Maple Cream Cheese Cakelets ~ Giving Thanks

Aren't these little acorn cakes sweet? Many of you know how much I love acorns, so when I saw this Williams Sonoma pan, I couldn't resist it.


It was ridiculously expensive, especially for someone who is used to finding muffin tins at the thrift store, but we've been using it often and have each cakelet down to 20 cents
each. ;0)




Last week I made some buttery brown sugar cakelets filled with maple cream cheese and topped with crunchy turbinado sugar.


The good news is, they can be made with mini muffin pans and are just as yummy!



~Maple Cream Cheese Cakelets~
Makes 24 mini muffins

For the cakelets:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the glaze:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs. water

For the frosting:
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbs. maple syrup
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Raw (turbinado) sugar for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350F. To make the cakelets, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the brown sugar and white sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

6. Spoon batter into 24 greased mini muffin pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakelets comes out clean, about 10 minutes.

7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then removed to wire rack.

8. Meanwhile make the glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, maple syrup and water. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

9. Set the rack with the cakelets over a sheet of waxed paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm cakelets with the glaze. Let cool completely.

10. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the maple syrup and confectioners' sugar and beat until combined, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping the beater occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

11. Frost cakelets and sprinkle with tubinado sugar.


Let me know if you try them!

More Thanksgiving Recipes:
Pumpkin Roll
Refrigerator Dinner Rolls

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Thank you to all who joined in for show and tell and for your comments on my special Autumn treasures! We've had a busy Saturday, but are about to relax and celebrate the upcoming first day of fall. It's been our tradition to watch Anne of Green Gables, and I made some Gingerbread cupcakes for our snack.



~Gingerbread Cupcakes~

5 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in large mixing bowl. Add molasses, eggs and milk and blend well.
3. Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin.
6. Bake at 350 degrees 18-20 minutes. Remove cupcakes to cooling rack. Frost when completely cooled.

~Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting~

2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Beat in the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until fluffy.





I hope you are having a wonderful weekend with your family! I'll be around to visit you soon.

Yeast Biscuits

I found a wonderful book at the library recently. It's called Back To The Table~The Reunion of Food and Family by Art Smith and is filled with lots of delicious recipes.


The first recipe I tried was Fluffy Yeast Rolls and everyone loved them.



Fluffy Yeast Biscuits
Makes about 2 dozen biscuits

You can refrigerate the dough overnight so you can have a big plate of biscuits ready for breakfast in no time.

Two 1/4-ounce packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm (105 to 115F) water
4 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, chilled, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup shortening, chilled, cut up (I used butter)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, as needed

Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast.

Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly with a few pea-sized pieces of fat.

Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture. Stir in enough of the buttermilk to make a moist, shaggy dough. Knead in the bowl a few times, just until the dough comes together.

Transfer the dough to a medium bowl (no need to oil the bowl). Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature until the dough doubles in volume, about 45 minutes. (The dough can be made up to 1 day ahead, covered tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerated.)

Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 400F.

Pat down the dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Pat or roll out the dough until 1/2-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits and place them 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Gather up the scraps, knead together, and roll and cut out more biscuits until all of the dough is used.

Bake, switching the positions of the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the biscuits are golden brown, about 20 minutes*. Serve hot.

*Keep a close eye on your biscuits while baking. Mine were finished and very golden at 10 minutes.


The biscuits were perfect for our Labor Day dinner, along with corn on the cob and Mrs. H's Oven Baked Country Ribs.

The book is also filled with beautiful pictures and quotes.



Let us give thanks for nature's abundance at this table this evening and for the work of loving hands.



The table is a familiar, uncomplicated, and friendly place where we can celebrate family, friends, food, and life's many blessings.



The table has always served as a symbol of congregation, the place where we celebrate our loved ones through the generations-old tradition of sharing a meal.


Daily we must unite with the human family around the world by counting our blessings over the table. These opening remarks start the celebration of the meal and of life, and express our love.

Blueberry Pie

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend with your family. I mentioned that Emily and I made two pies for our Saturday evening company.


Here they are...fresh blueberry!


I got the blueberries on sale for $1.50 a pint, but forgot the all ready made pie crust. I very rarely make my own crusts because they fall apart, but I decided to give Ruthann's recipe a try. I'm happy to say it that worked great! You can hardly tell there are at least five patches. ;0)


Emily was a wonderful kitchen helper and wore her new apron.


We added a lattice top, but without the weaving. Here's the recipe in case you want to make one of your own

Blueberry Pie

1 double pie crust
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Mix sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon together in large bowl. Gently stir in blueberries.

