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Three Kings’ Day

With the new year bringing a call to get into shape and embrace good health, all of the goodies in my house were expelled.

By the first weekend in January, LB was looking for his 9PM dessert.

Yeah I got nothin’.

So when I found out that there was a CAKE made especially for a celebration on January 6th, I was in!

This celebratory cake is in honor of

Three Kings’ Day

a/k/a Epiphany

a/k/a Día de Los Reyes

In Mexico, Día de Los Reyes  is a holiday celebrated on January 6 to honor the Three Wise Men.  The day the Three Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus Christ is the day that closes the Christmas festivities.  During Día de Los Reyes, Mexicans serve Rosca de Reyes, also known as

Three Kings’ Cake

“Rosca” means wreath and “Reyes” means kings. The Rosca de Reyes has an oval shape to symbolize a crown and has a small doll inside which represents baby Jesus. The doll figure symbolizes the hiding of the infant Jesus from King Herod’s troops. Traditionally roscas are adorned with dried and candied fruits to symbolize the many jewels that a crown would have.

My version of the Rosca de Reyes was made from a box mix, baked in a bundt pan, and decorated with icing, maraschino cherries, slivered almonds, and some leftover green chocolate chips.  It looks a bit odd, but tastes as good as any yellow box cake you’ve ever made.  Also, I did not include any trinkets in my cake.LB didn’t mind.

 

Here is a fun tidbit of information:

For those of us in the U.S., Christmas is over, but for those in Latin America and Spain, the majority of gifts are coming not from Santa Claus, but rather from the Three Kings.  Before going to bed, the children place their old shoes with a wish list on top for the Three Kings.  The next morning, the shoes are filled with toys and gifts from the Three Kings.

(source)

 

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

 

united states turkey GIF by Thomas Kastrati

While next week my favorite day will be Thursday, it is a given that 99.9% of the time, Friday is my favorite.

And I love to share my Friday Favorites.

This week I began preparing for my Sunday before Thanksgiving dinner.  I’ve decorated, made pie crust, baked pecan pie bars, and picked up a few grocery items.

My favorites this week are centered on getting ready for our big dinner…

Favorite # ONE

Cheesecake-Pumpkin-Pecan Pie

aka

Chumpkan Pie

It’s a beautiful thing and I have made it only once before.  Three layers of deliciousness make up this three-in-one pie.  The cheese cake layer is first, followed by the pumpkin custard layer, and topped with gooey pecan pie filling.

I’m not even going to attempt to type up this recipe because it is long and involved. You can find the recipe here.

You REALLY need a 10″ dish for this recipe.

Favorite # TWO

Pâte brisée

Martha Stewart’s recipe for pie crust has never let me down.   Instead of using the pie crust in the Chumpkan pie recipe above, I’ve made Martha Stewart’s pâte brisée for my Thanksgiving Day pies.  I can make it in advance and store it for weeks.  In this case, I made it last Sunday.

Speaking of Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg was honored with a star on the Hollywood walk of fame this week.

Ms. Stewart and Mr. Dogg are quite an interesting pair.  You can read about them here.

(I have no idea why I included that bit of information)

Favorite # THREE

Pecan Pie Bars

These are delicious.

If you’ve never tried a Pecan Pie Bar, you must.  I’ve posted the recipe here.

Favorite # FOUR

The Hallmark Channel

I tuned in last Tuesday and I haven’t been able to change the channel!

Favorite # FIVE

Fall Décor

To prepare for the festivities, I’ve pulled out some of my fall decorations!

Commercial Salt And Pepper GIFto be continued…

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Can You Bake Some Pumpkin Muffins?

Yesterday as we drove back to Jacksonville to spend the final day of fall vacation at home, LB asked, “what can you make with pumpkin [for me] when we get back home?”

The pumpkin possibilities are endless!

Dey’s uh, pumpkin-kabobs, pumpkin creole, pumpkin gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. Pineapple pumpkin, lemon pumpkin, coconut pumpkin, pepper pumpkin, pumpkin soup, pumpkin stew, pumpkin salad, pumpkin and potatoes, pumpkin burger, pumpkin sandwich…

(source)

er… can you [just] bake some pumpkin muffins?

Absolutely!

So I went on a Pinterest search for pumpkin muffins with an added bit of sump’n.

I found these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins from The Novice Chef.

As the Novice Chef states, these spiced pumpkin muffins are moist and topped with sweet cream cheese that melts into them as they bake and only take 30 minutes!
And she is right!

For the muffins you will need all purpose flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, salt, a can of pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.

For the fancy cream cheese swirl you will need, cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.

Here is how it is done:

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

If your oven is like mine, it will take 30 minutes to get there.

Place paper baking cups into a muffin pan and set aside.  Then, in a medium bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt until well combined and set it aside.

In your standing mixer, mix together the canned pumpkin, sugar and brown sugar.  Beat in eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Then slowly add in the flour mixture, mixing until there are no lumps.  This mixture looks really good.  Stick your finger in it and give it a taste.

Good, huh?

Wash your hands and continue.

Fill the muffin cups about three quarters of the way full.

Nice.

Now, after LB (or your significant other) has licked the bowl clean, wash it so you can use if for the cream cheese swirl.

In that same mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.  Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter.

It will turn out better than you think.

Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

And LB exclaims

“the holiday baking season has begun!”

 

 

Pumpkin Cream Swirl Muffins

  • Servings: 18
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

Muffin:

  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (pure pumpkin puree)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Swirl:

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Place paper baking cups into muffin pan.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt until well combined.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together pumpkin, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.

Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture and use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter.

Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

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National Dessert Day

October 14th has been declared

National Dessert Day!

The NationalDayCalendar suggests: observe National Dessert Day by going out to a dessert shop or restaurant and indulging in a sweet treat.  Post photos on social media using #NationalDessertDay

It must have been women’s intuition because I set into dessert making mode before I knew about the celebratory day.

I’d lost that lovin’ feeling for the apples that I had been taking to work for lunch

and decided I would make them into something LB couldn’t resist.

This is an EASY dessert recipe and there’s no easier way to make something LB cannot resist than creating dessert!

At bettycrocker.com I found this recipe for

Apple Dump Cake

by Betty Crocker Kitchens

Thank you Betty Crocker!

Aside from pumpkin, apple is the flavor of the season. While baking, the fragrance of apples and cinnamon wafted through the kitchen creating an atmosphere of autumn.

This dessert is delicious served warm and topped with cool whip!

Apple Dump Cake

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print
Ingredients
6 cups chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
Spray 13×9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
In baking dish, mix chopped apples, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Spread evenly in pan. Top with dry cake mix;  shake to distribute evenly. Pour melted butter over top, covering as much of the top with butter as possible.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until top is light golden brown and bubbly around the edges.
Cool 15 about minutes before serving.

It is apparent that the apple dessert is not going to last all week.
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Summertime Lime Pie

The Kitchen airs several times a week on the Food Network, but thanks to the DVR, I am able to watch it when I’m doing time on the treadmill.

It is one of my favorite programs and it’s co-host, Jeff Mauro is one of my favorite television personalities.  During The Kitchen’s summer series, I’ve learned a lot about preparing seafood, proper grilling, and picked up several ideas for making chilled desserts.

Yesterday I created a version of one of those chilled desserts which included

Fresh limes

Fresh whipped cream

And believe it or not,

fat free sweetened condensed milk.  This was by accident as I picked up the fat free variety while not giving my full attention to grocery shopping.  Great Value is Walmart’s brand and Walmart is not a fun place to shop.  It stands to reason that I was likely running through the store as quickly as possible.

The fat free sweetened condensed milk is not required for a delicious dessert, although mine turned out deliciously.

My Summertime Lime Pie is adapted from Jeff Mauro’s 5-Ingredient Quick Frozen Key Lime Pie which he deems as

Level: Easy

Makes 1 pie

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not necessarily fat free)

1 tablespoon fresh lime zest

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1 store bought graham cracker pie crust (or you can make your own)

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

lime slices, for garnish, optional

Directions

In a chilled mixing bowl, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream into stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice.  Fold the mixture into the whipped cream.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and spread evenly.  Freeze until set, 3 to 4 hours.

Combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream and the confectioners’ sugar. Whip until soft peaks. Spoon the whipped cream over the frozen pie.

Garnish with some curled lime slices and a cherry, if desired.

As with most of his desserts, LB has to have a cherry on top!

 

 

Summertime Lime Pie

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon fresh lime zest

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1 store bought graham cracker pie crust

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

lime slices, for garnish, optional

Directions

In a chilled mixing bowl, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream into stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice.  Fold the mixture into the whipped cream.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and spread evenly.  Freeze until set, 3 to 4 hours.

Combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream and the confectioners’ sugar. Whip until soft peaks. Spoon the whipped cream over the frozen pie.

Garnish with some curled lime slices.

 

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National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is observed annually on August 4th.

According to National Day Calendar, this is a day to enjoy those tasty bits of chocolate in your favorite cookies.

I don’t need a special reason to bake cookies, but I’ll take it!

Because chocolate chip cookies are a US favorite, we thank Ruth Graves Wakefield for her creation of chocolate chips, and also celebrate her name on National Chocolate Chip Day in May.  For if it weren’t for her curiosity and invention, there wouldn’t be any lingering in the kitchen waiting for the oven timer to ding.  If Ruth had never wondered what chunks of chocolate would taste like mixed into a sugar cookie dough, we would not know the joy of chocolate chip cookie dough.  Nor would we know the ecstasy that is to taste a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.  If it weren’t for Ruth Graves Wakefield, entire generations would have been denied the bliss that is a chocolate chip cookie.

Thank you Ruth!

It may be that she is equally responsible for all those other nuggets of goodness.  Morsels of butterscotch, peanut butter and white chocolate enjoyed in much the same way we enjoy our chocolate delights.  Nothing, though, rates quite as high as the chocolate chip cookie that Ruth Grave Wakefield brought to us in 1937.

No… Nothing.

(source)

HOW TO OBSERVE

Make your favorite chocolate chip cookies and throw some extra chocolate chips into the mix! Give this recipe a try. Post on social media using #ChocolateChipCookieDay.

 

LB and I endured Hurricane Irma in 2017 with these Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

Today I used a recently discovered Pinterest recipe for Soft Batch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

It is posted on my Pinterest COOKIES! board and also on the site from which it was found: Averie Cooks.  If you are looking for a quick chocolate chip cookie fix, it is important to note that these cookies require refrigeration for at least 2 hours before baking.

 

 

 

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Marbled Cake Massacre

This may be the saddest cake story ever.

On June 27th my daughter Stephanie tagged me in a Tasty video Facebook post:

“This gorgeous 4th of July Marbled Cake will add a spark to your Independence Day! “

I loved it and shared the video as one of my Friday Favorites.  You can find the recipe here.

The following Sunday I baked the three marbled layers.  After they cooled, I wrapped them in clear plastic wrap to store until July 3rd when I would put the cake together and add the finishing touches.

On that fateful Tuesday evening [while I worked to complete my masterpiece] as I put the final layer in place, I noticed a rather larger crack.  Nevertheless I continued and began frosting the cake, hoping the frosting would help to hold it together.  It did not.  One third of my top layer fell off of my cake.  My first inclination was to throw it across the room in the trash.

At that point my brain disengaged and my insanity accelerated: I decided I would smash the broken layer together, invert the cake and frost the bottom.

So I did.

And I turned the entire cake over.

It wasn’t meant to be.

LB and I discussed it at length.  He suggested there may be a problem with the egg substitute that I used.  I thought it may be the way I stored the layers.  Or maybe because I used the wrong size cake pans.  I know better than to tamper with a recipe.  But alas, I did tamper.

Unable to bear the thought of disappointing Stephanie, LB and I headed to Winn Dixie for the ingredients necessary to begin again.

And I began again.

I imagined the Jolly Rancher fireworks would be the most difficult part of the cake creation.  Strangely enough it was the easiest part.

There was no do-over involved.

And because I did not plan on adding sparklers to the finished product [as is shown in the Tasty video], I made extra fireworks.

Not too shabby for a second attempt.

 

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