Crispy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For me, oatmeal raisin cookies conjure up memories of my grandmother. She used to make them for us when we were kids, which is probably why I like them so much to this day. I wish I had her recipe but since I don't, I decided awhile back to make my own version.

These are very crispy cookies rather than being soft and chewy. I tend to prefer a crisp cookie so these are really what I like - and they are also very "buttery" (if that's a word!).  With apologies in advance to my grandmother, I actually think they're the best oatmeal raisin cookies I've ever had.

Try them yourself and let me know what you think!

Ingredients (makes about 4 dozen cookies)

• 3/4 lb (3 sticks) salted butter
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark brown will work - I personally prefer dark)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups raisins (you can also use dried cranberries a.k.a. craisins - I like both, but I used craisins for this batch)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy

   

   Cream the butter - and yes, my mixer has flames

3. Add both the sugar and brown sugar and cream together until light and fluffy

   

   Sugar and brown sugar added to the butter

4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well

   

   Cream both the sugars and the butter

5. In a bowl, stir together the oats, flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg

   

   Stir the oats, flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together
   

   

6. Slowly add the oat mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until combined

   

   
   

7. Add raisins and mix just until combined

   

   For this batch, I used dried cranberries (craisins) instead of raisins - either work fine!
   

   

8. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 2-inches between cookies*

   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   
   
   
9. Bake until browned and crispy around the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes

   

   
   

10. Let cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container

    

    
    

11. Enjoy!

*NOTE: If you want a crispier cookie, press them down a bit with your fingers or the back of a spoon when you place them on the baking sheet - if you want them a bit chewier then don't press them down (they will be crispy cookies either way, it's just a matter of HOW crispy you want them).

I frequently only make a dozen or two at a time and put the rest of the dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It will last for quite awhile this way (I've kept it for over a month) and then make a dozen at a time whenever I want them until the dough is gone.

The BEST chocolate chip cookies ever!! (no, really - you have to try them!)

I'm not entirely sure why, but when I think of cookies, I ALWAYS think of chocolate chip cookies.  I like most all kinds, but there's no doubt which ones are my favorite.

I also am aware that lots of people think theirs are the best.  And the title of this posting may be a bit of hyperbole because it's entirely possible they aren't the best...but I'm betting they're pretty darned close!

So, what makes them so good? I'd have to say it's really two things; the steps to create them and the addition of a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I know that you won't find many chocolate cookie recipes with either of those ingredients, but it DOES make a difference.  I guess you'll have to try it yourself to really know for certain!!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• 2 tsp vanilla (double strength if you have it available)
• 2 3/4 cups (12 oz) all ­purpose flour (if at all possible, weigh the flour to be certain you have the correct amount) 
• *3/4 tsp ­medium coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips (I actually use one cup dark chips and one 3.5 oz Lindt Dark Chocolate "A Touch of Sea Salt" bar cut into small chunks)

​NOTE

*If possible, use sea salt and not table salt. You will get much better flavor (and texture) that way. If you only have table salt, use 1/2 tsp. ​

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

   

   Butter, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg

2. Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (approx. 3 minutes on medium­/high speed on a Kitchen Aid Mixer)

   

   This is what it should look like after properly creaming the butter and sugars

3. Add eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes

   

   After adding the eggs and vanilla and beating together

4. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until just incorporated (don't over mix at this point)

   

   Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt

5. Add chocolate chips and stir until well distributed. The batter should be fairly thick

   

   I use half chips and half cut up dark chocolate bar.  This is a Lindt
   dark chocolate "A Touch of Sea Salt" bar chopped into small pieces

6. At this point, I put the batter in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of an hour but preferably overnight. It's not an absolutely necessary step but it DOES make a difference in the texture of the cookie

   

   
   

7. Remove from the refrigerator and drop about 2 tbsp of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

   

   My brother and son enjoying making cookies together

8. Bake for 12-­14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown 
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for about two minutes 
10. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non­porous surface (I put a cookie sheet in the freezer to chill and take it out and put them on that. They cool very quickly that way. I actually use two cookie sheets to bake on and keep two in the freezer and swap them back and forth)

    

    My brother and son - they were very
    proud of  the cookies they made!

11. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving
12. Enjoy! 

