Betty's Healthy Recipes

Wow! What can I say about this Cream Cheese Danish?! It's been in the family for quite a while. Actually, my Mom got this recipe verbally from a woman she met at a family member's memorial service 15 years ago. As time has gone by, I've put my own little spin on this incredible and heavenly dessert item.

When my husband was a sales rep, I would make several for him to take to local businesses and doctors' offices. He almost always received a call back. I made one for my OBGYN while I was 8 months pregnant just to say "thanks for the excellent care". At my next appointment, the office staff and nurses referred to me as "The Danish Lady". I even had my Mom make one to give to the nurses that took care of me while I was in the hospital for the birth of my daughter. Needless to say, we have made this dish for many, many occasions. I mean, it's cream cheese mixed with sugar, what more can I say?!!!

And speaking of cream cheese, it is a total staple in my house. You will always find several blocks of it in my fridge. I never go without and I always buy Philadelphia brand cream cheese. Mom has always said never tell the family secrets, always have a clean pair of underwear in case you are ever in a wreck, and always, always buy Philadelphia cream cheese. With just a handful of ingredients to this dish, it's so easy to make a big impact when it's taken to any function.

The Cream Cheese Danish
Adapted by: Me

2 tubes crescent rolls*(I have found Pillsbury works best...I know, I seem like a brand name snob, but I'm telling you, it's worth it)
2 (8oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract

For topping:
5 T. butter, softened
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Grease a 9x13 pan. Take one tube of crescent roll dough and roll out so it covers entire bottom of pan. Blend the cream cheese, sugar and extract until smooth. Take cream cheese mixture and spread on top of the crescent roll dough. Take the 2nd tube of dough and cover the top of the cream cheese mixture. Then combine the softened butter, sugar and cinnamon and crumble (or spread, depending on consistency of your butter mixture) on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Cool before cutting.

*I love that Pillsbury now has the Seamless Dough Sheets. It's the crescent roll dough only without the perforations. I love them!!

Chocolate chip cookies. They are pretty much awesome. The sugary goodness, the chocolaty splendor, the small bite of salt...man, it's heavenly. And don't even get me started on chocolate chip cookie dough. Sometimes we just buy a tube of cookie dough or I make a batch with intentions of never baking it. Yeah, I know there is raw egg in there, but to tell you the truth, that doesn't really phase me. I guess I am too overcome with the excitement of impending bliss that I will experience once a spoonful of cookie dough touches my lips. Yeah, I'm kind of a freak.

However, when I really want an actual homemade chocolate chip cookie, this is my go to recipe. I know that when I make these cookies, they all get baked. To me, this cookie dough is not as tasty as others. It could be because instead of butter, I use butter flavored Crisco. Yeah, that's right, I said Crisco, as in shortening. Now, a lot of people are totally turned off by shortening, but let me tell you, this dough yields a wonderfully crisp cookie on the outside with a soft and chewy center. They are so good right out the oven. So, if the idea of butter flavored vegetable shortening doesn't make your stomach turn, I suggest you make a batch of these cookies immediately. You won't be disappointed.

Source: From the paper packaging wrapped around the butter flavored Crisco sticks

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

¾ C (3/4 stick) butter flavor Crisco
1 ¼ C. firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T. milk
1 T. vanilla
1 egg
1 ¾ C all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp baking soda
1-2 C chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Beat egg into creamed mixture. Combine salt, flour, and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen.

I love Paula Deen. I know she can be a little over the top at times, but I just love her. This quiche is from her collection of wonderful and easy recipes. It is really good. I mean, with the mixture of sausage and cheese, you can't go wrong. Paula calls this Ron's Tybee Island Sausage Pie. I call it delicious!

From Paula's Home Cooking on Food Network
www.foodnetwork.com

Ron's Tybee Island Sausage Pie

Ilb. ground sausage
1/3 chopped onion
1 T. butter
3/4 C. milk
1 (3oz.) pkg. cream cheese
3 eggs
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt (use less if the sausage is salty)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust, partially baked and cooled

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, crumble the sausage with a fork. Saute the sausage until completely cooked. Drain off the fat, remove the sausage, and set aside. Melt the butter in another skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter until tender. Add the milk and heat until steam rises, but do not boil the milk. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces, add it to the onion mixture, and remove the pan from the heat. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the cheddar, the onion mixture, the Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly and pour this into the piecrust. Top with cooked sausage, and bake for 30 minutes, or until set.

