Ooo La, La... Cream Puffs

I can not believe cream puffs, such a decadent looking and scrumptious dessert are so easy to make!  I just have to share with everyone!

On Sunday, Skyler asked me if I could make dessert for a luncheon at school.  He is usually assigned to bring the dessert because I actually like to make desserts and usually don't buy the kiddie cupcakes at Wal-mart!  He needed the dessert on Tuesday, so I had several days to think about what I was going to do but I didn't need to think long about it, I already knew what I wanted to do...  a Cream Puff Tower!

I saw the idea some where... now where was it???  I started combing through all my recent issues of various magazines that I subscribe to.  I look and look... and look and look... and look some more.  I start to panic, because I am so obsessed with the idea of the cream puff tower that nothing else will suffice!  After I had combed through about 12 magazines, I needed to take a break.

I picked up my Kindle, my new play toy that I absolutely love.  Love, love, love!  I love my Kindle!  I am scanning through the carousel, which is kind of like your book shelf.  It shows all that you have on your Kindle when all of the sudden I spy a Country Woman magazine that I had downloaded.  "That's it!" I scream!  Gleefully I start flipping through the pages of the magazine.  I know it has to be in here some where.  And it was.  Oh happy day!

They sounded almost too easy to make.  I posted on Facebook that I was going to try my first attempt at making cream puffs.  One friend had commented that the only kind she has ever seen were the frozen ones from the grocery store.  I was in this same category and I love those little balls of fluff and often buy them.  A few other friends, including my mother-in-law assured me they were easy and a few offered to be taste-testers.

Well, I sure hoped they were easy and turned out, because I did not have a back-up plan and the dessert needed to be delivered to the school in less than 3 hours.  I actually used two recipes... the original one I am posting below and the one from my vintage Better Homes & Gardens (red checked) cookbook.  I was just using the BH&G cookbook as a reference.  I trust the BH&G cookbook and wanted to make sure I was doing it the way they said to.  The BH&G cookbook also has pictures.  I like pictures!

So with both cookbooks, I felt prepared.  I followed the ingredients from the Country Woman recipe, but tried to follow the mixing technique from the BH&G recipe.  The BH&G recipe told me to stir the batter with a wooden spoon, but let me tell you...  that wasn't going to happen!  After stirring the first egg in with a wooden spoon, the batter was a globby, stiff mess and I was running out of breath with 4 more eggs to go.  I abandoned this idea and threw the batter in my Kitchenaid mixer and let it do the work.  Don't try to stir with the wooden spoon...

I got the batter done, it was so easy once I switched to the mixer, and dropped the batter onto the greased baking sheet just as the recipe said.  Oh, and I also tasted the batter and it tasted like ...flour and eggs, not very pleasurable on the palate.  I was thinking...  shouldn't there be sugar or something in this batter to make it taste good?  Oh well, into the over my little puffs went and the timer was sent for 20 minutes.

I looked after about 5 minutes and my little puffs still looked like dumpy little blobs of batter.  I was a little concerned, but had faith that they would "puff."  After 25 minutes they were golden brown little puffs!!  I removed them and cut the small slit in them for the steam to escape.  I needed about 60 puffs, so I had to make two batches of them which made about 80 puffs.

The Country Woman magazine said to fill them with creme de menthe flavored whipped cream.  I didn't really think I needed to serve creme de menthe whipped cream at school, so I decided to fill half of them with white chocolate pudding (just the box kind) and the other half with caramel flavored whipped cream.  For the caramel flavored whipped cream I just added a little caramel flavored syrup (the kind you put in coffee drinks) to the whipped cream.  Easy peesy!

I assembled the tower as per the recipe and drizzled it with chocolate glaze!  I must say it was a success!  You should try it if you ever need a fancy-smacy dessert sometime!

Cream Puff Tree

1-1/4 cups water
2/3 cup butter, cubed
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
5 eggs

FILLING:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup green creme de menthe

GLAZE:
1/3 cup butter, cubed
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 to 6 Tbsp. hot water
Additional confectioners' sugar, optional

1.  In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil.  Add flour all at once and stir until smooth ball forms.  Remove from the heat, let stand for 5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to wire racks.  Cut a small slit in the side of each puff to allow steam to escape.  Cool puffs.

3. For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form.  Fold in creme de menthe.  Pipe about 1 Tbsp. into each puff.  Refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

4.  For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine butter and chocolate.  Cook and stir over low heat until melted.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to make desired consistency for dipping.

