POPCORN WREATHS

 POPCORN WREATHS

Either pop ahead or buy pre-popped popcorn and place in a very large bowl, leaving enough room for your to stir in the syrup later. 

In a good size sauce pan, add:

2 c sugar

1 c Karo syrup

2 cubes butter

Mix ingredients and heart until it boils, stirring constantly. Continue stirring for two mins while it boils. Take off heat and quickly add greed food coloring (1-2 drops). Pour over popped corn. 

This amount of syrup is good for two very large bowls of pop corn. Put the candy popcorn into angel food cake pans sprayed with Pam. Flip over onto Saran Wrap and decorate with spice drops or other candies. Wrap wreaths and add a bow for decoration. The more popcorn you add to the pan, the thicker the wreath will be. One batch of syrup usually makes 2-3 wreaths.  

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Every time I make this I wonder WHY I don't make it more often. It makes a ton and is SO easy and SO yummy.

GRANDMA FOOTE'S TOFFEE

How has this not been posted before now??

• 1 c butter
• 1 c sugar
• 1/4 c water
• 1/4 c almonds, finely chopped
• 1/3 c chopped pecans or walnuts
• chocolate bar or chocolate chips

Combine butter, sugar, and water in pan. Bring to boil. Add the almonds. Stir constantly over medium heat until temperature reaches 300 degrees. Spread mixture out on a greased cookie sheet. Top with broken chocolate bar or chocolate chips. Spread chocolate as it melts. Top with nuts. Break into pieces after it is cooled. 

SOUR CREAM LEMON CAKE WITH LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING - GF

Taken from Breezybakes.com - all her recipes are Gluten Free and everything I've tried has seriously been delicious!!

INGREDIENTS

• For the cake:
• 1½ sticks butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1½ tablespoons lemon zest
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1¾ cups preferred high quality gluten free all-purpose flour*
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (if your blend doesn't already contain a gum)
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1½ cups toasted almonds
• For the frosting:
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4½ cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8" round baking pans with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper. Lightly flour sides of pans. Set aside.
2. Begin making cake. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
3. In a smaller mixing bowl, sift together salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, and gluten free flour. Add half of the dry mixture to the wet and mix on low until combined.
4. Add sour cream and mix on low until combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Add lemon juice and mix until well incorporated.
5. Divide batter evenly between both pans. Smooth out the tops. Bake cakes for 30 mins or until tops spring back at the touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center of cakes come out clean with few moist crumbs.
6. Remove cakes from the oven and set on a cooling sheet. Run a sharp knife along the edges to loosen sides of cake. Allow cake to cool for 30 mins. Once cooled, flip cake out onto cooling racks to completely cool.
7. While cake is baking, begin making frosting. In a large bowl, whip butter and cream cheese together until pale and fluffy. 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix on medium until well combined. Add vanilla, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until well incorporated. Add more lemon juice if preferred.
8. To assemble cake, spread ⅓ of the frosting on bottom layer. Gently place second layer of cake on top. Use additional ⅓ frosting to top the cake. Use remaining frosting to frost edges of cake. While frosting is fresh, sprinkle and pat cooled toasted almonds on top and around the edges.
9. Serve cake at room temperature.
10. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the up to 3 months, an

Sweet Potato Casserole

2 large cans of sweet potatoes (about 3 cups mashed)
2/3 cup sugar
6 TBS butter
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients together.  Pour into casserole dish.

Topping:
1 cup nuts
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
Cut together with two knives.  Sprinkle topping over the casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until set.

*You can also use marshmallows instead of nut topping.  If you use marshmallows, put them on the sweet potatoes  the last 10 minutes of baking.
** I usually do half of the nut topping and then marshmallows on the other half.

Apple Pie (Karen Ashton's recipe)

Be sure to make the bottom crust, topping, and then the filling so that the filling doesn't sit and get too liquidy.
1.  Bottom crust:
1/2 cup crisco
1 TBS milk
2 TBS boiling water
Whip together with a fork.
Then add 1 1/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
Mix with fork and immediately roll out with enough flour to hold together but not get dry.
* I usually mix this together right in the bottom of the 9" pie dish and press it together along the bottom and sides instead of rolling it out - it is much easier and much less time. 

2.  Topping:
1/2 cup butter (firm)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
Cut together with a pastry blender or two knives until "mealy".

Filling:
Peel and slice 6-7 Granny Smith apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBS flour
1 tsp cinnamon - to taste
Mix gently together

Put the apples into the bottom crust and cover with the topping.  Bake at 425 degrees for about an hour.  Lay a piece of foil over the top of pie to keep it from burning.  Take the foil off the pie the last 10 minutes of baking.  Pie is done when apples start bubbling over and crust is brown.

