The blog is moving....

Okay so I have been quiet for a few days. That is because we are getting ready to move. I have a domain, have had it for about a year and have a board on it. I have had many boards in the past before the domain and been pretty successful with them but they take alot more time than I have. I have found these past few months that I really love having a food blog. It is not as much maintenance or up keep as a board. I am going to leave the board open in case anyone wants to stop by and chat.

But for now I got a new domain yesterday that is going to be focused on having a food blog. I am switching to wordpress. I have a friend who is helping me get it all set up and right now we are just waiting for the server to propogate.

She said we can import all my stuff from here so I won't have to start fresh thank goodness. I have already picked out the layout for the new blog. One thing that annoys me with blogs is having to scroll down constantly. And if there is a really long post that can get annoying. I love the "click here to read more" feature. I hope you will all join me over there and if you wanted you could actually REALLY join me. I read that we are able to add 35 additional blogs for free. How cool is that?

This is my cinnamon bread!


You can cut yourself a slice of cinnamon bread while we wait. Aren't those big beautiful loaves? That is supposed to be cinnamon raison bread from my new book Bread by Eric Treuille. That was also the day I was baking regular bread, cookies (from the cookie dough I had saved in the freezer)and the stromboli. I was bound to goof something up. Guess what it was? The raisons. hahaha

This bread was really good but I am not much one for sweeter breads. SO I just ate one piece out of two loaves. Good thing. I will have to make this more often! lol I really love how poofy it turned out and just the texture was awesome. It called for bread flour so that is what I used. Here is a picture of it proofing.

5 lb Nachos!

We all went to a birthday party yesterday. Well all of us except my eldest dd. She wanted to stay home. She missed out on some awesome nachos!

These Nachos were soooo good!! Nacho cheese chips, cheese sauce, ground beef, beans, tomato, green onion, cilantro, lettuce, olives and sour cream. I told my friend that Joe and I would just split a plate. (She was making the other plates smaller and she was like no, have your own plate.) I was like no it's okay. I'd rather split a plate cause I had already hit the ruffles chips and onion dip. SO she went and made us this HUMONGOUS plate to share!! lol It doesn't look that big in the picture but that plate is FULL of food and heaping high. lol It was great though!!

Maybe these wonderful nachos are why the kids are smiling so nice? Or maybe it was the cake and ice cream. White cake from the store, 3 different kinds of ice cream, okay so it was neopolitan but still! and a chocolate sheet cake I was asked to bring with me. MMMM.....

The adults loved the chocolate cake and said it was delicious!

Well of course it is great! It is Texas Sheet Cake! If you want to try this awesome recipe that everyone I have met who tastes it loves, here it is:
Texas Sheet Cake It was so good I was even asked to bring it with me to the birthday party!

I ordered some more books today

My middle dd is enjoying the "kid" cookbook I got her for x~mas so much I thought I would buy her another one.

New Junior Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen) (Spiral-bound)

She even had her own little grocery list when we went to the store the other night. lol I really think it is great that she is developing a love of cooking and baking so early in life.

When I was young I liked baking cookies and bread with my mom but that was it. I remember even when I was older she would want me to come in and show me how to do something but I could care less.

Now that I am in my 30's I have really taken a liking to it. I know I got that bug from my mom even if it didn't kick in til later. My eldest dd is the same way. Once in a while she will want to make something but usually not. She usually drags her feet about it. SO I was very happy my 9 1/2 y/o is really taking an interest in it. The other book we got her came with an apron, the book and mini utensils, kid size.

SO while I was looking up a book for her I figured since I love cooking and baking so much I need to seriously build up my supply of great cookbooks. I absolutely love baking bread and really want to get into making artisan loaves. SO there are a few I have in mind but for now I am going to start by ordering, "Bread", by Eric Treuille.
The reviews looked really good and I have seen it talked about elsewhere. There are many others I want to get eventually as well but I figured one book at a time might be best.

There are quite a few artisan type bread recipes online that I want to try as well.

I am also very interested in OAMC/freezer cooking. If you haven't noticed. haha SO after looking at a few books, I narrowed it down to 1, well 2. But I got tired of scanning thru all the reviews. haha. The one I ordered is "Don't Panic - Dinners in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead". That beat out two other books. There is one more I want to get but I will wait til I feel like reading more about it. It is the "30 day Gourmet".

