"Psych"-Inspired Cinnamon Pie

I have a confession. I am completely hooked on "Pysch"--you know, that ridiculously crazy, crazily good, pseudo-pyschic comedy-drama mystery series on USA. It's this new obsession that I discovered a few weeks ago thanks to my husband and the good people at Netflix. Last week, we watched the "Dual Spires" episode, in which Shawn and Gus go to a small town to attend a cinnamon festival, but stay for the cinnamon pie (not to mention the not-unforeseen murder investigation).Comedic and investigative antics aside, the homemade cinnamon pie in the episode was impossible to forget. It was mouthwatering. It was sweet. But most of all, it was addictive. I had to try it.

There are a few cinnamon pie recipes floating around the Internet, but this one from Allrecipes seemed to have the most promise. Boy oh boy, was this ever a good pie. Springy with a mild autumnal flavor, this custardy confection was a great little afternoon perk-me-up. I imagine it'd be just perfect with coffee, tea, or a scoop of ice cream.

But I've got to admit, it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I envisioned an extremely rich, creamy pie with a deep cinnamon flavor and gritty texture that allowed you to taste individual sugar granules. I wanted something so strongly aromatic, I'd feel like I was in Dual Spires, something so sweet my teeth might fall out...OK, so maybe not that sweet.

Next time (and there will definitely be a next time!), I think I will try a less flaky crust, substitute the milk for half-and-half or heavy whipping cream, and add another half teaspoon of cinnamon. Maybe I could even use some brown sugar. In the mean time, try the original Cinnamon Pie recipe I used and see what works best for you!

Cinnamon Pie (Courtesy Sharon Miller, allrecipes.com)
1 C sugar
1 1/2 T all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 egg, beaten
2 T butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 C milk
1 10-inch unbaked pie crust


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add the beaten egg, butter, and vanilla. Mix well and add the milk. Pour mixture into an unbaked 10-inch pie crust (glass pie plate is best). Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for and additional 45 minutes. Let cool and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Fresh Apple Butter

Autumn lays out a lovely landscape here in Minnesota. Vast, open cornfields transform into brilliant seas of vibrant squash and jeweled pumpkins. Trees erupt in elegant burst of burgundy, tangerine, and gold. School children run about the suburbs excitedly, chattering about hayrides and Halloween costumes and who's who this year at school. There are bonfires, ball games, and stacks of cinnamon-scented pinecones at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

This year, my husband and I kicked off the season with a trip to the Minnesota Harvest apple orchard in Jordan. We picked two pecks of apples--one Honey Gold and one Haralson, which we heard were good baking apples.

My husband then let his baking skills shine by turning our two pecks of apples into twelve apple pies! (By the way, I was the lucky duck who got to peel all of those apples.) :) Keeping in the spirit of things, I whipped up my own batch of apple-flavored goodies: my mom's Microwave Apple Butter. (We actually went to the market and bought an extra bag of Gala apples for this recipe.)

Our microwave apple butter and homemade apple pie

If you're a fan of apples--or just all things autumn--you'll love the warm, spicy aromas that fill your kitchen when you make this recipe. It's so simple, you could make this in a dorm room without any fancy equipment or gadgets. The texture is something like applesauce, but perhaps a little thicker. Enjoy this delicious butter on toast, English muffins, or just right out of the jar. Be sure to refrigerate it, too.









Microwave Apple Butter
8 C peeled & cored apples (Granny Smith or Gala are best)
2 C apple cider or juice
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice

In a microwaveable bowl, mix apples and cider. Loosely cover and microwave for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Place mixture in a blender (if it is too juicy/syrupy, lessen juice) and blend until smooth. Return to a bowl and add sugar, lemon juice, and spices. Microwave for another 20-25 minutes, until it is thick and medium brown in color, stirring twice. Spoon into containers.

Stores in refrigerator for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.

Pie Crust Manju

Are those chocolate-filled biscuits? Nope--pie crust manju!

It's no secret that Japan is teeming with a scrumptious selection of sweet treats: Portuguese-inspired castella cakes, chocolate-stuffed butter biscuits stamped with Hello Kitty and other epically cute animals, and decorative blocks of jelly-like yokan, just to name a few.

