Cranberry Cream Scones

I'm finally posting the two recipes I used for the Christmas Tea at church some time ago.

Cranberry Cream Scones
(These are absolutely awesome!)

2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 c. whipping cream
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. whipping cream or 1 egg white
1 t. orange zest (I didn't have this & they came out just fine ~ LG)
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder & salt with a pastry blender until coarse & crumbly. Add 1 c. whipping cream, stirring until just moistened. Add dried cranberries as you stir in the cream. With hands, work in the cream cheese (might I suggest that you use vinyl gloves for this part - otherwise it's very, very messy.)

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 5 or 6 times. Roll until 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a small biscuit or cookie cutter and place each scone about 2 inches apart on a non-stick baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining whipping cream or egg white. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. (I used cream & quite a lot of sugar. They came out with a lovely crunchy sugar crust on top.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 2 dozen. Serve warm with Devonshire cream, jam &/or lemon curd.

(Devonshire cream is also wonderful in tea - we had a toffee tea with cream in it - oh, baby, was it ever good.)

Classic Shortbread

I'm finally posting the two recipes I used for the Christmas Tea at church some time ago.

Classic Shortbread
(I'm usually not a fan of shortbread but this stuff is pretty stinkin' good.)

1 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. powdered sugar, unsifted
1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour

Cream butter until light. Cream in powdered sugar, then vanilla. Work in flour.

Knead dough on unfloured board until nice & smooth.

Spray 9X13 pan very lightly and firmly press dough into pan. Prick entire surface with a fork.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then cut into 20 squares. Carefully remove from pan to cool on cooling rack.

(I let one batch cool too long in the pan & they didn't come out very well at all, so make sure you take them out after the 10 minutes are up.)

Kitty Litter Cake

Hey look - I'm kitty blogging! (kinda sorta - I'll get back to showing off my Sydney when I get more pictures taken) I've not made this yet, but I'm forever running into people who mention it & think it would be a hoot to do for the munchkins sometime.

Kitty Litter Cake

CAKE INGREDIENTS
1 box spice or German chocolate cake mix
1 box of white cake mix
1 package white sandwich cookies
1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix
A few drops green food coloring
12 small Tootsie Rolls or equivalent

SERVING "DISHES AND UTENSILS"
1 NEW cat-litter box
1 NEW cat-litter box liner
1 NEW pooper scooper

1) Prepare and bake cake mixes, according to directions, in any size pan. Prepare pudding and chill. Crumble cookies in small batches in blender or food processor. Add a few drops of green food coloring to 1 cup of cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork or shake in a jar. Set aside.

2) When cakes are at room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with half of the remaining cookie crumbs and enough pudding to make the mixture moist but not soggy. Place liner in litter box and pour in mixture.

3) Unwrap 3 Tootsie Rolls and heat in a microwave until soft and pliable. Shapethe blunt ends into slightly curved points. Repeat with three more rolls. Bury the rolls decoratively in the cake mixture. Sprinkle remaining white cookie crumbs over the mixture, then scatter green crumbs lightly over top.

4) Heat 5 more Tootsie Rolls until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with crumbs from the litter box. Heat the remaining Tootsie Roll until pliable and hang it over the edge of the box. Place box on a sheet of newspaper and serve with scooper. Enjoy!

Snicker Pie

The Mothership & I went to a pie-making class lat night at a local kitchen store. We got a good pie crust recipe plus lots of recipes for fillings - sugary & more filling, meal-ish pies. The best. ever. pie she showed us was a cheesecake-y Snicker pie.

Oh. my. gosh. Was it ever good...

Snicker Pie

1 - 9" baked pie crust - bake only until light brown - this will be baked again with the filling

Filling
5 (2.07 oz.) Snicker candy bars
1/2 c. sugar
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter

Topping
3 T. whipping cream
2/3 c. milk (or bittersweet - she used Ghiradelli ~LG) chocolate chips

Cut candy bars in half lengthwise; cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Arrange over bottom of partially baked crust.
Beat sugar & cream cheese until smooth.
Add sour cream & peanut butter.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (the best trick for cheesecakes is to mix very little after the eggs are added - this helps keep the cheesecake from cracking on top - however if it cracks it's okay since you are putting chocolate on top)
Spoon over candy bar pieces.

Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes or until center is set. Cool 2 hours.

Warm whipping cream in microwave.
Add chocolate & melt.
Drizzle over pie.

Refrigerate 2 - 3 hours before serving.

The lady noted that you need to cut the pie after it has cooled for about an hour & most definately before you put it in the fridge. Otherwise it is extremely hard to cut. The chocolate topping was warm when she drizzled it right before the pie was served. This pie is to die for.

I also picked up a butane lighter that's shaped like an ol' fashioned Peacemaker & a partial set of pink martini glasses (all 3 of 'em are the square-y one in front) for 50% off.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cookies

I had to make cookies for the kids' family day at work last week, so I got online & looked for a new recipe. Boy, did I hit the jackpot. Random people on campus the next day were saying they heard about my cookies & I got an email from another lady saying they were voted as the best. So, without further adieu, I give you:

Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Food Network.

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (I used light brown sugar because a lady in the review section said they came out better.)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon. salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup toffee chips
1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
2 cups imported semisweet chocolate chunks

Cream butter in an upright mixer until fluffy. Add brown and white sugar and mix until thoroughly blended with butter, scraping sides and bottom of bowl from time to time.

Add eggs, l at a time, and mix until thoroughly blended, scraping sides and bottom of bowl from time to time.

Add vanilla extract and mix at low speed (to avoid splashing) to combine well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture and mix at low speed, until thoroughly blended, scraping sides and bottom of bowl from time to time. Mix briefly at medium speed until completely combined.

Add peanut butter chips and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add toffee ships and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add mini-marshmallows and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add chocolate chunks and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate batter for a few hours or overnight until cold. (They're perkier if the batter is chilled.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (300 degrees F if using convection oven). Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop heaping teaspoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart. (I didn't use the parchment paper & they came out just fine.) Bake for approximately 12 to 18 minutes (depending on type of oven), turning tray once during baking. Cookies are done when they are golden brown around edges and soft (not bubbly) on top. Let cool on wire rack.

Serving Suggestions: Fill 2 cookies with your favorite ice cream or gelato and freeze for the "perfect" ice cream sandwich or fill with chocolate butter for an utterly divine sandwich cookie. Serve with a cold glass of milk.

Yummy Recipe

This is a recipe that my Dad came up with to share with a former pastor of ours. So, in the spirit of Spacemonkey's "Gravy Wednesdays", I give you...

Gravy Pops (straight from Dad's recipe card)

This is an old family recipe started by me a couple of years ago. You start with a good, solid meal that consists of roast beef, baked or fried chicken & mashed potatoes & a green vegetable for color.

After the juices have been drained from the meat, make your favorite gravy - and lots of it. Just before you sit down to eat with eager anticipation, set out popsicle molds & the sticks.

After the meal, the gravy that is left is to be poured into the molds & a stick placed in each "Gravy Pop". (The kids may then lick the bowl.)

Freeze for 1 - 12 hours.

For variety, you may want to let the gravy sit a while so the grease can "chunk", or you can include tiny bits of meat, scrapings or whatever is in the gravy.

Gravy Pops make a fun, filling, chewy, nutritious snack any time.

Yummy In My Tummy

Just made the girls' breakfast - french toast with vanilla, cinnamon & sugar - and snagged the heels of the loaf for myself. Smeared cream cheese in between and put sugar-free syrup on top...

Wow. That's good.

Yummy Recipe

This is one of the few recipes from work that's good enough to keep around.

Strawberry Dessert Cake

2 c. sliced strawberries
3 oz. package strawberry jello
1 package white cake mix
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows

Combine sliced strawberries with sugar & strawberry jello; set aside. Generously gease bottom of 9 X 13 pan; sprinkle with marshmallows. Mix white cake mix according to package directions. Pour over marshmallows. Spoon strawberry mixture over batter. Bake at 350* for 40 - 45 minutes. Serve either warm or cold with ice cream or whipped topping. I prefer it warm.