Liebster Blog Award

by penji1

So yesterday I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by my new blogging buddy, nocturnefirefay, who had nothing but nice things to say about my blog over on hers, thanks!  Here is the link to her blog

http://www.nocturnefirefay.wordpress.com

And here is a little bit about the Liebster Blog Award:

“The Liebster Blog Award is given to up coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

The Meaning; Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

The rules for the Liebster Blog Award are:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  🙂

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.

3. Copy & paste the blog award on your blog

4. Reveal your 5 blog picks.

5. Let them know you choose them by leaving a comment on their blog.”

So here are my 5 picks for the Liebster Blog Award which are all food related of course!   (I’ll be honest, sometimes I couldn’t tell how many followers they had so if I nominated someone with more than 200 followers, the fault is all mine!):

1  http://tashainthekitchen.wordpress.com/     Tasha is a university student in Scotland and shares my love of all things food.  I especially enjoy her posts about Scottish food!  Check out her blog, it is delightful!

2  http://fortheloveofcuppiecakes.wordpress.com/     Because seriously, who doesn’t love cupcakes?  So cute and so yummy!

3  http://sweetwhimsyblog.wordpress.com/     Sweet, whimsical treats, great pictures, fun!

4  http://mygrandparentskitchen.wordpress.com/   This one makes me hungry for a hearty dinner when I go there and look at all the recipes and pictures.

5  http://abowlofcherriesblog.wordpress.com/     More yummy recipes!

So thank you once again to nocturnefirefay for the nomination and now I am off to comment on my 5 choices and tell them “tag!  you’re it!”!

Santa Hat Brownies

by penji1

We had our annual Christmas potluck at Book Group tonight and I was trying to figure out what to bring and my neighbor Karin asked if I was going to make these and at first I said no but then I thought why not? so this is what I took.  I found this idea on another blog so here is the link:

http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2009/12/santa-hat-brownie-bites.html

So cute, so easy, so tasty!  Here’s how I did it:

1 brownie mix plus ingredients to make brownies

frosting

strawberries

1  Prepare brownie mix according to package directions.  Spray wells of mini muffin pan with Pam for baking.  Using small scoop or teaspoon, scoop batter into each well of pan.  (I usually get about 48 brownie bites from a regular box of brownie mix.)  Bake in a 325 oven (or 350 if your mini muffin pans aren’t dark) for 14 minutes then let sit in pans for 15 minutes before removing.

2  Cut the tops of the strawberries off so that you have a flat top on each.  Pipe frosting (I used my favorite buttercream here) with a round tip around edges of each brownie bite (if you don’t have something to pipe with then you could either use a ziploc bag with the corner cut or just frost the top of each brownie with a knife).  Place 1 strawberry on each frosting topped brownie pressing down so that you have frosting showing as a rim for the Santa hat.  Pipe a tiny peak on the top of each strawberry.  That’s it!

Sugar Cookie Truffle Cups

by penji1

This recipe comes from http://www.bettycrocker.com, a 2nd variation on the cookie cup idea, also very tasty!

garnish:

3 oz semisweet baking chocolate

1 tablespoon shortening

or Christmas sprinkles

cookie cups:

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix or chocolate chip cookie mix

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

filling:

2 cups dark chocolate chips

3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1  Heat oven to 375 (or 350 for dark pans).  Spray 24 (I got 36) mini muffin cups with cooking spray.

2  (Skip this step if using sprinkles.)  Microwave semisweet baking chocolate and shortening on high until smooth and melted.  Pour onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Using spatula, smooth chocolate into a thin layer, set aside to harden.

3  Mix cookie cup ingredients until a crumbly dough forms.  Shape dough into small balls (or use mini scoop) and place each into muffin cup.

4  Bake 10 – 11 minutes (it was 8 – 10 for me) or until set and very light golden brown (dough will puff up slightly).  Using end of rolling pin handle or spoon (or Pampered Chef tart shaper), press indentation in center of each cookie to form cup.  Cool completely in pan, about 15 minutes.  Remove cups from pan to cool.

5  (Skip this step too if using sprinkles.)  Meanwhile, to make curly chocolate shavings, use metal spatula to scrape a thin layer of chocolate from metal cookie sheet by sliding spatula edge quickly just under layer of hardened chocolate.

6  Microwave dark chocolate chips and whipping cream on high until chocolate is melted, stir until smooth.

7  Spoon filling evenly into each cookie cup.  Press chocolate curls gently into center of each cookie cup (or decorate with sprinkles).

I decided to make another variation trying the chocolate chip cookie mix which is the same process as above but for that 1, I decided to do a different filling than the one listed above so I took some of my leftover homemade vanilla buttercream frosting and melted it in the microwave and added a spoonful of cocoa to it and filled the chocolate chip cookie cups with that instead, also delicious!  Here’s what those looked like:

Reeses Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

by penji1

Target had Betty Crocker cookie mixes on sale for $1.55 this last week and I had a bunch of .40 cents off coupons so they ended up being only $1.15 a pouch so I bought about 6 pouches in various flavors (chocolate chip, peanut butter and sugar cookie) and then decided to experiment so this was experiment #1.  They were delicious!  Now let’s see if I can make my experiment sound like a real recipe.

1 (1 pd, 1.5 oz) pouch Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix

1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons oil

1 egg

36 mini Reeses peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Christmas sprinkles for decorating, if desired

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray wells of mini muffin pans with Pam for baking.

2  Mix together cookie mix, water, oil and egg.  Using mini scoop (or teaspoon), scoop 1″ balls into pans.  Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are starting to darken.

3  Immediately upon removing from oven, while cookies are still in pan, press 1 mini Reeses peanut butter cup into each cookie.  Let sit in pan for about 15 – 20 minutes or until set before removing.

4 Decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Snowmen Cupcakes

by penji1

Here are the other cupcakes I made today – snowmen!  This idea comes from Karen Tack and Alan Richardson’s other cookbook called “Hello, Cupcake!” which I also love.  The cupcakes are vanilla using their “Perfect Cake Mix Cupcakes” recipe from the same cookbook; I used a white cake mix and added 1 tablespoon of vanilla to the recipe.  I made several different kinds of snowmen; the two pictured above had their edges rolled in coconut then I stuck a giant snowflake sprinkle in their hair, we decided they looked like the baby snowmen.

These guys have hats made out of big and little Oreos.  Bob helped me with these as well; he made the tie on this one using Laffy Taffy that he melted in the microwave and then shaped into a tie.  These guys are rolled in white decorating sugar to make them sparkly!  Their noses are made from Starbursts and their eyes and mouths are mini chocolate chips.

These 2 have earmuffs on, made out of M & M’s and more melted Laffy Taffy and they were also rolled in white decorating sugar.

These 2 have hats and scarfs, courtesy of Bob, made out of Laffy Taffy again, so cute and also rolled in white decorating sugar.

And here they all are heading off to their new homes which would be with some of our neighbors!

 

Reindeer Cupcakes

by penji1

Today was Christmas cupcake day and a good day it was too!  These cute little guys come from Karen Tack and Alan Richardson’s “What’s New, Cupcake?” cookbook which is awesome!  I highly recommend it!  Mine are a little different than theirs as I used pretzels for antlers in order to make it a little easier.  Bob was in charge of breaking the pretzels for me and he did a great job.  I’m not going to put all the instructions for them here as I think you can pretty much tell from the picture how they are put together.  I tried out a new cupcake recipe which I got from my new “Taste of Home Cookies and More!” magazine that I bought at the grocery store so here is that recipe for you.

Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

1  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt;  gradually add to creamed mixture alternating with water and buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

2  Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 375 for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Lemon Glazed Persimmon Bars

by penji1

We got some persimmons in our Bountiful Basket this week so I thought I’d experiment with them.  I found this recipe on http://www.epicurious.com, “for people who love to eat”, and that’s me so I thought I’d give it a try.  Bob liked them and Zach said they were ok, I didn’t really care for them but it just depends on what you like.  They taste sort of like gingerbread or pumpkin, definitely good for the holidays, but I’d just rather have chocolate!

bars:

3 very ripe (very soft) Hachiya persimmons (1 1/4 pounds total)

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 cup loosely packed dried pitted dates, finely chopped (left these out)

1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1″ baking pan (a cookie sheet with sides or a jelly roll pan).

2  Discard dried green or brown calyx (stem and leaves) from each persimmon, then force persimmons 1 at a time through a medium mesh sieve into a bowl (I used my mesh colander), using a rubber spatula to press hard on solids (discard solids).  Transfer 1 cup puree to a small bowl (discard remainder) and stir in lemon juice and baking soda.  (Mixture will become foamy, then jell slightly.)

