Easy Orange Cranberry Scones

I am always in search of the perfect yet, simple, scone recipe. I like the Bisquick ones as they always seem to rise in a more uniform fashion.

My daughter {pictured above helping zest an orange} and I attended a baby shower this weekend for one of the teachers at her ballet school. I was asked to bring my well loved orange cranberry scones. I decided I would finally write down the recipe I use and blog it for future reference.

Ingredients:
3 cups of Bisquick
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1/2 cup orange blossom honey (I used Tupeolo Honey as I had run out of orange blossom)
2 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best but, Simply Orange works too)
Zest of 1 orange

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine Bisquick, cinnamon, and dried cranberries. Add honey and mix well. The add, eggs, orange juice, and zest - mix until all ingredients are combined - mixture should be moist, if not add a little more orange juice.

2. Scoop out using a medium size cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes or until scones are a light brown on top.

Makes 18 scones.

Glaze:
1 cup of powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons of Orange Juice (more or less to your preferred glaze consistency)

While scones are still warm - brush with glaze. Store scones in an airtight container - best served the same day or the day after baking.

Recipe : Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

We had new neighbors move into the home across the street two weeks ago and I wanted to bake them something to welcome them to the neighborhood. I remembered this great recipe from The Picky Palate that I had pinned last year {Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Spiced Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting}. I pinned it because, I thought it was a great recipe to easily pack up and give and bonus - it had pumpkin in it.

I followed the recipe from The Picky Palate with these modifications - I took out the box of pudding called for in the cake recipe. I have made recipes in the past with the pudding and found it makes for a really dense and heavy cake. I felt the pumpkin alone would make this cake heavy without that addition and I was right. Also, I sprinkled the chocolate chips on top of the cake batter after pouring into two pans rather than incorporating into the batter during the mixing process.

For the icing my modifications were - adding 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice rather than the 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon the recipe calls for. The recipe was a huge hit. My family devoured our pan and our neighbors loved it too. I received a thank you card telling us how super yummy it was and asking for the recipe.

Pictured below is the cake all dressed up ready to go to our new neighbors.

Recipe : Dark Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

With all the comments on Facebook after my post about these cupcakes, I figured better to get this post up sooner rather than later.

My daughter Lexi loves Nutella and I mean loves ... she refuses to throw the jar away until every ounce of goodness has been scraped from the insides, thus the inspiration for these cupcakes.

They are super simple ...

Here is the box mix I used for the cupcakes.

Just two changes to the box directions - substitute milk for the water it calls for and add 2 cups of chocolate chips, folded into the recipe at the end.

The icing is from scratch. It is the same recipe I used this summer at Camp Crafty Girls with the addition of Nutella:

Ingredients for Nutella Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup butter
1 two pound bag powder sugar  
1 tablespoon vanilla  
4 tablespoons milk  
1/3 cup of Nutella  
dash salt
 
Instructions:
 
Place room temperature butter, vanilla, and salt into mixer. Add in powder sugar one cup at a time, alternating with the milk until you have used it all.  Then add Nutella - mixing well until completely incorporated into the buttercream.
 
If your frosting is too thick you can certainly add more milk but, I have found that this is the perfect consistency for piping roses using the 1M  Wilton Cake Decorating Tip.
 
Bake cupcakes, let cool completely then frost. To make the roses I used a 1M tip inside a disposable cake decorating bag. Just start in the middle of the cupcake and slowly go around the center and move outward toward the edge of the cupcake. You should have more than enough icing to practice a few times and still be able to frost 24 cupcakes. Of course, you will have to find someone to eat the icing you practice with - though that did not seem to be an issue in our home. :)

Enjoy!!

Linking up with ... 

 

Molasses Cookies and a GIVEAWAY!

Fall is here which in our house means lots of baking ... and if your family loves molasses cookies like we do, but could do without the preparation and mess - Betty Crocker to the rescue! This fall, Betty Crocker is introducing a molasses cookie mix, making this year-round favorite easy to bake in less than 20 minutes.

Ava Mae and I whipped up a batch yesterday afternoon and they were a huge hit! They had a soft chewy texture and the perfect blend of cinnamon and spices.

And the good news, I get to giveaway a Betty Crock Molasses Cookie Prize Pack - including everything in the picture below {Betty Crocker Molasses Cookie Mix, Betty Crocker apron, non-stick baking pan, and mixing spoon}.

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment below telling me your favorite occasion for baking spice cookies.

This giveaway will run through October 11, 2011 at 11:59 PM. Winner will be drawn via Random.org on or about October 12, 2011. Winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to provide shipping information. Giveaway is limited to US residents only who are 18 and older. If winner fails to respond within the 48 hour time frame, I will choose a different winner. Be sure to leave your email in the comment or ensure that it's available in your public profile. If you win, I need to be able to reach you!

Edited to add ... Congratulations to Amanda Y for winning the giveaway! Your prize pack will be on its way soon ... enjoy!

Disclosure: The product, information and prize pack has been provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark.

Easy Pumpkin Muffins {Recipe}

I found this super simple recipe on Pinterest for Pumpkin Muffins. It was a Weight Watcher's Recipe and I will say I was skeptical but, these muffins turned out super yummy. There are just three ingredients -

1 Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
1 15 ounce can of Pumpkin
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

All you do is place all three ingredients in a bowl and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Then bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I did decide to frost them with a light cream cheese frosting for the benefit of my family but, they did not need that at all. They were super yummy without the icing and I will skip it next time.