The hubby and I have been seeing a lot of short ribs being prepared on food shows lately and I have to say, I've been a little intrigued by them. I've never tasted or prepared them, so when we saw them marked down at the local grocery store, we snatched them up. I remember seeing an episode on Food Network where Anne Burrell prepared some delicious looking short ribs, so off to the website I went. I was a little overwhelmed by the recipe, but I decided that I was going to follow through.

I have to say, for the amount of time that I put into this meal, I was expecting a knock out dish, and I didn't get that. Maybe it was because it was due to the cut of meat or because braising is not my choice of method for cooking, but I just wasn't impressed. I'm one of those weirdos that likes a little bite to the meat, I don't like it so tender that it falls off the bone. (crazy, I know). The braising liquid was good, but extremely hearty. The hubby said it was "ok", so I didn't get a "OMG, you gotta make this again" scream; however, I had a great excuse to get out my Le Creuset pot and use it!!

Anne Burrell's Braised Short Ribs from Food Network's Website

Bone-in short ribs (about 5 3/4 pounds)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 cups tomato paste
2 to 3 cups hearty red wine
2 cups water
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string
2 bay leaves

Season each short rib generously with salt. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

While the short ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in the food processor until it forms a coarse paste. When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Scrape the crud again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat if things start to burn. Reduce the mixture by half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart. Serve with the braising liquid.
Serves 8.

It's Shark Week and to celebrate I made cupcakes! Shark Week is a week long event on The Discovery Channel that airs episodes dedicated to sharks. Me? A nerd? OK, maybe. So when I had the idea to make cupcakes for this week long shark festival, I went straight to Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book. I love it, and I really love the One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe. One bowl! The ease of this recipe is almost as awesome as the actual cupcake itself. For the frosting, I used the Vanilla Buttercream recipe from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. To make the shark fin, I just removed the yummy center from an Oreo cookie, cut the cookie in half, dipped it in melted and gray tinted vanilla canned frosting and let dry. The shark fin idea is from the brilliant minds of the people who wrote Hello Cupcake. If you love cupcakes as much as I do, I highly suggest you buy this book.

On one of my favorite TV shows, 30 Rock, Tracy Morgan's character advises to "Live every week like it's Shark Week." If that means eating cupcakes and watching TV, I am so there!

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 C. buttermilk
3 Tbl. vegetable oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 C. warm water

Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water, beat until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cook completely.

Traditional Vanilla Buttercream from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

1 C. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
8 cups, confectioners' sugar
1/2 C. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and the vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (you may very well not need all of the sugar). Use and store icing at room temperature, as icing will set if chilled. Can store in airtight container up to three days.

I've been lazy. Well, lazy in the blogging since. I haven't really had the time to sit down and blog. The past couple of weeks have been busy in my household. Lady H suffered a small buckle fracture in her left arm and is in a cast for the next couple of weeks. I think the whole ordeal hurt me more than it hurt her, but we are both working through it. So needless to say, my time in my tiny kitchen has been little to none unless it's for a grilled cheese sandwich or a Stouffer's lasagna.

I did, however, find the time to make up a really nice salad. The BBQ based dressing drizzled over grilled chicken and bacon is pretty awesome and filling. A great dish to have for dinner, especially when you don't have the time to spend in a tiny hot kitchen.

From: Southern Living Five Star Recipe Collection 1990

BLT Chicken Salad
Serves 4

1/2 C. mayonnaise
1/4 C. bbq sauce
2 T. grated onion
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. pepper
2 Lg. tomatoes, chopped
8 C. torn leaf lettuce (or your choice of any lettuce)
3 C. chopped cooked chicken
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, grated onion, lemon juice and pepper in a small bowl; stir well. Cover and chill dressing mixture thoroughly.

Press chopped tomato between several layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Arrange lettuce on individual salad plates; top each serving with tomato and chopped cooked chicken. Just before serving, spoon dressing mixture over salads and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

This hurts me, but a bet is a bet and I keep my word, so here they are....Crimson Tide Cupcakes.

The story behind these cupcakes is a simple one. First of all, for those that don't know me, I am an avid University of Tennessee fan. I love the Vols!! Always have. It's one of the many things that connected me and my Dad. I lost my Dad 6 1/2 years ago and I always tear up at the beginning of the game, when the Pride of The Southland Marching Band forms the Power T and the football players run through, but I know that Dad is there with me enjoying the game too.

Okay, back to the story of the bet. My friend and fellow foodie, So How's It Taste? is an avid University of AlaDAMbama Alabama fan. She told me that if UT beat Bama, she would bake a UT themed item and in turn, if Alabama won, that I should bake a Bama themed treat. Well....here we are.

The cupcakes were fairly easy.  I used a boxed red velvet cake mix and I made buttercream frosting and tinted it gray. The houndstooth cupcake liners are from Bake It Pretty.  The script A's are made of white chocolate. I printed off an image from the computer of the script A and placed waxed paper over it and traced the image with the melted white chocolate. That seemed to be the most difficult task, as I do not have the most steadiest of hands.

So, Leah, here are your cupcakes. Now I'm going to go fix a drink (my traditional game-day bourbon & Sprite) and listen to Rocky Top!!

Even though they may not be fancy and can be somewhat boring, chocolate chip cookies are still one of my favorite things. In my household, I'm lucky if all the dough makes it into cookie form. When I saw a post on Bakerella for these, I simply had to make them.

Bakerella called these "brookies -a cookie and a brownie". They are also called "Congo Bars". I have never heard that term before, but whatever these are called, you can bet they are delicious. When I made them, I mixed the batter by hand, as I (and Bakerella) believe that it results in more of a brownie like texture. I mean, think about it, you don't really use a mixer to mix brownie batter do you? Well, I don't. I use good ole fashioned elbow grease. I also lined the pan with parchment paper with excess coming out over the sides so they could be easily pulled out of the pan so I could cut them evenly.

I made these to take to the in-laws for a Sunday dinner. I ended up taking only half the pan because my husband ate most of them, but in his defense, they are pretty crazy good!

Recipe from Bakerella

Congo Bars
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well. Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake. If the bars aren’t done at 30 minutes and the tops feel like they are getting too brown, then place a sheet of aluminum foil on top and bake a little longer. Use a toothpick to insert and check for doneness before removing from the oven.

These are some truffles that I made for my daughter's first birthday party we had last Saturday. I attempted to make ladybugs since the theme for the party was ladybugs. I wasn't too impressed with my skills, but to be fair, I did do this at midnight.

I couldn't resist. I had to post a pic of the little one with her birthday cake. First taste of cake and frosting. So maybe staying up past midnight making Oreo Truffles was worth it!!

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. of Oreo
1 8oz. cream cheese, softened
Almond Bark or any candy coating

Put the whole package of Oreos in the food processor and pulse until they make a fine crumb. Then add the softened cream cheese and pulse until it makes a dough. Chill the dough for about 15-30 minutes. It makes it easier to handle. Then roll into bite-sized balls and dip into the melted candy coating. Place on waxed paper and let dry or place in fridge for a quicker set up.  Enjoy!

If you love lemon, you will love these cupcakes. Lemon cake filled with lemon curd and then topped with lemon buttercream. Wow.

My good friend Leah and I got together and decided to collaborate on this wonderful lemon treat for our friend/co-worker's birthday. We immediately decided on cupcakes, of course. Leah made the lemon curd and I made the cupcakes and the buttercream. The lemon curd was made the day before and when Leah handed me the jar of curd, I immediately sampled it. It was tart and very delicious. It complemented the sweetness of the buttercream so well. It all went together so beautifully that this may be the best collaboration we've done so far. And the lemon buttercream is definitely going to be my go-to lemon buttercream for now on.

** Thanks to Leah for letting me use the photos from her phone**

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream
from Cooking with Paula Deen 
July/August 2001 issue

1 C. butter, softened
2 C. sugar
4 eggs, large at room temperature
1 T. lemon zest
1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 C. cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. buttermilk at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350. 

In a medium sized bowl, mix together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine and then set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Add the sugar gradually and beat for around 5 minutes until it's all incorporated and nice and fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs and beat until the yellow disappears after each addition. Then, add the zest, juice and vanilla and beat until blended. 

