Easy BUTTER MINTS
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
7 cups powdered sugar
drops of peppermint extract or oil
At room temperature butter, mix with milk. Add sugar. Mix with hands! Add peppermint and food coloring. Roll into balls or a mold. Makes 200 mints.
I froze half of the mixture, which will last a long time. I liked it. Great for theme parties that have "color" in the theme. I would prefer if I had a cute mold to shape the mints in.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
A pregnant woman has cravings and today I craved Snickers candy bar. Mmmmm yum. So this dessert goes out to me, sorry (again) dear hubby of mine. I happened to have Snickers already stored and packaged away... so I was in search of finding a good recipe that includes Snickers candy bar. It's called "Snickers Bar Brownies."
Snickers Bar Brownies
1 chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 bag Snickers candy bar
Mix cake mix with butter and sweet. milk. Spread half of batter on 9 by 13 pan and bake for 10 min at 350. Slice Snickers and place on top of crust. With remaining batter, crumble or place (do not spread) on top of snickers. It will even itself out, once baked. Bake again at 350 for 20 minutes.
Snickers Bar Brownies
1 chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 bag Snickers candy bar
Mix cake mix with butter and sweet. milk. Spread half of batter on 9 by 13 pan and bake for 10 min at 350. Slice Snickers and place on top of crust. With remaining batter, crumble or place (do not spread) on top of snickers. It will even itself out, once baked. Bake again at 350 for 20 minutes.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
A blog started by a crazy "kook" in the kitchen...
It's no secret that I am not a good cook. If I make something relatively well, it's because I follow someone else's recipe EXACTLY. As what my husband would say about the new things I cook... "I don't like it." I am out to get a reaction out of him. I want him to go back for seconds. I want him to say "make it again!" But mostly I just want to be a good cook. I start this journey for me and hopefully others will enjoy (or laugh) in the process.
I had an idea to google "pie contest" the other day. (And no, it's not a pie eating contest... which I would actually have a chance at) I thought it would be fun to enter a contest for the best pie. Until I realized that I've never made a pie. Nearly 30 years old and never made a pie! (I guess it's a good thing I wasn't a pioneer) Thankfully, my husband actually doesn't care. His world doesn't revolve around food. Mine on the other hand, does.
As for my very first pie, I have my father in law to thank. He gave me blueberries straight from Oregon (which were frozen and buried deep in my freezer). A year later, out came Blueberry Cream Pie. My husband is a fan of fruit pies, but I am not (unless it has the word cream in it) So I combined the two. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my proud creation. The verdict? I liked it, especially the cream part. My husband, you ask? Did not. I am proud that I made it from scratch, except the crust from a box. :) However I thought there were too many blueberries. Depending on the crowd... put more or less blueberries. Am I actually giving cooking advice?! Here is the recipe (mostly for my own cookbook):
Blueberry Cream Pie
(8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened1
(14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. plus 2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
2 c. fresh blueberries
In large bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice and vanilla. Pour in prepared crust.
In medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; mix well. Add water and remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice then blueberries. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes or until thick and clear. Cool 10 minutes. Spread over pie. Chill 3 hours or until set. If desired, top with Cool Whip or whipped cream when serving.
LIANE'S REVIEW
6 out of 10
For my second choice... one of my favorites. Banana Cream Pie. I didn't want to use the banana pudding from a box, so I found an old fashioned recipe that doesn't require pudding. This time I tried a butter pie crust from scratch.
Butter Crust:
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. cold butter
4 to 5 Tblsp cold water
Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened. Prick crust all over with fork. Bake at 475°F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
Banana Cream Pie
(Without the bananas, it is a vanilla cream pie. Add coconut to make Coconut Cream Pie.)