But if there's one Japanese dessert you've got to try, it's Pie Crust Manju.

Imagine biting into a tender, buttery bun made of crisp, flaky pie crust. You then discover a generous dollop of sweet red bean paste, or an, cleverly hidden in the middle. Smooth, yet grainy, the an offers a gentle sweetness that marries perfectly with the slightly salty pastry shell. It's a modest, unassuming dessert. And it's something foodies and newbies will both like. After all, what can be so bad about pastry crust packed with sweet filling?

Traditionally speaking, manju is a small steamed cake filled with red bean paste, a cousin of another Japanese classic dessert, mochi. In Hawaii, they like to change it up a bit by baking manju and even making manju filled with sweet potato.

The recipe I used is from an old KTA supermarket ad that my grandma cut from the paper years ago. I used to love the Pie Crust Manju from the KTA bakery when I was growing up, so I thought it was only fitting to try their recipe. It doesn't produce exactly the same results, but gosh darn it, is it ever good. If you've ever made any kind of Asian dumpling or bun (manapua, siu mai, etc.), then you can definitely make this.

The one change I suggest is increasing the size of your dough balls. Although the recipe instructs you to make them golf ball-sized, I followed this step and ended up with a lot of extra dough. The manju then proceeded to crack open in the oven because there wasn't enough crust surrounding the an. Sad, but nonetheless tasty. I also omitted the egg wash at the end of the recipe just because I didn't have any eggs in the fridge. It's a skippable step, but the beaten egg will add a nice glossy sheen to the manju. Enjoy!


Pie Crust Manju

1 lb. (4 blocks) butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
5 C flour
3/4 C condensed milk
1 pkg. Shirakiku Brand Koshian or Tsubushian, 17.6 oz. (sweet red bean paste)
1 egg yolk (beaten)

Cream butter and sugar. Mix dry ingredients and add alternately with condensed milk. Shape dough into ball, size of golf balls. Then flatten and using a spoon fill with Koshian or Tsubushian. Cover completely and pinch underside to seal. Brush manju with beaten egg yolk. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees (preheated) for 30-40 minutes or until slightly brown. Let cool.
Will make approximately 18-20 pieces.

Chocolate Cake Batter Cocktail

Chocolate milk in a fun glass? Nope, it's a chocolate cake batter cocktail!

As a little one growing up in my mother's kitchen, I spent a good chunk of my childhood measuring flour and sugar, mixing dough with a wooden spoon, spilling flour and sugar, and generally getting in my mom's way. We would always use these yellow and green Tupperware measuring cups and this beautiful cream-colored ceramic mixing bowl with pink and blue trim, which was passed down from my great-grandmother.

Learning to bake in my mom's kitchen!

Like any kid, however, I knew the best part about baking was licking the spoon once our cakes and cookies were in the oven. (These were the days before we all bit our nails over salmonella poisoning possibilities.) Now, as an adult, I'm able to resist the temptation to eat cake batter right out of the bowl. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying a good chocolate cake batter cocktail.

That's right...I said chocolate cake batter cocktail. It's love at first sip. Taking my inspiration from the Cake Batter Martini at How Sweet It Is, I mixed together a lovely little concoction made of rum, creme de cacao, heavy whipping cream, Godiva chocolate liqueur, and--you guessed it--UV Cake vodka! Pour it all into a dainty martini glass rimmed with cream cheese frosting and nonpareils, and you've got the answer to all of your sinful cravings.


Now, I must warn you--as sweet and cutesy as this liquid indulgence seems, it packs a heavy punch. Slurping and chugging are not advised, and please enjoy in moderation. Feel free to mix and match your flavorings, too--spiced rum with buttercream frosting and chocolate sprinkles, for instance. Here's my recipe so you can try it out and decide what your tastebuds like best:

Chocolate Cake Batter Cocktail

1 oz. rum
1 1/2 oz. UV Cake vodka
1 1/2 oz. creme de cacao
1/2 oz. Godiva chocolate liqueur
1 oz. heavy whipping cream
Frosting of your choice
Rainbow sprinkles or nonpareils

Generously fill cocktail glass with ice. Pour ice into cocktail shaker. Dab frosting around rim of glass using a small spoon or spatula. Pour sprinkles onto a plate or shallow dish and press frosted glass rim into sprinkles. Gently press sprinkles with your finger to ensure they stick. Pour remaining ingredients into cocktail shaker and shake together until the outside of the shaker condenses. Strain into cocktail glass.

