(A few recipes follow.)

Notes: I’m not a fan of having to melt caramel candies, so just get a good jar of caramel (or make it yourself) and add flour to thicken.  I also prefer pecans to walnuts.  It reminds me of pecan pie.  Also, make sure you allow them to cool in the pan completely (or overnight).  I pulled it out of the pan the first time… NOT pretty.  ;)

Recipes:

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Carmelita Bars (Better Homes & Gardens) (This is the recipe I used.  I’m going to play with it a bit more in the future, namely with the crust in the recipe above!)

Carmelita Bars @ Eddybles

Nutty Caramel Squares on Foodaphilia

Wine Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 C sherry (any white-ish dessert wine is also good)
4 eggs
3/4 C oil (canola is good)
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.5oz.)
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (or 325F for a dark non-stick pan).
Add all ingredients to a bowl, and beat 3 minutes on medium speed. Put in a greased & floured bundt cake pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes. Test with a skewer – when it comes out cleanish, it’s done. This cake is very moist!

Cool 5 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. When cool, sift powdered sugar over top.

Other ideas:
- Try using other flavors of pudding like cheese cake or french vanilla
- Instead of all oil, try 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce + 1/4 cup oil.  I haven’t noticed much difference in flavor or texture.
- Use a glaze: whisk powdered sugar an a teaspoon or two of lemon or orange juice, to the consistency of buttermilk. Drizzle on cooled cake. (I do this in a measuring cup with a spout so it’s easy to pour.)
- If you’re a citrus nut, try adding lemon or orange zest to the batter.  In this case, just use the sifted powdered sugar on the top.

Last night I was a little stressed, and decided to do a little stress baking.  I found this recipe on the back of the flour bag.  I adapted it a bit, and offer it here for you to enjoy. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce (or pear if you can find it)
1 t vanilla
1 egg
2 C quick-cooking oats
1 C all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 whole wheat pastry flour*
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
12 oz. chocolate chunks (or chips)

1. Heat oven to 350F. Beat brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended, and pale in color. Add oats, flours, baking soda & salt. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chunks.

2. Drop dough in rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (or parchment/silpat lined), 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 9-11 minutes (I baked them 10 1/2 minutes) until golden brown – more if you like a crispier cookie. Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Yield: About 3 1/2 dozen cookies

* or you can use all-purpose for all the flour

(recipe adapted from Gold Medal Flour recipe)

I always wanted to make fresh bread.  The problem is, I was the world’s worst baker.  I tried making bread.  It turned out dry and ordinary.  So, I quit doing it.  Then, I started seeing some friends on Facebook turning out these gorgeous loaves of bread that I was paying $5 or so per loaf.  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind.  They were yummy, and I would be most happy to go 100% carbs all the time.   But still, there is nothing like fresh (good) bread from the oven.

So, I looked into the book these friends mentioned.  I was intrigued.  5 minutes a day and I have bread.  I know, it sounds like a get-rich-quick scheme.  I had slaved over bread recipes with mediocre results.  So, after looking at these insanely delicious looking loaves on Facebook,  I was going to give it another shot.  Oh, yeah, am I glad I did.

I mixed up my first batch of dough, using my handy mixer and dough hook.  I put the dough in oversized food container I picked up at the Big Box Store.  And I waited for two hours.  And it rose.  I was as giddy as a school girl.  The dough went into the oven to rest overnight.  Oh, that anticipation.

Tonight after dinner I decided to give it a whirl, just case I had the same experience as before.  Nothing’s worse than a flop at dinnertime!  So, I shaped the bread and popped it in the oven.

The house filled with the heady aroma of yeast as the bread baked.  I watched the crust turn a golden brown, and I think I squealed like a school girl.  I couldn’t wait too long to try it… and there was Nutella involved.  Oh sweet success…

Bring it on bread.  One down, two more to go for this batch.  Ah, sweet bread.  Welcome home.

—–

Just in case you’re interested in trying this out yourself, here’s a link to the book I’m referring to >>>

I keep it traditional, but play with it just a bit.

Because I love this holiday menu so much, I rarely stray from it.  So, no southwest turkey, tofurkey or turducken for this gal.  I like to keep the flavors simple, complimentary and local whenever possible.  However, I do like to play with things a little bit.  This year I’ll be putting my pumpkin pies in the shrinking machine.  Our pie will be in the size of muffin cups.  How fun!

My mini pumpkin pie game plan:

This is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe.  Because most of us are lactose-intolerant, I can use soy milk in place of the regular ol’ milk (and no one knows the difference, so shhhhh….).

I’ll use my standard pie crust recipe.  Why mess with a good thing?

The cooking method. I learned that one should preheat the oven to be nice an hot.  So, I’ll preheat at 425F and then turning it down to 375F when the pies go in.  Also, I’ll try baking them for about 30 minutes.

How will it turn out?  We’ll see when I try it out a couple days early. 

It was quite a sight…

Fall is in the air… and the lovely children of our neighborhood were out raking up the leaves.  I was also proud to learn that my little one was the instigator!  He was the “boss”, and was out directing his friends to work together and rake up all the leaves in our yard.  Then, they proceeded to move to the next house.  I watched him for a while, with pride in my heart at his enterprising and helpful spirit. 

A reward & a recipe…

After a while, my son came inside and was preparing to make nametags for all of his “employees”.  Then, I got an idea… think of it as positive reinforcement.  They were doing a wonderful job, and I had a recipe I was dying to try out.    So, I fired up the waffle iron and busted out the recipe.  Let’s just say the kids liked it… as evidenced by the empty plate below.  Well done kiddos! 

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Notes:   These whip up in a hurry, using a minimal amount of dishes.  The one thing I added the second time I made them (about 30 minutes ago) was a couple dashes of cinnamon.  I would highly recommend you do the same.  Delish!

Here’s my mish-mashed personal recipe (it took about three or four recipes and a fair amount of experimenting).  Enjoy!

Classic Apple Pie

Pastry:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cup unbleached unsifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon  unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup  vegetable shortening, chilled
6 tablespoons  very cold water
2 teaspoons  apple-cider vinegar

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup  granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon  fresh-grated nutmeg
2-3 tablespoon  tapioca flour or cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon  salt
3 pounds  apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4-inch wedges (about 5 or 6 apples)
1 tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon  unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

cinnamon sugar: 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

Prepare Filling:
In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, tapioca flour, and salt. Add apple slices and toss to combine. Drizzle lemon juice over apple filling, toss again to combine.
Pour apples into colander placed over a large bowl.  Leave them to drain while you prepare the rest.

Make pie crust:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with chopping blade, process flour & salt about 5 seconds. Add butter & pulse 4 times. Divide shortening into 4 chunks and add to bowl. Pulse 4 times & scrape bowl. Combine vinegar & cold water.  With machine running, slowly add water/vinegar mixture in steady steam through the feed tube and pulse just until dough almost gathers together. (It will be a lumpy mess – this is a good thing!) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Press together gently & then divide into two pieces – one slightly larger than the other. Shape each piece into a small disk, wrap in plastic.  Refrigerate 60-90 minutes.

Put the pie together:
When ready to bake, place one oven rack in lowest position and another in the center of the oven.   Place a heavy baking sheet on the lower rack and heat oven to 450 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger crust disk into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, being careful not to stretch.  Leave the excess dough hanging over edge.  Roll out remaining disk into about a 12-inch circle.

Fill ‘er up!
Remember your draining apples?  Spoon them gently into your pastry lined pan, mounding the apples in the center.  Dot the filling evenly with the butter bits. Lightly brush overhanging edge of pastry with water. Place remaining disk over top, and press edges to firmly seal.  Trim excess pastry to about 1/2 inch of rim.  Flute (or fork) the edges. Lightly brush the top crust with water and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. With a sharp knife, cut a few vents in the top crust.

Bake the pie:
Place pie on baking sheet (on the lower rack in oven) and bake 15 minutes. Transfer the pie and baking sheet to center rack and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking until crust has browned and thickened juices are bubbling — about 1 hour more. Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool completely before serving.  (Completely – not warm, or you’ll have a runny mess!)

I like it served at room temperature, which isn’t a problem because it rarely lasts 3 days around here. 

Recipe: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/11/great-relief.html

I think I’ve found it – the holy grail of chocolate chip cookie recipes.  It’s soft, chewy and a little fluffy.  I started with the Sunset magazine recipe, and messed with it a little (because I just can’t leave well enough alone).  These are fab, easy and sooooo yummy.  I think it’s the absence of the white sugar that gives them their chewy yumminess.  But hey, that’s my opinion. 

Note:  You can certainly use all-purpose flour for all of the flour (2 1/2 cups total).  Also, play with peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips or whatever suits you!

Now for that recipe…

Holy Grail Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and chopped chocolate.

3. Drop dough in 2-tablespoon (1/8-cup) portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered (or parchment/silpat lined) 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 400° oven until cookies are lightly browned and no longer wet in the center (break one open to check), about 6 to 8 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking.

5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide a thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

(Adapted from Sunset, NOVEMBER 2003)

How fun are these?  I used my chocolate cake recipe, and make these little mini-cupcakes for my hubby for Valentine’s Day.

Oh, what are those crumbs?  Well, most of the cupcakes disappeared overnight.