Delicious Apple Crisp

If there is one treat that surpasses all for my husband, it's spiced apples.  Any way they come!  If it's got spiced apples in it, he is sold.   I've posted a few of our favorites so far. Cinnamon Apples Like Boston Market, Apple Dumplings, Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cake but I must say, the Apple Crisp takes it all!  I found a recipe for apple crisp online but ended up changing a lot of it and creating my own.  I've made a few versions in the past and just couldn't get things right... This time.. I am happy to say, I have a DELICIOUS recipe for apple crisp! 

(Sorry for the pict) I scarfed it so quickly I forgot to take a nice picture of it portioned out on a plate!)

Delicious Apple Crisp

Apples

4 tart Apples (I used granny smith apples)
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 C. Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp flour

Crumble topping
3/4 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened (not melted)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Peel apples and slice thin. Sprinkle lemon juice over the apples, to keep them from browning. stir in remaining ingredients (just ingredients for the apples). Coat the apples well and pour them into the bottom of a 9x9 pan.

To make the Crumble topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Stir well using a fork to create crumbs.  Sprinkle over the top of the apple mixture. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender.  Serve warm.

TIP: I'm going to make a few of these and freeze them ahead of time. Put apple mixture in the bottom of a foil pan.  Put crumble in a small freezer bag and place on top of apples.  Cover with aluminum foil and plastic wrap.  To cook:  Remove from freezer and uncover. Set crumble aside.  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes to thaw.  Then top with the crumble and cook for 30 minutes

Cinnamon Rolls

When I was growing up, a friend of ours made these heavenly cinnamon rolls.  I got the recipe from her and spent the next few years working on making the recipe just perfect. I have to say, It takes a few times getting it just right, but even the mess up batches tastes wonderful! Follow my steps and you'll get it in no time! The bread portion of this recipe is the same as the Basic White Bread recipe that I posted a while back. That's part of the reason why I love this recipe.  If I don't want such a huge batch of cinnamon rolls, I'll split it and make bread or rolls too.  ]

I started a cooking class at my house this week.  Kind of more of a cooking group. A girls time out if you will. I had been wanting some adult time and loved when others would ask me to teach them different things.  So I decided to schedule a time each week to make it official.  I charge a small fee to cover ingredients, but really, I'm just in it for a good time.  I really enjoyed today's class.  I was able to walk them through the steps of the cinnamon rolls and show them some tricks that I learned.  For these classes I try to show some of my dishes that would be better understood in person.  Like cinnamon rolls. 

We will be making things like Flat bread tacos, tamales and different freezer meals in upcoming classes.

But for now, on to the cinnamon rolls. 

Cinnamon Rolls



4 tbsp, saf instant yeast.  (other yeast will do, but not the best. See tip below)

5 C Water

1 C Canola oil

4 eggs

1 C. sugar

2/3 C. Powdered dry milk

2 tsp. salt

14 C. flour approx. (bread flour is best but all-purpose works great too)

Combine 5 cups of flour, salt, sugar, yeast and powdered milk into a bread mixer. I use a Bosch.  Don't add all of the flour quite yet!

Next add the wet ingredients. Eggs, oil and water. I just realized, I didn't get a picture of the rest of the mixing part. Guess I'll have to make another batch:)  Just kidding. Just mix well. Then slowly add flour until it starts to pull away from the sides of the mixer.  You will want it as sticky as possible without totally driving you crazy when trying to mold it. The amount of flour you need to add, depends on the humidity, temperature of your house, etc.  Some days I add 15 cups and some days I only add 12 cups.  Its a new adventure each time you make it! You can add flour when you are rolling it out later, if you need to.

After it starts to pull away from the sides. If you are not using saf yeast, you are missing out! At this point you will need to knead it for at least 8-10 minutes to get your yeast really active!  That's what I love about Saf. It's instant yeast, so you don't have to do all the extra steps. If you are using Saf, just mix it until it's combined and you are done.

