Maple Coconut Blondies

This simple yet delicious recipe is adapted slightly from Baking Bites and yields 16 very moist, not-too-sweet-or-overpowering, wonderful bars.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and the egg and whisk until smooth. Add in flour and salt and stir just until no streaks of flour remain. Add in coconut and stir to distribute evenly. Pour into prepared baking dish.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until blondies are set and lightly browned.Cool in pan on a wire rack.
[High altitude: Add an extra 1-2 Tbsp flour and bake at 325, watching closely after 30min or so til top is lightly browned and knife comes out almost clean.]

Sweet and Spicy Almonds

A favorite of Scott's (who got the recipe from a co-worker, who originally got it from a cooking magazine but not sure where??), these sweet and salty almonds also pack some heat. Seriously addictive!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unblanched, raw almonds

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp water

1 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes

3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, and pepper

4. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook 1 Tbsp honey and 1 Tbsp water with 1 tsp olive oil, stirring until combined, about 1 minute.

5. Add almonds; toss to coat

6. Transfer nuts to sugar mixture (do not scrape extra glaze into bowl); toss to coat

7. Cool in a single layer.

Nuts will keep for up to 2 weeks -- let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

Permutations on Brickle

Not to mess with perfection, but I got a wild hair to start experimenting with different variations on brickle.

The pics here are of 4 different permutations:

1. Gingersnap base (coarsely broken gingersnaps) with semisweet chocolate and sea salt on top

2. Gingersnap base with butterscotch morsels (need longer in oven to melt!) and sea salt on top

3. Newman's Own Ginger-O's cream-filled ginger cookies, split open and broken as base, with melted chocolate and sea salt on top
4. Newman's Own Ginger-O's as base with melted butterscotch morsels and sea salt on top.

Prepare as in original brickle recipe, or try out new combos.

I thought I would have a favorite...and yet all are delicious :-)

Black Bottoms

While quite good, and an old family favorite, I'll be honest and admit these can be sort of a pain (the pouring of stuff is the most annoying part, and they make a good number, so it's best to have a few mini muffin pans on hand). But, they are something my mom has always made for many special occasions and so something about the holidays usually prompts me to do the same.

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
6 oz chocolate chips
-------------------------
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Combine first 4 ingredients, stirring in the chips last, and set aside.
3. Combine remaining ingredients and beat well.
4. Fill miniature cupcake pans (lined with paper cups) 1/3 full with chocolate mixture
5. Drop 1 tsp of cheese-chip mix into middle.
6. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, removing before cream cheese mix browns.

(Adjust using normal conventions for high-altitude...paying special attention NOT to overcook).

Espresso Irish Creme Kiss Cookies

When I found Irish Creme flavored Hershey's Kisses in the holiday candy section, I knew they must be incorporated into the holiday baking line-up. I took the easy way out and grabbed some refrigerated sugar cookie dough, added 1/2 packet of Starbuck's Via using a hand mixer, rolled into balls, baked, and dunked the Hershey's Kiss in the center. After cooling, I drizzled with some chocolate.
They are pretty good, but as Scott noted, these types of cookies suffer from the goodness of the Hershey Kiss never getting distributed throughout the cookie. Also, thanks to high-altitude baking, these cookies got really flat (as most refrigerated sugar cookie dough does anyway), and so the spread was even more accentuated.

Ingredients:
Irish Creme flavored Hershey's Kisses
1/2 packet of Starbuck's Via
1 roll refrigerated cookie dough

Prepare as instructed above.

HG Seafood Gumbo

This recipe was adapted from a Hungry Girl recipe, and jazzed up with some sausage and rice.

Ingredients:

1 package Jennie-O turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch wide medallions

One 14.5-oz. can crushed or chopped tomatoes (not drained)

8 oz. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp with tails removed (I used 12oz)

8 oz. white crab meat (about two 6-oz. cans drained)

1 cup Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, or more to taste

1 tsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, or more to taste

black pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions: Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Add in kielbasa, and stirring occasionally, cook for about 3 minutes, until veggies are tender. Add tomatoes, V8 juice, and cornstarch. Stir well, making sure cornstarch dissolves completely. Cook until mixture begins to bubble. Add Cajun seasoning, and Frank's RedHot. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add shrimp, and continue to simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add crab meat and 3/4 cup water. Raise heat to medium, and return to a boil. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let thicken for 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. If you like, add a little more Cajun seasoning and Frank's RedHot.

Either top a bed of rice with gumbo, or add rice to gumbo itself.

Enjoy! Makes 5 servings

Brickle

This recipe is a classic first introduced to me by my best friend's mom many, many years ago (Thanks Court and Ms. Jan!)

Regardless of its simplicity it remains an addictive treat that is begged for by many every year at Christmas...

Ingredients

saltine crackers (1.5-2 sleeves)

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

18oz (1.5 packages) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Line jelly roll pan (or large cookie sheet with side walls) with heavy duty aluminum foil.

3. Place layer of of saltine crackers evenly on foil.

4. In small-medium saucepan, melt sugar and butter until bubbly, stirring constantly.

5. Remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla

6. Quickly pour over crackers, smoothly and evenly.

7. Bake immediate for ~6-7min

8. Remove from oven, pour chocolate chips evenly over butter layer

9. Bake on top rack for another 2 minutes.

10. Spread chocolate over butter and crackers, smoothing with a spatula.

11. Freeze overnight, peel off aluminum foil backing, and break into pieces.

12. Keep frozen or refrigerated.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muddy Buddy Cookies

This was adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe.
It's a little messy, but really good!

Cookies
1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated PB cookie dough

Coating
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1. Bake cookies according to directions (i.e., roll into small balls, bake about 7 - 8 min (they'll look underbaked but take them out early!) and let cool completely.
2. In small microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla.
3. Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a large shallow bowl or plate; set aside. Place 3 -4 cooled cookies in another large plate or bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over cookies, smooth over/toss cookies gently to coat. Place cookies in bowl/plate with powdered sugar; gently turn and coat cookies. Remove cookies to cooling rack to set. Repeat with other cookies until all cookies are coated, adding additional powdered sugar as needed.

Sauerkraut

I combined a recipe from Coconut & Lime with my mom's "recipe" (it's in her head) that she makes every year. I personally preferred the twist to the traditional version, and I think everyone liked it, even the traditionalists.

Ingredients:
28 oz sauerkraut [I think I used ~30oz Klausen's jar?]
1 thick cut boneless pork chop (about 1/4 lb)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar + 1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tsp yellow mustard seed
1 1/2 tsp caraway seed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 large shallot, diced

Directions:
Place the sauerkraut, shallot, horseradish, sugar, vinegar and spices in a 2 or 4 quart slow cooker. Stir to evenly distribute all ingredients. Add the pork chop and cover in sauerkraut. Cook on low 8 hours or 4 hours on high. The pork should be easily shredded with a fork. Shred the meat and stir. Serve hot.

Blackberry Cranberry Sauce

I got this recipe from Baking Bites and made it for Thanksgiving this year, though I left out the allspice lest my very traditional family mutiny. I liked it a lot, but maybe added too much water at the beginning, as it stayed fairly watery.

Blackberry Cranberry Sauce
12-oz bag cranberries
2 cups blackberries (approx 12-oz)
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
[1/4 tsp ground allspice...I omitted]

Place cranberries in a medium saucepan and fill about 1-inch deep with water. Cook over medium-high heat until cranberries start to pop. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until popping slows. Add in blackberries, sugar, salt and allspice. Stir well and cook over medium heat until sauce comes just to a simmer and starts to thicken.
Use a potato masher to gently crush the berries, the cook for an additional minute.
Pour sauce out into a heat resistant dish, cover and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Berries will keep, refrigerated, for at least a week.