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cookies

Seeing as we're sitting on the cusp of autumn, I've begun thinking about transitions--shutting off our water sprinklers for the winter, replacing our cotton bedspread with our puffy down comforter, and tidily tucking away our tank tops and shorts until the sun peeks out of clouds again. It's the perfect time to segue from ice-cold ice cream to warm, home-baked ice cream cookies, like these delicious Neapolitan Ice Cream Cookies!

Who wouldn't love a fresh batch of these colorful, yummy cookies, their three buttery layers dressed up with hints of chocolate and almond? Tender and chewy, Neapolitan Ice Cream Cookies are just what you need on those harsh winter days when you've got a sweet tooth, but it's just too darn cold for frozen treats. Plus, they're super easy--and fun!--to make. All you have to do is create a single cookie dough, split it in thirds, add the appropriate coloring, place the dough in nice, even layers, refrigerate, slice, and go! The dough can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until you're ready to bake. Kids of all ages are sure to "wow" at the tri-colored strata, making it an excellent choice for birthdays, holidays, or anydays!

Here's the link to the recipe, from Betty Shimabukuro's "By Request" column in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. I previously mentioned these cookies in my post about Italian Rainbow Cookies. Enjoy!

Zooper Cute Carousel Cake

Hey all! What's baking?

First of all, I apologize for the lack of updates--my summer has been crazy busy and chock-full of travel, work, and family events. Hopefully, this is the start of a more normal blogging routine.

Earlier this summer, we threw my adorable nephew a fantastic, fun-and-food-filled first birthday party. My in-laws prepared the majority of the main meal: cheesesteaks, hoagies, pizza, salad, etc. Luckily for me, I had the honor of baking the best little birthday boy ever his first little birthday cake ever!

I wanted my nephew's cake to be something cute, whimsical, and representative of all of the joys of turning one year old. After discovering these adorable cupcakes on my Betty Crocker recipe app, I knew exactly what I would bake: a giant carousel cake complete with rainbow sprinkles and adorable animal cracker figures!

My nephew celebrating with a slice of cake

I decided to wing it and recreate this edible merry-go-round on a larger scale using my favorite cake and frosting recipes, allowing for one white cake layer and one chocolate layer. However, any good cake and frosting combo will do (even store-bought or packaged mixes), so try this with strawberry, coconut, red velvet, or Funfetti cake and dress it up with chocolate or cream cheese frosting. The chocolate pudding layer can also be substituted with custard, extra frosting, or another pudding flavor.

 The sky truly is the limit with this super fun cake. I used plain Barnum's Animal Crackers for my creation, but it's more than OK to use iced animal crackers, animal-shaped cookie cut-outs, or even plastic animal figurines instead. Remember: carousels (and this cake) are meant to be fun and playful; let your creativity take over and shine.

Zooper Cute Carousel Cake 

Ingredients:

1 10-inch white cake

1 10-inch chocolate cake

1 3.75-oz. instant chocolate pudding

Frosting (any color)

1 2.125-oz. box animal crackers

Pretzel rods

1 C semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Multicolored sprinkles, jellybeans, chocolate-coated candies, or other decorative candies

Plastic drinking straws

10"x10" piece scrapbook paper

Place chocolate cake on cake tray or cake carrier. Prepare chocolate pudding according to package directions. Spread thin layer of pudding on top of chocolate cake (there will be extra pudding). Gently center white cake on top of pudding layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of entire cake. Gently shake sprinkles over top and sides.

That's the way the cake crumbles!

Open box of animal crackers and discard broken animal crackers. Arrange whole animal crackers on a clean baking tray face-down. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, about 1 minute. Working one at a time and using a small spoon, dab a small amount of melted chocolate onto the back of each animal cracker and immediately place a pretzel rod vertically onto the chocolate. Press gently to ensure pretzels stick firmly to chocolate. Let completely dry for 20-30 minutes.

