Monday, July 27, 2015

Poppy Seed Almond Cookies




My Monday work treat.  These were a big hit with my boss he even had his wife ask me for the recipe.  They are very tasty and would be great as an added treat for a Bunch...but really a great cookie for any time.  I will be adding them to my Holiday Cookie List.

printable
adapted from here
Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup coconut oil
1½ cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
2¼ cups flour
sliced almonds to garnish

Almond Glaze
1½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together.
Add egg and beat in well.
Add almond extract, vanilla, and Poppy Seeds and mix until well blended.
Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until well incorporated.
Roll cookies into 1 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Space cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart from each other.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges of cookies.
Combine glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth glaze is formed. Drizzle as much as desired over slightly warmed cookies and ganish with almonds.
Let finish cooling completely before eating

 Have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do All the Things You L♥ve.
Donna

Monday, July 20, 2015

Hummingbird Bundt Cake


My weekly treat for work.  I had been wanting to make something with pineapple since our local grocer has had them on sale.  Can't beat it when you can get a fresh pineapple for a buck.  I was originally going to make a pineapple banana bread when I stumbled upon this recipe.  I must say it sure is good and oh so quick to put together and best of all is you only use 1 bowl.


printable

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large)
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Glaze:
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed & softened
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 to 2 TBL. milk

Prepare Cake Batter:  Preheat oven to 350*.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 4 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Sprinkle 1 cup toasted pecans into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.  Spoon batter over pecans.
Bake at 350* for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
Prepare Glaze:  Process cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 TBL milk in a food processor until well blended.  Add remaining 1 TBL. milk, 1 tsp. at a time, processing until smooth.  Immediately pour glaze over cooled cake, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup toasted pecans.
Sure hope you try this cake, you won't be sorry.  Another great recipe to add to my list.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to do ALL the things you L♥ve.
Donna

Monday, July 13, 2015

another blueberry lemon scone

 

Mondays Treat  ....not much to say other than YUM!

 

  printable

adapted from here

Lemon Blueberry Scones


2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup fresh blueberries
milk for brushing tops

Glaze 


1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400°
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into dry ingredients till crumbly. Stir in milk, lemon juice and lemon zest until moistened. Fold in fresh blueberries. Pat into circle about one inch thick on lightly floured counter. Cut into 8 wedges. Place one-two inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with milk. Bake for about 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and drizzle with glaze.
For glaze- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. You may need more or less lemon juice to get the consistency you need.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Always Remember to Find the Time to DO ALL the thing YOU L♥ve
Donna

Monday, July 6, 2015

Apple Crisp coffee Cake

 This is the cake I made for our Monday meeting.  The second one was divided up between, myself, family and my sister in law.  Had a little more to take to work.
Here is a picture of it before I put the icing on.  Yummy either way.

 adapted from here

 Now with icing


printable
makes 2 8" cakes
Ingredients
    2 - 2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
    1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
    1/4 cup sugar
    2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) Quick Rise or Platinum Yeast
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    3/4 cup milk
    1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in to pieces
    2 large eggs, room temperature
    4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, diced
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter
    1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
    1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
    1/4 cup sliced almonds
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/8 teaspoon salt
    3 tablespoons butter, melted
    1 cup powdered sugar
    1 tablespoon milk

    Apple Filling
    4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, diced
    1/2 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter

    Streusel Topping
    1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
    1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
    1/4 cup sliced almonds
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/8 teaspoon salt
    3 tablespoons butter, melted

    Icing
    1 cup powdered sugar
    1 tablespoon milk

    ****I skipped one of the steps by mistake and didn't do the first rise and it still came out really good***  I just made the dough, rolled it out and put topping on and let rise then baked****

    and a slice


    Directions

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine 1 cup flour, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cinnamon.

    In a microwave safe dish, heat milk and butter until warm (120° – 130°F). Add heated milk and butter to flour mixture. Mix in eggs. Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.

    Switch to the dough hook and mix in the remaining flour a little at a time, to make a soft dough, adding more or less flour as needed. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rest until doubled, about an hour.

    While the dough is rising, prepare the apple filling:

     combine apples, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan. Add the apple mixture and sauté over medium heat until apples are tender and juices are thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before using.

    Prepare streusel topping:
    In a large bowl combine brown sugar, flour, oats, almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and mix with a fork or your hands until mixture forms large clumbs.
    Coat a 8” springform pan with non-stick cooking spray, or cut 2 pieces of parchment to fit 2 8-inch round cake pans. Sprays pans, line with parchment, and spray parchment.

    Divide dough in half and keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap.
    Divide the dough again in to two pieces – a smaller piece 1/3 of the dough and a larger piece 2/3 of the dough. Shape the larger piece into a ball, then on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough in to a 9-inch round. Put the round in to the bottom of the springform pan. If necessary, use your fingers to press the dough to fit the pan.
    Divide the smaller piece in to four pieces. Use your hands to roll each piece in to a 16-inch long rope. Twist two ropes together and place it on top of the dough in the pan, along the outside to create an decorative border. Repeat with the remaining two ropes and join the twists together in the pan. Cover.
    Repeat with remaining half of the dough.
    Place half of the apple filling in the middle of each coffee cake and spread to the border. Top the apple filling with streusel topping.
    Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
    Preheat oven to 350°. Uncover coffee cakes. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Carefully remove from pan; place on serving plate.
    Icing: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm coffee cakes.

    This is very yummy and would be wonderful for breakfast.  May add this to my list for holiday baking.
    Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and remember to find the time to Do ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
    Donna