Toffee Scones for Two

I can't remember the last time I made scones. The only thing I have baked since last spring were birthday cupcakes. I had a bag of Heath English Toffee Bits that kept taunting me every time I opened that particular drawer. I finally gave in and decided to make some scones with them. The thing about the toffee bits, they can turn rancid really fast. Make sure you smell them before you use them. If they don't smell good either return them for another bag or throw them away. If they are rancid, anything you bake with them in it will be ruined. Not fun.

I have a basic scone recipe that I have used often and just add spices, flavorings or add-ins to change them up. This is considered a small batch because it uses only 2 cups of flour and you can expect to get 6-8 medium sized scones depending on the size. I like to make them on the smaller size.

The recipe is here ~

Yes, I decided to drizzle four of the scones with chocolate!

And yes, I dipped the bottom side in chocolate too! Don't worry, they appear larger in the picture than they actually are.

The other eight are in the freezer waiting for the next coffee talk.

Enjoy!

The Summer Blooms Have Ended

My hydrangeas have kept me enraptured by their beauty all summer! I rarely cut any of the flowers that I grow to bring in the house for a bouquet because I love to look at them in their natural habitat, connected to the plant. This is the first one that has made it into the house. My plants have hit the end of the road for this year. No more buds bursting out. The natural process of shutting down has won out again. No more fresh flowers from the garden until Spring 2015! They are worth waiting for!

The last beauty of the year in my favorite color

Have a great day!

Pumpkin Muffins Updated "2014 Style"

 A lot can change in a couple of years...

I shared an easy pumpkin muffin recipe a couple of years ago here on this blog. I hadn't made them for years so I decided to make a batch last week and this time I ran into a problem. My dear hubby didn't like them very much. His exact words were, "Were they baked long enough?" Of course I said, Yes, I baked them long enough, they are just a little more moist inside than usual. Then a couple days later, I decided to try one so I took one out of the freezer where I had stowed them away. After I took a bite, oooonnnnoooo...yuck, the texture was very moist, like it had not been baked inside. It felt like I had a mouthful of raw pumpkin, not one of my favorite textures. It kind of turned my stomach a little, but I knew no eggs were involved, and after all, my dear hubby was still alive so they must be ok-ish!?!

I puzzled over that for a few days, wondering what in the world had happened. I started looking at the many other recipes for 2-ingredient pumpking muffins/cake and they were all basically the same and didn't offer any insight to the problem. And then I got an idea. Yes, I put some brain cells together and came up with an idea. I raced to my cupboard and pulled out a cake mix I had bought for another project. I looked at the Net Weight. It said 15.25 ounces! I checked my recipe and the recipe calls for an 18.25 ounce cake mix!! Wow, how do the big companies like Pillsbury get away with that! They should have brought it to our attention! I had noticed that the boxes were smaller but never would have guessed that they were putting less inside the box. Think of all the recipes people have used for years and that can't possibly turn out like they did without major adaptation. I knew I had solved the mystery. I do realize that most everyone who bakes with a cake mix has probably solved this mystery years ago. I have been in the baking slow lane for a while now.

Yes, I realize this muffin has a frosty texture on top. I took this frozen muffin out of the freezer for your enjoyment! It's back in the freezer bag with the rest of the pumpkin muffins. We will most likely save them for 6 months and then throw away because we didn't like them!

I do have to say, the flavor in these muffins was fantastic! I added cinnamon, (lots of) ginger, cardamom (just a little, it is very strong), star anise, vanilla and orange peel! Oh what a waste of taste!

In case you are interested, I am posting a recipe for cake mix that you can make ahead and keep on hand. This recipe works in place of a 18.25 ounce cake mix. There may be other cake mixes out there that have kept their weight at 18.25 ounces but I don't use them that often so I'm not going to go searching for them. I am keeping this recipe here for safe keeping.

Homemade Yellow Cake Mix:
2 cups Flour
1-1/2 cups Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Non-Fat Dry Milk

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and non-fat milk. Store in an airtight container or zip bag. Keeps well in the pantry for months.

Thank you to Chickens in the Road for this recipe. You will see more cake variations on her blog.

Enjoy!

