Carrot Cake by ATK

We love America's Test Kitchen around here.  When Doug was in Dental School in San Francisco, he'd walk home for lunch and we'd watch ATK on PBS while we ate.  (We didn't have cable.  And once again, we don't have cable.)

Anyway, we have a mondo ATK cookbook (The New Best Recipe) and Doug loves it.  So that is where I went for a Carrot Cake recipe for his birthday.  And it's good.  

Enjoy!!!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you like nuts in your cake, stir 1 1/2 cups toasted chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter along with the carrots. Raisins are also a good addition; 1 cup can be added along with the carrots. If you add both nuts and raisins, the cake will need an additional 10 to 12 minutes in the oven. Philadelphia Cream Cheese is recommended by the “Test Kitchen”.

Carrot Cake

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound carrots (6 to 7 medium), peeled
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups safflower, canola, or vegetable oil. (This seemed like a lot of oil to me and I really wanted to substitute part of the oil with applesauce...but Doug wouldn’t let me.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

For the cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray the parchment.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
In a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred the carrots (you should have about 3 cups); add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside. Wipe out the food processor and fit with the metal blade. Process both sugars with the eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until the mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool the cake to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack, about 2 hours.
For the frosting: When the cake is cool, process the cream cheese, putter, sour cream and vanilla in a clean food processor until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down the workbowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the confectioners’ sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.
Run a pairing knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment, and invert the cake onto a serving platter. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting evenly over the surface of the cake. Cut into squares and serve.

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

Sure they look terrible, but they are delicious and only take a few minutes to make without turning the oven on.

This recipe is very easy but you need to be quick. Have all the ingredients pre-measured before you start for better results.

Combine in a medium sauce pan:
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cube butter or marg.

Bring to boil and boil for just two minutes--stirring constantly. Too long, they'll be dry. Too short, they wont set up. (Start timing the two minutes right when it starts boiling even if the cube of butter isn't completely melted.)

Immediately take off the heat and mix in:
1/2 cup peanut butter (Creamy or Chunky. Natural PB may make it so the cookies stay soft and don't set up.)
3 cups quick oats
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Quickly spoon onto wax paper with a cookie scoop.  They set up as they cool and do not need to be refrigerated.  This makes a few over two dozen when using a 2inch cookie scoop.

YUM!

(If you have a Dark Chocolate fan in the house, make these with the Hershey's Dark Cocoa. Super yummy.)

These ones are perfect

This batch got cooked a tiny bit too long, so they came out dry and a little crumbly.  But still delicious.

Faezer's Peanut Butter Pie

If you're looking for a yummy new recipe that will likely become a family favorite, you've got to try this. It ain't easy, but it's WORTH IT!!!

First, here is the history of this tasty treat. I’m relying on memory here, so I hope I get it right. My mom, Faezer, first made this in college for her boyfriend. (Not my dad.) She got the recipe from hismom because it was his favorite dessert. I think she said his family was from “the south”. (So maybe that's where it originated.) We’ve had it every year for Thanksgiving my whole life and it’s DEFINITELY a family favorite. YUM!!!!!
World Famous Peanut Butter PieFirst you need: one deep dish pie crust or two shallow (ya know the Marie Callendar tin size) pie crusts already  already baked.

Step 1: Custard Filling
4 cups scalded milk
1 cup sugar
6 Tbsp. butter or marg.

6 Tbsp. flour
Pinch of salt
6 egg yolks (save the whites)

Scald 2 cups of milk in a heavy pan. (It’s scalded when foamy bubbles start to form around the sides and it starts smelling “cooked”. Use Med/MedHigh heat and stir constantly.) Add sugar and cold butter then set aside to COOL. (So that flour and eggs won’t go lumpy.)
When the milk mixture is room temp./cool add flour, salt and egg yolks. (Don’t try to save time by pre-mixing the flour and yolks. It will only lead to pain and suffering.)
When flour and yolks are incorporated, put back on the stove and bring custard to a gentle boil while stirring (it should be thickening) and remove from heat.

Step 2: Peanut Butter Topping
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (Fae says crunchy is best)

Mix until it is as fine as meal. If you are making two: Put 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of crust. The other 1/3 is for sprinkling on top of the meringue. If you only make one, you wont need to use it all. But don’t worry, your kids will eat the left overs.

Step 3: Meringue
6 room temp. egg whites (Remember I told ya to keep ‘em.)
6 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Put room temp. egg whites in clean glass bowl or measuring cup. Mix well on high, gradually adding 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar. When it comes to stiff peaks, pile on top of hot or warn custard filing, (this helps cook the bottom of the meringue) spreading meringue to edges of pie crust to prevent shrinking. (Fae always does it perfect so there are pretty little peaks all over the whole top.) Sprinkle remaining P.B. topping over meringue and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until little peaks are golden brown. The meringue needs to cook or it will weep. Refrigerate until it’s dessert time. ENJOY

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

2 cups shortening

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

3 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

5 cups flour*

3-4 cups chocolate chips

Cream together shortening and sugars. Beat in eggs and mix for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix. Slowly add flour and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. These are cookie perfection!

ENJOY! (And send ME some!)

*Occasionally I add half whole wheat flour but they're not as perfectly/unhealthily delicious that way. If you want healthy cookies, make a different recipe.