Now, coat  your counter top with flour (make sure to clear a big area. It's gonna get big!) Cover the blob of dough with a towel and let it rise until at least doubled. (about 30-45 minutes.) Again, use Saf!  It rises in almost half the time. It makes for a long day when you don't use Saf!  No no no, they aren't paying me to advertise for them, I've just tried the other kinds, and it's not nearly as good. The only problem is that its usually only sold at food storage places or kitchen stores like Shar's.  So stock up when you find it!

See, I told you it would get big! Ahh, don't believe me check out this picture below!

It's like 2 feet wide by 1 1/2 feet deep and about 6 inches high!  That's a lot of dough! I say hey, if you are going to take time to make cinnamon rolls, do it right baby!  Take some to the neighbors, or even freeze them for later! (you can cut the recipe in half though if you want to)

Now that it has doubled in size, pound it down. It's a great time to get that aggression out on something! 

Next you are going to roll it out into a huge rectangle. I usually split the dough pile it half at this point because half of the recipe will cover most of the counter above, length wise.

Here's a couple tips for ya. The longer (from left to right) your rectangle is, the more cinnamon rolls you will have.  The deeper it is, (front to back of counter) the bigger they will be.  The thinner you roll the dough and the deeper the rectangle, the more swirls you will have. So make them however big you want them.  If you want to make a TON of them but want to make them pretty small, stretch that dough out as long as you can and not very deep.  I like to make them nice and huge and fat!

When you have it rolled out, pour melted butter all over the top.  (I like to spread it evenly with a pastry brush. (Don't worry about the mess. That's the best part! K maybe not, but lets be honest, it's a dirty job but someones got to make em! ) I use about 2 cubes or 1 cup of butter for the whole batch. It's totally up to you how much you use. Next, soak up all of that butter with some sugar and cinnamon.  Give it a good coating of both.  Here is also when you can add chopped pecans or walnuts.  And even raisins if you like.  Me, plain ol' cinnamon and sugar is best!

Starting from the front, roll up the dough. Continue to roll towards the back of the counter until you have rolled it all the way. No need to roll it tight just gently roll it up.

When you have it nice and rolled up, grab a piece of thread, fishing line, or even dental floss.  Just please, make sure it's not used fishing line! Or better yet, mint dental floss.  We want cinnamon rolls, not fish flavored or mint flavored rolls!

Slide the thread, under the roll and criss-cross it, like this. I usually go about an inch from the end.  It's up to you, how fat you want them. Just remember, these little guys are going to rise again and double in size, at least! So measure accordingly. And try to keep them all about the same size so they cook evenly.

So, after you have criss-crossed the string. Pull both ends and it will act as a knife, making a nice clean cut.

Lay them about an inch to an inch and a half apart, in a baking pan.  Cover them with a towel and let them rise until doubled.

Bake them at 350 for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size you make them.  They will get golden brown on top.  I like to insert with a toothpick into one of the centers of the cinnamon rolls in the middle of the pan to see if it comes out clean. If it does, they are done.  Another tip, you may need to turn down the oven to 325 if you made them beyond huge, so they don't burn on top, before the middle gets done.  But even I, have never made them THAT big.

Straight out of the oven, pour a generous amount of frosting (recipe below) over the top. It's best to do this step while they are really hot, because the frosting melts and oozes all down into the crevices and makes them simply Heaven!

Enjoy!

Meet some of my friends that came to the class today. Stephanie and Ana.  Great friends! And Good Company! Thanks for coming girls! (don't you totally love my fingerprinted microwave in the back!)

Now onto the best part! The frosting!!!
1 cube of butter

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

8 C Powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Milk 1 tbsp at a time

Soften cream cheese and butter to room temp.  Add cream cheese first and mix well. (I've found it's creamier when you mix up the cream cheese by itself first) Then add butter, vanilla and salt. Next, you are going to add the powdered sugar and milk alternating to get the consistency you want.  (It's best not to add the whole bag at once, just so you don't white wash the entire kitchen before you get enough liquid in there to tone down the powder! Also, whip it for a good 3 minutes or so, to make it nice and fluffy and creamy.

