Fruit Bars

Fruit Bars

Very proud of this makeover. It’s a makeover for two reasons. I’ve used leftover cake crumbs, and secondly, this cookie is a cousin to a Hermit bar. This all came about while reminiscing with a friend about an old town bakery long gone. Their Fruit Bar, no confirmation by the owner, was whipped up with leftover cake crumbs. I’d never heard of such a thing … replacing flour with cake crumbs. I guess this is a practice in some bakeries. I say when the outcome is like this one, DO IT. Thank you Debbie!

Why is it when I have a great recipe to show off I can’t seem to get a great picture!

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Cream Cheese Bars

Cream Cheese Dessert

A very hard dessert bar to beat! Replace lemon juice with 1 T Limoncello Liqueur and add a few pinches of lemon zest. You have Limoncello Bars. Want even more Limoncello replace a bit of the cream. Click here for my Cheesecake Bar Recipe.


Limoncello Chocolate Dessert

Adults Only Please

LimoncelloThis looks more like a drink. Just a teaser until the dessert is finished. Try it! Limoncello



Pound Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pound Cake is so versatile. It’s a year around treat but in our family berry season is the most popular. It easily becomes a strawberry shortcake, or we slather it with whipped cream and an assortment of unsweetened berries. Then there’s George who really prefers no topping. That speaks volumes about this recipe.

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Apple Muffins

Apple Muffins

The house smells of apple muffins, and I remember what my daughter says at a time like this. Mom, this is so cozy. Especially cozy with Grandmother Rose’s vintage crystal, and Mother’s muffin recipe baking up. Things were a lot simpler in the 50’s … for our family anyway … Foods and recipes too. If you’re looking for a muffin with complex flavors and textures this is not the recipe. A simple taste with just a bit of cinnamon and apple tartness sums it up.

Lost in the Fifties Tonight.

 

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Easy Banana Muffins

With Crumb Topping

Banana Muffins with Crumb Topping

He’s a muffin connoisseur. Only three but his muffin must be fresh, moist, and delicious, of course. This recipe is a one bowl mix you can whip up in minutes by hand. Add the topping or not. Hope you enjoy these too!

Here’s my daughter’s guy enjoying my homemade Fudge Pops awhile back. Don’t tell his mom!

Fudge Pops

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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White Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Mother’s Day Dessert

White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cranberries

My Mother was never big on sweets, or so she would say. But she was always good for a cookie, the moist and chewy variety. My Daughter is pretty much the same, good for a cookie but it better be a pretty darn good one.

 

 

These cookies fit the bill for my two favorite Moms.
My Daughter with My Mother 5 years ago.

If you haven’t visited my Daughter’s Inspirational Style Blog catch it here. Beautifully done, Miss.

This recipe, too, is one of my Mother’s … saved from the back of a Mariani Cranberries bag December 2002. I made one significant change, no melted butter. Instead I leave the butter out at room temperature until it almost loses its shape.

One delicious cookie recipe!

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Cinco De Mayo Recipes

We’re getting a head start on this celebration. Believe me, we don’t need an excuse to celebrate with these recipes! Mexican cuisine has always been an important part of our family’s food history. I hope you enjoy viewing some of our favs and give them a try. Search our Mexican Food for more!

Taquitos & Guacamole

Taquitos

Mexican Wedding Cakes

Wedding Cakes

Shredded Beef

Shredded Beef

Quick Cheese Enchiladas

Enchiladas

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup

Chicken Chile Enchiladas

Chicken & Chile

Enchiladas & Beans

Plain Beans

Albondigas Soup

Albondigas Soup

Enmoladas

Enmoladas

Tres Leches Cake

Tres Leches Cake

Salsa

Salsa

Chorizo & Eggs

Chorizo & Eggs

 


Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Two Ways & More!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Even the best Peanut Butter Cookies might not convert easily to adding jelly. And that is what happened here! But still in the mood for Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies? I tried another simple recipe that’s been around a long time. You’ve seen it and might have even tried it with a candy kiss. It was a very popular holiday cookie in the day … hmm, about 35 years ago. Yep, it still hangs on because it’s pretty tasty. I’ve simply rolled the dough in chopped peanuts instead of sugar and added jelly before baking. Love the change up! First let me include this recipe pictured here. It wasn’t a total fail and I have some suggestions for a better outcome.

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S’more Cake

S'more CakeDid I say Picnic! The perfect dessert for the backyard barbecue. Yes, this is a doctored cake mix. But I have all the secrets to give this cake a homemade taste. Have you noticed the chocolate cake mixes are the most difficult to conceal that box taste. Even brownie mixes have that telltale taste. This is easily resolved by using a yellow cake mix and adding the cocoa, (better quality, I would bet). Here’s the other issue with box mixes … They have become smaller in weight. Now every recipe you have using a cake mix is thrown off. The recipes might work but only sorta … texture is different and the overall cake size is smaller.

So, if you can find a 18.25 ounce box mix for this recipe you are ahead but if not, here is something you can do. First, what is the size of your cake mix? Most likely 15.25 ounces instead. You are now 3 ounces off. Here are some choices:

The Perfect Solution
Buy two box mixes. With the second box mix contents measure out 3 ounces by your kitchen scale. Add this to your first box mix contents and save the remainder of the second box for your next cake. One extra box will provide enough additional contents for 5 recipes … if converting to 18.25 ounces from a 15.25 ounce box. Does this make sense?

Almost Perfect
You say you don’t have a kitchen scale. Neither do I. You can pour all the ingredients of the second box into a large multi-cup measuring cup and divide this measured amount by five. Then use this 1/5 as the amount to add to the ingredient shy box mix.

Stretching Perfection
First, there are approximately 2 tablespoons in a liquid ounce. How does that help us? It doesn’t! That’s trying to convert weight into a liquid measurement formula. OK, that understood, in my reading I have found, according to King Arthur Flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour is equivalent to 4.25 ounces weight. And since one cup is equivalent to 16 tablespoons then every tablespoon is .26 ounces. And if we use this math then 10 tablespoons would be equivalent to 3 ounces or close, 2.6 ounces. (Other reading I have found a claim that 6 tablespoons of all purpose weigh 1.75 ounces. Closer yet, .29 per tablespoon. I think we’re good.) How does this work with cake mix ingredients? Is cake mix equivalent in weight to all purpose flour? Probably close enough. But let’s take it a step further. How about just adding 10 tablespoons of all purpose flour to your 3 ounce shy cake mix and forget buying the extra box of cake mix that may end up wasted anyway. There you go!

Here, too, is another SMORE recipe for those days you’re not into a whole cake. Or it’s raining outside, Oven S’mores.

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