Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Here is a very easy Christmas treat.  There is minimal baking and all you need is patience and a steady hand.  The cookies use square pretzels, Hershey’s Hugs and Christmas M & M’s.  I found the recipe on Pinterest from Jaclyn of Cooking Classy.

It makes 70 treats.  We will be taking these to North Carolina for the Grandkids.  I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with special hugs from me.  May you have a magical time with your loved ones.

Card designed by The Green Kangaroo.  Photo by Azul Photography.

CHRISTMAS PRETZEL HUGS

70 Square pretzels (Do not use Butter Snaps)
70 Hershey’s Hugs, unwrapped
70 milk chocolate M & M’s. (I used Christmas ones)

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Align pretzels on cookie sheet in a single layer then top each pretzel with one Hershey’s Hug chocolate. Bake in preheated oven for 4 – 5 minutes, until the chocolate is shiny and soft (but NOT melting, the chocolates should still hold their shape).
• Remove from oven and carefully place one M&M in the center of each soft Hug and press down on M&M to spread the chocolate. Place in refrigerator and allow to rest until chocolate has set, about 5 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
• Printable recipe

Santa Baby may find these cookies to his liking.  They are not too sweet and have a strong citrusy tang that will keep him going on his rounds.  We will be spending Christmas with the grandkids and their parents this year.  It means a trip back to North Carolina, but it is so worth it.  Christmas through a child’s eyes can’t be beat.

 Baking cookies has not been high on my holiday priority list this year.  Since I am trying to simplify and relax this year, baking sweets seemed to be an obvious task to relegate to the “I’ll get around to it when I can” list.  Well, I found time this week on a sunny afternoon.  Gifts were ordered on line, the tree was up, wreaths on the door and cards were mailed.  Butter, flour and sugar were calling my name.

These are very easy cookies to assemble.  I didn’t have time or the inclination to do anything more complicated.  They are also very good, even though someone in the family would have preferred chocolate.  That will be coming up next.

GLAZED CITRUS ROUNDS ( The Food Network Magazine)

Makes about 30 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated citrus zest (orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit)
2 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon orage extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh citrus juice (use the same kind as the zest)

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.  Add the granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon citrus zest and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat i the egg and orange extracts.  Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough forms.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.  Freeze at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake the cookies straight from the freezer, 1 baking sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the bottoms are lightly browned, 15 to 17 minutes.  Let cool 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons citrus juice and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon zest in a medium bowl until thick and smooth.  (Add 1 more tablespoon citrus juice if the glaze is too thick.)  Spread on the cookies; transfer to a rack and let set, about 1 hour.

Printable Recipe

Why not shake things up a bit for Thanksgiving this year.  As much as I love pie, there are some in our family who would rather have cake.  Let them eat cake. This apple spice cake with a caramel frosting would make the perfect alternative.  I found this recipe on a website called Crunchy Creamy Sweet.   Anna has come up with a wonderfully easy bundt cake with an effortless caramel frosting.  I love bundt cakes.  But if you have ever had a problem with them releasing from the pan, worry no more.  Cooks Illustrated has come up with a great tip.  Simply combine 1 tablespoon of softened butter with 1 tablespoon of flour.  Using a pastry brush, paint the whole interior of the bundt pan with the mixture and the cake will pop right out when it is done.

The only thing I would have done differently with this cake, would be to thin the frosting a little bit.  It was suggested in the directions, but I did not feel at the time that it was necessary to add more milk.  But the frosting thickens a little as it cools.  Just be aware of this.

I still plan on making a pumpkin pie and an apple pie for Thanksgiving.  But a cake this easy is well worth your time.

APPLE BUNDT CAKE WITH CARAMEL FROSTING

For the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apples

For the Frosting:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cups chopped pecans

Prepare the 10 cup bundt pan:  In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon melted butter (cool) with 1 tablespoon flour.  With a pastry brush (or by using your fingers) grease the bundt pan.  Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl place granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla.  Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until combined.  The batter will be thick.  Stir in chopped apples.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan.  Place a large plate over the top of the pan and invert the cake onto the plate.  Let cool completely.

