Dessert

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Fudge

- Mama 3 Comments

Tomorrow is one of my favorite holidays of the entire year… Peanut Butter Lovers Day! I had to celebrate in style.

When the amazing people at Hershey’s sent me some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for Valentine’s Day, I knew I’d celebrate in style!

Growing up, my favorite part of the Peanut Butter Cup was the middle. I’d painstakingly eat all of the chocolate off of the edges, then gently peel off the top and bottom chocolate, saving the peanut butter filling for last. When I started doing my own grocery shopping and found out they make Reese’s Peanut Butter, it totally blew my peanut butter loving mind.

Peanut Butter Fudge is actually surprisingly easy to make, and it’s SO rich and delicious. The best part of it, though, is that it tastes just like the middle of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Start by unwrapping a cup or two of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis. Try not to eat at least a million while you do so (I failed at my attempt not to eat them).

According to the National Peanut Board, peanuts actually originated in Peru or Brazil. Even though they don’t have any fossils to prove this, it’s been the oldest known location of pottery and decor made to look like peanuts and actually decorated with peanuts. However, peanuts were considered food for animals and poor people in the early 1800’s when they got their start in the United States.

Next, you’ll want to sift 4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. By going ahead and doing this step in advance, the fudge will go more quickly later.

It wasn’t until Barnum’s Circus, yes THAT Barnum, that peanuts were sold to the masses at circus events, saying “Hot Roasted Peanuts!” They became insanely popular after that. While Peanut Butter itself was likely invented close to when peanuts where first cultivated, it also had a delayed popularity in the United States. Kellogg, from the cereal company, was considered the first here to create peanut butter.

Now, take some time to line your pan with Saran Wrap or parchment. This will make it much easier to lift out of the pan and cut into squares!

After Kellogg came up with peanut butter, a doctor in St. Louis started using it for patients that couldn’t chew meat, since it was a great source of protein and could be eaten easily with no teeth. It wasn’t made for the masses until the World’s Fair in 1904. It became a huge lifesaver in the World Wars, as it packed a major protein punch! It’s during World War II that the peanut butter and jelly sandwich got it’s start, and it hasn’t fallen out of style since.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 sticks of butter and a 16 ounce container of Reese’s Creamy Peanut Butter. Creamy is important– in a crunchy peanut butter, the nuts will sink to the bottom when melted and leave an uneven, broken texture in your fudge. Creamy Peanut Butter will keep the fudge extra creamy, which is perfect for a great taste.

So what about Peanut Butter Cups, then, in terms of history? Invented by a Dairy Farmer named H.B. Reese who formerly shipped chocolate for the Hershey Company, they were popularized quickly. From day one, they were made using Hershey’s Chocolate. It wasn’t the only candy that Reese made, but it was the only one that really experienced popularity, so the others were scrapped to keep the Cups.

Stir occasionally, letting it melt, then slowly bring it to a boil. Stir in a teaspoon of vanilla.

There are now tons of varieties of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, including limited edition kinds and the oh-so-fun seasonal varieties like Reese’s eggs!

When it boils, remove it from the heat and stir the powdered sugar into it. Also stir in about half of your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis, which will melt instantly, adding a hint of chocolate flavor to your Peanut Butter Fudge. Set this aside, then take some of your remaining Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis and line the pan with rows of them.

Carefully spread your fudge mixture into the pan, then press in some more minis, which will also melt a bit on contact. Then, resist eating it and slide it into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour while you lick the bowl.

Then, slice and serve! As always, sharing is optional.

 

Are you celebrating Peanut Butter Lover’s Day tomorrow? Let me know what you’re munching on in the comments below!

 

Disclosure: I received Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis from the Hershey Company as part of the Be Mine, Hershey’s Promotion. However, any opinions stated above are my own.

Memories of My Grandfather (With Oatmeal Raisin Bar Recipe)

- Mama 2 Comments

Please keep reading for a very special recipe from my Grandfather’s collection.

Cholangiocarcinoma. That’s… not an easy word to say, to spell, but once it becomes a part of your life, it’s a word you can’t forget. I like to know my grandfather as someone who wasn’t defined by the cancer that eventually took his life. But truly, I remember so many things before the cancer was a part of his life. Today would have been my grandfather’s birthday.

For a short time in my youngest years, my mother and I lived with my grandparents. I am often told the story of a time when I was very little, on Christmas Eve. I wouldn’t go to sleep at all, wanting to stay up. Then finally, out my grandparents’ house window, someone pointed out the lights from the radio towers nearby… flashing red lights, akin to Rudolph’s nose. I got so excited, knowing Santa was near, and knowing he wouldn’t visit if I was awake, I rushed to bed. I was asleep within minutes.

As a young girl, I had a variety of makeup brushes to play with at my grandparents’ house. I’d sit there for hours looking in the mirror putting on “MakeMuck.” My grandfather was a hairdresser for most of his life, and he formed a lasting bond with all of his regular customers. It seems he continued those friendships with many of them even after his retirement.

My grandfather had a passion for horses. A World Champion in the Missouri Foxtrotters Show circuit, and a Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association Hall of Fame Inductee, he truly loved horses with all of his heart. Because of that, at a young age, I did the whole Stick Horse Circuit, riding around a stick with a stuffed-animal style horse head in the arena. I never got into his passion for horses, but his love of them meant the boot closet in the old house always smelled like worn leather and, others say, manure. When I close my eyes, I can picture the smell of the boot closet, bringing back memories of my grandfather coming in from doing chores.

