Puppy Chow

This recipe came from the Burlington Welsh Male Chorus cookbook. The name alone was so interesting I just had to try it. It is a wonderful snack. I made 1/2 the recipe which Dan ate before I could take a photo. So another batch was made today and I took the photo right then.

Puppy Chow

Ingredients:

1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
8 - 9 cups Crispex cereal
2 cups icing sugar

Directions:

In medium sized bowl over simmering water.
Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter, until smooth.
In a large bowl add Crispex Cereal.
Pour melted chocolate mixture over cereal.
Toss lightly to coat cereal.
In a paper bag add icing sugar and put cereal mixture in, and shake to coat. (I tried this and decided to just add the icing sugar to the bowl of cereal mixture and toss lightly. It seemed to work fine. Found the bag a bit messy.)
Store in air tight container.

Pear Cinnamon Streusel Squares

This recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens; The Ultimate Cookie Book. You can use apples with this recipe as well. I did not have cinnamon chips so I used milk chocolate chips. This is a wonderful bar for a snack or a dessert you can serve company. Next time I would reduce white sugar to 3/4 cup as I did find them a bit sweet.

Pear Cinnamon Streusel Squares

Ingredients:

Base:

2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/4 cups large flake oatmeal
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter

Custard:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar(Next time I would use 3/4 cup)
2 tbsp. unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups chopped pears (peeled and cored)(or apples)
3/4 cinnamon flavor baking pieces (used milk chocolate chips)
Powdered sugar icing

Powdered sugar:

In small bowl stir together 1 cup icing sugar and 1 tbsp. milk. Add milk until drizzle consistency.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.
Lightly grease 9 X 13 baking dish. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Using pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Take out 1 1/2 cups of this mixture for the topping.
Press the remainder into the bottom of the 9 X 13 baking pan.
Bake for 15 minutes.

In mixer bowl add eggs and white sugar and beat until smooth and sugar is dissolved.
Add 2 tbsp. flour, baking powder and salt. Mix just to combine.
Remove bowl from mixer and stir in pears (apples) and add cinnamon chips(or whatever you choose to add)
Spread this mixture gently over hot base.
Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over pear mixture.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
Cool in pan on wire rack.
Cut into squares.
Drizzle with Powdered sugar icing.

Chocolate Chip Or/And Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

I have had this recipe for years. The cookies are delicious, flaky, because of putting the oats into the food processor. Daniel's favorite is made with raisins. But, make them with the chocolate chips and raisins it is just a perfect combination.

Chocolate Chip Or/And Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup coconut
2 cups rolled oats (Put into food processor and grind until mixture resembles coarse crumbs)
1 cup oil
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup raisins
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven 350º.
In medium size bowl combine flour and salt, whisk together.
Mix in oatmeal and coconut.
Mix oil and brown sugar together.
Dissolve baking soda in boiling water.
Stir into oil and brown sugar.
Add vanilla.
Add flour to oil mixture and salt.
Stir in raisins/chocolate chips.
Drop onto baking sheet and flatten with fork dipped in cold water.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Yields 6 dozen cookies.

Tres Leches Cake

We have seen tres leches cake on a few blogs and decided to give it a try. We liked the cake, but felt it needed something and made a strawberry sauce to put over the cake. Even though we did like this cake I do not think I would make it again.

Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients:

Soft butter, for baking dish

6 large eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1 cup unbleached flour

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp. icing sugar

Strawberry Sauce:

1 cup strawberries, cut up and stemmed
1/8 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325° .
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs yolks and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks.
Using a rubber spatula, fold whites into yolks until almost combined.
Gently fold in flour (do not over-mix).

Spread batter in prepared dish.
Bake until golden and pulling away from sides of dish, 20 to 25 minutes.
Using a small knife, scrape skin from top of cake; discard.
Cool cake for 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the three milks; pour evenly over cake.
Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to one day.

To serve, prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream with sugar to soft peaks.
Chill cake and cut into squares; serve toped with whipped cream.

Strawberry Sauce

Combine sugar and strawberries into a medium size pot.
Stew down until sugar dissolves.
Cool.
Spoon over cake with whipped cream.

Blueberry Rhubarb Pie

We decided to try blueberries with rhubarb for this pie. Well, what can I say.....YES!!! It is a wonderful combination.
The pie dough recipe is the one we use regularly. It is really the best dough I have ever had. It is light and flaky.

Blueberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries
10 stalks rhubarb, cut up
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup corn starch

Strussel topping:

2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup butter

Prepare the pie dough of your choice: We use The Perfect Pie Dough.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.
Cut up rhubarb into bit size pieces and place into medium sized bowl, add blueberries.
Toss gentle to combine.
Add sugar, cinnamon and corn starch and mix to coat.
Pour into prepared pie shell.

In a medium size bowl combine the topping ingredients and combine until forms little pea size pieces.
Place the topping on the pie and bake.

Bake at 350º for 40 to 50 minutes.

Serve warm or cool.