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix - topped with homemade maple whipped cream and caramel sauce

My son drinks a lot of hot chocolate and since the K-cups for the Keurig machine aren't particularly cheap, I decided it was time to figure out how to make a mix that would do the same thing, taste better and be a LOT cheaper.  I also had enough interest in my posting for instant chai mix that it warranted an encore of sorts so I thought this would kill two birds with one stone.

How does it taste?  I'll let my son do the honors, and this is a direct quote from him when he tasted it the first time, "Holy crap Dad - this stuff is REALLY good.".  An eloquent man of few words, my son.

He then had two more cups.

That's how I always know that I have a winner.

Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder 
• 1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
• 2 cups vanilla sugar  (plain sugar is just fine - vanilla sugar will simply give a bit of extra flavor)
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa (I use the dark chocolate cocoa - whatever you prefer will work)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice (optional)

This is a 32 oz jar. You can see this recipe makes enough to fill
the jar. If you'd like more it can easily be doubled (or tripled!).

Directions

1. Pour all ingredients into a food processor
2. Blend until mixture is the consistency of fine powder  (you can skip this step and simply mix by hand, but it will dissolve better if you take the time to do it)
3. Top with whipped cream or mini-marshmallows

To serve: Stir two or three tablespoons of the hot chocolate mixture (depending upon taste) into a mug of hot water. If you prefer an even creamier consistency, you can add hot milk instead of water.

Cashew Brittle (or Peanut Brittle if you prefer!)

I remember loving peanut brittle

Cashew brittle - broken up and ready to eat!

when I was growing up - the problem was, about the only time we had it was around the holidays when my aunt would make a batch for my dad and us kids didn't get much of it.

Fast forward MANY years - I had still never had it often but loved it. Then a very good friend gave me her recipe and introduced me to the homemade stuff and I never looked back (the same friend pretty much singlehandedly changed how I think about cooking and got me started on the path of loving it that I'm still walking today, for which I am eternally grateful).

To give you an idea about how good I think her original recipe is, I only made one minor change (the addition of vanilla).  Most recipes I get - even ones from my mother - I seriously modify (because I can't help myself, not necessarily because they need it) but this one is so good and yet simple at the same time that it didn't need any changes (the addition of vanilla is truly a personal preference - add it if you like it, leave it out if you don't).

That's when I found out that you could make brittle with something besides peanuts (yes, it seems pretty obvious now!).  My favorite is cashew brittle. If you like nuts, it truly is amazing. It's also incredibly simple - it takes just a few ingredients and small bit of time. In addition, it's vegetarian AND vegan so you can serve it to anyone (as long as they don't have a nut allergy that is).

I've followed in my aunt's footsteps and given it out for the holidays in a nice tin lined with wax (or parchment) paper and it was a huge hit. Today, I just made it because it sounded good and I hadn't had it in a while.

If you prefer peanuts to cashews, simply substitute raw peanuts for the cashews and it will come out fine.  I've also made it in the past with macadamia nuts, almonds and even pine nuts (pignolis) or a combination of the above.  Also, this is pretty thick with cashews as it is, but if you want even more, feel free to add more than the cup listed. You won't have to change anything else to make up the difference and it will taste fine.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar

  

  Sugar, corn syrup and salt
  mixed together and ready.

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup raw cashews (if you choose to use raw peanuts, be certain they do NOT have the skins - I was told this initially when I got the recipe and tried using the ones with skins anyway because I didn't think it made any difference.  I was wrong.)  

Directions

1. Prepare a cookie sheet by coating with Pam spray or a light coat of butter or oil (lately, instead of doing this I put a piece of parchment paper - NOT wax paper - on the cookie sheet and lightly spray that.  It makes cleanup a snap!). Place the prepared sheet close to the stove.
2. Measure out one teaspoon of baking soda and have it close at hand. 

   

   After adding cashews.
   Note how light the color is.

3. Combine sugar and corn syrup with the salt in a large heavy bottomed pan and mix together. 
4. Turn heat on medium high.
5. Stir continuously until the mixture comes to a boil.
6. Stir in the cashews (or whatever nuts you're using).
7. Keep stirring for approximately 8-10 minutes. What you're looking for here is a color change - it will turn from a white/clear to a golden/amber color. If you want to use a candy thermometer, it's approx. 300 degrees. It's VERY important to not overcook or your brittle will taste burnt.
8. Remove from heat immediately when the right color/temperature is reached.
9. Remember that baking soda we said to keep close?  This is when you need it. Dump it and the vanilla in the pan with the rest of the ingredients and keep stirring. It will start foaming and should be a golden/light tan color.