3 c. whole milk
3/4 c. white sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 ripe bananas
1. In a large saucepan, scald the milk
2. In another saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt. Slowly add scalded milk
3. Over medium heat, stir until thickened
4. Cover, stirring occasionally, cook for 2 minutes longer
5. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks, stir some of hot mixture and beat lightly with yolks. Add to pot
6. Cook for a minute longer
7. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter
8. Let sit until luke warm
9. When ready to pour, slice bananas in crust (shell) all over and pour warm mixture over bananas
LIANE'S REVIEW
I added more flour to make it more thick, and of course more sugar to make it sweeter. It didn't seem like it was going to turn out, but it did! Yeah for me! I like it. I would make this again! When I told my husband what dessert I made, he said that was his least favorite pie. :( So I couldn't even get him to take a bite. (The next one is for you darling)
I made my crust too thick. The taste of the crust was just okay. I think I like the box pie crust better. It was easier to roll out the dough from the box kind too.
I rate it 7 out of 10.
It's no secret that I am not a good cook. If I make something relatively well, it's because I follow someone else's recipe EXACTLY. As what my husband would say about the new things I cook... "I don't like it." I am out to get a reaction out of him. I want him to go back for seconds. I want him to say "make it again!" But mostly I just want to be a good cook. I start this journey for me and hopefully others will enjoy (or laugh) in the process.
I had an idea to google "pie contest" the other day. (And no, it's not a pie eating contest... which I would actually have a chance at) I thought it would be fun to enter a contest for the best pie. Until I realized that I've never made a pie. Nearly 30 years old and never made a pie! (I guess it's a good thing I wasn't a pioneer) Thankfully, my husband actually doesn't care. His world doesn't revolve around food. Mine on the other hand, does.
As for my very first pie, I have my father in law to thank. He gave me blueberries straight from Oregon (which were frozen and buried deep in my freezer). A year later, out came Blueberry Cream Pie. My husband is a fan of fruit pies, but I am not (unless it has the word cream in it) So I combined the two. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my proud creation. The verdict? I liked it, especially the cream part. My husband, you ask? Did not. I am proud that I made it from scratch, except the crust from a box. :) However I thought there were too many blueberries. Depending on the crowd... put more or less blueberries. Am I actually giving cooking advice?! Here is the recipe (mostly for my own cookbook):
Blueberry Cream Pie
(8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened1
(14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. plus 2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
2 c. fresh blueberries
In large bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice and vanilla. Pour in prepared crust.
In medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; mix well. Add water and remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice then blueberries. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes or until thick and clear. Cool 10 minutes. Spread over pie. Chill 3 hours or until set. If desired, top with Cool Whip or whipped cream when serving.
LIANE'S REVIEW
6 out of 10
For my second choice... one of my favorites. Banana Cream Pie. I didn't want to use the banana pudding from a box, so I found an old fashioned recipe that doesn't require pudding. This time I tried a butter pie crust from scratch.
Butter Crust:
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. cold butter
4 to 5 Tblsp cold water
Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened. Prick crust all over with fork. Bake at 475°F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
Banana Cream Pie
(Without the bananas, it is a vanilla cream pie. Add coconut to make Coconut Cream Pie.)
3 c. whole milk
3/4 c. white sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 ripe bananas
1. In a large saucepan, scald the milk
2. In another saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt. Slowly add scalded milk
3. Over medium heat, stir until thickened
4. Cover, stirring occasionally, cook for 2 minutes longer
5. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks, stir some of hot mixture and beat lightly with yolks. Add to pot
6. Cook for a minute longer
7. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter
8. Let sit until luke warm
9. When ready to pour, slice bananas in crust (shell) all over and pour warm mixture over bananas
LIANE'S REVIEW
I added more flour to make it more thick, and of course more sugar to make it sweeter. It didn't seem like it was going to turn out, but it did! Yeah for me! I like it. I would make this again! When I told my husband what dessert I made, he said that was his least favorite pie. :( So I couldn't even get him to take a bite. (The next one is for you darling)
I made my crust too thick. The taste of the crust was just okay. I think I like the box pie crust better. It was easier to roll out the dough from the box kind too.
I rate it 7 out of 10.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
