Banana Bread

I used to use another banana bread recipe until my sister in law Maria shared this one with me.  It is super moist and always delicious!  I just love how it tastes.  My favorite thing about this recipe is that it freezes VERY well.  I like to cut the loaf into fourths and wrap them individually in foil then put them all in a freezer bag.  Then when I am feeling in the mood for some of this delicious bread, I take it out of the freezer and let it defrost...and we have the perfect amount to eat for my husband and I.  I feel it actually tastes better after it freezes because it seems even more moist.  Delicious!  Thanks Maria!

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, softened
1 1/4 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
4 tablespoons Sour Cream
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups (about 3ish) ripe Bananas, mashed

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 bread loaf pan.

Beat together your butter and sugar. Then add your eggs one at a time and mix well. Add your sour cream, vanilla, and bananas. Mix well. Add in your baking soda and flour. Mix until fully incorporated. Make sure to scrap your bowl to make sure all the ingredients were fully mixed.

Pour your mixture into your prepared loaf pan. Bake in your heated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool your banana bread on a cooling wrack. Wrap your bread in plastic wrap overnight to bring out the moisture in the bread.

Angel Food Cake

Who doesn't love angel food cake? I think it is one of the best desserts out there when you top it with whipping cream and fresh strawberries. This recipe is so easy, and tastes so delicious. I am craving some right now! :)

Ingredients
1 cup Cake Flour
1 1/2 cups White Sugar
12 Egg Whites
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Special Equipment
Angel Food Cake pan (see here)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Be sure that your 10 inch tube pan is clean and dry. Any amount of oil or residue could deflate the egg whites.

Sift together the flour, and 3/4 cup of the sugar, set aside. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites along with the vanilla, cream of tartar and salt, to medium stiff peaks. (It will take a few minutes of electric beating to get to that point. Everything will be white and look like whipping cream, and when you touch it with the back of a spoon and hurry and take it out, it should leave peaks without falling back down) Gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. When the egg white mixture has reached its maximum volume, fold in the sifted ingredients gradually, one third at a time. Do not overmix.

Put the batter into the non-greased pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake springs back when touched. Turn the tube pan upside down on top of a cooling rack, to prevent decompression while cooling. When cool, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a plate.

Snickerdoodles

Sorry, I bought a different kind of butter, and it made the cookies melt flat. So, it may not be the best picture for the cookies, but they still turned out great!

Ingredients
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Shortening
1 1/2 cups White Sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons White Sugar
2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together your butter, shortening, and sugar. Scrape down bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one. Add vanilla. Scrape down bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together your flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. Mix fully.

Shape your dough into balls. In a small bowl, mix together your remaining sugar and cinnamon. Roll your balls of cookie dough into the cinnamon sugar. Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Make sure to take them out of the oven when they are still VERY soft.

Let them cool on a cooling rack.

Crinkle Cookies

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago on NieNie's recipe blog. They looked so YUMMY. I saved the recipe and went about my day. Then Angie posted it on her recipe blog and I said, "Alright, I am going to make these NOW!" So I did, and I am so glad! They are soooo yummy. They are rich and gooey and delicious. Thank you Stephanie for posting it...you are beautiful!

Ingredients
2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Powdered Sugar

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Add the cocoa and blend well. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Scrape the bowl.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the cocoa mixture blending well. Scrap bowl again.

Cover and chill at least 6 hours.

Heat the oven to 350.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until done.

Remove from the cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This simple, easy recipe is so delicious. It is amazing how it changes the flavor so much when you add such a small amount of shortening to the chocolate. When you dip them in just plain chocolate, they taste very heavy. The shortening makes them so light tasting. Try it out...they are addicting!

Ingredients
8 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoons Shortening
Pretzels

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and shortening. Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Stir it before each 30 second increments.

Once melted, dip the pretzels in the chocolate. Take the pretzels out with a fork or skewer and drip off the excess chocolate. Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate.