To make the frosting:
In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter and milk.  Whisking constantly, bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla ad cool for 10 minutes.  Add sugar.  Whisk until drizzling consistency.  If the frosting is too thick, add more milk.  Drizzle over the cake.  Sprinkle chopped pecans over the almost set frosting.

  Printable recipe

I refuse to call this a pumpkin dump cake, but that is really what it is;  a pumpkin mixture, topped with a yellow cake mix, topped with pecans and coconut and then melted butter.  Plain pumpkin cake sounds so much better.  But whatever you call it, it is easy and delicious.  This is one of those desserts that you can throw together at the last minute with pantry ingredients.  This time of year a pumpkin dessert is always welcomed.

This cake first got my notice when it was given to me by one of my friends for a cookbook that we were putting together.  Our self-published cookbook has a pride of place on my cookbook shelf.  It contains the favorite recipes of all of my high school friends and was compiled twenty years after we graduated.  We had fun doing it and I find myself referring to it quite often.

I made this cake for my Son’s new girlfriend years ago.  It was her birthday and the ingredients were what I had on hand.  She loved it.  That girlfriend turned into my daughter-in-law, Kristen.  Kristen even shared the recipe with her family and it became a Thanksgiving tradition in their homes.  It is heartwarming when a recipe can make good memories.  So thank you to Carolyn for sharing her recipe in our cookbook.  Each time I make something from the cookbook, I am reminded of my good friends from years past.

CAROLYN’S EASY PUMPKIN CAKE

29 ounce can pumpkin puree (Not pumpkin pie filling)
12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 box yellow cake mix, about 3 cups (You can make your own cake mix if you prefer.  Here is the recipe.
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup butter, melted
1 carton Cool Whip or Whipped cream

Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs, and salt together.  Pour into 9X13 greased pan.  Sprinkle 1 box of yellow cake mix over pumpkin.  Sprinkle on chopped nuts and coconut.  Pour melted butter over top and bake at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes.  Serve topped with cool whip or whipped cream.

 Printable recipe

As part of a nostalgia trip, I have decided to share some of my oldie but goodies posts.  I have been at this blogging business for many years and have even surprised myself with some of the recipes I have posted.  I need to make these delicious Boston Cream Pancakes again!  Enjoy.

Do any of you remember Long Johns?  No, not the underwear version.  I am talking about the doughnuts. When I was young, my Father would always go to the local bakery on Sunday mornings and come home with a bag of doughnuts.  There would be cinnamon twists, elephant ears, round jelly filled doughnuts and, my favorite, long johns.

Long Johns are a cake-like doughnut with a pastry cream filling and chocolate ganache smeared on top.  I adored them.  Recently I got a request from a family member who was going to be here for the Labor Day Weekend.  He asked if I would please, please make a recipe for Boston Cream Pancakes that he had seen online on the Country Cleaver website.  The pancakes are based on the Boston cream pie which was created by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian at Boston’s Parker House Hotel in 1856.

I made them for breakfast one morning during the Labor Day weekend but never got a picture because they were devoured so quickly.  All I could think of when I ate them were those wonderful long johns that I had eaten as a child.  The fluffy pancakes, the smooth pastry cream and the decadent chocolate ganache all conspired to bring the flood of memories back.  I tucked the leftover ganache and pastry cream in the freezer because I knew that they would be making a repeat performance in my kitchen.

We had them for breakfast again on this beautiful Saturday morning, a day after my birthday. They were a welcome indulgence.  Sometimes you just have to eat like you are a kid again and stop worrying about calories, fat and sugar and how old you really are.  The pancakes themselves are an easy combination of yellow cake mix and Bisquick.  They are light and fluffy.  The pastry cream can be made way in advance and the chocolate ganache is easy.  I would recommend these pancakes to you for any special occasion, whether it be for a birthday or just because  it is a sunny day.  Indulge!

BOSTON CREAM PANCAKES (Country Cleaver Website)

ingredients:

directions: