Favorite Drop Sugar Cookies

I love these easy sugar cookies. Usually, when I make them, I leave them un-frosted, because they taste wonderful that way, but we had some extra kids (ha ha) over at our house last night, and I had them frost and decorate these cookies for fun. These cookies are so fast and easy to whip up- they're ready in no time. I took a good recipe and modified it to suit my tastes. If you have access to Bob's Red Mill Flours, try their whole-wheat pastry flour- it is great for cookies and quick breads and you can't even tell it's there! When I moved overseas, I was lucky enough to take a few bags with me.

I can't say enough good things about whole wheat pastry flour- I've used it in cookies, pancakes, quick breads, brownies, etc. Right on the bag it says "Superb for cookies, muffins, pancakes, cakes and pie crusts."

These cookies are lightly almond-flavored. For more almond flavor, up the amount to one teaspoon, and omit vanilla. I bake for 8 minutes and these cookies are soft and chewy, which I love. To get a harder cookie, bake for 10-12 minutes.

(Note:  I made these again in April 2012 and added candy-coated, mini chocolate chips to the dough- I get them from Nuts.com.  They are so tiny!  And so cute in these cookies.  (Pictured above.)  I also made the cookies mini by using my smallest cookie scoop.  They were delicious!)

Favorite Drop Sugar Cookies
adapted from Allrecipes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (or 190 degrees if using Celcius). In a small bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat for a few minutes, until very light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Using a medium cookie scoop, form dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

2.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Ginger Lemonade

A few years ago, we lived close to a Trader Joe's (well, we did live close, in miles, but the area of the Puget Sound we lived in was so gosh-darn crowded that it took about an hour to drive the 20 miles to get there!) and we'd make trips there about twice a month. There are many, many fine foods I love from Trader Joe's, but one of my faves was thier Ginger Lemonade, available with the fresh juices in the refrigerated case. Knowing Trader Joe's, there's a good chance it's not available anymore. Right now, that doesn't matter to me anyway, since I'm over 4,000 miles away from the nearest Trader Joe's. Even before I was that far away from TJ's, I started making my own Ginger Lemonade. (I say that like I do this regularly... when in fact, I only made it for the 2nd time a few days ago!) It is soooo, soooo good though, that we should all be making this regularly! In the future, I'd like to experiment with using part honey for the sugar, so it can be honey-ginger-lemonade! Note: Ginger is easy to peel; use a very sharp knife to carefully slice off the outer peel. Also, there are 4 cups of water, twice in the recipe, for a total of 8 cups.

Ginger Lemonade

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 cups water
fresh ginger root, about 3 inches, peeled and sliced into thin slices
2 cups fresh lemon juice

4 cups cold water
1 lemon, sliced

In an large saucepan, combine sugar, 4 cups water and ginger root. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Let boil 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Cool 15 minutes. Strain into a pitcher; discard ginger. Add the 4 cups of cold water; stir. Refrigerate lemonade at least 2-3 hours, or until chilled. Serve over ice, and garnish with lemon slices.

Garlic-Lime Fajitas

Yesterday, we had fajitas for dinner, and I'm pretty sure they were the best ones I've ever had. I've made fajitas lots of times, using different recipes, but yesterday I decided to just throw a marinade together with stuff that sounded good. I had a package of meat, probably about 1.5-2 pounds, labeled "Beef for Fajitas". So, I have no idea what cut it was. I'm thinking it was either skirt of flank steak, but I really have no idea- I'm just guessing here! It was cut in 4 big pieces, so after a few hours of marinating, my husband grilled it up, and then we cut it into bite-sized pieces when it was done. I cooked veggies on the stove-top just until they were crisp-tender, and we had fresh tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, sharp cheddar and salsa to top our fajitas.

Garlic-Lime Beef Fajitas

Beef:

1.5- 2 pounds of beef for fajitas

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 cloves garlic, chopped

cumin, to taste

chili powder, to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 large yellow onion, cut into wedges

1 large sweet bell pepper, cut into strips

1-2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tomato, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

light sour cream

salsa

8-10 flour tortillas

1. Stir together marinade ingredients and pour over beef. Marinate for a few hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400. Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil, and place in the oven to warm.

3. In a large skillet, heat oil and add onion and pepper. Stir-fry until cooked to your likeness- I only cooked until the veggies were crisp-tender.

4. Meanwhile, grill the beef until done- ours was a tiny bit pink in some places still. Let meat rest for a few minutes; then cut into bite-sized pieces.