I like my frosting pretty thick, but it's totally up to you. The best consistency for me is where it just starts to drizzle (with an even stream) off of the spoon when you dip it into the bowl and hold it up.


You can freeze these, already frosted, or just after you place them into the pan (before the 2nd rising stage).  Make sure to thaw them, let them rise and then bake them.

Cinnamon Rolls (full recipe)

4 tbsp, Saf instant yeast. 

5 C Water

1 C Canola oil

4 eggs

1 C. sugar

2/3 C. Powdered dry milk

2 tsp. salt

14 c. flour approx

Mix 5 cups flour, salt, sugar, milk and yeast.  Add Water, oil and eggs.  Mix thoroughly and add flour just until it pulls away from the sides.(of mixer)

Let rise until doubled, punch dough.

Filling

1 cup butter (approx.)

Cinnamon

Sugar

Nuts or raisins (optional)

 After rising, roll out 1/4 inch thick into a big rectangle. Spread with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon then sugar. Roll up and slice 1 inch thick. Put into a 9x13 inch greased pans or cookie sheets with sides. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for 20 min. (longer if needed)

Frosting

1 cube of butter

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

8 C Powdered sugar (I just use a whole bag. It's about the same amount)

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

Milk 1 tbsp at a time

Soften butter and cream cheese. Whip and gradually add sugar and milk intermittently until desired consistency. Add Vanilla and salt. Whip until fluffy.

Yeast tip:  If using a non instant yeast, Add warm water and yeast into a separate bowl and whisk until dissolved.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes, until bubbly. Then add it into the mixture, when you add the wet ingredients.

Enjoy!



Rice Krispy Treats With a Twist

Rice Krispy Treats are one of those things where you just can't stop at one, for me.  I could eat a whole pan with out batting an eye.  I wanted to make something fun with my kids today and decided to get a little creative.  I usually like my krispy treats the plain ol' fashioned way, but I really liked these.  The main thing to remember is to refrigerate them before serving.  That way the chocolate gets a chance to solidify. I bet these would even be yummy at the just about frozen stage. If you like them messy, just eat them straight from room temperature. Either way... delectable!

Rice Krispy Treats With a Twist

3 Tbsp Butter

1 Bag of big marshmallows

6 cups Rice Rrispies

about 3 cups chocolate chips

1 cup toffee pieces (like heath)

In a pot, on medium heat, melt butter, and add marshmallows. Stir constantly until marshmallows are melted.  (be careful not to let them burn)  When melted, immediately remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies. When well combined pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan (I use butter).  Press down firmly making sure that it spreads evenly.  

In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips.  (30 seconds, then stir.  Put in for 15 more seconds and stir... and continue at 15 second intervals until melted) 

Spread over the treats and top with toffee pieces

Tip:  To keep the mixture from sticking to your hands, coat hands with butter. 

World's Greatest Strawberry Pie

My mom discovered this pie glaze years ago, and I've never tasted a better strawberry pie.  It's super easy too.  All you need is Strawberries, (of course) uncooked pie crust and strawberry flavor Danish Dessert. It looks like this.

The only place that I know of in all of AZ that carries it is Bashas. And only a few of them do.  You can find it just about anywhere in Utah, but AZ hasn't quite caught on yet. So, if you see us in the airport coming home from Utah, with a suitcase full of this stuff... now you know why. This would make a great dessert to add to your Easter dinner.

World's Greatest Strawberry Pie

Pie crust

1 pint of strawberries, sliced and de-stemmed

1 box of Junket Danish Dessert

Cool Whip

Crust:  Roll out pie crust and lay evenly in a pie 9 inch pie pan. (or you can buy them pre-cooked already in a pie pan... in the freezer section) Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, until crust begins to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Filling: Make the filling by following the instructions on the back of the box, for the pie glaze. Allow to cool completely (you don't want the strawberries to get cooked.) Stir in sliced strawberries and pour immediately into the cooled pie crust.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to let it set and top with cool whip.

