Roecipes

Ingredients for the banana chocolate cake:

2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Teaspoon baking soda

3/4 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Cup whole milk

1/2 Cup sour cream (4 ounces)

8 Ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan

1 1/2 Cups sugar

4 Eggs

1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 Banana

Ingredients for topping:

Raspberries

Raspberry jam

Ingredients for whipping cream:

Heavy whipping cream

Sugar

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for caramel:

1 Can sweetened condensed milk

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoons powdered chocolate

1 Teaspoon of crack… just kidding… 2 teaspoons of crack… but seriously, just kidding.

Directions for the banana chocolate cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a pan that will indent into your cake. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix milk and sour cream in a small bowl.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and a smooshed banana. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add half of the flour mixture, then half of the milk mixture, and repeat. Spoon batter into pan. Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean – 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Invert cake.

Directions for toppings:

To make the whipping cream, put cream into a mixer, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and sugar to taste (1-3 teaspoons) mix until it is the consistency of whipping cream.

Directions for chocolate caramel:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine powdered chocolate, butter and condensed milk. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until it thickens to the consistency of a runny caramel. The thinner you keep it, the easier it is to drizzle over dessert.

To assemble:

First put raspberry jam into the indent of your banana chocolate cake.

Spoon the whipped cream on top and then add raspberries.

Drizzle chocolate caramel over the dessert and serve.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 Cup pecans

1/3 Cup finely chopped English toffee

Plain or granulated or vanilla sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Process briefly until well mixed. Add the butter and vanilla and, using rapid off-on pulses, process until the mixture resembles a fine meal. Add the pecans and process until finely chopped. Add the toffee and process just until mixed in.

Transfer the mixture to a large sheet of waxed paper. Gather together into a flat disk. Top with a second sheet of waxed paper. Roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick. Using heart-shaped cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, roll out again and cut out additional cookies. Sprinkle the cookies with plain or vanilla sugar.

Bake until just beginning to color, about 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Apply raspberry jam in between two cookies the day that they will be eaten.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup butter

2  ¼ cups brown sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup half and half

1 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Line an 8x8x2 inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Butter foil. Sprinkle nuts in pan.

In a heavy 3 quart sauce pan, melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, cream, half and half and corn syrup to the butter and mix well. Stir over medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until candy thermometer registers 248 degrees (firm-ball stage). Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Stir in the vanilla. Quickly pour caramel mixture over nuts and allow the caramel to cool.

When the caramel is firm, use the edges of the foil to lift the caramel out of the pan. Cut into 1” squares with a buttered knife. Wrap each piece of caramel in clear plastic wrap.

This recipe makes 64 pieces or about 2 lbs.

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, plus 1 vanilla bean, scraped

Confectioners’ sugar, sifted, for coating

Directions:

Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 10 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds; mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.

Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed sharp knife. Place confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat.

This recipe makes about 16 marshmallows.

 ***For peppermint marshmallows, use 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract instead of the vanilla flavoring.

Thank you Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

1 Picnic ham (I usually get mine at the deli in Fred Meyer.)

1 Jar of blackberry jam

1 Tablespoon mustard

1 Cup brown sugar

Directions:

Remove the packaging from around the ham. Place the ham into a pot and fill it with water. Bring the water to a full boil. Once the water starts to boil turn down the heat. Make sure the ham is still boiling slowly for 3 hours.

While the ham is boiling, prepare the sauce that you will use to pour on top of the ham.  Mix together 1 jar of blackberry jam, 1 tablespoon of mustard, and 1 cup of brown sugar. 

Remove the ham from the pot. Be careful not to burn yourself. Place the ham into a pan that can go to the oven.  Pour your sauce onto the ham.  Once the ham is coated with the sauce, put it into the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Some ovens are hotter than others so check the ham after 10 minutes. The reason we put it in the oven is just to brown it a little, don’t let it burn!  Remove from oven and slice.

Ingredients for cookie dough: 

8 Ounces of cream cheese – softened (1 package)

1 Stick of butter – softened

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon lemon extract (we used fresh lemon juice)

1 – 18 Ounce package of lemon moist cake

½ Package of white chocolate chips

Ingredients for topping:

½ Package of white chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream the cream cheese and softened butter in an electric mixer until smooth.  Beat in the egg until combined.  Next beat in the lemon extract or juice until combined.  Beat in the lemon cake mix.  Finally, add the ½ bag of white chocolate chips and combine.

 Cover and refrigerate the mixture for 2 hours.

 Roll the chilled dough into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in powdered sugar. 

 Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. 

 Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.  The cookies will remain soft and gooey. 

 Allow the cookies to cool completely.  Once cool, melt the remaining ½ bag of white chocolate chips and drizzle on top of the cooled cookies.  

Thanks Linda!

Ingredients for the dough:

3 lbs. powdered sugar

1 lb. margarine

4 cups peanut butter

Ingredients for the chocolate coating:

3 packages chocolate chips

⅓ cake paraffin wax (I used vegetable oil.  You could also use Crisco shortening.)

Directions:

Combine the powdered sugar, margarine, and peanut butter in a large bowl and mix them with your hands until everything is well blended. Chill for 1/2 hour.

Once the mixture is chilled, roll about a tablespoon sized amount of dough into balls.  Chill them.

Heat the chocolate chips and paraffin wax in a double boiler until they melt (or if the double boiler scares you, heat them in the microwave for 30 second increments until the mixture is melted).  Then, dip the balls into the melted chocolate, and cool them on wax paper.  I used a plastic fork with the two middle prongs broken off to dip the balls into the chocolate.  This makes it easier to remove the balls from the chocolate.

Store the peanut butter balls in the refrigerator until they are ready to be eaten.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of all-purpose flour

1/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 Cup pecans

1/3 Cup finely chopped English toffee

Plain or granulated or vanilla sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Process briefly until well mixed. Add the butter and vanilla and, using rapid off-on pulses, process until the mixture resembles a fine meal. Add the pecans and process until finely chopped. Add the toffee and process just until mixed in.

Transfer the mixture to a large sheet of waxed paper. Gather together into a flat disk. Top with a second sheet of waxed paper. Roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick. Using a decorative cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, roll out again and cut out additional cookies. Sprinkle the cookies with plain or vanilla sugar.

Bake until just beginning to color, about 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Ingredients:

1 Cup butter (2 sticks)

1 ¼ Cups sugar

2 Eggs

1 Tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest

2 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour

2 Teaspoons baking powder

2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme (or 2 Teaspoons dry thyme)

Rolling sugar:

¼ Cup sugar

Directions to prepare the dough:

Thoroughly cream together the butter and the 1 ¾ cup sugar. Add the eggs and
freshly grated lemon peel and mix well.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and thyme. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well to blend. Chill the dough to make it easier to handle.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Divide the dough into 36 small balls. Roll the balls in the ¼ cup sugar and space
evenly on a half-sheet pan that has been lined with parchment paper or lightly
greased cookie sheet.

Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.

To bake:

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Carefully remove them from the
sheet pan and place them on a rack to cool.

This recipe makes approximately 36 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 lbs. of stew beef

2 cubes of vegetable bouillon 

4 cups of water

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 large carrots

3 stalks of celery

1/2 onion

1 cup corn

1 cup peas

1 cup green beans

10 small baby dutch yellow potatoes

2 cloves of garlic

Can of garbanzo beans

Large can of canned tomatoes (San Marzano) 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the meat in the olive oil. Then sauté the chopped onion and garlic. Once the meat, onions and garlic are ready, add the water, vegetable bouillon cubes, Worcestershire sauce, and potatoes. Simmer for about an hour. Add the rest of the vegetables and the beans and cook until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary and serve with toasted dipping bread.