Blueberry or Cranberry Snowmen / Cornbread Snowmen

I have a vast collection of Cast Iron Cookware. I just received this cool, little Cast Iron Snowman Pan. It came with a Blueberry Mix so I decided to create a recipe so I can continue to make them throughout the Winter. All I need is some Snow, some cold Wintery Weather with a Snow storm. I live in Texas....... it will eventually come!
You can also make these in Corn Shaped Cast Iron Pans.

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1 Cute Little Cast Iron Snowman Pan, brushed well with Vegetable Oil.
Put the pan on a Sheet Pan and place it in the cold oven to preheat it.

Blueberry or Cranberry Snowmen

8 TBS Butter, room temperature
3/4 C Granulated Sugar + additional for sprinkling the tops of the Snowmen.
1 Egg
2 C Flour, divided
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 C Fresh Blueberries or 1 C Dried Cranberries
1/2 C Buttermilk

In a Stand Mixer with a Paddle Attachment:
Butter
Sugar
Mix until Creamy Smooth, about 3 minutes.

Add:
Egg
Vanilla
Mix just to combine well.

In a small bowl:
Toss Blueberries or Cranberries with 1/4 C Flour.
Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl:
Remaining Flour
Baking Powder
Salt
Whisk Well.
Add this, alternating with Buttermilk.
Mix just until combined.

Add Blueberries or Cranberries
Mix just until combined, don't over mix.

Spoon evenly into the Snowman wells.
Sprinkle with additional Sugar.
Bake 8 - 10 minutes.
Remove the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer the Snowmen to the rack to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining Batter.

Serve with room temperature Butter.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!





Cornbread Snowmen:

2/3 C All Purpose Flour
1/2 C Cornmeal
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 C Buttermilk
1 TBS Butter, melted
1 TBS Vegetable Oil
1 Egg, beaten


In a mixing bowl:
Flour
Cornmeal
Baking Powder
Salt
Whisk well.

Add:
Butter milk
Mix by hand with a Blending Fork.

Add:
Butter
Oil
Egg
Stir to combine well.
Spoon Batter into the Snowmen Wells.

Bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer the Snowmen to the rack to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining Batter.

Serve with room temperature Butter.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Boston Cream Pie Sheet Cake

Wow, if you love Boston Cream Pie like I do, you'll love this version in a Cake. I decided to simply post a link to the recipe to give full credit.

http://www.chef-in-training.com/…/boston-cream-pie-sheet-c…/

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Sweet Paul's Spiced Fig, Cranberry and Amaretto Cake with Caramel and Coconut

Here's a decadent and delicious cake from Sweet Paul. I simply posted the link to the recipe. I'll definitely make this one. I like the combination of ingredients and flavors.

http://www.sweetpaulmag.com/…/spiced-fig-amp-cranberry-amar…

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Strawberry Vanilla Jam Crumb Bars from Savory Simple

There aren't a lot of recipes that I like with Strawberries. I recently discovered this one, it looks delicious and I think I'd like it. It's not really original and I know it's been around for decades, but I've never made them.
I decided to post a link to the recipe rather than re write it.

http://www.savorysimple.net/strawberry-vanilla-jam-crumb-b…/

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Cherry Dump Cake

Here's another great Dump Cake recipe. Dump Cake is a great recipe for a crowd, a Family Gathering, a Church Supper or a Holiday Dessert.
I have several on the Blog.
The concept of the Dump Cake is to "dump" all of the ingredients into one baking dish and bake it.
It was created to be an easy, delicious dessert to make.
I included some Options for other Pie Fillings.

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1 - 9" X 13" Baking Dish

Cherry Dump Cake
1 - 21 oz. can of Cherry Pie Filling
1 - 20 can of Crushed Pineapple, undrained.
1 - 18.25 oz. Box of Yellow Cake Mix
8 TBS Butter, cold and cubed.
1 C Shredded Coconut
1 C Chopped, Toasted Pecans (I toast them on the stove in a dry Cast Iron Skillet)

Layer in the following order: (do not mix the ingredients together)


Cherry Pie Filling, spread out evenly in the dish.
Pineapple, pour evenly over Cherries.
Cake Mix, sprinkle the Dry Mix evenly over the Pineapple.
Butter, scatter evenly over the Cake Mix.
Coconut, sprinkle evenly over the Butter.
Pecans, sprinkle evenly over the Butter.