I can't wait til they get here. Oh and it has also come to my attention that I need a pizza peel and a stone. That was agonizing looking thru all that today too. I could of easily spent $200.00 today at Amazon but I told myself to just get the few books, look around and see what all is out there and then make a decision when I am not so frazzled.

They have so many nifty things for bakers on there. The pizza stone is supposed to significantly improve your pizza and your artisan bread. Now I remember why I didn't get the stone yet. They are all sold out! lol I also want the chicago baking pans but am a little miffed I missed the big sale in Novenmber. Basically the loaf pans(commercial quality) are normally about $15.00. But back in November they went on sale for $5.95! And they qualified for the buy 3 get 1 free deal as well.

When I looked today they were $10.00 each and I was rationalizing getting them. That would be $30.00 for 4. I checked the usual outlets around here, Target, W.M., Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. The last was the only place that had them and for $15.00 each, even with a coupon off of one that would be $12.00 and then I would have to wait each month to get another one. lol

Yeah that is me I will seriously contemplate spending $100.00 on baking ware but pay a little extra per pan I will not. lol So I added it up, $48.00 near home vs. $30.00 online. I was all set to buy too when I realized they do NOT qualify for free shipping! And it looks as if they want to charge $6.00 per pan to ship!! SO that $30.00 just became $54.00! So then we are looking at spending $6.00 more than near my house! (Even though it would take 4 months or so to get them all waiting for that 20% off coupon in the mail.)

And do not even get started on how much I will spend in gas making those 4 trips. Probably $6.00 x4. lol But we always go out that way anyways, you know how it is. Anyhow you can see why my head was splitting. haha

I decided to call it quits for the day and look at that stuff later when I am up for the mental challenge. Oh not to mention I need a pizza peel as well and I seen one for $10.00 and one for $30.00 and one for $17.00 and.....The $10.00 seems cool but I heard people complaining. Yeah, that it broke.

Then there is the matter of the buy 3 get one free deal. So as I was contemplating the $30.00 pizza stone I began to wonder if we needed two? And if we did I seen a cool digital scale for $30.00 and that is $90.00 and since I am already there I get something for $30.00 for free!!!! But what?? What should I pick?

But once I started adding this all up in my head and seeing myself spending almost $150.00 - $200.00 on Amazon today I stopped myself. I said I don't need 2 stones and I don't need a scale. Thank goodness. I told myself to wait and look and see what other stores around here have to offer but I really do think I am going to get that stone from amazon.

SO now back to basics. Stone, peel, dough cutter, wooden cutting board.....as the list grows again. *sigh*

We did find a nice big wooden cutting board that I am going to use for my dough at Walmart tonight. $15.00 and no shipping fees! lol We also found a dough cutter at Smart N Final tonight for $6.00.

P.s. As of tonight those stupid $10.00 loaf pans are now $16.00 for each one! Maybe if I just watch them they will fall back to $6.00 again. ;)

So what kind of books are you reading?

Sonshine's Bagels

Well I tried something I have been wanting to try off and on for a while now. Bagels!

We had extra cream cheese from Christmas we hadn't used. A friend posted a recipe for me to try as the one I originally wanted to do I was missing an important ingredient, malt powder. These turned out great but I got irritated while I was mixing it.

Here is a picture I took of them after baking. I sprinkled them with a tiny bit of sea salt, some with rosemary, 2 of them with minced dry onion. About 5 of them I added a bit of cinnamon, sugar and a sprinkle of green for Joe. He likes "breakfast items" to be sweeter.

I doubled the recipe and my kitchen aid started acting up. This meant I would have to finish kneading it by hand! Arrggghhhh!!! Well Joey was home so I borrowed a pair of strong hands. lol He did a great job on the dough. ;)

Here is a picture of them snuggling in the boiling water. We made 24 and it took about 3 turns in the water to get them all done. It was fun and they turned out really good! I think there is only 7 left and I need to go hide those!

Have you ever made bagels before?

Texas Sheet Cake

..mmmmmm...this is the same recipe as the California Round Cake

that I made earlier this month except I used all purpose flour instead of the wheat this time. I also used the baking sheet this time instead of the round pans. It was really great. Even more awesome than last time.

I think maybe next time I will compromise and use half/half. It was so good I even went back for a second piece. It was melt in your delicious. We ate it warm. I managed to save dh the two last pieces so he can take to work soon.

The best cupcakes ever!

