Fantasy Fudge

Ingredients

3 cups sugar 

3/4 cup butter or margarine 

3 cups of sugar

1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup) (Do not use sweetened condensed milk.) 

1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

1 10 oz package of miniature marshmallows

1 cup chopped walnuts

 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Line 9-inch square pan with Aluminum Foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.

Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Cook 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallows; stir until melted.

Add nuts and vanilla; mix well.

Pour into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom of pan.

Cool completely.

Use foil handles to lift fudge from pan before cutting into 1-inch squares.

Harvest Pumpkin Scones (King Arthur Flour Recipe)

These deep-gold scones are as tasty as they are pretty. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg spice the dough; diced crystallized ginger and cinnamon chips take their flavor over the top.

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups (330g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
• 8 tablespoons (113g) butter, cold
• 1 cup to 2 cups (184g to 369g) minced crystallized ginger, cinnamon chips, or cinnamon sweet bits
• 2/3 cup (152g) pumpkin purée
• 2 large eggs
• coarse sparkling sugar, for topping

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
2. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.
3. Stir in the ginger and/or chips/bits, if you’re using them.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and eggs until smooth.
5. Add the pumpkin/egg to the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment; if you don’t have parchment, just use it without greasing it. Sprinkle a bit of flour atop the parchment or pan.
7. Scrape the dough onto the parchment or pan, and divide it in half. Round each half into a 5″ circle (if you haven’t incorporated any add-ins); or a 6″ circle (if you’ve added 2 cups of fruit, nuts, etc.). The circles should be about 3/4″ thick.
8. Brush each circle with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar or cinnamon sugar.
9. Using a knife or bench knife that you’ve run under cold water, slice each circle into 6 wedges.
10. Carefully pull the wedges away from the center to separate them just a bit; there should be about 1/2″ space between them, at their outer edges.
11. For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.
12. Bake the scones for 22 to 25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, with no wet crumbs. If you pull one of the scones away from the others, the edges should look baked through, not wet or doughy.
13. Remove the scones from the oven, and serve warm. Wrap any leftovers airtight, and store at room temperature. Reheat very briefly in the microwave, if desired.

Hush Puppies

Hush Puppies

• 6 cups Crisco oil
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions
Using a deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees.

Using a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the onion. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop the batter, 1 teaspoon at a time, into the oil. Dip the spoon in a glass of water after each hushpuppy is dropped in the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning the hushpuppies during the cooking process.

PAULA DEEN’S FRIED SHRIMP1 c. milk1 c. buttermilk1 c. Tabasco2 c. self-rising flour¼ c. self-rising cornmeal2 T. coarse ground black pepper3 T. salt2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined with tails left onPeanut oil, for frying

1. Preheat oil 375.
2. Line a baking tray with paper towels and set aside.
3. In shallow baking dish, whisk the two milks and Tabasco.
4. In separate baking dish, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, pepper and salt.
5. Make sure your shrimp are dry and dredge in dry mixture first, then wet mixture and finally in dry mixture again.
6. Shake off excess between each dredging.
7. Deep-fry in batches, but do not overcrowd the fryer.
8. Fry 2 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Remove from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel lined baking tray.
10. Serve warm with favorite dipping sauce.

Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 cup Challenge Unsalted Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup White Sugar

1 Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Combine the dry ingredients separately

Melt the butter and pour into mixing bowl

Add the brown and white sugars

Cream the butter and sugars together

Beat in the vanilla and then add the egg and egg yolk and continue beating until ceamy

Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined together

Stir in the chocolate chips. Put the dough into the refrigerator to chill

Use a 1/4 measuring cup to measure cookie dough and place onto parchment paper

Space cookies about 3 inches apart

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven until edges are golden in color

Cool the cookies before removing from parchment paper

Store in zip lock bags

Baking for Fall

The Fundamentals of Bread Baking

There are few things more satisfying than biting into a freshly made, crispy-on-the-outside, soft-and-supple-on-the-inside slice of perfectly baked bread. 

Bread is the foundation of a meal, the center of daily life, and each loaf tells the story of the baker who shaped it.  Many home cooks find bread baking rewarding but intimidating. 

