Apple Crisp

This apple crisp is a favorite for casual family dinners as well as the holidays because it is not only dairy-free and egg-free, but it's so easy to prepare. For quicker weeknight preparation, I often leave the skins on the apples, but this recipe truly benefits from peeling them first.
Makes one 9" x 13" crisp

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

 

1 cup whole-wheat or all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 (15-ounce) can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup lowfat granola cereal, crumbled

Soft Pretzel Bites

Photo Credit: http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/

Soft Pretzel Bites

Original Recipe: http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2010/02/soft-pretzel-bites.html

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 F)
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast (I used instant)
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled just slightly
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 quarts water
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. On low speed, mix the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt and 4 1/2 cups of the flour and mix on low speed until combined.  Increase the speed to medium (I don't put my mixer above 2 when kneading dough so I just kept it there) and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.  Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
3. Spray a bowl with cooking spray (or oil with with vegetable oil), add the dough and turn to coat.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Spray two baking sheets liberally with cooking spray.
5. Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each.  Roll each piece into a long rope measuring about 22 inches.  Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make pretzel bites.  Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches of about 10-15 for 30 seconds.  Remove with a large slotted spoon and place the pretzel bites on the prepared baking sheets, making sure they aren't touching.  Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt.  Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Remove to a cooling rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.

Long Boy "Burgers"

Photo Credit: http://sunshineandbones.blogspot.com/

Long Boy "Burgers"

Original Recipe: http://sunshineandbones.blogspot.com/2010/09/long-boy-burgers.html

Ingredients:

• 2-4 (6-inch) sub rolls, split in half lengthwise
• 1 1/4 cup cornflakes, crushed
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1/2 cup whole or lowfat milk
• 6 tablespoons ketchup, separated
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Adjust the oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Bake rolls, cut side up, on wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.
2. Combine cornflakes, onion, milk, 4 tablespoons ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, garlic powder, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Add meat and knead gently until well combined.
3. Top toasted rolls evenly with meat mixture, spreading meat to edges of rolls. Brush top of meat mixture evenly with remaining ketchup and bake until meat registers 160 degrees, 20-25 minutes. Top burgers with cheese and continue to bake until cheese melts, 3-4 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Serve.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

 Photo Credit: http://engineerbaker.blogspot.com/

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

Original Recipe: http://engineerbaker.blogspot.com/2011/06/oreo-ice-cream-cake.html

Ingredients:
For the cake:

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• ½ cup dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 cup water
• 4 tsp distilled white vinegar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake pans (layers will just be taller if you use an 8-inch pan). Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then butter the parchment.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend (this will be very thick). Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the two prepared cake pans.
3. Bake for 25-35 minutes (less for the 9-inch pans, more for the 8-inch), or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes, invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

For the ice cream:

• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup malt powder
• 2 cups heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 6 large egg yolks
• ¾ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp vodka
• 20 Oreos, coarsely crushed

1. Warm the milk, sugar, malt powder, 1 cup of heavy cream , and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard into the large bowl of heavy cream. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use. Add the vodka then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is done churning, mix in the crushed Oreos with a spatula before transferring to a container. Chill in the freezer for at least 3 hours before using.

For the frosting:

• 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 2-4 Tbsp milk
• pinch of salt
• 5 Oreos, pulverized in a food processor

1. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the salt until smooth. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk until you reach your desired consistency. Mix in the Oreo crumbs. Use immediately, or refrigerate and let come to room temperature before using.

To assemble:

Make sure that your cake is cooled completely, your ice cream is solid, and you have a level place in the freezer to stash the cake as you assemble. Place one cake layer on a nice plate (you can chill the cake layers in the freezer as well, for extra insurance). Use a large cookie scoop to scoop 1-2 cups of ice cream on top of the cake layer. Quickly spread the ice cream evenly around the cake. Freeze for at least one hour, preferably two. Once the ice cream has hardened back up again, take the cake out of the freezer and place the second cake layer on top. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Freeze again, but now for at least 2-3 hours. If you want to cover the cake with foil or plastic wrap, do so at this point. It’s sliceable and not too hard to eat directly out of the freezer given the vodka in the ice cream and that the cake is oil-based rather than butter-based. That will also keep the cake from drying out too quickly, even in the freezer.

Four Cheese Spinach Dip

Photo Credit: http://iadorefood.com/

Four Cheese Spinach Dip

Original Recipe: http://iadorefood.com/recipes/four-cheese-spinach-dip-kelseys-style/

Ingredients:

•     8 Ounce of cream cheese (room temp)
•     1 Teaspoon of garlic powder
•     1/3 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•     2 Tablespoon freshly grated Romano cheese
•     2 Tablespoon very finely chopped red bell pepper
•     2 green onion (scallion) white and green finely chopped
•     1 Cup of wilted fresh baby spinach, squeezed dry and chopped (or frozen and thawed)
•     1/2 Cup grated medium Cheddar cheese
•     a pinch of cayenne and paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix cream cheese, garlic powder, parmesan, romano, cayenne and paprika with hand or stand mixer on medium until softened and well mixed.
3. Add the red peppers and the scallions and mix on med-low until just incorporated.
4. Add spinach and mix on low until just incorporated.
5. Transfer mixture to a small ovenproof dish and top with cheddar. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until bubbling around the edges.
6. Remove from oven and allow to set for 5 - 7 minutes before serving. Serve with fried or baked pita wedges and tortilla chips (nachos).

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Photo Credit: http://www.justataste.com

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Original Recipe: http://www.justataste.com/2011/05/cheesy-garlic-bread/

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped, green and white parts divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 loaf French bread

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a bowl, combine the softened butter, Asiago cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, mayonnaise, white parts of the chopped scallions and minced garlic. Stir until thoroughly combined.
3. Split the loaf of bread in half lengthwise and spread both sides with the cheese mixture.
4. Bake the bread for 7 minutes then place it under the broiler just until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
5. Top the bread with the green parts of the chopped scallions, cut it into slices and serve.

Sugar Cookie Squares

Photo Credit: http://cookingclassy.blogspot.com

Sugar Cookie Squares

Original Recipe: http://cookingclassy.blogspot.com/2011/11/sugar-cookie-squares.html

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sour cream (I just do 1 heaping Tbsp)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 recipe vanilla frosting, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13" x 9" baking dish, set aside. In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Stir in egg and egg white. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until blended. Slowly add dry mixture and stir until well combine. With buttered hands, gently press (so gently almost patting) mixture into buttered baking dish. Bake 17 - 20 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and edges are lightly golden. Cool completely, then frost and cut into squares.

Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp half and half
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• Several drop food coloring (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whip together butter and powdered sugar and half and half until fluffy. Stir in vanilla and salt. Add in food optional food coloring and mix until well blended.