Once animal figures are dry, arrange them in an evenly-spaced, circular pattern around the perimeter of the top cake layer. Animal faces should be facing the outside of the cake while the pretzel rods should be toward the center of the cake. Decorate with jellybeans, chocolate-coated candies, etc. as you wish.

Use a compass to draw as large a circle as possible on scrapbook paper. Cut out circle. Cut a slit into the middle of the circle. Fold paper into a cone/tent shape and tape together. Tape plastic straws to center and sides of paper tent. (These will be the "support beams" for the carousel tent.) Carefully place paper tent on top of cake, gently sticking straws deep enough into the cake so that the tent will not fall over.

Voila--you've got a zooper cute carousel cake!

My First Cake Sale!

I'm so excited, guys 'n' gals! I just sold my first pre-ordered, full-sized cake! It was a delectable devil's food cake with chocolate ganache and marshmallow cream filling for a woman who enjoyed my cupcake version of this sweet treat so much, she just had to have a larger version for her birthday.

 

I am very grateful for this opportunity to showcase my baking and get a little boost into the baking business. It makes me happy to know that my cake is being used for a special occasion and that in some small way, I may have brought a bit of joy to someone. Hopefully the cake was a hit and they'll be back for more! :)

Italian Rainbow Cookies

Hello fellow bakers and cakers!

Since I was a little kid delighting in bowls of Neapolitan ice cream in front of the TV, I've carried on a love affair with multicolored, layered desserts. Whether it's a refreshing yogurt parfait, a pretty diamond-shaped Girls Day mochi, or my mom's famous fruit trifle, I've always been enamored by the dainty, whimsical presentation of layered sweets.

And that is exactly why I have been dreaming of Italian Rainbow Cookies for months. These flashy petite treats contain all the goodness of almonds, dark chocolate, and fruit preserves baked into seven adorable layers, that, when stacked together, resemble the Italian flag. This unique combination of main ingredients makes for a complex and sophisticated cookie with a distinctly European flavor. It's the type of thing you can picture your archetypal Italian-American grandmother baking with love for family get-togethers.

So how did I sink my sweet tooth into this fanciful, half-cookie, half-cake, you ask? It all started when I was talking to my mom about the different desserts we bake fresh at T.O.P.S, and she suggested creating a "signature" dessert for which our restaurant could become known. Before I could say "Jumping Jellybeans!" Mom was mailing me all manner of sweet inspiration, both from local newspaper clippings and her own recipe collection.

One recipe for Neapolitan Refrigerator Cookies, cut from Betty Shimabukuro's "By Request" column in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, stood out in particular. Although this recipe was for a tri-colored slice-and-bake cookie, the column also mentioned a more elaborate, almond-fruit preserve cookie enrobed in melted chocolate.The idea stuck in my mind.

A few weeks later, I stumbled upon the lovely Italian Rainbow Cookie Cake on one of my new favorite blogs, Always Order Dessert. I was intrigued to learn that the blog's author, Alejandra Ramos, got her foot in the door of the baking business by selling dozens of these extraordinary cakes. My curiosity was piqued; this kind of stuff just had to be good.

I finally realized Fate was bringing me together with these awe-inspiring cookies when I re-opened my May 2011 issue of Bon Appetit ("The Italy Issue") and found yet another recipe for them! You can find their recipe for Italian Rainbow Cookies, which I ultimately used, here.

To tell you the truth, I was nervous about baking Rainbow Cookies. With all of the beautiful examples that had come before me, I had a lot to live up to. In between all of the mixing, melting, freezing, stacking, pressing, and my lone 9"x13" pan, I was also looking at an all-day baking project. And most of all, Steve, my primary taste tester, isn't much of a marzipan or almond extract person, so I wasn't sure he'd go wild for them. In the end, however, the cookies baked up splendidly and I had a blast! The cookies were dense and moist, with a slightly spongy texture and nice, even layers. Although I don't see myself making these glittery little gems on a regular basis, they might reappear in my kitchen over the holidays. As they say in the cooking world, it was love at first bite.

