Baking with Kate

Kate and I made Apple Fritter Cups this morning.  She was so excited to help.

This recipe is vegan, she could safely lick the spoon.  I don't ever stop my kids from licking the spoon of non-vegan baked goods though!

The Apple Fritter Cups are similar to the apple muffins I usually make, but these have a maple glaze over the top and they don't have nuts in them.  They are good, but I think pecans would make them better.  I sprinkled some chopped pecans over the top after I tried one, but I wish I had thought to put them in the batter.  The recipe came from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.

Banana Cake

We celebrated a birthday yesterday, and C and R helped to make one of our favorite birthday cakes.  It's a banana cake with cream cheese frosting, and it is delicious.  If you like banana bread, you will love this cake.  The recipe comes from The One-Armed Cook by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel.  I have posted the recipe before; you can find it by clicking here.  If you are looking for a cookbook with easy recipes, The One-Armed Cook is worth buying.  The recipes are all geared towards moms who may have a baby on one hip and only one arm to cook with, but they are also great recipes for busy families.

I had fun making this cake with C and R.  Sometimes, working with both of them ends up with me getting angry because they are fighting over who gets to do what, but yesterday they were both very good and worked well together.

We decided to make the cake extra special and turn it into a banana split cake by adding fresh strawberries and pineapple on top and ice cream from our favorite creamery on the side.  It was delicious!

Snowman Cookies and a Tea Party

How cute are these cookies?

I saw similar cookies in The Popcorn Factory catalog and decided to make some myself.  We made sugar cookies and put the chocolate chips in right when the cookies came out of the oven.  This worked perfectly.  I then used orange icing to make the noses.  Super cute and yummy.

We enjoyed our special cookies with a spot of tea (orange juice for R). 

She is drinking from her favorite fancy tea cup.  She loves to be fancy!

Gingerbread Trifle

I made this gingerbread trifle for Christmas, and it was really good.  Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 13x9 gingerbread cut into 1 inch cubes
5 or 6 Heath bars broken into pieces
2 cups Cool Whip
1 custard recipe (below)

Custard ingredients:
1 1/3 c granulated white sugar
2/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
5 c whole milk
6 egg yolks slightly beaten
1 TBSP vanilla extract

To make the custard:  Combine the first three ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan; whisk in the milk.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.  DO NOT start on high heat - you will ruin the custard. 
Gradually stir about 1/4 of the hot mixture into the egg yolks.
Add this back to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for three minutes.
Remove from heat.
Add vanilla.
Cool to room temperature.  (Do not refrigerate because it will form a skin and get cold and be difficult to work with)

Assemble trifle in layers in trifle bowl as follows:
1/2 of the gingerbread
1-2 candy bars crushed
1/2 of the custard
1-2 candy bars crushed
1/2 of the whipped topping
Repeat
Garnish the top with crushed candy bar

Keep refrigerated. 
Enjoy! 

Molasses Cookies

Years ago, I used to think molasses cookies were gross. I had only tried the store bought variety. My husband kept asking me to make them for him and I finally did about two or three years ago. Now, it is one of my favorite cookies. It's amazing how much a good recipe really can make or break the finished product.

Here is the recipe:

3/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup white sugar plus more for rolling cookies in before baking
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat in molasses and egg.
Combine dry ingredients; add gradually to creamed mixture.
Chill for 1 hour or until firm.
Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar.
Place balls on cookie sheet and keep in ball form for best results. (They spread a lot so I only put six on a cookie sheet at a time.)
Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy! I don't have a picture of anyone enjoying these cookies because they disappeared too fast!

Simply Made Sunday - Pumpkin Squares

It felt good to get back in the kitchen with R for some fun baking this week. I found this incredibly delicious recipe for Pumpkin Squares in Family Fun Magazine.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 -ounce) can of pumpkin
2 large eggs lightly beaten


Step 1: Heat oven to 325. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add the oil, pumpkin, and eggs and whisk until the batter is evenly blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Step 3: Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

The recipe says this makes 12 squares but they are really big so you can definitely cut them smaller.

You could stop right there and enjoy the squares topped with ice cream or whipped cream, but if you want to increase the deliciousness factor, top them with cider caramel sauce. This recipe is also from Family Fun Magazine. C helped us out with the sauce.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP cornstarch
2/3 cup apple cider
2 TBSP heavy cream
1 TBSP butter
salt to taste

Directions: In a medium size saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar and cornstarch. Add the cider and stir well to dissolve the other ingredients.
Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until large bubbles form around the perimeter of the pan, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to continue to simmeruntil it thickens, about 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat and whisk in heavy cream and butter. Taste, and if necessary, add a pinch of salt.

