Snickerdoodles

The secret to these soft sugar coated cookies, is that they are made with all butter............most other Snickerdoodle recipes that we have come across use 1/2 butter 1/2 shortening. Which I think makes them crunchier. I like mine soft, so it was wonderful when I found out that using all butter in this recipe will produce "my kinda cookie"!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups of white sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the batter until blended.
Roll the dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned, but still soft.

TWD Apple Cheddar Scones

Another great recipe from Dorie Greenspan! These were very tasty, more of a biscuit then a scone, but very much enjoyed! We did follow the advice of serving them with jam, it was well worth the try, though plain was great as well. I was a little leery about apple and cheese together...................also there wasn't much apple flavor, I think if we make these again I'd put fresh apples in instead! I hope the Blueberry pie next week turns out just as tasty :)

10 little scones all neat in a line..............

Ready to be baked!

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread with Raisins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2c. raisins
Directions
1Heat oven to 450°F.
2In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, salt and baking soda.
3Using your fingertips, work the softened butter into the flour mixture. Add raisins.
4In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
5Add the buttermilk to the egg; mix well.
6Make a well in the flour and add most of the buttermilk/egg mixture - reserving about 1/4 cup.
7Use your hands to combine the dry and wet ingredients until it forms a loose dough.
8If the dough will not come together, add some or all of the remaining buttermilk/egg mixture.
9On a well-floured surface, turn out the dough.
10Sprinkle the dough with flour and shape it into a 7-8 inch circle.
11Flatten it slightly with the tips of your fingers.
12Place the loaf on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper).
13Score (criss-cross) the top of the loaf with a bread knife, cutting about 1/4 inch deep, and making three cuts in one direction and 3 more cuts crossing them.
14Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F.
15Reduce the heat to 400 F and continue baking another 20 minutes.
16If you have an instant read thermometer, insert it halfway into the bottom of the loaf.
17The thermometer should read 190/195 F when baked.
18Let cool for 15 minutes; then serve.

Honey -Glazed Corn Bread

This a a great tasting corn bread recipe. The texture is not very typical of most corn breads, it feels similar to a mixture of grits and polenta, but with alot more flavor. Its also a very dense rich cornbread, very good with a BBQ chicken salad, or for breakfast! We also love it because it already has the butter and honey on top, so that cuts on extra dishes on the table( we love honey and butter on our cornbread) Bon appetite!

Corn bread

1c. yellow cornmeal

1c. flour

1/4c. cake flour

1c. sugar

2T. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

4 eggs

30z. unsalted butter melted

1/3c. veg. oil

1c. milk

1/2c. buttermilk

For The Glaze

3 oz. unsalted butter

1/4c. honey

1/3c. water

For the Corn bread: 1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. Line a 13x9in. pan with greased aluminum foil.

2. Sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt, 2 times. Set aside.

3. In a med. bowl, whisk together the eggs. Melt the butter and immediately whisk into the eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in the dry ingredients just till combined.

4. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30min. Rotate the pan from front to back and continue to bake for 10min. or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Make the Glaze: While corn bread is baking, melt the butter in a med. saucepan. Add the honey and water and whisk until blended.

6. When the corn bread is done, remove from the oven and poke holes all over the bread, about 1/2in. apart, with a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.

Yields one 13x9in. pan

Creative veggie cutting tips

Choose the vegetables. Good choices for creative cutting include carrots, cucumber, radishes etc.
Scrub and wash the veggies until they are clean.


Using a cutting board, slice the veggies. Some suggestions include:

Cut star shapes for carrots


Cut celery into small lengths and then cut slices in the top of each piece so that it splits apart and looks like cartoon hair


Cut a radish rose;


Cut cucumber slices and cut a little triangle at each quarter of the circle, to form a flower shape overall


You can also use cookie cutters, but you will have to press quite hard, or at least steam the veggies first. This can be quite good for larger veggies, such as a potato


Try combining veggies to make a veggie sculpture.


Cook the veggies as desired. The choice is yours - steamed, broiled etc. Or, you may prefer to use them raw in a salad or added to a hot Asian-style broth.


Serve at your dinner party and watch friends and family bombard you with compliments on your creativity.