Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
• 12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

NOTE: The consistency of the yogurt and the juiciness of the berries, greatly determined the consistency of the batter. Thick, (dryer) yogurt will produce a thicker batter, in which the berries won’t sink to the bottom (top) of the cake as seen in the photos. Either way, it is a great cake–don’t worry about the thickness.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 15

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• Salt
• 1/4 Cup of Sour Cream
• 1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven to 450
2. In a Medium Size Bowl mix the following: milk, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, bay seasoning, Bisquick, garlic powder.
3. I used an ice cream scoop and portioned 15 biscuits onto a cookie sheet ( I used parchment paper).
4. Cook biscuits for 8 minutes or so.
5. Melt butter ( I used the microwave) – brush melted butter on each biscuit and sprinkle a little salt. Place biscuits BACK into the oven to bake for 2 more minute.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Gluten-Free)

So I know its gluten-free flours, but these are AMAZING.  Maybe I'll work on the regular flour alternative.  They are worth it even so.

1 C. + 2 1/2 T. brown rice flour
1/3 C. + 2 1/4 t. potato starch
2 T. + 2 3/4 t. tapioca flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. salt
2/3 C. Dutch-process cocoa (I use regular, cause I'm cheap)
1/4 C. + 3 T. almond flour
6 T. butter, room temp.
1/2 C. vegetable shortening
1 C. sugar + extra for rolling
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla

Filling:
1 large egg white
3/4 C. creamy, unsalted peanut butter
3 T. butter, room temp.
3/4 t. vanilla
1/2 C. powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, sift dry ingredients together.  Set aside.  In large bowl of electric mixer, combine butter, shortening, and 1 C. sugar.  Set speed to high, beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Reduce mixer speed to low, add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Chill in covered bowl for 1-2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line cookie sheet with parchment, or spray with cooking spray.  Mix filling just before baking cookies.

Filling:  In the small bowl of an electric mixer, combine peanut butter, butter, and vanilla.  Set mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth.  Add egg white and beat until well incorporated.  Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in the powdered sugar.  Set aside.

Using a small cookie scoop, form the base cookie dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll the balls in granulated sugar.  Place the balls on prepared cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Make an indentation about 1/4-inch deep in the center of each ball.  Shape a level 1/2 t. of the peanut butter filling into a small ball and place it in the center of each cookie.  Gently push the edges of each indentation over the peanut butter ball until only the top of the ball is visible (I usually smash each cookie down just slightly at this point, but it's probably not neccessary.  I also eyeball my sizes, and get impatient, so by the last few I'm making monster cookies.)

Bake cookies until puffed and slightly cracked on top, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool on cookie sheet 1-2 minutes, then transfer cookies, still on parchment, to wire racks to cool completely.  Store in airtight container up to 3 days.  Makes 48-60 cookies.

Any leftover peanut butter filling can be baked into treats.  Roll leftover filling into 1 1/2" balls and bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

Three-Color Sugar Cookies

Makes 24 Cookies.  Great for teaching the kids!  I'm including the instructions as written for kids to try.

1/2 C. butter or shortening, softened
1 C. granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 C. flour
1 1/2 t. double-acting baking powder
1/4 t. salt
food coloring (red and blue for 4th of July, red and green for Christmas, orange and black or yellow for Halloween, red and pink for Valentine's Day, etc.)

Get a large mixing bowl.  Measure the shortening and put it in the bowl.  Measure the sugar and pour over shortening.  Cream them together.
Get a cup.  Break egg into cup.
Add the egg and the vanilla to the creamed mixture.  Beat well.  You will have a smooth yellow batter.  Set the mixing bowl aside.
Measure the flour, the baking powder, and the salt into a sifter.  Sift them into a bowl.
Dump half the sifted ingredients into the mixing bowl.  Stir and stir.  It will be hard to do, but keep stirring until all the flour is mixed into the yellow batter.  Add the rest of the sifted ingredients and stir some more.  You will have a big lump of sticky dough.
Now divide the lump into three chunks.  Make the chunks about the same size.  Put one chunk on a plate or on a piece of waxed paper.  Put another chunk in the bowl you used for flour.  Leave the third chunk in the mixing bowl.
Open one of the food coloring colors and drip about 10 drops onto the dough in the mixing bowl.  Mix the food coloring into the dough until the whole dough is colored.  Repeat with the other color in the other bowl.  Now you have two chunks of dough with different colors and one left white.  Stick them all together to make one big ball.  Then roll the ball of dough between your palms until it looks like a big three-colored sausage, about 7 1/2 inches long and 2 inches around.
Wrap the roll or dough in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight so that it will get good and hard. (Or wrap aluminum foil over the plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer where it will stay good until you need it if you use it within a month or so, just remember to get it out a bit early to unthaw a bit.)
Time to do the dishes.

The next day, preheat the oven to 400.  Grease the cookie sheets.  Now take the roll of dough out of the fridge.  Unwrap it and put it on a cutting board.  Slice the dough into cookies with a table knife.  Make each one about 1/4 inch thick.  Put the cookies on the greased cookie sheets.  They will not spread out much, so you can put them close together, but not touching.  Let them bake for 8 minutes.  Get another batch ready if you have another cookie sheet.  After 8 minutes, check the cookies.  If they are beginning to get golden brown on the bottom edges, take them out.  If not, let them bake a minute or two more.  When they are done, take them out of the oven.  Carefully lift off the cookie sheet with a spatula and set them on a wire rack to cool.

Animal-Shaped Butter Cookies

1/2 C. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/4 C. flour
1/4 t. salt

Mix vanilla and butter in a large mixing bowl.  Sift in powdered sugar, and cream with the butter. Sift flour and salt, half at a time, into the butter/sugar mixture. (For the last half, let the kids used washed hands to mix together!)  Put a plate or cling wrap over the bowl and refrigerate for one hour.  (Let the kids use that time to help you wash the dishes!)

Preheat oven to 375.  Take dough out of fridge.  Get an ungreased cookie sheet.  Shape dough into animals or shapes or flowers, whatever the kids want.  Just make all about the same thickness, even if they aren't all the same size.  Cook for 8 minutes, until lightly browned around edges but not in the middle.  Lift off cookie sheet and onto wire rack to cool.

This is definitely a kids recipe (or at least, one to let them help with).  For example, to make an elephant cookie:  break off a handful of cold dough.  Hold it in your fist for a second to get it warm and soft.  Then plop it on the cookie sheet.  Press it flat with the palm of your hand.  Now use your fingers to shape an elephant.  Push and pinch and poke the dough into an elephant shape.  Make a trunk, four legs, and a tail.

Wendy's Chocolate Frosty

16 ounce Cool Whip
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condenced milk
1 gallon chocolate milk

Pour Cool Whip and condensed milk into ice cream freezer. Fill with chocolate milk to the fill line. Stir together all ingredients. Turn on and let freeze.