NO-BAKE CANDY CAKE

I found this idea on a web site a few years ago (long before I was aware of the blogging world). It is a fun (and easy) project which can be tailored to any age, holiday or special occasion.

Need a gift for someone at work or school? Make them a small version. Make a huge version for a table centerpiece at a teenager’s birthday party. The possibilities are endless.

The “candy cake” pictured was made with a 9” cardboard circle for a base. Since the candy you are going to fill this with is heavy, the base cardboard needs to be pretty rigid, so…if in doubt, double-up your cardboard. If you double up your cardboard, wrap it in foil to disguise it.

Next, I hot glued two (FLAT) 8” Styrofoam wreath circles (craft dept. at Walmart) on top of each other, then wrapped them with wide ribbon (to disguise them) and glued them to the cardboard circle base. Now you should have a flat base with a ribbon wrapped “lip” around the outer edge of the base.

Next, attach mini-candy bars or mini-boxes of candy to the outside of the “lip” by placing a SINGLE SMALL DOT of hot glue on the back of the candy wrapper (use my photo as a guide).

Now fill the hollow area inside of the Styrofoam wreath "lip" with loose, wrapped candies, fill to the top.Next, think about decorating the flat top of the Styrofoam “lip”. You can either glue more candy to it, or push lollipops, blow pops, or any candy on a stick, into the Styrofoam so it will add height (see my photo).

TIP: Plan ahead and make sure all of your candy bars are facing in the same direction. Keep your design or color theme in mind when you are choosing candy bars.

TIP: If you are using hot glue on chocolate bars, remember just one little dot will suffice and if you are concerned about it, freeze them first.

TIP: Do not use any unwrapped candy.

TIP: If giving as a gift, this looks especially festive if you wrap it in clear cellophane and decorate it with lots of curly ribbons.

The hardest part of this project is not snacking on the candy while you are constructing it!!!

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BEAR CLAWS

These bear claw pastries are delicious. The dough mixes very easily (no kneading) and the filling for the pastry is equally as easy. The frustrating part is assembly. It is such a sticky dough, that it requires tons of flour on your counter and you have to wash your hands and utensils about every 30 seconds or so to make things work smoothly. Assembly is a little tricky and requires patience; if you can tolerate that annoyance, the final product is worth it. This recipe makes about a dozen nice size pastries, however the dough and filling will keep in the fridge for up to three days, so you do not have to bake them all at once.

PASTRY
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon of dry active yeast
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup white sugar
3 eggs yolks
½ teaspoon salt
(1) small (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
Melt the butter and let it cool down to 110 degrees (should only feel good and warm to the touch, not hot). Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Mix these two liquids together and add ¼ cup sugar, egg yolks, salt, evaporated milk, and flour. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge at least 24 hours (or up to three days).

PASTRY FILLING
½ cup butter (room temperature)
1 + 1/3 cups unsifted powdered sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces (1 cup) almond paste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 egg whites
¾ cup finely chopped almonds
Beat softened butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Add 2/3 cup flour and almond paste. Beat with electric mixer until crumbly and evenly mixed; add lemon zest and two egg whites. Beat until smooth. Stir in ¾ cup finely chopped almonds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm (one to thee days).

ASSEMBLY
Put a nice thick layer of flour on your counter and rolling pin (this dough is STICKY, but you can dust any excess flour off later, with a pastry brush). Roll the dough out to a 20” x 12” rectangle, keeping the edges as straight as possible. Cut the dough (length-wise) into three sections, each about 4” wide.

Flour your counter and hands and roll the almond filling into three 20” “ropes” (the diameter of your thumb). Keep washing your hands because the filling is sticky too! Lay one of the “ropes” in the center of each 20” dough strip and flatten it just a little. Fold the dough over the “rope”, matching the other (cut) edge. Cut each filled 20” strip into 4” pastries (brush excess flour off with a pastry brush) and lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut 3 slits in each pastry like this:

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of this stage, forgive the crude drawing

Flour your knife so it does not stick to the dough and wipe it off often). Use the tip of the knife to separate the “claws” a little. Lightly beat the remaining egg white and brush over the bear claws. top with sliced almonds and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let pastries raise for 45 minutes and then bake in preheated 375° oven for 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Makes about a dozen.

