When life gives you lemons who wants to make lemonade when you can make a cake!
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Oven: 350
Bake: 1 hour
Ingredients:
Cake
Zest from 2 lemons
1 cup sugar
1\2 cups half n' half
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 eggs
1 3\4 cups flour (I used Pamela's All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)
1 1\2 teaspoon baking powder
1\4 teaspoon baking soda
1\4 teaspoon salt
2\3 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Glaze
1\2 cup powdered sugar
3 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions:
1. Heat oven and grease an 8-inch loaf pan
2. Combine lemon zest and sugar. Rub together with your fingers. Whisk in half n' half, lemon juice and eggs.
3. In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk into wet ingredients.
4. Whisk in melted butter and poppy seeds. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for an hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let the cake cool a few minutes and then flip out of pan. Set right side up. Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice. When cake is cool, but still warm to touch, use a pastry brush to evenly distribute glaze. Let cool until set and serve.
Ground control to Major Tom! Major Tom, you gotta try this cake!
If you want to watch a good movie then watch The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. This movie made it to my Top Ten Favorite Movies list. I have seen this movie four times and each time I get the same feeling of goodness, of trying new things, and of being inspired. Because of this movie I was inspired to make Clementine Cake. More than once this cake is brought up in the movie and to be honest it looked pretty good. If you can try an Upside-Down Pineapple Cake then why not a Rightside-Up Clementine Cake...?
This recipe is easy, but also time consuming. The best part, though, is that a lot of the steps just involve putting ingredients in pots and letting them simmer for awhile, so you can do other jobs while you wait.
(Before glazed and topped with candied clementines)
The first thing to get started is the clementines for the cake. This is the part that takes the longest. The second thing will be to start the candied clementines. They need to cook for awhile and cool.
(Glazed and topped with Clementines)
Let's get cooking!
Clementine Cake
Ingredients:
3 to 5 clementines 6 eggs 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 2 1/3 cups ground almonds 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
1. Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 hours. Drain and when cool, cut each clementine in half, and remove seeds if there are any. Then finely chop the skins, pith, and fruit (yes, the whole fruit) in the processor (or by hand, of course).
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
3. Butter and line an 8-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper. (I didn't use the parchment paper.)
4. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines.
5. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour. After 40 minutes cover with with foil to prevent the top from burning.
6. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack. When the cake is cold, you can take it out of the pan.
Candied Clementines
Ingredients:
2-3 clementines ( I used three) 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1 cup water
Directions:
1. Slice clementines thinly. Bring granulated sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan. Add clementine slices and let simmer until slices are soft, about 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack or a piece of baking paper.
Glaze:
Ingredients
1 1\2 cups powdered sugar. ( I used a bit less. This is versatile. Depends if you like thin or thick glaze.)
Milk
Directions:
1. This is up to you. Start by a adding just a little bit of milk and if you want it thinner just add bit more and if it gets too thin then add a bit more powdered sugar. Just do this until you reach desired consistency.
2. Pour the icing over the cake and spread lightly with a spoon. Top with candied clementines.
Voila! You are done.
And as I love to say... Enjoy!
If you haven't seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, watch it! Here's the preview, anyway.
Do you have "the cheese fits" right now? Then do I have a great solution for you. Who doesn't love grilled cheese sandwiches...? I don't think I've known of anyone saying they didn't like them. What I am about to suggest is going to blow your mind... Smoked Gouda Cheese grilled with Apples and Bacon sandwich. This sandwich takes grilled sandwiches to an all new level of grilled gourmet. Now you might be thinking, "Ew, apples! Are you serious?" I am serious and honestly this is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had.
First, let me just say it, I am a cheese snob. I was really impressed by this cheese, though. My brother came home with it one night and I was a little skeptical about it as he handed me a piece. I smelled it and was pleasantly surprised by its sweet smoky odor. Upon eating it, I found it to be one of the best cheeses I've ever had. The brand of the cheese is Red Apple Cheese and the type is All Natural Gouda Cheese: Smoked with Apple & Hardwood. It is, of course, crafted in Wisconsin and my brother found it at our local Meijer. It's a nice round block of cheese and also tasted great by itself. However, I am hoping to try it with grapes one of these days.
