Apple Skillet Pie

I don't know if I'm the only one who does this, but whenever I buy those pre-made roll-out pie crusts, I end up using only one of the two in the package and never know what to do with the other one. The single crust usually ends up sitting in my fridge for months before I decide there isn't anything I will ever use it for and throw it out. Yes, I know I could avoid this debacle just by making the crust from scratch, but let's face it - as delicious as it is, who has time for that?

That's where this recipe comes in. It has all the great things about apple pie, but takes a fraction of the time to make. I made it in my cast iron skillet, just because I like making things in cast iron, but I'm sure a pie plate would be good, too. It also makes a really tasty breakfast, for those of you who like getting a nice unhealthy start to your day.

Apple Skillet Pie
Serves 8-10
Prep Time - 20 minutes
Cook Time - one hour

INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 big apples
1 roll-out refrigerated pie crust
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1-2 TBSP milk
sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter over medium-low heat in a cast iron skillet. Once butter is melted, add the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon and stir to combine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

While the butter is melting, start peeling, coring, and cutting the apples into slices. I used 6 really big apples but could've used one or two more because my skillet is really big. Add them to the pan and stir to coat. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat and put the pie crust on the top. Cut a few slits in the crust to allow the steam to escape.

Brush the top of the crust with the egg/milk wash and sprinkle with some sugar (this is optional, but it looks pretty).

Put in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the crust is nice and golden brown. Depending on how full your skillet is, you may want to put a cookie sheet under the skillet to catch anything that may seep out of the pan.

Let cool for about an hour before cutting and eating. Enjoy!

Fudge

On Christmas Eve, I decided I wanted to be eating some fudge. I decided this knowing full well that I didn't have most of the ingredients for fudge. The grocery store was out - it was about the last place I wanted to be. I decided to brave Target, and if the parking lot was too scary, I'd just turn around and go back home and forget about the fudge I was so wanting to eat. 

It ended up being fine. Much less busy than I thought it would be. The amount of people there who seemed to be doing every last bit of their Christmas shopping (at about 4 pm on Christmas Eve) was a little shocking, but I guess some people don't really plan ahead.

I've made this fudge before and always have great results. I've tried other recipes and they never get quite as smooth as this one. 

Fudge

Recipe from Carnation

Total Prep & Cook Time - about 15 min

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk (2/3 cup)

2 TBSP butter

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Line an 8x8 pan with foil. Set aside.

Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly. Bring to a full rolling boil. Keep it boiling and keep stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Stir until everything is melted and combined. This should take about a minute.

Pour into the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs. When firm, take them out of the pan and remove foil. Cut them into small slices to serve.

Apple Cake

Perhaps I should've called this post "Apple Butter Cake." Or "Death by Butter." At any rate, I'll clear the air before you read any further. This cake uses almost 3 sticks of butter. Yes, you read that right. As much as I love her recipes, I've got a hunch that Pioneer Woman has a phobia of cooking without butter. 

I made this cake one night when I had a bunch of apples I needed to use up. I'd heard many raves about this cake, so I was really excited to finally try it. Unfortunately, I was just a tiny bit disappointed. I thought that the cake was a bit dry and too dense. So, why I am I posting it, you ask? Well, two reasons. First, I seemed to be alone in that opinion. Because of the aforementioned 3 sticks of butter, we pawned off about half the cake on nearby relatives. They all went crazy over the cake. Second, the apple portion of this cake is basically to die for. I still have dreams about it on occasion. I want to eat a big bowl of apples sauteed in butter with brown sugar and cinnamon. Or eat it over ice cream.  Or perhaps just eat it out of the skillet.

Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet
Recipe from Pioneer Woman, adapted

INGREDIENTS
4-5 whole tart apples, peeled & cored, and cut into 8-10 slices
1 3/4 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar

Cake
1 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into tiny pieces

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a 10-inch skillet, melt 1 3/4 sticks butter over low heat. Add 3/4 cup sugar to the pan and stir. Place sliced apples in the pan. Don't pack them too tightly, but try not to leave many gaps.

Cook over low or medium low heat while you make the cake batter, or about 15 min.

Beat 1 stick of butter with 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Add sour cream and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the cake batter and mix until just combined. Stir in the chopped apple.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Spoon the batter over the top and spread it around gently so that the batter is evenly distributed. Bake for about 20-25 min, or until the cake is golden brown and bubbly.

Allow cake to sit and cool for 5-10 min, and then flip over onto a serving platter. Cut a big slice and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Peach Pie

I'm not the biggest fan of fruit pies. Unless it is an apple or rhubarb pie with a crumbly top, you can forget about it. Yes, this means that I do not like cherry or blueberry pie. I do not like any fruit pie that has a lattice or a regular pie crust on the top. I know that might take a while to process.

