Pistachio Cookies

Yes cookies, I know they are not cake but Mama needs cookies too!
I first tried these cookies at a cookie exchange I did for the women's group at church. And they were great, like I couldn't stop eating them, but the recipe was not being shared. But I thought I could replicate it, and I think I did a pretty good job! If you know who I am talking about keep this on the DL!

Ingredients

1 Cup Butter

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 package Pistachio instant Pudding mix ( NOT sugar free)
1 Cup finely chopped pistachios or pecans (I did half and half)
Green food color to brighten the color

Filling

2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Cups Confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3-4 Tablespoons milk

Glaze 

3/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips1 Tablespoon shortening 

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl mix together your flour, baking soda, and pudding mix. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time along with the food coloring, and extracts. Add the dry to the wet and well combined. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.Pre heat the oven to 375 degreesRoll into 1-1 1/2 inch balls. Then roll into the chopped pistachios, or pecans, I did half and half. Place each cookie ball on to a un-greased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes (just keep an eye on them). The bottoms might be slightly browned, but will not taste burnt.  Transfer cookies to cooling rack.
Prepare the filling. Beat together the butter and sugar on high speed, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts and slowly add the milk (you may not use all of the milk—just use enough to get the filling nice, thick and smooth). Mix until combined and smooth. Spoon or pipe the filling into the cooled cookies. Place the cookies on a rack or waxed paper to glaze.
Prepare the glaze. In the microwave or over low heat, melt the chocolate and shortening. Stir frequently until smooth. Make sure that you do not scorch the chocolate. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies in a very thin stream, crossing back and forth.

Store in an air tight container. Makes about 4 dozen

Happy Pi Day, Apple Pie Cake

For those math people out there today is March, 14 or 3.14 the beginning of Pi the mathmatical constant. Pi is the ratio of a circl's circumference (the round part) to its diameter. So I decided to make a pie cupcake, an Apple cake decorated like a mini pie. 

Ingredients

Cake

1 Cup Butter, softened

2 Cups Sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

4 Apples, shredded

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 teaspoon Cinnanom

1/2 Nutmeg, ground

1/2 Cloves, ground

Frosting

6oz Cream Cheese, softened

1 teaspoon Vanilla

3 1/2 Cups Powder Sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Combine together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium bowl.

Take you shredded apples and stir them up with the lemon juice.

Cream the butter and sugar with your mixer, on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; mix in apples.

 Add flour mixture; mix, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until just combined.

Divide batter among lined cups, filling half to 3/4 full.

 Bake till a toothpick come out clean when inserted in the center, 22-28 minutes. Let cool in pans for about 5 minutes then remove cupcakes from pans and let cool on wire racks.

For frosting, beat the cream cheese till soft, add vanilla and combine. On a low speed add the powder sugar in small increments, till it is all added. This will be the glue for the fondant "pie crust".

Take about 1 to 1 1/2 cups fondant (I used pre made but you can use you own home made if you want), just eye ball it. Now take some ground cinnamon, you will use this as your pie crust coloring. I start with about a teaspoon and increased after kneading it using shortening to keep it from sticking, till  I got the coloring I wanted. Divided it in thirds so it is easier to work with. Roll it out till about a 1/4 inch thick. Take a round cookie cutter that is about 2 inches and cut out as many as you can.

Make room and with each circle cut out roll that out further till it is big enough to cover the top, plus a little extra of the cupcake. Frost the top of your cupcake just enough to cover it. Take your rolled out fondant and cover your cupcake.

tuck and pinch your extra fondant like you would a pie crust. Take a fork and crimp the edges of your "crust" and cut vent holes.

Using gum paste glue if you have it or water brush the top with a small amount and sprinkle with sugar. 

To make a apple, using red colored fondant. Roll into a small ball and make an intention in the top for the leaf and shape into an apple shape so not to look like a cherry.

The make the leafs, using green fondant, pull off a very small amount and form into a leaf shape, and take a sharp knife and put in the veins for the leaf. Taking a tooth pick and water/gum paste glue, glue the leaf on pressing with the toothpick. Glue the apple on the top of you "pie."

Now you have an Apple Pie! Happy Pi Day!

Vanilla Mini Cupcakes

Cupcakes are so delicious! They have the perfect amount of cake to frosting ratio, and if you are lucky they are filled. These are just a basic vanilla cupcake with a Classic French buttercream frosting. One of the fancy things about these is that you use actual vanilla bean. The vanilla bean adds an extra bit of rich vanilla flavor. Make sure you check the note on what to do with the empty pod.

