Some recipes

Do you have certain go-to recipes that you use over and over?  Do you have them practically, but not quite, memorized?  Then do you spend 20 minutes searching for the recipe either on the internet or in your recipe file?  Yeah.....me neither.  But if I did, and if I had a blog, I think it would be a good idea for me to put them on my blog so that I could find them more easily, and other people could too.  Kind of like this....

(Oh yeah...I'd also tag the recipes so that in the cool sidebar thingie to the right, I could just click on "recipe" and be able to find all my posts that have recipes in them.)

Cheese Straws
1 jar (5 oz) Kraft Old English cheese spread
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I'm a pansy, so I barely do the 1/4 tsp.)

Preheat oven to 395°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  (Paper may ignite at 400°)

Add cheese spread, softened butter, and cayenne pepper into a mixing bowl and beat at high speed until fully combined.  Add in flour gradually and mix with a dough hook attachment.  Additional flour may be needed in certain weather conditions.  Dough should be moist but not sticky.

Press through cookie press fitted with a star tip into long logs.  Cut into 2-3inch pieces.  Bake at 395° for 14 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool on baking sheet.



This is my favorite coffee cake recipe.  Soooo delicious.

For cake:
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

For streusel:
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

For glaze:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°.  Generously spray a 12-15 cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.  Sprinkle pan with granulated sugar as though you are flouring the pan with the sugar.  Tap out excess sugar.  Set pan aside.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric stand mixer), cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar, for 3-5 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until combined. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan.

In a small bowl, combine pecans, brown sugar, and melted butter.  Sprinkle half of pecan mixture evenly over batter in pan.  Top with remaining cake batter, and sprinkle with remaining pecan mixture.  Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and milk, stirring until smooth.  Drizzle over cooled cake. 




This was the cake I made for my birthday this year. I garnished it with mint and fresh orange slices.

Fresh Orange Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (Adapted from Paula Deen's Best Desserts magazine)

For cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsps. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. orange zest (freshly grated)
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 3 (9-inch) cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add oil, orange juice, eggs, and sour cream. Beat at medium speed with a mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

For frosting (makes about 5 cups):
1 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. orange zest (freshly grated)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
8 cups confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, and orange zest at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Add orange juice, beating until combined. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth.