Bread Machine Challah

Happy Wednesday! :) This is GOOD stuff, people - I'm telling you already it's a YES, PLEASE!!! You want to go make this now. Mom was sad Dad had gone gluten-free, because it would have made incredible French toast. :)

I didn't do anything differently to this. Be sure your yeast isn't too old, and you'll get a great rise out of it! I did butter the top when it came out of the oven, but that's all I did differently from the recipe from Dine & Dish.

OK, I'm outta here - I have SO much to do! :D The show may be over at the beginning of October, but the procrastinating from the last eight weeks is starting to catch up with me, and there's LOTS to do!! Christmas will be here soon! Ho, ho, ho! :D

Lemon Icebox Cake

It's FRIDAY! Have you had a great week? I sure hope so! Congratulations to everyone who has a jar of Biscoff Spread coming your way! :)

I promised today would be a share and review of the cake I made for our Valentine's Day celebration; here it is! It's a Lemon Icebox Cake from Cookie Baker Lynn.

It was tasty. It was NOT worth the trouble it took to make!!!!! How do I score this? I'm giving it a personal NO, THANK YOU - but that's because it is a FUSSY frosting/lemon mousse. SERIOUSLY.

I made the angel food cake in two 8" square pans; I had a tube pan, but didn't use it once in the three years I had it, so I got rid of it. The cake was very good; angel food cakes are a bit fussy, but one usually goes into scratch-baking it knowing that fact.

The lemon mousse/frosting? THAT was kind of crazy. First, you make very sour lemon curd. Then you whip cream, add gelatin, and add it to the curd to make lemon cream. And FINALLY you add meringue to the whole thing, split the cake into 4 layers, and stack.

If you decide to make this, it's GOOD. It's a big cake, light and fluffy and lemony and a treat. But go into the process knowing it will take you a good two days to make sure everything is ready to go. And it's NOT cheap; between the cake and the mousse, it took about 16 eggs. For ONE ingredient in ONE recipe.

I'm glad I tried it. I'm glad I made it for my dad - he despises chocolate, so we can't serve any when we do a special event together. But I'm not saving the recipe.

OK, I'm outta here!! :) Let me know what you think of this one. I'd love to hear if you're planning on making it! Take pictures, and tell me your story! :)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! It's another busy one for us - we're out of here SOON! BE BLESSED!

Almost time for the giveaway! :D

Not too long now until the Biscoff Giveaway ends! Have YOU entered? Go do it - on that post! Just click the link! Hurry! :D

I decided to share what our Valentine's Day table looked like today. My mom pulled it together - isn't it beautiful? We ate out on the sun porch; Kenn had to go shoot a basketball game, so we ate early. The flowers are ones Mom uses for Fourth of July centerpieces; the chargers were some we used for Christmas, as were the battery-operated candles.

It's a small table, but it was quite lovely!!! What do you think??

Friday, I'll share the cake I made for our dessert - that's the part I was in charge of. :) And if you've left a message on the Biscoff Giveaway, PLEASE either email me or leave another message with your address! :D

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Gingerbread

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week!

Here's another one of those recipes you really want to have on-hand; it's a Martha Stewart recipe for gingerbread.

These are the gingerbread men I made for the open house; I had a bit of a time with the icing being too runny, but it was mostly being glue for the mini M&Ms. :D

Don't omit the pepper in the recipe. I thought about it, but left this one as-is (except for the currants for the eyes!); it's a really GOOD gingerbread, not too crunchy but not super-soft, either. It rolls beautifully.

I really need to get a gingerbread GIRL cookie cutter....

This is one of two cookie recipes I'm going to use with my nieces and nephews - they want to decorate cookies, so that will be one of our craft projects. :)

Of course you don't have to go all out with these; just making a basic shape with no icing would be fine. I won't say it's BORING, but.... :D

OK, I'm outta here! It's another BUSY weekend! I hope YOU get a chance to rest, and try something new! :) Be BLESSED!

English Toffee

Good Wednesday morning! I hope you're enjoying your week! Tomorrow ENDS January - can you believe it? Wasn't last week Christmas? :D

Today's recipe is one that I usually only make at Christmas, but I highly recommend it - it's inexpensive to make, relatively, and if your love likes toffee, this one is sure to please. And gain you points - I always split this into two batches. You can hide one in the freezer, if you want.... :D Kenn LOVES this toffee!

The base recipe is from Christmas-cookies.com. Here's how I change it!

The main toffee, I do NOTHING to - I will tell you to stir forever and watch that thermometer! It goes from good to burnt in no time at all!!!!

I use a Silpat (actually, a knock-off) to pour my candy onto; I also, as I mentioned, split the batch into two ROUNDS. It's easy, and I think it's easier to handle that way.

After it cools for about 5 minutes, I pour about 1/2 cup of semisweet (or MILK!) chocolate chips on top of each round, and let them sit for about 3 minutes until they're easy to spread. I spread them around, and just let the candy sit for a few hours until it's completely cooled. Then, if I'm going to be serving it soon, I break one of the rounds apart.

If I'm not, then they stack - with waxed paper in between! - in a gallon plastic bag in the fridge until I want them. :) If you want to freeze them and don't want the chocolate to whiten (like mine in the picture!), you can do the chocolate as in the recipe whenever you want, or melt the chips in the microwave.

Easy! Inexpensive! Loved by millions! :D What else could you ask for?!? :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

You asked for it! Lemon Fudge

Good afternoon! Did you have a good New Year's celebration? We went and spend a couple of hours with friends, then came home. Kenn was in bed and I was on the computer when the new year came. Big, fat, hairy deal, as my homey, Garfield the Cat, would say. :D

ANYWAY. I have had SO many requests for this fudge that I decided I'd better post it. There is no link; I found it in one of TASTE OF HOME®'s many holiday books, CHRISTMAS COOKIES & CANDIES. (There are LOADS of these books, in all shapes and sizes!) As with any cookbook, some are wonderful recipes, and some not-so-much. :D This one, however, is a definite winner. I've been making it for several years now. The first year, I wasn't sure how "thick" it had to get, so it was a bit runny. Now that I know it means THICK, it comes out perfectly. :D

Here's the recipe, ALL credit to TASTE OF HOME.

Lemon Fudge
1-1/2 teaspoon + 1/2 cup butter, divided
1 package cook & serve lemon pudding mix (4-serving package)
1/2 cup milk
3-3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Line a 9" pan with foil. Grease the foil with the 1-1/2 teaspoons of butter; set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the pudding mix, milk, and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat; beat in confectioner's sugar and extract. Pour/spread into prepared pan; refrigerate until set.

Makes 1-1/2 pounds

That's how I wrote down the recipe, and how I do it. I don't THINK I changed anything when I wrote it into my book.... :D

Seriously. Make this fudge. It's a beautiful taste on a candy tray, not to mention a great color. Make it for Easter, even! You're going to be asked for the recipe, I can almost guarantee. :D I find that men, especially, love this fudge - but this year, everyone is raving about it. It's funny how it changes from year to year, what people eat the most of! :D

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be blessed, my friend!

Candy Cane Kiss Brownies

Good Friday Morning! I don't know where you are; here in middle Tennessee, it's a brisk 31 degrees with a wind chill that's making it feel like 21! Today's not supposed to get very warm, which is OK with me. :D Now, if I could just get a LITTLE snow. (I know some places have been hammered with a blizzard; I used to enjoy them, if we didn't lose electricity!) Please stay safe and warm as you finish your Christmas preparations!

Now, then. On to today's recipe review, for these Candy Cane Kiss Brownies from Bake it in a Cake.

I made these while I was visiting in Texas. The first time, my sister was hosting a Stampin' Up! party for me, and we were going to serve these - but no papers to line the mini muffin cups. Rule number 1: USE PAPERS. The Kiss has some type of ingredient that caused it or the area immediately around it - not sure which! - to really harden. The bottoms STUCK to the tin. So, I created a trifle with one brownie crumbled up, then a layer of cool whip, another brownie, more cool whip, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and a Kiss on top. Everyone loved them! (My sister loves mint and chocolate. :D )

Well, I couldn't let this go; I had to try and get a true reviewable brownie. :D So I went to Walmart and picked up more Kisses and mini muffin papers. Monday, I got to work!

My only revision was a big one: I used a brownie mix to simplify everything. I was in an unfamiliar kitchen with limited time - I didn't have a lot of time to explore their kitchen while Naomi and I were together! Brownie mix was the way to go. And I did use the peppermint extract in the frosting.