Boozey Baking: Kahlua-Vodka Cake (Black Russian Cake)

I have been in one big baking frenzy as of late, and it all began with one of the sweetest introductions I've ever had: someone recommended that Steve and I try the delectable new UV Cake. Manufactured by Minneapolis' own Phillips Distilling Company, UV Cake is a brand new white cake-flavored vodka that is as sensational as it is "sinsational." It smells just like a sweet piece of birthday treat--and tastes even better. As soon as I took a sip, I knew I had to bake with it.

UV Cake Vodka on the left and Kahlua on the right

Now here was the problem: being neither a connoisseur of premium liquors nor a heavy drinker, I'd never before done any boozey baking! My recipe collection was bare!

After receiving encouragement from my hubby and my friend Alysha over at loVeLySh, I started searching for a good vodka cake recipe online. There were recipes for White Russian Cakes and Harvey Wallbanger Cakes; there were recipes for fruit-flavored vodkas and for mixing vodka with chocolate chips. But my baking instincts said to keep looking, to find the perfect mix of ingredients that would place the UV Cake on center stage without masking the vodka's innate yumminess. That's when I found this outstanding little number from cdkitchen.com. Bellissimo!

This cake truly made me happy while I was baking it. (And no, it's not because I was drinking and baking!) It was so easy to prepare, I had little to no interruptions, and the ingredients were all close at hand. Besides, there's something simply wonderful about a heated glaze or frosting--like a rich, silky ganache for cupcake dipping or a mudslide of molten sugar cascading over a pan of crumbly cake doughnuts--that you simply don't achieve by beating powdered sugar and butter together for cold, fluffy cake topping.

The delicious

As the contents of my icing pot cooked and caramelized, their scrumptious scent wafted into the air, conjuring fond memories of old-time candy shops in places like Stillwater and Des Moines, watching mustachioed candymakers prepare belts of taffy and knock apart slabs of peanut brittle. I closed my eyes, placed a tiny sample of the icing on my tongue, and immediately tasted a harmonius blend of buttery toffee and spiked sugar that just blew me away.

The final verdict? Outstanding! While this cake may be a little strong for children and non-drinkers, it is beautifully soft, spongy, and a nice accompaniment to coffee or tea. Just as the cake and icing go together remarkably, so do the Kahlua and UV Cake (although any good vodka should do the trick). About a week later, the cake has kept surprisingly well in the fridge, so best of all, I can continue to share it with family and friends around me.

Tomato Sauce Cake

First and foremost, today I'd like to wish my wonderful husband, Steve, the BIGGEST and BEST birthday ever! On Sunday, we threw him a fun-filled surprise party, complete with friends, family, eats, and sweets. Happy Birthday, Honey!

It's lucky that we had the party when we did, because here I am, two days later, stuck in bed with an awful cold. After spending the past thirty hours either sleeping or watching movies on Lifetime, I dragged myself downstairs and attempted to salvage part of the day by blogging. 

So here we go--this is how I finally got around to writing about a heritage recipe for Tomato Sauce Cake belonging to my Grandma T. As a child, I grew up identifying my grandmother with many warm, joyful things: the aged, pea green futon I'd take naps on at her house in the afternoon, the thrill of watching her soybean plants clamber toward the sky, the unbeatable taste of a lunch made up of chicken noodle soup and saloon pilots with guava jelly for dessert. If there is one thing I learned from my grandma, it's the philosophy of simple goodness: that the best things in life are the little things, and that a recipe need not be frou-frou to make an impact.

That's where the Tomato Sauce Cake comes into play. Sweet, moist, and with a tender crumb, this cake imparts a delicious--albeit puzzling--flavor. Resting amongst the branches of pumpkin, spice, and carrot cakes in the baking family tree, it's no wonder that Tomato Sauce Cake is sometimes referred to as "Mystery Cake," according to the good folks at www.foodtimeline.org.

When I first discussed the recipe with my friend Frannie, she mentioned that it seemed like an old Depression-era recipe, the kind of thing home bakers would make when chocolate and cream were luxuries. The idea made sense. Grandma's recipe lists very basic ingredients, things that most housewives of her generation would keep on hand. There are no nuts, raisins, or coconut flakes to dress it up. While other similar recipes call for a can of tomato soup, my grandmother's calls for watered-down tomato sauce. Although I imagine this cake would be terrific when topped with cream cheese frosting, all I gave it was a slight dusting of powdered sugar, because Grandma didn't include a frosting recipe. Come to think of it, most of my grandmother's cakes don't have frosting.