Take the dry ingredients and gradually add to the butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed until blended after each addition. 


Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and then scoop mixture into liners using large spoon or ice cream scoop. Fill liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Once removed from oven, let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then take cupcakes out of pan and let them cool on wire rack. Make sure cupcakes are cooled completely before frosting with lemon buttercream. Of course, cupcakes are best the day they are made, but you can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.

 For the Lemon Curd recipe, visit Leah at So How's It Taste?

Lemon Buttercream
1 C. butter, softened
2 T. lemon zest
1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
2 T. milk
5 C. powdered sugar
Yellow food coloring (optional)


In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Add zest, juice and milk and continue beating until it's well blended. Add the powdered sugar slowly and beat until it's light and fluffy. Beat in the desired amount yellow food coloring if using.

I LOVE Cadbury Mini Eggs. I always get excited when I walk into Target and see that beautiful purple bag full of sweet chocolaty goodness. Problem is, I love them too much. In the past, it was such a problem that I've had to have the bag hidden from me. My mother, my college roommate and my husband have had to take responsibility into their own hands and hide them. It's sad, but true. I knew my addiction was getting better when one year my husband hid them from me and I did not find them until Christmas. Don't worry, I didn't eat them, I'm not that hard core of a mini egg junkie.

Actually, it's been a year or more since I've had some mini eggs. I did, however, buy a bag this year and I'm glad I did. After a stressful couple of days due to car trouble, I needed something chocolaty. I had a box of brownie mix and a bag of mini eggs and I thought why not put the two together. Plus, I got some good stress relief by crushing up the mini eggs. 

Here's what I did:

I mixed the brownies according to the directions on the box. I crushed enough mini eggs to make around 1 cup and then I sprinkled the mini eggs onto the brownie batter. I then baked them according to the directions on the box. (Rocket science, I know).

Ever since I saw these cinnamon chip scones on How Sweet It Is, I've been dreaming about them. It did,  however, take me forever to make them because I couldn't find cinnamon chips anywhere. I looked all around Nashville and even Chattanooga, and still couldn't find them. One day I was flipping through my King Arthur Flour catalog and there they were, cinnamon mini baking chips. I ordered a bag and within days I made my first batch of scones. To die for, seriously.

Scones are so easy to make and they freeze well, so you can make a batch or two ahead of time. I'm totally making a batch for breakfast for the day after Thanksgiving. These will be great while standing in line on Black Friday!

Cinnamon Chip Scones
from: How Sweet It Is

3 1/4 C. all purpose flour
1/3 C. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 C. butter, cold
1 C. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C. cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until it forms coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Fold in the cinnamon chips. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently.

Divide the dough in half and pat into 7 inch round circles. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture, if desired. Cut into 8 wedges.

Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes.

This recipe makes 16 scones.


This is, by far, my favorite cookie from Martha Stewart's Cookies book. I love this vanilla-bean cookie. To be honest with you, I wouldn't even bother with making the buttercream filling. This cookie is spectacular enough to stand on its own. However, I feel like sandwich cookies are for special occasions and sometimes you need to have such a cookie.

The original version of this cookie calls for the filling to consist of pureed raspberries, sugar, heavy cream and white chocolate. For the life of me I could NOT get the white chocolate and heavy cream to mix together. I tried three times! The melted white chocolate would seize up when I added the heavy cream, which I figured it would. So, I just decided to stick with a tried and true buttercream. I made an easy raspberry buttercream before so I knew that it would work out perfectly. If you've made the original version of this cookie, please let me know. I'd love to hear if it worked for you.

Raspberry Buttercream Sandwich Cookies
cookie recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies, buttercream recipe from Annie's Eats

Cookies:
1 3/4 C. all - purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
10 T. unsalted butter, softened (1 1/4 sticks)
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 egg, large
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.

Put flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk together until combined. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together and then mix for about 2 minutes on medium high. Add the egg, vanilla extract and the vanilla seeds. Mix until smooth and then reduce speed to low; gradually mix in the flour mixture.

Using a 1-inch ice cream scoop, drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets and bake 8-10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on wire racks.