Make these now; you will love them!!!!!!!

For more great recipes, visit Raising Itty-Bitty Bookworms and check out Simply Made Sunday.

Banana Cake Butterfly

C and R helped me make a butterfly banana cake this week; we even got a little help with the frosting from T. This cake is really good and we make it often. The recipe comes from The One-Armed Cook cookbook by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel. The book features quick and easy recipes, meal plans, and advice for moms. If you click on the title of the book in the earlier sentence, you will be routed to The One-Armed Cook website where you can find more recipes and information. (I have the cookbook and enjoy it; I am not being compensated for this recommendation.)

Banana Cake
2 sticks butter softened to room temp.
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat two 9 inch layer cake pans with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Mix on high for one minute, until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
5. Add mashed banana and beat for one minute.
6. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda, stirring well to mix. Add to banana mixture. On low speed, continue mixing until thoroughly mixed.
7. Add milk and vanilla. Mix for one minute.
8. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

We frosted the cake with cream cheese frosting:

1. Mix 8 oz cream cheese and 1 stick butter (both at room temp) on high speed for 1 minute
2. Add 1 pound confectioner's sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix on low speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Frost your cake

I only used one layer of the cake and half of the frosting to make the butterfly.
I first saw the butterfly cake on the Living and Learning blog. I am happy that she posted this because it was fun and so easy to do! Here are some photos that show how I cut the cake:
After we frosted the cake, I outlined the butterfly with yellow icing. Then, we covered the body with chocolate sprinkles and used pink and rainbow sparkling sugar to decorate the wings.

Click here for complete directions from the Betty Crocker website on how to cut the cake.

The Fruits of our Labor

These are the amazing blueberry muffins we made after we went blueberry picking. They are the best muffins I have ever had. The streusel topping is the perfect touch and the fresh picked, organically grown blueberries made the muffins ridiculously good. Click here for the recipe.
Yum!

One Berry, Two Berry, Pick me a Blueberry

The state of Maine supplies 99% of the blueberries consumed in the United States so we could not study Maine without a little blueberry fun.



We began by reading Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. C and R love this book and there are so many topics for discussion. Here are a few things we discussed*:
- How was Little Sal's mother getting ready for winter?
- How was Little Bear's mother getting ready for winter?
- What sound did the berries make when they were dropped into Little Sal's pail?
- Why didn't they make the same sound in mother's pail?
- Why did Little Sal and Little Bear get lost?
- What made Little Sal's mother turn around? Little Bear's mother?
- I wonder what Little Bear and his mother did when they got home. What did Little Sal and her mother do?

We also read Jamberry by Bruce Degen and discussed the different types of berries in the book. C and R compared and contrasted blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries.

Blueberry picking is available locally and because we have had a very rainy summer, the blueberry picking is better than usual. Before we went blueberry picking, we talked about how blueberries grow and the fact that blueberries is one crop that is native to the United States. This experience was wonderful because C and R took turns pretending to be Little Sal and Little Bear. I was amazed at how many details they remembered from the book. The owner of the property where we picked the blueberries assured C and R that there are no bears on the property!

R was very happy when she heard that it was acceptable to eat the berries as she picked them!

What did we do with the blueberries?
- counted them
- compared the size and color of our blueberries
- measured them
- froze some to save for the winter (just like Little Sal and her mother)
- and made a Half Raw Half Cooked Blueberry Pie

Ingredients: 4 cups blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
one baked 9 inch pie shell

Wash/drain blueberries. Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add water and mix. Heat while stirring and add 2 cups of the blueberries. Cook over medium-high heat until thick and transparent (this only takes a few minutes). The mixture gets very glossy and the blueberries will pop. Cool slightly. Pour a small amount into the bottom of the baked pie shell. Add remaining 2 cups of blueberries to the cooked mixture in the pan. Pour mixture into pie shell and garnish with a few fresh berries on top. Cool completely and serve with whipped cream or ice cream! Yum!

*Discussion topics came from Peak With Books by Marjorie R.Nelsen and Jan Nelsen-Parish

Eating the Liberty Bell

I'm not sure if you can tell, but we used toothpicks to make a crack in our Liberty Bell cookies. They were delicious.

Mexican Brownies

The night before T's fiesta in Spanish class, he informed me that he had volunteered me to make something for the party! I won't say another thing about that, but I will tell you that I googled Mexican brownies just hoping that something would pop up, and sure enough there is such a thing. Well, I had to share this recipe because the brownies are ridiculously delicious and I would hate to keep this recipe a secret. So, if you like chocolate and cinnamon and feel like baking, make Mexican Brownies! You won't be sorry.

Don't forget to sign up for the Super Summer Swap!