I do, however, love my grandmother's fresh peach pie. And it's not surprising - it's not baked, it has a graham cracker crust, and is served cold. Plus, the main ingredient is peaches, which I love.

One of my favorite things about this pie is that it requires absolutely no cooking. Sure, I feel a little Sandra Lee-ish when I make it, but I really don't care. If you want to make your own graham cracker crust and your own whipped cream to make this a bit more home-made, I'm sure it would be absolutely delicious. I'm sure I'll get around to trying it that way one day, too.

Grandma's Peach Pie

Cook & Prep Time - less than 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4-6 peaches or nectarines (depending on size)

1 tub cool whip

1 jar marshmallow fluff

1 pre-made graham cracker crust

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, stir the marshmallow fluff and cool whip until well combined.

Cut up the peaches, and remove the skins, and place the slices into the bowl with the cool whip mixture. Stir until the peaches are coated.

Pour the peaches into the graham cracker crust and let refrigerate for at least an hour.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

How do you make a brownie better? You add peanut butter, of course. And, if you want to make it even better, you add rice krispies and marshmallows. What you get is brownie heaven. I remember my grandma making something similar once or twice when I was younger, and really loved them, so when I found them on a blog I read frequently, I was super excited. You must make these now.

Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

Recipe by Peabody, modified

INGREDIENTS

Brownies

1 cup butter, melted (no substitutes)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

Topping

7 oz mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 TBSP butter

1 1/2 - 2 cups rice krispies

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together all brownie ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until just done.

Remove brownies from the oven and sprinkle with the mini marshmallows. Immediately return to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes. Remove immediately.

While the brownies are in the oven, mix together the topping by doing the following:

Place the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly, until melted. Remove from heat, add the rice krispies, and stir. Let cool for about 3 minutes and then spread over the brownies. Allow to cool completely and then chill. Serve cold.

Amaretto Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. I also really love almond flavored desserts. So, put the two together and you'll get something really great, right? If you answered yes, you'd be correct.

After searching through a few online recipes and it seemed most simply replaced vanilla with almond extract and/or amaretto, so I decided to give it a shot. This was easily one of my favorite cheesecakes I've ever made. It's rich and creamy and has a nice subtle almond flavor. It's the perfect ending to a really great meal.

Almond Cheesecake

Serves 8-16

Prep Time - 20 minutes

Bake Time - 1 hr

Cool Time - 2 hrs

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

3 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, softened

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs, at room temperature.

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp amaretto (optional - if left out, add an additional 1/2 tsp almond extract)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Before starting, wrap your springform pan tightly with foil.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of the springform pan.

In another bowl, beat together cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk. Add eggs, almond extract, and amaretto and beat until just combined.

Pour into the springform pan. Put the springform pan in a larger pan (I use my turkey roaster because it has a roasting rack inside). Put the pan in the oven and prepare the water bath, with the pan in the oven and the oven rack pulled out, by pouring 4-6 cups water, or about 1/4-1/2 inch water, into the roaster.

Bake for 1 hr, or until the cheesecake is almost set, but still jiggly in the middle. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another 15-30 minutes until it is fully set. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hrs. Refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.

Rhubarb Pie

With this post, I'd like to introduce what I hope to be a new segment on this blog called "Stuff I Made with Stuff I Grew in my Backyard." Yep, that's right - I have a garden this year. I'm very excited. My first creation from my homegrown goods was a rhubarb pie.

I grew up eating rhubarb and I love it. When baked, it's somewhat similar in taste to an apple, but softer and more tart. It pairs well with berries, but I prefer it on its own. It's very easy to work with, too. When picked out of the garden, it should look like this:


Don't be alarmed... your pile should be that size. Trim off the leaves. Don't be alarmed if some of your apparently mature rhubarb stalks are more green than red - they taste the same as the deep pink ones, they just aren't as pretty. Don't eat the leafy greens. Be sure to wash the stalks well. When you're all done with that, they should look like this:


Isn't that better? Cut them up into little pieces like you would chop up celery.

For this pie, I used my regular apple pie recipe, but used rhubarb instead of apples and coated them in a bit more cinnamon & sugar than normal. The result is an amazing pie.


You must try it right away.

Meyer Lemon Cookies

These cookies were my first ever experience with meyer lemons. I'd heard a lot about them, but had never even seen them at the grocery store, so I had basically written them off. Then, all of a sudden, I found them at three different local grocery stores. I bought a few and decided to figure out what to make with them later.