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 Cup butter

1 egg

2 egg yolks

1 Vanilla bean* or 1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 Cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Cup Whipping Cream

Frosting

1 1/2 Cups unsalted butter

1 Cup sugar

1/4 water

6 egg yolks

2 tablespoons Vanilla Syrup or water

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Have your eggs and butter stand at room temperature for the cake and frosting. Make sure you separate your eggs before you leave them out to get to room temperature it is easier to separate when they are cold. Line your mini muffin pans with your cupcake liners or grease your pans. Plan for about 48 mini cup cakes, I never get that many so props for you if you can. 

To scrape your vanilla bean, begin by taking a sharp knif and slicing the vanilla bean in half long ways so you have two pecies or opened up. Taking the dull side of the knife scrape the bean pod and removing the seeds and place them in a custard cup and set aside.

*You can take the remaining part of the vanilla bean and use it to make vanilla sugar. In a container place the bean in it and cover it with about 1-2 Cups granulated sugar and let sit for about two weeks and use as you would regular sugar, just don't use the bean.  

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. 

Once your butter has softened, beat you butter for half a minute and then adding the sugar, and cream together, making sure you scrape the sides of your bowl. Add the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, the vanilla bean seeds and eggs. Combine well.

Alternately add flour and whipping cream to the butter mixture while at a low speed, until combined, the batter will be thick.

Spoon batter 3/4 full into the cupcake pan. Smooth the top with a spoon. 

Bake for 15 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes and remove and place on wire racks and cool completely. 

Frosting

Your butter and eggs should be room temperature by now. Whisk your egg yolks in s bowl and set aside. In a sauce pan combine the water and sugar.

 Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once all of the sugar is dissolved and clear remove from heat.

Gradually whisk half of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks. Then whisk it all back together so you have one mixture in the sauce pan.

Bring to a gentle boil and reduce the heat. Stirring continuously for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in and vanilla and vanilla syrup. You can find the vanilla syrup at Home Goods and TJ Maxx.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, you can use the one you had the yolks in the first place. Place in whole bowl in another bowl that has ice water. Stir frequently till it is room temperature.

In your mixing bowl beat the butter until fluffy.

 Take a fine mesh strainer, and place it over your mixing bowl and strain your egg yolk sugar mixture. Using a rubber scraper press as much of it through while keeping the solids in the strainer. Make sure you scrape the underside of the strainer too. This is what happens when you rush and don't temper your eggs well enough. Using the fine mess strainer helps keep the frosting nice and smooth.

 Beat until combined. You may have to place it in the fridge to get it to spreading consistency.

Frost your cupcakes, I like using icing bags with tips to make it look nice and it goes faster. 

White Chocolate with Strawberries

For my sisters birthday she requested strawberries, and she also said maybe not with chocolate! Not chocolate! What! She loves chocolate and really loves dark chocolate so this better be very strawberryie.

Ingredients 

Cake

1 Cup Butter, softened

2 Cups Sugar

4 Egg 

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 Cups Buttermilk *

1/4 Cup water

Frosting

8 oz Cream Cheese softened 

1/2 Cup butter softened (1stick)

4 squares (1oz each) White chocolate melted and cooled

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

6 Cups Powder Sugar

Filling

15 oz container frozen sliced Strawberries in sugar (thawed)

2 1/2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Sugar

Sliced Strawberries

Direction

Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Prepare your pans you will need three 9inch round pans. I use the spray and wax paper rounds. 

Using your mixer cream the butter and gradually add the sugar till fluffy. Add eggs one at a time then vanilla.

In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add to the butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk and water, mixing well and making sure to scrape the sides down.

Pour into your prepared pans. 

Bake for 23-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely. 

Filling

Seperate the strawberries and the syrup reserving both. Pour the strawberrie syrup in a medium sauce pan. Add the cornstarch and sugar, combin well. 

Over medium high heat, heat to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to cook till thickened about 5 minutes whisking constantly. 

Add the strawberries and heat well.

Cool completely.

Frosting

Beat the cream cheese and butter together till well combined and fluffy. Add chocolate and vanilla. Gradually add the powder sugar till the consistency you want it. 

Assembling the cake

Get your pretty cake plate, place one cake layer centered on the cake plate, make sure you cake is even if not take a long sharp knife, not serrated and even it up. Take some of your frosting and spread it over the cake and leave a lip or edge on it, you can also pipe a wall all the way around using a #10 or 12 tip. Using the filling that is cooled spoon that on top of the frosting staying in the lip that will help hold in. Place another layer on top of that, put the frosting down and the filling. Place the last layer and frost the whole thing. Place the sliced strawberries on the top and garnish with white chocolate curls.

