Easter Blessings

May the joy of the resurrection fill your heart and home this weekend!

And now I must find that recipe for Hot Cross Buns and get busy baking ... 

What are your family's Easter traditions? 

(The lovely Easter graphic can be found at Vintage Catnip.)

Simple Christmas Cookies

I'll be baking lots of cookies over the next 3 days, 20 dozen or so to take to the local shelter for our annual Christmas Eve Cookies & Coffee, and then more for friends and family ... not to mention the ones that will get devoured by my eager baker's helpers! 

The following recipe is so simple, it is always on my cookie list.  It also is fun to dress up for the holidays with a bit of melted chocolate, dried fruit or nuts. 

SCOTCH SHORTBREAD


1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar


Preheat oven to 300. Mix ingredients with pastry blender until crumbly. Work with hands until it makes a large lump. Press flat into a 9x9 pan, about 1/2" thick. Prick with a fork thoroughly. Bake for 50-60 minutes until set and very pale gold. Cut while warm into 36 squares. Enjoy!
*I tweaked the original recipe just a tad by using Cane Juice Crystals and Organic Unbleached flour..

This simple recipe in my mind just begs to be dressed up a bit for Christmas! Perhaps with a drizzle of melted chocolate, or by adding some finely ground nuts and/or dried cranberries to the dough, maybe a bit of dried lavender, lemony herbs and a drizzle of lemon glaze... Yum!

Please share your favorite Christmas cookie recipe with me, I love to add new things to my recipe pile (and yes it is a pile rather than a file, though someday I hope to remedy that)!

A photo from last year's Christmas cookie marathon ... and no, I don't put Tabasco sauce in cookies, I have no idea why that is there, other than the fact that it seems to always be present on the dining table! 

First Day of Fall Treats

When I saw this recipe today at HomesteadBlogger, I just had to tweak it a bit and give it a try for the first day of fall. 
Super simple and very tasty ... my kind of recipe! 

PUMPKIN PIE BARS


Preheat oven to 375.

Crumb Crust:

1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups unbleached flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
dash of pumpkin pie spice (optional)
¾ cup butter, melted

Combine the above ingredients. 
Pat ½ of the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
Bake 8 minutes.



Filling:

1 15oz. can pumpkin
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

Blend well. Pour into the crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top. 
Bake 25 minutes .
Cool and then cut into bars.  Refrigerate. 
Enjoy! 

Apple Cake

September is always apple month at our house.  We eat apples and peanut butter for snacks, make caramel apples, bake apple crisp, apple pie ... someday I'm going to try those apple dumplings.  We used to read lots of lovely picture books all about apples, but my girls seem to think they've outgrown those.  Perhaps I will just read them to the cat! 

Below is my Kitchen Adventure version of an apple cake recipe that was in our local paper.  It was quite tasty and simple to make. 

Philadelphia-Style Apple Cake

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced tart apples such as Granny Smith (about 3 large)
1 1/2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar, divided  (I use Organic Cane Juice Crystals)
4 tsp. cinnamon
dash of cardamom (optional, but delicious)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tb. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar (I just use the same Organic Cane Juice Crystals)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. 
Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.

Combine apple slices with 5 Tb. sugar and 4 tsp. cinnamon.  Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat eggs with remaining sugars.  Add in vegetable oil, orange juice and vanilla. 
Beat well. 

Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until well blended.

Pour one third of the batter into the pan.
Top with half the apple slices.
Pour in half of remaining batter and top with the rest of the apple slices.
Top with remaining batter making sure the apples are covered.

Bake 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes.  Turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

This cake was actually better the second day.

* I will make a few changes the next time I bake it- less sugar for one, substitute at least part whole wheat flour, add some cloves, allspice, and nutmeg to the cinnamon ... and I think it needs a few walnuts, too.