3  Sift together flour, salt and spices in another small bowl.

4  Whisk together egg, sugar, oil and dates in large bowl until just combined.  Add flour mixture and persimmon mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and stirring until just combined.  Stir in nuts.

5  Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool completely.

6  Stir together glaze ingredients until smooth, then spread over top of cooled bars.

Fudge Torte with White Chocolate Mousse

by penji1

I signed up to bring a dessert to our Christmas Bunco tonight and this is what I brought.  It is from the Pampered Chef cookbook called “Chocolate” which is awesome!  And this torte was awesome too!

mousse:

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

8 oz white chocolate, finely chopped (I used my Dove Chocolate Discoveries white chocolate)

2 tablespoons water

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 (6″) vanilla bean (To remove pulp from vanilla bean, cut bean in half lengthwise and scrape pulp from bean with small knife.)  (My local grocery store doesn’t sell vanilla beans and I didn’t have time to go looking for one so I just used 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead)

torte:

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (I left this out for my group of non coffee drinkers)

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 2/3 cups sugar

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

ganache:

1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used DCD dark chocolate)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1  For mousse, beat cream on high until medium peaks form, set aside.  Melt chocolate and water in microwave, uncovered, on high 1 – 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate is mostly melted, stirring every 30 seconds.  Beat chocolate mixture, cream cheese, butter and vanilla bean pulp on medium high until smooth.  Fold in whipped cream.  Refrigerate 3 – 4 hours or until consistency of thick frosting.

2  Preheat oven to 300.  For torte, spray 2 cake pans with nonstick cooking spray with flour and line with 8″ circles of parchment paper.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Combined cocoa powder, espresso powder and hot water; whisk until smooth.  Cool 5 minutes; whisk in sour cream.  Meanwhile, beat butter and sugar on medium high until creamy.  Beat in eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  On low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with cocoa mixture in 2 additions; beat until smooth.

3  Pour batter into prepare pans, spread evenly.  Bake 35 – 38 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Remove pans from oven to cooling racks.  Using clean kitchen towel, gently press cakes to flatten tops.  Cool 10 minutes.  Remove cakes from pans, cool completely on cooling racks.

4  For ganache, microwave, uncovered, chips and cream on high 1 – 1 1/2 minutes or until mixture is smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.  Carefully cut cakes horizontally in half to form 4 layers.  Place bottom cake layer on serving platter.  Spread with 1/3 of filling, spreading to edges.  Repeat 2 times with 2 cake layers and remaining mousse.  Top with remaining cake layer, drizzle with ganache.  Garnish with white chocolate curls, if desired.

Classic Minestrone #2

by penji1

This recipe comes from the October 21, 2011 issue of “All You” magazine.  I haven’t had any yet because tonight is our Christmas Bunco dinner so I’m eating there but it smelled delicious while cooking.

2 carrots. diced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (or pressed)

4 cups low sodium chicken broth (I ended up using 3 cans of chicken broth and it was still pretty thick soup)

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 cup small shell pasta or macaroni

1 cup shredded escarole or kale (I used a cup of broccoli instead because I had some from this week’s Bountiful Basket)

1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini or navy beans, drained

grated Parmesan, if desired, for serving

1  Combine carrots, celery, onion and garlic in slow cooker (I also added the broccoli here).  Pour in broth and tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and Italian seasoning.  Cover and cook on low 4 – 6 hours.

2  30 minutes before serving, stir in pasta, escarole and beans.  Cover, increase heat to high and cook until pasta is tender, about 30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve sprinkled with Parmesan if desired.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

by penji1

DON’T THROW AWAY THE LEFTOVER CHOCOLATE!  After you’ve dipped anything (truffles, cake pops, candies, etc), there is usually some chocolate left over after you’ve dipped everything, don’t throw it away!  When I know I’m going to dip anything, I always buy a bag of pretzels for the leftover chocolate.  Who doesn’t love chocolate dipped pretzels?  And besides, they’re so easy!  Just dip (warming up the leftover if it is starting to get hard), then sprinkle, if desired, and let set and you’ve got a tasty treat that took you maybe 5 minutes!  🙂