Applesauce cake

I made this tonight because I'm in the mood for fall and I wanted something with applesauce in it. This will not disappoint.
You can bake this in the suggested tube or bundt pan or you can bake it in two loaf pans or six of the mini loaf pans.

Easy Applesauce Cake (Ginger's Recipe)

2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups sweetened applesauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup raisins, dusted with 1 teaspoon flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional - I don't use

1. Blend together in large bowl of mixer the suger, applesauce, water, shortening, and eggs. When blended, add flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt, and baking powder. Mix well. By hand, fold in the raisins and nuts, if desired.

2. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan or Bundt pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 60 minutes or until the cake tests done.
Cool about 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Dust with confectioner's sugar or use your favorite glaze. Also good with caramel frosting.

***This freezes absolutely wonderfully...the cake I had frozen for many
months is just as moist and flavorful as when I put it into the freezer.
**Make now and
freeze for the holidays.
This was given to me by Jackie Bordelon from work where she got from Sharon Frye

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Easy Peach Cobbler

It's time for an update!  Sorry it's been a while.  I know.  But here's a great classic for any fruit you have on hand.  Enjoy!

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
Dash of salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 stick margarine (I always use butter)
1 can peaches (the smaller one)
1/2 tsp cinnamon*
1/4 tsp allspice*
1/4 tsp cloves*

Melt margarine in a deep dish in oven @ 350.  Mix dry ingredients together; add milk, egg and vanilla.  Pour into prepared pan/dish.  Spread peaches.  Batter will surround peaches in a cake like crust.  Bake until golden brown.



*Optional... but makes all the difference- to me.  I'm a spice girl!
****Other fruits can be used instead of peaches.  I usually combine peaches and blueberries together.  Fabulous combination might I add.
from Pots Pans & Pioneers Cookbook Volume 3

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

I decided to make something different this year for Thanksgiving.  I absolutely loved these bars!  They are definitely a keeper.

1 cup flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (about 1/2 of a 15oz can)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
**1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
**1 cup mini chocolate chips

Combine flour, brown sugar, pumpkin, butter, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl; mix well. Spoon into a 13x9-in baking pan. Bake for 20 min. Let stand and cool.

Frosting:
1 lb pkg confectioners sugar (I NEVER use this much)
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk

Combine sugar, butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a mixer bowl; beat until blended, scraping bowl occasionally. Beating constantly, add enough milk to the frosting to achieve the desired consistency. Spread frosting over baked bars. Cut into bars.
**Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on frosting for garnish if desired

**optional...it's what I added to it first time around and it was awesomeness!
from the Junior League at Home Cookbook

Snickerdoodles!

For those of you who have heard of these cookies and love them I'm so happy to share this recipe with you. If you have no idea what these are... let me just say they are probably my most favorite cookie (next to PB) in the world! Probably because I have so many fond memories attached to them. In my teenage years I would make this cookie dough just to eat it raw. I was pretty obsessed! Enjoy. My sister just gave me my mom's recipe from an old cookbook I thought was gone forever. I'm so happy it wasn't!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tbls sugar, divided
2 eggs
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, 1-1/2 cups sugar and eggs until well mixed. Blend in flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Combine cinnamon and remaining 2 tbls of sugar. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mix. Place balls 2-in apart, on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 8-10 min or until set. Let cool on wire racks.
Makes about 6 dozen cookies
from my Mom's old cookie cookbook

Pumpkin Bread {With Chocolate Chips!}

I made this last nice and it filled the house with the most refreshing aroma of fall. I can't say enough how much I love this season!

1 c butter, softened
3 c sugar
3 3ggs
3 c all purpose flour
1 tbls baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 ground cloves
1.5 tsp ground nutmeg
1 (16oz) can solid pack pumpkin

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture JUST until moistened. {Very important people} Stir in pumpkin. Pour into (2) greased 9x5x3 loaf pans. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hr or until bread tests done.
from AllRecipes.com~ Shirley Sober
***Jenn's variations*** {I read several comments before selecting this recipe and did some of what they suggested with my own mix of things}
*Reduce cloves 1 tsp, added 1 tsp allspice
*Reduce to 1 c butter, added 1 cup applesauce<- calorie friendly
*2 cup white sugar, 1.5 c brown sugar

Other suggestions from website:
*Walnuts are good
*Chocolate chips are good
*Add a dash of salt (forgot to try)
*Add vanilla extract (forgot to try)
*Some said to add ginger... that wasn't for me

Now on another side note (sick of these yet)
I didn't have 2 loaf pans. I put the rest of my batter in muffin stoneware and baked for 30 min. Perfect! Also Markus says he thought this was too pumpkiny. He doesn't care for it like I do. This doesn't have a strong pumpkin flavor. It could stand to have more in it for me. It's not made with oil so you don't have that oily moistness that comes. Markus likes that better (not me). So basically this is an awesome BREAD recipe. If you are looking more for an oily banana nutish kind of bread, don't try this one.

Love, Jenn

Pizza Dough {From Scratch}!

We had a sleepover last month with the youth girls from church and we made homemade pizzas.  This is the dough we used and it's amazing!  Enjoy!

1 cup water
1 tbls olive oil
2-1/2 bread flour
1 tbls sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast

Put all above ingredients in breadmaker (IN THE EXACT ORDER LISTED) and turn on dough cycle. Once dough has finished, some at this point would say punch down and let rise again, but I'm not so patient for that. Just saying!

Betty Crocker's Easy Red Velvet Cake

Cake

1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® German chocolate cake mix
1 1/4	cups water
1/2	cup vegetable oil
3	eggs
1	bottle (1 oz) red food color
1	tablespoon unsweetened baking cocoa

Frosting

2	oz cream cheese, softened
2	teaspoons milk
1 1/2	cups whipping cream
1/2	cup powdered sugar

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1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan or two 9-inch round cake pans and lightly flour, or spray with baking spray with flour.
2. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).
3. Bake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan or 9-inch rounds. Cool completely.
4. In chilled large bowl, mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Beat in whipping cream and powered sugar with electric mixer on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until soft peaks form. Frost top of 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost cake layers. Store in refrigerator.

***Substitution

SuperMoist® butter recipe chocolate cake mix can also be used for this recipe. Use 1/2 cup butter in place of oil. 

***Success

You will need the whole 1-ounce bottle of red food color to achieve the intense red color that is characteristic of this special cake.

***Variation

For a classic red velvet cake, add 3/4 cup buttermilk, reduce water to 1/4 cup and reduce oil to 1/4 cup. All other ingredients remain the same. (Do not use dark or nonstick 13x9-inch pan.) 

 

Let me just say that this frosting is pure heaven.  I think it's my new favorite from scratch frosting.  Oh and I used more cream cheese for a more intense flavor and it was soooo... worth it.