Rugelach

A few weeks ago, I tried my hand at making rugelach......And it turned out GREAT! I usually shy away from making my own pasty dough because it seems that I just don't have the knack for it and never have an easy time with it. But this dough was the nicest dough I have ever worked with. It was smooth, soft and just wonderful. It is a recipe by The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. I pretty much followed her recipe exactly except for a couple of small things. Here is the link for the original recipe on Food Network.

It started by creaming cream cheese and butter together.

Then I added granulated sugar except I used vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is a wonderful thing. After you use the seeds out of a vanilla bean, instead of throwing the pod away, add it to your sugar bowl. It flavors all the sugar and as you use the sugar out of the bowl, keep the vanilla bean pod in there and keep adding more sugar. The vanilla bean pod will last quite a while.

I follwed the rest of the recipe for the dough, spilt it into quarters and chilled it. I only ended up rolling out one the quaters and froze the rest of the dough. It freezes very nicely and when you need or crave some, the dough is already done.

I rolled out the dough and instead of using apricot jam, I used this wonderful Carrot Cake Jam my friend Traci gave me. It has chunks of apple in it so I put it into a food processor to make it nice and smooth.

I spread my jam over the dough and sprinkled it the cinnamon sugar and walnuts. I left out the raisins because I'm just not a big fan of them...

I cut the dough into 12 pieces by first quarting it, then cutting the quaters into thirds. I rolled each piece up, sprinkled it with more cinnamon sugar and placed them on a baking sheet.

Very easy and soooo good! I have also made a batch using apricot jam and plan on making some soon using strawberry jam.

Barefoot Contessa Rugelach

Happy Valentines Day!

This year I was inspired to make and send some Valentines to some special friends and family members. I saw the idea on an episode of Martha Stewart's show on the Hallmark Channel and immediately wanted to make my own. Here is a link to the original project idea that has a video from the show as well as a list of websites for all the materials. I was able to find all my materials at my local craft store except for the mailing boxes which I did order from the recommended site.

I started off by taking a couple pictures of my daughter.

Look at that cheesy smile!

I found some small gift tags at the craft store that I turned into a simple Valentine's day card using Samantha's picture for the front and handwriting a sentiment on the inside.



I took the other picture of Samantha and played around with it on my computer using label templates and clipart.

I printed off a sheet of these and using my Xyron Create-a-Sticker, I was able to make each of these into a sticker. I  put my stickers on the top of little favor boxes that I also found at the craft store. I added of few rhinestones that I also used on the little card from above.

I filled the little boxes with "kisses" from Samantha.

I then packed everything into white 3x3x3 mailer boxes with some shredded red and white paper....





....and printed off some address labels. I used my Xyron to adhere my labels to the box.

But I used real addresses for ones I did mail out and added appropriate postage. Mine are not as "fancy" as the original project from Martha Stewart but I thought mine turned out very nice. I hope that everyone that received one in the mail was surprised and that it made your Valentine's a little more special.  

Sweets for the Sweet!

This Valentine's Day I made up a whole bunch of goodies to share with friends and family. And they were all pretty simple too!

I made dark and white chocolate chip cookies...

Cut-out sugar cookies that I decorated with butter cream....

I dipped some of my cut-outs in chocolate and decorated them with sprinkles and also made some buckeyes, a recipe from my friend Traci (Thanks again!!)...

Candied Pecans...

and finally, Rugelach!

The Rugelach will actually be next week's recipe. It was my first time making it and I am very happy with the way it turned out.

This week, I thought I would share my favorite recipe for cut-out sugar cookies. It is from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook and I love the way it turns out. The cookies don't puff too much and keep their shape nicely. It is the recipe that I used to make the snowflake shaped cookies on Samantha's First Birthday Cake also.

Mary's Sugar Cookie

1 1/2 Cup powdered sugar  
2 sticks butter   
1 egg 
1 tsp. vanilla    
2 1/2 Cup flour  
1 tsp. baking soda 
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Blend dry ingredients and stir into wet ingredients by hand. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hrs. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half, roll out on lightly flour area to about 1/8 inch thick and cut out shapes. Bake 7- 9 minutes or until lightly browned.
*If dough is dry and crumbly and you are having a hard time rolling it out, stir in an addtional egg.