Bake 45 minutes

Serve Hot or at Room Temperature.

Options:
Blueberry Pie Filling with Chopped Pecans
Peach Pie Filling with Chopped Walnuts
Apple Pie Filling with Chopped Almonds

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Nouveau Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always in pursuit of new (Nouveau) cookie recipes. Here's a twist on the iconic All American Chocolate Chip Cookie. It contains the addition of Caramel and Sea Salt, both ingredients that have a French connection.

Caramel:
The English word that originates from the French word, Caramel.

Sel de Mer:
When I think of great Salt, it's always French Sel de Mer. When we travel to France we alway bring back plenty of Sel de Mer.

Chocolate Chips:
They were originally created by the Nestlé family in Switzerland as a Chocolate Chunk. The Nestle family has been credited for making some of the best Chocolate in the world, Swiss Chocolate.

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Back in 1930, Kenneth and Ruth Wakefield purchased a Cape Cod-style toll house located halfway between Boston and New Bedford, on the outskirts of Whitman, Massachusetts. Originally constructed in 1709, the house served as a haven for road-weary travelers..
	Here, passengers paid tolls, changed horses, and ate much-welcomed home-cooked meals. It was also here, over 200 years later, that the Wakefield decided to open a lodge, calling it the Toll House Inn. In keeping with the tradition of creating delicious homemade meals, Ruth baked for guests who stayed at the Toll House Inn.

When you put these three ingredients together and the French, Swiss and American background, you have the Nouveau Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Nouveau Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sheet Pans lined with Parchment Paper.

8 TBS Butter, room temperature
6 TBS Brown Sugar
4 TBS Granulated Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Vanilla
1 C Flour
1/2 tsp Medaglia d'Oro Espresso Coffee Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2/3 C Dark Chocolate Chips, I use Guittard Noir or Hershey's Special Dark.
9 Caramel Squares sliced into 36 pieces. This recipe make 1 dozen Cookies and you need 3 slices for each Cookie.
Sea Salt

In a Stand Mixer with a Paddle Attachment:
Butter
Brown Sugar
Granulated Sugar
Beat for 5 minutes.

Add:
Egg Yolks
Vanilla
Mix just until combined.
Don't overbeat.

In a Small Mixing Bowl:
Flour
Espresso
Baking Powder
Whisk well.
Add to the Mixer and mix just until combined.

Add:
Chocolate Chips
Mix just until combined.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball.
Gently press 3 slices of Caramel onto the top of each ball without flattening the dough.
Place the dough 4" apart onto the Sheet Pan.
Bake 10 minutes

Remove the pan to a rack and immediately sprinkle each cookie generously with Sea Salt.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Lemon Pie

I just wanted to post a delicious recipe for Lemon Pie.

Meyer Lemon

Here's what you'll need:
1 - 9" Prepared, Baked and Cooled Pie Crust.
You can purchase one or make one from scratch.

1 C Granulated Sugar
3 1/2 TBS Cornstarch
1 C Whole Milk
1/2 C Fresh Meyer Lemon Juice
3 Egg Yolks, Beaten and set aside in a Small Bowl.
4 TBS Butter, room temperature
1 TBS Zest from a Meyer Lemon
1 C Sour Cream

Homemade Whipped Cream:
1 C Heavy Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
1 TBS Confectioner's Sugar.
Whip the Cream in a Stand Mixer with a Whisk Attachment.
Beat to Soft Peak.
Add:
Vanilla
Confectioner's Sugar
Beat to Stiff Peak.
Transfer to a Serving Bowl to serve.

In a small bowl:
Sugar
Corn Starch
Whisk well.

In a Saucepan on medium heat:
Sugar/Cornstarch
Milk
Lemon Juice
Whisk well.
Cook until it begins to thicken.
Reduce heat to low.
Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add 2 TBS of the Hot Liquid to the Egg Yolks.
Stir to temper the Yolks.
Repeat until it begins to thicken.
Spoon into the Saucepan.
Whisking to combine well.
Return to low heat and simmer 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.

Add:
Butter
Zest
Stir until Butter is completely melted.

Add:
Sour Cream
Gently stir to combine.
Spoon into the Pie Shell.
Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Serve individual servings with Homemade Whipped Cream.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!