One of my earliest memories in life was a memory of my grandfather. I had read The Foot Book a million times, listened to it a million more, so when I’d sit and read it, no one would believe that I was really, truly reading it.

I changed everyone’s minds when I crawled up into my granddad’s lap, as he sat in his chair, and started reading that day’s paper. There’s no way I could have memorized it– it was the edition from that day. The things I was reading had been unread by others in the room, and it was clear that I really did know how to read.

When my grandfather was ill, and we’d go down to visit, I loved that we were able to bond over episodes of Jeopardy. He always told me I should go on the show– that I knew so many of the answers. In reality, once there, I’d choke and never get one right. I’d rather be a good couch player.

February is Cholangiocarcinoma awareness month. Cholangiocarcinoma is very rare. It’s not something you expect to take you, especially so quickly. This cancer is rare, arising from tissue in the bile duct. Only about 5% of Cholangiocarcinoma cases are inside the liver, the way my grandfather’s cancer was. There’s a very small chance that people diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma will survive longer than 5 years, and in fact, because it’s caught so late, even 6 months is a long survival rate.

However, The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation is working very hard to find a cure by promoting collaboration, understanding research, and education about Cholangiocarcinoma. You can help them achieve this mission by donating.

When my grandfather passed, he left me the recipes and cookbooks, many of them old family favorites, handwritten on scraps of paper or pulled from newspapers. These incredible recipes are a huge part of my heritage. One special treasured recipe that he loved, that everyone seemed to love, was the recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Bars that my grandfather’s mother would make when he was younger.

With a flaky, buttery crust and crumble top, and a rich raisin filling, these bars are spot-on and perfect for bake sales, potlucks, or even just enjoying on a Sunday afternoon.

You’ll begin by taking 1 cup of raisins, 1/2 a cup of water, and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Right now, you can see all of the little wrinkles on the raisins, and the clarity of the water.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer as you stir constantly, mashing the raisins a bit with a fork. The raisins will get plump, losing some of their wrinkles, and the water will start to disappear, the water darkening into a syrup. You will want to cook them until there is nearly no liquid left. Set the raisins aside to finish soaking up liquid.

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups instant oats, 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. This will make the start of your crust.

Add in 1/3 cup of melted butter and 1 egg white to create a course crusty dough.

Press half of the crust into a greased pan, making sure it’s well-packed and sturdy.

Spread the raisin mixture evenly over the bottom crust. This will bake nicely in to create a sweet filling.

Press the other half of the crust mixture gently over the raisins. You’ll want to bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned. Cool the bars for a minimum of 1 hour in the pan on a cooling rack before slicing.

Wacky Eggless Microwave Mug Cakes

- Mama 7 Comments

I love cake. If you’ve been reading here awhile, that’s no surprise to you– I post about cake a LOT. But sometimes, a full cake is just way too much to have around the house, which is why I love an easy mug cake.

So, when Wacky Apple sent me a great package of their products to try out, I knew that those applesauce containers would be perfect for mug cakes! And, after seeing the yummy applesauce flavors I had available, I knew I had to make more than one– I just couldn’t decide.

I started off with the Cinnamon applesauce. They’re so much you can do with a cinnamon flavor, and I thought a Carrot cake would compliment the flavors well.

To make an eggless microwave mug carrot cake, you’ll want to start out with frosting. After all, what’s a carrot cake without a delicious cream cheese frosting? This one is so easy for a single serving!

Mix 1 1/2 Tablespoons of softened cream cheese with 4 Tablespoons powdered sugar until it’s smooth, then pop it in the fridge while you make your cake.

For the cake, in a small bowl, mix 6 Tablespoons all purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 salt, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.

In your microwave-safe mug, mix 6 Tablespoons milk, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, and a grated baby carrot.

Add in 2 Tablespoons of Wacky Apple Cinnamon Applesauce. This will add a nice underlying cinnamon flavor to the carrot cake. Slowly add in the flour mixture.

If you’d like to, add in a Tablespoon of pecans (I like the cookie pieces) and some chopped raisins. Microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, then let stand for 30 seconds before removing and adding frosting.

The great thing about Wacky Apple Applesauce cups is that there’s about enough applesauce for 2 mug cakes per applesauce cup! If you’re not familiar with Wacky Apple, they’re a great Colorado based company that produces organic apple snacks, including juice, applesauce, and flat fruits fruit leather. The products are all made from organic apples, containing no pesticides, and the products contain no added water or sugar.

Another great applesauce flavor that Wacky Apple makes is a Mango Applesauce. I just knew it would be perfect for a tropical-inspired cake!

Start by mixing 6 Tablespoons of all purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.

In your microwave safe mug, stir together 6 Tablespoons milk, 2 Tablespoons of Wacky Apple Mango Applesauce, 1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla extract, and 1 Tablespoon grated coconut.

Add in a Tablespoon of crushed or fresh pineapple, then microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. Let sit in the microwave for another 30 seconds before topping with whipped cream and a cherry.

I decided to finish my mug cake trio with a delicious rich chocolate mug cake.

Start with 4 Tablespoons all purpose flour, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cocoa, and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder in a microwave safe mug.

