pop-tarts aka kryptonite

Just thought that I would POP by here to share with you this extremely easy recipe for homemade Pop-tarts! I don't know anyone who doesn't love Pop-tarts- they are classic! In fact one my friends said that Pop-tarts are her kryptonite! haha!

 People are always impressed when you make something from scratch that is generally bought at the store in a box... they are even more impressed when the homemade goodies taste better than the store-bought-boxed-goodies. Pop-tarts are no exception to this rule! They are easy to make, the look cute, and are delicious... so please give them a try!

POP-TARTS

crust: 

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt (scant tsp)

1 cup shortening/lard/butter whichever you prefer

1/2 cup cold water

filling:

homemade jam: strawberry, blueberry or whatever you fancy

*I think that nutella would be marvelous as a filling

icing:

powdered sugar

water

method:

Stir salt into flour.

Cut shortening into flour till its pea size.

Gradually pour the water around the edges and across the top. 

Add enough water till its just a little sticky.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and gently work it into a ball. Do not knead it! If you overwork pie crust dough it will not turn out! 

Place the dough ball back into the bowl and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Once the dough is chilled, place on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle or square shape. Next, using a pizza cutter or butter knife cut the dough into rectangles or squares. Make them double the size you want the actual Pop-tart to be. 

*I made mine to be mini pop-tarts. Some were 3x5 and some were 2x4.

After you've cut out the Pop-tart shapes put a tablespoon or so of jam on one side of the pop-tart. Fold the pop-tart in half. Next take a fork and crimp all the edges so that the jam won't ooze out while its baking. After you've crimped the edges take a toothpick and poke a bunch of holes in the top of the pop-tart. Place on an un-greased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remember that the baking time will depend on how big or small you made your pop-tarts. For the size mine were, 12 minutes was great!

While the pop-tarts are cooling, you can make the icing. This is so easy. Put about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and stir it with a whisk or fork to get the lumps out. Next add small amounts of water to the powdered sugar until you get it to the consistency you like. If its too think, add more water. If its too runny, then add more powdered sugar. Easy as that!

Once the pop-tarts are cool, drizzle the icing over each one. While the icing is still wet sprinkle some rainbow jimmies on them.

****helpful hint**** I had two different jams- homemade strawberry and store bought blueberry. I found that the strawberry jam tasted better but some of it ended up oozing out of the pop-tarts. I think this could have been helped if I had've added a little bit of cornstarch to the jam prior filling the pop-tart with it. The blueberry jam did not taste as good, but it was thicker than the strawberry so it did not ooze out. Anyway, do some experimenting and ENJOY! You can really mess these up! :-)

bittersweet chocolate cream pie with creme fraiche topping

This is THE best chocolate cream pie that I have ever had! I made a few changes from the original, and it was amazing! Please make sure to try it for Christmas, okay?

bittersweet chocolate cream pie with creme fraiche topping
adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
serves 8

CRUST (you'll only need one crust, but this recipe makes 2):
2 cups white flour (I HATE white flour, but honestly if you are a true pie crust snob, then you have to use white flour- its a must!)
1 (scant) tsp salt
1 cup lard or shortening (I used shortening, but lard would work better)
1/2 cup cold water

Mix flour and salt together. Cut in the lard/shortening until its pea sized. Gradually add cold water. Place dough on heavily floured board and role out to 9 inch diameter. Place in pie dish and pinch the edges. Prick the crust all over with a fork. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 8- 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

FILLING:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp arrowroot powder (or corn starch)
1/8 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk, divided
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), finely chopped
1 tbsp dark rum (I used coconut rum, because thats all I had)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk sugar, cocoa, arrow root powder and salt to blend in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually add 1/3 cup milk, whisking until smooth paste forms. Whisk in remaining milk, then 1/4 cup cream. Using flat-bottom wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, stir mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping bottom and sides of pan until pudding thickens and begins to bubble at edges, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate; stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in rum and vanilla. Pour hot pudding into crust and spread evenly. Cool 1 hour at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap; chill overnight.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.

TOPPING:
1 cup chilled creme fraiche
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Using electric mixer, beat creme fraiche, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl just until stiff peaks form and mixture is thick enough to spread (do not over-beat or mixture may curdle). Spread topping over top of pie, swirling to create peaks, if desired.
DO AHEAD: pie can be made 6 hours ahead.

date night

dave and I went to Dewz last night for a dessert date. Here is our beautiful, yummy desserts... I couldn't resist taking a few photos with my iphone :-)

blueberry crisp goodness

blueberry crisp
adapted from martha stewart's recipe


for the filling;
6 cups (3 pints) blueberries
1/2 cup rapadura
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon course salt

for the topping;
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (or chopped nuts such as almonds)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup rapadura

method;
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the filling: mix blueberries, rapadura, arrowroot powder, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. make topping: stire together flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter and rapadura in a mixer until pale and fluffy. Stir dry ingredients into butter. Using your hands, squeeze topping pieces together in clumps.
3. sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake until bubbling in center and brown on top, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

resolutions & many other things

There is a few things I wanted to share with you...