   

   Just before taking off the heat.
   Note the color of the mixture (and
   cashews) at this point.

10. Quickly pour the entire thing onto the prepared cookie sheet and spread out evenly with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon. Remove as many of the bubbles as you can. This step goes VERY fast and the candy is VERY hot. Be careful and do it as quickly as you can.
11. Put the sheet on a cooling rack and let rest until cool - alternately, if you're like me and don't want to wait, make room in the freezer!
12. Once it's cool, carefully turn it over and wipe the oil off the back. 
13. Break into pieces and store in a wax paper lined tin (or other airtight container).
14. Enjoy!

This is what the mixture will look like after
you add the baking powder.  It will foam up.
At this point, you have to work fast!

We buy all of our raw nuts at a local Asian grocery store (for anyone living in our area, A. Dong in West Hartford is a great place to visit!).  I know not everyone has an Asian grocery store close to them or they simply never have the opportunity to go to one so I've included links to Amazon for all the different types of nuts I mentioned - and it IS important to use raw nuts as opposed to ones that have already been roasted.

This is the cashew brittle cooled, waiting to be
broken into smaller pieces and eaten!

Instant Chai Tea Mix - just add water!

A cup of hot chai.
Perfect for a cold winter day!

Anyone that knows me knows that I drink iced tea.  Morning, noon and night, that is pretty much all I drink...until recently.  I've always liked chai (and I do have a brewed version that I make into iced tea) but I very rarely drink ANYTHING hot.  No real reason other than a personal preference for cold drinks.

A couple of weeks ago we were at our local farmer's market (Coventry Regional Farmer's Market - if you're close enough to attend, I HIGHLY recommend it).  About once a month they have a "swap". Anyone can do it - you simply bring something homemade (it can be edible or a craft item) and people swap items they've brought with items from someone else. We love doing this and try to attend them whenever we can.  At the last swap, someone brought an instant chai tea mix. We ended up getting it in a swap and brought it home.  I hadn't thought much about it until we had a party last weekend and several people tried it and absolutely loved it.

That was enough for me - I had to figure out how to make it. I visited a number of sites that had their own version and came up with one that I liked. It's a bit different than some of the others that I've seen out there but the great thing about it is that you can quite easily tailor it to your own tastes.  If you don't care for cloves, leave them out. Want some allspice or nutmeg? Put in a pinch (or more).  There are no hard and fast rules - put in what you like, leave out what you don't until you get a combination that you want to stick with. I know people that even like a small bit of ground white pepper in their chai. Likewise with the milk powder - if you want something a bit "creamier", add a bit more of the milk powder.  If you want more of a tea taste, add more of the instant tea. 

You get the idea - make it yours!

Just add a spoonful (or two) and you're good to go!

Ingredients

• *1 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder 
• 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
• *2 1/2 cups vanilla sugar  
• 1 3/4 cups unsweetened instant tea (you can also use decaf instant tea if you prefer)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice

* If you don't have vanilla sugar, simply use 1 cup of French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer along with 2 1/2 cups of regular sugar instead.  If you do this, you can also cut the amount of dry milk powder down to 1 cup instead of 1 1/2 cups.  The important part here is simply getting the vanilla flavor into the mix in a dry format as opposed to liquid vanilla extract.

Directions

The final result should be a very fine powder like this.

1. In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla sugar (or flavored creamer), and instant tea. 
2. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and allspice and mix well. 
3. In a food processor (or blender), blend 1-2 cups at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder (you can skip this step, but it will dissolve better if you take the time to do it).

To serve: Stir 1-2 heaping tablespoons Chai tea mixture (depending upon taste) into a mug of hot water. If you prefer an even creamier consistency, you can add hot milk instead of water.

Cinnamon Roll French Toast

Cinnamon roll bread

French toast is one of my favorite breakfast foods. (Hell, let's be honest. It's one of my favorite foods, period.)