Fat Man's Delight

Ingredients
For the Crust: 
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted

For cheesecake layer:
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces cool whip
1 cup powdered sugar

For pudding layer:
1 box instant chocolate pudding (4 serving size)
1 box instant vanilla pudding (4 serving size)
3 cups milk
additional 8 ounce cool whip for topping

Instructions

1.  Combine crust ingredients nd press into a 9X13 baking dish.  Don't worry if there are holes in the crust. 
2.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.  Let cool completely. 
3.  Cheesecake layer - Beat together cream cheese, and sugar then stir in cool whip until smooth.  Spread evenly over the crust. 
4.  Pudding layer - combine both pudding mixes with milk and whisk until combined then stir for an additional 2 minutes until thickened.  Spread over cheesecake layer. 
5.  Top with additional cool whip. 
6.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Caramel Pumpkin Italian Cream Cake

Caramel Pumpkin Italian Cream Cake- recipe courtesy of Lories Mississippi Kitchen Blog

A few notes.....This cake is heaven!!! I'm not gonna lie, it takes a while to make, but it is worth it!!! Also, this recipe calls for a fancy kind of salt, I just used regular and it turned out fine. Also, this cake is three layers, I just made my cake two layers. I threw away the leftover, but if I had thought about it, I would have made the extra into muffins or bread or something else instead of just tossing it. Also, I did not toast my almonds or coconut and it turned out just as good. 

2 cups pecan halves

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, divided

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

6 eggs, separated

1 1/4 cup pure canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

Caramel frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cup sifted powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.  Reserve 8-10 halves for decorating the top, then finely chop the remainder.  Set aside 1 cup chopped for the cake batter, then place the remaining chopped pecans in a small bowl.  Toast 1 cup coconut in a nonstick skillet over high heat until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, stirring often.  Reserve remaining coconut for cake batter.  Place the toasted coconut in the bowl with the pecans and mix.  Set aside.

Cream the shortening, butter, sugar, and 1 cup light brown sugar together until fluffy on medium speed.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, until incorporated.  Beat in the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well mixed.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Add to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk.  Stir 1 cup reserved (untoasted) coconut and the reserved 1 cup chopped pecans.

Beat the egg whites until stiff in a medium bowl.  Gently fold into batter.  Divide the batter equally among 3 (9-inch round) cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and lined with parchment paper or wax paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely on wire rack.

When cakes are completely cool, make the caramel frosting.  Place 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream and the fleur de sel in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to rapid boil and boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 cups powdered sugar with a handmixer on medium speed until mixture is thick and spreadable.  Immediately spread half of the frosting on the first cake layer that has been placed on cake plate or cardboard cake round, bottom side up (flat side up).  Place the second layer on top, bottom up, and spread the remaining frosting to the edges.  Place the third layer on top, bottom side up.

Make the cream cheese frosting.  Beat the butter and cream cheese until creamy and fluffy with the whisk attachment on high speed.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until fluffy and smooth.  Beat in vanilla.  Frost the outside and top of cake with frosting.  Carefully press the reserved coconut-pecan mixture into the sides of cake, then place pecan halves on top for decoration.

LEMON RICOTTA CAKES

When I first tried these I was at a baby shower and they were made as mini bundt cakes. I didn't have a mini bundt cake pan and made them as cupcakes instead for Dan's birthday last week and they were a huge HIT!! Very very moist and delish.  

CAKES

1 c unsalted butter softened (I only had salted and it was fine)

2 c sugar

2 large eggs

15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese (I couldn't find whole milk and used part skim and it was fine)

1/2 tsp lemon extract

2-3 tbsp lemon zest

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

GLAZE

6 tbsp unsalted butter softened

3 c powdered sugar

3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or a combination of milk and lemon juice (I did 2 lemon to 1 milk)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini bundt pans with Pam. You could also make them as cupcakes. 

Combine butter and sugar and cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, ricotta, lemon extract, zest and juice, blend well. Add 1 c flour, baking powder, and salt; blend to combine. Add remaining flour in two parts, blending to combine between each. 

I filled them 3/4 full and cooked them for 12 minutes. Let them sit in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto cooking rack. 

While cakes cool, prepare glaze by creaming together butter and sugar. Continue to mix, gradually adding juice until desired consistency. Spread icing on top of cakes. Enjoy!

**Since I did mine as cupcakes I used paper cupcake holders, not pam. Also, I had to cook mine a lot longer...probably close to twice as long. I don't remember exactly. I tested them using a toothpick. As you can see, I didn't add enough batter to the first batch. These don't rise as much as muffins or regular cupcakes so I think you are safe to add a little more batter than you normally would --at least that was my experience.   

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

These are Dan's FAVORITE peanut butter cookies. His mom has always made them and so know he requests that I make them as well. They are not the fastest (they have to go in the fridge for a couple of hours) but they are super yummy!

1 C butter

1 C peanut butter

1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1. In mixer, beat soft butter with peanut butter

2. Add sugars gradually and beat until fluffy

3. Add eggs and beat

4. Add flour mixture and beat in

5. Cover dough ad refrigerate 1 hour

6. Shape dough into balls; after placing on cookie sheet, use a fork to gently criss cross. 

7. Bake at 350 for 5-6 min. Just lightly browned on the bottom, not on top. Let cool a little before removing from the pan. Store in airtight container to keep them soft. Makes about 4 dozen. 

