Lemon pudding cake

This really is a 'pudding-cake'.  It has such a yummy lemon flavor and it is almost custard like. 

First off, you combine the sugar, flour and lemon zest.

The next step is to add the juice and melted butter. Then mix the egg yolks and milk and add to flour mixture.

Then beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form and fold into flour mixture.

It will look a little weird and soupy, but that ok...it's supposed to!  Bake at 350 (in a water bath*) for about 40 minutes and serve warm.  This is SO good with sweetened strawberries.  We tried it with frozen/thawed berries and with fresh ones.  It was good either way.  So light and fluffy!  I know this picture looks like scrambled eggs, but it's the only one I took!  Just trust me...it's amazing!  And really easy.

Lemon Pudding Cake
1/2 cup sugar
3 TB flour
1 tsp. lemon zest
3 TB lemon juice
2 TB butter, melted
2 slightly beaten egg yolks
1 cup milk
2 egg whites.

Combine sugar and flour.  Stir in lemon zest, juice, and butter.  Combine yolks and milk.  Add to flour mixture; stir just till combined. 
Beat egg whites till stiff peaks form (tips stand up straight).  Gently fold egg whites into lemon batter.  Transfer batter to a 1-quart casserole. (I used a 9 inch square pan) *Place in a larger pan on oven rack.  Add hot water to larger pan to a depth of 1 inch.  Bake in a 350 degree oven about 40 minutes or till golden and top springs back.  Serve warm.

Peach Cobbler Muffins!

These are the new favorite muffins around this house!  Lots of peaches, sugar, cinnamon and butter...you can't go wrong. 

You start by cutting the butter into the dry ingredients..

Next add the milk and diced peaches

These muffins also have a cinnamon/butter topping.  Cut the butter into the cinnamon and sugar until crumbly.

Now fill the muffin tin 3/4 full.  Sprinkle with topping.  I actually press the topping into the batter a little so that it works it's way down into the muffin as it bakes.

Half-way done...see the butter/cinnamon/sugar melting into the middle!  Mmmmm

 A look in the middle...so fluffy, and cinnamony, and peachy!  I think these are best when they are warm, but they aren't bad room temperature either!  I would definitely recommend using the muffin liners to bake these in though.  I was out of them and mine ended up getting too brown and they had some crunchy edges. 

Peach Cobbler Muffins

3 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1-1/2 TB baking soda

1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. butter, diced

1-3/4 c. milk

16-oz. can peaches, drained and chopped

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry knife or a fork.  Add milk and peaches; stir just until moistened.  Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.  Sprinkle topping onto muffins.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until golden.  Turn out and cool slightly on a wire rack; serve warm or cold.

Topping

2 TB butter, diced

2 TB sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix together in a small bowl until crumbly.  (I usually double the topping :-))

Raspberry Pretzel Dessert

Well, it's  been a while since I've posted a new recipe!  But hopefully I will have a few good ones for Christmas up soon.  This is a great dessert to take to family get togethers.  It's made in a  9x13 pan and it's a beautiful red and white festive looking treat!

You start by crushing the pretzels.  I just put them in a freezer bag and crushed them with a rolling pin!  You could use a food processor, but I think it's better to leave a few little pieces or else you end up with almost a pretzel flour.  Mix the pretzels with sugar and melted butter...MMMmm..., press into pan and bake for 5-7 minutes.  Let it cool.

Now you mix the cream cheese, sugar and cool whip.  Then spread over the cooled crust and chill.

Dissolve the jello in the boiling water.  Chill until partially set.  Then stir in the frozen raspberries and spread over cream cheese.  Refrigerate until set.  You can do this a little bit ahead of time, but not really the night before. The raspberries thaw and get kind of soft.  It's still good...but not as good as when it's fresh.  I made the crust and cream cheese part the night before, and then added the jello/raspberries the next morning and it worked great. 

The mixture of the tart raspberries, the sweet cream cheese, and the salty crust make for the perfect dessert!  It's not too bad for breakfast the next day either ;-)

Raspberry Pretzel Dessert
1-1/2 cups pretzels, crushed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
8-oz. Cool Whip, thawed
6-oz. pkg raspberry jello mix
2 cups boiling water
2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen raspberries

Mix pretzels, sugar and butter; press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan to form a crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes; let cool. Combine cream cheese, sugar and Cool Whip; spread over baked crust and chill.  Combine jello and boiling water in a medium bowl; chill until partially set. Stir in frozen berries; spread over cream cheese layer.  Refrigerate until serving time.  Makes 12-15 servings.

crock-pot lemon chicken

We loooove this melt in your mouth lemony chicken!  After cooking in the crock pot it is just falling apart and so full of flavor. 