Summer Goodness

This weekend I signed up to bring breakfast for our Sunday School class ... I decided to use two of my favorite summer fruits - blueberries {some from our own bush} and peaches.

Along with banana nut muffins I also made this amazing recipe for Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake from Alexandra Cooks. I switched it up just a bit making the cake into muffins {I baked at 375 degrees for 25 minutes}.

Then to go along with the leftover blueberries I cut up some peaches and tossed them together for a simple fruit salad.
Love the delicious fruits and veggies that summer brings ...

A Great Saturday to Bake

With the weather outside rainy and cold I figured this was the perfect day to do some baking but, what recipe to bake??? I always have a list of cookbook recipes and blog recipes I really want to try. I decided on this one ... thanks so much to Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen for posting this amazing recipe for Cookie Cake Cupcakes!!

I will say that this is not a quick recipe it has several steps but, if you have time to spare - which I did today, you will not be disappointed.

First step is to whip up a cake mix - I went with Duncan Hines Devil Food. Just prepare as directed on box and set aside.

Second step is to break out a package of Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. You could also make your own but, I was trying to simplify a little. Scoop out a small amount and flatten then place in bottom of a lined cupcake tin. You should get 24 small scoops out of your cookie dough.

Third step is to fill each cupcake tin 2/3 full with the cake batter. I just used my cookie scoop to make this a quick task.

Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until cupcake is set.

While cupcakes are cooling prepare frosting. You can choose your favorite buttercream, use a store bought or follow Kristan's recipe for Super Sweet White Frosting. This really tastes like the frosting they use on the cookie cakes you get at the Great American Cookie Company.

Next step after frosting the cupcakes was to make some chocolate chip cookies from another package of refrigerated dough. Once they cooled I sliced them in half and added them to the tops of the cupcakes.

In the end this is what the yummy goodness looked like on the inside ...

Coconut Brownies

I recently found a recipe for a type of coconut brownie on this fun blog. For years I have been trying to replicate a recipe my father-in-law made. It was my husband's favorite but, unfortunately, when my father-in-law passed away several years ago so did many of the treasured family recipes. I wish now I would have taken more time to learn how he made some of my husband's favorites.

My father-in-law was not a chef or baker, in fact, he was a judge. He decided in retirement to take up cooking and baking as a hobby. I won't soon forget many of the items he cooked/baked which were so well known - even to many of my siblings who still ask me if I have a recipe for his famous pizza or cinnamon rolls, unfortunately, I do not. So recently, on one of my Friday blog hops I found a recipe which I thought might be close and my husband agrees it is the closest I have ever come to replicating that brownie recipe he made. I still have to figure out the icing - I know it involved Dream Whip but, that is about it.

So here is the recipe ...

Ingredients:
One boxed brownie mix for a 13 x 9 pan
1 cup coconut
1 egg
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 small can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare boxed brownie mix following directions on box, set aside. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside.
Grease the bottom only of a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray.

Pour 1/2 of the brownie mix into the pan. Pour coconut mixture over bottom layer.
Pour remaining brownie mix over top of coconut layer - trying hard not to mix all three layers together when spreading out.
Bake at 350 degrees for 24 minutes or until sides pull away from pan and middle seems set. Do not over bake! Brownies are best served moist. Enjoy!

Linked up on The Girl Creative for Just Something I Whipped Up Monday Link Party bop on over to find more great recipes, crafts and project ideas.

Baking, Baking and Gingerbread House Making

The past two days of our Advent celebration have found us in the kitchen, alot! Our first round of Gingerbread House making on Tuesday night did not go well. So, we headed back out to Michael's and found a bigger Gingerbread House to make. Each of the kids were responsible for decorating one side. And, then I had the pleasure of standing in the kitchen for one hour after assembling to make sure the house did not fall back apart. A friend suggested that next year I hot glue the Gingerbread House together before icing. Not that the thought had never crossed my mind but, I am this Gingerbread purist who feels that it should be icing and not glue that holds your house together. Anyway, next year ... hot glue!

This year I decided to bake for all of Devin's teachers at our Homeschool Co-Op we attend on Fridays. Lexi and Ava Mae just have two teachers so it is easy to pick up gift cards for them. But, Devin has seven teachers, including assistants for all of his classes. I would grow broke. Yesterday, we baked Nestle Toll House Bars with M&M's, made Haystacks, Fudge and Buckeyes. A wonderful friend, Jen, came to my rescue and spent the day helping out with all of the making. Plus, the kids were so sweet and spent the day playing together after homeschool - acting out a crazy nativity play with their nativity they have. Then it was some other make believe game that I did not quite understand but, it involved Ava Mae delivering mail and it kept them busy for three hours.

The front of our Gingerbread House:

Lexi's side of the Gingerbread House - featuring a deck:

Devin's side of the Gingerbread House:

Ava Mae's side of the Gingerbread House:

Gift Card Holders for Lexi and Ava Mae's Teachers:

Open:

Devin's Teachers' Gifts Boxed and Ready to Go: