Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes & Frosting

Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes

For the Bailey's cupcakes:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
12 tbsp butter, at room temperature
2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

For the Bailey's buttercream:
1 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating on low between each addition. Add vanilla.
- Add flour slowly in 3 additions, alternating with Bailey's, starting and ending with flour.
- Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake 15-17 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, until completely mixed. Add the Bailey's and beat until well combined.
- Poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes and brush some Bailey's on each before frosting.
- Load frosting into a piping bag fit with a large tip and decorate as desired.

Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake

4

eggs

3/4

cup milk

1/2

cup butter, melted

2

teaspoons vanilla

1

box Bisquick® Gluten Free mix (3 cups)

2/3

cup granulated sugar

1

can (21 oz) fruit pie filling (any flavor)

Glaze

1

cup powdered sugar

2

tablespoons milk

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease 1 (15x10x1-inch) pan or 2 (9-inch) square pans with shortening or cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, stir all coffee cake ingredients except pie filling until blended; beat vigorously 30 seconds. Spread 2/3 of the batter (about 2 1/2 cups) in 15x10-inch pan or 1/3 of the batter (about 1 1/4 cups) in each square pan.
3. Spread pie filling over batter (filling may not cover batter completely). Drop remaining batter by tablespoonfuls onto pie filling.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle glaze over warm coffee cake. Serve warm or cool.

Makes 18 servings

Sugar & Spice Pork Loin

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 medium gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 medium red onions, cut into quarters

1/2 c. olive oil

1 tsp. ground cumin

1.5 tsp. fennel seeds

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

one 4 lb pork loin, rolled and tied

1/2 c. chicken broth

Arrange the veggies in the bottom of your slow cooker. Drizzle 1/4 c. olive oil over the veggies and toss.

Make rub in a bowl with cumin, fennel, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar & black pepper. Sprinkle 1 Tblsp. over vegetables and stir together.

Pat the rest of the rub all over the loin, place the meat on top of the vegetables, and cover with remaining olive oil and chicken broth.

Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

Transfer pork to a cutting board, covering with foil for 20 minutes. Cut the meat into 1 inch slices and serve on a platter with vegetables.

Nutella Cupcakes

Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes

adapted from these ones.

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick. It needs to be in order to swirl in the Nutella!

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool. Makes a dozen cupcakes.

Pretzel Bread

*makes 4 large buns

*makes 6 roll-size buns

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ tsp yeast
• 1 cup water (110-120 degrees)
• 2 Tbsp room temperature milk
• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 ½ – 3 cups bread flour
• 4 quarts water
• ½ cup baking soda
• Kosher salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

Directions

1. Add yeast, water, milk, brown sugar and butter into a large bowl, whisking until all ingredients are combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes for yeast to activate. Mix in kosher salt. Start by adding two cups of the flour to the bowl, combining it with other ingredients. Add more flour as it’s needed, reserving just a bit for coating the dough mat later.
2. The dough should form a slightly tacky, but firm ball. Oil the bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl, and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, knead the dough by hand or machine for at least 5-10 minutes until the dough is elastic and satiny. Place dough back in the bowl and recover for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and gently degas it. Form two separate balls of dough, forming them into the shape you want. Drop one of the smaller balls into the baking soda bath for no longer than 30 seconds, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Drain the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with second ball of dough.
5. Sprinkle the kosher salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and make sure to use a knife to cut a small incision on the top of the bread so the dough has somewhere to expand.
6. Cook the bread for 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once.
7. Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the loaves to guarantee a soft crust.

Jessica F's Hashbrown Casserole

2 lb bag of hashbrowns

1 stick of melted butter

1 pt. sour cream

1 chopped onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups of chedder cheese

salt

pepper

garlic powder

cook on 350 for 1 1/4 hour

Baked Grapefruit

Cut it in half, run a knife between the fruit and the rind to loosen it a bit, drizzle with honey, sprinkle with cinnamon, bake for 15 min at 375. I'm not big on grapefruit, but I really loved it.