Here's the recipe. It just lists the ingredients necessary, as well as the baking time and temperature. In conducting previous cookery research, I've discovered that many old-time recipes (we're talking colonial America here) didn't include detailed instructions for preparing dishes because it was assumed (due to traditional gender and family roles) that the reader was skilled enough to know most prep techniques and to understand the implications of a recipe. I'm guessing the concept is similar with Tomato Sauce Cake--perhaps my grandmother jotted down the recipe from a friend or neighbor, simply writing down the ingredients because the order and method of preparation were inherent to her. Whatever the reason, she deserves to be thanked for this recipe and for teaching me the value of sweet simplicity. Thanks, Grandma!!

Tomato Sauce Cake

1 C margarine or butter

2 C sugar

4 eggs

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce blended with 3/4 C water

3 C flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 T baking powder

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Koulourakia

 
Happy Easter, everyone! In celebration of this special time of year, I baked a batch of koulourakia, a traditional Greek Easter cookie. Hand-rolled with just a touch of sweetness, these elegant little butter cookies go perfect with tea or coffee. As my husband explained it, they can be shaped into just about anything: circles, eights, braided ropes, etc. They were a lot of fun to make, but I imagine that braiding 7 dozen of these cookies by myself would be time-consuming! Thankfully my husband and father-in-law agreed to pitch in and help.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of a Greek church cookbook that belongs to my mom-in-law. The sesame seeds are optional.

Enjoy and happy baking!

Koulourakia

1 1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
5 1/2 C sifted flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 T water
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy in electric beater. Beat in eggs and flavoring. Add half the sifted dry ingredients, and mix well. Add water to mixture, together with remaining flour. Knead slightly. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into pencil-thin strips, about 6 inches long, fold in half and twist into a rope. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes about 7 dozen.

Choco-Vanilla Ice Cream Sammies

So I started with a batch of chocolate wafers and ended up with a stack of ice cream sandwiches--Choco-Vanilla Ice Cream Sammies, to be precise!

One afternoon, I was bored and looking for something I could bake with the ingredients I had right around me. Thank goodness for this lovely little recipe from Joy of Baking! As I sliced through the dough and began placing these petite, albeit plain, chocolate cookies on baking sheets, I wondered how I could jazz things up a bit. Then I remembered there was vanilla ice cream in the freezer and rainbow sprinkles on the shelf--perfect!

After the cookies were cooled (and after taste-tasting a few samples), I halved the batch and used a small ice cream scoop to add 1 1/2 scoops of ice cream on top of one half of the wafers. I then sandwiched the ice cream between another wafer and gently pressed down so everything would stick together. I left some of the ice cream sammies as is, but decided to shake some sprinkles onto a few of them for that extra dose of fun. All in all, they were a great treat and one that I hope will reappear in the summertime!

Green Onion Dressing Salad

Hey friends! The other day, my husband and I were craving something healthy, so we decided to temporarily ditch the sugar and spice and "go green" with a tasty Green Onion Dressing Salad served with homemade roast beef panini. We ended up with a fast, light meal that was as easy as pie to prepare. 

Things I loved about this recipe:

• Other than the pomegranate (which I couldn't find), it uses basic ingredients that you may already have in your pantry or can easily pick up at the market
• It makes about 8-10 salad dressing portions, so you can always refrigerate the leftovers (and trust me, you WILL want to save the leftovers!)
• The dressing is versatile and tastes great not only with the veggies listed below, but also on other mixed greens, etc. Try it on a salad with pears, apples, or strawberries. We used some of our leftover dressing on a terrific taco salad with steak.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of 80 Years of 4-H Cooking in Hawaii:

Green Onion Dressing Salad

Dressing:

Taco Salad with Steak

1/3 C sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 sprigs parsley

1 sm. bunch green onions

1/2 C white wine vinegar

1 C salad oil

Salad:

Lettuce

1 C canned mandarin oranges

Pomegranate

Red onion, sliced thin

Avocados, sliced

Sliced almonds

Blend dressing ingredients in electric blender. Mix salad ingredients; add dressing and toss. Happy cooking!