In addition to wheat, bread is often made with rye, barley, potato, oat, spelt, soy and other lesser known grains. Added seeds, nuts and fruit often include one or more of the following (partial list):

• sunflower seeds
• pumpkin seeds
• poppy seeds
• fled seeds
• walnuts
• raisins
• currants
• sesame seeds
• olives
• linseed
• hazelnuts
• almonds
• oat flakes
• whole gain groats
• whey

In Germany, at any common bakery on the street, most, if not all of the items described above would be available on any given day. No need to go to a special, overpriced “organic” or “gourmet” bakery in some high end neighborhood. Just any average bakery will do.

Oddly, these same ingredients are often touted in online health advice articles – implying that there are health benefits to adding these “special” ingredients to one’s diet, all while other countries have had them as daily menu items for centuries if not thousands of years.

You can’t go through fall without making (or receiving) pumpkin bread at least once, and my recipe won’t disappoint.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts pieces
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three loaf pans.
• Step 2 In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, walnuts, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
• Step 3 Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Baked Beans Cowboy Style

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (approximately 1 cup)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced (approximately 1 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (this is optional – you could omit)
• 1 can Hormel Chili with beans
• 2 cans (28 ounces each) baked beans, we used Bush’s Original Baked Beans
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1/4 cup mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a 4 quart, heavy bottom, oven-safe pot (like a Dutch oven) over medium heat, add ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder. Cook until the hamburger is no longer pink. Drain the excess liquid.
3. Add cooked bacon crumbles, brown sugar, baked beans, chili beans, barbecue sauce, and mustard. Stir to incorporate all ingredients.
4. Cover and bake for 1 hour. (When done, the beans should be hot and bubbly and thickened.) Serve warm.

Caramel Carrot Cake (Easy Betty Crocker Recipe)

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ carrot cake mix

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

3 eggs

1 jar (16 to 17.5 oz) caramel or butterscotch topping

1 container Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom only of 13×9-inch pan.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, butter and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan.

Bake 31 to 36 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with handle of wooden spoon, wiping handle occasionally to reduce sticking. Reserve 1/2 cup caramel topping. Drizzle remaining caramel topping evenly over top of cake; let stand about 15 minutes or until caramel topping has been absorbed into cake. Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

Set aside 2 tablespoons of the reserved 1/2 cup caramel topping. Stir remaining topping into frosting; spread over top of cake. Drizzle with reserved 2 tablespoons caramel topping. Store covered in refrigerator.

AUNT ANNIE’S PRETZELS (Copy Cat)

Ingredients

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups warm water
• 1 ¹⁄₈ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 1/2 pkg)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 ¹⁄₈ teaspoons salt
• 1 cup bread flour
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• to taste course salt
• 2 -4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

• Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve.
• Add sugar, salt, and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic.
• Let rise at least 1/2 hour.
• While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbs.
• baking soda.
• Be certain to stir often.
• After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape.
• Dip pretzel into soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.
• Allow pretzel to rise again.
• Bake in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until golden.
• Brush with melted butter and enjoy!
• Toppings: After you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt.
• Or for Auntie Anne’s famous cinnamon sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another bowl, make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
• dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously.

Chocolate Caramel Brookie

Ingredients

1 18.4 oz box Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix (9 x 13-inch size)

1 11oz bag of caramels, unwrapped

⅓ cup heavy cream

2 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 17.5 oz box Cookie Mix ( I used Pillsbury)

¼ cup oats

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare brownies according to package directions, pour brownie batter into a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake according the package directions. Remove the brownies and allow them to cool slightly. Increase the oven temperature to 375.

Meanwhile, combine caramels and heavy in cream in saucepan. Continue to stir until mixture is creamy and caramels have melted. Stir in chopped chocolate; stir until combined. Drizzle mixture over the brownies.

In a separate bowl, prepare the cookie mix according to package directions; stirring in the oats. Crumble the cookie mixture over the caramel layer, pressing slightly. Bake brownies for an additional 20 minutes or util cookie layer has set and is lightly golden.