Pickled Golden Beets with Ginger and Star Anise

 While I was in pickling mode, I was reminded how easy it is to pickle things! I went on a crazy search for anything and everything I could pickle! I decided to go for it and make pickled beets, not the red ones but the under-rated yellow beets.

I was so happy to find a recipe that used whole star anise! It looks so nice tucked inside this jar.

 My dear hubby loves beets so I asked him if this recipe's ingredients  sounded good to him when pickled. He said YES so he helped me make these beets that are mostly for him! Don't worry, we will share.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it comes from the food blog Garden Therapy.

This recipe makes 4 pints of pickled beets. We have not tried ours yet because we are trying to save them for the holidays. They will be here very soon. Less than 10 weeks until Christmas!

Enjoy!

Pickled

If you love pickles, raise your hand...I'm raising mine! I consider myself a pickle connoisseur. Not just any old pickle. No run of the mill pickles for me! I grew up in a home that always had Mrs. Neusihin's Pickles. Only Mrs. Neusihin's dill pickles! It was a sad day when they were bought-out by a Wisconsin company. Fred Meyer's sold them for a few years but they appear to be gone from the west coast. Never fear, make your own.

My mom-in-law made pickles every year 30+ years ago. They were very similiar to the pickles we ate at my parents house. When our kids and their cousins were young, we ate Sunday dinner at my in-laws house almost every Sunday after church. The condiments, pickles, olives, carrot and celery sticks were the first foods on the table. By the time we sat down to eat, all the pickles and olives were long gone! Surprisingly, the carrots and celery were left for the adults.

I was pickless for years. It took me many years to find a pickle I would/could eat. I can't tell you how many times I was told, "Here, try this pickle, it's exactly how you like them." Not!!! When we lived in SoCal, I finally found my new favorite pickles, Bubbies. They are so good and hard to beat. We don't eat very many pickles but when we do, it has to be Bubbies.

Well... that is last summer and I got the crazy idea that I wanted to make some dill pickles. I had made pickles with my mom-in-laws recipe back in the 80's and it sounded like a great idea to try it again. My dear hubby is always ready for anything, so we had fun shopping at our favorite farm stands for the best ingredients and then we jumped in and made pickles. We accomplished all of that in one fun afternoon. Projects are always more fun when your helper is very strong and does all the heavy lifting!

These turned out very good!

It's always nice when you put out a lot of time and energy and you are rewarded with it turning out well. I enjoy sharing projects that are successful with family and friends. We made seven quarts and I expect they will be gone by January 2015!

Here is my dear mom-in-laws recipe for Never Fail Pickles

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cone Treats for a Birthday Party

I just noticed this blog post that I never posted from June 19, 2013, well over a year ago so I am sharing this now just like I made these treats yesterday!

Wow, It has been a long time! Lots of changes, good changes, and less free time. A few weeks back, my nephew Jason, reminded me that I have a blog and I have I have been ignoring that blog! Guilty as charged!

Last month our youngest grandson, Ivan, turned 4! We headed north for his birthday party but I always feel the need to take something special to share. Here are some quickly shot, random pictures of the treats I made. They aren't that great. I was using my ipad and they needed a flash. I got word that there were 27 kids in his class, and amazingly, I ended up with 27 treats! I was releaved when they all turned out!

A funny story - Ivan's teacher confessed to my daughter that one of the kids was absent that day. She had put his treat into his desk so he could have it the next day. On her way out at the end of the day, she went to the little boys desk, opened it up and took that treat right out of his desk! She took it home for herself! She couldn't resist!! 

Too Funny!! 

Back to reality...

Here we are October 2014 and I found photos of birthday treats I made for Wiley quit some time ago! This is the last time I made cone treats. Big kids and little kids seem to love anything in a cone!

I poke holes in the empty cone boxes so that I can stand them up until they are firm.

To make these, I pick a flavor/color cake mix that I think the kids will like. You you bake the cake according to directions in a 9x13 pan. Let it cool completely. When cool, crumble all the cake into a large bowl. Sounds strange doesn't it! Next you mix about 1/2 a tub of frosting into the cake crumbs and start stirring. Continue with this process until all the cake crumbs are moist with frosting. It usually takes about 3/4 tub of frosting or to your preference. You don't want it to be to wet because it will make the dipping very difficult as they will soften too fast. Trust me, I learned this by trial and error.

