30 Minute Yeast Rolls

Before making these, I didn't "believe in" 30 minute yeast breads. To my delight, I was totally wrong! These only took 30 minutes, from start to finish! Yep! That's it! I sprinkled garlic powder and parmesan cheese on a few of them and left the others plain. Ohhhhh yum. I also think that this would make a great base recipe for mixing in cinnamon and brown sugar or jalapenos and cheese. We took some to the neighbors so that we didn't devour the entire pan alone. So, do your family a favor and whip some up tonight for dinner! The hubby will definitely approve :)

30 Minute Rolls

Recipe from Your Homebased Mom

1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water
1/3 C oil
2 Tbsp yeast
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 C bread flour (seems to work better but all purpose flour will also work)
Butter (optional)

In your mixer bowl combine the water, oil, yeast and sugar and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.  Using your dough hook, mix in the salt, egg and flour.  Knead with hook until will incorporated and dough is soft and smooth. (Just a few minutes)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Form dough into 12 balls and then place in a greased 9 x 13 pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown. Butter rolls while hot.

Dreamsicle Cookies

Tonight I decided to mix up my typical chocolate chip cookie recipe. I wanted something bright and fresh since it's starting to feel springy outside. So, I added some orange zest, orange extract, {even more} vanilla extract and white chocolate chips! Major success. 

Like, Hubby-kept-sneaking-into-the-kitchen-to-grab-another success.

image source for above pic

Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening...I use butter flavored, but I'm sure any will do
1/2 cup REAL butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract

Zest from one medium sized orange
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white chocolate chips


1. In a large mixing bowl of your stand mixer, beat the shortening and butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Then add sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. 

2. Beat in the eggs, orange zest, orange extract and vanilla extract until combined. 

3. Beat in as much of the flour as you with the mixer. If necessary, stir in remaining flour by hand. Stir in white chocolate pieces. 

4. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Ross loved these. He kept saying how amazed he was that they were healthy for you and delicious! As for the baby...well, he is wearing them from head to toe so, I think it's safe to say that he approves.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
adapted from food.com

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup honey
4 eggs
2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup hot water
Chocolate chips: amount to taste

Directions:

1. Stir together dry ingredients, including cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
2. Beat oil and honey together; add vanilla and eggs and beat well.
3. Add bananas and beat to combine.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with hot water; mix well after each addition.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
   
6. Spoon batter into 24 greased muffin cups; bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and test done.
7. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

Millionaire Toffee Bars

I was watching Food Network the other day---big surprise, right? I saw a recipe for Millionaire Shortbread, so.... I put my own spin on it and have made it 3 times since then! It's a huge hit at Ross' office, too! I mean, layers of shortbread, homemade caramel, chocolate and toffee! What's not to love!?!?!

You need:

Shortbread layer-
1 cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Caramel layer:
1 tbsp butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Topping:
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips
1/2 bag heath toffee crumbles

Make it:

-Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9x9 baking dish VERY WELL.

-In your food processor, combine flour, salt and sugar. Pulse to mix it. Add in butter and mix until it all comes together.

-Press into your buttered baking dish and bake until slightly golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. It will vary because of oven temps. You do not want to over cook this.


-Take out of the oven and let cool completely.

-Once the shortbread is cooled, you can make the caramel layer. In a sauce pan, melt one tbsp butter. Pour in your can of sweetened condensed milk and stir, stir, stir over medium heat. Stir and stir some more, until it thickens up and turns caramel colored. This will about about 15-20 minutes of lovin'.

-Pour your caramel over the cooled shortbread and smooth out as well as you can. Lick the spoon...and the pan...and the fingers...but wait until it's cooled or you will burn your tongue...and hand...and fingers...

-Let caramel cool at room temp until firm.

-Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave on half heat. Be careful not to burn it. I stir mine every 30 seconds. Or, if you're super-fancy-Paula-Dean-style, you can always use a double boiler. Whatev.

-Pour the chocolatey goodness over the caramel and sprinkle with toffee bits. Lightly press the toffee into the chocolate.