This is not my picture. Aren't they cute though?
These cupcakes are the best! Yeah I know, that is what every one says, but seriously, these are wonderful! I have tried many cake mixes(store mixes)in my day and most the time was not impressed. I think the only time I was impressed was the year my aunt made lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I believe the mix was Pilsbury. Even though these mixes have gone on sale for .50 cents to $1.00 over the holidays I can NOT bring myself to buy something, no matter how cheap, laden with trans fat!

SO this means I need to find delicious recipes for mixes on my own. As I posted earlier in my Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes blog, I was inspired by Chocolatechic's and Zsuzsanna's cupcake stands. They were so cute I had to get my own! Then I went in search of the perfect recipe to go along with them. I found it while searching for cookie recipes.

Like I said before they are tender, light, fluffy, moist, everything you would want in a cupcake. I do recommend using real butter though. I used real vanilla extract as well but I am sure artificial vanilla would be fine. I even calculated last nite how much it cost me to make these.

Now here is a small adjustment, they say 6-8 cups of sugar for the frosting of 2 dozen cupcakes. But I have found when smearing the frosting on top that is double what I need. Now maybe when I get into fancy swirls and what not, maybe I will need that much frosting? *Shrugs*. The only thing I did not add up was the vanilla, but if you are using artificial it would add what a penny or so? lol


I buy real butter at Smart N Final, it is $5.65 for 3 lbs. I buy confectioners sugar there to and that is $2.55 for 4 lbs, eggs at Lonq's are always $1.20, sugar I catch sales sometimes but more often than not it is $2.99, the self rising flour was 1.69 for 5 lbs, the all-purpose flour was $1.50, milk is $6.59 for 2 gallons.

Anyhow, when I added this up it was $4.78 for 2 dozen cupcakes the way the recipe is written(with all the frosting). That is less than .20 cents a cupcake. If you are making this recipe for the first time I would follow it closely and use 7-8 cups of sugar. The price for the cupcakes with halfing the frosting recipe is $3.52 or less than .15 cents per cupcake.

So you see you can use expensive ingredients(real butter) and still save money. Mixes in the store are generally $2.00 and frosting is like $2.50! I don't know if that makes 1 or 2 dozen cause I haven't used a store mix in ages. And then they still want you to add stuff like eggs, milk, oil, etc. I will have to price those out later. Anyhow these are very delicious and were a big hit over the holidays here.

This is definately going to be one of my main recipes for cupcakes. I did not use any whole wheat what so ever. It would probably ruin them. hahahahahah

In my last blog I realized I forgot to post the recipe and I kind of felt bad when Zsuzsanna stopped by that blog and said she needed to make cupcakes every day to get good use of it! Those children need cupcakes and Zsuzsanna needs more recipes. How can I disappoint that wonderful family? I can't, so here you go. lol Don't forget, you can also put blueberry muffins and brownies on the stand. :)
CLick link for the recipe for Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes

Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery. Most people are surprised that it is what we call the vanilla vanilla - the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink).

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

*

CUPCAKES:
*

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
*

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
*

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
*

2 cups sugar
*

4 large eggs, at room temperature
*

1 cup milk
*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*

ICING:
*

Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream

1.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
3.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

What is your favorite cupcake recipe?

Magnolia Bakery Blueberry Muffins

Well I found online about 7 of the Magnolia Bakery recipes. That is the bakery in New York City where people line up down the block for an hour or longer sometimes just to buy a cupcake. lol Joe was baking with me yesterday and we also tried the vanilla, vanilla cupcakes. I will review those later. These muffins are very good. I used half whole wheat/half all purpose flour. Usually any muffins I do, if I do all whole wheat they come out pretty wheaty tasting.

I am trying to get some baking done now and out of the way for two Christmas parties we have coming up. Blueberry muffins freeze well so that is where they are. I doubled this recipe and already baked 24 and I still have batter left over that I froze. If you like blueberry muffins these are very yummy. Nice and tender too. I will be doing this recipe again.

MAGNOLIA BAKERY BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery by Jennifer Appel, Allysa Torey

3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries, lightly coated with flour
1 tablespoon sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease well a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Batter may be lumpy. Gently fold in the blueberries into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups about three-quarters full. Lightly sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until lightly golden or a cake taster inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake.

Does your family like blueberry muffins? If not what kind do they like?

