Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting from Jubilee

 Ingredients for the cake:

3 C all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 sticks butter at room temp

2 C white sugar

4 eggs

Directions for the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 9 inch cake pans or 13 x 9 baking pan.

2. Combine dry ingredients. In small bowl combine buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour alternating w/buttermilk, 3 additions each. 

4. Bake 30-35 min. 

Ingredients for frosting:

12 Tbsp butter at room temperature

1 C packed light brown sugar

1/2 C whole milk

3 C sifted powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 C half and half

Directions:

1. Melt butter, stir in brown sugar and milk. Boil for two minutes. 

2. Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until cool and thick. Can add half and half only if needed if too thick. 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Another comfort food for the Robber which he requested that his mother make for him when she came out to visit (she did make these). Nana used to make these a lot when the Robber was a wee lad, but had to stop when her seventh child had severe nut allergies. Still the Robber remembers them fondly, and jumped at the opportunity to have these in our non-nut restricted kitchen.

Ingredients:

For the bars:
1 C. flour
1 C. quick oatmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C. butter or margarine
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 C. peanut butter
1/4 C. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package (2 cups) chocolate chips

For the frosting:
1/4 C. powdered sugar
2 T. peanut butter
2-3 T. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9 x 9 glass pan.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs, peanut butter, milk and vanilla. Stir in the combined dry ingredients by hand.

4. Spread mixture in prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes. When bars are freshly out of the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and spread evenly as the chips melt.

5. For the frosting, combine all ingredients and blend thoroughly. Drizzle over the top of the melted chocolate and swirl while still melted if desired.

Cholesterol Pie

I think most families (except mine?) make this dessert, they just call it something different. In the case of the Robber's family they call it cholesterol pie and someone makes it for every major family event. The Robber himself loves it and when his mother came to visit and to help out with Ruggles last week, the Robber requested special that she make it for him. I ended up making it, in a grand gesture of support for the Robber and to allow Nana to spend more time with Ruggles and I think everyone was happier that way (see note on pecans below) but I think the future I will leave the making of this to the Rawles.

Writing Ruggles and "cholesterol pie" in the same paragraph hurts my heart a little, even if it is entirely hypocritical given that I exposed him to icecream in grand amounts during my whole pregnancy.

Notes: I added chopped pecans to the crust and toasted chopped pecans and some chopped dark chocolate chips to the top. The pecans to the crust were genius for the Robber and I felt the toppings were too, but the Robber scraped them off the top and then ate the rest. Hmmm. If I were making this again I would make a thicker cream cheese layer and remember that the crust is kind of crumbly, so you have to portion out the cream cheese layer for the spreading, not just plunk it down in the middle and spread it out from there.

Ingredients and Directions:

Layer 1

1 C. flour

1/2 C. butter or margarine

1/2 C. chopped nuts (not optional, pecans!)

Mix together and spread in a 9x13" glass pan. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 min.

Layer 2

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 C. powdered sugar

1 1/2 C. Cool Whip

Cream together and spread over cooled Layer 1.

Layer 3

1 large package instant chocolate pudding

2 1/2 C. milk

Beat together for 2 minutes and pour over Layer 2.

Layer 4

2 C. Cool Whip

Spread on top of pudding layer. If desired, sprinkle top with nuts, chopped chocolate, etc.

Plum Clafoutis

And just like that, my little cooking bug returns. I guess the oven has room in it again.

But it's hard, you know, to cook and to care for a little lion at the same time. Still, I wanted to bake something again just because I wanted to bake and to prove I was more of a human again and less of an incubator. I've been on this fruit kick something serious during pregnancy, so I had lots of plums and I lot of buttermilk I had the Robber buy thinking I would make biscuits-- and I had some milk-- but what I didn't have was flour, cream, or time. What does that all add up to? In this case, clafoutis. And as always, this was easy and delicious, a perfect post-pregnancy treat.

Oh, and the Robber liked it too.

Notes: I made a second one tonight but I forgot to add the sugar to the fruit layer, let's see how it turns out eh? Because if it doesn't need it, that would cut down on the calories a little and make it even more appealing.

Adapted from Julia Child, available here on Gratinee:
http://gratineeblog.com/2009/09/julia-childs-plum-clafouti/

Ingredients:

1 lbs firm, ripe plums (I used three medium-ish plums cut in round cross-sections)

1 1/4 C. milk (I used buttermilk)
1/3 C. sugar
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. sugar

1/3 C. extra sugar

Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut plums in half (or in slices, like I did, I think it's easier to cut through that way) and sprinkle with some sugar. Set aside.

