Peanut Butter Cookies

I got this recipe from HERE . I followed the recipe except for tweaking a couple of things.
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup shortening *
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Extra sugar
Hershey's kisses *

Preheat oven to 375.
Measure out and whisk the dry ingredients and set aside.
Cream the shortening, sugars, and peanut butter. Then add the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Then combine dry ingredients.
Form into round balls and roll in white sugar.
Put on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8 min.
Push a Hershey's kiss deep into the center and bake for another 2-5 minutes.

*I haven't ever baked with shortening because I don't have it on hand, so I just did a 1/2 C (1 stick) butter.
*Since we didn't have any kisses, we used M&M's and choc chips. Still just as yummy.

Cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 C sugar
6 TB melted butter

Combine above ingredients and press into pan, up the sides about 2". Pan should be sprayed lightly and chilled.

Cheesecake:

2 eggs
1/2 C sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C sour cream

With a mixer combine sugar and cream cheese until mixed. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth, scraping the bowl. Add sour cream just until blended. Pour into crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

Sauce:

In a small pan put in about 1/2-3/4 C water and 1/2-3/4 C sugar
Also add 1 TB+ cornstarch

For blueberries add 1 - 1 1/2 C of berries at the beginning. For strawberries or raspberries smash about 1/2 C berries and add them after the sauce has been thickened. After it has been chilled you can then add sliced or whole berries

Yellow Cake

I just made the most delicious yellow cake I think I have ever tasted! In my cooking class today, my lab partner and I had to do a ten-minute demo about altitude adjustments. Rexburg, ID has an approximate elevation of 5,000 feet, so we had to demonstrate the proper recipe changes. This morning we made a cake without the altitude changes, and it was dense and dry and crumbly and blah. But the cake we mixed in demo, with the altitude changes, was absolutely to DIE for! It was perfectly dense and moist, not too crumbly, and it had such a delicious flavor! It is probably the only yellow cake I've ever tasted that I didn't frosting with (ask anybody, that's big for me!). In case you're wondering, are some good altitude adjustments to follow in case you live at 3,000 feet or higher:

-Add about 1 TB flour
-Take out 1/8 tsp of baking powder/soda
-Take out 1 TB sugar
-Add about 2 TB of the liquid (milk, water, etc.)
-Increase baking temperature by 10-15 degrees

Now, here's the cake recipe. If yours turns out as good as mine did I think you may explode with joy! ;) The final measurements with altitude adjustments are in parenthesis.

Yellow Cake


Mix and sift together 3 times:
 3 C sifted cake flour (3 C + 1 TB)
 1 tsp salt
 2 1/2 tsp baking powder (2 3/8 tsp)

On medium speed in large bowl, soften:
  1 C shortening

Gradually add:
  1 1/2 C sugar (-1 TB)
  2 tsp vanilla

Mix for approximately 5 minutes. Add:
  4 egg yolks

And beat for 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, adding about a fourth and mixing for 1 minute, adding another fourth and mixing 1 minute, etc. Stir in:
  1 1/4 C + 2 TB milk (1 1/2 C)

Add and mix in:
 4 stiffly beaten egg whites

Pour into two greased 8" circle cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees (385-390)


I know this recipe is written really strangely, but I'm not the author. :) Also remember: don't make the altitude adjustments UNLESS you live at an altitude of 3,000 ft or higher. Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry about the lack of pics. I'll get better!

Biscotti with Thyme and Lemon Glaze

These are DELICIOUS! And seeing as my first attempt at biscotti nearly two years ago was an epic failure, I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. Don't even worry about what the rest of them looked like! Ha ha...take 2 should be even better. :)

½ c amaranth flour
½ c corn flour/cornmeal
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 egg whites
¾ c raw sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
zest and juice of 2 small lemons
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together the amaranth flour, corn flour, baking soda, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat in the egg whites at low speed until a crumbly dough forms.

In another bowl, beat ½ c of the sugar, the butter, vanilla, lemon zest (reserve the juice), and thyme, until combined. Scrape the mixture into the flour mixture, and beat at medium speed, until a soft, sticky dough forms.

Divide the dough into 2 mounds and transfer one to each baking sheet. Form each into an 8 inch long cylinder. Pat the cylinders into loaves about 2 inches wide and ¾ inch thick. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the loaves are puffed and springy to the touch. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. Carefully transfer the loaves to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200.

Using a sharp knife, cut the loaves crosswise into scant half inch thick slices. Each will yield about 8 slices. Return the slices to the baking sheets, each slice lying on its side, and bake for about 30 minutes longer, flipping after 15 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to racks to cool.

Place the remaining ¼ c sugar in a small saucepan with the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, and cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces by half. Cool slightly, then drizzle over the biscotti.

Cranberry-Lime Muffins

These are so so good! Mine were a little bitter on Day 2, which may have been because I used too much lime zest or they were undercooked, I'm not really sure, but I'm leaning toward the latter. Anyway, they're worth a try!

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
zest and juice of two limes
2/3 c raw sugar
2/3 c soy milk
¼ c corn oil
2 egg whites
1 Tbsp vanilla
½ c craisins

Preheat oven to 325. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the lime zest and juice, sugar, soy milk, oil, egg whites, and vanilla to the dry ingredients, stirring until the batter is smooth. Gently fold in the craisins until they are evenly distributed.

Pour ¼ c of the batter into each prepared cup, almost filling the cup. Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes. When done, the muffins will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I really liked this soup! Initially, I thought the blending part sounded nasty, but having tried it before and after just to make sure, I assure you it's better if you put it through the blender. ;)

1 head of broccoli
1 Tbsp sunflower oil
3 large leeks, white part only, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp pepper
2 c vegetable broth
2 c soy milk
1 c cooked navy beans
½ tsp salt

Remove the stalk of the broccoli. Peel the stalk, and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut the broccoli tops into florets, and set aside. Warm the sunflower oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the broccoli stalks, leeks, thyme, rosemary, paprika, cayenne, and pepper. Cook 8-10 minutes, until the leeks soften and the spices become fragrant.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, and cook 10 minutes, until the broccoli stalks are fork tender. Add the reserved broccoli florets, and cover, cooking 10 minutes more, until they are soft but still bright green. Add the soy milk, beans, and salt. Use an immersion blender to puree directly in the pot, or transfer to a blender in batches to blend. Serve immediately.

The Great Salad

Go me! My first post on this blog! =) So this has a cheesy name, but there's no better name for it! =) This stuff is so so good I think. Kind of a lot of steps, but it's worth it!

nickel-sized bunch of spaghetti - break in half, boil, rinse in cold water

1/2 head cabbage - chopped

1/2 head lettuce - chopped

1 carrot - grated

3/4 C frozen peas (strain w/ hot water)

1 bunch green onion

1/2 cucumber - cut in bite sizes

1 tomato

1/2 C grated motz cheese

handful of broccoli

handful of cauliflower

(I double the recipe for the dressing, so that's why there's some weird measurements. I don't know how to convert them!) =)

Dressing:

1/2 C sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 C milk

1 C mayo

3 Tbsp vinegar

5 tsp lemon juice

4 Tbsp sour cream

2 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp horse radish

1/4 garlic pwd

1 C parm cheese

Bake and slice breaded chicken and put in on!

Yum yum!