Pumpkin Pudding Recipe

I know it is a wee bit early for anything Fall-ish, but I have been craving pumpkin pie lately for some reason.  However, pumpkin pie is pretty caloric and not all that healthful when you add in the crust and the huge dollop of whipped cream.

I stumbled across a pumpkin pudding recipe that I tweaked a little bit, and found gold for both my cravings and for satisfying my dessert needs.

Plus, it is seriously easy to whip up.  This may become a regular at our house, given how nutritious pumpkin is for all of us.  See what you think:

Banana Muffin Chocolate Bread Pudding

I had some bananas that ripened way too quickly this week, and so I made a double batch of banana muffins in the midst of a busy week to try and not be wasteful.

Alas, when I made the muffins, I was in a big hurry and forgot to put in any sweetener.  With the ripened bananas they were faintly sweet, but just not quite sweet enough because I'd made them with some oats and oat bran, and the pasty taste needed a little extra sweetness to take the edge off.

But this morning, as I was waking up, I had an epiphany:  if the muffins aren't quite sweet enough, why not use them as a base for some bread pudding instead?

So guess what I have baking in my oven this morning:  a pan of banana muffin chocolate bread pudding.  I took a basic recipe for banana bread pudding and tweaked it a bit with what I had on hand, and it smells awesome.  Here's my recipe:

Conversation Heart Cakes

I've been helping with Doll Club at The Peanut's school this year, and having a lot of fun hanging out with the girls and making fun crafts and food for the monthly meeting.

Today, we are making a friendship pin with a heart and some pink and red beads on it as our craft.  And I'm making something fun as one of the snacks.

I actually got the idea from the "Eat Me" cakes I made for The Peanut's Alice in Wonderland birthday party last year.

It occurred to me that making the little heart-shaped cakes that I bought from Little Debbie look like those candy conversation hearts would be really cute, using frosting tubes to write things like "Luv U" and "Cute" and such.

Happily, they are making the little pink heart-shaped cakes again this year.  Yay!

The Last Of The Cookies

We're finishing up the last of the cookies today.

It's another snow day from school for The Peanut, and I'm immensely grateful to the snickerdoodle dough for providing a good diversion this morning.

Last night, I made a double batch of chocolate walnut fantasy fudge with Mr. ReddHedd's assistance.  I tasted it this morning -- well, the cook has to be sure it tastes right, doesn't she? -- and it may very well be the best batch we've ever made.

Seriously nummy, fudgy, chocolatey goodness.

I'm debating whether to make a batch of oatmeal toffee cookies to finish things off.  Oatmeal cookies are Mr. ReddHedd's favorites, but we have a ton of cookies and I'm thinking that I may save them for a "just for us" batch over Christmas instead.

Frankly, I'm just beat from all the baking.

Lemon Meltaway Cookie Recipe

I got a few requests for the lemon meltaway cookie recipe as well, after mentioning I'd made them.

I use a recipe that I clipped from a Land 'O Lakes butter package ages ago, and it really is the yummiest one I've ever tried.  I did a bit of digging around, and found their Lemon Meltaway recipe online now.  I've reviewed it to be sure it is the same one I use.  (It is.)

The only thing I do differently?  I use store-bought frosting that comes in the little can -- I like the Duncan Hines lemon frosting because it has more zing to it.  I used to make my own but, honestly, the canned frosting is easier and it tastes pretty similar to (if not better than) what I make on my own.

I frost them with the lemon frosting and then sprinkle the tops with some yellow sugar crystals.  They look lovely.  And better yet?

These cookies are delicious, but incredibly delicate, so be forewarned: the dough is tender, the cookie is more so after it is baked, so frosting is your friend.   I give mine a hefty swipe of frosting on the top to help keep the tender cookie all in one piece.

These will absolutely disappear from your cookie tray. They literally melt in your mouth.

Honey Spice Cookies

I've had several requests for the Honey Spice Cookies recipe that I'm baking, after posting a description.

So here it is.

As usual, I can't leave well enough alone.  So my modifications to the recipe are below, but it originally came from Taste of Home: Cookies.

A couple of things:

-- This dough is really, really sticky since it has honey in it.  Because they are refrigerator cookies, you can let them sit a day or so before slicing and baking -- I recommend two days.  Otherwise?  You wind up having to clean your knife blade constantly and that's really annoying.

-- Although the original recipe didn't call for them, I added some chopped walnuts to the batter, and they are wonderful in it.  I highly suggest either walnuts or pecans for this.  Seriously yummy.

-- The original called for a powdered sugar glaze to be brushed on the cookies before baking -- I didn't like it, so I've taken it out here.

So here's the recipe:

Even More Baking...

Still baking cookies. Today is, hopefully, the last day for a bit -- I need a rest! But I promised The Peanut that we'd make some sugar cookies (we're either making polvorones, a Spanish cookie that is so yummy or buttery spritz cookies, either way they'll have lots of sprinkles on top) and snickerdoodles.

Those are her favorites, and she made me promise to make them when she could help.

I also have to make some chocolate walnut fudge today, with Mr. ReddHedd's assistance.  My arm wears out while stirring the boiling sugar and butter, and he's happy to help because...well, because I'm making a big pan of yummy fudge.  That's incentive enough, don't you think?

Yesterday, I baked lemon meltaways, honey spice cookies with walnuts and jeweled fruit cookies with pecans.  I also made 5 dozen white chocolate haystacks with toasted coconut and chopped macadamia nuts.

Enjoy a little Julia Child while I go preheat my oven...

The State Of The Day (And The Gray)

Another day, another batch of cookies.  Or several batches, as the case may be.