Tip: To make a pretty edge to the pie crust. (not like the picture above... I had a stubborn pan when I made this one. lol) Before cooking the pie crust...Push dough towards the edge slightly with index finger of left hand a push dough slightly with the thumb and index of the right hand from the edge towards the center of the pie.  Your thumb and index of the right hand should be on either side of the left hands index finger.  Wow, that was harder to explain than I thought. Good luck

Spring Celebration Brownies

It's Easter time!  I've got some amazing recipes for you this week and next.  This week we will cover some good Easter dinner type recipes. Next weeks will include some fabulous ideas for leftovers! So don't be afraid of having extra ham, potatoes, eggs etc.  I've got you covered. 

Today's post comes from Good ol Betty Crocker.  I changed it up just a bit. It's super easy and turns out so festive, I love the way they look!!! If you are a brownie lover, this is a fabulous recipe.  I'm not a huge brownie lover and still liked these. You may also like to try my Mohaffes Mooshey Brownies.  They are Divine as well.

Spring Celebration Brownies



1 box (1 lb 2.4 oz) brownie mix (I used the fudge brownie mix)

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

3 cups miniature marshmallows

1 cup pastel-colored candy-coated chocolate candies

1/4 cup (heaping) semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon shortening (I used butter)

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray or shortening. Make brownies as directed on box-except bake 5-6 minutes less. Sprinkle with marshmallows; bake 5 minutes longer or until marshmallows are puffed and golden. (they will puff a lot and then come back down after a little bit outside the oven.) Sprinkle with candies.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chips and shortening uncovered on High 10 to 15 seconds; stir until smooth. Drizzle over bars. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. For easier cutting, use plastic knife dipped in hot water.

Special thanks to my dear friend Stephanie for taking the picture!

Fluff

Here is another of my husbands favorites. This recipe is so easy to change up to what ever your favorites are.  For this one, we used orange jello and then added mandarin oranges.  You can do, strawberry, or peach and then add those fruits, or get really creative and do lime jello with something like blueberries. The key idea to this dish, is that if you want a small batch... get a small box of jello, a small tub of cool whip and a small cottage cheese. If you want to make a large batch, get the large box or tub of everything. Also its ready to serve immediately, but it does taste better when it's chilled for about 4 hours.  That allows the flavors to really incorporate well.

Fluff

8 oz cool whip
8 oz cottage cheese
small package jello mix
fruit (any)

Mix together and serve. For best results, chill for 4 hours before serving.

Chocolate Layer Pie

This cake/pie has many names. Some call it Better than Robert Redford, Other names aren't so appropriate... I was joking that since Robert Redford is so not our generations "hunk" that we should rename it to Better than Justin Bieber or something. Ha ha.  Anyway, I just like the name, Chocolate Layer Pie.

My sweet mother-in-law found this recipe for me one Thanksgiving. Looking back, I don't know how she knew this is what I wanted, with the vague description I gave her.  She was asking what I wanted for my Thanksgiving pie, and I told her I tried this one pie one time that was delicious and gave her about 2 details about what I remembered.  She found the very one for me.  Oh it is so good!!!

The recipe says to use a 9 inch pie pan. This time, I doubled the recipe and did it in oblong pans for a funeral dessert.  Either, way, it still tastes the same! Plain ol' delicious!!!

Chocolate Layered Pie

1/2 cup chopped pecans                          

1 (5.9 ounce) package instant choc. pudding mix

1/2 cup butter, melted                               

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup all-purpose flour                              

2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions

1.  Mix together pecans, melted butter, and flour.  Pat into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate.  Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until lightly browned.  Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

 2.  In a mixing bowl, blend 1 cup whipped topping, cream cheese, and confectioners sugar until creamy.  Spread into cooled crust.

3.  Whisk together pudding mix and milk.  (You may want to add up to a half cup more milk if you like your pudding really creamy) Spread evenly over cheese layer, and then spread remaining whipped topping on top.  Chill 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Can crush oreos, crushed Heath bar, toffee pieces or shaved chocolate on top



Cheese Cake

I absolutely love this cheese cake!  It's so fast and easy to make.  I have to say, it's so much better than regular cheesecake. This one is light and fluffy.