The butter cream frosting that I used to decorate the sugar cookies is the same recipe I used in Cupcakes at Tiffany's.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Apple Brown Betty

I'm Back! It took me a while this week to get around to trying one of the slow-cooker recipes from the link in last week's post, but I finally got around to it. Part of the problem was there were just too many to choose from! I had been reading through the dinner and side dish recipes looking for something different then anything I already make but nothing was catching my eye. There are tons of recipes that sound delicious but I was in the mood for something completely different. That's when I browsed down to the dessert section and I saw it, Apple Brown Betty! This is something I have only ever heard about. I have always wanted to try one and knew now was the time. And it could not have been any easier!

I started off by cutting the crusts off and cubing one loaf of white sandwich bread.

Then in a microwave safe container, I melted the butter with the spices and brown sugar and stirred it all together. Once that was mixed, I poured it over my cubed bread and stirred it until combined.

Next I peeled, cored and chopped 4 Gala apples. I placed these in the bottom of my crock pot.

And spread my spiced bread cubes over the top of the apples.

I placed the lid on my crock pot, turned the heat to high and let it cook for 2 to 3 hours. I know it was done when the wonderful smell floated all through the house.

I scooped some into a bowl and served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I was very good!! It made 4 servings and I'm sure the recipe would double just fine. If I ever do double it, I would do so in layers: apples-bread-apples-bread.

Original Recipe for Apple Brown Betty

Apple Brown Betty

1 loaf white bread
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 C brown sugar
4 apples (I used Gala)

Cut crust from bread and cube. Melt butter and stir in brown sugar and spices. Pour over bread and stir gently until combined. Peel, core and chop apples into bite size pieces. Place apples in bottom of crock pot and cover with spiced bread cubes. Place lid on crock pot and turn heat to high. Cook for 2 to 3 hours or until apples are tender.

Slow Cooker Recipe Box

My Uncle Dale sends out a lot of emails.What does this have to do with cooking you might ask? Well, in one of his emails he sent was a very cool link. Wait, I mean links. The email contained tons and tons of slow cooker meals and by clicking on the dish title you wanted, it would then take you to that recipe. I would love to get into making more meals in a slow cooker and have been trying it out more since I got a nice new crock pot for Christmas from my mom.

I have clicked on a bunch of the links and looked them over, but have yet to try any of the recipes out. It's one of those can't decide which to do first moments. During this week sometime, I will post which one I tried, how it turned out, and anything I would change if needed. Want to join me?! Come on, it should be fun! Check out the link below and let us know what you try.

Slow Cooker Recipe Box

Three Cheese Macaroni with Bacon

My Birthday was a couple of weeks ago and to celebrate my husband took me out to eat to our favorite restaurant, J. Alexander's. They have a nice atmosphere, wonderful service and excellant food. Our favorite side dish to order is the NYO Mac and Cheese, it is out of this world good! (The NYO stands for Not Your Ordinary). Everytime we leave there after a dinner, I always promise myself that I will try to make a macaroni and cheese like theirs.........at least try. Well, I finally did! Try, that is. Although it is no NYO Mac and Cheese, this one is pretty good.

I must warn you first.........you will use a few pans and dirty your kitchen. Somethings are worth it though.

I started first by frying some bacon and an onion that I had diced. While the bacon and onion got nice and crispy, I shredded some cheese. This really is the time to buy blocks of cheese and shred your own. Trust me. It goes pretty fast if you have a food processor or this cheese grater from Pampered Chef. I grated a monterey jack cheese and a nice Vermont cheddar. Here is the Vermont cheddar that we are fond of.

After the bacon and onions were crisp,

I scooped them onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Then I got a big pot out to cook my pasta. I used a whole wheat rotini but any short cut pasta is fine.

While the water came to a boil and the pasta cooked, I made the cheese sauce. I started off by melting butter in a saucepan and then whisking in flour. After it cooked for a couple minutes, I slowly added in warm milk.