5. Serve meat with veggies, tomato, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and salsa; all wrapped in a tortilla.

Sour Cream Peach Kuchen

A few days ago, I made a German-themed meal for dinner. We grilled delicous German bratwursts, we bought some Kaiser rolls, and I made Hot German Potato salad. (We also had broccoli, but I'm not sure if that's a German thing or not!). For dessert, I made this Sour Cream Peach Kuchen recipe that I'd been eyeing for a while. I'm not sure how German it is, but I know "Kuchen" means "cake" in German. It was really, really good. We loved it. I'll make it again! I've seen a raspberry version, and that would be good, too. I did used canned peaches, like the recipe calls for, but it would be out of this world with fresh! I cut the recipe in half to fit in an 8-inch square pan. I also used vanilla sugar for the crust and topping over the sour cream.

Sour Cream Peach Kuchen
from Allrecipes.com

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1 (29 ounce) can sliced peaches, well-drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

TOPPING:
2 egg yolks
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a bowl, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt; cut in butter* until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 8-inch baking dish. Arrange peaches over crust. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over peaches. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine egg yolks and sour cream. Spread evenly over peaches. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over top. Bake 30-35 minutes longer or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

*I made the crust in my food processor. First, combine flour, 2 TBS. sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of your food processor (with metal blade attached). Pulse a few times to combine. Cut up your stick of cold butter, and add that to the food processor. Pulse until blended; mine was the texture of coarse sand. Use a long-handled spoon to press the crust into pan.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Homemade "Hostess" Cupcakes

As I was perusing Allrecipes.com the other day, I came across this recipe for Cream-Filled Cupcakes. I really wanted to make them- I have a Wilton bismark-filling tip for filling bismarks and cupcakes, and I've never used it, so I really wanted to try it out. I made these when we had friends over for a barbecue. In the filling, I used all butter instead of shortening, and I used canola oil in the cupcakes. I glazed them with Satiny Chocolate Glaze and used the leftover white filling to make the squiggle thingy on top. It was hard to tell how much filling was being piped into these because I couldn't actually see if; my 1st cupcakes had hardly any filling inside. The photo below of the inside of the cupcake was one of my first ones that didn't have much filling. I actually had some filling leftover. I made 30 cupcakes, not 36. I would make these again- the batter was so easy to whip up and they are just fun to make. They were a huge hit with the kids. I changed the directions below to accomodate what I did.

Cream-Filled Cupcakes
adapted from Allrecipes.com

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil, water and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Insert a decorating tip into a pastry or plastic bag; fill with cream filling. Push the tip through the top of each cupcake to fill.

3. Frost tops with chocolate frosting or glaze (below), and pipe a white squiggly line on top.

Satiny Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.

2.Spread warm glaze over top of each cupcake.

**This post and photos are property of http://www.dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Pizza!

Last night, my daughter helped me make dinner. She looked in her children's cookbook and chose individual pizzas. I made my own favorite pizza dough, which is a yummy and easy whole-wheat one. I divided the dough into 5 pieces for 5 smaller pizzas. I've been making this pizza dough for a few years now. My four-year-old son also got involved in making dinner. They each chose a ball of dough and patted it out with their hands. They made happy faces on their pizzas out of turkey pepperoni and olives. Both of them made their pizzas very large, and I was suprised at how much they ate! It really does help when children are involved in the dinner-making process; they are more likely to eat and enjoy the food. My daughter helped with everything, from proofing the yeast, rolling the dough, doing the toppings, and baking. (I used my Kitchenaid to knead the dough).

Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust from Allrecipes.com

1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 crusts. Form into tight balls, cover. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.

5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

My Valentine's Day Cake

Back in January, I took a short (2-day) cake decorating class. We learned how to frost a cake smoothly, do borders, ruffles, bows, etc., and make roses. In the class, we used an icing made of shortening and powdered sugar. This type of icing is great for decorating, especially making roses, but not so great for eating. It tastes like gritty shortening- yuck. So I wanted to make an all-butter version. I did for my Valentine's Day cake. It was fine for doing everything but roses. It was too soft to do roses, and my roses came out all schlumpy and melty-looking. Then, I placed them akwardly on the cake; not close enough together, so that part was wierd. However, the cake tasted way better than the one I brought home from cake decorating class.