5. To assemble tree:  Separate puffs according to size and shape, choosing the flattest ones for the bottom layer and the smallest ones for the top.  For bottom layer, dip the bottoms of the 21 flattest puffs into glaze.  Place on a 10-in. round serving platter, forming a solid circle.

6.  For the second layer, dip glaze on the bottoms of 15 puffs, them position on base layer.  Continue building the tree, using about 11 puffs in third layer, about six puffs in fourth layer, about four puffs in the fifth layer and one puff on top.

7.  Drizzle remaining glaze over tree, thinning with hot water if necessary.

8.  Loosely cover tree with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.  Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.


And last but not least...  ENJOY!

Recipe: Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

I know it has been forever since I last posted a recipe, well, besides for Dan the Man's grilling, so I thought it was high time I spread a little love with these scrumptious and cute cupcakes.

I made these for Skyler to take to school for a lunch that the student council prepared for the teachers. I must say that in my opinion, they were quite tasty. I hope the teachers liked them! I also made some chocolate cupcakes and used the frosting I had left over for them.

I used a different frosting recipe than what is listed on the cupcake recipe. I used a standard cream cheese frosting flavored with vanilla and almond extract, half of which I tinted pink with food coloring.


Click here to the recipe:
Cherry-Almond Vanilla Cupcakes

Happiness is...

RECIPE: Mini Cheesecakes

The other day I had to make dessert for the football team dinner. This is a tradition at Morrill High School that I really like. The night before each game, the football mothers prepare a meal and serve it to the team. The parents all take turns, for example one week the Senior and Junior mothers will do it and then the next week the Sophomore and Freshman mothers do it. I think it's a great idea and enjoy being a part of it. The team gets to eat together and fellowship while the mothers get to spend some time visiting and getting to know each other.

Mighty Morrill Lions during a timeout with coach Libsack.
Skyler is in there somewhere!

I love making desserts! I also love eating dessert. Do you know the trick that helps you remember how to spell dessert? I use to always have to think twice as to whether dessert had one or two "s". Then one of my teachers explained it to me in my language. She said you can always tell the difference between desert (the dry landscape) and dessert (the last course of a meal, never to be missed) was that dessert (the sweet stuff, my kind of stuff) had two "s" because you always want to have two servings of it! I don't think I have ever misspelled that word since.

Anyway, so for the football dinner dessert I made Mini Cheesecakes and Cheesecake Brownies. Here's the recipes for ya!

Mini Cheesecakes topped with
cherries and chocolate almond cream cheese frosting!

Mini Cheesecakes

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3 (8 oz. pkgs.) cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs (farm fresh, of course)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press equal portions into bottoms of 24 paper-lined muffin cups.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Spoon equal amounts of mixture into prepared cups. Bake 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool.
3. Spoon cherry pie filling on top. Chill.


The day before I made these, I had made my niece a birthday cake in which I frosted with chocolate almond cream cheese frosting. I had some leftover frosting and used that on the cheesecakes along with the cherries, so I had two different kinds.

For the Cheesecake Brownies I made a batch of brownies from a box mix. I think it was Duncan Hines. I had leftover cheesecake filling from the mini cheesecakes so after I mixed up the brownies, as per the instructions on the box, I added spoonfuls of the cheesecake filling on top of the brownies and lightly swirled the filling into the brownie mix with a knife. Then I baked it as the directions instructed on the box. So easy and yummy!! I also made a batch of "plain" brownies which I drizzled cream cheese frosting on.

Treat your family or yourself to some of these goodies this week!
Share some love.

RECIPE: Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting!! Yum!

This morning I made these fabulous Carrot Cupcakes. Skyler "volunteered" me for dessert for the National Honor Society's lunch meeting at school tomorrow. Don't take me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy making dessert for the kids and Skyler is really good at letting me know well in advance, he even writes it down on the calendar for me! I think being the youngest of four boys surely has it's advantages when it comes to knowing things like this. He has witnessed the kitchen "mom-ster" come out when given 2 hours notice of needing a treat for some school function and Skyler has learned that this is a person he does not want to mess with! Living out here in the middle of no-where we country moms don't have the convenience of running to the store to pick something up last minute! Anybody else out there have this problem of "Mom I forgot to tell you, but I need ____________ today for school!"

Anyway, always looking for an excuse to try out new recipes, I ran across this recipe in the April 17, 2010 issue of the Family Circle magazine. The recipe especially caught my eye when I saw Cream Cheese Frosting. One can not, I repeat, can NOT eat carrot cake properly without the Cream Cheese Frosting. Carrot Cake without the Cream Cheese Frosting is like a Cheeseburger without the cheese, a salad without the dressing or even a french fry without the ketchup! Seriously!

(Nice picture if I do say so myself!)

Here's the link to the recipe (click on CARROT CUPCAKES below). You do have to sign-in to get to the site. It's no big deal, but if you don't want to go to the link, I included the recipe below. I like going to the links because they have options for you to print out the recipe if you want to. Read the recipe below to see alternations that I made. You know me, can't leave well enough alone!

CARROT CUPCAKES

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 1 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and grated on medium holes of box grater (about 3-1/2 cups)
• NOTE: I misread the recipe and used 1-1/2 cups and that was plenty!! I think 3-1/2 cups would have been a disaster!
• 1/2 cup chopped raisins
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cupcakes: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in 24 indents of muffin pans; set aside.

2. In large bowl, stir together butter, sugars and eggs until well blended. Stir in flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, carrots and raisins.

3. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cupcake liner. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on rack.

4. Frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners sugar together on medium-high until blended. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat on medium-high until no lumps remain. Divide frosting among cupcakes.

Can I share a couple of secrets with you?

People always seem to go ga-ga over my desserts. I try to tell them that one of my secrets to success is PRESENTATION. Yes, that's it. Let me repeat that. PRESENTATION is very important.

Let's take these cupcakes for example. I could have just spread the frosting on with a knife, but instead I took them up a level just by using this little do-hicky. I don't even know what it is called, but I got mine from a Pampered Chef party years ago. I've seen them everywhere and they are not that expensive. I've even seen them at Wal-Mart. But if at all possible, please get one from you local Pampered Chef girl or your local kitchen store! (Buy Local!!)



Next, let us consider this little cake plate thing and cover. I spent a whole $10 on it and use it ALL the time. Beats putting these little gems in a plastic container where no one can see them. Place it in the center of your table and voila! you have an instant center piece and your table looks like a magazine cover!



Thought I'd give the Morrill High School National Honor Society some press time (especially for the grandparents who read this blog.) What a great group of kids, excuse me, young adults!

2009-2010 MHS National Honor Society

2009-2010 New Inductees

Kathi, Skyler and Dan the Man
(Lori please don't say anything about my hair!)

I have an exciting announcement coming concerning my blog, but can't go into details right now because there are still a few loose ends that need to be tied up before I can make an official announcement so you'll just have to stay tuned!

PS, Does this sound like a teaser?

PSS, It is!!

PSSS, but seriously, I can't wait to tell you. It's something that should be really fun!!

Because it was a hard week... Almond French Silk Pie!

Almond French Silk Pie, oh my!!

Raise your hand if you had a bad or hard week...


Raise your hand if you had a good or easy week...


Raise your hand if you like CHOCOLATE...


Raise your hand if you are a living thing...


Okay, if you raised your hand to any of the things above, you deserve a piece of this scrumptious pie... ALMOND FRENCH SILK PIE.


Here's the recipe for you, make it this weekend, do not delay!

ALMOND FRENCH SILK PIE

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons melted butter

Combine above ingredients in a pie pan until thoroughly blended. Press firmly to bottom and sides, bringing up crumbs evenly up to the rim. Bake in 350 degree oven for 8 minutes and cool.


2 cups sugar (softened)
3 sticks butter (not margarine, only butter will do, trust me)
6 squares (6 ounces) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
6 eggs (farm fresh of course!)

Heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
toasted slivered almonds


In a large mixing bowl cream sugar and butter about 4 minutes or till fluffy. Stir in cooled chocolate, vanilla and almond. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed. Scrap sides of bowl after each egg. Turn into graham cracker crust and chill several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, whip heavy cream along with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Dollop a huge portion of the whipped cream on the pie and sprinkle toasted almonds on top! To cut easily, use a knife dipped into hot water.


If you are a wimp about eating raw eggs, then this recipe is not for you. I have made it a gazillion times and have never gotten ill from the raw eggs.

Warning: This pie is extremely rich and insisting on a large piece is only asking for trouble. Cut your pie into 12 pieces, and that should be plenty big for everyone.

Enjoy!!!

Don't forget to enter the "name that calf contest"!

One more picture for you to drool over.





PS If you actually make the pie, you can drool on your fork as you put the pie into your mouth.

It's National Chocolate Cake Day, oh My! RECIPE: Darn Good Chocolate Cake!

This morning on Facebook, one of my friends posted that today is "National Chocolate Cake Day"!

Who knew? Certainly not me or I would have had it marked on my calendar in bright red ink!

You can bet your bottom dollar it is on my calendar now!

You know what this means don't you?

It means we all have reason to bake a chocolate cake! Yipee!!

I love any holiday so of course I had to participate and bake a chocolate cake!

I made one "Darn Good Chocolate Cake!" The recipe comes from "The Cake Mix Doctor" by Anne Byrn. What? You don't have this recipe book? Well, you'd better saddle up your horse and get yourself to town and buy a copy! It is fantastic.

What, don't tell me you don't have a horse? If that is the case, get your little self on over to Amazon.com and get it ordered. You can have it delivered right to your door.

Darn Good Chocolate Cake

(modified by me because I just can't leave well enough alone!)

1 pkg. plain devil's food cake mix (make sure it doesn't have pudding in the mix)

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 oil

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, but I use dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Spray a bundt pan with Pam or something like that.
2. Place all items EXCEPT chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 1 minute on slow speed, then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrap the sides of the bowl and beat for another minute.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Feel free to taste it as this point with your finger! Yum!
4. Pour it into your pan and bake for 45 minutes or until done. Do the touch test and see if it springs back when you press on it.
5. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes or so and then invert it onto a pretty cake plate. Let it cool completely.
6. At this point it is completely edible. Delicious simply sprinkled with powdered sugar. Or if you want to jazz it up a bit, I like to take 1/2 can of ready-made cream cheese frosting and 1/2 can of chocolate frosting, slightly melt them them separately in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Stir them up, they should be runny, but not too runny. Actually, barely runny is what I would call it. Then drizzle the cream cheese frosting on the cake and then the chocolate frosting. If the frosting starts running off the cake, you microwaved it too long. Too, bad! It takes practice getting it to the right consistency. After you frost it, put it in the refrigerator to set the frosting.
7. When it is time to serve it, grab a big old glass of milk or cup of coffee and enjoy! YUMMMMMMMMM!

Birthday and RECIPE: Apple-Cranberry Crumble

Well, today was my 44th birthday. We actually were suppose to start processing our last batch of chickens (200 of them) today, but because of the weather, that chore is being delayed. Hopefully we can get started tomorrow. Guess the Lord took pity on me today! Who in their right mind wants to process chickens on their birthday?

Danny's parents, who are here to help us process the chickens, took us out for lunch to the Wonderful House. I seldom look at the menu when we go there because I always get the General Chicken. As always, it was so delicious!

Penny made cabbage burgers for dinner and I found this recipe in the October 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living and we made it for my birthday dessert.


APPLE-CRANBERRY CRUMBLE

1 1/2 lbs apples (about 3 medium), peeled and cored
1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed cranberries, coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Coarse salt
4 Tsp (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for dish
1/2 cup pecan halves (2 ounces), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
3 Tsp packed light-brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter apples lengthwise, then thinly slice. Toss in a large bowl with cranberries, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until evenly coated.
2. Butter an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish. Mix pecans, flour, oats, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until combined. Work in butter with your fingertips until topping is crumbly, with pea-size chunks.
3. Spread apple mixture in prepared dish; sprinkle with topping. Bake until filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.


This was delish!! I also loved that it didn't make a huge dessert, just the right amount for four to five people. That way, I don't end up eating more than I need.

On a sadder note, as I am writing this post, one of our mother cows is mooing, morning the loss of her baby. Danny found the calf in the corral this morning. We aren't sure what happened to it. It never showed signs of being sick. This is one of the hardest things I am finding about ranching. I hate it when we lose an animal. It is getting easier, but it is still painful when it appears to happen for reasons we are not sure about. I always feel like there must have been something we could have done, but sometimes a sick animal is hard to diagnose if they don't show any symptoms of being sick.

I feel for the mother. Her moo is so sad. I am sure her utters are full and hurt. Any mother who has nursed a baby knows this. Men just don't get it! Hopefully she will settle down or we will hear her mooing all night long. Actually, when we wean the calves, which will be soon, we will have several nights of mothers and calves mooing all night long.

Well, we'll see what the good Lord has planned for us tomorrow. Hopefully we can process chickens.

Let me know if you try the dessert and what you think of the recipe!