Look for an overload of recipes soon!

We had a kitchen day today which I am going to blog about and we are making lots and lots of candy/desserts tomorrow for us and to give away to family/friends! I plan on posting all of the recipes and lots of pictures! Is anyone baking/making anything really delicious that I need to try???????

Flaky Pie Crust

My sister has been wanting me to try this and I finally did! She was right! It IS delicious!! Flaky and sweet.....Delicious flavor and made with BUTTER! :):)

3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup ice water

Mix flour and sugar together,cut in butter,stir water in with fork or spoon until mixed.Roll out as normal.:)

Gingerbread village PART 1

We are starting out annual Gingerbread Village! Every child gets a gingerbread house to decorate.The smallest children have to have help from Mama and Daddy of course.We can get pretty fancy with these lol.Especially my husband and I.:) We have been known to cut apart jelly candies to make shiny tiles.....Tootsie rolls for logs etc. We all have a blast!

You should be able to click on the graph to make it bigger.

Here is the reicipe.....

Gingerbread dough

Mix together.......

6 Cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
 4 tsp ginger
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl beat together until fluffy.......

12 TB butter
1.5 cups brown sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

2 large eggs
1 cup dark molasses
1 TB water

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with your  hands if you want to do it the messy way.Mix with a spoon if you want to do it the hard way lol

Cover dough and let sit on your counter for 2-6 hours.You can refrigerate if you want to.Just be sure to bring it to room temp before you start rolling.

You will roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick and bake the pieces at 350 for 12-18 min depending on the size of the piece.

Cool and glue together with:

ROYAL ICING

This icing dries hard like plaster and itis pure white unless colored.It is not especially delicious lol.Just tastes like sugar.The recipe does not call for vanilla/flavoring but I always flavor mine.This year I am going to color some of it with koolaide too.Koolaide makes the most BEAUTIFUL colored frosting! I have never tried it but a friend of mine did.I am not a Koolaide user but I figure hey,if children can drink hundreds of gallons of the stuff and still live,we should be able to use it in frosting once a year.:)

Be sure that you don't get *any* egg yolk or *anything* greasy in the egg whites or your frosting will not work.Don't store it in a plastic container either.

If you are paranoid about raw eggs make your icing like this.......

1 large egg white
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Heat on the stove or *gasp* microwave it ( I do it on the stove) until the mixture reaches 160.After heating,add 2/3 cup powdered sugar and beat it until it holds a stiff peak.Add flavorings and coloring if desired.

If you are like me,just mix 1 large egg white and 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and beat.:) Skip the heating lol.

Ok,I will be back with part 2 (pictures of dough making) later.Off to cut out my pieces.....

For my dear friend Brandy

We just got home from shopping (thankfully dh drove us as the roads are bad!),snow is literally pouring out of the sky,we are listening to Christmas music,making glittery paper snowflakes,baking cookies and pumpkin rolls,making candy (Buckeye balls and toffee),cleaning,building a room in the basement (well ok ok,dh is doing that.....:) ),sewing,trying to prepare all of the animals for the -30 (with windchill) weather that is predicted tomorrow and the list goes on.................

YET............In the middle of all this,because I am such a GOOD friend, (ok,I am kidding about that too but I have to give Brandy a hard time) I am stopping in the middle of ALL this to post a cracker recipe for her....She is in desperate need of one she says.....:)

SOAKED crackers :)

These are truly delicious......

3 1/2 cups of whole grain flour


1/4 cup of melted butter or coconut oil (I use butter of course lol)

Choose *1* of the below options

1 cup of water with two tablespoons vinegar
Cultured buttermilk
Yogurt
Water with a couple of TB of yogurt
Water with a couple TB of whey

Mix the flour,butter and which ever option you chose above together and let sit for atleast 6-7 but up to 24 hours.I usually let mine sit overnight.

When you are ready to bake the crackers add:

1 teaspoon of sea salt


1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Just throw it right on the top and knead it in.You can also dress the recipe up and add spices,cheese etc.

I love to knead in a bunch of cheese and garlic!

Preheat oven to 425 and roll dough about pie crust thin.Cut into whatever shapes you want to.I usually just take the pizza cutter to it.You can be fancy and use a fork to poke holes into the dough and make them look just like "store bought".They are pretty that way.:)

I literally smother my pan with butter before laying the crackers onto it to bake.Bake for about 10 minutes depending on how you want your crackers.We like them semi crispy but not super,super crispy.

These are soooooooooooooooo good!

Cinnamon Chip Scones

This is NOT healthy lol.Just warning ya....:)

My girls and I had these for our tea party yesterday and I am hooked.Not necessarily on Cinnamon Chip Scones but just on SCONES in general.I have made them before but the recipe must have not been a very good one because they did not have the unbelievable tenderness that these do.SO,this recipe is for cinnamon chip scones but you could leave the chips out (although they *are* delicious) and add just all sorts of stuff! You could also make healthier scones but I think that we will probably just save them for special occasions and use white flour.


