frosting

Caramel-Bacon Spice Cake

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? The Daily Special: Caramel-Bacon Spice Cake! For the sweet and savory child inside all of us, this recipe takes the cake. It is a combination of salty, sugary, and spicy…in every bite. Your mouth will think you’re at the circus being stimulated by all the contrasting flavors! Amazingly, they come together with moist results. Hop on board and take a ride with this incredible treat. 

CARAMEL-BACON SPICE CAKE

Ingredients for Cake:

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/3 cup butter

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl beat eggs, milk, and vanilla until blended. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. On low speed, slowly alternate the egg mixture and the dry mixture until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 9″x13″ pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. 

Bacon-Caramel Frosting:

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2 ounces bacon bits 

In a medium saucepan, mix brown sugar, milk, and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and beat until creamy. It should be thick enough to spread on the cake. Top with crisp, crumbled bacon. 

Vanilla Frosting-Dipped Fruit & Cookies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Home Cooking: Vanilla Frosting-Dipped Fruit and Cookies!  Sometimes providing a last minute dessert is easier than you think. The trick is making others believe you spent hours creating such a masterpiece. Choose your favorite fruit, cookies, and frosting. (Now some may really need to cut corners and buy the ready-made frosting as well. I’ll pretend that doesn’t happen so I can share my easy buttercream frosting recipe with you today.)

VANILLA FROSTING-DIPPED FRUIT & COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries, whole with stems

1 package Strawberry Macaroons

2 ounces white nonpareils

12 bamboo skewers

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1-2 tablespoons milk, warmed

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar on low speed with hand mixer. Gradually add extracts. Blend until smooth. Add enough milk to keep it creamy, but not runny. Spoon a portion into a small microwave-safe dish and warm frosting 10 seconds in the microwave. While the frosting is warm, dip a piece of fruit or a cookie into the bowl. Using a swirling motion, rotate each piece to cover. Immediate dip into the nonpareils to coat. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat until all desired pieces are covered. Refrigerate for half an hour or until firm. 

Rainbow Cookies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Simple Sensations: Rainbow Cookies! Wouldn’t it be nice to tap your ruby slippers together and have a super-easy delicious dessert? You can. Even Dorothy and her friends would find these yummy morsels “no-place-like-home” irresistible.  What a great kid-friendly recipe when school’s out for summer!

RAINBOW COOKIES 

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

12-ounce bag of mini M&M candies

15.6-ounce can Buttercream icing

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, and oil until moistened. Reserve 1/2 cup M&M candies for decorating. Then gently fold in remaining mini morsels. Form little balls with the dough and place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Remove from cookie sheet and cool slightly on wire racks. Spread frosting over warm cookies and immediately sprinkle each cookie with remaining mini M&M candies. 

Mexican Spiced Brownies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen?  Mexican Spiced Brownies!  Olé!  If you’re as crazy about adding a “kick” to your palate, look no further. (And if you’re not, the recipe can be modified.)  The wild ride adrenaline rush you get from chili peppers can be addictive.  I like the fact that your immune system can get a boost. The color of red chili peppers signals its high content of beta-carotene or pro-vitamin A. Combine the chili with dark chocolate and there you have it…..permission to eat brownies!

MEXICAN SPICED BROWNIES

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or a smidgen of cayenne pepper)

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt the butter and add to the sugar.  Stir until blended.  Add the eggs, vanilla, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon powder to the sugar mixture. Mix well. Slowly add the flour and cocoa powder.  Stir until smooth.  Pour into a greased 9 x 9 pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

***For regular brownies, omit crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. 

Chocolate Icing:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder

2 tablespoons butter, softened 

1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

2 tablespoons warm milk

Gently mix butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder until smooth.  Stir in vanilla extract and milk until frosting is of spreading consistency. Spread evenly on cooled brownies. Sprinkle top with semi-sweet mini chocolate morsels.

Lemon Citrus Cookies

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Lemon Citrus Cookies. With the arrival of Springtime comes the refreshing citrus flavor of this season’s lemons. Even if you’re not a fan, think about the benefits to your immune system. And then have another cookie…..or two. 

LEMON CITRUS COOKIES 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/4 cups flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat well. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. When blended, add salt, baking powder, and flour. Mix together into dough. Roll cookies into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges of the cookies.

Lemon Icing:

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened 

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

2 tablespoons milk

In a large bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in lemon extract and milk; beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel. 

Spread evenly on cooled cookies; top with yellow sprinkles. 

