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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies



For those of you that just can't get enough Whoopie Pies, here is another variety to try.  This recipe is from the Libby's pumpkin people so when the recipe is done it tastes exactly like their pumpkin roll that you see on the cans only it is waaaay easier to make.  I love the pumpkin roll but what a chore lining the jelly roll pan, dumping the baked cake onto a powder sugar linen towel, rolling it up warm, unrolling it and putting on the filling and then rerolling.  Whew.  I'm tired just thinking about it.  

This recipe involves plopping the scoop of batter on a greased pan, baking for 10 minutes and cooling.  It's that easy and they taste great.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1stick) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Libby's Pure Pumpkin (NOT the pumpkin pie mix - it already has the spices in it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease baking sheets.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a medium bowl.  Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add pumpkin and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.  Stir in flour mixture until combined.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 10 - 13 minutes or until springy to the touch.  cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Filling

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablepsoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small bowl on medium speed until fluffy.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Spread filling onto flat side of one cookie; top with another cookie.

Step 1:  Beat together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time.



Step 2:  Add dry ingredients. 




Step 3:  Place heaping tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes.  Cool and fill. This is a very easy recipe. Enjoy!




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Whoopie Pies




If you've never had a Whoopie Pie, they are large, cake-like cookies with a fluffy marshmallow filling.  Very good and very rich.  Beware...you will have a lifelong craving for them once you try them.





The first time I had a Whoopie Pie was at a church function about 15 years ago.  Miss Opal made dozens and brought them to a tag sale for the youth group. She was about 85 years young and didn't miss an opportunity to support any part of the church - from the nursery crew to the other seniors in the church.  I don't think many of the Whoopie Pies she brought that day got sold to benefit the tag sale because we knew the reputation of Miss Opal's cooking and the tray of Whoopie Pies was pretty much gone before the sale began.  Everyone kept sneaking by and grabbing one or two as they worked to get the sale ready.   Miss Opal moved to Minnesota to live with some family members but I was able to get the recipe from her to include in a church cookbook.  Here is her recipe.

Miss Opal's Whoopie Pies
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Nestles Quik chocolate flavored mix
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk 

Filling
3/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together shortening and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Let cookies cool for 2 - 3 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  While cookies are cooling, cream together butter, sugar, marshmallow creme and vanilla.  Spread marshmallow mixture between 2 cookies making a cookie sandwich.



Now, recently on the day my family desperately decided we needed some Whoopie Pies, I didn't have any Nestles Quik so I found this recipe for Whoopie Pies.  It was good but a little bit crumbly.  I would have liked the cake to hold up better with the heavy filling (the marshmallow makes for a dense filling.)  Nevertheless, the taste was rich and chocolatey and this recipe is a keeper, too.


Whoopie Pies #2

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1 dgg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

Filling
3/4 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 cups marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease baking sheets.  In a large bowl, cream together shortening, sugar, and egg.  In another bowl, combine cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the shortening mixture, alternating with the milk mixture; add vanilla and beat until smooth.  Drop batter by the 1/4 cup onto prepared baking sheets.  With the back of a spoon spread batter into 4-inch circles, leaving approximately 2 inches between each cake.  Bake 15 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.  Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 1:  Mix together the shortening and sugar.



Step 2:  Add the egg.



Step 3:  Add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk.  Add the vanilla.  You will have a creamy and thick batter.




Step 4:  Use a scoop to drop the batter onto a greased cookie sheet. 





Step 5:  Mix together filling.  Now, some Whoopie Pie purists will say that the filling should be made from vegetable shortening instead of butter.  I tend to agree with Miss Opal and use butter in my filling.  But, if you want to be a Whoopie Pie snob, you will need to substitute the butter in my recipes for Crisco. (Some REALLY traditional Whoopie people even use lard!!!)  The Whoopie Pies you get from bakeries will most decidedly use shortening instead of butter, but I just can't quite make myself eat a glob of shortening between two cookies.  I know, I know... grease is grease.  Butter is a fat and so is shortening, but I must admit I like the taste of butter better and I just have never really made many kinds of frostings or fillings with a shortening base. Maybe I'm a butter snob.   