3. Pour berry mixture into prepared pie pan and dot with butter.

4. Cut remaining rolled out dough into 1/2 inch wide strips and make lattice.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the pie is bubbly.




Does it get any better than this?


Maybe a little!

Garlic and Cinnamon Bread Twists

Good morning! I hope your week is going well so far. Phillip was out of town for a few days, but is back at home and taking the rest of the week off. Today I'm going to share a new recipe for bread twists, so get out your apron and rolling pin!


I used my Homemade Pizza dough recipe and doubled it, so I could make a batch of both garlic and cinnamon twists.

Soft Bread Twists

1 (.25) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (110F degrees)
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 10 minutes.


3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a 15 x 12" rectangle.

4. Cut dough into 1 inch strips lengthwise and then in half.


5. Twist each strip several times and place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet.


Garlic Twists: Combine 3 tablespoons melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder in small bowl and brush over dough twists.


Bake at 425F for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with remaining butter mixture and enjoy!


Cinnamon Twists: Brush twists with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 425F for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.


These make a great snack on a summer afternoon. Let me know if you make some, too!

Weekend Chit~Chat

Thank you to all who joined in for show and tell and your comments about my early Christmas gifts! I always enjoying seeing your treasures, too. Not much is happening in my gardens, but I did see a few Wisteria blooms this week.


Last night I made Mrs. H's delicious Blueberry Crumb Cake.


We all enjoyed a slice out on the pack patio after dinner.


The recipe makes two cakes, so I saved one for Saturday morning. Getting up at 6:00am isn't so bad when there's blueberry cake and hot coffee, right?!

Our weekend plans include taking a meal over to some friends who just had a baby. We will grill this evening and I would like to squeeze in some sewing. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

I have been making the same banana bread for the last 12 years. This past Friday I tried my friend, Linda's Cream Cheese Banana Bread and it is now my new favorite recipe!


The recipe makes two loaves which is nice because one is never enough! I actually made one regular loaf and three mini loaves.


We had unexpected company Friday night and this was a perfect snack. Thank you for sharing the recipe with me, Linda!

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

3/4 cup butter softened
1- 8oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups self rising flour
3-4 medium sized mashed bananas
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 tea. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time beating until just blended. Gradually add the flour to the mixture, beating at low speed until just blended. Stir in bananas, nuts and vanilla. Spoon batter into two greased and floured 8x4 loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes. (if it starts getting too brown, put some aluminum foil over the top. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.
Makes 2 loaves. Recipe reprinted with permission.


The leftovers made a wonderful Saturday morning breakfast. Let me know if you make some too!

Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza

Tuesday night is "Family Night" at our house. I've been using this pizza recipe since January and it always gets eaten right up! It will make two thin crusts, but I usually double it since the crust is the best part. :0)

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

1 (.25) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (110F degrees)
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 450F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 10 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a circle. Transfer to a lightly greased pizza pan.
4. Spread with desired toppings and bake 15-20 minutes.

4th of July Shortcake

I made this red, white and blue dessert for our company this past Saturday and everyone loved it. It would be perfect for the 4th of July, too!


Fresh strawberries and blueberries, sweetened with a little sugar.


Amy's delicious Sugar Cookie Cake.


Layered with lots of whipped cream!

For those of you celebrating the 4th of July, what are your plans?

A Morning Glory Monday

Good Morning! Sometimes road trips take longer than expected, so my family will be arriving this morning instead of last night. I guess I don't have an excuse not to fold the clothes in the dryer now. ;0)


Today I am thinking about Morning Glories. The seeds I planted last month are doing really well and I added some more stakes for them to climb up this weekend.


I found this pretty plate at the resale store several weeks ago.


There was also this matching primrose plate. I found out that there are two more plates in the set, but I didn't see them at the store.


They are the perfect size for holding a snack, so I baked some Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars.


Hot out of the oven. Here is the recipe...

Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup brown sugr
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup of your favorite jam

In a mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of the flour mixture. Press remaining flour mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8 pan. Spread with desired jam. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Cut into squares.


I actually doubled the recipe, used a 9 x 13 pan and spread strawberry jam on one half and blueberry jam on the other. They took closer to 40 minutes to bake.




This is how my morning glories are coming along so far. I have also planted sunflowers along the three rows to hopefully create a "Sunflower House" later this summer.


They are very fast climbers and each day there are new leaves.


Morning Glories from last year. I can't wait for a repeat!

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!