Golden Syrup Sugar Cookies

I've never found a sugar cookie recipe that I liked. Either they are too crisp, too soft so that they fall apart, tasteless or a combination. My husband had the idea to take a ginger cookies recipe and turn it into sugar cookies. I replaced the molasses with Golden Syrup, removed the spices completely and added in vanilla. They turned out better than I expected. My husband thinks that they taste like glazed Krispy Kreme donuts. They are soft but chewy, not crumbly at all. No need for frosting. And they won't last long either!

Golden Syrup Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened (no substitutes)

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup Golden Syrup

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

4-1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Additional sugar for rolling

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, Golden Syrup and vanilla.

2. Combine the flour (I spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level it with a knife), baking soda and salt; gradually add flour mixture to the creamed mixture. 

3. Roll into 1-1/2 inch balls, then roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on un-greased baking sheets. 

4. Bake at 350-degrees for 8-10 minutes or until puffy and just starting to brown. Be careful not to over bake them.

5. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

This makes about 42 cookies, depending on how big you make them.

Aebleskivers (Danish Pancakes) with Spiced Apple Syrup

You will need an aebleskiver pan. I bought this one. You will also need something long and thin to turn them over with. A cake tester works well. I use this one.


For the pancakes:

3 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1. Beat the egg yolks and mix with the oil, buttermilk and vanilla.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter will be lumpy.
4. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
5. Fold the egg whites into the pancake batter.
6. Heat the pan over medium heat.
7. Add a pea-sized amount of butter to each cup in the pan.
8. When the butter is melted, add 1/8th of a cup of the batter.
9. Cook until lightly browned on one side. You will see bubbles around the edges.
10. Using the cake tester, pierce the side of the pancake and turn it over in the pan. Cook until it's a light brown.
11. Remove using the cake tester and eat while still warm.

*You can make the batter the night before, leaving out the whipped egg whites until you are going to make them, it saves on time and works very well.

For the syrup:

2 cups cold apple cider
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves
pinch of ginger
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt

1. In a small saucepan, combine the apple cider and corn starch. Whisk until the corn starch is dissolved.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Over medium-high heat, cook until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, stirring constantly.
4. Serve warm or cold with aebleskivers or other pancakes.

The traditional way to eat them is to dip them in powdered sugar. You can also serve with maple syrup, powered sugar, jam, etc.

Traditionally, cooked apple pieces were put into the middle of each pancake before it was turned over. Jam, berries, or savory fillings like cheese or sausage can also be used.

Salted Brown Sugar Toffee Popcorn

Salted Brown Sugar Toffee Popcorn

1/2 cup popcorn kernels (or two bags of plain microwave popcorn)
2 sticks of salted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or 1/3 teaspoon of regular table salt


1. Butter a large bowl.
2. Pop the popcorn kernels with an air popper, or two regular sized bags of plain popcorn in the microwave.
3. Combine the sugar, butter, water and vanilla in a medium saucepan.
4. Stirring constantly, cook over medium-high heat until a dark brown, with thickened bubbles and a burned smell, about 8-10 minutes
5. Pour immediately over the popcorn and stir a few times.
6. Sprinkle the salt over the popcorn and mix thoroughly. Omit this step if you using microwave popcorn that has added salt.
7. Let cool completely and break up.

Salmon & Vegetable Curry with Saffron Rice

For the rice~

2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons butter
a pinch of saffron threads

For the curry~

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
10 cups frozen Normandy vegetable blend (Wal-mart or Costco carries this in big bags)
4 wild Alaskan salmon burgers, thawed (I get mine at Costco)
2 cans regular coconut milk
Curry power to taste
Salt to taste

1. Combine the rice, water, chicken stock, butter and saffron threads. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low with the lid on, stirring once or twice, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

2. While the rice is cooking, heat the coconut oil in a large wok. Add in the chopped onion and frozen vegetables.

3. Cook vegetables until somewhat soft, about 30 minutes, breaking up the bigger pieces with your utensil.

4. Defrost the salmon burgers in the microwave, chop up and add to the vegetables.

5. When salmon is thoroughly cooked, add in the coconut milk, curry and salt to taste. Start with 1 tablespoon of curry powder and then go from there.

6. Bring mixture to a boil and then turn off the heat.

7. Serve immediately over rice.


Chili Pie

Chili Pie

1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 - 15 ounce cans of chili with beans
1 - 15 ounce can of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 - 10 3/4 ounce can of condensed tomato soup
1 cup uncooked (dry) macaroni

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 3 1/2 quart (or larger) oven safe skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat, brushing up the sides to cover the inside of the pan.
3. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft, stirring often.
4. Add the chili, tomatoes, tomato soup and macaroni to the pan, mix well and stir occasionally until it reaches the boiling point.

