Monday, July 4, 2011
Cracker Cooking: Cupcakes with a twist
Cracker Cooking: Cupcakes with a twist: "My boys and I wanted to make some special cupcakes to celebrate the 4th of July. Normally, I would take the easy way out and grab a box mix...."
Cupcakes with a twist
My boys and I wanted to make some special cupcakes to celebrate the 4th of July. Normally, I would take the easy way out and grab a box mix. But, since I didn't have any eggs, I decided to try my hand using the egg white powder. To make the cupcakes really special, we divided the batter up after it was mixed, and added blue and red food colors. My 5 year old put the batter into the cups and we left it uneven. The results were so cool! The cakes were red, white, and blue. The batter did not bleed into the other colors or anything. And the frosting was perfect! I did pipe it onto the tops but did not cover it completely, but rather used a star tip and made a star. My 7 year old then sprinkled the entire thing with celebration sprinkles. Now - I was going to take a picture of these cute creations but I didn't realize my husband had put the pan into the oven and I turned it on. Let's just say they are not so pretty anymore. Still good, just not pretty!
3 cups all purpose flour
6 egg whites
1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the muffin tins or cups. Combine the butter, egg whites, sugar in mixer. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the baking powder, extracts, and milk. Mix on low until well incorporated. Add the flour slowly making sure it gets mixed. Scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Once mixed well, divide batter into three bowls and add the food coloring to the bowls. Make sure you add enough to get the color you want and mix well. Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the cups but don't mix it up. To even out the batter, you can drop the muffin tins on the counter after each addition of batter. It will get the air bubbles out as well which will result in denser cupcakes. Bake for 13 minutes or until the cupcakes look lightly brown and firm to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Make sure they are completely cool before you do the frosting! You can use any frosting you want. I just used the basic powdered sugar with butter but I added almond extract which made it really good! Nice and smooth..
3 cups all purpose flour
6 egg whites
1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the muffin tins or cups. Combine the butter, egg whites, sugar in mixer. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the baking powder, extracts, and milk. Mix on low until well incorporated. Add the flour slowly making sure it gets mixed. Scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Once mixed well, divide batter into three bowls and add the food coloring to the bowls. Make sure you add enough to get the color you want and mix well. Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the cups but don't mix it up. To even out the batter, you can drop the muffin tins on the counter after each addition of batter. It will get the air bubbles out as well which will result in denser cupcakes. Bake for 13 minutes or until the cupcakes look lightly brown and firm to the touch. Let cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Make sure they are completely cool before you do the frosting! You can use any frosting you want. I just used the basic powdered sugar with butter but I added almond extract which made it really good! Nice and smooth..
Cracker Cooking: blueberry cobbler
Cracker Cooking: blueberry cobbler: "This blueberry cobbler is perhaps the best I have ever tasted. It crosses the line between the basic blueberry cobbler and a blueberry crisp..."
blueberry cobbler
This blueberry cobbler is perhaps the best I have ever tasted. It crosses the line between the basic blueberry cobbler and a blueberry crisp. What really makes it unique, however, is the addition of the cream cheese and cottage cheese. I used fresh blueberries as well as frozen blueberries that I had picked and the results were the same - delish!
3 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 boxed yellow or white cake mix
1 cup cottage cheese
1 block of cream cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 tbs almond extract
2 tbs vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. In a mixer, combine the cake mix with one stick of butter. You do not have to melt the butter but it needs to be soft. Mix until crumbly. Press the mixture into the bottom of the glass pan. Meanwhile, in the same mixer (no need to wash) combine the cream cheese, cottage cheese and white sugar and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Next, lightly coat the blueberries with remaining sugar and pour them over the crust. Take the cheese mixture and drop dollops all over the blueberries. In the same mixer (yes, the same mixer), combine the oats, almond extract, brown sugar, and remaining butter. Mix on low speed until everything is incorporated to a good consistency. Dribble this mixture over the cheese and blueberries taking care to cover everything as best as you can. You are not looking to make a complete top but the more that is covered, the better. Bake for around 40 minutes or until the top has browned lightly. Enjoy!!
I also made a whipped cream to top the final dishes. I used one small container of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1 tsp almond extract. It really was a nice combination but the cobbler was equally good with vanilla ice cream or by itself.
3 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 boxed yellow or white cake mix
1 cup cottage cheese
1 block of cream cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 tbs almond extract
2 tbs vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. In a mixer, combine the cake mix with one stick of butter. You do not have to melt the butter but it needs to be soft. Mix until crumbly. Press the mixture into the bottom of the glass pan. Meanwhile, in the same mixer (no need to wash) combine the cream cheese, cottage cheese and white sugar and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Next, lightly coat the blueberries with remaining sugar and pour them over the crust. Take the cheese mixture and drop dollops all over the blueberries. In the same mixer (yes, the same mixer), combine the oats, almond extract, brown sugar, and remaining butter. Mix on low speed until everything is incorporated to a good consistency. Dribble this mixture over the cheese and blueberries taking care to cover everything as best as you can. You are not looking to make a complete top but the more that is covered, the better. Bake for around 40 minutes or until the top has browned lightly. Enjoy!!
I also made a whipped cream to top the final dishes. I used one small container of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1 tsp almond extract. It really was a nice combination but the cobbler was equally good with vanilla ice cream or by itself.
macaroni and cheese please
Susan has shared her mouth watering, get me a big bowl and sit me down, macaroni and cheese. This is really good. Even the day after!
1 box of ziti
4 cups shredded cheese (the one that is mixed is fine)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 glob of sour cream
1 glob of mayo (real mayo please)
salt to taste
2 eggs
16 crushed townhouse crackers (these have salt too)
Boil the ziti and drain. Mix up the rest of the ingredients and pour everything into a 9x13 baking dish. Make sure you have sprayed the pan with Pam first! Bake at 375 degrees 35 to 45 minutes depending on the oven. I would look at it at 35 minutes to make sure it doesn't look to dark.
1 box of ziti
4 cups shredded cheese (the one that is mixed is fine)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 glob of sour cream
1 glob of mayo (real mayo please)
salt to taste
2 eggs
16 crushed townhouse crackers (these have salt too)
Boil the ziti and drain. Mix up the rest of the ingredients and pour everything into a 9x13 baking dish. Make sure you have sprayed the pan with Pam first! Bake at 375 degrees 35 to 45 minutes depending on the oven. I would look at it at 35 minutes to make sure it doesn't look to dark.
Basic Rub
Since today is the 4th of July and is traditionally the day to be outside with friends and family, I thought I would share a basic rub that I use on my pork, turkey and chicken. Yes, it is good on all three!
3 cups brown sugar
2 tbs flake salt
1/4 cup pepper seasoning from Penzeys (salad dressing seasoning)
1/2 cup smoked paprika
2 tbs chili powder (I use chili con carne from Penzeys)
1 tbs cayenne pepper
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs onion powder
Mix it all together making sure there are no lumps! Rub on the meat as a dry rub if you are smoking the meat. If you are grilling the meat, rub the meat with olive oil first and then sprinkle the rub on prior to grilling.
3 cups brown sugar
2 tbs flake salt
1/4 cup pepper seasoning from Penzeys (salad dressing seasoning)
1/2 cup smoked paprika
2 tbs chili powder (I use chili con carne from Penzeys)
1 tbs cayenne pepper
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs onion powder
Mix it all together making sure there are no lumps! Rub on the meat as a dry rub if you are smoking the meat. If you are grilling the meat, rub the meat with olive oil first and then sprinkle the rub on prior to grilling.
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