-Let it cool in the fridge until the chocolate is firm...not hard...just firm. Take them out and cut. You can put them back in the fridge now if you want, or you can park it in front of the tv, watch some more Food Network and eat the whole dish...up to you!

Pecan Brittle

No need for a candy thermometer with this easy recipe! My sister and I made it for my dad today. We made several batches and this is the recipe that we finally came up with. Yummy!

*Since all stoves cook at different heats, be certain to watch carefully to prevent burning. Trust me; it makes a stinky mess :)



Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups pecans (or other nuts)
2 tsp baking soda

Directions
-Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and butter.
-Heat sugar, butter and corn syrup on medium heat in sauce pan until mixture is dissolved and it starts to boil.
-Once it starts to boil, stop stirring and let boil for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.
-Let it cook a about one minute longer or until it has gotten one shade darker. This will happen quickly.
-Stir in vanilla and salt until well incorporated.
-Stir in pecans and cook until color is a rich golden brown, about one more minute.
-Remove from heat and add baking soda. It will get all foamy. Stir until color is even throughout.
-Pour immediately onto buttered foil and spread thin with a silicone spatula. (I sprayed mine with cooking spray to be extra careful.)
-Let cool. Break into pieces.

Moose Munch

I've been a baking machine lately! I loooove to put the baby down for a nap and then cook up a storm of sweets for Ross. This week I've been on a caramel corn kick. I started making if a few years ago and just remembered it! It's SO easy!

*The caramel that this makes is about the equivalent of super glue. You don't want it to get onto your counters or floor. It's a pain to clean up. Hot water works wonders.

Ingredients
1 bag of popped popcorn (not the super-buttery stuff)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lite brown syrup
1 stick real butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dried Cranberries (optional and amount to taste)
Pecan bits (optional and amount to taste)
White chocolate (optional and amount to taste)


Directions
-Put popcorn into a really large bowl. Be sure to pick out the un-popped kernels.
-In a microwavable bowl, put the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Microwave for 30 seconds, take out and stir.
-Microwave for 2 minutes. Take out and stir.
-Microwave for another 2 minutes, take out and stir. Then add the baking soda and vanilla. At this point, the caramel will bubble up like crazy. Keep stirring. Stir until it gets a little bit lighter in color and is well mixed. You'll know when.
-Pour all over popcorn and mix well.

If you like chewy caramel popcorn, follow these directions: Stir in cranberries, pecan bits and drizzle with chocolate. Spread onto a cookie sheet or aluminum foil. Do not, like me, spread it onto wax paper. The caramel is too hot and melts it. Trust me. Let popcorn cool and devour!

OR

If you like crunchy-crispy caramel popcorn follow these directions. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Spread onto baking sheet and bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Take out and drizzle with white chocolate. Let cool. Enjoy!

Holiday Treats

I was looking through my past blog posts to find some ideas for holiday treats to give away. Here's a list of what I found.

Thin Mint Knockoffs
Cakies
Oreo Truffles
Haystacks
Butterscotch Bars
White chocolate and cranberry cookies
Moose Munch Caramel Popcorn

White chocolate and cranberry cookies

These are festive looking yummy little cookies!

Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 bag of dried cranberries

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening and butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds until well combined. Then add sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you with the mixer. Stir remaining flour. Stir in chocolate and cranberries.

2. Drop dough (I use a mini ice cream scoop) on to greased cookie sheet.

3. Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Seriously, the BEST peanut butter cookies ever

This is my recipe for the best peanut butter cookies ever. I've been tweaking it for a while and now I think it's pretty perfect.


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag of Reese's peanut butter chips
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter, peanut butter, vanilla and sugars. Beat in eggs.
2.In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add slowly into batter. Fold in peanut butter chips.
3. I use a mini-ice cream scooper to make evenly sized cookies or you can roll into 1 inch balls. Put on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes (in my oven, 11 minutes is perfect) or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.