2) Add all of the ingredients except the fruit and the additional sugar in a blender in the order listed. Blend for 1 minute on high.

3) Pour of layer of the batter until it covers the bottom of your baking dish (I use a large glass pie plate). Place in the oven for about five minutes or until a film of the batter has set in the bottom of the dish.

4) Spread the fruit over the batter with skins up (if using halves). Sprinkle with the extra sugar (optional). Pour the rest of the batter over the fruit.

5) Bake for an additional hour or until the clafouti has puffed and browned and a tester placed in the center comes out clean. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Can serve hot or cold (I prefer cold, the next day).

Additional notes: Julia Child notes you can use either 1 1/4 lbs apples or 3 C pears. To make this Julia's way way, drop the plums in boiling water for ten seconds and then peel and slice them. Next soak the fruit in 1/4 C. orange liquer, kirsch, or cognac and let stand for one hour. Then substitute this liquid for part of the milk in the recipe and omit the final 1/3 C. of sugar.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

This recipe came to me from our friend KK who posted it on my Facebook wall. The story behind the recipe is actually quite sad... this is the favorite pie of a food blogger's young husband who passed unexpectedly about a year ago. As a tribute to her husband the blogger asked others to make this pie for him on a certain day. I missed the day, but pulled out the recipe to use some cream cheese we had that needed using before our big trip to Thailand. Peanut butter pie is not the Robber's favorite, but I personally always enjoy it and was excited for this one. The chocolate/peanuts part at the bottom of the pie is wonderful and the flavor of the filling was perfect, in my opinion-- very peanut buttery and not too sweet.

Notes: The crust definitely needs a different cookie/butter ratio, or some melted chocolate in it to act as a binder. Much too crumbly. Also I omitted the cup of powdered sugar simply because I didn't have any and I was glad as the pie was plenty sweet without it. I whipped some additional cream to go on top, but it doesn't really need it as it would just dilute the wonderful peanut butter flavor of the filling. I didn't have a 9" springform pan and most of my problems with the pie came from this fact. It's amazing how much of cooking is just having the right equipment.

From In Jennie's Kitchen:

http://www.injennieskitchen.com/2011/08/for-mikey.html

Ingredients:

8 oz. chocolate cookies

4 T. butter, melted

4 oz. chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 C. chopped peanuts

8 oz. cream cheese

1 C. creamy-style peanut butter

1 C. confectioner's sugar (can be omitted)

1 – 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 C. heavy cream

Directions:

1. Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs.  Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well.  Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. 

2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use.  

4. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner's sugar.  Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

5. Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream).  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan.  Drizzle additional melted chocolate on top (optional) and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Cinnamon Roll Scones

Just when I was going to close the door on new scone recipes, this one had to come along! Actually, it's not a new recipe at all, but rather an alteration of the lemon blueberry scone recipe I already have. The wheat flour makes the scone less sweet overall, but the texture is just as perfect here as with the lemon version. I didn't have cinnamon chips so I chopped up some white chocolate instead, which makes for a more subtle scone as I imagine the cinnamon chips would have been more overpowering. The toasted pecans in it were delicious, and as the Robber is currently on a huge toasted pecans kick (he always is, actually) he has been eating these non-stop.

I skipped the "finish" part because why would you put butter and sugar on top of a scone you are going to glaze? It seemed too much for me.

From Annie:

http://annies-eats.com/2012/02/13/cinnamon-roll-scones/

Ingredients:

For the dough:

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole

½ C. milk

½ C. low-fat greek yogurt

1 C. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface

1 C. whole wheat flour

½ C. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

For the filling:

Milk or cream, for brushing

3 T. sugar

¾ - 2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used more because I lacked cinnamon chips)

2/3 C. chopped pecans, toasted

¼ -1/2 C. cinnamon chips (white chocolate, strawberries, whatever)

To finish:

2 T. melted butter

Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

For the glaze:

1 C. confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 T. milk

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater.

2. Whisk together the milk and yogurt in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed.

3. Combine the flours, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated

4. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dry ingredients have been mostly incorporated.

5. Roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

6. Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 10-inch square. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with milk or cream. Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough. Layer with the toasted pecans and cinnamon chips.

7. Roll the dough up into a tight log. Lay the log seam side down on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice into 8 round discs. Place the shaped scones on the prepared baking sheet (I patted my slices down flat a bit on the baking sheet). Lightly brush the top of each scone with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.)

8. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 16-20 minutes (about 20-22 if baking from the freezer). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes.

9. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk together until smooth, adding additional milk or sugar to reach your preferred consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the scones. Serve warm.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the frosting that the Robber used for my carrot cake birthday cake. After making the recipe we both thought it wasn't maple-y enough, so the Robber added in perhaps another 1/4 C. of maple syrup but then the frosting was too runny. What to do? Use maple extract instead of syrup? So there is that speed bump to consider but the maple in the cream cheese with the cake was actually very good and worth trying to find a way to make it work. Tried to find help with that on the reviewers comments on Epicurious, but no luck.

The link also sends you to a carrot cake recipe that the Epicurious people just love, love, love so if our other carrot cake recipe ever disappoints we may try turning to that one. The reviewers are also a fan of some cream cheese lemon zest frosting recipe on Epicurious, so if you think maple sounds gross try looking for that one. I'll only be posting the recipe for the maple frosting here, however, not the cake or the lemon frosting.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-102155

Ingredients:

10 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

5 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1/4 C. maple syrup (Robber used 1/2 C.)

Directions:

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended.

2. Beat in maple syrup. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.

3. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup icing. Top with second layer. Spread remaining icing over entire cake. Arrange walnut or pecan halves around top edge. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

Pumpkin Scones

I previously posted a pumpkin scone recipe on this blog from the NYTimes, but didn't do it justice as I lacked some key ingredients. Annie had her own recipe for pumpkin scones, and it has been waiting in my lineup of recipes to try now since April. Now that the raisin scones are gone, I needed a new breakfast meal which for me means another new batch of scones. After this one, only one more new recipe to go! (Ok two. I just found another one.)

These scones were good but not as good as I think they could have been, perhaps the glaze ups the oomph a bit? I think they were better than my other pumpkin scone recipe. Perhaps they are competing for my attention with the pumpkin cornbread, which just keep getting better, and my sudden urges for dark dark chocolate every evening which I think it just a manifestation of my missing of the Robber. The butterscotch and pumpkin combo is interesting, but not life changing. At any rate, I think I might make this pumpkin base again, but put in toasted pecans or walnuts or chocolate chips instead.

Adapted from the Joy of Baking by Annie:
http://annies-eats.com/2009/12/07/pumpkin-scones/

Notes: I never make the glazes/washes/toppings but I did sprinkle some Demarara sugar on the top of the scones right before baking. I doubled the cinnamon as I do in any cinnamon recipe and doubled the butterscotch chips as I double every scone add-in. And I sliced up the scones before baking. Whatever.

Ingredients:

For the scones:
2 C. all-purpose flour
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
8 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3-½ C. butterscotch chips
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 C. powdered sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
2 T. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk just to combine. Add the cold butter chunks to the bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the largest butter pieces are no bigger than peas. Mix in the butterscotch chips.

3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir together gently just until the dough comes together. If necessary, knead a bit with your hands, but be careful not to overwork the dough or you will end up with a tough scone.

4. Transfer the sticky mass of dough to the prepared baking sheet. Pat the dough into a 8 or 9-inch round. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Slice the dough round into 7 or 8 wedges.

5. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and spices in a small bowl. Add the milk and whisk to combine, until a thick glaze is formed. (If necessary, add a bit more milk to achieve a consistency good for drizzling the glaze.) Use a whisk to drizzle the glaze over the finished scones (I use a plastic baggie with a tip cut off). Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

I made these for dessert on R-DAY for our guests and even the Robber, not usually a fan of chocolate and berries together, deemed these a hit. Thanks again, Annie! I love that it is a way of fancying up something as easy and simple as shortcake and making it seem decadent.

From Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan by way of Annie: http://annies-eats.net/2011/08/12/chocolate-strawberry-shortcakes/

Ingredients:

For the shortcakes:

1 1/3 C. whole milk (I used 2%)

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 1/3 C. all-purpose flour

2/3 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ C. sugar, plus more for sprinkling

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semisweet)

1½ sticks (12 T.) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small piece

For the strawberries:

1½ lbs. strawberries, hulled and sliced or quartered

3-4 T. sugar

Squeeze of lemon juice

For the whipped cream:

1 C. heavy cream

2-3 T. confectioners’ sugar

Dash vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the milk, vanilla and egg. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ½ cup of sugar. Stir to combine. Add in the butter and toss to coat the butter in the dry ingredients. Working quickly with a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of butter are no larger than small peas. Mix in the chopped chocolate and toss to combine.

3. Pour the milk mixture over the dry ingredients and stir gently until a sticky dough forms. Very gently knead the dough just until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

4. Scoop the dough in about 1/3 cup mounds onto the baking sheets, leaving a few inches in between. Gently pat the mounds to about 1-inch thickness. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the shortcakes are puff and give just slightly when lightly pressed, about 15-18 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5. To make the strawberries, combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Toss well to coat the berries with the sugar and let macerate at least 30-60 minutes. If desired, mash lightly with a fork.