Stir in 3 Tablespoons milk, 3 Tablespoons of Wacky Apple Golden Applesauce, and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Finish with 1 Tablespoon of white chocolate chips. The golden applesauce adds great moisture to the cake without overpowering the chocolate flavor of it.

Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, let stand for 30 seconds, and then finish with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

These cakes are honestly really good plain, without the frosting or whipped topping… but who can resist the fun toppings, right?

Oh my… now THAT’s a mug cake. Or three.

So you’ve seen how easy eggless mug cakes are with the use of delicious applesauce… but let’s talk about Wacky Apple a little more.

If you’re a fan of fruit leather sort of things, you’ll love these flat fruits. I seriously don’t know who loves them more– me or my son. They’re actually a really wholesome snack and they’re really satisfying when you want something sweet. I love them, and they’re the perfect size for stashing in a purse to take to church for the kiddos, packing in a lunch box with a sticky note of affection, or bringing to the park with you.

Of course, I already shared the delicious applesauces with you.

And their juice? Let’s just say that not only does it taste good, but it’s REAL juice. And that’s really important when you’re giving kids juice! It should have real fruit in it, and Wacky Apple uses real fruit, not just artificial flavors and added sugar.

So now the fun part. Who wants to win a pack of Wacky Apple products for themselves? I mean, if you win, sharing with your family is totally optional, because trust me, I could eat Wacky Apple all the time if my son didn’t fight me for it. One lucky winner will get a Wacky Apple pack of their very own!

All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me which Wacky Apple product shown you’d like to try the most, and you’re eligible to win! I’ll pick a winner on February 19 at 11:59pm Central time, and Wacky Apple will ship the prize to the winner.

 

So what are you waiting for? Get commenting!

 

Disclaimer: I received free Wacky Apple product in exchange for my honest review. However, all opinions above are my own honest opinions.

Prize info: Open to US residents 18 years or older. Contest ends February 19, 2014, 11:59pm Central Standard Time. Only one comment entry eligible per person. Prize Package contents may vary from the images shown above.

Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake

- Mama 4 Comments

Ah, Red Velvet Cake… it’s easily one of the prettiest cakes out there, whether you’re a fan of the taste or not. When I stumbled upon a red velvet cake recipe in my inherited recipe, I just knew I had to try it.

Why? Because the recipe claimed, on good authority, that it was THE Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake with Ermine Icing… oh, dear sweet, sweet goodness.

But it turns out that the Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake isn’t quite the same as most people know Red Velvet Cake. While the original recipe was a Depression-era recipe, it turns out that it died in popularity until a little movie called “Steel Magnolias.” Yeah, yeah, polish off that box of Kleenex while watching the film again, and notice the red velvet armadillo groom’s cake.

You’ll start making this famous cake by creaming together one softened stick of butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar.

Following the Steel Magnolias related boost in popularity, the cake got more attention when the beautiful “chicken or fish” Jessica Simpson chose it has her wedding cake when she married Nick Lachey, the hottie from 98 Degrees.

Add in 2 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, stirring until it’s fully combined. Go ahead and add a lot of food coloring at this stage. I used half of a small container of Wilton No Taste Red, but you can use any food coloring you see fit.

When the cupcake trend became widespread and there was a cupcake shop opening on every corner, pretty much every one decided to feature a Red Velvet Cupcake. Why? Because it’s so darn pretty, that’s why! Heck, even Emma Stone, of Easy A, Marmaduke, and Crazy Stupid Love fame, once said “You’re a human being, and life is wonderful, so eat the d*mn red velvet cupcake.”

In a separate bowl, sift 2 1/2 cups of pre-sifted flour, 2 Tablespoons of cocoa, and 1 teaspoon of salt together.

Rumor had it that quite some time ago, a diner at the Waldor Astoria’s hotel was so in love with their Red Velvet cake that she requested the recipe. The hotel refused, but she insisted, asking if she could purchase the recipe instead. The waitress replied, “Of course! It’ll be three fifty.” The diner accepted, but was later mailed a bill… for $350.00! (In a time when that would buy 3 months worth of groceries or more for a family of four). She tried to fight it, but her lawyer insisted since she had received the recipe, she had to pay. To get even with the Waldorf Astoria by spreading the recipe far and wide to make sure that everyone had a copy of the recipe and wouldn’t have to pay like she did.

Grab your egg and sugar mixture and add in parts of the flour mixture and parts of 1 Cup buttermilk alternately until all of the flour and all of the buttermilk are added in. At the very end, add in a Tablespoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of baking powder. You know how when you make a volcano for the science fair, and you get that bubbly eruption when you mix vinegar and baking powder? That’s the same thing happening in this cake to give it that perfect velvety texture.

You want to know a secret about that Waldorf Astoria story? The one about how everyone came to know how to make red velvet cake? Yeah, so… it doesn’t happen to be true. The truth of the matter is, when the Depression hit and people had to cut back on unnecessary things, including food coloring and extracts.

Divide your red batter into three greased 8 inch pans. If you’re the type of person who butters and flours, you can substitute a light dusting of cocoa instead to erase that white layer from your cake. This will give you your layers. You’ll bake these at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Let these cool on a wire rack.

The truth of the matter about how Red Velvet Cake became popular in households in the Depression era is that it was actually a very clever marketing ploy. When people stopped buying coloring and extracts, it really sucked for the people at the Adams Extract Company, who, as the name implies, made their living from selling extracts and colorings. To try and gain back some income, the Adams Extract Company revamped an old recipe to make sure it used their red food coloring– a lot of it!