White Chocolate, and Macadamia Nut Cookies

You see how thin these are? Okay so yes I am baking alot this month. This is the perfect time to try new recipes. My pants I slipped on this morning are fitting a little tighter but it is cause I washed them in warm with hubby's work clothes last night. You see he had been playing in the mud all day. Digging a trench, fixing a broken water main or something at work.

REALLY!! I am not gaining or anything. Really I am not. Oh you don't believe me? Hmmmppphhh. Well let us get to the cookies then. :)

Okay so making these the night after making those awesome peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, was well, disappointing. They were okay. I think they came out a bit too crispy or something. Most of my cookies seem to do that. No matter what recipe I use, no matter what butter or flour I use. They always seem to come out thin and crispy. I am talking in all my years of baking cookies. It is only recently I started using whole wheat and only real butter. I used half all purpose/half ww flour wise with these.

Most the times in the past when I make the kids choc. chip cookies I eat some of the cookie dough and have maybe one cookie. Yeah I know raw eggs and all that. But what about eggnog? Isn't that raw eggs? Or do they pasteurize the snot out of that too? haha

You know what I want? A Nice chocolate chip cookie that looks thick. That doesn't taste crispy. I didn't even take a picture of them in the pan, I was too embarrassed. So I am by no means a cookie expert. This is why I was soooo happy with the peanut butter cookies. Finally a cookie I could make correctly that were truly awesome. They were nice and thick. They were chunky. A little crispy but when they are thick like that who cares? lol

Oh by the way dh called me at break time yesterday and everyone LOVED these cookies! They kept coming back for more.peanut butter chocolate chip cookies His boss even stopped by and had one and asked for the recipe so his wife could make them. Who knows? Maybe he will get a promotion! They are THAT good!! Absolutely excellent cookies folks. You MUST try them!

Okay so I got the Macadamia recipe from Epicurious. Do you like macadamian nut cookies? I skipped on the cranberry's. I think it needed some chocolate and to be thicker.

I went back and re read about the peanut butter cookies, even though this is an awesome recipe and those cookies were excellent I am just going over what could be wrong with my other cookies. I noticed something she mentioned was to not overbake. 10-12 minutes and that is it. I do know that is something I have been guilty of in the past is thinking the cookies don't "look done" and waiting. I think that is a problem. Another thing I noticed is she said un greased baking pan. I greased it anyways. lol I wonder if that is why my cookies are too crispy?

Any suggestions or hints let me know.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies

Who ever heard of peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips in them? Not me. Not until I found a new blog yesterday. I just love finding new blogs full of yummy recipes.

Smitten Kitchen

She got this recipe from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery

Now if that wasn't interesting enough, the New York Times has even written an article about this bakery and several other offshoots and I guess they are all battling it out in court. It was a pretty interesting read if you have the time.

An excerpt from Adam Sternbergh at New York Magazine:

Together, [Jennifer] Appel and a high-school friend, Allysa Torey, begat Magnolia Bakery in 1996. When their partnership, and friendship, dissolved in 1999, Magnolia begat Buttercup. In 2003, Magnolia begat Billy’s, a bakery in Chelsea, opened by a former Magnolia manager, and Buttercup begat Sugar Sweet Sunshine, started by two former Buttercup employees. Now there are at least a half-dozen similar bakeries throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, with such jolly names as Baked, Happy Happy Happy, Polka Dot Cake Studio, and Cupcake Caboose (an all-cupcake catering company), each serving up cupcakes topped with dollops of sugary frosting swirled artfully like beehive hairdos.

So much fuss over cupcakes and cookies. Bake these and taste for yourself what all the fuss is about. ;)

Anyhow here is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

The brilliance of these cookies is that they have include two different formats for peanuts–three if you use chunky peanut butter. They’re crisp on the outside, and almost cakey on the inside. Bake a batch and then hide the results in the furthest and most forgettable reaches of your kitchen. You’ll thank me later.

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth is what we used, but I am pretty sure they use chunky at the bakery)
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (for sprinkling) sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup peanut butter chips
½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern (I used the back of a palette knife to keep it smooth on top), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely

Now I am normally not a peanut butter cookie lover. But WOW! I fell head over heels for these! I seen the recipe, we have plenty of peanut butter, so I just had to try it. Joey loved them too and he is normally not big on peanut butter cookies either but he said he HAS to have these cookies now. haha They are THAT good. Of course the kids loved them and Chris pitched a fit when he seen Joe take a bowl of them to work to share with co workers. lol

Here is the link to Smitten Kitchen, the blog I got it from. I am definately going to have to go over there more often. I did use half whole wheat and half all purpose flour in this recipe. Do you like peanut butter cookies?