3- 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 pkg cinnamon chips
2 TB melted butter and sugar to sprinkle

Combine flour,sugar,baking powder,baking soda and salt.Cut in butter.Stir in buttermilk just until moistened.Fold in chips.Turn outonto floured surface and knead for a minute....just until dough is no longer sticky.Divide in half and pat each half into a 7 inch circle.Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar.Cut each circle into 6 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet.Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! These literally melt in your mouth and I think they are so beautiful and fancy looking! In the picture above they look smaller because for our tea party I cut one circle into 12 wedges istead of 6 but they are much prettier cut into 6 wedges.:)

Easy French Bread

This is especially  for my dear friend Laurie.....:)

This is PERFECT French Bread!

I thought alot of you might be able to use it.It is the bread I make when I am in a hurry.My Mom found the recipe years ago and it has been a life saver for me alot of times! :) I love to make it with all white flour but usually don't.:)

In a small bowl mix 4.5 tsp of yeast with 1/2 cup warm water and set aside.

In a large bowl place two tsp salt and 2-4 TB butter.Add one cup of boiling water and stir until butter is melted then add 1 cup cold water.Making sure that your mixture is not to hot,(it should be just right) add your yeast mixture and 5-6 cups of flour.Stir until combined....It should be dough but still sticky.Cover and let sit for 45 minutes,stirring down every 15 minutes.NO KNEAD.:)

After 45 minutes,shape into 2 loaves of french bread (or dinner rolls,cinnamon rolls or *anything*) and place on greased cookie sheet.You can cut some fancy slits in the top of the loaves with a knife or scissors.Let rise until doubled and brush with a mixture of 1 egg yolk and 2 TB milk.Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes!

Delicious creativity with BUTTER

I LOVE flavored butters!!!! I thought some of you might too so here are a few kinds that I love making.

Garlic- Herb Butter

1 pound butter
4-6 TB minced garlic
2 TB paprika
2-4 TB chopped fresh (or 2 TB dried) basil,rosemary etc.
2 TB sun dried tomato bits

Orange-Honey Butter
(have not made this one or the rose one)

1 pound butter
2/3 cup honey
3 TB fresh grated orange rind

Pineapple-Rose Honey Butter

In addition to the ingredients in Orange-Honey Butter (above) add 2 TB crushed,drained pineapple and 1/2  cup fresh ,minced rose petals and 1 tsp vanilla.

Autumn-Delight Butter

1 pound butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup honey

Those are a few ideas but use your imagination!!! For every recipe above just mix all ingredients in a bowl and then I like to shape the butter into 2 logs and wrap in waxed paper.SO pretty for gifts and soooo delicious! Letting the flavors blend before use for a few days is great too.....

Snickerdoodles

Everyone is crazy about these cookies and they are cheap and easy to make! My little ones were thrilled today to have them with some fresh,raw milk and my dh is going to love having some with his coffee when he gets home! :)

Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter (or 2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Beat butter,sugar and vanilla.Add eggs and beat.If you are a cook like me,don't mix the dry ingredients in another bowl.....Just put the flour on top of the butter mixture and then the cream of tartar,soda and salt on top of the flour.Stir with a spoon.It mixes together FINE! :) I do it all the time with all of my cookies.

Make large balls of dough and roll in the below mixture.

14/ cup sugar
4 tsp cinnamon

No need to grease the pan :)

Bake at 350 for 8-11 minutes or until light brown around the edges.

Don't overbake or they will be crispy! They are still good but not NEAR as good as the crinkly chewy ones! :)

Give them plenty of space as they will spread.

Delightful Dumplings

"A big,fat,bowl of dumplings,boiling in the pot.Sugar them and butter them and eat them while they're hot."

Ok,they are actually Caramel Apple Dumplings but last night I made them with my dd on her special night with me and we had a great time coming up with all sorts of "D" adjectives describing the dumplings.I won't list them because some are completely silly but we sure did laugh.lol

3 cups water
2 cups brown sugar (We used 1/2 sucanat)
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

Combine the above and bring to a boil in a large suacepan.

Dumplings:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 TB baking powder
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups diced apples

Mix dry ingredients,cut in butter(or melt it) and and then fold in vanilla,milk and apples.
Drop by spoonfulls into the boiling syrup.Cover tightly and cook on low for 8-10 minutes.Don't open the lid for atleast 8 minutes.You can't peek on dumplings,they need that hot air/steam to cook properly.Check the center after 8 minutes and if they are still not done (they should be like a really moist biscuit.....not doughy but not dry either.) then give them another 5 and they should be.