You see, Red Velvet Cake had been around, but the hue was very subtle, created by the way vinegar, cocoa, and buttermilk reacted in the cake, giving it a soft scarlet tint. Adams decided to pack a punch and make an impact AND make some money. When they revamped the cake, they added their own Red Velvet Coloring… TWO BOTTLES of it.

Now that Red Velvet Cake has become a “thing” again, with celebrity endorsements and cupcakery features galore, you see it slathered with Cream Cheese Icing. But no, no no, that’s not how Red Velvet Cake began. A real, Waldorf-Astoria style, Adams Extract Company Red Velvet Cake features something called an Ermine Frosting.

Ermine frosting is a silky cooked frosting that starts by mixing 1/4 cup of flour and 1 cup of milk in a saucepan over low heat. You want to stir it until it begins to thicken, basically making a roux. You’ll want to continue stirring constantly until you get a pudding-like consistency.

When it looks like this, you’re getting really close.

And when it looks like this, your roux is done, then it’s time to get started on part 2 of your frosting.

In a separate bowl, while your roux cools, you’ll want to beat 1 cup shortening and 1 cup sugar until it’s fluffy, like this, then add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Once your roux has cooled fully, beat it into the shortening mixture until the frosting is silky. This frosting cannot be overbeat– it’s just going to keep getting a silky texture! It won’t curdle like a buttercream frosting.

You can take the cooled cakes and layer them with the Ermine frosting, giving it a generous coat, then dirty ice the entire cake. Dirty icing just means to put a really quick coating of frosting on the cake, covering it, before you cover it with other decor. You don’t have to smooth it out. For the technique I’m showing you today, though, you’ll want to be sure the top of your cake is smooth. The sides can be rough like mine.

The frosting technique I’m going to show you today is a stunning ruffled technique that takes very little effort. Take a piping bag and put a large round tip in. I used a Wilton 2A.

Holding the piping bag at a 90 degree angle to the cake side, you’ll pipe dots of frosting vertically down the cake.

Squeeze and release, keeping the dots as uniform as possible.

Grab a spoon or an angled spatula (again, I’m a big fan of Wilton’s small angled spatula) and drag the dot sideways. Repeat this all the way down the dot row you piped.

Pipe a second row of dots on top of the tail of your first row, then flatten those, the same way you did the first, working all the way around the cake. Finish the cake by piping a row of small dots around the top edge of the cake.

Your finished cake will be a showstopper, and sure to woo anyone who sees or tastes it.

One bite of that velvety cake and that silky satin frosting, and you’ll be in heaven. I promise.

You see, Adams Extract Company knew what they were doing when they created this cake. It was so popular, so beautiful, and offered on free recipe cards at the grocery store that everyone in that era was making red velvet cake when they could afford to. And with a tagline like “The cake of a wife time,” it was, well, rather popular back in the day.

I’m not sure that Adams Extract Company realized that, in 2014, this cake would still be all the rage. Luckily, it was a cake that saved them through the Great Depression. In fact, it’s still around today, over 125 years after it got it’s start.

Now that you know how to make Red Velvet Cake and Ermine Icing, well, the sky is the limit. Adding blue food coloring will get you a beautiful Blue Suede Cake, which you could make in honor of the King’s hip wiggle, or you could go all Cupcake Wars and make your very own Red Velvet Cupcake. Cake Balls also work.

Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake
1/2 C Butter or Shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 C sifted flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp vinegar

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat well. Add coloring and vanilla. Sift flour, salt, and cocoa together. Add this and buttermilk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in vinegar and baking soda last. Divide batter among three greased and floured 8 inch cake pans. Bake 30 minutes at 350 or until cake tests done. Fill and top with Ermine Frosting.

Ermine Frosting
1 C Milk
1/4 C flour
1 C shortening
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Stir milk and flour together in medium saucepan. Cook over low heat to pudding consistency. Set aside to cool. Beat shortening and sugar with electric mixer at high speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Add cooled milk mixture with vanilla. Continue beating– you cannot overbeat this!– until the frosting is silky. Spread between layers and on top of cooled cake.

Are you making something Red Velvet this Valentine’s Day? Let me know all about it in the comments below!

Cherry Nut Cake

- Mama 1 Comment

I’m a huge fan of cherries. And also nuts and coconut. That’s why, when I found this recipe lurking in my box of inherited recipes, I knew I’d have to try it. I mean, I haven’t tried an inherited recipe I didn’t love, so this one was very likely to be great. My family had great taste when they were compiling that recipe box (I mean, I’m sure they still do, but that box is a goldmine of awesome flavor combinations!)

You’ll want to start with everything pictured: a box of Betty Crocker Cherry Chip cake mix, a box of Jello Vanilla Instant Pudding, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1 1/4 cup buttermilk, and a cup each of pecans and coconut. I really like the Fisher nuts Cookie Pieces because they’re chopped so finely that you get a little taste of pecan in every bite, but normally chopped nuts will work. Don’t have buttermilk on hand? It’s okay. Put 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar in your measuring cup, then pour milk in to make 1 1/4 cups total. Let that sit for about 5 minutes, and you’ll have a very similar flavor.