The Perfect Sugar Cookies

So, since we are having a boy, I am slowly being introduced to the world of Star Wars. It's a long story but, I lost a bet and will now have to watch the oldest three movies. Blah. Well, Ross' mom sent us some cookie cutters yesterday to "help" get me acquainted. My best friend, Sarah, is a sugar cookie-making master so, I used her recipe. The dough was so easy to work with, tasted yummy and made amazing little Yodas and Darth Vaders (something I NEVER thought I'd say). Here's her recipe. Thanks, Sarah!


Sarah's Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies

* 3 cups plain flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 sticks softened butter
* 1 egg
* 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on baking sheets (no need to spray the cookie sheet!)and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.


And now the wonderful ICING recipe:

* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 3 teaspoons milk
* 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. I'll also add a splash of more milk or almond extract to thin the icing down if needed. I usually go with the almond because I absolutely LOVE almond extract. If you touch the icing with your finger tip, you want it to hold a peak for about 10 seconds, and then flatten down. Divide into separate bowls and add your food colorings!

Now to decorate, you can either use the little plastic bottles they sell at craft stores on the baking isle, or you can use icing bags and pipes. I use both. If you use the bags, make sure you have a #1 or #2 tip, otherwise the icing is just going to pour out the tip and make a mess. Trust me. I know.

Now when you're decorating, just outline your cookie, let it dry, and then "flood" the desired area in with more icing. Happy baking!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

I have not been cooking much lately because I have not been up for eating! I made these today for Ross and they were quite a success.


Ingredients:
Your favorite brownie mix or recipe (one box)
Chocolate chip cookie dough (one package)
Caramel syrup

Directions:
Mix up the brownie mix. Spray 9x13 pan and spread 1/2 of the mix in the bottom of the pan. Roll cookies into balls and then flatten out. Cover the brownie mix with a layer of flattened out cookie dough. Cover with remaining brownie batter. Be sure to cover up all of the cookie dough. Drizzle top with caramel syrup. Bake at 350 for 38-42 minutes. Let cool before serving.

(bake free) Oreo truffles

These are divine...so rich and yummy! Don't let the word "truffle" be intimidating. If you can use a food processor and fridge, you can make these.

Ingredients
1 pack oreo cookies
1 block cream cheese
1 block white almond bark or white chocolate
SPRINKLES (or other cute decorations)!!

Directions
1- soften cream cheese (either by setting it out for a while or putting it in microwave on low heat)
2- put oreos in food processor and chop until it is the consistency of bread crumbs
3- in large bowl, mix oreo crumbs and cream cheese until well mixed. You will have to mush it against the side of the bowl with a flexible spoon.
4- roll mixture into balls and chill for 20-30 minutes.
5- melt chocolate or almond bark. roll oreo balls in melted chocolate and place on wax paper. Sprinkle with sprinkles for decoration (before it dries)!!!
6- keep chilled until serving

Haystacks

These bring back all sorts of childhood memories for me. Aunt Jane, my dad's little sister, made these for the holidays and we always looked forward to them. Aunt Jane passed away when I was in college, so every time I have them, I think of her. They are the perfect mix of salty and sweet...just too hard to resist! Merry Christmas!



Ingredients
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 can shoestring potato chips
Peanuts (as much or little as you would like)

Directions
SLOWLY melt butterscotch over LOW heat in large skillet. (you could also microwave on 1/2 power, as not to burn your butterscotch) Once melted, add shoestring potato chips and peanuts. Mix well. Spoon tablespoon (or so) of mixture onto wax paper. Let cool. That's it!

Butterscotch bars

One of my students brought me these the other day....Oh my goodness, amazing!!! His mom was kind enough to share the recipe, which I then found online. I WILL be making these at Christmas.

Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pea-sized pieces, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (11-ounce) bag butterscotch chips
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drape a 9 by 13-inch pan with overlapping pieces of aluminum foil, creating handles for easy removal. Butter the paper, and reserve.

In a food processor add the flour, oats and brown sugar and pulse to combine. Add the 2 sticks of butter, the cinnamon and the butterscotch chips. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture forms clumps when pressed between your fingers. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer, reserve the other half. Bake in the preheated oven just until slightly golden and set, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Beat together the cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon zest and juice and vanilla in an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle, or with an electric hand mixer until no lumps of cream cheese remain. Spread evenly over the baked and cooled oatmeal mixture. Sprinkle the remaining half of the oatmeal mixture over the cream cheese. Bake until the top is golden, about 40 minutes.

Cool and chill before cutting. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and using the foil handles, transfer the bars to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares with a sharp knife and serve.

Banana Muffins

These are delicious!! Unfortunately, this recipe only makes 10 muffins, so enjoy them slowly!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
chopped walnuts (optional)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Crumble topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2.In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3.In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4.Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cara's Cakies

It has been raining solid for days now, so naturally we are staying in the house this weekend. That being said, I have cooked a lot! I made Leslie's famous chocolate chip cookies (with white chocolate chips, as per Ross' request), Gnocchi with Pesto Cream Sauce and these delightful little cookies. Ross called them cakies, since they are made with cake batter...I quite like the name! I got the recipe from this lovely lady, Cara! You will notice in the picture that one of them has sprinkles....my favorite food! I am of the philosophy that sprinkles, added to anything sweet, only makes the dish better! You should test my theory :)

Here is Cara's recipe...I added the notes about sprinkles

1 box cake mix (I've tried strawberry, chocolate, pineapple and lemon... chocolate and lemon are the biggest hits my fav is pineapple)
1 box cream cheese (thawed a bit)
1 stick softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
powdered sugar
sprinkles

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and egg. Add cake mix (and sprinkles). Refrigerate for 2 hrs (or freezer for an hr). Roll into balls and roll the balls in powdered sugar (or sprinkles if you are obsessed with them like me). Bake for 12 min at 350. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (and more sprinkles).

Lemon Bars and Sprinkle Bars

SPRINKLES ARE MY FAVORITE FOOD!
Ross and I always "argue" about whether or not it is a food. Well, of course they are! This recipe is from Ross' mom. She makes them into Sprinkle Bars when I come to town!! She loves me :)



Lemon Bar Ingredients:
1 box White Cake Mix
1 egg
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 heaping Tablespoon lemon juice
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar

**The only difference in the ingredients is the use of sprinkles or lemon juice**

Sprinkle Bar Ingredients:
1 box White Cake Mix
1 egg
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
SPRINKLES!!! (as much as you think to should be mixed in and used for topping)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar

Directions:
Mix cake mix, first egg and vegetable oil until crumbly. Put 2/3 of mixture into 9 x 13-inch pan. (Reserve rest to sprinkle on top later.) Bake for 15 minutes at 325. Combine remaining ingredients and pour on top of crumb mixture. Put remaining crumb mixture on top and bake at 325 F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with sprinkles!!! Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares.

Leslie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

A dear sweet friend of mine, Leslie, gave me her recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are, hands down, the best I have ever had. Ross loves them (of course) because he typically eats cookies with milk every night before bed. Today I added Heath Bar crumbles and they were fantastic!! You can see my prized pink KitchenAid mixer in the background!

Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter (THE REAL STUFF PEOPLE!)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips

add nuts optional

1. In a large mixing bow beat the shortening and butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. I swear using a mixer is key to yummy cookies. Then add sugar brown sugar, and baking soda. Beat mixture until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you with the mixer. Stir remaining flour. Stir in chocolate pieces, and if desired nuts.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake cookies in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Thin Mint Knock-offs

So we all love when the Girl Scouts come knocking on our doors and we get to stock up on their amazing cookies....especially those Thin Mints. The only problem is that these girls only come once a year! I have a solution. These are my version of Thin Mints. I'll admit that it sounds like an odd combination, but trust me...they are a hit!



Ingredients:
Ritz crackers
Andes mints baking chips
Crushed peppermints (optional for garnish)
Wax paper

Directions:
Melt chocolate mint chips slowly over double boiler or low heat. Once melted, dip Ritz crackers in chocolate. Place covered crackers on wax paper. Sprinkle peppermint crumbles on top to make it look pretty. Let crackers cool and devour! I like to store them in the freezer....yummy!!