For the buttercream filling:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
5-6 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. seedless raspberry jam

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and jam together on medium-high speed until combined, around 2 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Once blended, spread about 1 T. of buttercream onto the bottom of one cookie and then sandwich with another. The cookies can be refrigerated between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temp. up to 2 days. You will probably have leftover buttercream. Enjoy at your leisure!

 

I've discovered that I really like scones. To be honest, I've never really had one until a couple of months ago because I always thought they would be really dry and stale, or at least they looked to be that way.  My first scone was from my fellow foodie friend of So, How's It Taste?. It was a blueberry scone with a lemony glaze and it was really, really good. It wasn't dry or bland like I thought it would be. After that first bite, I immediately jumped on the scone bandwagon. 

These pumpkin scones are the second batch of scones I've ever made. My first batch was with dried cranberries and while I think they would have been better with fresh ones, they would make a great Thanksgiving breakfast treat, just like these pumpkin scones. These scones would also be perfect to take with you to snack on while you stand in line at 3AM during Black Friday sales!

Pumpkin Scones with a Cinnamon Glaze
from: brown eyed baker

For the Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
6 Tablespoons cold butter
½ cup canned pumpkin
3 Tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger in a large bowl. Use a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious; set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half-and-half and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle about 3 times as long as wide. Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut each of the portions in an X pattern (four pieces) so you end up with 12 triangular slices of dough.*

Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

*I only got 8 pieces out of my ball of scone dough. I didn't want to pat out the dough too thin because I wanted my scones to be nice and thick.

For the Cinnamon Glaze:
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
2 Tablespoon milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon

To make the powdered sugar glaze, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and cinnamon together until smooth. When scones are cool, drizzle glaze over the top of each scone.

I've been making these banana muffins for several years now. I love them, and so does the rest of the family. They are sweet, dense and full of banana flavor. These are by no means "light" muffins. Actually, the original recipe has a mascarpone cream frosting to go along with them, but I leave that off. Frosting would make it a cupcake and to some crazy people, i.e. the husband, it's unacceptable to have cupcakes for breakfast. I know, he's not in his right mind!

Banana Muffins
from Giada De Laurentiis via Food Network

3 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 C. sugar
1 C. vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

Makes 18 muffins



My 14 month old daughter has a bib that says, "My Mom Rocks". If they made those in adult sizes I would totally get one. My Mom does rock! She's awesome! I could create another blog just about her and how great she is.

Her birthday was this past week and I made these cupcakes for her birthday celebration. Let me tell you, these cupcakes are almost as awesome as my mother! The browned butter frosting is so incredible, it will literally make you do a happy dance. The sweetness of the sugar mixed with the nutty, buttery goodness of the browned butter...ah, the combination is heaven. The brown sugar pound cake is really good as well. Coming from my Mother's recipe files, it was always one of my favorites growing up.

Happy Birthday Mom!! You rock!

Brown Sugar Pound Cake Cupcakes

1 C. butter, softened
1 lb. brown sugar
1 C. sugar
5 eggs
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
3 C. sifted all-purpose flour
1 C. evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla

In a large bowl, beat butter till smooth. Gradually add sugars and beat in eggs one at a time. In another bowl, combine salt, baking powder and flour and stir lightly.

Mix milk and vanilla together. At low speed, add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately. Beat quickly at medium-high speed until well blended.

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners and fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 min. and then remove and let cool completely before frosting.

Browned Butter Frosting
from: Southern Living, April 2006

1 C. butter
16 oz. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla

Cook butter over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat immediately and pour butter into small bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour or until butter is cool and begins to solidify.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with powdered sugar. Beat mixture at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

So I might have a slight whoopie pie obsession. I may or may not sit at work and write down possible variations that I want to bake. Lemon, chocolate chip, orange creamsicle, salted caramel, strawberry, key lime, mocha...I could go on. When I saw these in Martha Stewart's annual holiday cookie magazine, my first thought was that banana whoopie pies didn't seem very Christmas-y to me. After making them, I realized it didn't matter what the occasion, these babies are perfect for any time of the year.

Banana Whoopie Pies
Source: Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies 2010

2 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. mashed banana (about 1 large ripe banana)
1/2 C. sour cream
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 C. confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk to combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together banana and sour cream.

Beat butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add egg and 1/4 tsp. vanilla, beating until incorporated. Add banana mixture in 2 additions, alternating with flour mixture.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe batter into 1 1/4 inch rounds on parchment lined baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. OR, you can do what I did and use a medium sized ice cream scoop!

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies, still on parchment, to wire racks. Let cool completely. (Unfilled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 day.)

To make filling, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Pipe or spoon about 1 T. cream cheese mixture onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies.

By using my medium sized ice cream scoop, I got about 15 or so whoopie pies.



Photo Courtesy of Leah 

I was very excited to make these cupcakes. Yeah, they were a process but definitely worth it for two reasons. One, because they are totally delicious and two, they were to celebrate a birthday.

I've known for months now that I was going to bake my friend, co-worker, and fellow foodie Leah cupcakes for her birthday. I mean, she made some killer cupcakes for my birthday so of course I had to come up with something that measured up. Luckily, a couple of weeks before her birthday, Leah sent me a list of possible cupcakes that she would like to have me make. I am so glad these were on her list. Something about the combination of chocolate and raspberry is pure magic. The frosting is equally amazing. The seedless raspberry jam really shines through and takes regular buttercream to the next level.



Photo Courtesy of Leah

 

Devil's Food Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

3/4 C. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 C. hot water
3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1 1/2 C. unsalted butter
2 1/4 C. sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbl. plus 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over med-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on med-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 min. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filing each 3/4 full. Bake until cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 min. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Once cooled, then core the cupcake and fill with raspberry filling. I have a cupcake corer that I used to make a hole for the raspberry filling. If you don't have one, you can gently cut out a circle in the middle of the cupcake and then use a piping bag or small spoon to fill the cupcakes with the filling. Then frost with raspberry buttercream.

Raspberry Filling
from Smitten Kitchen
(I cut the original recipe in half since I was only making 2 dozen cupcakes)

1 10oz bag of frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 C. sugar
1 T. cornstarch

Puree the raspberries in a food processor, blender or immersion blender. Press the puree through a fine-mesh strainer with the back of a spoon, removing the seeds. Heat the puree in a small pot with the sugar and cornstarch until mixture boils, stirring constantly. As it boils, it should quickly thicken.

Raspberry Buttercream
from Annie's Eats

16 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. seedless raspberry jam

To make the frosting, place the butter and jam in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.



When my friend and fellow foodie, So How's It Taste?, told me about these I HAD to try them. I had a ball of pizza dough that I bought at Publix in my freezer just waiting to be turned into these. From the brilliant mind of One Particular Kitchen, these homemade pizza rolls are a perfect snack/lunch/dinner food. One of the best thing about these pizza rolls is that you can customize them anyway you want. I, of course, went the meaty route, with diced pepperoni, diced ham and crumbled sweet Italian sausage. I made them on a weekend and I was really surprised how quick and easy there were to prepare. A perfect food for sitting in front of the TV watching football!

Since I am not that great with photography and even worse at step by step photography, head over to One Particular Kitchen to get the lowdown on making these delicious pizza snacks!

Pizza Rolls
from One Particular Kitchen

You're going to need:
Pizza Dough (the best is from the deli section at Publix) or you could make your own.
Pizza Sauce
Any type of pizza toppings you desire
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Dental Floss, preferably not mint flavored

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle and then spread pizza sauce over the dough.
Sprinkle on your pizza toppings.
Sprinkle on your cheese.
Gently roll up the dough.

With the dental floss, you will cut slices of the rolls. Slide the floss under the rolled dough, cross the ends over the top like you are going to tie a knot and then pull the ends all the way through the dough so that the floss is straight again. The purpose of the floss is so that you will have a nice, clean cut roll.

Place the rolls in a greased baking dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

 

These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are great for breakfast, snack time, dessert...well, pretty much any time of the day.  When I make these, Lady H looks at them, points, and says, "nom, nom".  I think those were some of her first words, along with "Da-Da" and "Papa". 

You really should wait for the muffins to cool before you dig in because the cream cheese filling is really hot, however, one straight from the oven is like a big huge hug for your taste buds.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
from Annie's Eats

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter.  Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil.  Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line muffin pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil.  Mix on medium-low speed until blended.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend.  Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.  Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons).  Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces.  Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well.  Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.  Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.