NOTE: I hope I have not scared you away from this recipe. It really is no harder than a simple piecrust, but I felt it only fair to warn you about the sticky dough.
NOTE: I put a simple glaze on some of the pastries and some I left plain. If you have trouble finding sanding sugar (it really adds a special shine and “finish” to baked goods), check Wal-Marts baking isle, near the sprinkles. They sell a Wiltons large grain transparent sprinkle that will work just as well.

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PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CUPCAKES

These little pineapple upside-down cupcakes are super rich-gooey-yummy. They are easy enough for every-day eating and pretty enough for ANY holiday table. They are SO tasty (and portable) that they disappear very quickly. Recipe makes two dozen.

Spray your cupcake pans with vegetable spray. Line the bottoms of the cupcake pan with parchment (or wax paper) circles and spray lightly again. Preheat your oven to 350°.
TOPPING
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 tablespoons corn syrup
(1) 14 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)
maraschino cherries quartered
Drain crushed pineapple completely (squeeze it as dry as you can). In a small saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and drained pineapple until the sugar is dissolved (stirring constantly). Remove from heat and set aside. Drain and quarter a small jar of maraschino cherries. Put the quartered cherries in the bottoms of the cupcake pan. Pour topping over the cherries (dividing equally between the 24 cupcakes). Set aside.

CAKE
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
2½ cups flour (spoon into cup, level off)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat in oil, sour cream and extracts till smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Fill each cupcake cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool pans on rack for 5 minutes. After five minutes, loosen sides of cupcakes with a thin knife and gently turn cupcake pans over onto parchment paper. Let the pan (and cupcakes) stay upside down for a few minutes. Lift pan off (see note).

NOTE: No matter how well you grease the pan, SOME of this fruit-sugar mixture will stick/stay in the pan. Don’t panic, just scoop it out and “frost” the bottom the inverted cupcakes.

 

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MUSHROOM & CHEESE STUFFED HAMBURGERS with HOMEMADE BUNS

Spring is here (even here in Alaska) and thoughts turn to outdoor barbeque's and camping. I’m always on the lookout for easy recipes that will “hold up” well in the cooler and Mushroom Stuffed Hamburgers is a good one. You can make the patties ahead of time and freeze them solid (which will help insure food safety while you travel.) Just throw these frozen patties on the grill and pair them with homemade hamburger buns (recipe follows) and you have a delicious cookout!

Can you tell that someone in my house loves mayo? LOL

(makes 4 hamburgers)
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces of fresh mushrooms (sautéed)
favorite cheese

Each of these hamburgers is made out of two thin patties with mushrooms and cheese sandwiched in between. So mix everything (except the mushrooms & cheese) and make 8 thin patties. Top four of the patties with sautéed mushrooms and your favorite cheese and then a 2nd thin patty, pressing to seal the edges well. Repeat for the other three hamburgers.

If you are going to freeze these, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. When they are frozen, you can stack them in a freezer Ziploc bag. Whether you are taking these on a camping trip or just leaving them in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal, they taste great.

HAMBURGER BUNS

This recipe will make at least 2 dozen hamburger buns. Once baked, they freeze extremely well. I find myself using them for everything from breakfast sandwiches to peanut butter sandwiches.
5 cups of all purpose flour
2 packets of dry active yeast (I use 2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
2 ½ cups very warm water

In an electric stand mixer, place 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, oil and salt (stir to combine dry ingredients) Add 2 ½ cups of very warm water (see note). Stir quickly while you add the water. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the flour, about ½ cup at a time, scraping the sides of your bowl and dough hook each time. Every time you stop your mixer, turn all of the dough mass over. Let your machine knead this dough until it CLEANLY comes away from the side of your mixer. If you have added all 5 cups of flour and it has not come cleanly away from your bowl, you need to add just a little more flour.

Once the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of your bowl, let the machine knead it for about five more minutes. Remove the dough and grease the bowl. Return the bread to the greased bowl and grease the top of the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour (it will more than double in volume).

Punch the air out of your dough and let it rest (covered) for 15-20 minutes. This step is important because your dough will “behave” much better while you form it, if you follow this step. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a tangerine. Make each ball as round as you can. Roll each ball into a 5” circle. Resist the temptation to add more dough to make a thicker bun. At this stage, your buns need to be a lot thinner than you think. (about ½” thick). If you add more dough, you are going to end up with a burger bun the size of your face!

Place the formed buns on a greased baking sheet and spritz the top of the dough with just a little cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes. Bake at 400° for 15-16 minutes.