This time I used the personal sized pre-made crusts.  I also like to use the regular size pre-made crusts. I have a make your own crust recipe as well that I'll post, but I really just like to by it since I can get it for about the same price.

The key to this cheese cake is you want to beat the cream cheese at room temperature by itself and then add the other ingredients.  If you mix it all together at once, the cream cheese gets lumpy.

Cheese Cake

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla

8 oz cool whip

With an egg beater, blend  up cream cheese. Then add sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Blend well then stir in cool whip. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups graham crackers (I like them blended up in the blender)

1/4 Cup sugar

1 cup butter (melted)

Mix well and press firmly in a pie pan. Add cheese cake mixture and chill for at least an hour before serving.

The Ultimate Valentine- Sugar Cookies

My 5 year old daughter gets to go on a special date tomorrow night with her daddy. Her school is doing a daddy daughter dance for valentines day. How cute is that? We were in charge of the cookies for her class party so I thought... why not make a big sugar cookie valentine for her valentine... her daddy!  I think that the daddy daughter relationship is absolutely priceless!  So that's why I named this post, the ultimate valentine.

I found that if you roll them out a little thicker, they tend to keep their shape better.  This time I used the Betty Crocker cookie icing. It dries really quick. I usually just use cake frosting, but I think I really like this kind.

Sugar Cookies

1 C. Butter

1 C. Sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake 7-10 minutes. Use Frosting to decorate.

Pecan Turtles

Today's treat is simple and fun to make.  It's a great one for the kids to help out with and take to their school teachers as a valentine.  My mom made these for me at Christmas time and I loved em! I think I have eaten 5 just since I've started writing this post!

Pecan Turtles

1 bag of Rolos

an equal number of pretzels

an equal number of pecan halves

Unwrap rolos. Place a rolo directly over the center of the pretzel. Put in a preheated 250 degree oven for about 5 minutes.  You want them to get soft but not loose their shape. Remove from oven and immediately place a pecan on top of the rolo and press down. Allow to cool. You can put these in the fridge for a few minutes to let the chocolate harden faster.

A quick tip:  You can also make these using the microwave.  You can place them in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds to soften the rolo.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Its the week before Valentines day! This week I want to share with you some recipes to show your Valentine that you have been thinking of them. Nothing says love and romance like a Chocolate covered strawberry right?  I love these things!!! I really think that I could eat them all day.  They are so much easier to make than people realize.  Here's a couple tips and ideas on how to make them. 

When choosing your strawberries, make sure to get the large bright red ones if you can.  They just look so pretty when they are huge and covered in chocolate. Also I originally was going to say you can use pretty much any type of chocolate, but I found one today that you can't use.  I had some left over Christmas candy that I figured I could melt down and use.  Just a word for the wise... those chocolate oranges still have an orange flavor even though they say milk chocolate on them!  Not so good mixed with strawberries!  Just warning ya. 

For the most part, if it's milk chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips or even the chocolate almond bark... it works.  Also if you want to use white chocolate, the same thing applies. White almond bark or white chocolate chips works great.  I think I like the white chocolate ones the best.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

A Pint of Large strawberries

About a cup of melted chocolate

When melting the chocolate, you can use a double broiler if you have one. I don't, so I just cook it right on the stove and it works fine. I like to use a small frying pan. You do have to have the stove on very low!!  You also have to stir almost constantly to prevent burning. When the chocolate is melted hold the strawberry by the leaves over the pan.  With a spoon, pour the chocolate over the strawberry (or you can dip the strawberry in the chocolate). Leave a little bit of the strawberry showing at the top. Hold over the pan to let the excess drip off. Place on a plate and refrigerate for about 5-10 minutes. This allows the chocolate to harden quickly. I then like to drizzle the opposite color of chocolate on top to give it some character. Put back in the fridge until time to serve.