Cowboy Cookies

These cookies pretty much have everything but the kitchen sink in them…  the hint of cinnamon and chewy coconut make them really hard to resist.  

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup shortening (i.e. Crisco – or you could substitute butter)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Feel free to use as many or as little of these ingredients as you want… I like to use all of them!

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup coconut

HOW TO MAKE IT

• Using a mixer, cream the shortening and sugars
• Add the eggs and vanilla
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon – then add them to the mixing bowl
• Fold in the pecans, chocolate chips and coconut
• Form the cookie dough into round dough balls as large as you desire and place on an ungreased cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart
• Flatten the dough balls a bit with your fingertips
• Bake at 375°F for 8-10 mins

Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is light and flavorful – it’s perfect for breakfast… or a late-night snack (i.e. another favorite of mine).  

INGREDIENTS

• 12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra large eggs, room temperature
• 1  1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1  1/4 cups sour cream
• 2  1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising) – I use Softasilk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

STREUSEL

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1  1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

GLAZE

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tbsp milk (start with this, add more if necessary)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

HOW TO MAKE IT

• Grease and flour a 10″ tube pan
• Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 4 or 5 minutes
• Add in the eggs, 1 at a time
• Add in the vanilla and sour cream
• In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder and baking soda
• Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in with the wet ingredients – mix until smooth

STREUSEL

• Mix the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and butter together with your hands until it forms a moist, but crumbly, mixture

• Pour half of the batter into the pan and smooth it out with a spatula
• Evenly sprinkle 3/4 cup of the streusel over the batter
• Pour the rest of the batter over the streusel, smooth it out and sprinkle the remaining streusel on top
• Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°F
• Transfer the cake (streusel side up) onto a cooling rack and top off with the glaze

GLAZE

• Combine the confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla and whisk – add in milk 1 tbsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency (you want the glaze to be runny)
• Drizzle over the baked cake with a spoon

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

This dessert is Ba-Nanas.  Top it off with vanilla ice cream and you’re in heaven.

INGREDIENTS

• 9 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1  1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 6 firm-ripe bananas, peel and chopped in 3/4 in. thick slices
• 1/4 cup banana liqueur (I use Creme de Banana)
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 6 cups (1/2 in. cubes) day old challah, French baguette or brioche
• Caramel Sauce*

CARAMEL SAUCE

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp – 1/4 cup whole milk (I use skim and it still works)

HOW TO MAKE IT

• Butter a 10×14 in. baking dish with 1 tbsp of butter and put aside

BANANAS FOSTER

• Melt the remaining 8 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat
• Add 1 cup of brown sugar and the cinnamon and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves (approximately 2 minutes)
• Add the sliced bananas and cook on both sides, stirring often until the bananas begin to soften (about 3 minutes)
• Add the banana liqueur and stir to blend
• Carefully add the rum and shake the pan back and forth to warm the rum and flame the pan (or, off the heat, ignite the rum with a match and return to heat)
• Shake the pan back and forth, basting the bananas until the flame dies
• Turn off the heat and remove about 1 cup of the bananas from the pan – mash the remaining bananas with a potato masher (or the back of a fork)

• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, pinch of salt, cream, milk, and vanilla
• Add the mashed bananas foster mixture into the bowl and stir to blend thoroughly
• Pour the mixture into your buttered baking dish and bake at 350°F for 50 minutes – 1 hour (or until firm)

CARAMEL SAUCE

• Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves
• Let it boil without stirring until it becomes a dark amber color (about 5 minutes – watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn)
• Carefully add the cream (watch out – it will bubble) and whisk to combine
• Remove from heat and add in 2 tbsp of milk and whisk (if you desire a thinner sauce, add more milk – keep in mind that the sauce will thicken as it cools)

• Allow the bread pudding to cool for 20 minutes before serving – top it off with your caramel, whole bananas and vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Hushway