As I posted a couple of days ago, cinnamon rolls rank right up there in that same rarified stratosphere of favorite foods for me.

It seemed natural to put the two together - hence, "Cinnamon Roll French Toast".

We had French toast fairly regularly when I was growing up, but we just made it with regular, sandwich cut, white bread. I still love it that way and had it that way for most of my life. A

French toast, ready to eat!

couple of years ago I decided to make it with "Texas toast" (which is really just much thicker cut white bread). It came out horrible (and I had my in-laws over for a big breakfast - I was seriously
embarrassed). I had made it exactly the same way I did with thin slices of bread (which really meant just dipping it in the egg mixture and throwing it on the griddle).  The problem was that it was simply too dry. I learned from that and changed my technique considerably when I'm using thicker bread. That is reflected in this recipe since I use much thicker slices of bread.

This recipe would work with ANY kind of bread you'd like to use - but you really want to use a thick cut slice (unless you simply dip it and cook with no soaking - in that case, feel free to use thin bread). I've made this with day old Italian bread, French bread, etc.  They all work well!

Ingredients

• 1 loaf cinnamon roll bread, sliced about one inch thick (8 - 10 slices, recipe here) or any thickly sliced bread.  Best if slightly stale.



Sliced bread, soaking in egg mixture

• 4 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• Butter
• Maple syrup

Optional

• 1 ½ tsp orange extract
• 2 tsp freshly grated orange zest
• pinch of nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon together. If using, add orange extract, orange zest and/or orange extract until well blended. 



French toast, after being cooked on the griddle.  It's ready
to go into the oven and bake for an additional ten minutes.

3. Put your slices of bread in a flat, shallow dish (a casserole dish works well).
4. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and allow to sit for at least ten minutes, turning over a couple of times (the majority of the mixture will get absorbed into the bread).
5. Melt some butter over a skillet or griddle on medium high heat.
6. Add as many slices as will fit at a time, and cook until brown.
7. Flip the slices and repeat on the second side.
8. Repeat until all the slices have been cooked.
9. Put the cooked slices of bread on a cookie sheet and place in preheated oven.
10. Bake the bread for about ten minutes (this will cook the egg mixture that was absorbed into the bread so it's not "mushy" in the middle).
11. Serve hot with butter and real maple syrup.
12. Enjoy!

Breakfast, ready to go!  French toast, eggs,
home fries and bacon.  I'm hungry again!

Cinnamon Rolls (like Cinnabon, only better!)

Small bits of ooey, gooey goodness.

Iced cinnamon roll

That's how someone described these cinnamon rolls to me and I have to agree with them.  Yes, you can always go and buy cinnamon rolls in a tube from Pillsbury.  It's a lot easier, but it's certainly not even close to tasting as good.

It's worth making these just for the smells that will permeate your house while they're baking! When people come to the house while I'm making them I always get comments about how fantastic they smell - which is nothing compared to the comments about how they taste.

The other thing about these is just how versatile they are - you can make them into cinnamon rolls like the ones I describe here or you can roll the dough a bit thicker and make it into a loaf of bread.  I always make extra dough just so I can do that, then in turn use that in the best french toast you've ever had!  You can also use the dough by itself (no cinnamon/sugar mixture) and turn it into some of the best dinner rolls you'll ever have - as a matter of fact, that's exactly what I do for Thanksgiving (and other occasions) every year.

I want to thank my mom for this recipe - she's been making this for as long as I can remember.  I've made a few changes to it here and there as I tend to do with just about everything I make, but the basic recipe hasn't changed.  She's still the best cook I know and the inspiration for everything I make - love you Mom!

If you try this recipe (or any of my others) please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

Watch how to make them here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkbRbdHlp3A

Ingredients

Rolls

2 packages yeast

5 – 6 cups flour
1 cup butter (2 sticks) 

2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar 

1 cup warm water
2 eggs, beaten 

1 cup boiling water

Filling

1 pound brown sugar, approximately 2 cups packed
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

