Crumb Cake

Just like the fudge recipes, I have over 10 recipes for crumb or coffee cakes. They are all very different from each other. I wish I could talk to the people who wrote up the recipes to see if I'm doing it right... because this crumb cake turned out rather dense. I do like it, however. I think it is mainly due to the "dash of  nutmeg". This crumb cake has a very Christmas-y taste.

The recipe says to bake this for "about 1 hour", but I only baked mine for 40 minutes. I think baking it for a shorter amount of time may allow it to retain more moisture. The batter is very thick and sticky, so I'm not sure. Let me know if you try this recipe and how it turns out!

Crumb Cake(Printer-friendly PDF Version)
1 C sugar
3 T melted butter
2 eggs
1 C milk
1 t vanilla
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
dash of nutmeg
3 C flour

Cream together the sugar, butter, and eggs.

Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the baking powder, salt, dash of nutmeg, and flour. Mix well. Pour batter into a 8 inch x 12 inch pan

Crumb Mixture
6 T sugar
4 T melted butter
4 T flour
1 T cinnamon

Mix together. Sprinkle on top of the batter.

Bake at 350 for "about 1 hour" or until done. (Keep an eye on it so it doesn't over bake!)

Chocolate Crinkles

These cookies are amazing if you like chocolate. They almost taste like brownie bites covered in powdered sugar. I actually prefer these instead of brownies!

This recipe comes from a cookbook that a friend gave me many, many years ago. I have made these every Christmas since receiving the cook book. They are pretty awesome, you should give this recipe a try!

Chocolate Crinkles (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (melted, cooled)
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 C sugar
2 t vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
2 C flour
a small bowl full of powdered sugar (around 1/2 a cup)

Put the chocolate, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer. Mix well until it is well blended and gritty.

Mix in the eggs one at a time. This will make the batter smooth.

Add the salt, baking powder, and flour. The salt is important to add since it helps bring out the chocolate flavor! Mix until well blended. The dough will very soft and sticky.

Place the cookie dough into a plastic storage container and chill completely in the refrigerator. I usually chill the batter overnight. Three or four hours should do fine, though.

After the dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator. Acquire your bowl full of powdered sugar.

Roll the cookie down into balls and cover them completely with powdered sugar. I recommend filling three cookie sheets with cookie dough balls and then placing the container of dough back in the refrigerator. The dough will be soft and sticky quickly!

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for a minute before removing to a cooling rack. The cooling for a minute is optional, but makes them less likely to fall apart!

The cookie sheet will probably have a circle of baked cookie residue on it after you remove the cookies. Gently scrape this off before adding more cookie dough to it.

I think this made approximately 5 dozen cookies.

Note: I use the Nestle pre-melted baking chocolate.

Lemon Bars

I love lemons. Lemon Jolly Ranchers were my favorite candy until they rudely stopped making them. Oddly, I'm not really a fan of lemon bars. These are good, though. I'm told the lemon flavor is not overwhelming. The flavor and texture are just right. The top is a bit crispy, the middle is gooey, and the crust balances the flavor.

This is the recipe that my grandma made for many family dinners and events. I remember seeing them all the time on the dessert table, but I never tried them. Lemon and a pie crust don't seem like an amazing combination to me, but a lot of people love lemon bars. If you are one of those people, make this recipe. You won't regret it!

Lemon Bars (Printer-friendly PDF Version)
2 C flour
1/2 C powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 C shortening
4 eggs
2 C sugar
4 T lemon juice
1 T flour
1 lemon rind grated (optional)
extra powdered sugar for sprinkling

Stir together the 2 C flour, powered sugar, and salt with a fork. Add the shortening. Cut the shortening into the flour with the fork until well blended and crumbly (similar to making pie crust). If you have a pastry blender, that can be used instead of a fork.

Pour the flour crumbs into a greased 9x13 pan. Press the flour crumbs down evenly. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until just browned.

When the crust has about 5 minutes left to bake, beat the eggs until light and bubbly. Gradually beat in the sugar. Mix in the flour and lemon juice.

Remove the crust from the oven and pour the lemon mixture on top. Return to the oven for 25 minutes. The top will brown and it may even crack.

After baking, let the pan of lemon bars cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

When mostly cooled, cut into bars with a sharp knife and remove with a spatula. Let cool completely on a plate.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Here marks recipe 2 in the "count down to Christmas baking" series of posts. Delicious peanut butter cookies. They are also known as "criss-cross cookies", in case you didn't know. At least they are according to my boyfriend. He sometimes is correct.

This is the peanut butter cookie recipe I grew up with. No other recipe can compare. If you over-bake them, however, they will get rock hard and hurt your teeth. Try to avoid doing that, okay? Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies (Printer-friendly PDF Version)

1 C shortening

1 C granulated sugar

1 C brown sugar (packed)

1 C peanut butter

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

2 1/2 C flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

First, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the shortening, sugars, and peanut butter.

Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until just combined.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining half of the flour mixture.

Form the dough into small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten the dough balls by pressing a criss-cross pattern into them with a fork dipped in flour.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet a minute or two before placing the cookies on a cooling rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies. 

Towel Catnip Heart Cat Toy

Tess loves towels. Whenever towels are being folded, she's right there and ready to steal one to cuddle. I have a few old towels and wash cloths, so it was time to turn one of those into a toy for Tess! She appreciated it immensely!

Materials Needed:

old towel or wash cloth

paper and pencil (or printer)

scissors

marker

pins

needle and thread

Fiberfil

catnip

First, draw a heart slightly larger than you want the finished toy to be. If you can't draw a heart to your satisfaction, feel free to use the template below! Simply click the image, save to your computer, then resize it before printing.

Cut out the heart template. Trace the heart onto the towel or wash cloth with your marker. Fold or wash cloth in half (or cut out the two hearts separately!). If you fold the material, pin the two layers together to prevent shifting to make cutting easier.

Pin the two heart pieces together along the outside edge.

Sew along the edges, leaving approximately 2 inches open. I decided to hand sew and used a backstitch, but you can use a machine if you want!

Turn the heart right-side out. Stuff the heart with a mixture of Fiberfil and catnip. Pin the open edges together and sew closed.

Present the toy to your very lucky cat!