Makes about 4 cups

Cranberry Ribbon Cake

I saw this on Coconut & Lime and got very excited about the use of yogurt and cranberry sauce, as I had both to use up. Haven't tasted it yet but am excited to!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup plain yogurt, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce at room temperature (I used this recipe that I made for Thanksgiving this year...)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

[Added a little more flour (~1-2 Tbsp) and slightly less baking soda and powder (reduced by about 1/8 tsp) for altitude...also baked at 325 for about 40min]

Directions:
"Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or use a baking spray 1 bundt or tube pan. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar until well mixed. Slowly add in yogurt. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and a dash of salt. Slowly incorporate into the yogurt batter. Mix thoroughly. It might not look like you have enough batter to fill the pan, but you do. It is not a super tall cake, but it will rise and have a great texture, I promise. Spoon 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth with the back of a spatula. Carefully spoon the cranberry sauce to form a ring around the middle of the pan, without touching the middle or sides. Top with the remaining batter and smooth with the back of a spatula. Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan about 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack. Slice and eat."

(I also made 4 mini cakes in my snowflake pan for added holiday spirit :-P)

Pineapple Souffle

An old family favorite, I'll be making this several times over the holiday season.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 lg. can (16 oz.) crushed pineapple
8 slices white bread, cut into 1" squares

Melt butter in 8x8 dish. Add bread pieces, coating evenly. Beat sugar and eggs until frothy. Stir in pineapple and pour into dish. Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm (delicious with ham). Refrigerate leftovers and enjoy cold, or reheat.

Squash/Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

I made this (modified a bit from Baking Bites) for my family visitors during their Thanksgiving week stay. We actually haven't tried it yet but it smells and looks delicious! [Update: it was delicious!!]

Winter Squash/Sweet Potato Coffee Cake with Dried Cranberries

Streusel
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp ground ginger
1/3 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, plus an extra Tbsp for altitude)
1 teaspoons baking powder (very slightly reduced for altitude)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (very slightly reduced for altitude)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup pureed cooked squash or sweet potatoes (cooked, unseasoned; fresh or canned - I used thawed frozen)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350F (I did 325 for altitude) and lightly grease a 9-in square pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together all topping ingredients on low speed - or stir very well by hand - until moist, sandy crumbs are formed. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until light. Beat the eggs, adding them one at a time until mixture is smooth, then blend in the vanilla extract. Mix in the pureed squash/sweet potatoes.
Gradually stir flour mixture into the squash/sweet potato mixture, stirring only until everything is incorporated and no streaks of flour remain visible. Stir in dried cranberries and scrape batter into prepared pan.
Top batter with streusel mixture, generously sprinkling it into as even a layer as possible.
Bake for 30-35 minutes (a bit longer with lower-altitude decreased temp), or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Serves 12.

Maple Pizzelles

I finally used my pizzelle maker, and as Scott isn't a big fan of anise, I decided to go with a maple flavor instead. The flavor was good, although the pizzelle consistency will require a little tweaking, as they aren't as thick/crisp as my Uncle's amazing ones!
I see that other recipes call for less flour/baking powder and more butter...maybe that should be tweaked below for next time?

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 tsp maple extract

Beat eggs and sugar, mix in butter, vanilla and maple. Mix in flour til just blended.
Make according to pizzelle maker instructions.

Crumb-topped Pumpkin Pie

This will be this year's version of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I saw a couple of similar recipes for this online, and just tried to combine them into this. I actually made this a week or two ahead of time and froze it, so we'll see how well it holds up!

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat-free)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I increased this a touch)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, chilled
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (400 for altitude).
In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and eggs. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Pour filling into pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. While the pie is baking, prepare the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Blend in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the chopped nuts. Sprinkle the topping over the pie.
Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (325 for altitude). Bake an additional 40 minutes, or until set.

Chinese Five Spice Oatmeal Cookies

This weekend I picked up some Chinese Five Spice blend at the local spice shop in downtown Boulder. I wasn't completely sure what I would do with it, but decided to give this recipe a shot, from a blog I just stumbled upon online. I modified it a little bit for altitude, and am pretty happy with how it turned out. The cookies have a great flavor, but aren't overpowering at all, and also aren't overly sweet. They are a nice alternative to some of the other overly gooey and decadent treats that are more common around here during the holidays.

½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
[2 tsp canola oil for altitude correction/anti-drying]
Cream the butter and sugars together well. Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Sift together:
¾ cup + 2 Tbsp flour
1 & 1/2tsp Chinese five spice powder
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
½ tsp baking soda [touch less for altitude]

Fold into the creamed mixture.
When the dry ingredients are almost incorporated, add:

1 ½ cups large rolled oats
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup chopped dried apricots

½ cup chopped pecans, cashews, macadamias, slivered almonds or walnuts (optional -- I omitted)

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 ½ inches apart.Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes [7min at 395 for altitude]. Do not over bake or your cookies will lose their chewy texture. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Mole Chili

This is a recipe that I "made up" more or less, blending several chili and mole sauce recipes.
Here's the version I made today; after some more eating, I may post suggestions for changes next time.

Servings: 12 - 14

Ingredients
2lb ground meat (I used 1 lb 94% lean beef and 1 lb bison)
2 onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
2 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 packet chili seasoning
4 cloves garlic
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes, not drained
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 (15oz) can chili beans in spicy sauce, not drained
1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained


1. In 10-inch skillet, cook meat over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. In same skillet, brown onions.
2. Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix beef mixture and remaining ingredients.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours. Stir well before serving.

Pumpkin Blondies

Fall has always been my favorite season o' eating (hmmm, though I might say this around Christmas too...and spring when berries are in season...and...never mind, let's just say I love fall food). This year is no different for the most part, except I have a little more time to actually bake now that that whole pesky dissertation thing is behind me :-)
I keep reading about pumpkin blondie variations, and decided to go with one from Annie's Eats.
I pretty much followed the recipe, but have added a few more details/very slight twists below.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
16 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped, toasted pecans

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree.
With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate, butterscotch chips, and nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting into 24 squares.

Carrot cake bars with peanut butter and bacon chips

Threw this recipe together after being inspired by this. Not totally happy with how things turned out -- next time I will add a little more butter and one less egg to make it more like a bar and less like a cake. I think it could also use a little more salt, and think that drizzling the bars with a melted butter and brown sugar glaze before the cream cheese frosting drizzle would be good too.
And, even though I hate to admit it, I don't think the candied bacon added that much. I think I'd stick with PB chips, carrot, and substitute walnuts for raisens next time too.
They're not at all bad though, just not what I envisioned!

1 box carrot cake mix with raisen/carrot mixture included
3/4 cup melted butter (would increase to 1 cup)
1 1/4 cup water (would decrease to 1 cup)
2 eggs (would use 1)
1 10oz bag PB chips
1/2 cup candied bacon pieces

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 pan. Mix first 4 ingredients well, stirring in PB chips and candied bacon. Bake for about 30 min, until knife comes out almost clean. Drizzle with slightly warmed cream cheese frosting (and maybe some butter/brown sugar drizzle too).

Pumpkin Coconut Bread

Tried this after seeing it on Coconut & Lime. I substituted light coconut milk and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour/1 cup all purpose flour, and added an additional 1/3 cup of coconut to the bread itself.
It turned out pretty well, and had a very mild coconut flavor. A soft, chewy quick bread -- great warm with a little butter, and wonderful for fall.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, divided
1/3 cup coconut milk (can use light)
1 egg, at room temperature
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry + 1 cup all purpose)
2 teaspoons baking powder (+ ~1/2 tsp extra for altitude)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or spray (with baking spray with flour) 1 loaf pan. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the coconut milk, egg and pumpkin, mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing thoroughly. Stir in 1/3 cup coconut. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup coconut if desired. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan about 5 minutes then invert to a wire rack.

Slow-cooker Indian Butter Chicken

http://www.indianasapplepie.com/2009/09/slow-cooker-butter-chicken.html

Will post pics and modifications later but a good recipe!

Bacon-infused Red Velvet Cake

This recipe was inspired by all the press that bacon in baking is getting these days. I was looking to try something new (my last attempt at low-altitude experimentation before we move to Boulder, CO next week!), and was intrigued by the write-up provided here.
I won't lie: there were many doubters and naysayers and people who were all-around grossed-out by this. But in the end, anyone who tasted it at least said that it was good. Some said amazing, some seemed slow to admit it, but I had no bad reviews (at least to my face).
The cake and icing recipes you can tweak, but I do think that red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting might be the perfect backdrop for the savory-sweet-salty bacon. (Although...I'm already contemplating my next move with bacon, and it might be into this.)

