Cherry Vanilla Pecan Cookies

Baker's Dozen!

I combined my favorite vanilla sugar cookie recipe, which I've modified over the years from Taste of Home magazine with another recipe idea I saw in the Houston Chronicle recently.  I liked the idea of cherries and pecans.   But not their recipe ingredients of maraschino cherries and confectioner's sugar instead of regular sugar.  I used dried Bing cherries instead from Costco (cutting in half, they were huge!) and a cup of pecans, which I broke into pieces after "toasting" in the microwave.  Then I added Wilton's Pink food coloring gel and sprinkled pink and white sanding sugar on top before baking for even more pinky bling.

Happy Valentine's Day!
And "Go Red" Month, too!  Cherries are "good for you" with lots of anthocyanins - queritrin and ellagic acid.


CHERRY VANILLA PECAN COOKIES


1/2 cup (minus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.
Nutritional Facts
2 cookies equals 109 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 22 mg cholesterol, 90 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

I made two loaves - one with the alternating flaps, the top is just the sides folded together lengthwise

Much easier to alternate folds than to cut in long strips and braid

Raspberry Breakfast Braid From the August/September 2012 issue of Taste of Home on page 61

I modified this to make it healthier and easier.  And basically because I view recipe directions as suggestions, or figure I can do better (or I goofed.)

To start, I used the Heart Smart Low Fat Bisquick and Neufchatel cream cheese and skim milk instead of 2%.  And reduced the amount of butter to 2 tablespoons  I also divided and made two loaves. not only to test different methods to enclose those yummy raspberries and cream cheese, but to make them more manageable to bake and store.  You could also take the opportunity to try two different fruits - for instance, make the other blueberry.  Or with peaches.   I cut back the sugar and oomped up the flavor with a sprinkling of Penzeys Vanilla Sugar over the fruit and cream cheese center before enclosing.   Instead of frosting, I mixed and drizzled confectioner's sugar and milk and topped with a handful of toasted sliced almonds.

I liked the idea you could use Bisquick and have it done much faster than traditional yeast coffee cakes, making this a great go-to recipe for quick weekend breakfasts.  Click on the earlier link for the original recipe, here is my modified recipe. . .


Ingredients
2 cups biscuit/baking mix - Heart Smart Low Fat Bisquick
1 package Neufchatel reduced fat cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/4 cups fresh raspberries
Sprinkling of sugar - try Penzeys Vanilla Sugar
1/4 cup confectioners sugar, with approximately 1 tablespoon milk to make a drizzle.

Directions
Place biscuit mix in a large bowl. Cut in  half the package cream cheese and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough milk just until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8-10 times.
On a greased baking sheet, divide and roll dough into 9-in. x 12-in. rectangles. Spoon raspberries down center third of dough; drop/add remaining cream cheese sprinkle with sugar.
Cut 1-in.-wide strips about 2-1/2 in. into center. Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across raspberries; seal ends.  Or fold ends in or cut alternating strips and fold over.
Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine confectioner's sugar and milk to desired consistency; drizzle over pastry. Yield: 12 servings, depending upon appetite.

Koolickles!

These slices below were from a whole pickle. I think it best to preslice them first. But they do look pretty and holiday-ish.

I found this recipe in the August/September issue of Country Woman magazine, page 51. Click here for the recipe. I used Cherry Kool-Aid. They taste...interesting. Kinda grow on you, like sour cherry pickles. Might make for an interesting Christmas/holiday gathering treat. (Though personally, I'd bring something else as a backup!)

Another flop - Baked Egg Rolls

Baked Egg Rolls -- From the Taste of Home Cooking School - Spring 2009 issue, page 25. One hint should have been it was not one of the featured Cooking School items. I was so optimistic these would turn out and be added to The Notebook. Instead, it was trashed. Was it the filling? I used leftover rotissierie chicken and instead of a broccoli stir fry blend, Costco's Organic mixed vegetables. My thinking was "chicken pot pie in an egg roll" Maybe it was the egg roll wrapper. There was only one kind at my grocery store, so choice was not an option. When baked at 425 for 12 minutes, it became not crunchy but rather hard. The seasonings? The only change I made was using 3 teaspoons of reduced sodium soy sauce instead of 4 1/2. Sesame oil? Ginger? Garlic? We were oddly thirsty afterwards. On the positive side, I learned how to roll an egg roll. I'll just need to look for another filling recipe, not any time soon.

Crockpot Coney Island Sauce

Modified from the Taste of Home version by Shirley Heston. I double the recipe and then freeze the leftovers. I crock it on Low for 2-3 hours -- this helps save time if we've been all out and about and getting home close to dinner. You can also just cook the sauce in a saucepan if you are hungry now!

