Recently Eric and I were at his parents house and I decided to make some carrot cake. I love carrot cake, and it’s one of the few cakes I can make that Eric will eat (He’s not a sweets guy). I love this recipe because it’s just super easy and well.. YUMMY! Ever time I’ve ever made it I get rave reviews. I’d love to say it’s my own creation but it’s not. I got it from epicurious.

Here’s a tip: When you take the cakes out of the oven to cool, consider putting them right in the freezer. I actually put mine in the freezer to cool. It gets them cool faster and keeps them moist.

So while you’re enjoying the holiday, BBQ with family and friends consider making this cake.

Ingredients

Directions

For cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper (to ensure that the cake will not stick), or place liners in 2 muffin pans for 24 cupcakes. Set aside.
2. Place the dried coconut in a cup of warm water to soften and set it aside for 15 minutes.
3. Place the carrots in a food processor and pulse on and off for 1 minute. Then add the pineapple and pulse until the carrots are cut into very small pieces and the pineapple is pureed, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the brown sugar and use a whisk to break up any lumps.
5. Drain the coconut and place it in a medium bowl. Add the oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and carrot-pineapple mixture, and whisk to combine.
6. Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with a rubber spatula to incorporate but not overmix. When the batter is almost mixed, stir in the additions, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
7. Bake for 55 minutes, or until the tops are a very golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (It may look as if the cake is too well done, but it takes a while to bake because it’s so dense.) For cupcakes, the baking time is 35 to 40 minutes.
8. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then invert them onto a wire rack and let them cool completely.
   
9. Fill and frost the cake with the Cream Cheese-Lemon Zest Frosting (for added oomph, add 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger to the frosting).

1. In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until combined and airy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.
2. Sift the powdered sugar onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sifted powdered sugar into the frosting (use both hands to bend the paper so the sugar pours slowly into the bowl).
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. If the frosting seems too soft to spread, allow it to chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

Yield: Makes one 8-inch layer cake or 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
Cookies
1 pound butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups crushed potato chips
1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
2 eggs

Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix in the flour, potato chips, bacon, and stir well. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. While the cookies are baking prepare the glaze. Stir the confectioner’s sugar and maple syrup together in a bowl. Add the cream and whisk until the mixture is smoothly blended with a thick consistency but able to be drizzled. Cover and set aside while the cookies cool. Once the cookies are cooled drizzle the maple glaze on the cookies.
Note: Less glaze is better so that you get the bacon taste with the maple.

This year our neighbors Sammi and Pla got use a great gift. It was a bag of yummy treats from Trader Joe’s. We had chips, salsa, popcorn, sparkling blueberry juice and these awesome cookies candy cane cookies. That’s where the inspiration for this recipe came from. These cookies were so yummy and tasty. I loved the chocolate and mintyness of the cookies. Pla had told me that the box of cookies she had went fast and in our house they went fast too. After having these cookies I had to find the recipe. I found it on http://www.grouprecipes.com and made some changes to it. Enjoy!

Homemade Candy Cane Oreo Cookies

Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mint Cream Filling

1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
2-4 Tablespoons crushed candy canes or mint hard candies

Directions

1. Preheat to 375ºF.
2. Cream together butter, egg, and sugar.
3. Thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
4. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 in apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. I barely flattened mine and used a very small portion scoop. Bake for 9 minutes. Once baked, removed from the cookie sheet to cool.
5. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low-speed, gradually beat in the sugar, mint, and crushed mints. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
6. To assemble the cookies, teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.
7. Then enjoy

Every year about this time, I go berry picking as a local farm.  I love berries, specifically I LOVE raspberries. In any case, every year I go out and pick a ton of berries so I can eat some and freeze some so in those awful, rainy winters I have some great summer berries. This year my friend Natalie came along with my neighbors, Sammy, Pla, and their cutie son Matthew. We went to West Union Gardens.

I guess this year has been slow for berries to come on, sort of like the grapes I guess. In any case, we got our boxes from them and were off.  I am always amazed each year just how big the farm is. We walked down past the currents and went straight for the raspberries.  I picked one row, Natalie another, and Sammy and Pla took the row behind me. I was picking and eating and picking and eating. Ok, did I tell you I love raspberries? As we picked Sammy, Pla and I talked about picking berries. I guess they’ve never done it before. This was their first time I think. Matthew loved it. He’d pick a berry and eat it, dig in the dirt with a small stick, and then pick another berry. What a cutie! So we were picking along and my box got about half full when Natalie and I decided to head to the Marionberries. I guess her husband, also named Eric, loves them. So we went picking while Sammy, Pla, and Matthew continued on and walked around. I picked over a half a flat of Marionberries and realized I had no way to carry any more with me and I wanted to get blueberries. I went over to the blueberries and started picking. The blueberries weren’t ready. There was like one ripe one per bushel. So I decided to stop…. that’s when I lost steam. I mean we’d only been picking for about 2 hours but I was done. Ready to pack it in. That’s about the time Sammy and Pla did too… and Natalie wasn’t far behind.

I ended up with a flat and a half of berries. I could have had more if I wouldn’t have lost steam. I’m going to get back there on Saturday for a “super” run and get several flats and call it good.  So I came home with all the berries and was thinking about what to do with them. Well, I washed half and stuck them in the freezer and the other half went in this great fruit crisp I made for dessert that we’d eat when Sammy, Pla, and Matthew came over later for a BBQ. I love my recipe. I think I love it because a lot of crisps don’t have oatmeal and that’s one thing I love.

So here’s the recipe (Just for you Pla.)

Jona’s Fruit Crisp

Ingredients

Fruit (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 cup flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 – 3/4 cup of butter

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready an un-buttered 13×9 pan.

Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Scatter the topping evenly overs the fruit. Tap the dish on the counter once or twice to settle the crumbs. Bake for 30-50 minutes until the toping is golden brown, the juices are bubbling, and the fruit is tender. Serve with ice cream.

Ingredients:

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375º.

Cream earth balance, cream cheese, avocado, and sugar together. Add zest and lime juice, and beat until light and fluffy (I used an electric mixer). Gently fold in flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

Measure out 1 Tbs balls of dough. Roll between your palms to form a sphere, then flatten into discs. Arrange on a lightly greased cookie sheet. The dough will not spread when baked. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

(Serves –)

Ingredients:

Directions:
Butter a 10-inch bundt pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, or one 9X13-inch sheet pan. Sprinkle the bottom and sides with the sesame seeds.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Beat the oil and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, leavenings, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture along with the apple juice and vanilla, beating with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth. Fold in the chopped apples and nuts.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, depending upon the size of the pan, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle the top with sifted powdered sugar when the cake is cool.

(Serves –)