So. With that said, I'm going to say this is a YES, PLEASE! recipe, although I'm not sure I'd put the Kiss inside the brownie again. It got too hard. I will probably make the recipe exactly as written once before I make that final call. The frosting is straight buttercream; I loved it! BIG punch of peppermint! If you're looking for chocolate with a hint of peppermint, do NOT use the peppermint extract in your frosting! It definitely takes it to being peppermint with a hint of chocolate - but it was something I definitely enjoyed. I crushed some mints, too, and used the chunks/sugar to decorate the tops of the frosted brownies.

Wow. I'm kinda wordy today! :D I also want to share my beautiful niece with you; I didn't do it often enough. She loves to kick, so she gets to lie on the changing table and do so whenever the adult-in-charge decides. :D She doesn't smile for the camera; she knows she's going to get a flash in her face. :D But I caught this one!!

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be safe out there, if you still have shopping to do. And please, enjoy each moment. Be blessed!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles

Welcome to Monday! Are you ready for this week? It's the last of November. Wow. Where DID this year go?!?!

Today's review is the last recipe from the Hostess Appreciation Luncheon - and it's dessert, of course. :D It's Simple Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles from My Baking Addiction.

OK, these are a YES, PLEASE! but I WILL tweak them a bit. :D I didn't do a thing differently from the recipe, I swear! :D

I loved the Biscoff cookies for this; they weren't overpowering or too sweet, and kept their crunch - which was a great texture contrast to the creaminess of the rest of it.

I will add more cream cheese next time; I love the flavor of cream cheese, and as one hostess said, "If you hadn't told me there was cream cheese in here, I never would have guessed!" If you like the cheese part of the cheesecake flavor to be less, then do this straight-up. :D

I served these in little juice glasses. It was really the perfect size to wrap up a big meal; cool, creamy, and not too big a portion made it a pretty perfect little treat. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Sooooo busy around here! I really hope you're planning on coming to the open house if you're local.... :D

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Moose Munch

Good Monday Morning! did you have a good weekend? Are you happy about it being a short work week? :D There's lots to do here, if you need something to keep you busy.... :D

Anyway. :D Saturday was my Hostess Appreciation Luncheon for my Stampin' Up! hostesses, so this is another crossover post. :D For a really fun way to package this Moose Munch, please go to Lori's Stamping Spot to see today's post.

 I forgot to take a photo of just the caramel corn; I can't tell you how much I say YES, PLEASE! to this whole recipe. It was pretty, easy, impressive, and yummy. :D

Oh, yeah, You'd probably like to know where to find the recipe! It's from Pondered, Primed, Perfected, for Moose Munch.

 For the bags I show on my Stampin' Up! blog, I got five bags full from one batch of Moose Munch. Oh, was it good. :D I gave Kenn my bag, just so you know I didn't eat myself into a sugar coma. But anyway, it would make a FANTASTIC gift for office mates or neighbors.

OK, gotta jet - LOTS to do. There will be more recipes from my luncheon reviewed all week, so stay tuned! :D Have a BLESSED day!!

Christmas Cake

Good Friday Morning!
Whew, what a week! Starting today, I'm going to start showing you recipes I make for our open house, and tell you why I like them. Just a bit, because my days are SO FULL RIGHT NOW! Augh! :D

Anyway. I can't find WHERE I got this recipe from; I printed it off YEARS ago, and just tried it this week. So I'll put the recipe here, along with as much info as I can on where it came from. :D

25 Days of Desserts - Day 19

O merry thoughts
Christmas Cake

1 small package red Jello (cherry, strawberry, etc.)
1 small package green Jello (lime)
1 white cake mix and ingredients to make cake
1 container Cool Whip

maake white cake mix per box instructions, using two 9-inch round cake pans. After baking, let cakes cool for 10 minutes. Pop cakes out of pans; clean out cake pans and return cakes back to pans. Using a fork, poke holes into cakes at various points to receive jello. Make up the red jello with hot water only and pour evenly as possible over one of the cakes. Then make up the green jello with just hot water and pour over the other round cake. Put both cakes into the fridge for several hours. Place the bottom of the cake pans into hot water to help in removing the cakes from their pans. Spread the top of one cake with Cool Whip. place the other cake on top of the first cake and spread the remaining Cool Whip on top and sides. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now, then. I used sugar-free Jello. And I hate wasting egg yolks, so I made my white cake with two whole eggs instead of three whites. :D

I really wouldn't recommend assembling this cake until just before serving; it slides around on that Cool Whip. Seriously; it will look like a cake wreck if you're not careful! :D

It's tasty, and fun, and refreshing! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED!!!!