Chocolate Scones

These chocolate scones are a family favorite. The boys have been known to wait a couple of hours for me to wake up and bake them on Sunday mornings. Scones are particularly good when they are right out of the oven - or maybe we just don't want to wait!

 

Chocolate Scones

 2/3 c. heavy cream (I usually use milk)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cold butter

2/3 c. chocolate chips

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut in flour. You can use two knives if you don't have a pastry blender. Blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips. We like to use vanilla chips in these scones as well. Add cream, egg, and vanilla and stir just until dough comes together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8 inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges with a pizza cutter. Or you can use a large scoop and drop dough onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Sunday Pie

I don't remember where I got this recipe, but I LOVE it! It is easy to put together and there is very little baking so it is perfect for summer when you don't want to heat your house up too much. But it is also creamy and chocolate, so it's perfect for any time!

I'm not sure why it's called Sunday Pie. It's not really a pie and we don't wait until Sunday to eat it. Who cares - it's delicious!

 

Sunday Pie

1/2 c. butter

1 c. flour

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix ingredients together and press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. If you don't like walnuts or are worries about allergies, leave the nuts out. It works just fine without them. I rarely use nuts in the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, just until it starts to turn golden brown. Cool.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. Cool Whip - you will need an entire 8 oz. container, the rest is saved for later

Mix these three together. I mix the sugar into the cream cheese until it is smooth and then add the Cool Whip. Spread carefully over crust. If you aren't a little careful, the crust will pull up off the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate.

2 small boxes chocolate pudding mix

3 c. cold milk

Mix together and pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until firm. Use the remainder of your Cool Whip to spread on top before serving. Use chocolate shavings or chocolate chips to garnish, if desired.

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

These rolls are delicious! They have just the right amount of sweetness to be sweet rolls without being overly sweet. Rolls freeze really well, too, so I made these ahead of time this year and froze them for Thanksgiving. Now we get delicious rolls I can warm right before dinner! Yum!

There

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

1 1/2 c. warmed pineapple juice  

1/2 c. melted butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. ginger

3 eggs

1 tsp. salt

6-7 c. flour

2 Tbsp. yeast

Beat eggs in Bosch machine. Add warm juice, melted butter, sugar, vanilla, yeast and mix together. Add in salt and 3 c. flour. Allow machine to mix as you continue to add 3 additional cups flour. Check dough consistency. If it is too sticky, add more flour. You will want the dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but not be too dry. Allow machine to knead dough 5-6 minutes. Cover bowl with warm towel and let rise until double. Punch down and shape as desired. Place on greased pan and allow to rise again. I put the pan in a warm oven with a pan of hot water underneath. When doubled in size, bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. I always brush the tops of my rolls with butter when they come out of the oven, but you don't have to. Enjoy!

Mint Cheesecake Bars

Mint and chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations. And cheesecake! So yummy! This recipe uses an Oreo crust - something my kids were only too happy to help eat the leftovers! They also begged to help "taste test" the Andes mints. With so much "help" in the kitchen, it's a miracle I had enough ingredients to get these made!

 

Mint Cheesecake Bars

1/2 c. butter

2 c. crushed Oreos

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 Tbsp. peppermint flavoring

1 pkg. Andes mints, chopped

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a 9x13 pan, melt the butter in the oven. Sprinkle Oreo crumbs over the melted butter and pack into the bottom of the pan. Bake 6 minutes. While the crust is baking, beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until fluffy. Add in milk slowly while beating and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and peppermint and mix well. Pour over crust when it comes out of the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until it is set. Cool. Once cooled, melt chocolate chips and drizzle over bars. Mine didn't want to drizzle so I poured it on and spread it out. I'm flexible. It worked. Sprinkle chopped mints on top and press lightly. Store covered in refrigerator.

Applesauce Muffins

Most of my muffin recipes have to be doubled to feed all my boys - and even at that, the boys are cut off after four muffins. This recipe is one of the few that make 24 without doubling. And they are 24 good sized muffins. It wouldn't be difficult to cut it in half if you don't have a house full of ravenous boys, however. They freeze really well and are good with store bought applesauce or homemade. The spices make your house smell incredible while they are baking!

 

Applesauce Muffins

1 c. butter, nearly melted

 2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 c. applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla

4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. allspice

1 c. chopped nuts, optional

1 c. raisins, optional

Cream butter and sugar together then add eggs, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir well. Add flour, baking soda, and spices and stir until well combined. Add nuts and raisins, if desired. Use either cupcake wrappers or greased muffins tins and divide batter into sups equally. Will make 24 large muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Barbecue Beef Biscuits

We had these for the first time right after moving into my sister's house - two days after she had baby #6. Her sister-in-law brought them over so she didn't have to make dinner the night we arrived. Well, they were delicious and we loved them! So, I asked how to make them and now they are a family favorite and are so easy to make! 

Barbecue Beef Biscuits

4 cans biscuits - I use the cheapest brand I can find.