Serve with sweetened vanilla cream or ice cream!

Pears! Pear Pandowdy......

I was able to get 2 bushels of pears this year! I have frozen a bunch,will dry a bunch and also tried this new recipe which we LOVED! We had it for breakfast last weekend served with fresh cream that was flavored with maple syrup and vanilla.DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!

Pear pandowdy......


12 pears peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sweetener of choice (we used sucanat)
1/2 cup butter
2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

TOPPING

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sweetener
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup water

In saucepan,combine first 6 ingredients.Cook and stir over medium heat until for 5 minutes or until pear slices are tender.Pour into 9x13 baking pan or other large oven proof dish.In a bowl,combine flour,sweetener,b powder and salt.Cut in butter then stir in water.Sprinkle over pear mixture.Sprinkle with sugar if you want to make it extra pretty :). Bake at 375 for aprox 1/2 hour....Maybe longer :) Check before removing from oven to make sure center is done.....Serve with sweetened cream or ice cream for extra goodness! :)

Fruit syrup OR Apple/cinnamon syrup

This recipe was requested by a dear MOMYS friend and so I am posting it for her BUT this isn't really a recipe! :) It is just a "throw in a little of this and a little of that" kind of recipe.:)

Making fruit syrup is EASY and not necessarily healthy :).I comfort myself with the fact that it is MUCH healthier than Mrs.Butterworths.:)

Start with ANY kind of fruit juice.In this recipe we are going to make APPLE/CINNAMON syrup.

SO juice your apples.If you do not have a juicer this is a pain.You have to steam your apples until soft and then dump everything into a pillow case and let drain.....After it cooks you can squeeze and squeeze.This is how I did it before I got my juicers.Now I am stepping up in the world and have a STEAM juicer AND a fresh fruit juicer! :) I rarely use them but when I *DO* need them they sure make life easier.

SO lets say you end up with 1 gallon of juice (and yes,you can just buy some apple juice if you want to).

In a sauce pan put your juice and then................time to add a ton of sugar :) Now you can add any kind of sugar you want....Sucanat,white sugar,brown sugar,maple syrup,corn syrup,Rapadura.......anything you like.

You can go with a thicker syrup which would be 1 part juice to 1 part sugar or you can go with a thinner syrup of 3 parts juice and 1 part sugar or anywhere in between.You will HAVE to have alot of sugar to get that syrup texture instead of juice.You don't really want to pour apple juice on your pancakes.So remember,the sugar is not for the sweetness but the texture! :)

SO just get everything boiling and skim off any foam.If you want to, you can add spices.For apple syrup you can add cinnamon,cloves and nutmeg. For a recipe that calls for 1 gallon juice I would probably add about a TB each of cinnamon and nutmeg and 1/2-1 tsp of cloves.Taste it though and add whatever you think.Boil really good for about 10 minutes then bottle and can :) I always hot water bath mine for 10 minutes.A cinnamon stick in each pint of syrup is soooooooooo pretty! You won't want to put your jars away! :) I wish I had a picture to post but I didn't make any apple syrup this year yet!

Cream cheese,Cranberry muffins

                                                                

These muffins have the flavor of CHEESECAKE and they are one of my favorites!!!!!

8 oz cream cheese
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups cranberries
1-2 cups nuts

Beat cream cheese and butter together.Add sugar,vanilla and eggs....Beat....Measure flour onto butter mixture and put the baking powder and salt right on top and just stir right in! Stir in cranberries and nuts ....Bake at 350 for oh about 25-30 min? Or till done :). Delicious! I used half wheat,half sucanat and no nuts today.They are delicious! I LOVE nuts better but I  didn't have any.All white flour is of course, delicious but the wheat is almost just as good! :) These are really easy too! :)

Apple bars with peanut butter,cream cheese frosting....

I served my husband a plate with these with his coffee this evening when he got home from work.....I held my breath as I asked him "Welllllll? How do you like them?" SO many of the healthy "desserts" I make he thinks are just "alright".....I get so excited when he actually LOVES something...! He said that he loves them! HE thought they were excellent! I am so happy :) Another keeper.....

Anyhow,I made this recipe up today when my children wanted me to pack them a picnic.They *love* going on picnics....I know how much we love apples w/ peanut butter as a snack so I thought I would try to combine the flavors in a "bar".....Whole wheat,wholesome sweetener,lots of good fat and protein too!They are delicious.....

BARS:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup apple sauce
1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 -1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB baking powder
3 apples diced up

FROSTING:

1/4 cup maple syrup
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

For bars......Beat together first the first eight ingredients......Add flour and then baking powder right on top on beaten ingredients.Stir.....You can seperate the dry ingredients first and mix them seperately and THEN add them if you want to but this is an unnecessary step and I never do it! My baked goods always turn out great.....Anyhow,then add the apples and stir them in...Grease pan....I baked this in a large sheet pan but you could use a 9x13 if you wanted more of a cake....If you use a sheet pan,bake at 425 for 15-20 min.....IF a cake pan.....probably closer to 30 minutes....