Start by putting everything except the pecans and the coconut into a bowl, then mixing. You’ll want a fairly large bowl for this, because there is a good amount of volume here. Once mixed, you can leave it as-is, or do what I did and add a few drops of red food coloring for a lovely pink color. I added 5 drops of Americolor Red into my cake batter.

Fold in your nuts and coconut. As you’ll see, there are literally bits of nuts and coconut in every bite of this cake. It’s also an incredibly moist cake!

Pour your batter into a well-greased bundt pan, and put it in the oven. This will bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes.

The best way to cool this cake is to put it on a wire rack and leave it in the pan for a full hour. It’ll allow the underside of the pan to get air circulation, as well, for a quicker cooling than just setting it on your countertop. You don’t want to turn it out onto a plate yet, because this additional in-pan time helps the cake finish baking and getting perfectly set.

Once the cake has cooled for an hour in the pan, you can flip it carefully onto a plate. Then, take a bit of powdered sugar and sift it over your cake for a light dusted topping. You might want to let the cake wait a bit longer before cutting into it.

Then, you can slice it and serve. I drizzled this plate with a little bit of chocolate syrup and grenadine. Yummy!

This is the perfect cake to take to a pot luck dinner, or serve to your beloved on V-Day. It’s effortless and tastes so good, like you made it from scratch.

 

Because this cake isn’t covered in frosting, but instead lightly dusted, it’s a huge calorie saver, clocking in at only 211 calories per half-inch slice, according to MyFitnessPal. Changing ingredients could change the amount of calories, so always be sure to double-check.

 

Do you have a special cake that is a pot luck staple? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Asian Dipped Almond Cookies

- Mama 2 Comments

I absolutely love Chinese New Year. It’s such a fun holiday filled with tradition and excitement, and it’s just so exciting. And the year of the Horse this year? That’s really exciting. Today begins a very important celebration in the Chinese calendar… so important that it’s the longest holiday celebrated in their year. Because the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the month starts on the darkest day of the lunar month (the first of the lunar month) and continuing until the brightest night, often the 15th day of the lunar month.

This recipe is so easy, that it is perfect for children to bake with supervision! This post will also give you a chance to brush up on some Chinese New Year and Fortune Cookie facts, so you can learn more about these cookies, and New Year tradition, while you bake together!

While fortune cookies aren’t inherently Chinese, they ARE delicious, and I had to try my hand at creating an Asian-inspired cookie that tastes very similar to a fortune cookie, complete with fortune printables for you!

The first step to these cookies is to download the printable found at the bottom of this post, and cut apart the fortunes. Trust me, you don’t want to start the cookies without doing this step, or they’ll break when you try to roll them, as they’ll have cooled too much. It’s good to do this step first.

So, with this being the year of the horse, it’s important to realize that those born in the year of the horse are considered to be cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, talented, witty, and good with their hands.

As a dragon, I’m enthusiastic, quick-witted, and sometimes a little hot-headed. But I inspire confidence, and that’s a good thing. Plus, when life knocks me down, the Chinese Zodiac says I’m dauntless and get right back up. I think Dragon suits me well!

Gather your ingredients next. You’ll also want to add white chocolate chips and sprinkles if you plan to dip them, as pictured! They’re tasty undipped, too, but they’re so pretty dipped! To be a little clearer, you’ll want 2 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract (a little goes a long way!), 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, a generous pinch of salt, and the white chocolate and sprinkles.

Rembrandt, Harrison Ford, Aretha Franklin, Chopin, and President Theodore Roosevelt are all Horses according to Chinese Zodiac, so if you’re a horse, you’re in good company.

Start by beating the egg whites and almond extract until they’re foamy, but NOT stiff. They’ll look nice and frothy, as shown.

At Chinese New Year celebrations, people don red clothing, decorate the place with poems on red paper, and red envelopes are given to children, containing lucky money! Red is significant because it represents fire, and fire is a great way to drive away bad luck! For the same bad luck hates fire reason, fireworks are shot off in beautiful displays.

In a separate bowl, you can sift your flour, sugar, and salt.

While fortune cookies aren’t Chinese, they actually might not be Chinese-American, either. Invented in California, there’s a lot of debate about how they got their start. Today, though, they’re definitely equated with Chinese food in most Americans’ minds, just like Chop Suey (which is also not Chinese).

Slowly mix your flour mixture into your egg mixture to create a cookie batter.

A possible source of the fortune cookie is David Jung. He immigrated from China and opened a restaurant in LA. He saw poor walking the streets and, in 1918, was rumored to hand out the cookies free to give them something to eat, each containing inspirational Bible scripture, written for the restaurant owner by a minister.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the cookie batter far apart on a greased cookie sheet. Your oven should be preheated to 400.

Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese gardener living in San Francisco, is another possible source of the fortune cookie. He designed the famous tea garden in Golden Gate Park; he was fired from his gardening job when an anti-Japanese mayor took office, but later, a different mayor reinstated him! As a thank you, he decided to bake cookies with thank you notes inside, passing them out in the Japanese Tea Garden in 1914. They became so popular that they were a regular staple of the tea garden, and were even shown off at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition, a World Fair in San Francisco in 1915.

Both San Francisco and Los Angeles claim the cookie, and even historical review courts can’t agree.

Spray a spoon with cooking spray and use it to spread the cookies into a wafer-thin layer. It’ll make them have a nice crispy crunch when cooked!