The bacon and apples can be any kind you want them to be. I used bacon that has no nitrites and nitrates in it. (The brand is Hormel for those who might want to know.) I also used Granny Smith organicapples. The bread depends on if your gluten-free or not. I used Udi's gluten-free bread which is a rare treat for us as it is still made with starches like rice flour, etc.. This is a simple recipe and very easy to make.
Let's Get Cooking!
Ingredients
1 package bacon, cooked and cut in half. (You will have bacon left over, but that can depends on how many sandwiches you make or how much bacon you want on your sandwich)
1 to 2 apples, cored and thinly sliced. (Again, do however much you want. This recipe is very versatile.)
1 package smoked Gouda cheese, thin slices. (However much you want. Do you like cheese oozing out..?)
A loaf of bread.
To ensemble:
Butter one side of each of your pieces of bread. Place slices of cheese on one unbuttered side. Layer with bacon and then apple slices. Put more cheese on top and then the other unbuttered piece of bread.
Carefully transfer to already hot skillet. Cook until cheese is melting\melted and the bread is golden brown.
(Don't forget to cut it into triangles. Because, everyone knows they taste better.)
See how easy that was? If you try this sandwich you won't regret it.
And, as I always love to say... Enjoy!
As an added bonus here is a Cheese Doritos commercial.
Well, yesterday's experiment was making a sugar free apple pie. I am very happy to say that it was a success. My family and I could not tell the difference. It was amazing! I used the same Apple Pie recipe I did back in December of 2012, but took out the sugar and used Honeycrisp apples. The Honeycrisp apples, in my opinion, are the key to this pie. They have their natural sweetness, a fresh crisp taste, and a little bit of tartness too. My crust is made with an all-purpose gluten free flour. A nice alternative for special occasions or a fun weekend treat.
Let's get baking...
Never Fail Pie Crust 3 cups all-purpose gluten free flour. 1 1\2 cups butter 1 teaspoon salt
1 egg 6 Tablespoons water 1 Tablespoon vinegar
Directions Combine first three ingredients. Beat next three ingredients, and pour into flour mixture. Mix well. Recipe for Apple Pie Prep Time: 30 minutes Bake: 1 hour Oven: 375 F Makes: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 recipe Pastry Double-Crusted Pie ( recipe up above) 6 cups thinly sliced peeled Honeycrisp apples 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. ( Again I did use an all-purpose gluten free flour.) 1\2 teaspoon cinnamon 1\8 teaspoon ground nutmeg Directions: 1. Prepare and roll out pastry for double-crust pie. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the dough. ( crust recipe above)
2. In a large bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices and gently toss them until coated. (I did sprinkle a little bit of lemon juice on them)
3. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate. Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. ( if not already done) With the rest of the pastry place over filling, and do as directed as in the above recipe for the crust. (Remember to cut slits in the top)
4. If desired brush top of the pastry with milk or egg yolks for a more golden brown look. ( I used milk.) To prevent over-browning, cover pie edges with foil. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Remove foil, and put back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes or until the filling starts to bubble out of your slits. Cool on a wire rack.
I am very excited about this post. Molasses cookies are my one weakness.... I'm also happy to say that I did not even use stevia to sweeten the cookies. I used apple sauce. Some might think that a little weird, but I can't even taste it at all. There weren't a lot of differences between a normal sugar batter and this one. I will note two, though, that will help you in making these. 1. The apple sauce and butter did not cream at all. There were still butter chunks even though the butter was becoming soft. This problem, however, solved itself when I added in the flour mixture. Everything came out very smooth. 2. The batter is a little stickier than a normal batch, but not much to make this recipe difficult.
This recipe is simple, and there are no worries about eating too many of them.
Oven: 350
Bake: 15 minutes
Makes: 30 (That's how many I made, but it could vary on how big your scoop is.)
Ingredients
3 sticks butter, soft
1\3 cup plain apple sauce (Cookies are not that sweet. I might try putting in double apple sauce)
2 eggs
1\2 cup molasses
4 1\2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1\2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon clove
1\8 of a teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven. Beat softened butter and apple sauce together until butter is softer and mixed with the apple sauce. Beat in eggs and molasses. Once you add the molasses you will be able to see bits of butter here and there, but that is all right.
2. In a medium bowl mix together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to molasses mixture until mixed well. The butter will mix right in and become smooth. Remember to scrap sides as needed.
3. Take any kind of scoop you have about 2 inches in diameter, I use an ice cream scoop, and scoop good sized balls onto cookie sheets. I do six cookies per sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, and then let the cookies cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cookie rack.
Here is a yummy bread alternative for those who don't want gluten. This is from the Trim Healthy Mama book, and I have found it to be very versatile. The first time I tried this bread I made it like a flat bread, but this time I made it a banana bread pan, (even though I did not add bananas). Which you can make this into a banana bread, or add in seasonings to dip into oil. Very yummy! If you make this bread like a banana bread then you can add in spices or you even could make a pumpkin bread. Just let your imagination run wild with this bread. It is a very simple recipe.
Oven: 350
Bake Time: Time will vary depending on how you make the bread. Anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.
(Just to remember to add anything you want to the dry ingredients before mixing with the wet)
Dry Directions:
1. Put 2 cups flax meal into bowl
2. Add 1 Tbs baking powder
3. Add 3\4 tsp salt
Wet Direction:
1. Put 2 Tbs olive oil or coconut oil into blender (the oils will depend on what kind of bread you make)
2. Add 4 eggs
3. Ad 3\4 cup water
4. Blend well.
Wet and Dry Direction:
1. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well, and let sit for 5 minutes
2. Place dough in whatever pan you wish, lightly grease
3. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or however long is needed.
I have to say that sugar cookies are my favorite. You can do anything with a sugar cookie. They are great for the imagination and the child inside us all. With my sugar cookies I made dresses and shoes. That's right.... dresses and shoes. I spent all day making them, but I had a blast. The recipe I used is gluten-free, and gives a recipe for making your own gluten-free flour mixture, but I used an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix that has all the same things it in. With this recipe you may be able to make 42 cookies with the dough, but I made my cookies a little thicker and made about 34. So, I can't really give an exact estimate on how many cookies this recipe makes, but at least somewhere between 30 and 40. One of my favorite things about sugar cookies is how festive they can be. From Valentines Day to Christmas! From hearts to trees! It's almost magical. You may be wondering why I choose to make dresses and shoes. Well, my great aunt gave them to me some time ago, and today I thought I would use them. Not to mention I made them for some people coming over the next day. The only thing left to say is have fun creating.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies! Overall time in Kitchen: 2 and a-half hours. Oven: 350 Bake: 8-12 Minutes Makes: Between 30 and 40 cookies Ingredient 1 cup sugar 1 cup butter 2 egg yolks 1 1\2 tsp vanilla 2 1\4 cups gluten-free flour mix below or any all purpose gluten-free flour mixes from stores 1\4 tsp salt Gluten Free Flour Blend: To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using. Directions
1. Combine sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add flour blend and salt; beat at low speed until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on surface sprinkled lightly with gluten-free flour, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with any cookie cutter you want. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 2 minutes on cookie sheet; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely. Frost or sprinkle.
Frosting for sugar cookies, (optional)
Ingredients 1 pound powder sugar 2 tablespoons marshmallow cream Add milk to make consistency like sour cream Directions Beat powder sugar and marshmallow cream together and add milk slowly until it is sour cream like. Oh, one of the great things about this frosting, other than it tasting good, is that once it dries it becomes nice and hard for being able to stack cookies on top of each other, but not too hard for eating. :D And as I always love to say.... Enjoy!
