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• Vanilla Cupcakes with a Double Vanilla Frosting

  • Posted ~ 2.08.15
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 4
  

  Cupcakes:

   Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and light. Add the eggs; beat in one at a time. Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Alternately add the buttermilk and flour. Add one third of the flour; mix well. Add half of the buttermilk; mix well. Beat in the second third of the flour. Then add the rest of the buttermilk; mix well. Add the rest of the flour and mix well.

   Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a light finger imprint is left in the middle of the cupcake when lightly touched. If the middle springs back, the cupcakes are over baked. Even a moist cupcake recipe can produce a dry cupcake if it is overbaked!

  Frosting:

  In a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar. Beat well. Add the milk, vanilla extract and vanilla seeds (scraped from a vanilla bean.); beat well. Add the rest of the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a pastry bag for frosting the cupcakes to let the frosting set and firm up a bit. 

• The Best Sugar Cookies Ever!

  • Posted ~ 2.07.15
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 0
  

  Cookies:

  Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a stand mixer, blend the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla paste, milk and baking powder. Mix well. Add the flour and the salt. Combine.

  Divide dough into thirds (form in a disk) and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

  Take chilled dough out of the refrigerator (one at a time). Form each portion of cookie dough into a thick disk.  Generously flour the surface and flour the top of the disk of dough well. Roll out to about 1/3 inch thickness. Cut out with desired cookie cutter shapes. Lay on cookie sheets leaving ½ inch space between cookies. Bake for 5-7 minutes. Do not over bake! Transfer to parchment paper to cool. Frost and decorate. Make sure to store frosted cookies in a tightly sealed container to keep them moist!)

  Makes a lot…..number depends on the size of your cookie cutter shapes.

   Frosting:

  In a stand mixer, with paddles, mix the butter and cream cheese until well combined and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar; mix well. Add the vanilla and mix well.

  Makes enough to frost one rollout sugar cookie recipe. 

• Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

  • Posted ~ 2.04.15
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 3
  

  Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, add the butter, coconut oil and sugar. Mix until smooth. Add the salt, baking soda, 2 egg yolks, and coconut extract. Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Set aside. Add the coconut flour, all purpose flour and shredded coconut to the butter mixture; mix well. Add the bananas and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined. Fold the stiff egg whites gently into the mixture by hand. Turn the batter into a well greased loaf pan. Fill the span only 2/3 full or the batter will bake out of the pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 8 minutes. 

• Caramelized Pear Crostini

  • Posted ~ 12.08.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 0
  

  Preheat oven to 400 F. Lay bread slices on a baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with olive oil. Bake until toasted, about 10 – 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and caramelize. When caramelized, add the pear strips and cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

  Spread each slice of toasted bread with some pesto. Spoon on some of the caramelized onion/ pear mixture on top of the pesto. Sprinkle some gorgonzola cheese on top of the onion/ pear mixture. Garnish with candied walnuts. 

• Jenny’s Carmelitas

  • Posted ~ 12.03.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 2
  

  In a glass bowl, microwave the caramel bits and heavy cream fro 1 ½ minutes. Continue to microwave the caramel in 30 second intervals until they are soft enough to stir to a smooth caramel sauce.

  Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, salt and baking soda.  Add the flour and oats and mix until a dough forms. Press half the dough on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and place the chocolate chips (Both kinds) over the partially baked dough. Place a layer of nuts over the chocolate chips. Layer the Heath bar bits over the nuts. Pour the warm caramel sauce over everything.  Place dollops of dough all over the caramel sauce. Bake for an additional 18- 20 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Cut into bars. 

• Lentil Dip

  • Posted ~ 11.18.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 0
  

  Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse lightly until it is lightly chunky.

  To assemble:

  Put steamed lentils in a medium bowl and separate. Add the bruschetta and feta cheese. Mix together lightly. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container. Keeps for 2 weeks. Serve cold with crackers. 

• Whole Wheat Stuffing with Sausage, Pancetta and Mushrooms

  • Posted ~ 11.10.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 4
  

  Preheat oven to 375 F and place rack in the center. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes in olive oil. Place on a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bread cubes are golden and slightly crunchy. Cool, then place cubes back in the bowl.

   In a large skillet, sauté the pancetta over medium high heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the cooked sausage and heat through together 2 more minutes. Add the meat to the bread in the bowl. Add the shallots, celery and mushrooms in the pan with the drippings. Saute about 6 minutes or until cooked through. Add the thyme and rosemary, stir 1 minute. Add to the bowl with the meat and bread. Mix gently together. (You can do this 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

   Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Bring 3 cups of the chicken broth to a boil until reduced in half (1 ½ cups) in a saucepan; about 6-8 minutes.

   In a large bowl, whisk eggs together. Mix in the cheese; gradually add the broth. Pour the liquid over the bread mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper; stir well.

   Place stuffing in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp around the edges.

   

• Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut Syrup

  • Posted ~ 11.03.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 0
  

  Banana Macadamia Pancakes

  In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, mashed bananas and nuts. Mix until just combined.

   Heat a griddle over medium heat. Drop a ladleful of batter onto the griddle. When the top of the pancake is full of bubbles, gently turn it over. Heat until the other side is golden. Keep warm until ready to serve. Top with whipped cream, toasted coconut and roasted macadamia nuts if desired.

  Coconut Pancake Syrup

  In a small bowl, combine the coconut milk and cornstarch. Mix well. Add to a medium saucepan along with the corn syrup, sugar and coconut flakes. Bring to a boil. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Take off the heat and add the vanilla extract and coconut extract. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Can be reheated.

   Makes about 2 cups

   

• Pumpkin Bread

  • Posted ~ 10.15.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 0
  

  Grease bottom and sides of 4- 2 lb. loaf pans with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, water and sugar. Mix until smooth. Add the eggs, canned pumpkin, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Mix until well combined. Add the flour and mix well.  Divide the batter evenly into the four loaf pans. Bake on the middle rack for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the loaf. 

• Pasta Carbonara

  • Posted ~ 10.13.14
  • By ~ Jenny
  • Responses ~ 0
  

  Boil water for linguine. Cook linguine according to directions on the package. Reserve ½ c. of the hot pasta water. In a large pan, fry the bacon until crisp-tender. Lay them on a paper towel lined plate. Reserve 2 Tbsp. bacon fat in the pan. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk. Add the parmesan cheese; mix well. Saute minced garlic. Add the chopped bacon and the drained pasta. Toss on medium heat for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and add the egg/cheese mixture and mix quickly to coat all the pasta without cooking the eggs. Add the salt, pepper and parsley; toss well. Add the warm pasta water if you need to “loosen” up the noodles; a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Grate fresh Parmigiano Reggiano on the top if desired. Serve warm.