While the chili mixture is cooking, make the cornbread topping:

1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 cup fresh or canned sweet corn

1. Combine the corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl beat the egg, then add the milk and oil and mix well.
3. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.
4. Add the corn and stir until just blended.
5. Pour over the top of the chili mixture and smooth the top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until the cornbread is lightly brown and cracking on top.
Serve with grated cheddar cheese on top.

Fresh Salsa

Fresh Salsa

4 medium tomatoes (or 6 roma tomatoes)
1-3 jalapeno peppers (depending on how hot you want your salsa, I used 1 and it was mild)
4 scallions (green onions)
2 small cloves of garlic
1/2 cup unpacked cilantro
juice from two key limes
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt (depending on your taste)

1. Quarter the tomatoes. If you want a thicker salsa, remove the seeds, if not, leave the seeds.
2. Seed and roughly chop the jalapenos.
3. Roughly chop the scallions, garlic and cilantro.
4. Put all the chopped ingredients along with the lime juice and salt into a food processor.
5. Pulse the mixture until it's the consistency that you like.
6. Immediately serve or refrigerate and use within a week.

Apple Pecan Bread Pudding

This is a very sweet, rich dessert. If you don't like your bread pudding very sweet, then cut the sugar down to 1 or 1 1/2 cups. I like mine really sweet, like a dessert, so I use the whole 2 cups.

Apple Pecan Bread Pudding~

1/2 loaf bread, cubed

4 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups milk

2 tsp. pure almond extract

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups finely chopped apples

1/2 cup chopped pecans (You could also use sliced almonds)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter or spray a 9x13 baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the cream, milk and almond extract.

4. Add the sugar and whisk until it dissolves.

5. Mix the cubed bread and the apples together.

6. Lay the bread/apple mixture into the baking dish.

7. Pour the wet mixture over the bread and let it soak for 15 minutes.

8. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top and cover with foil.

9. Bake for 45 minutes with the foil on.

10. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Serve warm or cold. This would be yummy served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Tropical Fruit Jam

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't post on here anymore. And then I made this yummy jam and it's so pretty in it's jar that I just had to take a picture and put it on here and post the recipe. This does takes some time, but it's easy and it's worth it!

Tropical Fruit Jam~

(makes about 4 pints)

16 cups of frozen tropical fruit mix (I buy this in a big bag at Costco. It has pineapple, papaya, mango and strawberries. Why it has strawberries, I don't know, but it works!)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1. Combine the frozen fruit mix and the lemon juice in a large pot. Cover with the lid. Cook over medium heat until thawed completely, stirring often.

2. Turn the heat down to low and simmer with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is mushy.

3. Mash the fruit with a potato masher or use an immersion blender if you like a smoother texture.

4. Keeping the lid off, continue to simmer until fairly thick.

5. Stir in the sugar and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling cook for 3 minutes.

6. Pour into pint-sized canning jars. You can either can this or put it in the fridge or freezer.

Taco Salad

I've been making this recipe for years. It's one of my husband's favorite dinners. I got the original recipe from the mother of his closest childhood friend. I've changed a few things but it's still just as yummy.

Taco Salad ~

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef

1 16 ounce can of chili beans in mild sauce

2/3 of a 16 ounce bottle of Thousand Island salad dressing

2/3 cup sour cream

corn tortilla chips

1 head of lettuce, chopped

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 16-ounce can of black olives, chopped

2 cups of shredded cheese

sour cream for the top

1. In a large pan cook the onions in the olive oil until soft.

2. Add the ground beef and cook until well done.

3. Add in the canned chili beans with the sauce and heat until boiling.

4. Add in the salad dressing and sour cream and heat until hot, stirring frequently.

5. On a plate, layer the chips, meat/bean mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cheese and add sour cream on top.

If You Love Peanut Butter & Chocolate

*Warning: Do not make these unless you don't care about becoming addicted and gaining 5 pounds in 1 day!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ~
(makes 38)

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and whisk until well blended.
3. Add the white and brown sugars and mix well.
4. Add the peanut butter and mix well.
5. Add the chocolate chips in and mix well.
6. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Flatten with your fingers, a fork or the bottom of a glass.
8. Bake for 10 minutes.

9. Let cool on pan for 2 minutes.
10. Remove to wire racks to completely cool.

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons ~

14 ounces sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg whites

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine the coconut, condensed milk, vanilla and salt. Stir until well blended.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form.

4. Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

5. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

6. Drop the batter onto cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls.

7. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown.

8. Cool on wire racks.

Orange Glazed Baby Carrots

The carrots that "taste like candy!" - according to my 6-year-old.

Orange Glazed Baby Carrots ~

1 pound freshly cooked baby carrots (you want to them to be slightly hard because they will continue to cook in the glaze)

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon pure orange extract

1 pinch salt

Combine water, brown sugar, butter, vinegar, orange extract and salt in a saucepan. On medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Add cooked baby carrots. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes until the sauce gets very thick and coats the carrots.

Fancy Cupcakes

I submitted this recipe to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. I doubt I'll win (the top prize is a cool million, I'm dreamin' baby, I'm dreamin'), but at least you can enjoy it, right?

Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting ~

2 2/3 cup all purpose unbleached flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
7 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line muffin tins with paper liners or use the foil muffin cups on a large cookie sheet.
3. In a large bowl sift all of the dry ingredients together.
4. In a small bowl combine the vanilla, oil and buttermilk.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Fill the muffin liners 2/3 of the way full.
7. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the top of the cake comes out clean.
8. Immediately remove muffins from tin or cookie sheet and cool completely on a wire rack.
9. Fit a large pastry bag with a large star or plain tip.
10. Fill the pastry bag with frosting (recipe below) and frost the cupcakes as desired.

Orange Buttercream Frosting ~

3 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) of salted butter, room temperature
1/2 tablespoon of pure orange extract
1/2 tablespoon of whipping cream or half & half
Zest of two oranges

In a large bowl combine the sugar and butter. Using a whisk attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Increase speed to high and whip until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange extract, whipping cream and orange zest and whip for another 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lasagna My Way

I love lasagna. I'm fairly certain that I could eat it every day and not get tired of it. There is something about the layers. I just love the layers. My lasagna is not your standard tomato sauce, beef and ricotta cheese lasagna. This is different. It's very simple, but it's rich, satisfying, salty and slightly sweet with a hint of nutmeg. It's also very easy to put together, you don't even pre-cook the noodles. It does take a while to bake and cool, so give yourself some extra time to make dinner.

Butternut Squash & Sage Sausage Lasagna~

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 pounds sage sausage (Jimmy Dean)

2 quarts creamy butternut squash soup (Trader Joe’s or Pacific Natural Food Brand)

2 pounds grated mozzarella cheese, 2 cups reserved for the top

1 box of uncooked lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large saucepan, cook onion in olive oil until soft.

3. Add in sausage and continue to cook, breaking up sausage until thoroughly cooked and is in small pieces.

4. Spray a large lasagna pan with cooking spray. You can use a standard 9 x 13 inch pan, but you’ll need to reduce the ingredients by ¼ or it will overflow the pan.

5. Put a layer of the soup on the bottom of the pan.

6. Make layers of lasagna starting with the noodles at the bottom (three per layer and if your pan is very long, put one at the end as well, but you might need to break it), soup, sausage and onion mixture, then cheese.

7. Repeat layers until you end with a layer of noodles covered in the soup.

8. Cover with aluminum foil.

9. Bake 60 minutes until bubbly and lasagna noodles are thoroughly cooked.

10. Take the aluminum foil off of the pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.

11. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and browned.

12. Cool until lasagna is set but still warm and serve, 30-45 minutes.

The BEST Rolls EVER (Seriously!!!)

I have a love-hate relationship with rolls. I love to eat them, but I hate to make them because they never turn out. I spent Thanksgiving Day last year and that weekend making three different batches of rolls and they all turned out badly. I was so disgusted with my rolls it was embarrassing. I promised my family (and guests) that next Thanksgiving I would make the perfect rolls. I started searching for the perfect roll recipe.

I thought it was me, but it was actually the recipe I was using. It just didn't work! Then, I ran across this recipe on another recipe blog that my friend Kim posts on. This recipe is super easy (you make it in the bread machine) and it turns out perfectly every time. The dough is so puffy, you can't keep it from rising. It just wants to rise.

You can make this using the old-fashioned method, but if you have a bread machine, it makes this recipe so easy.

Perfect Rolls ~
(makes 12 large rolls*)

1 1/8 cup very warm water

2 tablespoons real butter

2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons powdered milk

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1. Add all ingredients to the bread machine pan in order starting at the top.
2. Set the machine on the dough setting and start (most machines take around 1 1/2 hours for dough).
3. When the dough is finished, form the dough into 12 equal rolls and place into a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Brush the rolls with melted butter, cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise.
4. Let the dough raise until double in size, 30-45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Bake rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

* You can also divide the dough into 24 smaller rolls and reduce the raising/baking time.

Enjoy!

What to do with leftover mashed potatoes -

I don't like to eat leftover mashed potatoes and neither does my family. I am always trying to figure out what to do with them, and I finally came up with this easy, quick recipe.

Now the thing about this recipe is that it has no exact measurements. Do what you want with it. The first time I made this I threw in leftover gravy and couscous. That probably sounds weird, but it turned out great.

If you have a small fryer, that would be the best thing to use to fry these. I don't have one, so I put a few inches of canola oil in a large pot and cooked them that way. It worked out well.

Mashed Potato Bites ~

The basic ingredients are:

Leftover mashed potatoes
1 or 2 beaten eggs (depending on how much mashed potatoes you have)
Grated Cheese (Cheddar, Colby or Monterrey Jack work well)
Unbleached all-purpose flour
Salt & Pepper to taste (depending on what mix-ins you use, you might not need to season it)

Optional mix-ins:

gravy
cooked rice
cooked pasta
cooked vegetables

1. Put 3 inches of canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Mix together the mashed potatoes, eggs, mix-ins and cheese. Add salt & pepper to taste.
3. Add flour until the mixture is firm enough to hold it's shape and not sticky. Start out with 1/4 cup and go from there. You don't want to add too much.
4. Roll into small 1-inch balls.
5. Roll the balls in flour
6. Fry until golden brown, drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

For Mint Lovers

My husband absolutely loves mint and chocolate together. For me, it's not that exciting. I adore ice cream, but I won't touch chocolate chip mint ice cream. Mint and chocolate together isn't my thing. However, a friend (thanks Jamie!) gave me a recipe for chocolate mint cookies. I tweaked it, added in some things and changed the amounts of some ingredients. I also baked them into a bar cookie instead of regular cookies. I love bar cookies. They are a lot less time consuming then baking pan after pan of cookies, a few at a time. Plus, I love how thick and chewy they are. These turned out really scrumptious. Nice and chocolaty with a great mint flavor. Even I like them! And that's saying a lot...

Triple Chocolate Mint Chip Squares ~
(makes 48)

1/2 cup real butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavor vegetable shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour (spooned and leveled when measuring)
2 cups mini milk chocolate chips
2 cups Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips (or cut up two packages of Andes Creme De Menthe Thins)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter and flour a 12 x 17 inch jelly roll pan.
3. In a large bowl cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
4. Add in eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
5. Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla and mint extract and mix thoroughly.
6. Mix in the baking soda and salt.
7. Gradually beat in the flour.
8. Stir in the mini chocolate chips and the Andes chips by hand.
9. Spread into the prepared jelly roll pan.
10. Bake for 17 minutes.
11. Cool in the pan completely and cut into bars.

It's Strawberry Season!

I absolutely love strawberries. They are in season right now, so I've been buying lots of them. I love to eat them fresh, but today I decided to try something different and I used them to make popsicles.

Strawberries & Cream Popsicles

(makes 6 small popsicles)

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup whole milk or half & half
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process for several minutes, until the strawberries are completely pureed. Pour into popsicle containers and insert sticks. Freeze for several hours until firm. Run hot water over the cups for a few seconds until the popsicles slide easily out of the container.

Enjoy!

Pancake House Pancakes & Vanilla Almond Syrup

I love making (and eating!) these pancakes. The combination of buttermilk and baking soda make them really light and fluffy. The syrup is so different from everyday maple syrup, it's a nice change. And as always, it's corn-syrup free! I love homemade pancake syrup because it's so easy and delicious. You can try different flavors to mix it up a bit. I also make a blueberry syrup, which I'll post on here in the future.

Pancake House Pancakes ~
(makes 20)

2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Don't over mix. You want the batter to be lumpy.
4. Heat a large griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with melted butter, oil or cooking spray.
5. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the underside is nicely browned. Flip over and cook until browned on the other side.

Vanilla Almond Pancake Syrup ~
(makes just over a pint)

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract

1. Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened.
3. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and almond extracts, mixing well.
4. Cool and refrigerate any remaining.

Enjoy!!!

Easy Marinara Sauce

On Friday I usually make pizza. One Friday I realized that I didn't have any tomato sauce. I had already been to the store that day and didn't want to go back for one jar of tomato sauce, so I looked around to see what I had in the pantry and came up with this sauce. It turned out really well. Try it, you'll like it!

Easy Marinara Sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. If you want a chunkier sauce, blend it using the pulse mode on your food processor or blender until it's the consistency that you want. Heat and serve over pasta or use as a pizza sauce.