Snickerdoodle Pie

After lunch yesterday (at Tim's parents house), I was browsing through the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens and saw this recipe.

I just took it out of the oven. I hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells!

Update: I just had a piece. It was good. I'd have to say it's like a piece of coffee cake in a crust. There is yummy brown sugary goo in the bottom though. The top almost has a little bit of a crunch.

Pumpkin Squares

4 eggs, beaten
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger or nutmeg
1 3 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar

Heat oven to 350. Beat together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and the ginger or nutmeg. Mix until smooth, then spread the batter in an ungreased 10 x 15 baking pan (or for a fluffier version, a 9 x 13 inch pan). Bake for 25-35 min. or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the frosting over the cake and then cut into 24 squares. Recipe from the November 2004 issue of Family Fun magazine.

(I think I will double the frosting next time. This was kind of thin for me. I also made one for Amanda and I did hers in the bigger pan. I'm not sure the frosting would have even covered it.)

Beer Bread

BEER BREAD

Ingredients :

3 c. self-rising flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 can or bottle (12 oz.) beer, room temp. (not light beer) (I used a can of Mt. Dew and it was not room temp)

Preparation :Mix (only 17-20 strokes) (may take a few more strokes, but don't over mix. It will be lumpy) all ingredients. Place in greased 9 x 5x 3 inch loaf pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until lightly browned and sides pull away from pan. Brush with butter halfway through baking time. ( I melted 1-2 T. butter and drizzled it over the top before baking. That is how the mixes call to do it and it is easier than remembering to add it half way through.)




I'm so excited. I have loved Beer Bread since I first tried it at a Tastefully Simple party several years ago. The only downside is that it is very expensive to order from one of those parties, usually $5-7 a mix. Pampered Chef has also started selling it. I think I recently paid $13 for two mixes. Well, I had seen online awhile ago that you could make your own. The recipe only has 3-4 ingredients and it is really simple. I decided last night that I would finally try it. It turned out wonderful. I will never buy one of those silly mixes again! There are all kinds of variations that I am excited to try out too. Check out the variations here. One of the other great things is that you don't have to use beer. You can use any carbonated beverage. I used Mt. Dew last night.

This bread is wonderful for dipping. Tastefully Simple sells some really great dips, a spinach one and a bacon one. They are basically sour cream/mayonnaise based dips, so I'm sure you could use a recipe you already have. You could dip it in spaghetti sauce or garlic butter too.

If you don't have self rising flour (I bought mine at the local bulk store), you can make your own. I would just make sure that it was mixed well and maybe sifted together before making this recipe.

Easy Cake Bread

This is a bread machine recipe that I've been using this week. It is good. Matthew and I decided that it was a heavy light bread. It's heavy like homemade bread, but is light and airy. Is that clear as mud? This is for the large size or 2 lb. loaf. It rises all the way to the top of my machine.

Easy Cake Bread (from this cookbook)

1 1/4 c. water
2 T. butter
1 c. yellow cake mix
2 1/2 c. bread flour
2 tsp. yeast

Select the white cycle/light color cycle. I tried to do it with a timer overnight and it did not rise. This may be a too much water issue. Both times I've made it, I've either added a little water or a little flour as it was mixing to get the right consistency. You can use different flavors of cake mix to make different kinds of bread. One box of cake mix can be used to make 4-5 loafs of bread.

New recipe

This is a new recipe that I tried this morning. We all loved them!

Cinnamon Puffins Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg, divided
1/3 c. shortening
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter or margarine
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

PREPARATION:
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg; set aside. In another bowl, beat shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture; beat in the milk until smooth. Fill each cup of a lightly greased 12 cup muffin tin two-thirds full with the batter. Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Melt butter in a small saucepan. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup sugar, the 1 teaspoon cinnamon and remaining 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. While puffins are warm, dip each one in butter, then in sugar mixture coating thoroughly. Store in airtight container.