Milk Chocolate Florentine Cookies

These cookies are so darn good. So.so.so.so good. So when I made the recipe, I decided to double it. BIG mistake. They're a little time consuming and a double batch took me FOR-E-VER to scoop, spread, bake, cool, coat, and combine. The other thing I learned was to over-cook them a tiny bit. Or just make sure the whole cookie is golden brown. Not just the edges. They're better when they're super crispy.


When you're done, try not to eat the whole batch. They're that good!



Chocolate Florentine Cookies
from Nestle Toll House Best-Loved Cookies

2/3 cup butter
2 cup quick oats
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
14 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups Milk or Dark Chocolate chips

Melt butter in medium saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in oats, granulated sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla extract and salt; mix well. Drop by level teaspoon about 3 inches apart onto foil-lined baking sheets. Spread thinly with rubber spatula.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Peel foil from cookies.

Microwave morsels in uncovered, medium, bowl on medium-high (70%) power for 1 minute; stir. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10-15 second intervals, stirring just until smooth.

Spread thin layer of melted chocolate onto flat side of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, placing flat side against chocolate. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies.

Texas Sheet Cake

For Maxwell's birthday this year he wanted a pirate cake. Originally, he wanted a Pirate SHIP cake and I was quite stressed about the amount of cake cutting and sculpting that was going to be involved. Then, a few days ago he asked for a Treasure Map cake. WAHOO! Something requiring a FLAT RECTANGLE! I immediately thought of using Texas Sheet Cake and found this recipe on AllRecipes.com. I believe it's called Texas Sheet Cake V. Anyway, it was super easy and tasted divine. Enjoy!


Texas Sheet CakeINGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 cup water
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
--------------------------------------------------------
6 tablespoons milk
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10x15 inch pan. (Cookie Sheet)
Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix in the sour cream, then beat in the eggs. Set aside. In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the water and 5 tablespoons cocoa. Bring mixture to a boil then remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly, then stir cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing until blended.Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.For the icing: In a large saucepan, combine the milk, 5 tablespoons cocoa and 1/2 cup butter. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla, then fold in the nuts, mixing until blended. Spread frosting over warm cake.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the PERFECT fall treat. I found this recipe via Stephanie's blog and it did NOT disappoint! They got rave reviews from friends and family alike!
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
chocolate chips (as many as you want)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Bake for 22-24 minutes.

Crepes

When I was little (maybe 10 or 11?) My neighbor Janeen Nelson taught me to make these. She used a recipe from our Ward Cookbook. Since I happen to have my own personal copy of said cookbook, I still use the same recipe she used. In our book it's called "Swedish Pancakes". And it recommends topping with powdered sugar and that's it! Talk about BORING!!! Anyway, this is my most requested recipe because these are so darn easy and good. And because everyone loves eating breakfast for dessert...and vice versa.

So, have a Crêpe party and be sure to send me fan mail when you suddenly have tons more friends. (Don't blame me if they're just using you for your edibles.) Here goes...

Crêpes
Combine in a batter bowl in this order: (if you add flour first you will have lumps)
2 cups milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
Stir until perfectly smooth. (Some people like to do this step in the blender, but I find adding the milk to the bowl first and using a hand mixer works just fine.)
Next add:
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Beat thoroughly. Pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter into pre-heated pan. (I usually have the stove on Medium. Make sure the pan is non-stick or have "Pam" on hand if you need it.) Tilt pan so it spreads out thin and forms a circle to the edge of the pan. Cook until edges start to look rubbery. Loosen edges. Turn.

It will be pretty well cooked, so it only needs to stay on the second side a little longer. I usually turn the oven on "warm" and pile them on a plate in there until we're ready to eat. No need to separate with parchment. They come apart easily.

Friends over for Dinner Recipe

6 cups milk

6 cups flour

3 tsp salt

12 eggs

¾ cup sugar

Feed an Army Recipe
8 cups milk
8 cups flour
Heaping tbsp salt
16 eggs
1 cup sugar

Serve Sweet:

Nutella, Peanut Butter, Strawberries, Strawberry Jam, Bananas, Lemon Curd, Applesauce, Berries, Whipped Cream or Spray Whip, Ice Cream, Powdered Sugar, Sugar and Lemon Juice, Whipped Cream Cheese, and if you really want to go all out: Ice Cream and Hot Fudge.

Or Savory: (Une Crêpe savory or Galette)

Eggs, Bacon, Ham, Cheese, Skillet Potatoes, Avocado, Roasted Squash, Mushrooms, Hollandaise Sauce

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate Mousse Cake
1 TBSP ground almonds plus additional to dust pan
10 ½ oz. Dark Chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
1 ½ cups Sugar
1 ¼ stick unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
(Or just use salted butter, duh!)5 large eggs
Powdered Sugar to dust top

Preheat oven to 350
Lightly spray Spring Form pan with cooking spray
Dust with ground almonds
Shake off excess
Set aside

In double boiler set at low simmer, melt the chocolate, butter, and sugar stirring frequently. Remove from heat. (I don't have a double boiler so I put a glass bowl over my sauce pan.)

In medium bowl, beat the eggs and ground almonds. Fold egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and stir until thickened--several minutes.

Pour the batter into the pan. Smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes or until the top is set and begins to crack. Remove the side of the pan and let cool completely. Dust with Powdered Sugar. Try not to eat the whole thing yourself.

Enjoy!!!