Originally made by hand using chopsticks, today’s fortune cookies are made by machine. For good reason, too– the largest manufacturer of fortune cookies ship out over 60 million cookies every month. That’s nearly 2 million each day!

This is when you have to work quickly, and because the cookies are SO hot, it’s a job best for adults. As soon as you pull the pan from the oven, place a fortune on it and roll the cookie up. It will be VERY hot, I’ll say again.

If you let the cookies wait more than about 45 seconds, they’ll start to crack when rolled– that’s why you need to cook only 3-4 to a pan.

If you place the folded cookies next to each other, they’ll keep each other from unwrapping themselves until they cool off a bit.

From here, you’ll want to melt white chocolate and dip the ends in the chocolate to create the dipped look shown in the first image. I also chose to sprinkle some adorable sprinkles on while the chocolate was wet.

If you’re concerned about the cookies being too hot for you to comfortably roll, are cooking with very young kids, or just don’t want to risk breaking any, you can always leave them flat. I packaged mine up a few to a bag, with a fortune in the bag! Same flavor, same fortune, less rolling.

You’ll get a dozen cookies out of the recipe! And you can fight it out amongst yourselves whether the cookies are from LA or San Francisco, but either way, no one will be arguing that the flavor is amazing!

You can download my fortune printable here!

 

Counting calories this Chinese New Year? These cookies clock in at only 97 calories per dipped cookie!

 

Do you know your Chinese Zodiac sign? Let me know in the comments below!

Strawberries and Cream Miracle Cookies

- Mama 2 Comments

These cookies are nothing short of miraculous. Well, I mean, look at them. They look like your standard, very delicious, absolutely cute cookies.

But, they’re just a handful of ingredients, and they take almost no time at all. These are the kind of cookies you make when you say “I have to have cookies! Like now!” Or the kind of cookies you say “Oh! Crud! The school bake sale is today and I forgot to bake something!” But, they’re also the kind of cookies you make when you need something delicious, time-pressed or no, the kind of cookies that taste so much harder than they are. And that’s what’s miraculous, and also very, very dangerous about them.

For the base cookie, you just need a box of cake mix, a carton of whipped topping, and an egg. You’ll also need powdered sugar to roll the cookies in before baking. I chose to add in some white chocolate chips for that whole “and cream” bit. Strawberry is a fun, and unexpected, cookie flavor for Valentine’s day. While this cookie could easily be made with chocolate, or with red velvet, you’ll love the flavor of a strawberries and cream cookie amidst scores of chocolate choices in the Valentine’s season.

This is where things get almost stupidly easy. You toss your cake mix, your Cool Whip, and your egg into a bowl, and mix. It’ll be an extra thick cookie batter.

Like very thick! At this point, fold in your white chocolate chips. Then, roll the batter into balls.

Roll those balls in powdered sugar. Relish in the fact that you’re not having to take a picture one handed of this step– it’s tricky!

Place the balls several inches apart on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Waiting for them to cook is hard. You may be surrounded by people with their mouth open like little birds, just waiting for a taste of warm cookie, fresh from the oven.

Once cooled, you’re able to enjoy them! They’ve got a really great flavor, and they’re so easy, anyone could make them. The strawberries and cream is unique and exciting, something new!

They’ll be gone quickly! I promise!

 

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Counting calories this V-Day? There are only 140 Calories per cookie, and they’re way more satisfying than a hundred calorie pack! Calorie counts may vary.

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Trying a variation on these cookies? Let me know how they turn out in the comments below!

Grandma Sybil’s Banana Bread

- Mama 2 Comments

Some recipes are worth a sore wrist from stirring. Some are worth doing the old-fashioned way. And I’ve found that, even though there are a million and one ways that you can be creative with food, it’s good to have some staples in your recipe collection that are tried-and-true. This banana bread meets all of those requirements.

I first encountered this recipe in the recipe boxes I inherited from my grandfather. A nondescript recipe handwritten on a stained and tattered card, it held a lot of promise, and I kept saying “I’ll make this sometime when I have bananas that need to be used before they turn.” However, when I finally got around to making the bread, I realized it was a recipe worth leaving on top of the stack. It’s a favorite in my home, and I’m certain it’ll be a favorite in yours.

Because this recipe has to cool overnight for easiest slicing, it’s a great bread to make, cool while you sleep, and slice for breakfast the next morning. And, it’s easy enough that you can make it any night of the week.

The recipe starts with sifting together 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt into one bowl.

In a small liquid measuring cup, you’ll want to put a tablespoon of vinegar, then fill it to 1/2 cup with milk. Set this aside for a few minutes. If you’d rather use buttermilk in place of the vinegar-milk mixture, you can– they’re essentially the same thing.

In a second bowl, cream 1/2 cup shortening, then slowly add 1 cup of sugar. To this, you’ll add two eggs, one at a time, beating until light and fluffy after each.

Before you even start the recipe, it helps to bring eggs to room temperature. See, chilled eggs didn’t used to be an issue. Farm fresh eggs are shelf-stable, and don’t need to be refrigerated. Many farm-fresh eggs are stored at room temperature from the time you get them. In the UK, even store-bought eggs are kept unrefrigerated, completely shelf-stable. The difference between the UK and the US is that in the UK, ALL hens are required to be vaccinated for salmonella. However, in the United States, vaccinating hens is a choice– not a requirement. That’s why store-bought eggs in the US are suggested to be refrigerated. Additionally, in the United States, we’re serious about egg washing– which means in addition to washing off the dirt and grime from the freshly laid eggs, we’re also removing that barrier that helps prevent yucky stuff from getting into the eggs. Unfortunately, sometimes in cleaning, we add more dirt. It happens. Bringing them up to room temperature before baking, however, is totally safe.