I used my fave yellow cake recipe and added the seeds from one vanilla bean to the batter- it was heavenly. I cut the cake recipe in half- this made a single-layer cake; double the recipe for an 8-inch, 2-layer cake. Using wax paper to line your cake pan is an easy way to make sure your cake doesn't stick to the pan. Take the cake pan you are going to use, and place it on a sheet of wax paper. Trace around the pan, and cut that shape out. Place in your greased and floured pan, and then grease the top of the wax paper.

Favorite Vanilla-Yellow Cake
adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 cup unslated butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour one 8-inch round pan, or a heart-shaped pan. Line bottom with waxed paper and butter the wax paper. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat for 3-5 minutes to get a nice, light and fluffy cake. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and vanilla bean seeds. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on countertop a few times to get rid of air bubbles.

3.  Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly tapped, or toothpick comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Sea Salt Caramels

I have a section on my "favorties" just for recipes I want to make, mostly from food blogs. There are about a 3.5 million on there, and I do go in there and make something from time to time, but not as often as I want to. However, I've had this Sea Salt Caramel recipe bookmarked for a long time, and finally made it a little while ago. I'm glad I finally did! They are so good, and they are not at all hard to make. My daughter and I made these together, and we both had fun. I used local honey, local cream, and Flor de Sal from the southern coast of mainland Portugal. I did only cook the mixture to 235 degrees instead of 250. This is the perfect texture for me. They were gone very quickly, and I'm sorry to say that I was the culprit for most of them.

I know that every post on my blog lately seems to be either caramel or pasta-related, and I'm sorry, but it's just Who I Am.

Sea Salt Caramels
from Salt and Chocolate

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces at room temperature

Line the bottom and sides of a 8 or 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper (this really helps things). Let it hang over the sides of the pan so that it is easier to remove the carmels. In a large saucepan at least 3 quarts, combine the corn syrup, honey, sugar and sea salt and bring to a boil. Let the mixture cook until it reaches 305 degrees. During this time place the cream in a small saucepan and warm on the stove until it is just at a simmer. Turn off the heat and cover it so that it stays warm. Once the carmel is at 305 degrees, take it off the heat and add in the butter, stirring until its melted and combined. Then add in the cream slowly so that it won't bubble up violently. Once you have added all of the cream, stir the mixture until combined. Return the pan to the heat and cook on medium heat until the mixture reaches 235-250 degrees (the temp. is up to you). Pour the carmel into the pan and refrigerate until set before removing and cutting into individual pieces.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Ricotta Pasta with Tomatoes

Here's a pasta dish that I made up when we first moved into this house. I had no internet connection (to look up new recipes) and there were many busy nights when we needed a fast meal. I thought this up back then, and we've had it at least once a month since. (That is a LOT for us- usually I don't make the same thing twice!) The kids love it, and sometimes ask to make this on their special cooking days. It's very hard to take a picture of this dish, so you'll have to excuse me there. I just estimate when I make this, so here is my best guess of what amounts I actually use! Usually I use reduced-fat ricotta, but last time I made it with whole-milk ricotta and it was more rich and creamy. Both ways are yummy, though. This is a pasta dish that is done in the time it takes to cook the pasta. We like to have it with Garlic/Lemon broccoli, of course!

Ricotta Pasta with Tomatoes

9 ounces small seashell pasta

15 ounces ricotta cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

juice of 1/2 lemon

fresh pepper, to taste

sea salt, to taste

herbs, such as fresh parsley or basil, or dried Italian seasoning, to taste

2-3 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 6-8 large cherry tomatoes, quartered

Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a medium serving bowl, mix ricotta, olive oil, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs until well combined. When pasta is done cooking, drain, and quickly add to ricotta cheese mixture, stirring gently. Add chopped tomatoes and fold in carefully. Sprinkle additional parmesan cheese on top, if desired.

World Peace Cookies with Dulce de Leche

Today I tried Dorie Greenspan's "World Peace Cookies". They were easy to make, and very tasty. I thought they would be delicious as sandwich cookies- with Dulce de Leche holding them together. They don't really need the Dulce de Leche, as they are delicious as-is, but the Dulce de Leche adds even more deliciousness. Here is the recipe for the cookies. You can make your own Dulce de Leche if you want, but since I have access to good, convenient, canned Dulce de Leche, I just used that. Since the Dulce de Leche was pretty soft, I found I had to refrigerate it before spreading it on the cookies so it didn't just ooze out the sides.

Oh yeah, today, I've been blogging for exactly a year! In blogging lingo, it's my "Blogiversary". Yes, I said it! (Big cheesey grin).