If you are going to freeze these buns, let them cool completely first and freeze as soon as possible. About 4 to 5 minutes in a 350° oven will heat a frozen burger bun and make it taste like it was just baked.

This recipe also makes excellent sandwich bread

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APPLE TART

There is nothing quite as American as apple pie, isn’t that the old adage? I started experimenting with apple pie recipes many years ago because it is one of my husbands favorites. This recipe is pretty easy, as pies go; it has a no-roll shortbread type crust and you pre-cook the apples so they bake quicker. I like this recipe because it makes a pretty presentation and it is baked in a two piece tart pan, so you can just life the tart out of the pan and set it on a pretty serving plate.

CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
1½ teaspoons white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ice water
1 egg
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

With your electric stand mixer, mix the flour, Crisco, sugar and salt together. Add the ice water, vinegar and egg, beat just until smooth. Divide dough in half and pat one half into the two piece tart pan, pushing it up the sides, to the top of the pan, set in the fridge for a few minutes. Cover the other half of the dough while you do the apples.

APPLE FILLING
Peel and cube 5 granny smith apples. Boil them in some plain water for about 4 or 5 minutes until they just start to get tender, then drain well. To these apples, add:
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of white sugar
¼ cup of white flour
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
Stir gently until everything is wet, set aside.

Roll out the second half of the dough and cut into narrow strips. Put apple filling into tart crust and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter (tiny little dots). Lay the crust strips over the apples. Brush the strips with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water). Sprinkle strips with a light dusting of white sugar.

Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or until the crust strips are nice and golden. Let the pie cook to room temperature before you try to remove it from the two piece tart pan.

NOTE: You do not HAVE to pre-cook the apples, but if you do it this way, you will not get a soggy crust, or have any loose (watery) pie filling.
NOTE: If you do not want to do the whole roll out strips on top of the pie, just mix the following ingredients and sprinkle it on top of the apples and bake the same way.

APPLE CRISP TOPPING (ALTERNATIVE)
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup butter softened

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CHEESY FOCACCIA

This is the easiest bread I have ever made. It is FULL of flavor and is soft and chewy with a delicious cheesy surface. Whether you use it to sop up a great sauce…or slice it for a sandwich, this recipe is a winner. The smell of it baking will bring your family running to the table.
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella shredded
1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Mix first 9 ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix in warm milk and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (it will take just a couple minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let this sit in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Punch down and place on a greased baking sheet. Pat dough out into a rectangle about ½” thick. Brush top with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let this sit for about 30 minutes. With 2 fingers, make dents every few inches over surface of focaccia. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove to a rack.

This hearty bread also makes an excellent sandwich.

Make sure you pop over to Tried and True Cooking With Heidi
She is giving away a prize to celebrate her 100th post.

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BACON WRAPPED SHRIMP

Your guests will never guess how simple these shrimp are to make and YOU will be amazed how quickly they disappear; they are an absolutely delicious hors d’oeuvre.

(1) 16 ounce bag of frozen 16-20 count RAW shrimp (see note)
1 pound of smoked bacon (not the thick kind)
1 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce

In our Fred Meyer store, these shrimp are sold frozen (near the meat case). The one pound package says they are 16-20 count “Wild Caught” with shell on and heads off. Let them thaw in your fridge overnight. The next day, remove the shell (leave tails on). With a small sharp knife, make a shallow cut down the back of the shrimp and rinse out any “vein” you see there. Drain the shrimp on a paper towel and sit in fridge for a few minutes while you prepare the bacon.

If you use the 16-20 count shrimp (16 to 20 shrimp per pound), it will take a whole slice of bacon per shrimp. Make sure you use regular cut bacon (not thick sliced). Partially cook it, to remove some of the fat, but don’t let it get crispy (drain on paper towels). It should look like this:

Wrap the partially cooked bacon around the raw shrimp. Starting at the wide end of the shrimp, attach the bacon to the shrimp with a toothpick. Wind the bacon around (in a single thickness) and all the way down to the tail and secure it with another toothpick like this:
Baste the shrimp on both sides with your favorite barbeque sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.

Line a large baking sheet with foil (to help with cleanup) and put a baking rack on the foil (spray the rack with cooking spray). Place the shrimp on the rack and bake in a PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, TURN OFF THE OVEN (do not open the door) and let the shrimp sit in the hot oven for another five minutes. Remove the toothpicks and enjoy!

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