Chocolate Nut Bread

My buddy Sonshine shared one of her favorite Christmas recipes with me, Chocolate Nut Bread Thank you Sonshine! Oh and that is NOT my picture.

Chocolate Nut Bread

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs
* 1 3/4 cups milk
* 2/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
* 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

COMBINE eggs, milk and vegetable oil in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture; mix just until moistened. Stir in 1 1/2 cups morsels and nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool on wire racks.

MICROWAVE remaining morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; knead bag to mix. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with additional nuts.

I was going to make this but decided I needed something more chocolatey and with more spices. So I decided to merge two recipes and throw in some extra stuff. Isn't that how most recipes are made? lol To see or make what I came up with click this link: Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Muffins

Okay so I merged two recipes to get a new one. I have a recipe I normally use from my make a mix master mix recipe book that is pretty good but with all whole wheat it comes out pretty wheaty tasting.(To see these pictures better, click on them. The x~mas background is interfering.) Not exactly a bad thing but I kind of want to WOW family and friends around the holidays, not turn them off to whole wheat breads. So I figured I could do half and half. I really wanted a chocolate looking muffin though, not just chocolate chips tossed in. I did go to Walmart and buy two Texas Size muffin pans. I wanted some mini loaf pans as well but did not see any. I should of picked up some mini cupcake pans while I was there so people can sample more goodies. I just may still do that.

The first thing I did was double the Chocolate Nut Bread recipe. The next thing I did was compare it to my other recipe. I noticed the other recipe calls for 3 cups of sugar, this new one only 2. I had to remind myself that the new recipe is actually supposed to be a chocolate bread, not a cupcake. I also love the idea of using less sugar. So I decided to make 4 test batches.

Like I said I changed the recipe up a bit:

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Muffins

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 cups whole wheat flour
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 tablespoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoon Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
* 4 large eggs
* 3 1/2 cups milk
* 1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 3 cups (12-oz. pkg.)Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 2 tsp ground nutmeg
* a splash of vanilla

Directions:
Turn the oven on to 350° F. Spray cooking spray on four 12 cup muffin pans

combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

combine the milk, eggs and vegetable oil in a medium mixing bowl. Add this to the flour mixture; mix it until it is moist. Stir in 3 cups chocolate morsels and any nuts. Pour into waiting cupcake pans.

Bake these at 350 for 18-20 minutes Let cool, remove. Let cool on wire racks if desired.

Okay so I used two 12 cup pans and two 6 cup pans. It wasn't very sweet but I was expecting that. But once you bite into one of the chocolate chips it is perfect. I really like using less sugar. Maybe next time I will drizzle some melted chocolate chips on top like the other recipe suggest. My dh thought they were great, not too sweet. I told him to take a holiday bowl full of them to share at work and get some feedback. When he called me at work he was eating ALL of them. He said he wouldn't share and that he only brought 3. Not enough to share with anybody! Can you believe him? lol

Out back last nite he was talking to the neighbor and I offered him a muffin and he said he didn't want anything to sweet. I told him these weren't too sweet. When I got back from my walk this a.m. I seen him out there and he said they were perfect, not too sweet, just enough. He said it was moist and he had given his son the other one and he it was good. Hooray. These are really good. The half and half was perfect. If you try these and you like them, or even if you don't like them, let me know.

What kind of muffins does your family like?

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

So I had some buttermilk left after I did the chocolate cake the other day. I decided to whip up a batch of buttermilk biscuits. Now I for one am not too fond of biscuits but my dh is. These are actually pretty good. I should of stuck them in a muffin pan though. For the page I got the recipe from just click the link. One batch makes 16 HUGE biscuits. Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

Do you ever make biscuits?