I whisked the mixture until it was thick and smooth and added in the seasonings. I turned the heat off once I could draw a line through the mixture with my finger on the back of a wooden spoon.

I then stirred in all of my cheese and drained the pasta once it was tender. I then stirred the pasta, cheese sauce and bacon all together. If you wanted, it could be done at this point. Its really creamy and good.

But I like my mac and cheese baked and I wanted to add a third cheese. So, I spread it into a baking dish and sprinkled it with grated parmesan cheese and put it in the oven to bake.

When it came out it was all bubbly, brown, and had a crunchy cheesey crust.

How good does that look?! Tender pasta, creamy cheese sauce, crisp onions and crunchy bacon! Yum!

Three Cheese Macaroni with Bacon

6 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
12 oz vermont cheddar cheese
8 oz monterey jack cheese
4 cups milk
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp salt plus some for pasta water
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 pound short cut pasta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Fry bacon and onion together until crisp. Drain on paper towel lined plate. While bacon and onion fry, shred cheddar and monterey jack cheeses. Set cheese and bacon both aside. Set a large pot with salted water over high heat. When water boils, add pasta and cook until tender. Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauce pan and add in flour. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes while whisking and place milk in microwave to warm for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk that has been warmed into flour and butter mixture. Stir in salt, pepper and chili powder. Mixture is thick enough when a line can be drawn with a finger through the mixture on the back off a wooden spoon. Turn off heat. Slowly stir in cheddar and monterey jack cheeses and whisk till combined and mixture is smooth. Cheese sauce will be very thick. Stir together drained pasta, cheese sauce and bacon. Spread into a 13x9 baking dish and sprinkle top with parmesan cheese. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Cupcakes at Tiffany's

Or rather, with Tiffany. My youngest niece Tiffany has been wanting to come over and bake with me and yesterday we were finally able to. We made mini-cupcakes in four different flavors! The flavors we made were Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Mocha, Lemon, and Cherry Vanilla. Unfortunately, in all the fun, I forgot to take pictures! I did however, snap one at the end with my phone of Tiffany and all of our cupcakes.

We started with two box cake mixes, one plain yellow (for the Lemon and Cherry Vanilla) and the other a milk chocolate (for the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Mocha). This is how we spilt the yellow cake mix to get our Lemon and Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes.

There was 3 cups dry mix so we placed 1 1/2 cups mix in two separate bowls. The directions then called for 1/3 cup vegetable oil. I measured the oil and "eyeballed it" pouring about half in each bowl. It then called for 3 eggs. We beat 3 eggs together and poured them into a measuring glass. The beaten eggs measured to 2/3 cup so we poured a 1/3 cup beaten egg into each bowl. Lastly, the box directions called for 1 1/4 cups water. This would be roughly 5oz. of liquid for each half of mix and this is where we took the opportunity to add additional flavor.

For the Lemon we added 5oz. of water and the zest of half a lemon.

For the Cherry Vanilla we added 5oz. of maraschino cherry juice.

Our chocolate cake mix called for the same amount of liquid, eggs and oil so we split it the same as the yellow mix.

For the Chocolate Peanut Butter we added the 5oz of water with 2 Tbsp of peanut butter.

For the Dark Chocolate Mocha we added 5oz of cooled coffee.

Once all our cupcakes were baked, we made the following icing:

Butter Cream Icing

2 sticks softened butter
2lb powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp milk or water
1 tsp vanilla

Beat everything together until fluffy. If icing is not coming together, add more milk or water 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing in between each addition.

We divided our icing into quarters and flavored it for each type of cupcake.

Lemon: Added 1 Tbsp lemon juice and yellow food coloring to icing. Topped frosted cupcakes with white sprinkles.

Cherry Vanilla: Left icing as vanilla but added pink food coloring. Topped frosted cupcakes with a maraschino cherry.

Chocolate Peanut Butter: Added 2 Tbsp peanut butter to icing. Topped frosted cupcakes with Reese's Pieces.

Dark Chocolate Mocha: Added 2 Tbsp coffee and brown food coloring to icing. Topped frosted cupcakes with a shard of dark chocolate coffee flavored candy bar.