Ingredients
Favorite red velvet cake recipe (example)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini-morsels
Favorite cream cheese frosting (example1 example2)
~1 cup candied bacon pieces, divided + several larger chunks for garnish on top

1. Prepare red velvet cake batter as directed, stir in mini-morsels.
2. Stir in ~half of candied bacon pieces (recipe/technique below)
3. Bake as directed.
4. Let cool; cut cake halves in half horizontally (so you have 4 layers)
5. Divide frosting -- into 3/4 of it mix additional 1/3 - 1/2 cup candied bacon pieces
6. Use un-baconated frosting on top of cake; garnish with candied bacon slices if desired.

Candied bacon
There are a lot of ways people have suggested doing this.
I actually used pre-cooked bacon from Whole Foods (about 8-10 large-ish slices), coated in brown sugar and a little (1/4 cup?) melted butter, and cooked in the oven on a parchment covered cookie sheet at ~400deg. Do this until you start to suspect burning (i.e., keep an eye on it; it won't take more than 10 min probably).
Let cool, and try not to eat the candied mass of of bacon...it is (surprisingly?) good. Keep the burnt edges out of the cake, reserve a few prettier chunks/pieces for garnish, and crumple up the rest of the candied bacon into sub-centimeter sized chunks. Actually, maybe sub-half-centimeter is better. You want the flavor in the cake and frosting, but not really the chunks of bacon.

Ginger Butter Bars

I had a box of gingerbread mix laying around after the holidays and I wanted to do something different with it. The result was unexpectedly very good...

• 1 box Krusteaz Gingerbread Mix (unfortunately only sold near the holidays I think)
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
• Butterscotch ice cream topping

Directions

Heat oven to 350.

Grease an 8x8 pan.

Mix gingerbread mix, butter, and eggs.

Add in butterscotch chips and spread in pan.

Drizzle butterscotch topping over top, about 2-3 Tbsp or so.

Bake for ~25min or until a knife comes out nearly clean

Berry Cobbler

Cookie Dough Brownies

Mini Blueberry Upside-down Cakes

This recipe was another one that was adapted from Baking Bites.

I added a few tweaks and have attempted to note them below as best as I can remember them!

3/4 cup sugar

2 cup fresh blueberries (do not use frozen...too soggy!)

2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 large egg

3 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease, with butter or oil, 12 muffin cups

Place 1 tbsp sugar in each greased cup. Add about 2 tbsp blueberries to each cup, making sure that the bottom of each cup is well covered with berries.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, egg and vanilla.

Pour into dry ingredients and whisk until everything is well-combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each to the top.Tap pan firmly on the counter several times to knock out some of the air bubbles and ensure that the batter gets down between the blueberries.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached. Cool cakes in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and turn them out onto a wire rack to cool before serving.

If the sugar sticks to the cup bottom, dig it out and crumble the chunks on top of the berries.

Drizzle with white icing (or powdered sugar/milk drizzle) if desired.

Other ideas:

Stir in 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

and/or

Pulverize 1 cup of white chocolate in a food processor and gently stir into batter before dividing into cups...

and/or

sprinkle a crumb topping (1/3 cup sugar + 3 Tbsp flour + 1 tsp salt + 1/4 cup melted butter) on the top of the cups (which end up being the bottom) before baking.

Blackberry Raspberry Pie

INGREDIENTS
CRUST:
2 ¼ CUPS ALL – PURPOSE FLOUR
1 CUP CAKE FLOUR
1 ½ TSP GRATED LEMON PEEL
½ TSP SALT
¼ TSP BAKING POWDER
14 TABLESPOONS (1 ¾ STICKS) CHILLED UNSALTED BUTTER, CUT INTO ½ INCH CUBES
6 TABLESPOONS (ABOUT) ICE WATER
1 TABLESPOON APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

FILLING:
NONSTICK VEGETABLE OIL SPRAY
¾ CUP SUGAR
¼ CUP CORNSTARCH
3 CUPS FRESH RASPBERRIES
3 CUPS FRESH BLACKBERRIES (CAN'T BEAT THE NC FARMERS MARKET FOR THE BERRIES!)
DIRECTIONS1-2 TBSP SALTED BUTTER, SLICED INTO THIN SLIVERS

OPTIONAL FOR PIE CRUST TOP: WHIPPED EGG WHITE AND CREAM (EQUAL PARTS, ABOUT 1 TBSP EACH), ADDITIONAL SUGAR

FOR CRUST:
COMBINE FIRST 5 INGREDIENTS IN PROCESSOR AND BLEND FOR ~5 SECONDS.