Melting Moments with a Twist

Until just a couple of days ago,Old Man Winter surprised all of us here in Minnesota with some unseasonably warm weather, allowing us to temporarily hang up our coats and defrost our toes. To celebrate this wonderful February thaw, I baked a batch of Melting Moments:

Made from a simple, shortbread-like dough, Melting Moments go by many names, each with its own slight variation: Snowballs, Russian Tea Cakes, Greek Kourambiedes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, etc. Most types call for some kind of chopped nut and instruct you to roll each cookie in powdered sugar. But I wanted something a little bit different.... I thought, "If you can roll these cookies in confectioner's sugar, why not roll them in coconut flakes, graham cracker crumbs, or sprinkles, and skip the nuts altogether?"

Here's the recipe I came up with, adapted from Jean Watanabe Hee's Hawaii's Best Local Desserts book:

Melting Moments with a Twist

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened

1/4 C powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 1/8 C cake flour

Sprinkles

In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour; mix well. Form into 1-inch balls. Pour sprinkles onto a plate or flat work surface. Roll each ball in sprinkles until thoroughly coated. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and cool on a wire rack.

I ended up with a plateful of tender, buttery cookies that literally melted in my mouth! The sprinkles made them look extra fun and added to their appeal. You can even divide the dough and mix food coloring into them to create a cookie rainbow. For bite-sized cookies, make each dough ball 1/2-inch or so in size, because the sprinkles will increase the cookie's circumference. (Just be sure to decrease the baking time by a few minutes.)

Also, Happy Belated Valentine's Day! Here are some pics of the red velvet cupcakes I whipped up for our three-course V-day dinner at the restaurant. They turned out great--soft, silky smooth texture, just sweet enough, and fairly quick to prepare. Happy baking!

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yay! This is my first recipe-related blog post! One of my favorite treats to bake is the cupcake, and our restaurant, T.O.PS. Pizza and Hoagies, sells some of my creations. We always keep a stash of carrot cake cupcakes on hand, and offer seasonal varieties too. So far, I've baked batches of chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cupcakes, and decided it was time to mix things up a bit with cheesecake cupcakes!

Now, I love "The Golden Girls," and can chow down a cheesecake just as quickly as Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia. (Well, maybe not exactly--that would give me an epic tummyache!) The thing is, I'm not too experienced with baking cheesecakes. This recipe, however, reminded me a lot of these Miniature Cheesecakes I made during my high school 4-H days, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

The first time I made these, they turned out terrible! I was left with a pile of cracked cream cheese, liquidy sour cream topping, and a mushy mess that mostly ended up in the trash. :( The only saving grace was that they tasted great! 

I couldn't let this cupcake disaster defeat me; with a few minor tweaks, I knew I could get this recipe to work. A few days later, I tried again, and the results were times better! The first major change I made was to allow the cream cheese to soften longer, which eliminated the cracking. The second change I made was to immediately remove the cupcakes from the oven after allowing the topping to set for only 5 minutes. After cooling the cupcakes on a table for about half an hour, I popped them into the fridge, where the cakes and topping could firm.

 The result? Yum! The lesson learned? If at first you don't succeed, bake, bake again. :)

Aloha & Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my *brand new* baking blog! I've thought about starting this blog for quite some time now, and finally decided to go for it! My goal is to use this space as a way of sharing my kitchen messes and successes with friends and family I don't see often enough, and spread some sweetness to others.

Although I sell some of my baked goods at our family restaurant, I don't consider myself a "baker," just a baking enthusiast. I love trying, creating, collecting, and experimenting with recipes. Maybe some day I'll even invent some of my own!

So why "The Shortcakery," you ask? Back in my college days, I worked at a Girl Scout camp under the nickname "Shortcake." The name has stuck, to a certain extent, and I'd probably still respond to it. I also absolutely adore strawberry shortcake (both the dessert and the American Greetings cartoon character).

I hope you enjoy your visit today and check back often for more posts, pics, and recipes.