CONEY ISLAND SAUCE

1 pound ground round 85% beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 tablespoons chopped celery or 1/2 teaspoon celery seed

2 cans (15 ounce each) tomato sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder or 4 teaspoons Penzeys Chile Con Carne

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

dash of salt

In large skillet, brown beef, onion and celery over medium heat. Drain. In crockpot (or saucepan) stir in remaining ingredients and add the browned beef. Cook on Low 2-3 hours (or for the stovetop version, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally). Grill or cook hotdogs, put in buns and top with sauce. It's enough to top at least 16 hotdogs. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Crumb Cakes

This is from the Spring 2009 Taste of Home Cooking for 2 magazine, currently on the newsstands. Normally I don't buy nor subscribe to this particular TOH publication, but when flipping through it, this recipe caught my eye, amongst others.

I used skim milk instead of 2% milk and cut the butter by a tablespoon (2 instead of 3 tablespoons) for a still tasty and healthier result.

Peanut Butter Crumb Cakes

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold butter
1 egg
1/3 cup 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream peanut butter and brown sugar until crumbly; stir in flour. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/3 cup for topping. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and vanilla. Add baking powder and baking soda to the remaining peanut butter mixture; stir in milk mixture just until moistened. Transfer to four 6-oz. ramekins coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with reserved topping and chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from ramekins to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 4 servings.

Taste of Home - Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Our traditional Christmas breakfast...and breakfast later on, as it makes more than one coffee cake and it freezes well! Giftable, too! L and I would bring one to our friend, Mary, on Christmas Eve.

This is from the February/March 1995 Taste of Home issue. Be forewarned, it takes two days, as the dough is refrigerated overnight. Through the years I've reduced by half the dough ingredients, because the original amount would make four, maybe even five huge coffee cakes. But I kept the filling the same, because who doesn't like cream cheese? Use your best judgement how much to use on each loaf -- big eyes make for gooey mess. Suffice to say you will have some left over if you have cut the dough ingredients in half. You could refrigerate and use it later for a small batch of kolaches, or sweet rolls, or if you are not afraid of an egg, swipe a spoonful occasionally. I have also substituted low fat sour cream and the Neufachel 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Stay away from the fat-free stuff. Another nice touch is to use almond extract for the vanilla in the glaze if you are sprinkling toasted almonds on top.

CREAM CHEESE COFFEE CAKE

Dough:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon salt
----------
2 packages dry yeast (FYI: 1 package equals 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup warm water, 110-115 degrees
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour

Filling:
2 packages cream cheese, softened, 8 ounce size
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
sliced almonds, toasted, optional

In a saucepan, combine sour cream, sugar, butter and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 5-10 minutes or until well blended. Cool to room temperature. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sour cream mixture and eggs; mix well. Gradually stir in flour. Dough will be very soft. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, combine filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until well blended. Turn dough onto a floured board; knead 5-6 times. Divide into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a 12 x 8 rectangle. Spread 1/4 of the filling on each to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up, jelly-roll style from long side; pinch seams and ends to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheet/s. Do this part if you want to get artsy-creative: Cut six X's on top of loaves. Lately I've been putting it seam side up and if it unrolls a little exposing the cream cheese, that's OK, too. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 (I adjust it down to 350 if it starts to brown too quickly) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Combined the first three glaze ingredients, drizzle over loaves. Sprinkle with almonds if desired.
Enjoy!

Chow Mein Chicken Salad

From the April/May 2008 Taste of Home Magazine, page 43 - Field Editor Favorites (Betsy Hedeman). We'll definitely add it to our collection. Perfect for leftover chicken, and the recipe says you can also use tuna. I added the tomatoes. Loved the toasted almonds, we'll add more next time and decrease the sugar a little in the vinaigrette.

CHOW MEIN CHICKEN SALAD

Shredded lettuce...chow mein noodles...cooked chicken breast...4 teaspoons sliced almonds, toasted...4 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted...Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup olive oil...4 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar...1 tablespoon sugar...salt and pepper

Vanilla Wafer Cookies

This is one of our family's favorite go-to recipes...for any season, any need. I found it in the August 1997 Taste of Home magazine, and it is on their website. You can easily reduce the butter by one tablespoon (every little bit helps!) without any noticeable effect. While quite tasty (it has 1 tablespoon of vanilla!) and pretty as made per the recipe, I also use Wilton's food color gels and/or sprinkle colored sugar or jimmies on top before baking for an easy, colorful "decorated" seasonal cookie.

Picture Pretty (er, Picture YUMMY!)

Here's the photo of the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies I posted on March 9. (Obviously a repeat favorite around here!)

Burger Bribery

I'm going to try a new recipe tonight...The Black Bean Burgers from the newest issue of Taste of Home (August/September). I prebribed L last night by making rice krispy bars, and this afternoon a tiny cake. Back-up is a ham pasta salad, another L fav, in case the burgers are truly horrible and I need something to eat. They looked and sounded good, though. Whenever TOH has a photo, that's a good sign. I made a turkey tenderloin dish which didn't, and it looked and tasted terrible. Something to keep in mind when you are flipping through the food 'zines.