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

4 c. whole wheat flour
8 tbsp. of softened butter (½ c.)
2 c. buttermilk w/ live and active cultures
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

Work the softened butter into the flour till the mixture is crumbly, a fork works best for this. Add the buttermilk to the flour and set in a warm place (75-80 degrees) for at least 8 hours or overnight. If you want biscuits for dinner, it’s best to start them right after breakfast. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Butter a 9x13 pan. Grasp a small handful of dough, form it into a biscuit shape and line them up in the pan, sides touching. All the dough should fit. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly brown on top. Keep an eye on them, they brown quick! Eat with butter and raw honey :-)

California Round Cake

Okay so I finally got around to making "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever I used restraint. I waited for a birthday! lol I went to bed at 10:00 p.m. on 12-7-07 and I woke up at 2:00 a.m. having a nitemare. I laid there but couldn't fall back asleep. So at 3:00 a.m. I got up, had a cup of coffee, and started making cake! If you want the recipe and step by step pictures, just click that link. It was fun and easy to make. I have a huge cookie sheet that is only 1 inch off of hers but I decided I wanted to make 2 round pans instead so I could put it on my cake stand. Next time I will probably do the cookie sheet. I chopped walnuts, but didn't use them cause I was thinking they weren't ground up fine enough and didn't want dh to complain.

Now remember, I use all whole wheat. It was fun and very easy to make. The only problem was she recommends icing the cake when it is warm. Now that is probably a good idea if you are using a cookie sheet and leaving the cake in the pan. But I needed the two cake pans empty and the cake on a cake stand. Joey woke up, by then was it 5:00? I can't remember. So he took the cakes out but one broke a little bit. Grrrrrr......It was very soft. So yes the 3rd picture looks terrible! But trust me the cake is excellent. He iced it and there was plenty left over and I put it in the fridge hoping it would firm up. It did.

It really did. It was the best chocolate whole wheat cake ever. Not wheaty tasting at all. I also added some cinnamon to it. We ate it later that nite straight from the fridge. I really did like this recipe and will use it again and again. All the kids loved it and Joey said it tasted like a chocolate fudge brownie. On her website in the comments section lots of people were saying that this cake is Texas Sheet Cake. I believe it. In my make a mix cookbook where it tells how to make a huge brownie mix up and all the recipes you can use from that base mix, texas sheet cake is listed. The recipe is different though.

So my point is if you are looking for an awesome chocolate cake that some people think taste like a brownie, that you can also use all whole wheat with, this may be the recipe for you. :) Enjoy!

See the 4th picture? It doesn't look so bad there once it was cut and it firmed up a bit. :)

What kind of cake do you make for birthdays?

$65.00 Christmas Cookies

Well that IS for 18 of them. But seriously,for $3.61 each they had better have nuggets of gold in them. lol Well now that I am feeling better I can get get back to what I love doing, baking, cooking! I am going to start gathering up a bunch of yummy recipes.

dd # 3's birthday is also coming up on Saturday so I need to do that cake soon too.

This recipe looks really good.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

SO does this one:

Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies

What is your favorite cookie recipe?

Newest Pizza Adventure

Okay so this other site is where I got the new dough recipe from that I made on Monday for Tuesday. It was supposed to sit for 24 hours.

White Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe


Okay so it was really great! Even better than the last. Isn't that what I always say? each recipe is better than the last. lol His recipe calls for 3 cups of flour for one big dough ball. I wasn't sure how much it would make because we like to make 3 and freeze 3. So I made 4 big dough balls. I took two out and figured I would split them in half.


Here is one dough ball:


Now we have the pizza machine, but it can only cook one pizza at a time. So I took one dough ball and cut that in half. Made that pizza(Kass helped with toppings).


I dusted the dough with a little flour and lots of corn meal on the stone.



Here is how that turned out. Yeah I know dd#1 was dropping toppings all over the table.




Then I split the next half in half again cause I just bought 4 new round cake pans. I took two out, melted butter and brushed 2 round pans. That half dough was enough for two of the round pans.




I also have a huge rectangular shaped cookie sheet. I melted butter and brushed that pan as well. I took the last dough and we put that on this pan. I am thinking maybe there would of been enough dough from this for one more cake pan. Cause that pizza came out thicker than the deep dish rounds even! The first dough was enough for one big round and two cake pans.



Look at that crust on the deep dish round!




The brown meat is turkey sausage




This is the side view.


The two round deep dish ones were really good. I am going to use this recipe again next time. The brushed butter was just enough for a crispy crust but not greasy. I liked that crust better than all the other past crust. Isn't this what I always say? lol I didn't try the pizza on the pizza maker and the rectangle one looked good too but I already had 3 small slices of the deep dish and was full. That is one thing about the whole wheat. It fills you up faster than white flour.


This is a pic of the pizza from the huge cookie sheet.


Basically we wound up with ALOT of pizza! Like twice as much as we needed and there is still 2 dough balls in the fridge. haha Maybe one dough is enough for one night.

Have you ever made deep dish pizza? What is your favorite kind of crust?

Tammy's Easy Pizza

My family loves pizza. Generally over the summer that translated to us making h.m. once or twice and the rest of the time, like once a week, it was Little Caesar's. haha Making your own is much healthier though than pizza from your local fast food place. On Oct 26 we made 6 pizzas, 3 to eat, 3 to freeze. So we actually didn't need to make any this week but I seen Tammy's recipe and I just had to give it a try. (While I actually felt like making it.)

The recipe I usually stick with is Jay's Signature Pizza Crust I think I tried one other one once and it was a complete flop. It is pretty good but tends to break easily, probably cause of the whole wheat.

Anyhow so I tried this recipe and it was pretty similiar. It is a very good recipe. A few things I did notice especially since we had this Wed. night and that was only a few days difference.

Generally, I LOVE crust. That is white flour crust. I think I enjoy crazy bread and crust more than the pizza. I loved it when L.C. used to do their "pan" pizza. They discontinued that. Now I get the cheesy bread when we order pizza and that is pretty similiar.

Anyhow ww is different though. It taste good while eating the pizza but it is not something I want to chow down on KWIM? I would be more apt to toss the crust if there were too much of it on the ww pizza. That being said, with Tammy's recipe, this crust actually was pretty good. No not white flour good. But good. I did like it better than Jay's. It was still wheaty but not as wheaty. I am wondering if the difference is in the time when you add the yeast. Her pizza and her bread recipe you add it at the end and mix with everything else. Most recipes tell you to mix the yeast with water, then add everything else.

I am wondering if that helps it not be so "wheaty" tasting. I don't know. Another thing I noticed was generally Jay's recipe I HAVE to eat it with a fork cause it breaks easily. This one I didn't have too. It was pretty sturdy.

Next time I am going to use EVOL instead of butter. I greased the pan with evol spray, not butter like it recommends. I omitted the salt to add to the top.

All in all it is a very yummy recipe and we are going to use it again. :)

Tammy's Easy Pizza

Description:

A soft pizza dough recipe, topped with your favorite pizza toppings and baked
Yield: 12-16 slices
Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

3/4 cup water (110-115 degrees, preferably)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablesppoons butter, melted or very softened
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon yeast

Other Ingredients:

1Â Tablespoon cornmeal (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pizza sauce
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
sliced onions, optional
chopped bell peppers, optional
turkey pepperoni, fried turkey bacon, or fried hamburger, optional
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon basil
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
Instructions:

1. If using a bread machine to make pizza dough, put ingredients in bread machine in order listed and set to dough setting.

If making dough by hand, mix water, butter, and sugar in mixing bowl. Add part of the flour and stir. Add the rest of the flour and the yeast, and stir into a dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Set dough in bowl and grease the top. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes.*

2. After dough has risen the first time, punch down and knead until air bubbles are removed.

3. Liberally butter a 16-inch round pizza pan, and press dough onto pan. Carefully lift one-half of the crust and fold over (to expose half of the pizza pan). Sprinkle 1/2 Tablespoon cornmeal over pan. Lay crust back in place and repeat on other half, so that there is cornmeal sprinkled between entire layer of crust and pan.

4. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over top of crust and then spread with 1 cup pizza sauce. Sprinkle on cheese and any optional toppings desired. Sprinkle on oregano, basil, and parmesan cheese last.

5.** Place pizza in oven and turn heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes; rotate crust and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until top is browned. (Be sure to watch so it doesn't burn; every oven is different!)

6. When pizza is browned, turn off heat and open oven door. Leave pizza in oven until ready to serve. Then remove from oven, cut, and serve. If there is leftover pizza, we often put the pieces directly on a cooling rack to cool, which prevents condensation forming between the crust and pan.

Here are some pictures.


The dough. That is the other thing I noticed, it never really did rise. I let them sit for a few hours too. *shrugs*



Here are some pictures. My dd #1 was in charge of spreading out the dough and adding the toppings. Onion, olives, bell pepper, pineapple, cheese, chicken.



We have a pizza oven/turner. But it can only make one at a time.



This is a cookie sheet. I think I want some pizza stones.



It's not as easy to try to get them into the square pans I guess. lol



This one filled out pretty nice.



The best part, sliced and on my plate! Thank you to Tammy for another wonderful recipe! What kind of pizza do you like to make?