2010 Resolutions (this is my list thus far...)
* these are in no particular order

1. exercise at least 3 days a week
2. be more organized about how/when I clean the house
3. eat more whole foods and less canned, processed, and crappy food. Cook meals by scratch. Experiment more with soaking grains.
4. learn more about photography
5. be more aware of the things that distract me from growing a deeper relationship with Christ and remove them from my life.



I have been reading thru the book 'Suffering and The Sovereignty of God' by John Piper and Justin Taylor. This is a fabulous book that will really challenge anything you have ever been taught about why God lets/permits/ordains/causes bad things to happen. I really encourage you to read it.

I really LOVE love love my chocolate chip cookie recipe. HOWEVER... I hate that it uses vanilla pudding (because it comes in a box), so I decided to try a new recipe today. Now, this new recipe isn't fabulous... it isn't near as good as my recipe. But it doesn't use anything from a box, and it seemed to work quite nicely using whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose. So here is the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup )butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. hot water
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 c. chocolate chips
Directions
1. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg, then vanilla extract.
2. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt and mix. Mix flour and cream of tartar, then add them to the batter and mix it all up. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for an hour, even longer if possible.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cookies to baking sheets in average sized portions. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely.








Well friends, have a lovely night celebrating together. Thanks for reading my random thoughts. Farewell 2009 and welcome 2010!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "
Jeremiah 29:11

Cinnamon Roll Dough

My friend Jeanette told me about this awesome recipe, and said she had used it for Cinnamon Rolls. So I gave it a try and it is awesome and... EASY! Not healthy (because of the sugar and white flour), but come on man- sometimes you just gotta splurge! Whats really great about the recipe is that you do all the hard work, the night before. I think one thing that has prevented me in the past from making cinnamon rolls is the fact that you have to get up so early so have them ready for breakfast. If you're like me and don't want to get up at 4am to make breakfast than you will love this recipe!

So here is a classic recipe from my German Baptist cookbook ("Joys of Cooking"). Thanks for the recipe recommendation, Jeanette!

Overnight Refrigerator Rolls
Recipe by: Annie Bowman

2pkg. dry yeast
2 1/2 c. warm water
3/4 c. soft shortening or oil (I used coconut oil, and it worked great)
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs well beaten (I forgot to beat them, and couldn't tell a difference)
8-8 1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. salt

Soften yeast in warm water. Add shortening, eggs, sugar and 4 cups flour and salt. Stir and beat until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. This will be a soft dough. Cover tightly (w/ plastic wrap) and put in refrigerator (overnight). *Divide in 3 portions and turn onto floured board. This may be used for dinner rolls, coffee cakes, tea rings, cinnamon rolls or raised doughnuts.

*I didn't divide the dough into 3 portions. I just dumped all of it onto the floured board, and rolled it into a rectangle for the cinnamon rolls.

Killer Vanilla Ice Cream

KILLER VANILLA ICE CREAM

3C sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 quart + 1 pint half and half
milk

Blend all ingredients and put in ice cream maker freezer tin. If there is quite a bit of room to the top, then finish filling it with milk. Remember that the mixture will expand as it freezes, so don't fill it too full. Follow your ice cream makers instructions.
**** I didn't have to add any milk because I have a smaller freezer tin.****


Don't let this recipes simple ingredients fool you. This vanilla ice cream is amazing! You will never want to eat store bought ice cream again! My one mistake I made was that I didn't leave the ice cream in the maker long enough so it was a little slushy. I put the ice cream in the freezer over night and tried it this morning and the texture is PERFECTO!!!!

TRY IT! Let me know what you think! :-)

THE best Whole Wheat Chocochip Cookies!

Jessica's Whole Wheat Chocochip Cookies:




1 3/4- 2 cups of whole wheat flour (try 1 3/4 first, and then if the dough still feels too moist, then add in the last bit of flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (4 serving size) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips


Cream butter and sugars.


Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.

Add flour, soda and pudding & mix.

Then add chocolate chips.

Bake at 374 for 8-10 minutes. Makes around 7 dozen.

Note: For Chocolate CHOCOLATE Chip Cookies, substitute chocolate flavored instant pudding. These are delicious!

I made these 2 days ago, and the are GONE! haha! The recipe uses alot of butter, so next time I think that I'm going to sub half of the butter for flax seed. I'll let you know how it turns out :-)

Great Grandma Ruby's Oatmeal Cookies

Great Grandma Ruby's Oatmeal Cookies

3 cups oatmeal
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup veg. oil
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all dry ingredients. In bowl, add eggs, milk, vanilla and oil. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Roll into balls. Press the ball so that its semi-flat. Then print it with a fork. Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes to suit your taste.