ADD BUTTER AND CONTINUE BLENDING, USING ON/OFF TURNS, UNTIL MIXTURE RESEMBLES COARSE MEAL.

ADD 5 TABLESPOONS WATER AND THE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. USING ON/OFF TURNS, BLEND UNTIL MOIST CLUMPS FORM, ADDING MORE WATER IF DOUGH IS DRY.

GATHER DOUGH INTO BALL; DIVIDE IN HALF. SHAPE EACH HALF INTO DISK. WRAP IN PLASTIC AND CHILL AT LEAST 1 HOUR AND UP TO 1 DAY.

FOR FILLING:
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 F. SPRAY 9 INCH DIAMETER GLASS BAKING DISH WITH NONSTICK SPRAY.

WHISK 3/4 CUP SUGAR AND CORNSTARCH IN LARGE BOWL TO BLEND. ADD BERRIES AND TOSS TO COAT. LET STAND 10 MINUTES, TOSSING OCCASIONALLY.

ROLL OUT 1 DOUGH DISK ON LIGHTLY FLOURED SURFACE TO 12 INCH ROUND; TRANSFER TO PREPARED PIE DISH.

SPOON FILLING INTO DOUGH-LINED DISH. EVENLY SPREAD OUT THE THIN BUTTER SLICES OVER THE FRUIT FILLING.

ROLL OUT SECOND DOUGH DISK TO 13 INCH ROUND. DRAPE DOUGH OVER FILLING, AND TRIM OVERHANG TO ½ INCH. PRESS EDGES TOGETHER TO SEAL; FOLD OVERHANG UNDER AND CRIMP DECORATIVELY. CUT SEVERAL SMALL SLASHED IN TOP CRUST TO VENT.

IF DESIRED, USE A BASTING BRUSH TO APPLY A THIN COAT OF EGG WHITE-CREAM MIX OVER THE TOP CRUST, AND SPRINKLE WITH ADDITIONAL SUGAR.

BAKE UNTIL CRUST IS GOLDEN AND FILLING IS BUBBLING, ABOUT 50 MINUTES; COOL 30 MINUTES. SERVE WARM WITH NATURAL VANILLA ICE CREAM...ALTHOUGH IT'S QUITE GOOD AT ROOM TEMPERATURE TOO, AND HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE A WONDERFUL NEXT-DAY BREAKFAST (IF THERE'S ANY LEFT!)

White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Cake with Bailey's Chocolate Frosting

I just made this up for a neighborhood progressive dinner party. Nice moist consistency, with a nice blend of subtle flavors -- no one ingredient really over-powers.

1 package (18.25 ounces) white cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1Tbsp vanilla paste
1 cups white chocolate chips, chopped into *very* small pieces (think almost flakes) in food processor

Frosting
2 12oz containers whipped chocolate frosting
4-5 Tbsp Bailey's liquor

Preheat oven to 350.Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
Blend cake ingredients (except white chocolate flakes) with electric mixer for about two minutes. Fold in flakes.
Pour into pan, bake ~28min, or until toothpick comes out almost clean.
Let cool completely.

Prepare frosting by whipping Bailey's and frosting in a large bowl for 2 minutes.
Slice each layer into two halves; spread 1/4 of frosting on first layer; top with second layer, frost again, etc, skipping sides.

Sugar Donut Muffins

This is a classic recipe that I was just reminded of thanks to Baking Bites. I've tweaked it some to be more like what my mom made at home. Can't go wrong with the basic recipe though!

Sugar Donut Muffins
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract/vanilla paste

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling (or cinnamon sugar)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. (I used a mini muffin tin)
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.
Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-18 minutes (7-9 min for minis), until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.
When muffins are done, dunk tops of each into melted butter and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 10 muffins or about 30 mini-muffins.