1 pound hamburger

1 can Manwich

barbecue sauce

brown sugar

cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger in pot and drain excess grease. Add Manwich and mix together. I always add a little extra barbecue sauce, whatever I have on hand that isn't quite gone yet, and a little brown sugar - I don't measure it, just dump in whatever looks good, maybe 1/4 cup or so. Let Manwich mixture heat on stove. Meanwhile, open the cans of biscuits. Put each biscuit in the bottom of a muffin tin and spread it out so the biscuit dough covers the bottom of the tin and goes up the sides a little bit. Repeat for all the biscuits - this makes 36 - three muffin tins of biscuits. Divide Manwich mixture into each cup and top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degree 15 minutes, or until biscuits turn golden brown around the edges.

Rolls

I love bread. Especially hot, fresh bread. Rolls are good with so many different meals, too. Soups, stews, etc. are all better with rolls. They make easy sandwiches the day after, too. Or by themselves with butter and jam. Really, is there any way a roll isn't good?

 

Rolls

2 c. warm milk

1/2 c. warm water

4 tsp. yeast

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. melted butter

2 eggs

7-8 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

I use my Bosch machine for these rolls, but you can use a KitchenAid or mix by hand. Put milk, water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your Bosch machine. Add melted butter, but be sure it isn't so hot it will kill the yeast. Add 4 cups of the flour and turn machine on. Allow to mix until ingredients are well combined. Turn the machine off to add the two eggs, then turn back on until mixed. Add salt and slowly add in flour as it mixes. Add flour until you have a soft dough that pulls away from the edges of the bowl. Cover with a warm, damp towel and allow to rise until double. Or, be impatient like me and just move on. Punch dough down after it has doubled in size. Shape into balls or however you like to shape your rolls. For these, I rolled my dough out into a rough rectangle that was about 1/2 inch thick. Then I folded it over itself so it was about 1 inch thick and cut into 25 rectangles. Place on greased sheet and allow to rise again. I do this in a warm oven with a pan of hot water underneath the tray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Beef Stew

It's cold outside so there is nothing better for dinner than something warm and delicious. My picky eaters weren't too thrilled when they looked at this, but I reminded them that they've eaten it before and they reluctantly ate their dinner - with the threat of no dessert if they didn't finish!

 

Beef Stew

2 lbs. stew beef

1/3 c. flour

1 tsp. pepper

Place all in a ziplock bag and shake until meat is coated. Heat 4 Tbsp. oil in frying pan and cook  over medium heat until meat is browned. Transfer to crock pot and add:

1 c. onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 c. beef broth

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

3 Tbsp. tomato paste

5-6 carrots, cut into large chunks

5-6 large potatoes, cut into large chunks

Cook over high heat 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours.

 

Chocolate Waffles

Waffles are a favorite breakfast and my kids think I don't make them enough. Chocolate waffles are even better! How can you have a bad day when it starts with chocolate waffles covered with chocolate syrup? If you add chocolate milk, it's a chocolate breakfast!

 

Chocolate Waffles

1 3/4 c. milk

2 eggs

1/2 c. oil

1 1/2 c. flour

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix milk, eggs, and oil in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. There will be lumps that remain. Bake in waffle iron until done. Serve with chocolate syrup and enjoy!

Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 c. water

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all but vanilla in pot on stove. Mix well with a whisk and stir constantly over medium high heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve hot or cold. Store in refrigerator.

Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles

I love cookies. They are great! They are portable, they come in individual serving sizes, the don't require any serving dishes... it's hard to beat a good cookie. And who complains if you show up on their doorstep with a plate of fresh-baked cookies? Um... no one. 

I love caramel, too. I make caramel stuffed chocolate cookies, too (recipe will come) so I thought I would branch out a little and try some other recipes with it. Snickerdoodles with caramel - delicious! Just so you know, chocolate chips cookies with caramel are also delicious. I've made that, too.

 

Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles

1 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. sugar plus 3 Tbsp.

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 2/3 . flour

2 tsp. cream of tarter

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. cinnamon

Rolos - about 6 rolls or 1 bag

Cream butter, 1 1/4 c. sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour, cream of tarter, and baking soda. Mix well. Combine 3 Tbsp. sugar and 3 tsp. cinnamon in small bowl and mix. Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and shape around Rolo. Roll on cinnamon/ sugar mix coat completely. Repeat with remaining dough and Rolos. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degree 10-12 minutes.

If you don't have Rolos or don't want the caramel in the middle, these are also fabulous without it.

Pizza Dough

My kids are normal kids and love pizza. We enjoy having family movie nights were we sit in front of the TV and eating while we watch something no one agreed on and mom had to step in and pick a movie no one else is happy with. At least, until it starts and every one settles back down and enjoys the show and the food. Pizza is great because you can top it anyway you like to meet the desires of various people and have everyone happy with dinner. Some of our favorites are ham and pineapple, pepperoni, and bacon and black olive. Yum!