Cream Cheese Icing

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Directions

Rolls

1. Dissolve yeast in the warm water (if you add a teaspoon of sugar to the water and stir well it will help activate the yeast). 
2. Cream butter and sugar and slowly add the boiling water. 
3. Let stand until cool and all butter is melted (to speed the cooling, I usually only add 3/4 cup of boiling water, then when the butter is melted, I add a couple of ice cubes.  This will cool it enough that you don't have to wait). 
4. When cool, add the yeast and eggs and blend well. 
5. Add salt and mix.  Add flour slowly, you want the dough to be very moist, not stiff. (It probably will be closer to 5 cups of flour than 6, but flours vary widely; humidity can also alter how much you use).  I use bread flour because I prefer the texture, but all purpose flour will work fine.
6. Once the dough is the desired consistency, place in a greased bowl in the refrigerator, and cover with a dish towel overnight. Depending upon the time I have available, I sometimes make the dough in the morning and make the rolls in the afternoon as opposed to sitting in the refrigerator overnight (if you do this, you don't need to refrigerate it). 
7. Next day (or that afternoon, depending upon when you make the dough), roll the dough to approximately 1/4” thick*.  
8. Spread with melted butter. I use 1 - 1 ½ sticks of butter for this. You can also spread softened (not melted) butter instead if you prefer.
9. Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon (I also use a pinch of nutmeg - but this is optional). Sprinkle the mixture over the butter on the entire surface of the dough. I've actually tried different ways to do this. If you prefer, you can melt the butter and add it to the brown sugar and cinnamon.  This will make a paste-like mixture you can spread over the dough if you prefer.**

   

   Dough rolled out, spread with melted butter and
   sprinkled with brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.

10. Roll up from the widest side and cut into slices about 1” wide and place in a non-stick pan***. 
11. Cover with moist cloth and let rise about 2 hours. 
12. Bake in a 400 degree oven until slightly browned on top. (About 15 minutes). 

*If you want to make a loaf of bread instead, roll out to approx. 1/2" thick.

**The original recipe from my mother didn't use brown sugar.  It instead used a sugar/cinnamon mixture in place of the brown sugar/cinnamon. Feel free to try this instead - it's equally good!

***DON'T CROWD THE PAN!  It's very important not to crowd the pan when you put the rolls in. The rolls will still expand and the middle won't cook properly if there are too many in the pan.

NOTE:  Depending upon what I'm using the dough for (cinnamon rolls or straight dinner rolls), I will add a tablespoon of vanilla to the dough at the same time as the eggs/yeast mixture.  It's actually a great addition even if you're making dinner rolls.

Cream Cheese Icing****

1. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, margarine, vanilla extract (in addition to vanilla extract, I make an orange extract that I sometimes use as well. This gives it a slight flavor difference that is worth the trouble), confectioners' sugar and milk. 
2. Beat until creamy.

   

   Iced cinnamon rolls

3. Spread the icing over the rolls
4. Enjoy!

****This is another area where the original recipe from my mother varies from this one. The original recipe uses a much simpler icing. If you'd like to try this, simply mix together one and a half pounds of confectioner's sugar, one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract and just enough milk to make a fairly loose frosting. Again, it's different from my recipe but excellent (some of my family would tell you it's better!).

Best when served warm.

COOK'S NOTE: These also make very light dinner rolls. Just roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter. Baste with melted butter and fold over slightly off center. Cover and let rise for approximately 2 hrs. Then bake as above.  Alternately, you can roll the dough into small balls (approx. 3/4 inch).  Place three of these in each indentation in a muffin tin, then bake as directed.

Loaf of bread made from cinnamon roll dough.  Simply roll
the dough thicker than you would with the cinnamon rolls,
then continue as directed except don't cut them.  Pinch the
ends together and bake.  Makes incredible french toast!

Butterbeer! (the frozen kind)

We were in Orlando last week and went to Disney and Universal.  It was very hot, very hectic and a lot of fun.  The inner nerd in me has to admit that my favorite part was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure.  My favorite part of THAT was the butterbeer.  I've been having withdrawals from it since I left the park!

Homemade Frozen Butterbeer!

If you've read the books (or been there) you know what it is. If not, I'm going to tell you how to make a reasonable facsimile at home. Since you'll have the the recipe and know how to make it, you'll never have to go through that cruel withdrawal process like I did!

(Frozen) Butterbeer!

