Lemon Meringue Bars

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by

Cindy

I celebrated Galentine's Day this year instead of Valentine's Day.  I saw someone on television talking about how she celebrated Galentine's Day with her girl friends, and I liked that idea.  I had several of my girl friends over for dinner and we had a great time eating, talking, and just enjoying the evening.  I made Italian Beef and Leslie brought a salad and bread sticks from the Olive Garden (yummy!).  Chocolate covered strawberries and homemade chocolate turtles were another addition from Liz. There's nothing better than chocolate covered strawberries and my favorite candy is turtles, so I was in heaven with those desserts.  I never knew that homemade turtles could taste as good as Libs Candy, but they did.  (That will be on my list to make in the near future).  To top it off I made Sangria., since you have to have a fun drink on girl's night.  The next time you're without a Valentine just celebrate with the friends in your life and celebrate Galentine's Day.  

I bought a whole sack of lemons for the Sangria, because a whole sack was cheaper than just buying one or two lemons.  Needless to say, I had leftover lemons, and that is what my theme is - lemons.  Lemons kind of warm you up and make you think about warmer weather.  They are tart and can perk you up.  I found this recipe in my pile, and I had cut it out of Woman's Day Magazine in 2004.  I've been wanting to make this recipe for years apparently.  My nephew, Cayden, spent some time with me Sunday and we made this together.  He is interested in everything and was happy to help me whip this up.  It's a simple recipe and  Kayden liked cracking the eggs.  He used his hands to help me spread the cookie dough in the pan.  He wasn't a fan of licking the bowl and that is disturbing to me.  That's the best part of baking.  lol  Anyway, It tasted great and was very refreshing. The lemon flavor was just right.   It tasted like Lemon Meringue Pie, but there was no cooking over the stove or waiting for it to cool before adding the meringue.  You need to serve it the day you make it, because meringues just don't taste as good a day later.  If you want a taste of spring, give this recipe a try.

Lemon Meringue Bars

1 batch of basic cookie dough (or bought cookie dough)

Lemon Filling

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1 T freshly grated lemon peel

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)

Whites of 3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 t cider vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with foil, letting foil extend over pan at both ends.  Coat foil with nonstick spray.

2.  Pat dough over bottom and slightly up sides of pan.

 

3.  Bake 15 minutes or until pale golden and firm when gently pressed.

4.  Meanwhile make Filling:  In a food processor or with a mixer, process or beat ingredients until blended.  Pour over hot crust.  Bake 20 minutes until filling sets slightly.

 

5.  Meringue:  Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with mixer on high speed until foamy.  Add vinegar; beat until soft peaks form.  Beat in sugar, about 1 T at a time.  Beat 5 minutes more or until shiny, stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.

6.  Spread the meringue over Filling to cover, making swirls with back of a spoon.

 

7.  Bake 15 to 18 minutes until peaks of meringue are golden brown.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Lift foil by ends onto cutting board; cut in bars.

recipe adapted from

Women's Day Magazine

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Oreo Cupcakes

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By Christy

I officially have a new favorite cupcake… or maybe a second favorite cupcake (because I can't deny my love for chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes!) Say hello to this beauty…  An Oreo Cookie Cupcake! Not only does it look awesome, taste awesome but the aroma of the Oreo  is down right amazing. 

Sarah made her rendition of Oreo cupcakes summer of 2011 for my Dad's birthday. I somehow refrained from eating one but man do I dread that now… that means I have been living a full year and a half without this piece of heaven in my life. But the recipe is super easy and I haven't come across one person that hasn't LOVED them yet. After my first batch, BigCat immediately put in his birthday cake order for Oreo Cupcakes…. in April. LOL 

Instructions for Cake:

Set aside 36 Oreo Cookies to be used later. The rest of the Oreos will be fair game. 

To keep it easy, I recommend a vanilla cake mix made per box instructions but if you really want to have fun in the kitchen a homemade recipe works great too. If you ever need some white cake recipes, let me know.

1 box Oreo Cookies- I bought the huge box from Costco and froze any extra cookies

Using a food processor COARSELY chop the Oreos into chunks. You want about quarter inch size oreo bits. Combine the oreo's with the cake mix. 

Preheat the over to 350 and in the meantime, prep your cupcake pans. Take the top off of 24 oreos and with the cream center facing upwards, place the oreos in the bottom of the muffin liners. 

Pour the cake mix on top and bake for 18 minutes or until the cake passes the toothpick (comes clean) test.