Mincemeat Cookies

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Mincemeat Cookies! When my friend, Ray, “gifted” me with a batch of his time-honored traditional homemade mincemeat, I felt as though I had received a portion of the Holy Grail. Could this secret from the past hold special powers? Would one bite provide happiness, eternal youth, and food in infinite abundance? You tell me. Ray carefully coached me on how to “season” the mixture by adding flavored brandy (I chose apricot) over a three-week period, stirring it occasionally in a covered clay crock. I was an awestruck student following his instructions to the letter. The results were phenomenal and elegant. Don’t let anyone tell you mincemeat is awful. When prepared correctly, some things are worth the wait. 

MINCEMEAT COOKIES

Ingredients for Cookies:

2/3 cup butter, softened 

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup mincemeat* 

2 cups flour

1 cup pecans, chopped 

Pecan halves for garnish

Ingredients for Icing:

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons butter, softened 

1 tablespoon apricot brandy

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1-2 tablespoons warm milk, as needed

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add eggs and mincemeat. Gradually stir in the flour. Fold in chopped pecans. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until tops of cookies are dry and set. Bottoms will be slightly golden. Remove from oven. Transfer to a wired rack. Frost while slightly warm. Top each cookie with a pecan half before frosting sets. 

Instructions for Icing:

In a medium bowl gently mix powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Add brandy and vanilla. Stir well. As needed, add warm milk to create a thick consistency. Place a dollop of icing on each cookie.  Garnish with pecan half. 

*The “Elegant Homemade Mincemeat” recipe can be found in the 1972 Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, page 371.

Valentine State-of-Mind

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Time To Eat: Valentine State-Of-Mind! There’s no need to wait for February every year for “My Heart” sugar cookies. Anytime you want to share the love with friends and family, coworkers and neighbors, whip up a batch and see the magic. Sugar cookies are delectable simply because their buttery goodness is slightly sweet, soft, and chewy with hints of vanilla and almond. They practically melt in your mouth. And the sprinkles……talk about a way to lift your mood. The visual alone creates giggles and laughter. You’ll see.

VALENTINE STATE-OF-MIND

Ingredients for Cookies:

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 large egg yolks

2 1/4 cups flour

Ingredients for Frosting:

1 ounce cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk, as needed

Pink Sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and egg yolks until blended. Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing as you go, until just combined. Shape dough into a ball. Place on top of a baking mat and roll out to 1/4” thickness. Chill dough 15 minutes. Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, place cookies about an inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. While cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, combine together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add almond extract and salt. Stir. Add I cup of powdered sugar, followed by one tablespoon of milk until all the powdered sugar is used. Mix on high speed, using a hand mixer. For light and fluffy results repeat until all milk is used. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Add sprinkles, if desired. Store in an airtight container.

Xtreme Frosting Cinnamon Rolls

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Stir. Spread. Flip. Repeat: Xtreme Frosting Cinnamon Rolls! Does anyone, besides me, often wish there was more frosting in the prepared tube of cinnamon rolls? I mean, who doesn’t want more of the lusciously rich and fluffy sweet mixture? By doubling the amount of frosting per cinnamon roll, there’s never a debate over who is left craving more.

XTREME FROSTING CINNAMON ROLLS

Ingredients:

12-ounce tube cinnamon rolls

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

Bake cinnamon rolls according to package directions. Set aside. While cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the buttercream frosting. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and butter on low speed with a hand mixer. Stir in vanilla extract and one tablespoon milk. Gradually beat in remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. Pour over freshly baked cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.

Quazy Carrot Cake

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Sweet Celebrations: Quazy Carrot Cake! “What’s up, Doc?” is something we’ve all heard Bugs Bunny say more than once. You may find yourself asking the same question when you take a bite of this tasty version of Carrot Cake. It’s loaded with fresh carrots, pineapple tidbits, and chopped pecans. The crowning moment comes when you smack your lips together over the wonderful cream cheese icing. I have seen expressions of jubilation over this award-winning dessert. Treat yourself to something special this weekend.

QUAZY CARROT CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 cups carrots, grated

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup pecans, chopped

Ingredients for Icing:

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces Neufchâtel cheese, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9″x13″ pan with nonstick oil. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add oil, eggs, carrots, pineapple, and nuts. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Transfer to baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until done. Meanwhile, cream together the butter and Neufchâtel cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. When cake is cool, top with cream cheese icing. Garnish with a pecan half.