Apple Blossoms

I bought the stuff to make these for Christmas when our family was here, but never got to it. I decided that this would be a great dessert to go with the bbq ribs pizza we had for dinner. That, and I got tired of moving the puff pastry box around in the freezer... I was pretty shocked to see that it was still intact when I opened the box.

This is such a super easy recipe to make. The hardest part for me was waiting the 40 minutes for the pastry sheet to thaw.

For the blossom:

You will need puff pastry sheets, I like pepperidge farms

your choice of pie filling - small can

egg wash - one beaten egg and a splash of water

some sugar and some brown sugar

For the icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanialla

1 Tbsp milk

(you can also substitute any flavor yogut for the milk)

Ok, so here we go let's get the party started. First things first, thaw out your pastry puff sheets. This takes a lot of time, so if you are planning on having these for dinner, take them out and let them thaw while you prepare dinner. They take at least 30-40 min. You can follow the directions on the package on how to thaw.

After the pastry sheet has thawed, cut the sheet into thirds on the fold lines. then cut each sheet into thirds again. You will have 9 squares from one sheet. You can cut to any size you want as long as it's square like.

Place 1 tablespoon of pie filling  in the center of each square. For the apple, I added a little of my favorite spices like I would if I were making apple pie. It doesn't look like much filling, but you don't want to put more than 1 tablespoon in because it will overflow.

Now you want to take opposite corners and pull up to the center and pinch then bring the other opposite corners and pinch together at the top. Pinch two of the four openings closed so you have a vent while they are cooking. Place on a silpat lined pan. If you don't have a silpat, you can use parchment paper or just grease your pan lightly.

Brush the blossom with your egg wash then sprinkle each with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of brown sugar to your likeing.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

While they are baking, mix the powdered sugar, vanialla and milk or yogurt until smooth.

Immediatley drizzle with icing and serve. Great with vanilla ice cream or coolwhip!

Enjoy :O)

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

Oh how I wish that I had dreamed these up! These are an ingenious idea by Jenny over at Picky Palate. She has some great recipes if you haven't been on her blog before, check it out. You won't be disapointed!

On to the yummy goodness now.... I made the dough the other day, but didn't have cream cheese to make the frosting so I only baked up one batch of the 6 it makes. I figured this would be a good idea as well incase we didn't like them. Then we wouldn't be throwing away 6+ dozen cookies because they were awful. But, they weren't. They aren't OUT OF THIS WORLD, but they are good. Better with the cream cheese frosting though! I made 2 more batches today and got about 3 dozen cookies.

They are a really light, soft, fluffy cookie that has a nice cinnamon sugar taste. I would have put some rasins in to make them a little more like a cinnamon roll had I had any. Maybe I will put chocolate chips in one of the next two batches. I have 3 more batches sitting in the fridge still. One is all ready for the oven, it was just getting to warm to cut so I stuck it back in the fridge and didn't finish it, the other two are just discs of dough. Anyhow, here is the recipe... enjoy!

Sugar Cookie

2 Cups sugar

1 Cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Cup sour cream

6 Cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt


Filling/Topping (whatever you call it)

12 tablespoons softened butter, sliced into 2 Tablespoon increments (6 slices of butter, each slice is 2 Tbsp)

1 1/2 Cups packed light brown sugar, divided into 1/4 Cups

1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided into 1/4 tsp



Frosting

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons milk, to thin icing



Cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream until well combined. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together then add slowly to wet mixture until well combined.

Divide dough into 6 batches, place each in plastic wrap in a disc shape and chill for at least 2 hours for best results.

Once chilled, roll into a 1/8 inch thick oval, about 12"x5". Spread each rolled pieces of dough with 2 Tablespoons softened butter, 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Start rolling from the long end closest to you, rolling into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 inch pieces of dough then placing onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet (I used my Tupperware silicone mat for the first batch, but used jus the cookie sheet for the second and third batch. Didn't spray it either, just slapped them on there and baked em up) Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

Frosting: Beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth, slowly add powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency. Frost cookies then place in refrigerator until ready to serve. 

They really are better chilled. Great with a glass of milk too!


Makes at least 6 dozen.      I got 3 dozen out of 2 batches so I am going to say it makes more like 8-9 dozen. Regaurdless, it's a bunch of cookies!

They were messy, here is a picture of how the kitchen looked after. But I also had a big little helper too! It was however, worth the time and the clean-up.

Cherry Coffeecake

I made this the whole time thinking how delicious it was going to be and how I hoped it tasted just like my Aunt Becky's cherry coffeecake and oh how my mouth watered with memories of her coffeecake.

I pulled it out of the oven and oh... doesn't it just look delicious! I took a bite and......

it wasn't at all what I was hoping for! Hopefully next time. I guess I will just have to get the recipe from Aunt Becky!

If you would like the recipe, let me know and I will post it. It was okay, but not great!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I love this stuff... Have never made it myself, but Darin's Mom makes this for the holidays and man is it good... I don't know if it's the same recipe as Karen's, but it sounds about the same.
Will have to try it out sometime.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup crushed pretzels
3 tablespoons sugar
1 stick of butter
1 pkg of cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 small carton of whipped topping
2 smal boxes strawberry jello
Strawberries for garnish (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
IN a 13x9 pan combine melted butter, pretzel and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix together and flatten out as a crust in bottom of pan. Cook in oven for about 10 minutes.
While this layer is cooling, combine cream cheese softened, 1/2 cup sugar, and whipped topping in a bowl until well mixed. Spread over cooled crust.
While this is chilling in the refrigerator, mix together jello according to package directions. Put in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes until it begins to jell slightly. Spread over cream cheese mixture and leave in the refrigerator for 3 hours or until firm.

Cake Pops

I found this recipe a while back and have been wanting to try these. So I broke down and finally made them today. I made a Red Velvet cake and cream cheese frosting from scratch (my very first scratch cake) and I have to say I am quite impressed with the turnout. A lot of work, but totally worth it all. I have only finished 1/2 of them, but I ran out 1/2 way through so I have to wait to finish the rest till later. But here is the finished product. I am going to take them as visiting teaching gifts. I hope they like them :)

They are Red Velvet Cake mixed with cream cheese frosting dipped in Milk and White Chocolate with sprinkles and an M&M on a stick. I ran out of sticks so some aren't on a stick.

Here's what they look like on the inside...

Visiting Teaching gift

So my Visiting Teaching partner Amy and I made these Strawberry Oat Bars Mix in a Quick Shake container to give as gifts this month. It was supposed to be in a quart jar, but we only needed four and didn't really want to buy any, so I had a bunch of Quick Shakes that I need to get rid of so we cut the recipe in half and so I had to make a new instructin tag to go along with them. I came up with this. I hope it prints out all right. The recipe actually sounds really good I am going to have to try it out. Here is the completed card. The mix contains 1 cup and 2 Tablespoons quick oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon salt.