So, with that said...scoop whatever filling you decide between two cooled cookies.  Enjoy!


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Snowy Morning



I want  to show some photos from our snow day.  Witty commentary may prove difficult since I took pictures of a tree...




...more trees...





...and a bush.




I did hear on The Weather Channel that because of this snow storm, a portion of all 50 states except Hawaii had snow at the same time. 

Here is a photo of the snow as it came down.  It was in big fluffy flakes.


Thy sky was gray during the storm.  It was only about 4:00 but seemed like twilight.  The blue sky photos are from the next morning.




Here is Davis and two of his friends making a snow something.  It never quite got finished.



I have a question for you.  When you make a snow angel do you go in on your back or front?  I always lie down in in the snow face up, but this intrepid snow angel goes down face first.




His technique was different but his results were quite effective.



 Back to the sunshine!





It was a heavy snow that weighed down branches.











Then the winds and sun came and the snow was soon a memory!

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Cinnamon Rolls



We had a snow day in Atlanta so I had a little extra time this morning to make these cinnamon rolls.  I used rapid rise yeast so they really didn't take long at all to make and there is nothing quite like homemade bread to get your day off to a wonderful start.

This recipe is from The Cat Who..Cookbook, a book near and dear to my heart! 
The recipe is on page 311 to be exact!  But here it is in case you don't have the cookbook -  although I can't imagine anyone not having this fine cooking journal in their cookbook collection!  (Copyright police, don't panic. I am the co-author of the book and don't mind sharing the recipe!  And yes, the cookbook is still available for sale at closeout prices because, sadly, it is nearing the end of its production.)

Cinnamon Rolls

2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoon sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
3 cups + 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 package dry yeast, sdissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Cream shortening and 3 tablespoons sugar together.  Add sour cream, baking soda, eggs, and 3 cups of flour.  Stir in the softened yeast.  Knead in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.  Dough will be very soft.  Place in  a greased bowl and then turn the dough over to grease the top.  Cover with cloth and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour (or less with rapid rise yeast.)  Place dough on floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch thickness and 12-inch by 15-inch in size.  Spread with butter and sprinkle with sugars and cinnamon.  Roll dough jelly-roll fashion lengthwise.  Cut into slices about 1-inch to 1 1/2 inches thick.  Place in a greased 9-inch by 13-inch pan.  Cover.  Let rise until doubled in size, approximately 45 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool slightly.  Drizzle frosting over warm rolls. 

Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make frosting, mix powdered sugar with milk to make a drizzling consistency.  Add vanilla extract.


Here is another photo to encourage you to give these a try.  I know, I know...baking bread seems challenging, but it is really easier than you think and the smell of yeast in the house is wonderful.  They should make yeast scented candles!  Except you'd probably go around hungry and frustrated all the time looking for the real thing only to find the burning flame of the imposter.



Step 1:  Dissolve the yeast in warm water.  Inhale...



Step 2:  Mix the shortening and sugar.





Step 3:  Add the sour cream and eggs.




Step 4:  Add the baking soda and flour to make a soft dough.   I added about a 1/4 cup more of flour than my original recipe.  The dough needs to be soft but not runny.  This is a very tender bread because of the sour cream but you need enough flour so that it doesn't have an airy or cakelike consistency. 

 

Step 5:  Place the dough in a greased bowl.  You can turn it in the bowl to grease the top or simply spray it with shortening such as Pam.  You just don't want the dough to crack as it rises or stick to the towel you have placed over the top.



Step 6:  After the dough has risen, place it on a floured surface.  You will have to place flour on top, too in order to roll it.  Make a 12 X 15 rectangle.  Keep a pastry brush nearby to brush off any excess flour.



Step 7:  Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugars and cinnamon.  If you know me, you know that I don't like cinnamon so I will give you the only-on-the-blog insiders secret.  I left out the cinnamon. Now, since these are called "Cinnamon Rolls," I guess I just have "Rolls."  Should I call them "Sugar Buns?"  Nooo, that sounds like a creepy term of endearment from some couch potato spouse.   "Hey Sugar Buns, can you bring me another beer and some of them pretzel rods?  shudder....  Regardless of the name, they were very good without the cinnamon.  The taste was a bit more delicate than the cinnamon laced ones (or in less poetic terms - plain)  but we enjoyed them very much. 




Step 8:  Roll the bread dough starting with the long side.  (You will have a 15-inch roll when done or a gigantically fat 12-inch roll if you start from the wrong side.)  Slice the rolls about an inch thick.  You will have 12-15 rolls depending upon the thickness.    I probably shouldn't show the next photo because it looks like carnage from a bun war, but when you see the photo after this one, you can tell that the sloppy slicing doesn't matter very much to the finished product.

Let these rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes - or less if you are using rapid rise yeast.



Step 9:  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 mintues.  Look how pretty! 



Step 10:  Glaze and enjoy with your favorite coffee or hot chocolate!


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Rocky Road Cupcakes

Are you ready for the Super Bowl tonight?  I'm almost ready.   I'll be making a pot of chili pretty soon, but first, I thought you might like to start with dessert.  These are over-the-top-loaded-with-calories-and-deliciousness Rocky Road Cupcakes. 

Are you a football fan or a Super Bowl commercial fan?  I would have to say that I am a commercial fan.  I love funny commercials and I've seen a number of previews for this year's commercials and I can't wait.  I have to admit that I will probably be doing the chick flick on another channel and then flipping over for commercials.   I will give you my assurance that these cupcakes go equally as well with girlie-girls or the gridiron!




Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
(Better Homes and Gardens)

1 3/4   cups all-purpose flour
1   teaspoon baking soda
1/2   teaspoon salt
1/2   cup shortening
1 1/2  cups sugar
1/2    teaspoon vanilla
2   eggs
3   squares (3 ounces) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2   dairy sour cream
1      cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake papers in tins.  Melt chocolate and allow to cool slightly.  In a small bowl, mix flour baking soda, and salt; set aside.  Mix together shortening and sugar; add vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each.  Add cooled chocolate and sour cream.  Add dry ingredients and water alternately using the slow speed of the mixer.  Do not overbeat.  Place batter in cupcake tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until cupcakes test done.

Rocky Road Frosting
(Julie)

1  stick butter, softened
4  cups powdered sugar
1/3  cup cocoa
2  tablespoons chocolate syrup
4-6  tablespoons milk or cream
1  teaspoon vanilla
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1  cup chopped pecans
8 large marshmallows cut into small pieces

Mix together butter, powdered sugar, cocoa,  chocolate syrup  and milk or cream.  Add more milk if necessary to make a thick spreading consistency.  Swirl in marshmallow fluff, pecans, and marshmallows.  Do not over mix.  Spread on cupcakes.


Step 1:  Mix together the shortening and sugar. 



Step 2:  Add eggs, one at a time.



Step 3:  Add the chocolate and sour cream.



Step 4:  Add the flour alternating with the cold water.  Place batter in cupcake papers. Bake 13 - 15 minutes or until done.





Step 5:  Mix together butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, syrup and milk or cream.  Add the vanilla.  




Step 6:  Swirl in the marshmallow fluff, nuts, and marshmallow bits.






Glob on LOTS of frosting and enjoy!  



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Pepper Dilemma

Do you remember my Pickle Dilemma?  Well, it happened again.  This time with a roasted red pepper.  I was happily eating my Lean Cuisine for lunch yesterday and what did I find?  This is straight out of the camera with no PhotoShopping!



Why are there always faces on my food??
I know that some vegetarians object to eating meat because they won't eat food that has a "face" but if my vegetables have faces, too, what's left to eat?   Candy?!!!   Ice cream?!!  Cookies?!!  I could get into a "no face" diet!

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Swheat Market and Deli



Cartersville, Georgia, about an hour north of Atlanta, is the home of the Swheat Deli .  Open for lunch and dinner with soups and sandwiches made from organic foods, it is a great place to stop.   We did and it was really good.




They boast about having 100 recipes for soups and serve 3 soups daily. 



We had the mushroom barley.  Fantastic!




My sandwich was the day's special - turkey, bacon, and tomato with ranch spread and Havarti cheese served on grilled sourdough bread.  It was a wonderful combination.



Check out the inside!



Olivia had the turkey and Swiss. It was good, too.



The restaurant is old with scarred wooden floors. Lots of feets over the years.



On your way out, you can buy candles, cd's, coffee, and stone ground grits. 




Great lunch on a beautiful winter day!  Hope to get back there soon!

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Fresh Basil Roasted Chicken

I watch a lot of TV cooking shows and they are always "lifting the hood" of the chicken and stuffing in some herbs so I thought I would give it a try.  First, I bought some fresh basil at the grocery store.



I also got a whole chicken, brought it home, took out the innards, rinsed it, and put it in a roasting pan on a rack.  Whew, that was a lot of action for one sentence. 

Then I lifted the skin off of the breast meat and placed some sprigs of the basil in it.  As much as I cook, I still don't like messing with raw meat but I was just glad that I didn't have to live like my great grandmother did when she had to go out to the chicken coop, select the chicken for dinner, kill it, pluck it, clean it, and then lift up the skin to stick in some herbs that she had also had grown in her garden. A true pioneer woman.


 

I put some melted butter on the outside along with some dried basil, salt, and pepper.  If you don't like looking at raw meat, you can skip this photo and go straight to the delicious roasted chicken in the last photo.




Here it is! Straight from the oven.  It was very elegant and had lots of flavor. This is about as pioneery as I get.  I'm sure that's not a word but who cares.  It's time to eat some chicken.

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Kolachi



More New Year's Resolution treats!  This cookie is only 42 calories!  Hope your diet is doing well and you can include a little cookie in your calorie count.

This yummy cookie is a family favorite.  My mom got the recipe from her friend Alice over 50 years ago in Ohio.  I don't think Kolachis are particularly southern but they are particularly good.  I remember eating this most often during the Christmas holidays because my mom would use strawberry jam as the filling for the cookies to go aong with other festive red foods.  This week, I made them with strawberry jam and also with peach jam.  I made these jams last summer and they are really tasty.  We used very ripe fruit for the jams and the flavor is so much better than jelly from the store.  I'll save making jams on the blog for another day.  For now, you really need to try these easy-to-make cookies because apart from the jam, there are only 3 ingredients!

Kolachi

2 sticks butter
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
jam or jelly

Mix together the butter and cottage cheese, add the flour.  Chill for an hour before rolling on a floured surface.  Cut the dough into 2-inch squares.  Fill each square with 1/2 teaspoon jam or jelly.  Pull sides over top of jelly and pinch to close.  Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 56 cookies.

Step 1:  Mix the butter and cottage cheese.




Step 2:  Add the flour.  The dough is crumbly.



Use a scraper to bring the dough together into a ball. Chill for about an hour.




Step 3:  Use a floured surface to roll out the dough.




Trim the edges to make a rectangle.  Use a sharp knife to cut into 2 X 2 inch squares.




Step 4:  Fill each square with jam or jelly.









Enjoy!  They are so good warm from the oven. I freeze them, too, and pull one out for a lunch box treat or quick homemade dessert cookie. 

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CCFC Syndrome, Girl's Movie Night, and Chocolate Souffle Cake

I've diagnosed myself with CCFC Syndrome.   It's a somewhat common problem that flares up from time to time.  I hope you never get this ailment.  Do you give up trying to figure out the acronym for CCFC Syndrome?  First let me show you some of its symptoms.  The first photo shows my most recent result of CCFC.



This may look like harmless party mix but it's not.  It, too, has suffered because of my problem. 



Here is another example of some cookies that have fallen as helpless prey.





CCFC is wreaking havoc.  Okay, I will keep you in suspense no longer.  I have contracted "Can't Cook for Company" Syndrome.  Never heard of it???  Well, just come over to my house and you will see it in action.  Lately, EVERY time I try to cook for people other than my family, NOTHING works out right.  For example, I have made party mix for years, and I decided to make some for our girl's movie night last night and it was almost inedible.  I got in a hurry and didn't measure things and just started dumping.  Most of the time that works, but tonight it didn't.  It was waaaaay too salty and too buttery/greasy and basically burned your throat when you ate it.  Again, how many times have I made party mix in my life??? A zillion.  How many times has it not worked out??? Once. And look at the cookies.  They are another casualty.  Most of them turned out thin and burned and not so good.  Didn't serve them.  I can give many other fine example of the results of this problem. 

What is it about cooking for company that sends the most experienced cook into a spiral of spicy despair?  Do you ever have this problem?  It's like when you have guests in your car  and you end up hitting every pot hole in the road and swerving crazily around darting squirrels.  Stuff like that never happens when you are alone.  It only happens when you have your boss in the car or your best friend and her new baby with you.  When she gets out and screams "Land" and kisses the ground, you know you have CDFC - Can't Drive for Company, too. 


So here are the very relaxed participants in our Chick Flick night. (To make matters worse, we watched Julie and Julia last night! They both could cook for company!)  I guess probably my problem is that I am in a hurry to join the gang and I just start rushing.  Or maybe, I want everything to be perfect and keep messing with things just a little too long.  Or maybe it is a real disease!!!!!






The scary diversion of my daughter and her friend in their best Halloween X imitation gave everyone a chance to use the moment to stash the party mix  behind the cushions and under the couch. 






To add further insult to injury, here is a cake I threw together for dinner.  No one was here except my family.  No one will ever see or eat this cake except my family and yet it was perfect.  Here is the recipe in case you don't have company and want to try it.






Chocolate Souffle Cake


1 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
Sweetened whipped cream

Chocolate Sauce
1/3 cup-semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon butter

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease the bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan with shortening.  In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips and the butter. Cool five minutes.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.  Stir in egg  yolks until well blended.  In a large bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Beat in the sugar a few tablespoons at a time until glossy.  With a scraper, gently fold about 1/3 of the egg white mixture at a time into the chocolate mixture.  Spread the batter in the pan and top with the remaining 2/3 cup chocolate chips.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean and the top of the cake will appear dry and cracked.   Cool 10 minutes and then remove the sides of the pan.  Cool completely on  a wire rack.  Serve with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  To make the sauce, melt chocolate chips, sugar, and milk together over medium heat.  Remove from heat and stir in butter.

Step 1:  Melt the chocolate chips and butter.




Step 2:
  Add the flour and egg yolks. I have a drawer full of gadgets and this one ranks right up there with my favorites.  It is an egg separator.  See the holes on the bottom of the white cup?  The egg whites just slide right through leaving the yolk.  So much easier than juggling the yolk from egg shell half to egg shell half.



Step 3: 
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  These are probably  past the soft peak stage but I was having fun making batman heads in the foam.






Step 4:
  Add the sugar.  The egg whites will begin to look glossy.   Now it looks like an ear.




Step 5: 
Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.





Step 6: 
Top with chocolate chips.




Step 7: 
Serve with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. 







So,  if you want something decent to eat at my house, you are going to have to just show up at the door one evening when I'm not expecting you because otherwise I make no guarantees for my food when I am in the grips of CCFC. 

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