This Middle Eastern dish literally translates to “stuffing.”  It’s what my mom stuffs our Thanksgiving turkey with – minus the peas.  It’s super easy to make and really gives you the feeling that you’re eating something exotic.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. – 1  1/2  lbs. ground beef
• 1 cup uncooked white basmati rice
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste

HOW TO MAKE IT

• In a medium pan, season the ground beef with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper and then brown it
• Once the meat is cooked, add 2 cups of water to the pan and stir
• Bring the water to a boil and add the frozen peas and mix
• Bring the water to a boil again and add in the rice and stir
• Lower the heat on the stove to low and cover the pot
• Keep stirring the rice often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan
• Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the rice is tender

*Try topping this rice with cool plain yogurt – it’s not only a refreshing combination, but it also hits all of the food groups!

Margaret’s Pumpkin Cake

This recipe comes from a woman who was like a grandmother to me when I was growing up.  It’s the perfect fall treat and makes great muffins, too.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 can pumpkin
• 1  1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

HOW TO MAKE IT

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt
• Using a mixer (hand held or standing), add in the eggs one at a time
• Continue to mix in the remaining ingredients: pumpkin and oil – mix on medium-high until the batter is smooth
• Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips
• Pour the cake batter into a greased bundt pan or muffin pan
• Bake at 350°F for 1 hour (bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes for muffins)

Apple Crumble Pie

Now that Fall has arrived, it seems only appropriate to post my recipe for the most magical apple pie.  This marriage of two amazing things – apple crumble and apple pie – combine to make something you won’t be able to refuse…

INGREDIENTS

PIE CRUST

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup shortening (i.e. Crisco)
• 12 tbsp cold water

FILLING

• 6 large apples (Jonagold, McIntosh or Cortland are good choices)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

TOPPING

• 1  1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup Quaker oats (I like the old-fashioned oats more than the quick oats)
• 1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

HOW TO MAKE IT

PIE CRUST

• Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl
• Chop the shortening up into small squares and add it to the flour mixture
• Add in 3 or 4 tbsp of cold water and use your other hand to start mixing it with the flour and shortening
• Keep adding in the cold water (one tbsp at a time) and mixing the dough with your other hand
• Once the dough has reached a moist, but not sticky, consistency it is finished (if the dough seems too sticky, add in a little bit of flour to dry it out)
• Form your dough into a large ball and wrap it in plastic wrap – place it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it

FILLING

• Peal and core all of your apples and slice them up into thin 1/2 wedges (if you slice the apple horizontally, you want to quarter each slice) and place them in a large mixing bowl
• I use this apple peeler and saves a lot of time
• Add the lemon juice to the apples and stir – this will keep them from browning
• Add in both sugars and stir the apple mixture well, coating everything evenly
• Combine the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl
• Sprinkle the flour mixture over the apples, coating them evenly
• Place the apple mixture aside until you’re ready to use it

TOPPING

• Soften the two sticks of butter on very low power in the microwave (be careful not to melt it)
• Combine the flour, salt and cinnamon first, then add in the oatmeal and both sugars
• Cube the softened butter and add it to the topping mixture – again, using your hands to mix it up!
• This mixture should be moist yet crumbly

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER…

• Take your pie dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface – you want to roll it out to be pretty thin, but thick enough to handle and transfer into the pie dish (about 1/8″ thick)
• Drape the rolled out dough over an ungreased pie dish and use your fingertips to press it down onto the dish
• Pour the apple mixture over the dough
• Cover the apples with the topping mixture – again, use your fingertips to pack it on there (this is the best part, so you’ll want to use all of it)
• Now, to make this pie look pretty – trim the edge of the dough off with kitchen shears leaving enough over the edge to either pinch or roll up into a beautiful crust
• Bake at 400°F for 50 minutes covered (with aluminum foil) and uncovered for an additional 10 minutes – everyone’s oven works differently, so just keep your eye on this to make sure it doesn’t burn!
• I always have the best results when I let it cool for at least 20 minutes, then enjoy!