6. Just before serving, make the whipped cream. Place the chilled cream and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on high speed until medium-stiff peaks form, being careful not to overbeat. Blend in the vanilla.

7. To serve, split each shortcake horizontally. Top the bottom half of each shortcake with a dollop of whipped cream, spoon some of the berry mixture over the top, and replace the top half of the shortcake. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Rolls

When you ask someone in my family how to make one of the classic recipes, and then you ask someone else in the same family how to make the same recipe, you are sure to get a few different answers. Sometimes the same person doesn't always tell you the same way. So you just have to make things up a little as you go along.

When I wanted to make cinnamon rolls I went to two different sources for information and quantities and what not and I present to you the amalgam of everything that has best worked for me. These cinnamon rolls, however you do them, are delicious. Just ask the Robber, who ate ten of them in under 24 hours. :)

The roll base is the same that I use for dinner rolls and can be found previously on this blog here: http://vegetabletuesdays.blogspot.com/2010/12/dinner-rolls.html

Ingredients:

For 2 dozen rolls (you can also make one dozen rolls and one dozen cinnamon rolls):

2 3/4 c warm water

6 T sugar (optional: add 2-4 T. more for sweeter dough)

2 T yeast

3 t salt

1 c dry milk powder

1/2-3/4 c yellow shortening (or vegetable oil)

2 eggs

~9 c white bread flour

For filling for 2 dozen rolls (modest amount first, extravagant second. I like being extravagant):

1/2 - 2/3 C. brown sugar

1 - 1 1/3 C. granulated sugar

2 - 3 1/3 T. butter

4 - 5 T. cinnamon

For glaze for 2 dozen rolls:

3.5 T. butter

4.5 C. powdered sugar

1.5 tsp. vanilla

5-7 T. warm water added 1 T. at a time

For filling mix, of which you can make a lot of and then use 2/3 - 1 C. per dozen rolls instead of making filling everytime:

2 C. brown sugar

4 C. sugar

1/4 lbs butter (1 stick)

1 C. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Pour water over sugar in large bowl. Dissolve yeast and let stand, uninterrupted. When foamy, add milk.

2. Alternate 1/2 C. additions of flour with salt, eggs, fat and stir until all flour added to bowl.

3. Knead 10 minutes with additional flour. Allow to rise, covered in a warm place, until volume of dough has doubled.

4. Make filling by combining ingredients and using pastry cutter or fork to cut in the butter.

4. Punch down. Divide dough in half. Roll each half out into a large rectangle and add desired amount of filling. Roll the rectangle into a log and cut into twelve rolls. Place rolls on baking sheet or in 9 x 13 pan and allow to rise until doubled again.

5. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool. When cooled, frost with glaze. (Glaze is easy to make, you can melt the butter before adding it if you like for a smoother glaze.) Rolls can be microwaved again for 30 seconds to re-warm and stored in plastic airtight bags for a few days.

Maple Oatmeal Scones

Just because I had some aging blueberries. Not that this recipe calls for them, but why not throw them in? One of the few Annie's scones recipes I haven't tried yet. Don't worry, there are only two more to go in the bunch. Also I froze them all, but the batter with the blueberries was delicious. Naturally because I froze them I didn't try the glaze, and probably won't since I will bake them one at a time with the other frozen scones, but I include it below.

Here's the link:

http://annies-eats.net/2007/05/07/maple-oatmeal-scones/

Ingredients:

For the scones:

1 ¾ c. all purpose flour

½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. quick cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling

1 T. baking powder

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ lb. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced

¼ c. cold buttermilk

¼ c. pure maple syrup

2 eggs, lightly beaten

(Approx. 1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsbp. water for egg wash

For the glaze:

½ c. + 2 T. confectioners’ sugar

¼ c. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend in the cold butter with an electric mixer on the lowest speed and mix until butter is in pea-sized pieces. (If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.) Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs and add quickly to the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just well blended. The dough may be sticky.

3. Dump the dough onto a well floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough ¾ to 1 inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with egg wash.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

(I didn't roll these out, I just dumped portions on to pieces of plastic wrap, gently teased them into round 1 inch thick shapes, and wrapped up the plastic wrap and stored them all together in a freezer bag.)

5. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of glaze. Sprinkle with some uncooked oats for garnish.

