

This recipe is the one dessert recipe I pull out when I want a delicious quick dessert for parties, birthdays, work functions or pot lucks. And the best part of this recipe is it can be mixed up and in the oven in less than 15 minutes. Oh, and did I mention it has two sticks of butter in it. TWO.

Try it next time you have an upcoming party, and just don’t have the time to spend half a day in the kitchen making a dessert. I’m making it next week for my Master Gardening class that I’m taking right now. Each Monday three of the students provide food for 30 Master Gardening Trainees. I hope my dessert is a hit, but truthfully I’m not that worried…you can never go wrong with any of Paula’s Gooey Butter Cake recipes.

Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake

by Paula Deen

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus additional butter, for greasing pan

1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix

1 egg, plus 2 eggs

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside.In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar.

Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Buttermilk Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream

How good does this cake sound!

This is one of my favorite desserts to make during the summer because the fresh strawberries. The berries really bring out the goodness in this cake.

I like to make this cake the night before, so it will be even more moist the next day. The buttermilk gives the cake a tangy and fun taste and texture also.

This dessert is sure to be on the table’s of many summer bbq’s this year!

Buttermilk Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream
by Paula Deen

3 C. flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks butter, softened
½ C. vegetable shortening (oil)
3 C. sugar
5 eggs
1 C. buttermilk
1 T. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10 inch bundt pan.

Sift flour, soda, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and oil with mixer till fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Add dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture, ending and beginning with the flour mixture. Add vanilla and mix.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until cake is done. (Cake will pull away from the sides of the pan when ready). Let cake cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cake plate.

Serve slices with drizzled strawberries and whipped cream.

Fresh Strawberry Topping
½ C. sugar
2 pint strawberries, sliced thin and hulled

Dissolve sugar in 1/3 C. warm water, add to strawberries in a medium bowl and toss and smash berries a little. Let stand for 1 hour. The berries will make their own juices.

Whipped Cream
1 C. whipping cream
½ C. sugar

Beat together until stiff with mixer.

Straight from Savannah

Straight from Savannah today…I little sweet treat from Paula once again.

I love tiramisu, and this easy dessert can be made ahead of your upcoming summer party. It’s very easy to whip up and “oh so yummy!”

Also, if you still haven’t checked-out Paula Deen’s website you should really take some time to do so. It’s organized so that you can search all her recipes and there’s an print button to easily print out her recipes…see here.

Savannah “Tiramisu”
By Paula Deen

2 dozen macaroons, crumbled
½ cup bourbon or rum
½ pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs, separated
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chopped pecans
1 dozen double ladyfingers
¾ cup heavy cream, whipped with 3 tablespoons sugar until stiff

Soak crumbled macaroons with bourbon or rum. Cream butter with sugar. Beat in lightly beaten egg yolks; add melted chocolate, vanilla, nuts and macaroons. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into chocolate mixture. Grease a spring form pan; line with separated ladyfingers. Alternate layers of chocolate mixture with remaining ladyfingers. Chill overnight. Remove from pan and decorate with whipped cream.

Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: none chill overnight
Ease of preparation: Easy

Recipe Mania

A friend recently emailed me requesting a recipe for a spicy pork marinade. She'd been to a restaurant and enjoyed the pork chops created with this recipe and wanted to duplicate it at home. Using the handful of recipe search sites on the Internet I found one that looked like a winner and sent it off to her.

For some reason, this exercise made me wonder just how many recipes there are in the world. The Internet alone must have archives of thousands if not millions. In addition, there are millions more in cookbooks, newspaper food columns and agricultural association brochures. This in turn made me wonder just how many of these recipes are unique and that's what led me to write this article.

It's said there are no new recipes anymore. New cookbooks contain reworkings of previously published recipes from cookbooks that contain adapted recipes from previously published recipes and so on. A subtle change here or there, a pinch of this instead of a half teaspoon of that and EUREKA, you've developed a new recipe.

Recipes themselves are copyright free meaning you may copy the list of ingredients in any way you want. It's the recipe name and instructions that are subject to copyright law so be sure if you switch a recipe to use as your own, you make significant changes in these areas.

If new cookbooks contain hashed over versions of old recipes, why are they so popular?

I call this phenomenon, recipe mania. Recipe or cookbook collecting is the American homemaker's number one hobby according to Avis Hulvey, editor of Cook's Notebook. I believe it, although I’m not a homemaker I have around 300 some cookbooks that I have acquired through the years. There appears to be some weird force that compels normally sensible people to feel they "must have" every published recipe in their kitchen or they'll expose themselves to culinary illiteracy. The irony is that even if we live significantly longer than average, we’ll still never have time to make all the recipes.

So getting back to that spicy pork marinade, what would I have done? I probably have the recipe right under my nose in my own obsessive collection of cookbooks and recipe literature. Finding a basic marinade recipe and adding a couple of chopped jalapeno’s or chili powder sounds reasonable to me.

The first point to remember when altering recipes is that all changes are experiments. The results could be a masterpiece or an inedible disaster. There lies the fun in adapting or altering recipes not to mention satisfying creative impulses. You become a culinary pioneer or mock food scientist in your quest to develop something new.

Until next time…keep your hands floured and your ovens warm!

Oatmeal Pudding Cookies
from Becky Spencer of Stotts City

1 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 package of instant vanilla or butterscotch pudding (I use sugar free)
2 eggs
3 ½ cups of quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup of raisins

Mix flour with baking soda. Combine butter, both sugars, and pudding mix in a large bowl; beat until smooth and creamy. Bet in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and then stir in oats and raisins. (Batter will be stiff) Drop onto a ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Crab Cakes Anyone?

A friend of mine was looking for a great crab cake recipe that wasn’t very difficult to put together. I saw Paula makes these and just had to try them.

These are wonderful with the lemon-dill sauce! I’m going to serve them for an upcoming wedding shower I’m throwing for one of my girlfriends.

(Photo from Food Network)

Crab Cakes with Lemon-Dill Sauce
By Paula Deen

Lemon Dill Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

Crab Cakes:

3 tablespoons butter

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

Cayenne pepper

1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 pound white or claw crabmeat, picked free of any bits of shell

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled. The sauce will thicken as it chills.

To prepare the crab cakes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the pepper is limp, approximately 3 minutes. Add the cream, mustard, 1 egg, parsley, cayenne pepper and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, to taste, and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.

Form the mixture into 8 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with the Parmesan. Pat this topping onto both sides of the patties. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Using a skillet, combine the oil and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Saute the crab cakes in the hot oil-butter mixture for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. These crab cakes can also be baked for 7 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.

To serve, spoon a dollop of the lemon dill sauce along side each crab cake.