Before you start the next phase, I would suggest having all your ingredients and tools out and ready to use. Have all your candy melts in bowls, ready to melt when you are ready for them. Now you will need an ice cream scoop to scoop out balls of cake mixture and place the cake balls on a baking tray or trays lined with wax paper or parchment paper so they wont stick. Place them in the freezer for about 1-2 hours or until very firm to the touch. If you use too much frosting, the cake balls will melt when you dip them into the warm candy melts. 

When the cake balls are completely frozen, one at a time, dip the cones in melted Wilton candy melts in what ever color/flavor suits your fancy. Place the cake balls onto the cones and let them cool in the cones in the upright position until the melts have hardened and the cake ball is firmly attached to the cone. (This is where I use the cone boxes.) This works best if the temperature in the area you are working in is cool, not warm because the cake balls will be wanting to melt.  Continue until all the cones you are making are dipped and have a cake ball on top. At this point, I usually place the cones on a small tray and keep them in the refrigerator to keep them cool. I then take out a couple at a time to dip into the next color.

Now you are ready to do the next dip. Use the picture above as a guide. You want to dip your cone into the next color, leaving as much of the melt on the cone as possible. Put them in the refrigerator until they are all completely firm and to keep them firm until you are ready to do the last dip.

After your last dip, you will want to add your sprinkles or gumdrop or what ever you want on top so that it can cool and be attached to the top. That's about it! I like to put mine in bags so they are easy to transport. These can be made over a period of days or hours. They aren't hard to make but they do take time. I don't keep them in the refrigerator once they are all finished unless your home is very warm. 

Have fun making a little someones day a bit more special!

Enjoy!

Our Favorite Go-To Treat

This is the best treat ever! Sometimes you just need (want) a little something sweet or chewy or crunchy. This recipe won't satisfy your need for a crunchy treat but it definitely works when you want a little something sweet but healthy at the same time. That is why this treat is the best! It has no added sugar, no flour, no egg, no butter, no dairy! It mixes together in 5 minutes or less. You don't even need to measure if you don't feel like it. Just guesstimate! I can have these mixed up and scooped out on a cookie sheet by the time the oven reaches 350!


The base for this recipe is the lovely banana. It's adds the sweetness, the thickener, the stabilizer, etc. I don't know of any other fruit that is this versatile. You can add whatever you want to the banana /oatmeal mixture. Your favorite spices, flavorings or add-ins. You are going to love these!

Before baking

Healthy Banana Treats

Ingredients:

3 mashed ripe Bananas, mashed

A big spoonful of Fresh Ground Peanut Butter, approx 1/3 to 1/2 cup, more or less (you can use store bought)

About a teaspoonful of Vanilla, more or less

A heaping teaspoonful of Cinnamon, more or less

About 2 cups Rolled Oats,  more of less

About 1/2 cup of Dark Chocolate, more or less

About 1/4 cup Coconut, Almond or Hazelnut Milk, I have used them all

In a bowl, mash your bananas. 

Add the peanut butter and stir the two together until they are completely mixed. 

Add the vanilla and cinnamon and stir well.

Add the rolled oats and stir until they are completely coated.

 Stir in the chocolate. 

Add enought of the coconut/nut milk until it makes a good scooping texture. 

Scoop the mixture out on a parchment covered baking sheet or you can scoop them into lined cupcake pans to make them muffin style.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Baking time varies from the size scoop you use.

After baking

I let them cool and then I store them in the refridgerator or the freezer.

This recipe doubles very well and is a very forgiving recipe. You can add just about anything you want to the base and it will turn out well. Don't add too much liquid because you don't want the dough to be soupy or wet. 

I have also used Greek yogurt as the emulsifier in place of the milk. 

You can leave out the peanut butter but make sure your batter isn't too moist before you scoop it on to your baking sheet. I would suggest letting it sit on the counter for a few minutes before scooping. That gives the oatmeal a chance to soak up the extra liquid.

Enjoy!