CHURROS

Sarah and I made these valentine churros we found on Pinterest. They exceeded our expectations BY FAR! They were SUPER easy and gone in one day.

Churros Dough:
 - 1 c water
 - 2 1/2 TBS white sugar
 - 1/2 tsp salt
 - 2 TBS vegetable oil
 - 1 c flour
 - oil for frying

Cinnamon Sugar:
 - 1/2 c white sugar
 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine water, 21/2 TBS sugar, salt and 2 TBS oil. Bring to boil and remove from heat. Stir in flour until mixture forms a ball of dough. Let cool for a minute and then place dough in piping bag and pipe heart shapes onto a sheet of parchment paper. This was easier than I thought.

Heat oil for frying to 375 degrees. You can test by placing a wooden spoon into the oil ad if it bubbles around the spoon the oil is ready. Place hearts in oil. Fry until golden and drain on paper towels. We liked ours softer and so took them out as soon as the edges began to brown. Drain on paper towels. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place churro in bowl and shake until covered with cinnamon and sugar. Enjoy.

**Dan and I put ours in a ziplock bag and they got soggy within a few hours. Before eating, we popped them in the toaster and they were warm and the outside was crispy. It worked great!**

MOM'S PEACH COBBLER

1/4 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1 small can (or pint) peaches

Mix butter, salt, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add milk and mix. Pour into a square greased pan. Drain peaches (save juice) and place on the top of the cake mixture. Sprinkle with sugar (I use about 1/4 cup) and slowly pour juice over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and not runny in the middle.
picture from tasteofhome.com

Apple Crisp

 

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

10 cups (granny smith) apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water

 

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes

SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

1 c sour cream
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
4 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c shortening

Beat together sour cream and baking soda. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and cut shortening into flour mixture. Add cream mixture and mix well. Chill for 1 hour. Roll out 1/4 inch thick on floured board. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, or until dry on top. Do not brown.

Once cooled, I use this frosting recipe. It's delish....found on the back of the C&H powdered sugar bag.

mini APPLE PIES

Topping Ingredients

• 1/2 c firm butter
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 c flour

Filling Ingredients

• 6-7 peeled and chopped (very small) Granny Smith apples
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp cinamon ( I am very generous with this)

Crust Ingredients

• 1 Pillsbury pie crust box (2 crusts are in a box)

With the lid to a mason jar cut out the bottom of the pies and put them in a greased muffin tin. Put all of the topping ingredients into a small bowl and cut with a knife until crumbly. Set aside. Make the filling last as you do not want it to sit. Mix gently all of the filling ingredients. Fill your pies (makes about 17-18) and sprinkle the topping on last. Bake at 350 F for 18-20 mins. 

BROWN BUTTER SNICKERDOODLES

WARNING: these need time to chill in the fridge (3 hrs). WORTH IT.

Okay, normally snickerdoodles seem kind of like a boring cookie to me. This recipe changed my whole opinion. They were super yummy. The recipe actually ended up making 4 dozen and every one of them were gone...super fast. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 stick (1c) unsalted butter (I used salted and it was fine)
• 1 1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp plain greek yogurt

For rolling mixture

• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cook for a few mins. 
• With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined, Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low speed just until combined. 
• Chill your dough for 3 hrs or as long as possible in the refrigerator (important!), or place in freezer for 30 mins if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this. Fridge is always best! You want the dough VERY cold. If you desire a "puffy" cookie, place them in the fridge overnight. 
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Once dough is chilled measure about 2 Tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Meanwhile, mix 1/4 c sugar and the 2 tsp cinnamon in a bowl. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mix. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart
• Bake cookies 8-11 mins or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Bake longer if you like crispier cookies. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 mins. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few mins and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

FRESH APPLE CAKE with brown sugar glaze

I made this for a small group of people over general conference weekend. It went really well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Delish. Pinterest does it again.

Cake Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs 
• 1/2 c canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 c finely chopped apples
• 1/2 c pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

Brown Sugar Glaze Ingredients

• 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbs heavy cream

Directions for cake

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch pan (round or square) and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a whisk to mix everything together. 
• In a large bow mix the eggs with a hand mixer until light in color and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat well. 
• Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts (if using) and stir to mix them into the batter. 
• Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
• White its still hot prepare the glaze. 

Directions for glaze

• Combine all ingredients into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 mins. 
• Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan. 

BANANA BREAD BARS with brown butter frosting

This is maybe the best thing I have EVER made. Seriously. Everyone loved it. It tastes a lot like banana bread but more like cake with delicious frosting and SUPER moist.This is another Pinterest find.

Banana Bread Bars Ingredients

• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter
• 4 c. powdered sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp. milk

Heat over to 375 degrees. Grease a cake pan. I a large bow, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and bled for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts. 

Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20-25 minute or until golden brown. 

Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately. 

Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).