Oreo Buttercream:

While cupcakes are baking, take the excess chocolate cookie tops left over plus any additional oreos you would like to add and finely chop in the food processor until it is like a powder. If you don't plan on piping the icing out of a decorating tip, chucks are fine but if you do pipe them,  chucks will clog the tip. Whip up a batch of vanilla butter cream icing (I used this recipe) then mix in the oreos. 

Wait until the cupcakes have cooled before icing. Garnish the top with the 12 extra oreos you saved by cutting the cookies  in half with a sharp knife and placing them  on the side of the cupcake. 

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Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes

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By Christy

I recently was asked to make a candy inspired cupcake. I have made lots of fun candy inspired cupcakes: Snickers, Twix, Rolos.... but if you didn't notice there has been a trend of my candy choices: chocolate. LOL It's no secret chocolate is by far one of my most favorite food groups, so when it came to a sweet and sour candy, this posed a fun new challenge for me. I was asked to make Sour Patch Kids cupcakes. After a little research on how to create the sweet and sour flavor of a sour patch kids these cupcakes were actually super easy to whip up!

What's your favorite type of candy?

Have you ever tried to recreate those flavors into another dessert?

Cake:

Make a cake of your choice. I made a simple vanilla cake recipe and added sprinkles for a fun, "funfetti" look!

Icing: I made a batch of vanilla buttercream and colored it green.

My "current" fave recipe is inspired from Magnolia Bakery's buttercream icing. I made a couple tweeks but is it great and the texture is very smooth and it is great for piping icing.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream or milk

2 Teaspoons Vanilla extra

Combine butter, 4 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition, until icing reaches desired consistency; you may not need to add all the sugar.

Sour Patch Kids Candy Coating:

Equal parts citric acid and granulated sugar

I used 1/2 cup of acid for 1/2 cup of sugar and it was MORE than enough for 24 cupcakes. I found the citric acid in the canning section of Wal-Mart for less then $2 bucks. I definitely got a lot of bang for the buck when it came to these cupcakes!

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Bettye Ann's Cheese Cake

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by 

Cindy

This isn't a picture of cheese cake, but it's the sweetest little baby girl you've ever seen (of course I'm partial- lol).  We had a baby arrive last week, so we have been busy with our new addition to the family.  Sarah and Nick had a baby girl on January 31, 2013.  She was scheduled to have the baby on February 1st, but nature took it's course and Caroline arrived a day early.  Sarah & Nick decided not to find out the gender of the baby, so we were thrilled when she turned out to be a girl.  Now I have a grandson and a granddaughter.  I spent 5 days there helping out with cooking and being with my favorite little man, Carter.  Caroline is a beautiful baby, and I loved getting be there when she was born.  I enjoyed every minutes that I was there, and look forward to visiting them soon. 

 When I got home I knew I needed to bake something for the blog, and this recipe has been on my mind to make for a while.    I've had it in my notebook for many, many years, and I've made it many times.  It's a  cheese cake recipe that is sooo quick, easy, and good.  It would be a perfect dessert for a special Valentine's Day meal or just as a treat later that night.  It is very similar to other cheese cake recipes, but there is no special springform pan needed.  It tastes lighter than the traditional cheese cake tastes, and I think that is because it's not as thick.  This recipe calls for a 11x13 inch baking dish, so it turns out more like a bar than a thick cheese cake.  It could be made in a smaller baking dish and would turn out more like the traditional cheese cakes turn out.  I like the size and thickness, and it doesn't have to cook as long so it's quicker to make.  Any kind of fruit topping would be great, but I chose blueberry topping.  Show your love and make something special for your Valentine this week. 

Bettye Ann's Cheese Cake

11 graham crackers, crushed (1 pkg)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

2 - 8 ounce pkgs cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1.  Mix together crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.  Pat in the bottom of a 11x13 inch       baking dish. (For a thicker cheese cake use a smaller pan).

I 

I used this metal measuring cup and sprayed the bottom of it with vegetable spray.  Then I pressed the graham cracker crumbs down with it. 

2.  Mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each.  Add vanilla.  Pour filling over crust and spread evenly.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  (Add more time if you use a smaller dish and cake is thicker).

 

3.  Top with cherry pie filling or any type fruit topping.

Blueberry Sauce

2 cups frozen blueberries

1 t cornstarch

1/8 cup water

1 1/2 t lemon juice

4 T sugar

Mix together the water, cornstarch, lemon juice, and sugar in a small sauce pan.  Heat on medium to medium high until it starts to thicken, then add the blueberries.  Cook until bubbly but not boiling.  Cool.  Serve over cheese cake.

Recipe from

Bettye Ann Breivogel given to me by Donna Hartig (Thanks Donna!)

Blueberry Sauce adapted from

natashaskitchen.com

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