So, you have a light and fluffy shortening-egg-sugar mixture. You also have a flour mixture, and a milk mixture. Finally, you’re going to make one last addition in a separate measuring cup– 1 cup of mashed bananas. It took 3 very ripe bananas to make a cup.

In small amounts, and alternating between them, add the flour mixture, the milk mixture, and the banana mixture, whisking/stirring after each addition as it continues to thicken from the flour. While I’m positive you could use a Kitchen-Aid or hand mixer, if Grandma Sybil was mixing by hand, so was I. I wanted to try this recipe as authentically as possible– making it just as she did.

Turn the batter into a greased bread tin, and bake for 60-70 minutes. Mine was done after 65 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove the bread from the pan, cooling overnight, or at least for several hours, before slicing.

You can, of course, add chopped walnuts to your bread. I chose not to, since my family has enough nuts in it that adding more seemed counter-intuitive.

This bread is really good microwaved for another 10-20 seconds and spread with a little bit of fresh butter.

Once you try it, you’ll realize that it’s a staple recipe, worthy of a hand-written index card in your collection. Hopefully, over time, your copy will become as well-worn and loved as mine, covered in splatters and stains.

The recipe, as Sybil wrote it:

Banana Bread

2 cups sifted all purpose flour, 1 tsp soda, 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 tbl (tablespoon) vinegar plus milk to make 1/2 cup
Broken pecans or walnuts (optional)

Method:

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Cream shortening, blend in sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Add flour mixture alternately with bananas and liquid, beating after each addition. Turn into greased bread tin and bake 60 minutes to 70 minutes or until done at 350. Remove from pan and cool several hours or overnight before slicing. Nuts can be added last.

 

Do you have a favorite old family recipe? Don’t forget, if you love this recipe, or hope to try it, you can pin it on Pinterest, or share it on Facebook to save it to your profile!

(Almost) Starbucks Peppermint Brownie Cake Balls

- Mama 2 Comments

I did a bad thing, guys. I started rewarding Zach and I for successful shopping trips by occasionally grabbing a cake pop from Starbucks for each of us. It started out occasionally, but then we both really liked it… and it became the standard rather than the exception. And now, it seems inescapable. Every shopping trip, we’re lured in by the smell of coffee, cocoa, and pastries. And don’t even get me started on the amazing Starbucks Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops. Zach and I just can’t get enough.

However, I also realized I couldn’t always pay $3.00 for two cake pops. Especially since they’re surprisingly easy to make at home. So, after spending lots of time and money taste testing the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops, I knew I had perfected a copycat. It took eating many, many Starbucks cake pops, though. Or, actually, it didn’t, but I really like those darn cake pops. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

The best part about the copycat recipe is it literally only costs about $0.25 per cake ball versus $1.50+ each. And it tastes almost identical. Start out with a Betty Crocker Hershey’s Premium Cupcake Mix. The mix includes a filling pouch in addition to the cake mix, and you’ll use both for this recipe, eliminating the need for extra frosting to make these cake balls. You’ll also want to grab the ingredients listed on the back of the cake mix box to make the cake, some Nestle White Morsels (or your white chocolate of choice), and the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Pieces.

Prepare the cake mix as listed on the back of the box, but instead of putting it in cupcake liners, bake it in an 8 inch round pan at 350 for about 28-30 minutes. Let it cool completely.

Once it’s totally cool, you’ll practically massacre the cake. You’re just going to dig in and shred it up really fine. It’s especially fun to do in front of those people who haven’t seen cake balls made before. It also helps to add a cackle or two as you shred it, to make people think you’ve really gone off your rocker. I did this in front of my boyfriend, and you could see him cringing over me taking a beautiful cake and shredding it to bits. He, of course, stopped protesting once he tasted the finished product. Pour in the contents of the filling pouch and mix the destroyed cake with the filling pouch.

Then, roll them into balls with a diameter roughly the size of a quarter. You’ll get about 20 cake balls out of this.

Melt your morsels in the microwave in 30 second increments, then dip your balls into the melted chocolate and tap off the excess.

While the chocolate is still a little wet, sprinkle on the Andes Peppermint Crunch bits. You’ll want it to still be a little wet so they stick, but don’t slide off. If you waited too long and the balls hardened already, don’t fret– you can spoon a little extra chocolate over the top before sprinkling on the bits!

You can, of course, serve them Starbucks-Style on a stick, but I prefer to tuck them into cupcake liners (or just eat the whole batch while I’m topping them, more often).

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never dip quite evenly enough to make them look like Starbucks does, but at least they’ll taste the same. If you happen to be a pro cake pop dipper, your friends and family will never know the difference between yours and the real deal!

 

What’s YOUR favorite coffee shop treat? Let me know in the comments below! Who knows, I may even try to duplicate it!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles

- Mama 4 Comments

I know we’re starting to get to the part of the year where everyone is saying “Pumpkin’s out! Bring on the peppermint!” However, I couldn’t resist just one more fall recipe before Thanksgiving. I kind of view Thanksgiving as that time where you transition from fall to winter. It’s like the last Hurrah for pumpkin spice lattes, caramel apple cider, and other truly fall-ish treats before they disappear and it’s all peppermint mochas and salted caramel brownies until spring.

