Italian Cream Cake

My favorite cake is Italian Cream Cake. My family LOVES this cake (except for Mr. Reserved and only because it has nuts and coconut). My mom would make us any cake we requested for our birthday and we all asked for this cake. We looked forward to our day just so we could taste this delicious cake.

Last Sunday, I made this cake for one of my dear friend's baby shower. It was so yummy that I thought I should share the recipe.

I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture of it. So instead, you get a picture of the shower flowers.


Mom's Italian Cream Cake

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup angel flake coconut

Cream butter & shortening. Add sugar gradually. Add egg yolks one at a time. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla, pecans & coconut. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in 3 greased and floured 8" cake pans at 350 for about 25 minutes. Frost after cake has cooled.

Frosting:

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (at room temp)
1/2 cup butter (at room temp)
1 lb. box powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Soften cream cheese and butter. Mix cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in walnuts or sprinkle on top of cake.

This cake is best when made ahead one day and served cold.

On a side note: I make this cake in 9" round pans and it turns out fine. I also usually just spray the pans with Pam baking spray instead of greasing and flouring them. If I'm decorating this cake, I usually double the frosting recipe just so I have enough icing to use to make frills.


Go make this cake! Only your hips will regret it.



P.S. I noticed that I had taken a picture of the "food" table and you can see part of the cake. Sorry it's not a very good picture but you can see the basic cake.

Butterhorn Rolls

Ah, my friends...you are in for a treat. The following recipe is from my mother-in-law's mother-in-law and is the most scrumptious roll I believe I've ever tasted. I was privileged a few times to eat at Mamaw's table but unfortunately these rolls were never on the menu. I believe that she made an awesome apple pie too that I never had the pleasure to taste. My husband still speaks of it with fond remembrance.

I make these rolls often but especially during the holidays. Miss G loves to help and in the process she's learning to make bread. Her favorite duties involve flour. I think it holds the same fondness for her as dirt. It's tactile and smooth. You can spread it and throw it. It rubs well into her skin and clothes. What's not to love?



I feel that a key ingredient in any roll is butter. Can a roll have too much butter? These rolls have butter not only in the dough but you spread melted butter on them before you roll them up AND once you take them out of the oven. Butter lovers unite! These are the rolls for you.



It truly isn't necessary to dive head-first into the flour like Miss G does to make an excellent roll, but it does make for great fun.




Tomorrow we'll dust the kitchen.



And these...my lovelies...are the pre-cooked visions of buttery perfection. As Miss G would say, "Seriously, you gotta try these."

Butterhorn Rolls

1 pkg. Dry yeast dissolved in 1 cup warm water. Add: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup melted butter, 1 tsp. salt. Beat 3 eggs really well & add to yeast mixture. Then add 5+cups flour. Add all the flour you can to the mixture; put remaining on board and knead all of it in (or...you can add all to your mixer with a dough hook and mix for 5-7 minutes.) Put dough in well greased bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Divide dough into 4 parts & roll out like a pie crust. Spread with melted butter & cut into 8 wedges (this works great with a pizza cutter). Begin with large end rolling toward point & place on buttered pan. Let rise 2 hours. Bake @350 for 20-22 minutes. Butter top of each roll as soon as you take them out of the oven.

These freeze well before rising. Set out of freezer and let rise 2+ hours.

Enjoy!

THE Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

My mother-in-law, God love her, makes the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet. She's a good cook in general, but these babies are guaranteed to keep you coming back for more.



And to the delight of every chocolate chip cookie lover in the world, here is the recipe...

Mary Dean's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour, unsifted
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. chocolate chips or M&M's

Cream 1st six ingredients together. Sift dry ingredients and combine with creamed mixture. Mix in chocolate chips or M&M's. Place on cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

**Additional thoughts ~ When I make these I put parchment paper over my cookie sheets. It keeps the cookies from sticking. Also, when I use my large cookie scoop, I up the temperature to 385 and bake them for 11 1/2 minutes. Mexican vanilla makes these cookies extra special. Actually, Mexican vanilla makes anything extra special. If you can find it, buy it!

Enjoy! These are delicious!

Lemons

I've been craving tart things lately. It happens about this time of year. Texas is hot and sweaty and tart flavors are refreshing. It doesn't hurt that I enjoy tart flavors, but especially in the heat they seem to quench your thirst. We have been going through gallons of lemonade and a limeade from Sonic is a wonderful treat. I mourn for those in this country that don't have Sonic. A moment of silence please.



Okay....where were we? Ah...yes...tart things.

Below are some of my favorite lemony recipes. See if you can spot a pattern.

Recipe #1

Unbelievably Good Fruit Dip

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 lemon, juiced

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice until creamy. Cover and chill before serving.

Recipe #2

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
11 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) box powdered sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice

Beat all ingredients until fluffy.

By the way...this recipe is good on anything. The usual cake and cupcake is fine, but boring. Try it on a cookie.....or.....some ice cream......or......a spoon. My sister-in-law and I polished off the last of my mother-in-law's cupcakes so we got the "extra-icing" bowl out of the refrigerator and began to experiment. She was several months pregnant and I was....... being supportive. Trust me. It's good.

Recipe #3

Lemon Icebox Pie

2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 carton of cool whip
1 small can of frozen lemonade concentrate

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add condensed milk and lemonade concentrate. Mix until smooth.
Combine with cool whip. Pour mixture into crusts. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Stay cool and add some lemons to your diet. You can leave out the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Just put some in your water and enjoy.

Homemade Wheat Bread

I found a great recipe at this site. It looks like Tammy has lots of good recipes but I tried this one last night. I've made some bread before, but I'm no expert. Surprisingly, this turned out perfect. I used my mixer with a dough hook and mixed it for a little over 5 minutes. Very easy! Also, I used 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpuse flour.

I must say, it's REALLY good still warm with creamed honey on it. Yum!


Homemade Wheat Bread





(Tammy's pictures)

A slightly sweet, healthy half-whole-wheat bread.

Yield:

1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

Instructions:

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

Enjoy!

Amy's Cilantro Cream Sauce



"This cilantro cream sauce can be used as a dip, or as a sauce for fish or chicken. Taste and add additional seasoning if necessary. Tomatillo sauce is usually spicy, so be prepared!"

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 (7 ounce) can tomatillo salsa (green)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

DIRECTIONS
Combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, pepper, celery salt, cumin, garlic powder, cilantro and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place in a serving bowl.


*I modified this recipe some. I cut the cumin from 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon. I also added several tablespoons of sour cream and a 10 oz. jar of tomatillo sauce instead of a 7 oz. jar.

It was delicious! It would be good on a burrito or a chip or ......your finger.

Thank you, Amy!

Do you like chocolate and mint?

Do you like them together?

There is only one person in our house that likes chocolate and mint together and that's yours truly. I made this recipe for a gathering the other night and they are wonderful! The recipe follows and comes from here...



Chocolate Mint Candy Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 (4.5 oz.) packages chocolate covered thin mints

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes* in the preheated oven, be careful not to over bake. When cookies come out of the oven, press one mint wafer into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies, break mints in half.


* I used a large cookie scoop and needed to bake them over 13 minutes. I also used parchment paper instead of greasing my cookie sheets.

P.S. I'll bring them to to family reunion at the end of June. Yum!

Summer Food

Soon we can use the...


...tomatoes,...

...the cilantro and...



...the jalapenos...


...to create one of my favorite tastes of summer.


Black Bean & Corn Salsa

2 cans of whole corn
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients into bowl. Stir well and refrigerate until served.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8