Yesterday, I managed to get three separate batches of refrigerator cookies made, rolled and packaged in plastic wrap so they could chill overnight for baking today.  If folks want exact recipes for these, please let me know and I will post them as I get time today or tomorrow:

-- Honey Spice Cookies with Walnuts:  This is a new recipe for me this year, and it says it makes 12 dozen cookies.  Given how many rolls of it I have in the fridge right now, I believe them.  The dough smells heavenly as you mix it altogether, because it has cinnamon, cloves and allspice along with 2 cups of honey.  I'll be interested to see how they bake up today.

-- Jeweled Fruit and Pecan Slices:  Red and green cherries and pecan halves, in a tender butter-cookie dough.  I love these as much for how pretty they are on a cookie tray as anything, but they are pretty yummy, too.

-- Lemon Meltaways:  These are amazing with a cup of tea or some hot spiced cider.  They are a really tender cookie, and I always frost them with lemon frosting so you get double the zing.

Today?  I have a couple more types of refrigerator cookies to make so they can chill for baking tomorrow.  And I'm hoping to get a batch of maple pecan drop cookies going, too.

This afternoon?  I have a hair appointment and we're going to talk about what I want to do with the ever-increasing amount of gray in my hair. 

Brownie Bites

Yesterday, the Christmas cookie baking began in earnest. 

Or at least it began, anyway.  All I got made were 4 dozen one-bite brownies, but it's a start.

And I'll take it.

Today?  More one-bite brownies and a lot of refrigerator cookie dough to make.

I plan on dividing 12 dozen one-bite brownies in half, and doing half of them with coconut-pecan frosting (like the kind you get on German chocolate cake) and the other half with peppermint frosting dotted with little mint chips.

I made some with the mint frosting last year and they were delicious.

How do I make these nummy brownies, you ask?  Pretty easily:

Christmas Cookie Planning

Yesterday, I pulled all of my various cookie cookbooks, saved holiday special edition magazines, and recipe cards out and spent some time going over all the possibilities for this year's batch of Christmas cookie goodness.

I have a couple of cookbooks that are "go to" books this time of year:

-- This one's a classic, but you can't beat the snickerdoodle recipe in the red and white plaid Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book.

-- My other favorite is a compendium of a lot of different types of cookie and bar recipes, including a section of recipes that make a really large batch for party or bake sale baking (or for lots of presents!): Taste of Home: Cookies.

Both are filled with lots of recipes and ideas, and I tend to pull from these two more than any others. That's not to say that I don't have a lot of other cookbooks, magazines and recipe cards...because I do, "out the wazoo" as Mr. ReddHedd would say.

It's just that these two cookbooks form the backbone and everything else just adds texture to the mix.

It's Christmas Cookie Season!

Ooooooooh, the weather outside is frightful, which means it is Christmas cookie season at my house.

It started back when we had very little money and needed to figure out how to get Christmas presents for friends and family back when we were first married.  I baked some cookies with cooking goodies that I had on hand and some flour I found on a major holiday sale, and they were a huge hit.

So I've been making big tins and platters of cookies every year since, some special ones by annual request.

This year?  I debated whether I would do them or not because we've been trying to eat healthier and cookies and candies are not exactly in the usual "eating healthier" range of recipes, now are they?

But I need to make some cookies for The Peanut's school.  "And what's a few more for friends and family?" I said to myself.  Next thing you know, I'm pulling my cookie cookbooks off the shelves and planning for the cookie cooking fest.

"Hello.  My name is Christy.  And I'm a cookie cooking-o-holic."

So here's what I know I'll have to make, based on standing requests from family and friends:

Berry Good Recipes

In the quest for better nutrition, the terms "fiber rich" and "nutrient dense" keep coming up over and over.

Hitting the sweet spot for both?  Berries.

They are loaded in fiber and antioxidants.  And they taste fab.  Plus, they are pretty low in calories, so you can fill up without filling out.

What's not to love?

I've been looking specifically for berry recipes that are healthy, fresh and not loaded down with processed gunk.  I've found quite a few, and thought that folks might enjoy them as well.

So, here goes:

-- Honeyed Yogurt and Mixed Berries with Whole Grain Waffles
-- Strawberry Marmalade Salad
-- Honeyed Peach and Blackberry Cobbler
-- Strawberry Pie With Chocolate Crust

Yummy Maple Cinnamon Rice Pudding

Yesterday evening, I was craving rice pudding.  It has been a comfort food kinda week, ya know?

I had some leftover brown basmati rice from our latest curry night, but not really enough to make a decent sized batch of rice pudding.

What I wanted was a creamy, maple-y, cinnamon-y bowl of goodness.  Maybe two bowls.

I got the idea for the recipe from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook : 250 No-Fail Recipes for Pilafs, Risottos, Polenta, Chilis, Soups, Porridges, Puddings and More, from Start to Finish in Your Rice Cooker, but didn't exactly follow the recipe precisely because I wanted a little more than it would have made so I could have some for breakfast this morning, too.

So I did the following:

Peach Nirvana

This may very well be the world's easiest and tastiest recipe.

I got this from a friend who knows that I like peaches and nectarines.

I've played around with this, using plain cinnamon, cinnamon mixed with a little sugar, cinnamon mixed with a little allspice -- and it is all fantastic.  And this works really well in a grill pan as long as you are patient and don't peek too much as you are heating up the cut surface of the fruit.

With a little vanilla ice cream on the side?  Divine.

I'm the sort who eats a peach the instant she gets it home, standing over the kitchen sink to manage the juiciness and the mess a little better.   Because I cannot wait another minute between the farmer's market and eating for that first bite of luscious, ripe peach.

But if I can save a few for later, this is a great way to eat them. And if you have leftovers, chop them up and use them on your oatmeal in the morning. Heaven in a bowl, especially with a dollop of vanilla yogurt on top.