So, think of these truffles as, like, Custer’s Last Stand, but in Pumpkin form. It’s Pumpkin’s Last Stand, and it promises to please and leave you with nothing but good pumpkin memories to get you through the sea of Winter Wonderland.

You’ll need everything pictured above, and water. I didn’t include water because I’m really hoping y’all have some on hand and I don’t have to tell you to buy it.

I’ve shared with you about this Duncan Hines mix before, but I have to share again, because, hello, it’s really awesome. See, when I went to New Jersey this year to the Duncan Hines Test Kitchen, I got the opportunity to reconnect with a lot of really great people, like Chef Joe. And while we were chatting, a lot of us were throwing some ideas out there that we’d love to see. It was dinner, and we were brainstorming. And this was one idea that I shared with Chef Joe. I told him I’d love to see a Pumpkin Spice Decadent mix come from Duncan Hines, similar to their Red Velvet Decadent Mix, the Strawberry Cheesecake mix, and the amazing chocolate Decadent Mix they’ve created. Because, y’know, I’m a huge pumpkin fan.

Chef Joe kind of looked at me like “Yeah, okay. I don’t know. Seasonal products can be hard sometimes because there’s not a ton of time that seasonal products are in stores.” My hopes were a little dashed, I suppose. Then my awesome friend Jeannie suggested that Duncan Hines do seasonal products on a shipper, which is a type of cardboard display, to make sure they have more prominence in stores. It was a great idea, but again, Chef Joe was kind of “Eh, I don’t know.”

So then, the next day, we were all getting pumped up. They were about to do a big reveal of the NEW products coming from Duncan Hines! It is always such an exciting part of our trip, to see the new products that Duncan Hines is releasing. They pulled back the curtain, and… OHMYGOSH! It was a Decadent Mix… but not just any decadent mix. It was THIS decadent mix. Pumpkin! I was dying. Then, they revealed the next seasonal product and, in the words of my dear friend Jeannie, “Dontchaknow, it was on a shipper!”

Chef Joe said it was SO hard not to tell us the night before, but he just had to wait for the big reveal! It’s the key thing that tells me they really did listen to our thoughts and advice from the previous year. I definitely get how Chef Joe said it was hard to keep it a secret, though, because then *I* had to keep it a secret from all of you until it hit stores! Crazy! In fact, I still have a few secrets that my lips are sealed on.

Anyway, just like the other Duncan Hines Decadent Mixes, this cupcake mix comes with your cupcake mix (enough for twelve), frosting mix, and a pastry bag so you can fill and decorate cupcakes easily. You’ll want to set the frosting mix and pastry bag aside for now, and grab your cupcake mix.

Mix it up according to the ingredient instructions on the back of the box, but instead of putting it in a cupcake pan…

…put it in a greased 8″ round cake pan. I used my Wilton Ultragold for this one. Bake at 350 for about 28-30 minutes, then remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.

While that cools, you’ll want to mix the frosting pouch, but you’re going to just totally disregard the package directions for this one. Take 1 block of softened Philadelphia cream cheese (8 oz) and mix it with the frosting pouch using your mixer of choice until it’s well blended and creamy. Don’t add the water or butter listed on the back of the package. It’s totally not necessary, as the cream cheese is enough, and will give it that cheesecake taste.

Once your cake is cooled, shred it to bits. I can honestly tell you, making cake pops is the easiest way to save your sanity when you have a child experiencing the terrible twos. While he is throwing a temper tantrum in the background, you can just tune him out to shredding cake instead of pulling your hair out. It’s a great way to keep that bald spot you’re getting the size it is instead of letting it get bigger. (Zach really isn’t too deep into the terrible twos, luckily, but those teeth are killing us!)

From there, you’ll mix in large spoonfuls of the frosting, stirring and rolling until your shredded cake mixture is more like a thick dough that can be rolled into balls.

Roll them into balls about quarter-sized, and then chill them for at least half an hour.

There are two ways you can finish these, both involving Wilton Candy Melts. The first way to finish them is to grab the Vanilla melts (or white, or whatever your favorite vanilla-ish dipping melt is). The second way, which will really pack in the pumpkin flavor, is to use the Pumpkin Spice Candy Melts, pictured above.

They smell so good! Go ahead and melt those in the microwave or in a double boiler the way you would typically melt chocolates. For microwave, I’ve found that trying 1 minute, stirring, and then doing additional 30 second increments if needed is an easy way to melt without scorching.

It’ll look creamy. If you used vanilla instead, it’ll look just like this, but white instead of orange.

I decided to make some of each! Dip the ball into the melts, then tap off the excess and place them on waxed paper. While they’re wet, you can sprinkle on some cute fall sprinkles!

Or, you can tint leftover vanilla melts green using Wilton gel food coloring, and use the pastry bag that came with your Duncan Hines Decadent Mix to pipe little pumpkin vines and stems onto the orange balls.

So yummy. They’re like, melt-in-your-mouth yummy.

 

How do you feel about winter flavors starting before Thanksgiving? Would you prefer to wait until after for peppermint, or do you like to bring those flavors on early? Let me know in the comments below!