• 2 liter bottle of cream soda
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 jar of butterscotch ice cream topping

1. Fill an ice tray (or muffin tins, or small plastic cups, etc) with the cream soda
2. Let freeze until solid (ours took about three hours)
3. Remove from freezer and put "cream soda ice" into a blender (it's important to have a blender that will chop ice well)
4. How much you use will depend upon how much you want to make at any given time.  If you're making enough for one person, three or four cubes may be enough.  If it's for a group, the entire tray (and maybe more) will be used
5. Add cream soda (unfrozen) to the blender along with some of the butterscotch topping (again, how much you use depends on how many you're making this for AND your tastes.  Use more butterscotch if you want it a bit sweeter and more or less soda depending upon how thick you want it)

For the topping

Butterbeer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

1. Just before you're ready to start the blending process above, make the topping
2. Beat the heavy cream until it's just starting to thicken. You don't want it as thick as whipped cream - you want it to be more the consistency of beer foam
3. Add a bit of the butterscotch topping as you're beating the cream.  Again, how much will depend entirely upon your taste.  I would start out with just a little to get a light butterscotch flavor and add more if you want it sweeter (I didn't measure, but I'm guessing I used between 1/4 and a 1/3 cup).

Pour the frozen butterbeer into a cup and top with the whipped cream.  

You can drink it with or without a straw.  If you don't use the straw, it will give you a nice 'stache just like at the park!

Enjoy!!!

Beignets! (pronounced "ben-YAYZ")

What's for breakfast on a Sunday morning?

Beignets.  From left to right: vanilla sugar,
cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar shaken in
a paper bag and sprinkled powdered sugar.

Most of us don't live in New Orleans so we can't just get up and run to Cafe Du Monde and grab some of their wonderful beignets. There are probably people reading this that don't even know what a beignet is (it's kind of like a French doughnut).  For those of us that HAVE been to New Orleans, if you're anything like me, the word "beignet" conjures up images of sitting in a bustling cafe with these magical little pieces of pastry covered with powdered sugar and a cup of cafe au lait (well, if you're me, it's a cup of tea).

I just found out that my brother and sister-in-law are heading to New Orleans soon and that's what brought these memories back.  I LOVED the beignets served at Cafe Du Monde.  Since I wasn't the one heading there anytime soon, I decided to make my own - and since I was making my own anyway, I added a couple of minor twists to the recipes I was able to find online.  It evidently worked since all three of us in the house loved them (and my sixteen year old had never heard of a beignet either).

So - here goes...and enjoy!!

• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature and beaten
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 4 cup bread flour or all purpose flour
• 3 tsp instant active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (or another extract that you like, orange, lemon, etc. This is optional and was NOT in the recipe I found online but in my opinion it added to the flavor considerably)
• vegetable oil for cooking: use enough oil to completely cover beignets when frying
• powdered sugar for dusting

1. Pour the lukewarm water into a small bowl. Stir one teaspoon of the sugar into the water until it dissolves.  Pour the yeast into the water and stir well.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Combine the butter, sugar, salt and extract (if using) in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the butter mixture and then stir in the evaporated milk. Wait for the mixture to cool down until it is lukewarm. Then, add the yeast and water mixture and beaten egg.
3. Slowly mix in the flour until the dough forms a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for three or four hours.
4. Take the cold dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out to 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Cut the rolled out dough into strips 2 to 3-inches wide, then cut again in the opposite direction and at an angle, making diamond shapes.  Alternatively, you can cut them into squares, then cut the squares at an angle to form a triangle (this is what I did - and I used a pizza cutter which made it very simple).
5. Heat your oil for frying in a heavy pan over medium-high heat to 360 degree F (180 degrees C).
6. Slide a few pieces of the cut dough slowly into the oil to avoid splattering and deep fry until they puff up and are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes (they will need to be turned half way through - if the oil is too hot they will cook too fast and turn a deep brown outside before they are done on the inside - I know this from experience!). 
7. Carefully remove onto a rack with paper towels underneath and allow to cool until you can handle them. 
8. Either sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar, or place in a clean paper bag with confectioners' sugar and shake gently until covered generously.  I tried both ways - it depends on your taste.  Obviously the paper bag route is very simple but will result in a lot more sugar and therefore a much sweeter beignet.

I also tried something different that I didn't see in the beignets I tried in New Orleans. In addition to powdered sugar, I tried sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar and vanilla sugar* (not all at once - three different variations).  The vanilla sugar edged the others for favorite in our house but not by much.  Everyone seemed to like all of the variations.