 

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 c. warm water

1 Tbsp. yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 c. flour

1/4 Tbsp. salt

This is another recipe I use my Bosch machine for. I make at least three pizzas each time we have pizza so it's a lot of dough to knead by hand. Start with the water, yeast, and sugar. If you want to proof the yeast, let that sit for about 5 minutes so it can get foamy.  Add 1 cup flour and salt and turn on Bosch. Slowly add additional flour just until you get a stiff dough that doesn't stick to your hands when you shape it. I use a pizza paddle and a stone pizza pan. Put the pizza stone in the oven and turn on to 400 degrees. Get out the pizza paddle and sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Shape dough into shape on pizza paddle. Top as desired and bake at 400 degrees about 15 minutes.

If you are not using a Bosch or Kitchenaid, mix the water, yeast, and sugar as above. Stir in 1 c. flour and salt and mix. Slowly add in additional flour and knead on counter until you can't mix more in. Shape and bake as above.

Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Burritos

Sundays are the best days for me to bake. At least, the Sundays I am not working. I wanted to try something new this week and ran across an idea while cruising around the internet. My husband looked at the recipe and said that it would be better with cream cheese. So, several tweaks later, this is what we came up with. Everyone declared it "awesome" so it seems to be a hit!

 

I used soft taco sized tortillas and smeared cream cheese on them.

 

 Then I used apple pie filling on each and sprinkled some extra cinnamon on that.

 

Roll them up into burritos.

 

And bake! 

Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Burritos

12 soft taco size flour tortillas

8 oz package cream cheese

2 cans apple pie filling

cinnamon

Open wrapper of cream cheese and score into 12 sections. I scored it in half first, then each half into halves, then each quarter into thirds. I cut each scored section off and smeared it onto the center of each tortilla. Each can of pie filling does 6 burritos and I spread it over the cream cheese. Then sprinkle the cinnamon lightly over all. Roll up into a burrito and place in greased 9x13 inch pan. You have to squish them all in a little bit to get them all to fit.

Sauce

3/4 c. butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. water

Put all in medium pan. Heat on medium high heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Allow to boil 2-3 minutes then pour over burritos. Allow to soak in sauce about 30-45 minutes, depending on how patient you are. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Corn Bread

Mmmmm, corn bread. I love it when it is right out of the oven with butter melting into it and honey drizzled all over it. Delicious! I like to make chili and cornbread, but some of the boys decided that cornbread was no longer an acceptable side to meals. So I had to figure something else out. They love waffles so I decided to try making the corn bread into waffles and put chili and cheese on top. It worked! They love the corn bread waffles and usually don't complain too much about dinner! Winner!

When I use this recipe to make corn bread, I keep it as is. When I am making waffles, I double it so we get enough waffles for seconds. Just put the batter in a waffle iron, just as you would to make regular waffles. I always grease the waffle iron, but mine sticks a lot.

 

Corn Bread

1 c. corn meal

1 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 c. milk

1 egg

Mix all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour into 8 inch greased baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

Our church has General Conference twice a year. We are able to sit at home and listen to our church leaders over the internet or TV and hear what they have to tell us. It's really nice to be able to sit at home and learn from the prepared talks. I remember the days of going to church and sitting in the hard pews for hours on end (it felt like). Then we would have lunch on the lawn and do it all over again. It's nicer to sit at home and enjoy there. It's also nice to enjoy a snack while we watch. I tried this peanut butter honey popcorn this year and everyone loved it. We'll be making it again.

 

Peanut Butter Honey Popcorn

2 quarts popped popcorn

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. honey or Karo syrup

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cook sugar and honey to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Stir while it is heating up. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over the popcorn while stirring to coat all. Enjoy warm or after it's cooled - it you can wait that long!

Pumpkin Muffins

When my kids were little they liked to get up on Saturday mornings and watch TV. They weren't able to find the channels by themselves or get breakfast. One day I had a thought... what if I made muffins the night before, poured milk in cups and left them in the fridge, and set the TV to the right channel (back in the day when you actually had to get up and turn a knob to change the channel) for cartoons? Would I be able to sleep in.... why, yes! I would! It worked out really well and muffins on Saturday mornings became our tradition.

Pumpkin Muffins
1 2/3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin
1 stick butter, melted
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix flour, sugar, pie spice, and baking powder. You are supposed to mix eggs, pumpkin, and melted butter in a separate bowl but I always make a well in the dry ingredients and put the wet ones in the well. Mix well. Add in chocolate chips - I don't measure those. There's no such thing as too many chocolate chips, right? Line muffin tins with liners or grease them. Divide dough into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

This recipe came from my ex-husband's family. It is one his grandmother used to bake and I loved! I never ate her version, but my ex's sister would make these from time to time for me. So yummy! I like the molasses/ spice combination and I cheat when I make them. A lot. Who wants to be patient waiting for cookie dough to chill? Not me!

Molasses Sugar Cookies
adapted from the recipe of Blanche Lindsay
3/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cloves
1.2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon

The recipe calls for 1 tsp. salt. I never add salt to recipes. I use salted butter instead. I don't like adding salt, my personal preference. Do what you will with that.

Mix melted butter, sugar, molasses, and egg and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, and spices and mix well. This is where you are supposed to chill the dough. I don't and they turn out fine. I use a cookie scoop to make little balls of the dough. Roll dough in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.