For frosting....Beat everything but the syrup together until fluffy....slowly add syrup.....Frost bars when cool! Enjoy!

Pumpkin pie.....

I decided to mess with my normal pumpkin pie recipe this weekend and substitute maple syrup for the sweetener....They turned out perfect.....Texture and everything.You would never know that you weren't eating "regular" pumpkin pie!

This recipe makes three pumpkin pies.....

1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
3 eggs
30 0z pumpkin (2- 15 oz cans)
2 cups cream

Mix all together and pour into an unbaked crust....You can use your regular crust or if you want to use a healthier crust you could try the hazelnut crust posted with my cheesecake recipe....
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or until you see tiny cracks around the edge of the filling.....

Top with lots of whipped cream!

Hazelnut caramel cheesecake.....

We had this today and it was absolutely delicious! It was the first time we tried the crust and we will definitely be using it again.....The filling I have made one time before....It is 100% as good as cheesecake using regular sugar.The topping I made up today and was SOOOO happy to find that it was just as delicious as my normal caramel topping made with brown sugar!

CRUST:

1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup arrowroot flour
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

FILLING:

4-8 oz packages cream cheese(softened)
4 eggs
1 cup maple sugar
1 TB vanilla

TOPPING:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla


For crust.....In food processor,process hazelnuts until finely ground.....add the rest of the crust ingredients and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.Remove from oven and top with filling.....

For filling.....Beat cream cheese until smooth.Add sugar and beat until well combined.Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.Beat in vanilla.Spoon into crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.....

For topping......Combine maple sugar and butter in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.....Add cream and bring to a boil again....Boil for about a minute and then remove from heat....Add vanilla.Pour over cheesecake!

This is delicious warm but well chilled cheesecake (chilled for several hours) is the BEST!!

Enjoy your HEALTHY cheesecake!

I use fresh cream,homeade butter,real salt,organic eggs,real vanilla and our own maple sugar.I will be much happier when we have our own free ranged eggs (we buy organic from the neighbor but the are not free ranged) and my own homeade cream cheese! I have not made my own cream cheese yet...

Delicious wraps

I wanted to write this down so I wouldn't forget what was in them. I made some whole wheat tortillas and filled them with :

spinache
radishes
mixed sprouts
cheese
flax seed oil
horseradish
cayenne
salt

My husband just loved them and when he loves something healthy I keep track of it! Don't get me wrong....he likes *alot* of healthy things but ever since eliminating white flour and refined sugar from our diet it makes cooking/baking a little more challenging......

Of course you could use any vegies/cheese with any seasonings and I think they would be delicious! The horseradish gives them an excellent flavor though!

Whole wheat tortillas

This is a delicious recipe that is easy to make! If you want to soak your flour first then make this the night before and add 1/2 cup of whey or 1/2 cup water w/ 2 TB lemon juice added and let it sit on the counter overnight or for several hours.....When ready to make just add a little extra flour to get it the right texture!

8 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. salt
1 c. of butter
3 c. water

Mix all ingredients.Form into gold ball sizes.Roll out flat into a circle.Cook on each side in a lightly buttered pan.Do not over cook.(about 1-2 minutes per side)

Fill with desired fillings!

These are sooo soft....even made with 100% whole wheat!!

Peanut butter

A year or so ago I stopped buying the "junk" peanut butter and determined to keep it up...Since then I have been only buying REAL peanut butter....Well,It takes some getting use to but we like it.......HOWEVER.....I made something really wonderful recently!! Peanut butter "Spread" that tastes SO much like junk stuff but is healthy! I was thrilled.....We all loved it and I could actually eat it for dessert......

Peanut butter spread.......

1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 TB maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

Melt the peanut butter,butter and coconut oil together on very low heat.When combined,add everything else and beat/whisk until smooth.Pour into container and refrigerate!

Delicious!!!!!!!

Salsa

I am making salsa tomorrow.....Fresh salsa is my favorite.I love tomatoes,jalapenos,sweet onions,cilantro,lime juice,salt and pepper mixed up fresh.It is *so* excellent. My favorite canned recipe is the one below.It tastes like Pace Picante sauce.Delicious! It is what I am making tomorrow from the last of the tomotoes in my garden.

12 cups chopped tomotoes (I leave the skins on)
5 large onions
9 hot peppers
2 bell peppers
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 cup vinegar
1 cup tomato paste

Chop all vegies and put all ingredients in a big pot.Cook for 30 minutes.Hot water bath for 30 minutes! Delicious.....corn added is excellent too and I may add cilantro this year I dont know....