Chocolate Cheesecake

If you love cheesecake, then you will love this chocolate cheesecake! We had some friends over for dinner the other night and made this for dessert. They said this chocolate cheesecake was right up there with the cheesecake factory. Pretty cool eh?

Ingredients
For the Cheesecake base:
1 1/3 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 stick Butter
1 tablespoon Cocoa

For the Cheesecake filling:
6 ounces Bittersweet or Semisweet chocolate, chopped small
2 1/2 cups Cream Cheese
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Sugar
3 large Eggs
3 large Egg Yolks
2/3 cup Sour Cream
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

For the Sauce:
3 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Corn Syrup

Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the base, process the graham crackers to make rough crumbs and then add the butter and cocoa. Process again until it makes damp, clumping crumbs and then tip them into the pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan to make an even base and put into the freezer while you make the filling.

Put a pot of water on to boil.

Melt the chocolate either in a microwave or double boiler, and set aside to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, add the cornstarch, vanilla, and the teaspoon of sugar. Mix the ingredients together well and mash up any small clumps that occur.

Beat the cream cheese to soften it, then add the sugar and cornstarch mixture, beating again to combine. Beat in the whole eggs and then the yolks, and the sour cream. Finally add the cocoa dissolved in hot water and melted chocolate and mix to a smooth batter.

Take the springform tin out of the freezer and line the outside of the tin with a good layer of cling wrap, and then another layer of strong foil over that. This will protect it from the water bath.

Sit the springform tin in a roasting pan and pour in the cheesecake filling. Fill the roasting pan with just boiled water to come about half way up the cake tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the cheesecake should be set, but the underneath should still have a wobble to it.

Peel away the foil and cling film wrapping and sit the cheesecake in its tin on a rack to cool. Put in the refrigerator once it is no longer hot, and leave to set, covered with plastic overnight. Let it lose its chill before unspringing the cheesecake to serve.

To make the chocolate sauce: very gently melt the chopped chocolate, cream and syrup. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce. Let it cool a little, and pour it over the chocolate cheesecake on its serving plate.

Strawberry Shortcake

This is my husband's favorite! He just loves it. I would prefer angel food cake, but he says, "NO WAY!" I do think it is very good though, and very different. It is also very easy. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:
1 box Yellow Cake (I prefer the Pillsburry brand)
Cool Whip
Strawberries
Sugar

Directions:
Wash and slice your strawberries. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle a generous amount of sugar over the strawberries to let the juices come out.

Follow the directions on the back of your cake box to make your cake. Always lower the temperature of the oven from what was suggested on the back of the box, and cook for a longer time than suggested. Take the cake out of the oven when a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool.

Cut a slice of your cake and serve it with a lot of whip cream and strawberries.

Sugar Cookies

These cookies are really easy and taste really good. The first day, they taste really sweet and buttery, but the second day they just taste so perfect! This will make a MASSIVE batch, so I would recommend decreasing it by half. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1 1/2 cup Butter, softened
2 cups White Sugar
4 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
5 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt

For the frosting:
4 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup Shortening
5 tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Food Coloring

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake about 5 minutes or until done in preheated oven. (You want to pull them out of the oven super early because you want them soft. If you cook them too long they become dry and flaky) Cool completely.

In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners' sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired. Spread the frosting on your cookies.

**The frosting is VERY sweet. If you can, let the frosted cookies sit out overnight uncovered. It mellows out the sweetness somehow and they just taste so much better the second day!

Caramel filled Cookies

These are the yummiest cookies ever. Not only do they look delicious, but when you bite into them, you find a nice little surprise. So good!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter, soft
1/2 cup Margarine, soft
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar, lightly packed
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 3/4 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Caramels squares or Rolos
4 oz Vanilla Candy Coating (you will find this in the baking isle of the grocery store next to the chocolate chips. they are white cubes, also known as almond bark)

Directions:
1. Cream the butter, margarine, and sugars till fluffy

2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla

3. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, and then add to the remaining ingredients

4. Preheat the oven to 345

5. Wrap about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough around the caramel. Roll it into a ball in your hands. Place the balls on a parchment covered cookie sheet

6. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes

7. Let the cookies cool on the parchment paper for a minute

8. Melt the candy coating by following the directions on the back of the packaging. Pour the melted candy in a sandwich bag and clip the corner

9. Drizzle the candy over the cookies

10. Place the cookies on a cooling rack and allow them to cool

CREAM PUFFS

My friend Lauren came over today and we made these. We were so excited about them because they are so yummy...it's unbelievable! You must try these!

Ingredients:
For the custard
1 (5.1 ounce) packages Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
3/4 cup milk

For the puffs
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Water
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup AP Flour
4 Eggs

Directions:
1. Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.

2. Preheat oven to 425.

3. In a pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl, then cover it and put in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to cool.

4. Using a mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and then sprinkle flour on top. Move around the flour to fully coat the sheet and then turn it over to dump the excess. Spoon your batter onto your baking sheet.

(It works best to use a small cookie scoop, as it is perfect size and the perfect shape.)

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry. Poke a small hole in the bottom of your cream puffs to allow steam to escape and prevent collapsing.

6. When the shells are cool, fill them with the pudding mixture by using a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

Yields: 30 (when using a little cookie scoop)

Scotcheroos

When I was a teenager, one of my church leader made these. I thought they were so good. Well about a month ago I found this recipe for them, and instantly remembered how much I loved them before. I instantly had to make them, and have made them a few times since. Thanks Angie

Ingredients
1 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Butterscotch Chips

Directions
Place corn syrup and sugar into large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 80-90 seconds (don't overheat), remove from microwave and stir. Stir in peanut butter till it melts. Add cereal, stir until well coated. Put mixture in 13x9-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.

Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips in microwave by heating 30 seconds and stirring till melted. It will melt eventually, do not over microwave chocolate or it will burn. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let stand until firm.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

After many years of unsuccessful baking, I am finally having good luck!

Ingredients:
2 cups AP Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg
2 teaspoon Hot Water
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. Cream together your butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter.

2. Add your egg, vanilla, and then your salt.

3. Dissolve your baking soda in the hot water, and then add it to the cookie batter.

4. Mix your baking powder and flour together and then add it to the batter. Mix until smooth.

5. Preheat your oven to 350. Cover your bowl with saran wrap and put it in the fridge for 15 minutes. Spray your cookie sheet and then sprinkle flour on top. Move the flour around to fully coat your pan. Turn the pan upside down to remove excess flour. Put your pan in the fridge to cool.

6. Scoop out some batter and roll in the hand into a ball. Put it on your cookie sheet. You want them to be about 1-inch balls. Fill your cookie sheet leaving about and inch and a half between each ball. Use the back side of your fork to put criss-cross marks in the cookie dough.

7. Bake for about 8 minutes or until cooked. You want them to still be kind of doughy so they are soft and gooey.

8. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet immediately and let them cool on a cooling rack.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Up until today I have never had cookies turn out. I love to cook, and I am pretty good at it, but baking is a different story. I have tried many recipes and they were just GROSS. I have never, and I mean NEVER had a better homemade chocolate chip cookie than these. They are delicious. Thank you Jaime for the recipe. I will keep it forever! (I made some slight changes)

Ingredients:
1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup White Sugar
1 cup packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Hot Water
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

3. Dissolve baking soda in the hot water. Add this to your batter along with the salt.

4. Stir in flour and then your chocolate chips.

5. Grease your cooking sheet and then sprinkle flour on top. Move the flour around to fully coat the pan and then tip it over to dump the access. Put the cooking sheet in the freezer for 3 minutes so that it is nice and cool. This will help your cookies from starting the cooking process before you put them in the oven.

6. Spoon your batter onto your pan.

7. Bake for about 8 minutes for small cookies, and 10 minutes for large cookies. Pull them out of the oven when they are still soft and just BARELY browning around the edges.

8. Drop your pan flat on your stove so that the cookies will drop flat. Take the cookies immediately off the cookie sheet and put them on a cooling rack to cool.