Biscuits

Gage LOVES biscuits. Every time we go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast he orders them- and he's very particular about how he eats them. He eats one with butter and one with jam- but he puts the butter or jam on top, not in the middle. He's always happy when I make biscuits at home. These are quick and tender and yummy.

2 1/2 Cups Self Rising Flour - Make certain that it is Self Rising Flour! 
2 teaspoons of Sugar
1/2 cup of Butter - Cold, cut into pieces
3/4 to 1 cup (or more) of milk


Preheat your oven to 450F

Stir together your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl:
2 1/2 cups Self Rising Flour
2 Teaspoons of Sugar

Using pastry blender or fork, cut in  1/2 cup butter until mixture is crumbly

Stir in 3/4 to 1 cup of Buttermilk until dough leaves side of bowl.   If dough is dry, add buttermilk a teaspoon at a time until it looks right.  

Gently roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut biscuits into 1.5 inch (or whatever size you want) circles and place them on a cookie sheet.

When the oven is at temperature, put the cookie sheet with the approximately 10 to 12 biscuits into the oven at 450. Bake 10 minutes of until golden brown. 

Freeze leftover biscuits. 

Fancy Frozen Drinks

Equal parts raspberry (or whatever flavor you like) and sparkling apple cider. We make this for New Year's Eve and it's festive and delicious.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake

I made these cupcakes for a relief society dinner where the dessert was a table full of cupcakes. These were such a hit, I've never had so many people ask me for a recipe before. Pretty looking and so so delicious.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Cupcake:

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

    1 tsp baking soda

    ¼ tsp salt

    ½ cup granulated sugar

    ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

    4 tbsp room temperature butter

    1 room temperature large egg

    1 tsp vanilla

    ½ cup lukewarm water

    ¼ cup buttermilk

    Mini reese’s peanut butter cups

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, beat the sugars and butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the water and buttermilk. Add the flour mixture beating on low speed until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat on medium-high speed just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not overeat.

Fill each muffin cup about half full.  Add a reese’s cup to each cup. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting: 

    4 tbsp room temperature butter

    2 tbsp milk

    Pinch salt

    2 tbsp cocoa

    1 ¾ cups powdered sugar

Mix with beaters until fluffy and smooth and spoon into one side of a pastry bag.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

    4 tbsp room temperature butter

    2 tbsp milk

    Pinch salt

    ¼ cup peanut butter

    1 ¾ cups powdered sugar

Mix with beaters until fluffy and smooth and spoon into other side of a pastry bag. Frost cupcakes and top each with reese’s cup pieces.

Salt Dough Ornaments

We made these several years ago and we still hang them on the tree every year. They hold up really well and are super cute.

Recipe:
2 cups flour, plus more for surface
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water

1. Combine flour and salt. Slowly mix in water. Knead for 7-10 minutes on a floured surface. Roll out to 3/8-inch thickness. Freeze for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Use cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Insert screw eyes at top of shapes (I just poked holes to tie a string through.) Freeze for 30 minutes. Bake for 4-6 hours. Let cool.

3. Mix craft glue and craft paint to desired color. Outline shape with colored glue and then "flood," or fill in, the surface with colored glue. (For most of mine I just used a paint brush and painted a thick coat on.) For a solid glitter effect, coat paint/glue immediately with glitter. For a layered look, let first coat of glue dry overnight, then apply a second color for details, adding tinsel or glitter as desired. Use wire or hooks to hang.

Sparkly salt dough ornaments.

Kirsten's Cookies

I wanted a really easy to remember cookie recipe and came up with these. They are my favorite chocolate chip cookie and they're the base for almost every kind of cookie I make. They are soft, brown sugary, and perfect. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies 

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter at room temperature 
1 cup brown sugar 
1 tablespoon vanilla 
1 egg 
2 cups flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 bag of Hershey's Mini Kisses 

Mix the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg until smooth. Mix in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix in the chocolate chips. Bake rounded tablespoons of dough for 10-13 minutes (depending on preferred doneness) at 350 degrees. Cool for a few minutes before removing from pan- they're kind of fragile. Makes 2 dozen. 

*** Add 2/3 cup peanut butter with the wet ingredients for some crazy good, and rich, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. 

Broccoli Chicken Cheese Soup

Years ago, before the kids were born, I went to a relief society dinner with my mom. They served soup and salad and included the recipes for this soup and some really yummy salad dressing on the program. This soup is so good. It's pretty and satisfying and delicious. 

Serves 10-12 

3-4 cups water with chicken boul. or 3 cups chicken broth 
5 skinned chicken breasts 
3 large carrots, diced 
3 stalks celery, chopped fine 
1 medium onion, diced 
1/2 cup butter 
1/2 cup flour 
4 cups (1 quart) whole milk 
1 1/2 pounds precooked and drained broccoli 
15 oz. jar cheez whiz 

Boil chicken in 3 cups of broth with carrots, celery, and onion for 1 hour. Remove chicken and veggies. Save 2-3 cups of broth. Set the chicken aside to cool and cut or shred into pieces to be added later. In a large pot, melt butter and stir in flour. Slowly add milk and saved broth. Add veggies, chicken and broccoli. Heat all together and then add cheez whiz. Great in bread bowls. 

Enjoy!

No Knead Bread

I am so so glad I stumbled upon this recipe. It is easy and is one of the few recipes that has turned out every single time I've made it. And I've made it a lot. Also one of the few that the whole family loves.

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups water

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Cover with the bowl it was mixed in, let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Gently flop dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is fine. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another few minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

*Also really great with add ins. Just add extra ingredients when making the dough. My favorite is a couple tablespoons of chopped rosemary with a few cloves of garlic.

It's also good when you add things into the dough before it rises. I like to add minced garlic and rosemary.