 

* if you don't have buttermilk you can make your own with milk and white vineger or lemon juice. For 1 cup buttermilk, take your measuring cup and put 1 Tablespoon of the lemon juice OR white vineger, fill the rest of the measuring cup up to the 1 cup line with the milk, stir and let sit 5 minutes and you have buttermilk.

Peach Brandy Pound Cake

So there is no way to avoid it but yes there is alcohol in this cake. But This cake is really great. When I first made it everyone loved it, my super healthy sister even had some for breakfast! Yeah it is that good. This recipe is straight from the book other then a few comments I stuck (in). There is also a substitution for the Brandy for those who do not want the alcohol.

Ingredients

1 Cup Butter softened

3 Cups Sugar

6 large Eggs

3 Cups All-purpose Flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 8oz carton Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Peach Brandy *

2 teaspoon Dark Rum

1 teaspoon Orange Extract

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon Lemon Extract

1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium  speed 5 minutes.

 (Make sure you cream the sugar all the way so you don't see any sugar granuals , so it is nice and creamy, or as close as you can get it, I think I did burn up a hand mixer this way) Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition just until yellow disappears. 

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and with flour mixture. Mix at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter into a greased and floured (I never flour) 10inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes; (using a long sharp knife like a felay knife) remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack. 

(This time I used a pretty mini bunt pan. They were a little crunchy because they were so small so I put a glaze on them, the recipe follows)

Glaze

4 Tablespoons Butter

1/4 Cup Sugar

1-2 Tablespoons Brandy or your peach syrup

Combine in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat and stir till the sugar dissolves completely. Brush over your cake while warm.

* (substitute the Peach Brandy with the syrup in canned peaches)

Cookbook Review Southern Living 30 Years of Our Best Recipes

There are tons and tons for cookbooks. My mom has a whole bookshelf of them. There are annual books, like Taste of Home, Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens (those are one my mom has). The list goes on and on. There is one cookbook that I really love, it is Southern Living 30 Years of Our Best Recipes. 

There are other "Best of" Southern Living cookbooks, and they are not as good, I really hate books where there is wasted space. There is no picture, no recipe just an empty space, I hate that. But the SL 30 Years of Our Best Recipes is full of really good recipes, has great pictures, is formatted well too. The book tells you what the picture is and where to find it in the book. It also gives you little bits of history throughout the book on food and what Southern Living was doing. If you like Southern Living and don't want to commit to the whole series this is the book to get. The cover has one of my favorite Pound Cakes, the Peach Brandy Pound Cake. There is a separate post on the Pound Cake, so look for it. 

She likes Pina Colada

Coconut and Pineapple Cake

My first cakes recipe blog post, oh yeah! My mom's birthday cake, and she loves coconut.

Ingredients

Pineapple Supreme cake mix

Oil need for cake mix

Eggs need for cake mix

Can of Pineapple tidbits in juice

3 cans Coconut Cream/milk refrigerated

1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter softened

3-4 Cups Powder Sugar

1 teaspoon Coconut Extract

1 bag flake Coconut toasted

1 Jar Pineapple Preserves

Chopped Macadamia Nuts

Directions

Make the cakes mix according to package directions with substituting the water with the same amount of liquid from the pineapple tidbits. Pour batter into two prepared 8 or 9 inch pans and bake as the package says.

When the cake is out of the oven and cooling, toast the coconut. Place the coconut evenly on a parchment covered pan and place in the oven for 5 minutes, and check it, and 2 minutes after that till it just starts to toast, and mix it up and spread it out again, and place in oven 1 minute at a time checking it. When some of the coconut starts to toast the rest will go fast so check it! I did mine in two batches. 

Now the frosting! Cream the butter with a mixer till light in color. Open your cans one at a time of Coconut cream or milk, there should be a solid at the top, scoop that out, leave the liquid at the bottom,and add it to the butter, the liquid is like coconut syrup, you can save that for another use. Add about 1 cup of the coconut solid just eye ball it. Beat till combined. Add the powder sugar 1 cup at a time till the consistency is good for frosting. If you have the coconut extract add that too if not it should be fine. 

To assemble the cake, cut the cakes in two, place the first layer on your cake plate, spread and thin layer of your coconut frosting and keep a lip all around the edge to hold the pineapple filling. Spread half of the pineapple preserves keeping inside the frosting edge. Place a layer of cake and frost with the coconut frosting, no pineapple filling this layer. Another cake layer, thin layer frosting, pineapple filling. Place the last cake layer on top and frost the whole cake with the remaining frosting. Cover the sides with the toasted coconut and decorate the top with the pineapple tidbits, macadamia nut and remaining coconut. Refrigerate to set the frosting, and enjoy.