CLASSIC APPLESAUCE CUPCAKES

I have been making these cupcakes for my kids since they were little. They all have teenagers of their own now, so, lets just say the recipe has been in our family a while. It is a simple, one bowl recipe, that produces a moist and flavorful cupcake in short order.

NOTE: Baking times for using this recipe in a 9" x 13" pan, a 9" square pan, or (2) 8" or 9" layers and cupcakes are at the bottom of this post.

2½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
1½ cups applesauce
½ cup water (I use apple juice)
½ cup shortening (I use butter flavored)
2 eggs
1 cup raisins (I use golden)
½ cup chopped walnuts

Beat all ingredients (except raisins and nuts) in a large bowl with an electric mixer (on low) for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Then beat on high for 3 minutes. Stir in raisins and nuts and pour into greased and floured pans. It is just that quick and easy!!

NOTE: If you want to make half of this recipe (my mother used to call them "snack cakes"), just cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9" square pan.

BAKING TIMES
9" x 13" pan = bake for 60 to 65 minutes
(2) 8" or 9" layers  = bake for 50 to 55 minutes
9" x 9" snack cake = 50 to 55 minutes
cupcakes = 20 minutes  (makes 3 dozen)

A toothpick, inserted in baked cake should come out clean when the cakes are done.

PIZZA PUFFS

In these rocky financial times, I've been trying to save on the grocery budget by staying away from pre-prepared foods. Not only has it saved us some money, but we really enjoy knowing what ingredients are going into our favorite (junk) comfort foods.

PEPPERONI PIZZA PUFFS

PIZZA PUFFS

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)

1 cup favorite pizza sauce for dipping  (warmed up)
Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.



Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave your favorite pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

PINEAPPLE COCONUT CREAM PIE

I found this quick and easy pie recipe over at Sweet as Sugar Cookies the other day. Lisa hosts a Saturday blog that is FULL of great dessert recipes. If you haven't checked it out, please do so, it is lots of fun.

Lisa posted this as a pineapple cream pie, but I added half cup of coconut to the pudding and topped it with stabilized whipped cream. It was quick, easy and delicious!!!

The pudding is nearly fool proof!!

½ cup white sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

2½ whole milk

3 egg yolks

Put all of the above ingredients into a heavy bottomed pan and whisk it until any lumps are gone. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with rubber spatula.  Once the pudding starts to thicken, switch to a whisk and whisk, while it boils, for one minute (it will get very thick).

Remove from heat and stir in:

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla (I used 2 teaspoons)

1 cup canned crushed pineapple (I drained it and squeezed it dry)

½ cup flaked coconut (my addition)

Pour into 9" graham cracker pie shell and place plastic wrap on the surface of the hot pudding. Chill for several hours, then remove plastic and top with stabilized whipped cream.



Stabilized Whipped Cream (won't deflate)  Makes 2 cups
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
4 teaspoons cold water

Put unflavored gelatin powder in a small dish and add 4 teaspoons of cold water and stir. Let this sit until it looks semi-solid, then put this in the microwave for just a couple seconds (my microwave takes about 3 or 4 seconds) and it will turn back to a liquid.  Let this liquid cool, but not so cool that it turns back into a solid.
Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until it gets thick, but  not totally whipped.  While the beaters are still going on high, dribble in the cooled liquid gelatin. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

NOTE: A 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (drained and squeezed dry) gives you about 1½ cups of fruit.
NOTE: This pie slices beautifully.

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

We enjoyed the Italian sausage recipe (that I recently posted) so much, that I went searching for a breakfast sausage recipe and I found an EXCELLENT one. It tastes a little like Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, although we think it is much better.

This new recipe received an enthusiastic thumbs up from my "picky-picky husband" and recent breakfast guests. It is super easy to make; just mix the spices into the pork the night before you plan to use it and you are good to go!!

Since this recipe makes two pounds of sausage (more than we can use at one time), I let the  mixture chill in the fridge overnight, then I package it up in single meal size packages and freeze it. I will not be buying commercial breakfast sausage ever again and we can't wait to use this for biscuits and gravy!!

This sausage is mild, but full of flavor!!

2 pounds of ground pork

2 teaspoons dry rubbed sage

¼ teaspoon summer savory

¼ teaspoon dry marjoram

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (see note)

pinch ground cloves (you can't taste it, but it really adds something)

1¾ teaspoons salt (see note)

1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix everything (except the pork) together first, then use your (washed) hands to work it all into the pork. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.

NOTE: Hubby is very shy of anything with "heat" and he couldn't even tell that the red pepper flakes were in the recipe, although they definitely add a GREAT background flavor. If you like a little more spice in your breakfast sausage, just add more red pepper flakes.



NOTE:  This recipe calls for 1¾ teaspoons of salt, which was just right for us, however, if you are hyper-sensitive to salt, you might cut this amount down to 1½ teaspoons.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Oh my goodness, this sausage tastes SO good and goes together in a flash. The recipe says you can use it right away, but I let mine sit in the fridge for a few hours to blend the flavors, then fried it all up and froze it in small packages so it will be instantly ready for pizzas (or a million other things). This is going to be a regular at our house from now on!!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE
2 pounds of ground pork
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¾ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon paprika (not the hot kind)
½ teaspoon dry minced onion flakes
1½ teaspoon salt

Mix the spices together before you add to the meat.  A note about the fennel, onion flakes, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning: I measured the ingredients first, THEN I ground them with my mortar and pestle so that they would distribute evenly throughout the sausage. Knead the spices into the meat with your hands and chill completely.

 

After the sausage has "mellowed" in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight, either fry (for about 10 minutes for until browned and crumbly), or package and freeze.

This was SO good, I'll NEVER buy pre-made Italian sausage again!! It is also delicious in a meat sauce

NOTE: I make my own Italian seasoning with equal parts of: dried basil, dried marjoram, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried rosemary and dried sage (measure the rosemary...THEN crush it a little before you add it to the blend.

CHEWY SUGAR COOKIES

It is lunch box time again!! Can it be time for kids to go back to school already? These quick and easy sugar cookies are sweet, buttery and chewy. Frosting them definitely is not necessary, but Hubby loves them that way, so...

1 cup butter (room temperature)
1¼ cups granulated sugar
3 egg YOLKS
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
extra sugar to roll cookies in before baking

Cream 1 cup of butter with 1¼ cups of granulated sugar; add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Add the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar, beat until smooth.

Form dough into balls (about the size of a small walnut) and roll in granulated sugar. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet (or sheet sprayed with cooking spray). DO NOT FLATTEN.

Bake at 350F for 10-11 minutes, or until tops are cracked and just starting to turn golden. Carefully remove to cooling rack.   Makes 3 dozen.

NOTE:  Due to egg yolk size differences (and therefore amount of liquid differences), if your cookie dough seems a little dry, mix in a tablespoon of water.

EASY BANANA CUPCAKES

This quick recipe makes 24 moist and fluffy cupcakes; as a matter of fact, they are even more moist the second day!! Great banana flavor and super easy to make.

¾ cup butter (room temperature)
1½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rum extract (optional)
¾ cup buttermilk
1 cup OVER-RIPE mashed bananas (about 2 large or 3 small)
2½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

With an electric mixer beat the butter, sugar and extracts until its light and fluffy (2 to 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg, scraping the sides down once in a while.

In a different bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture (in thirds) and in between each flour addition, add a little of the buttermilk (starting and ending with dry ingredients).

Fill cupcake paper lined cupcakes pans about 2/3 full and bake in preheated 350F oven for 18-22 minutes (my oven took 20 minutes exactly).  Cool on rack and frost.  Store covered.

NOTE: Make sure you use very ripe bananas (the more brown speckles the better). There's tons of flavor in those brown bananas.

NOTE: If you don't have buttermilk, put 2 teaspoons white vinegar in a cup and then add enough regular milk to measure 3/4 cup. Let it sit for 10  minutes...works the same as buttermilk.