Update: I liked them, L ended up with the "no thank you helping" (2 bites. Remember that from Girl Scout camp? "Would you like some broccoli?" "No, thank you" PLOP it goes on your plate). Very colorful, too. I used my Cuisinart Griddler and served topped with some salsa and a pinchful of shredded taco cheese. I'll freeze them along with the buns to nuke for a quick lunch. Unfortunately I probably undid all the good stuff by having a good-sized piece of tiny cake later on.

You'll find this recipe on page 41 in the Bonus Card section of the August/September 2007 Taste of Home magazine. Credit Clara Honeyager.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Slightly modified from a 1997 Taste of Home magazine recipe - I cut back 1 tablespoon of the butter. You can also mix in food coloring (those tiny Wilton gel paste jars work great), and add colored sugar sprinkles to the tops before baking for different cookie occasions.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (no substitutes), minus 1 tablespoon
1 cup sugar or a little less
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (yes, 1 tablespoon!)
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes (check at 12 minutes) or until edges are golden brown. Cool on the sheets for about 1 minute, no longer otherwise you'll be chipping them off.

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

1 package (8 ounces) Neufachel cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup creamy Costco Kirkland Organic peanut butter

1/3 cup fat free whipped topping

6-8 mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, save a few bits to sprinkle on top of pie

1 chocolate crumb crust (separate Hershey's recipe)

In small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter until smooth and light. Fold in the whipped topping. Coarsely chop the peanut butter cups, save some pieces to put on top, stir the rest into cream cheese mixture and spoon into crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before cutting. Tastes even better the next day or overnight, if you can control yourself! Yield 6-8 servings.

Modified from Taste of Home Cooking School, Classic Cooking - Spring 2007, page 71 "Creamy Peanut Butter Pie"

I like the Costco Kirkland Organic peanut butter, it only has 3 ingredients-organic peanuts, organic palm oil and salt. No sugars or chemicals!

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars - Do I have your attention?!

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE BARS

¾ cup water
1/3 cup butter (no substitutes)
1 ½ squares Baker’s UNSWEETENED chocolate
2 cups flour
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking SODA
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white
½ cup reduced fat/low fat sour cream

Cream Cheese Mixture:
1 package reduced fat/Neufachel cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz) milk chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips (if you are a true chocoholic and buy in bulk, a couple handfuls should do it)

In small saucepan, combine the water, butter and chocolate. Cook and stir over LOW heat until melted. Stir until smooth and let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add egg, egg white and sour cream. Beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate mixture until smooth.

In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg white and vanilla. Set aside.

Spread chocolate batter into a 15”x10” pan, coated with nonstick cooking spray or Smart Balance or Crisco Trans Fat Free shortening. Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls (I use a teaspoon and plop all over, and spreading a little bit, not swirling. I want that cream cheese on top!). Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool. But they taste great slightly warm. Yield about 4 dozen (yeah, right. Cut yourself a 2”x2” piece and just be done with it.). You can also wrap and freeze these, too.

Source: Taste of Home Best Light Recipes, 2006, page 128

Apple Pie Muffins

This is modified from the Spring 2007 issue Taste of Home Cooking School Classic Cooking Recipe Magazine, "Cinnamon Muffins," page 40. I renamed it "Apple Pie Muffins"
While the original recipe sounded yummy, I thought it needed a little more "healthy oomph."

I added one chopped Granny Smith apple, leaving most of the skin on, and instead of 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, which I think can be kind of bitter, I substituted 1 teaspoon of Penzeys Apple Pie Spice. It has some nutmeg, but also cloves, 2 kinds of cinnamon (China Cassia and Korintje Cassia), and mace.

Costco carries organic eggs with Omega 3. A little bit pricier, but a lot healthier. And boy, is that yolk bright yellow-wow! I also used my Pampered Chef stoneware 12-muffin pan. It's HEAVY, but really makes a good result difference.

Apple Pie Muffins

Yield: 1 dozen

1/3 cup Smart Balance shortening
1/2 cup sugar (just a little under)
1 egg, preferably organic and with added Omega 3
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Penzeys Apple Pie Spice
1/2 cup milk

In a bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add egg; beat well. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and Apple Pie Spices; add to creamed mixture alternately, then add apples. Don't overbeat.

Fill cupcake liners half full. (I never have good luck getting things out of pans, so I use the cupcake papers). Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (18 minutes, my oven), or until toothpick or knife comes out clean.

While still warm, put a small bit of butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

The original recipe said to mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and dip top of muffin into the butter then the cinnamon sugar. That would most certainly be very delicious if you are young, cooking for a bake sale, and/or don't have diabetes or cardiovascular disease in your family!

But indulging in just a dib of butter and a light sprinkle of cinnamon sugar can still be tasty and avoid the wag of the doctor's finger at your next checkup.