Best-Ever Carrot Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 beaten eggs
3 cups of shredded carrots
¾ cup of cooking oil

Because these are cupcakes you will need cupcake tins, but it can also be made as a cake. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.

In another bowl combine eggs, carrots, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. With a spoon, stir until combined. Pour batter into paper lined cupcake tins.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pans and set on wire rack.

Cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients:
6 ounces of cream cheese softened
½ cup of butter softened
2 teaspoons of vanilla
4-1/2 to 4-3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar. Beating well gradually enough of the remaining powdered sugar to make the frosting easy to pipe out or spread.  

Vinilla Meringue Cookies

   

I made these and they were all gone within a day. They are nice and crunchy with a roasted marshmallow flavor, and they are easy to make.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

      1-1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

      ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

      Dash salt

      ¾ cup sugar

Directions:

Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add the vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high till stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. This takes about 7 minutes.

 

Down to the messy part; put meringue mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a 1M star tip. Pipe a 1-1/4 diameter cookies onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake in a 250 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until set and dry, let cool. Carefully remove from parchment paper and store in an air tight container.    

    

 

 

 

Lemon Tarts

Lemon tarts are cool, refreshing and work great for a summer party. They are easy to make with very little effort going into them.

The pie crust is the first thing you will want to get started on that way they can cook while you make your lemon filling.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup of butter and lard or shortening (1/2 lard and 1/2 butter)
1/4 cup of ice cold water
pinch of salt

Mix flour and butter/lard till crumbly. Slowly add water using only enough till dough forms ball. Role dough out on a lightly floured surface till its 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with a 2 1/2inch circle cookie cutter if using a regular size cupcake tin then you will need a bigger size cutter. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or in till light gold brown.

Lemon cured filling ingredients:

1-1/2 cups sugar
9 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups water
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, flour, and a dash of salt. Gradually stir over medium high heat till thickened and bubbly. Reduce the heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. separate egg yolks from whites. Beat egg yolks slightly. Stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks. Return mixture into saucepan; bring back to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat stir in butter and lemon peel. Gradually stir in lemon juice, mixing well. Let set until cool then put the filling in your tart shells. Set in refrigerator to chill and serve

Cream Puff Pastry

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

In a medium saucepan combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each egg.
Bake Cream puffs: Drop Cream Puff Pastry dough by heaping tablespoons into 12 mounds 3 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheets cool on wire rack. cut off the tops of each puff; remove any soft dough from inside.
Fillings: There are several kinds of fillings you can use, whipped cream is one of them. For a Fancier look you can use a piping bag with a big star tip and pipe it into your puff pastry. Ice cream is another good filling. You can even use pudding which is what I used in this batch, boxed pudding or you can make your own either way it will taste amazing.

Vanilla Pudding: 

2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until bubbles form at edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour into hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes. Chill before serving.
allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-vanilla-pudding/

With this particular pudding it becomes runny if let set for long period of time. It is good but after 24 hours it became soup.

Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book

Boiled Cookie

Into kettle put:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup margarine

3 tablespoons cocoa

Bring to a full boil, then remove from heat and quickly add :

3 cups quick cooking oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 to 1 cup nuts (if desired)

Stir well drop by teaspoon full's on wax paper. Let stand 1/2 hour till dry.

This is just a no bake cookie, they have good flavor and are super easy to make. 

Herbed Crackers

These are a great snack for a get-together or party, they taste amazing.

Things you will need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of pepper ( when I did 1/8 of a teaspoon I thought it added a bit to much pepper flavor so I added a pinch and it tasted just right)
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons of finely snipped fresh parsley ( if you don't have fresh, dried will work also)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of finely chopped green onions (I used chives)
kosher salt

In a food processor bowl combine flour, sage, salt, and pepper, cover and process briefly, just Intel combined. Add milk, parsley, oil, and green onions. Cover and process just until combined (dough will look crumbly). Form dough into a ball.
Transfer dough to floured surface and flatten to a rectangle. Roll to a 12x9-inch rectangle, about 1/16 inch thick, trim uneven edges if necessary, using a fork poke dough all over. using a pastry wheel (I used a ravioli cuter) cut into 3x1-1/2- inch rectangles. Transfer rectangles to an ungreased  baking sheet and sprinkle tops with kosher salt (I used regular table salt).
Baked in a 325 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or just until crackers start to brown and are firm to the touch. Cool on a wire racks and store in an air tight container.
these crackers are easy to make and taste amazing with cheese, if you are making them for a get-together  make a double or triple batch.
made September, 4 2013