Molten Chocolate Cake with Mint Fudge Sauce

The Robber made these for me for Valentine's day along with the Fettucine Alfredo and some awesome vegetables. He came up with the concept himself and then executed the whole thing along with the sauce. Well done Robber! Unfortunately, we only had a muffin tin so we divided the batter into nine muffin cups and baked them for the same amount of time. In retrospect, we should have shortened the baking time because the cakes were mostly done all the way through and not very molten-y. But delicious all the same. The sauce, when refrigerated, turns into a nice fudge that you can eat as fudge or warm up again for sauce with the leftovers or with another dessert. Originally from Bon Appetit, you can find the recipe on the Epicurious link below.

Ingredients:

Sauce

4 1/2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Cakes

5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

For sauce:

1. Stir both chocolates in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted. Add 1/3 cup hot water, corn syrup and extract; whisk until smooth. Remove from over water. Cool slightly. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Before serving, rewarm in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.)

For cakes:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour. Pour batter into dishes, dividing equally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

2. Bake cakes until sides are set but center remains soft and runny, about 11 minutes or up to 14 minutes for batter that was refrigerated. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Immediately turn cakes out onto plates. Spoon sauce around cakes. Serve with ice cream.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Molten-Chocolate-Cakes-with-Mint-Fudge-Sauce-104604#ixzz1EYPzfVh1

Lemon Meringue Pie

Mom's recipe, again I don't know originally from where. The only recipe lemony enough I have ever encountered! One of my favorite pies ever, I hope some day to master a meringue recipe to go along with it.

Ingredients/Directions:

Bake a nine inch pie shell.

Sift into a 2 or 3 quart saucepan:

1 1 /2 c sugar

6 T cornstarch

1/4 t salt

Gradually blend in:

1/2 c cold water

1/2 c fresh lemon juice

When smooth add, blending thoroughly:

3 well-beaten egg yolks

2 T butter

Add:

1 1/2 c milk

Bring mixture to a full boil, stirring gently. As it begins to thicken, reduce the heat and allow to simmer slowly 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1 t lemon zest or about 1/4 t lemon oil. Preheat oven to 325 or 350. Pour it into the pie shell and cover with meringue (meringue should completely cover lemon filling):

2 egg whites, whipped till frothy

add: 1/4 t cream of tarter

Whip till stiff but not dry; peaks should lean over slightly. Beat in 1 T at a time:

3 T sugar or 4 T powdered sugar and 1/2 t vanilla.

Pie should bake for 10-15 minutes at 325-350 until meringue begins to turn golden-brown.

Mary's Lemon Bars

These were served at my bridal shower and came to SLO by way of R.-A. Daines. These are the best home-made lemon bars I think I have ever had. I have tried before in the past to make lemon bars and failed, hopefully when I have the chance to try this recipe personally I will have better results!

Ingredients for Crust:

1 C butter
1/2 C powdered sugar
2 C flour

Directions for Crust:

Mix and press in a 9 x 13. Bake at 350 for 15 mins. Then remove. Cool slightly until warm.

Ingredients for Filling:

1/2 C flour
2 C sugars
4 beaten eggs
6 T fresh lemon juice and a little zest

Directions for Filling:

Pour liquid over crust. Bake at 325 for 20-25 mins until feels fully firm when touched. DON'T OVERBAKE. Let cool. Sift powdered sugar on top.

Linzer Cookies

My sisters made these over the Christmas break for the Rawle-Matheson bash. They are so good! My sister-in-law R requested the recipe, so Mom sent me this and I blog it here in case I want to make these cookies some time in the future.

Linzer Cookies

Cookies inspired by the famous jam-filled Linzetorte. These are ideal for any occasion. This recipe taken from the insert which came with the linzer cutters.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups of whole nuts, hazelnuts or almonds
1 c. butter
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 t. lemon zest
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
1 c. seedless jam

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Place nuts in a food processor and process until medium fine in texture.

3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside until ready for use.

4. Beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium high until light and creamy in texture.

5. Add eggs and beat until smooth.

6. Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.

7. In a separate bowl, combine flour, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest.

8. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine.

9. Place in freezer until firm, approximately 30-40 minutes.

10. Dust a clean surface generously with flour, and roll out the dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness.

11. Using the linzer cutter without an insert, cut out cookies (at least 36) and transfer to the prepared cookie sheets--these will be bottom pieces.

12. Next cut out 36 more with an insert shape in cookie cutters--these will be the top pieced of the cookies. You can either re-roll the cutouts or bake them.

13. Bake all cookies for about 8 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.

14. Sift confectioners sugar over top pieces of the cookies.

15. Spread about 1 t. jam on each of the bottom halves and place the top half (cut out piece) on jam covered bottom half.

15. Cookies can be stored carefully in an airtight container for up to one week.