*I had never tried (or even heard of) vanilla sugar until five or six years ago.  If you've never tried it, it's well worth the investment to either make your own or pick some up (Penzey's Spices carries it and there are many other places you can find it on the internet).  

If you want to make it yourself, you simply need to get some vanilla beans and cover them with sugar and let sit.  That's it.  In a couple of weeks you'll have vanilla sugar.  If you wait longer, the flavor will get stronger.  You can also take the beans and grind them up in a food processor until they are very fine and add them to the sugar.  I've seen it both ways and like it both ways.  In any case, whether you buy it or make your own, you owe it to yourself to try it.  I don't drink coffee but I know people that swear by using it in place of sugar in regular coffee.  I use it in place of regular sugar in many recipes but the best and simplest use I've tried is sprinkling it on a humble piece of buttered toast.

Homemade Vanilla (or Chocolate!) Pudding

First recipe!!  Pudding?  Yes, pudding.

This is the first recipe I ever posted.  I've posted over 50 since then and when I went back to look at this one (and many of my early posts) I realized I needed to give them a makeover.

No pictures, poor instructions.  It's no wonder no one really looked at them.  Hell, if I looked at them I'd pass on to the next one as well.

So here is the original post, with some changes to make it a bit easier to follow and some pictures to help clarify any steps.

This pudding recipe is STILL one of my, and my family's, favorites.

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I gave a lot of thought to what the first recipe I post here should be.  I came up with something that has been a standard in my family for a very long time - and has the benefit of being incredibly versatile.

Pudding.

Yes, pudding.  I know, anyone under 30 has probably never even had homemade pudding - the Jello stuff in a box is all they know.  Even my wife had no idea you could actually make it from scratch.

The real thing is SO much better...and not much more effort.  

This recipe goes back to my grandmother and my mother - with a special thanks to my brother Larry who made it a LOT when we were kids.  This recipe is for the basic vanilla but with a little effort can be turned into many different varieties.  As kids, the simplest was either slicing bananas for banana pudding or adding cocoa powder for chocolate pudding.

Ingredients

1 c flour

2 c sugar (You can cut back on the sugar if this is too sweet.  I've used anywhere from only 1 cup to the full two cups.  The original recipe is two cups but as I've gotten older I prefer it a bit less sweet.)

4 c milk

2 eggs (beaten)

1/2 stick butter

1 tbsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp cocoa (optional; specifically if you want to make chocolate pudding instead of vanilla)

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and if you are using it, cocoa)
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Pour in the milk and stir well
   
   
   
   
   
3. Cook over medium heat until desired consistency stirring constantly. You want this to be thick, but not so thick it won't stir easily.
   
   
   
   
   
4. When desired consistency has been reached, remove from heat
5. Add some of the pudding mixture into beaten eggs and stir to mix well
   
   
   
   
   
6. Put the egg/pudding mixture back in with the rest of the pudding and mix well
   
   
   
   
   
7. Add butter and let melt
   
   
   
   
   
8. Add vanilla and mix well (Steps 6 through 8 can be combined; in other words, add the egg/pudding mixture, the butter and the vanilla all at the same time and stir until the butter is melted.)
   
   
   
   
   

Variations

You can easily alter this recipe for whatever you'd like.  As you can see in the ingredient list, if you add cocoa you get chocolate pudding.  Lately I've also added a chopped up Lindt dark chocolate bar to make it have more of the dark chocolate flavor I've come to love.

If you want to make a pie, simply add an extra half cup of flour and three and a half cups of milk instead of four to get a thicker consistency.  Use that to then fill the pie shell.

This works well if you line the shell with bananas and then add vanilla pudding or just add the chocolate pudding for an awesome chocolate pie.  I've made a chocolate-peanut butter-banana pie by lining the shell with bananas, heating up some peanut butter and pouring it on top of that, then adding chocolate pudding and refrigerating.  That particular pie was gone within about ten minutes of serving it.  I've also made butterscotch pudding by following the same basic recipe.  

The most important thing with this recipe (in my book, with cooking in general) is to NOT be afraid to try something different!!!  Experiment - the worst you can do is not like it and start again...and that's half the fun.