Janae's Stuffed French Toast - DELICIOUS

Stuffed French Toast:

stuffing:

1 pkg cream cheese

1 c powdered sugar

Mix and spread between two pieces of bread. Dip in egg batter and grill.


French Toast recipe:
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbls. sugar
4 Tbls. butter
4 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

(Covers about 8 slices of bread, or 4 stuffed french toasts.  I double for 6-8 guests).

Homemade Berry Syrup:

1 c sugar

2 T cornstarch

3/4 c water

4 c berries

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in the water until smooth. Add berries. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 min or until thick.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

"

I cover mine in water and turn on the heat. I don't cover the pot while they come to a boil. When the water comes to a full boil, I let it boil 1.5 minutes, then shut the burner off, put the lid on the pot and let them sit there for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes I put them in ice water if I have enough ice on hand otherwise I just put them in cold water for however long it takes for them to be cool enough to handle. The shells peel right off.

If all else fails, you can dump a lot of salt in the water they boil in and they peel off easy that way too."

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 tablespoons finely shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon mustard

Directions

1. Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, and cool. To cool more quickly, rinse eggs under cold running water.
2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Alternatively, wrap bacon in paper towels and cook in the microwave for about 1 minute per slice. Crumble and set aside.
3. Peel the hard-cooked eggs, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, crumbled bacon and cheese. Stir in mustard. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until serving

Balsamic Chicken

Balsamic Chicken:

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste

Pour the olive oil on bottom of crock pot
place in chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast
put sliced onion on top of chicken
then put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves
pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes

Cook on high 4 hours, serve over angel hair pasta

Caramel Corn

Easy Caramel Corn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C white Karo syrup
1/2 t salt (if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here)
1 stick real butter
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. I cut up the butter into chunks so it melts better.
Are you ready for the directions? I’m warning you, it’s complicated. You might want to take notes. Here we go. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. No microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.

Told you it was complicated.

While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need. Just trust me. Also, try to get any un-popped kernels out so you don’t break a tooth and try to sue me.
When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla. Sit back and watch it do cool things like bubble and foam.

Stir it well and mix into popcorn.

Mix it up well with a big spoon. I usually spread it all out on a piece of foil and let it cool for a minute so it doesn’t get stuck in one big clump. The longer it sits out, the firmer it will get, but it won’t ever get crunchy-hard unless you bake it.

For crunchy caramel corn: spread out on a cookie sheet (you might need 2) and bake either at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. If you choose the latter, keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking time to avoid over cooking.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/caramel-corn/

Trish's Peach Crumble Bars

Brown Butter Peach Crumble Bars

makes about 12 bars

1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour [or all-purpose]

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter

4 ripe, medium peaches, chopped (about 2 cups peaches)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Set aside

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir continuously until it melts. It may bubble a little. As soon as you see small brown specks in the butter, remove it from the heat. This took me about 3 minutes. Add the butter, along with the vanilla, to the oat mixture. Stir until moistened. This may take a minute or two! Fold in the peaches.

Butter and flour an 8×8 baking pan. Press batter into the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (the juicer your peaches are the longer you have to bake), the let cool completely – this can take up to 45 minutes! Cut and serve. Can be kept in the fridge or at room temperature in a sealed container.

Trish's Blueberry Crumble Bars

Blueberry Crumble Bars

makes about 12 bars

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter + 2 tablespoons

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. Melt the 1/2 cup of butter and add it, along with the vanilla, to the oat mixture. Stir until moistened. This may take a minute or two! Fold in the blueberries – it’s okay if they pop a little bit.

Butter and flour an 8×8 baking pan. Press batter into the pan. Melt remaining butter and drizzle it over the bars. Bake for 20 minutes, the let cool completely – this can take up to 45 minutes! Cut and serve. Can be kept in the fridge or at room temperature in a sealed container.