I really liked these cookies. They're nice and soft and have a subtle hint of lemon in both the cookie and the frosting.


Meyer Lemon Cookies
Recipe from Canela and Comino
Makes about 16 cookies

INGREDIENTS

Cookies
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
juice of half a lemon (zest the lemon first and set the zest aside for the icing)
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP honey or light corn syrup
juice of half a lemon
zest of a whole lemon
1 TBSP water

DIRECTIONS

Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla.

In a separate medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Mix in the flour mixture and milk mixture, alternating flour and milk.

Scoop out batter onto a baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for them to spread out.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Icing
Mix together all ingredients with an electric mixer. Use to frost the cookies when they are completely cooled.

The Best Chocolate Cheesecake. Ever.

Like the title says, this is the best chocolate cheesecake. Ever. I first made it when I had to make dessert to bring to dinner at my in-laws about a year and a half ago. But that time, I sort of cheated and bought a pre-made crust. I've made it several times that way and it's always delicious. However, when I decided to make a cheesecake for dinner with my mother-in-law recently, I decided to stop cheating and make it in an actual springform pan.

I was quite pleased with the results, even though the only chocolate wafer cookies or graham crackers I could find happened to be teddy grahams. But the teddy graham crust was my little secret.

You'll really love this cheesecake. Give it a try - you won't regret it.


Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe by Emeril Lagasse
Serves 12-ish

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1 cup plus 3 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP butter, melted
2 1/2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside of pod and reserved
3 TBSP all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
8 oz melted semisweet chocolate, cooled slightly
Fresh strawberries or raspberries, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs, 3 TBSP of the sugar, and the butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom of springform pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, remaining cup of sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds and beat until light and creamy, but do not over-beat.

Add the flour to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and sour cream and mix well, but do not over-beat.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended. Again, make sure you do not over-beat the mixture.

Meanwhile, prepare a water bath by making a water-tight seal around the spring form pan with aluminum foil.

Pour the batter into prepared pan. Place the pan in a large roaster and place warm water in the roaster about 1/2 way up the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the center is almost set. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake remain in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and run a sharp knife around the rim of the pan and allow cake to cool on a wire rack before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Red Velvet Cake

This past weekend, the husband and I had some friends over to play Rock Band. I wanted to make a fabulous dessert for us, and decided on Red Velvet cake. As much as I like the cake, I had never made it before, so I wasn't sure what to look for in a recipe. They all had some small, subtle differences; I didn't know if those differences would make a difference in the taste or quality of the cake. Ultimately, I settled on a recipe I found on FoodNetwork. It did not disappoint - this cake was delicious. In fact, I might go have a piece now.



Red Velvet Cake
Recipe from FoodNetwork, adapted

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 tsp vinegar
1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Cream cheese icing, recipe follows

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round layer cake pans.**

Sift flour, baking soda and cocoa together. Beat sugar and eggs together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together oil, vinegar, food coloring, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of eggs and sugar and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet mixture by alternating the buttermilk and dry ingredients. Always start with the flour and end with the flour.

Pour batter into pans. Tap them on the table to level out the batter and release air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle comes out clean but be careful not to over bake or you'll end up with a dry cake.**

Let layers cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of pan. Cool completely before frosting.

**I baked the cake in a 9x13 pan for about 35 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 box confectioner's sugar (about 5-6 cups)
2 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Beat together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until combined. Add the powdered sugar, about 2 cups at a time, and beat until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.

Raspberry Streusel Muffins

I'd been thinking about making something with the raspberries I have in my freezer for quite a while now. Finally, I decided today was the day, and I decided on making some raspberry streusel muffins. I wish I had an interesting story to tell about them, but I don't. They're just really pretty, and really good. The streusel topping gives it that little something extra that most raspberry muffins are missing.



Raspberry Streusel Muffins
Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, adapted
Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
Streusel topping, recipe below

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle and set aside.

In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. The batter will be a bit lumpy.

Fold in the raspberries.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Top with the streusel topping. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until golden. Cool in the muffin tins on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing.

Streusel Topping
In a small bowl, combine 3 TBSP flour, 3 TBSP packed brown sugar, an 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Cut in 2 TBSP butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sugar Cookies

I'm back! No, I actually haven't fallen off the planet. I've been busy making Christmas goodies over the past few days, and today, I made sugar cookies. I don't know anybody who doesn't like basic, frosted sugar cookies. I hope you like these - we sure do. :)


Sugar Cookies
Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens
Yields: 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup butter, softened (this is about 12 1/2 TBSP)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
icing, recipe follows

DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla. Then, beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer and stir in the rest by hand. Form the dough into a ball cover, and chill for 30 minutes or until the dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until about 1/8 inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes. Place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-8 minutes or until the edges are firm and the bottoms are barely light brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Frost with icing, if desired.

Icing
2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 TBSP milk

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Add additional milk, 1 TBSP at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.

Banana Bread

I don't really like bananas. It's a texture thing. I'm alright with them when they're almost ripe; still a little tiny bit green. But the second that peel is completely yellow or a tiny bit brown, my banana eating is over.

I do, however, really like a good banana bread. I came across an interesting banana bread recipe in my google reader a few weeks ago, and knew I had to try it. Despite my husband being upset with me that I put chocolate chips in it, I'm very happy with how it turned out and will make it again for sure.



Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Recipe from Good Things Catered
Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS
3 large extra-ripe bananas
1 3/4 cups flour, plus 2 TBSP
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup chocolate chips (I used about 2/3 cup)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I used butter flavor crisco sticks)
2 eggs
2 TBSP milk
1 TBSP vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash bananas and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Whisk together and set aside.

In a ziplock bag, toss chocolate chips with 2 TBSP flour. Set aside.

Cream together shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined.

Add milk, vanilla, and banana to the mixture and combine well.

Turn mixer to low and add the flour/pudding mixture and beat until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes then remove from the pan to cool completely.

Butterscotch Bars

When I have nothing else to do on the weekend, I cook... or bake. This weekend, it was baking. I wanted to get out of the chocolate chip cookie/brownie rut I was in, so I looked through my recipe book and found a recipe for Butterscotch Bars that looked interesting. So, Butterscotch Bars it was. I'll be honest - I don't like butterscotch - but my husband gave these rave reviews. And as a bonus, they're fairly low-fat, considering they're from Cooking Light!



Butterscotch Bars
Recipe from CookingLight, adapted slightly

INGREDIENTS
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 cup butterscotch morsels

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat sugars and butter at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add egg whites and vanilla; beat well. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.

Spread batter evenly into an 9 x 13 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with morsels. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls

My grandma makes the best cinnamon rolls. When I was growing up, she knew I liked them fresh out of the oven, so she would always make sure they were just done when I woke up. If I wasn't going to be at her house for a while, and on special occasions, she'd bring me a pan to let rise and then bake on my own.

I made them with her many times when I was at her house visiting, but I'd never made them on my own. I put my own twist on them, using the fabulous cream cheese icing recipe on Little Ms. Foodie's blog, but they still use Grandma's basic recipe.


Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe by my grandma, adapted
Makes 12-16 rolls

INGREDIENTS
1 loaf Rhodes frozen bread dough, thawed
6 TBSP butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
Icing, recipe follows

DIRECTIONS
After dough has thawed, but before it starts to rise, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's about a 14 x 6 inch rectangle.

In a small bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread the cinnamon mixture on the dough.

Roll the dough up like a jelly roll, starting with the long side (this would be the bottom of the rectangle, for the instructionally-impaired like myself). Cut the roll into 12-16 slices (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices.

Place them into a greased 9 x 13 pan and let rise for about an hour, or until they have doubled in size.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool, and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Icing
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Beat together all ingredients until smooth. Use to frost cooled rolls.

Peanut Butter Brownies

I love brownies. Really love them. Not much can beat a nice, fudgy brownie. Well.... except a peanut butter brownie. I've made a few recipes for peanut butter brownies over the past year and have been generally satisfied with each recipe I've tried. Given my recent desire for peanut butter brownies, but lack of any real desire to bake, I decided to get creative and utilize what was, until about a year ago, my arch nemesis: the boxed brownie mix.

I almost feel like I shouldn't blog about these. However, notice I said almost. In the end, I've decided that these are worthy of a blog post because they're so good and so easy.


Peanut Butter Brownies

INGREDIENTS
1 box brownie mix (we like Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies)
2/3 cup peanut butter

DIRECTIONS
Prepare brownie batter according to directions and pour into a 9 x 13 pan (or 8 x 8 if you like them really thick).

Meanwhile, melt the peanut butter over medium-low heat.

Once peanut butter is melted, pour it on top of the brownie batter and use a knife or rubber scraper to swirl the peanut butter around the top and give it a nice marble look.

A visual, in case my description of the technique was confusing...

Bake for the amount of time indicated on the brownie mix box (mine was about 25 min).

The best apple pie ever

It's not quite apple season yet in Minnesota (speaking of which, when will the grocery store start stocking fresh apples?), but that didn't stop me from making my fabulous apple pie recently. I realize, after re-reading my posts, that I actually have blogged about this pie before, but I figure 1). I didn't include a picture before, and 2). it's just that good. I've also used this recipe with fresh rhubarb instead of apples with great success.

Dutch Apple Pie
recipe from my mom

Bottom Crust
1 stick melted butter
1 TBSP sugar
1 cup flour

Filling
4-5 sliced apples (sour-ish ones are better)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Top Crust
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix bottom crust together with a fork and press into pie plate.

Mix sliced apples and cinnamon/sugar; put in pie tin with the bottom crust. When filled, it should look sort of like a dome.

Mix brown sugar, flour, & butter to a crumbly mass (do this with your hands). Top the apples with this mixture.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Gelato di Lampone

What a better way to celebrate my 100th post than with a new gelato recipe! As I wrote about before, I've been searching for a good gelato in the U.S. for about the past 9 years. My husband joined me on that quest almost two years ago after we returned from Italy. Last night, we decided to try our hand at our favorite flavor - raspberry.

For those of you who haven't had real gelato before, I suggest you go out and find some now (but don't buy it at the grocery store. That stuff is all crap). It's similar to ice cream, but has a higher milk concentration (rather than cream) so it is more dense and much more flavorful. A real raspberry gelato should taste just like you're eating a smooth, cold raspberry.

After doing a lot of searching online, I came across a recipe for strawberry gelato that looked like it could be easily modified for raspberry (and by the picture, it looked delicious). Our review: super simple. It was delicious, but had a little too much of a dairy after-taste, so we'll cut down on the dairy a bit the next time we make it. So, the search continues, but minimally.

Raspberry Gelato

Gelato di Lampone
From Italylogue.com

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. fresh raspberries
12 oz. granulated sugar, about 1.5 cups
1.5 cup cold whipping cream
1.5 cup cold water
dash of lemon juice (only if fruit isn’t “bright” enough)

DIRECTIONS

Wash berries.

Put berries, sugar and water into a blender or food processor and blend until liquid and smooth. (This is also where you’ll add lemon juice if necessary.) (I suggest straining the blended mixture to remove the seeds. It's more authentic that way, and I think it tastes better).

Whip the cream until slightly thickened - like the consistency of buttermilk.

Combine the cream with the raspberry mixture and mix thoroughly until blended.

Freeze as indicated by the manufacturer of your ice cream maker. (I suggest going out and buying the Cuisinart ice cream maker. It's wonderful).

Gelato

I love gelato. I developed the obsession about 9 years ago on my first trip to Italy (and then subsequently re-affirmed the obsession on the second, third, and fourth trips). In fact, I'd go back to Venice just to eat gelato at our favorite gelateria, Boutique del Gelato. Since flying to Venice every time we get a craving isn't feasible, and the store-bought stuff just tastes like glorified ice cream, we decided to try our hand at making it at home for the Fourth of July. It was rather tasty, if we do say so. In fact, after a trip to the grocery store today, we're going to be making a second batch.


Chocolate Gelato
Makes about 3 cups
Recipe from Mangia Bene

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBSP cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk, divided
5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped*
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, & salt. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup of milk to dissolve the cornstarch.

Gradually stir in the rest of the milk.

Cook over medium heat until it thickens and begins to boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk together until the mixture is smooth. Add cream and vanilla and whisk.

Refridgerate for at least 2 hrs. Transfer to an ice cream maker and prepare according to manufacturer's directions.


*Use the best chocolate available to you. If you use cheap American chocolate, your gelato will taste like just slightly better than your average American chocolate ice cream.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I admit it. I don't like raisins, but I love oatmeal raisin cookies (without the raisins). So, I guess I really love oatmeal cookies. I've always thought of them as a breakfast cookie more than a dessert. Is that weird? I have yet to find a recipe I like better than this one.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Recipe from my mom
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter (I use Crisco sticks)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp soda
2 eggs, beaten
5 tsp raisin juice
1 cup cooked raisins
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup cooked raisins

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange oven racks 2 racks apart.

In small skillet over medium low heat, cook raisins in about 1/3 - 1/2 cup water. They should "plump" as they cook.

Meanwhile, mix together first 5 ingredients.

After raisins are cooked, add raisin juice and vanilla. Mix together. Add flour and mix well.

Add oatmeal and raisins and mix together with a spoon.

Drop dough on cookie sheets and place on lowest of the 2 racks. Bake until cookies start to spread out and form the cookie shape. Move up to highest rack. Finish baking there. Take them out of the oven and transfer to cooling rack when just golden brown.