First off you mix together the spices and herbs, then rub onto the chicken.  I have used whole chicken breasts, but when I made this I was a little short on time so I cut the chicken into strips. 

After the spices, it's time to brown the chicken in butter...

After all of the chicken is browned, move it to the crock-pot.  To the leftover butter in the pan, add the water, lemon juice, garlic and bouillon.  Bring to a boil.

I usually double or triple the sauce ingredients just to make sure there will be plenty.  After bringing it to a boil, pour over chicken in crock-pot.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours, basting occasionally.  Thicken the cooking juices and serve with chicken and rice.

This is such a flavorful comforting meal.  It is often requested in this house by everyone!

Crock-pot lemon chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts
 1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 TB butter
1/4 cup water
3 TB lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used garlic powder in with the spices)
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
hot cooked rice

Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Combine the oregano, seasoned salt and pepper; rub over chicken.  In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken in butter; transfer to a 5 qt. crock-pot.  Add water, lemon juice, garlic and bouillon to the skillet; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.  Baste the chicken.  If desired, thicken cooking juices and serve over chicken and rice.

Cranberry Nut Bread

As this time of year rolls around..my family starts begging me to make cranberry bread!  Since you can only buy cranberries for a few months out of the year, we always buy some to use fresh and some to freeze.  I actually made this with frozen berries but it definitely works either way.  You can also get this recipe on pretty much any bag of cranberries.

First off you mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the shortening.



 

Next stir in the orange juice, egg, and orange zest...just enough to moisten.  Then fold in the cranberries and nuts.  I used my food processor to chop them.  Before I had one, I just used a knife and a cutting board, but those cranberries are roly little stinkers and it's definitely faster to use the processor...just make sure you don't pulverize them.  You want fairly big chunks of berries.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  One tip: to keep your bread from sinking..only grease the bottom of the pan.  That way the bread clings to the sides as it bakes!

Mmmm..see the cranberries, pecans, and that orange zest?  Yum!

Cranberry Nut Bread
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 TB grated orange peel
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 TB shortening
3/4 cup orange juice
1 egg well beaten

Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening.  Stir in orange juice, egg and orange peel just enough to moisten.  Fold in cranberries and nuts.  Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Test with a toothpick.  Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

Snickerdoodles

It's officially fall now and that means your house should smell like cinnamon!  Don't you think so?  How about a warm snickerdoodle cookie...

A few weeks before I got married, I started looking through all of the recipes that I for sure wanted to take with me.  I only copied a few down, but this one was a definite must!  These cookies are just so homey and I knew that I would be one homesick newlywed...these helped bring a little "home" with me.

You start by creaming the butter, shortening, sugar and eggs.

Next you blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Scoop the dough with a tablespoon or scoop and roll in the cinnamon and sugar.

Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  I did use parchment paper here because the sugar on the bottom of the cookie gets a little burned sometimes, but I haven't had that happen if I use the paper.
They are almost done.....!

Remove from cookie sheet immediately and cool on a wire rack.  Very good warm..almost as good cooled!

Snickerdoodles
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

3 TB sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
  Heat oven to 400.  Cream butter, shortening, 1 1/2 c. sugar and eggs.  Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Shape dough by tablespoons into balls.  Mix together and extra sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls into mixture.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 7-8 minutes or until set.  Immediately remove from baking sheet. 

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

For some reason, as soon as the weather cools off, I start wanting to bake these cookies.  I think they are a little extra special and perfect for the upcoming holidays.  Here is the process....

First you cream the butter and sugars, then the eggs and vanilla.  Then you add in the flour, baking soda, and cocoa.  Mix until combined...

Ignore the strange color in these photos.  I was making these at night with no natural light so these look a little weird!  Now comes the fun part...the caramel/chocolate candies!! 

I buy the great value caramel cups.  They are bigger than rolos and have more caramel!

(although I haven't bought them in a while..they seem smaller to me!)

Now you take about a tablespoon of cookie dough and wrap it around the chocolate, making sure to close up any gaps.  Make sure the candy is completely surrounded by dough

Then dip the tops of the cookie in sugar and chopped pecans and place a few inches apart on an ungreased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for about 8 minutes or until set.  These are actually a little better once they've cooled because the caramel inside sets up.  Not that they are bad warm though!  You can just taste the caramel better.  Enjoy!



Chocolate Caramel Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 TB sugar, divided

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped pecans

1 package chocolate/caramel cups

In a mixing bowl cream butter, 1 cup sugar, and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.  Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture and beat just until combined.  Shape dough by tablespoonfuls around each candy.  In a small bowl, combine pecans and remaining sugar; dip each cookie halfway.  Place with nut side up on ungreased baking sheet.   Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes or until top is slightly cracked.  Cool for 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.