Dairy Free Peppermint Cupcakes and other desserts

The past few weeks Adria has complained of a stomach ache - more so than usual. We have suspected she is lactose intolerant like Ryan for awhile now, and she had been taking the same pills he takes, but she still complained a fair amount. We finally took her to the doctor and he said she needed to go a dairy free diet for 2 weeks. At the end of 2 weeks we can try her on some hard aged cheese. If she does ok with that, we will know it's a lactose intolerant problem. But if that bothers her stomach than it's a milk protein allergy. So the 2 weeks ends on Christmas day, but in the meantime we have been working on diary free food for her. She isn't very happy about it! We have tried to find substitutes that she can eat: Dairy free (AKA vegan butter), dairy free whipped cream (coconut milk), and dairy free chocolate (Trader Joes). After some internet searches we found Earth Balance buttery sticks are the best for cooking and so far they've been great- I have a gingerbread cake in the oven right now made with it, and I used it for all the other recipes too. 

So for Christmas Adria wanted a panettone. We had bought one before we found out about doing the dairy free diet and it has milk in it. So I made some instead. I tried 2 different recipes. They both turned out great. The hard part was making my own Panettone molds. I did that with some card board, staples and flour glue. I go the idea from this website here. I tried a recipe from Zoe Francois. She has published several cook books and I have watched some Craftsy classes she taught. The second recipe I tried was from King Arthur Flour. They both turned out well. But they both really browned. I think next time I will cover them with foil sooner. I did use a thermometer to make sure they were cooked to 190 degrees. 

We are going to John and Andrea's house for a Christmas Party tonight. Grandma Andrea always buys whatever dessert they have at Costco and they aren't milk free. So I told Adria I would make here whatever dessert she wanted. She wanted cupcakes with frosting. I didn't think she really liked chocolate that much, but I was wrong- that is the one thing she has complained about the most during the last week or two. She's not a dark chocolate fan either but I think she's learning to like it more now that she can't have milk. Last night she said the Trader Joe's chocolate was really good. 

Adria asked for vanilla cupcakes and chocolate frosting. I suggested adding peppermint and she thought would be great - with CANDY CANE Sprinkles! 

Cupcakes

1 and 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp white vinegar

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the soy milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and mix briefly to remove any big lumps. Line a 12-cupcake tray with cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Peppermint Frosting 

I used this as a guide, but mostly just added stuff until I had enough frosting that tasted like we wanted -Pretty much how I always make frosting. 

1/4 cup vegan butter

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

3 to 4 Tbsp soy milk 

Crushed candy canes

Cream the powdered sugar with the butter. Add the cocoa powder and peppermint extract. Mix well. Add milk a little at a time to get the right consistence for frosting. Add more sugar if needed and more cocoa powder if you want a darker chocolate flavor. Put frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. 

Since I made these on our anniversary, Ryan bought me a cupcake holder for an anniversary gift! I told him that's what I wanted. 

Thanksgiving Desserts - Pecan Pie Bars and Cranberry Apple Cake

We spent Thanksgiving in Spokane WA with Elizabeth and Family. We even got to see Steven and Kellie and family while we were there. We made some yummy desserts for Thanksgiving- I've had them sitting on my desk for nearly a month waiting to post them but it never quite happened- so here they are now!

The pecan pie bars I got from Leslie Hegseth who moved here from CA. We had a welcome to the neighborhood party in August and she brought these. I LOVED them, so of course I had to have the recipe. I got brave and asked her for it and this is what she sent me:

Ingredients:
Crust-
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Topping-
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with foil leaving enough for a 2 inch overhang on all sides. 

First make the crust by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in flour and salt and mix until crumbly. Press the crust into the foil lined pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. 

While the crust bakes prepare the filling by combining the butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a saucepan, stirring it over medium heat. Simmer the mixture for 1 minute, then stir in the chopped nuts. 

Remove the crust from the oven and immediately pour the pecan filling over the hot crust spreading it to cover the entire surface. 

Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes. 

Remove the pan and allow to cool fully in the pan. Use the foil overhang to lift the bars out and transfer to cutting board. Peel off foil and cut. 

Enjoy!
Leslie

Everyone liked them so much- I only got 1 quick picture while they were still in the pan. 

The next recipe is one Libby and I found on the internet. She bought fresh cranberries to make sauce. But NO ONE likes sauce so we decided to do something else with them. We tried a Cranberry Apple Cake recipe from Ina Garten and it was really good. Libby said she likes recipes from Ina Garten and when the cake was done Rob said he really liked it.

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced - we used what ever we had
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges) - We used clementines
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice - clementines again
1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.
Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We had a great time and didn't even miss the pies! They were still in the freezer and we never ate them. Thanks for the fun Elizabeth and Rob!

Halloween White Chili

This year for Halloween, we didn't do our traditional invite everyone over to our house party. It was different to not have the whole family over here, but with Justin and Ashlee living in a new neighborhood with sidewalks and kids I thought they'd prefer to go there and Olivia and Jessica have been trying to split time between there neighborhoods and ours for a few years. My girls don't want to stick around with cousins anyway- they want to do off with their friends. So Ryan and I hung out at home and handed out candy by ourselves - while working on bagpipes- but that's a different story.

Anyway, every year I make my traditional chili recipe - which isn't a recipe at all. You buy cans of every and any flavor of beans, a couple of cans of beanless chili and a couple of cans of Italian style stewed tomatoes and dump them in the crock-pot and let them cook all day. Every year our neighborhood has a get together on Halloween for soup and bread before the kids go off to trick or treat. We have usually made a quick appearance at the party to say hello before going home to our own family party, but this year we went to their party instead. (It lasts less than an hour- just long enough to eat.) But they asked me to bring a chili type soup. I found this recipe on Just a Pinch and thought maybe I should make that- but since it was new I wasn't sure how it would turn out. And Adria said I should just make the same chili I always make. I ended up making both. It's a good thing too because this new chili was a HIT and the traditional chili didn't turn out as well as usual. I made it in a smaller older crock pot I have had since we got married- I don't think it got hot enough to thicken like it usually does- so I'm blaming the crock pot for that failure.  Everyone liked the white chili! Several neighbors asked for the recipe and Genna had it for breakfast this morning and Pierce took it to lunch- Always a win if the kids will eat it as leftovers at lunch!


If you know me, you know I had to make some changes to the recipe - so here it is:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion
2 clove garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 (7 oz) can chopped green chiles
3 (15.5 oz) cans white northern beans
2 (14oz) cans chicken broth
1 tsp salt - I think I added a little extra after I tasted it- but we use low sodium broth
1 tsp pepper - I didn't measure I just added some
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 c whipping cream
1 c sour cream - I didn't measure this either - just spooned some in- probably less than 1 cup.
Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Boil chicken until cooked and shred with a hand mixer. Meanwhile, chop the onion and finely dice the garlic. Saute onion, garlic and green chilies a large pan with the vegetable oil. Add the chili powder and shredded chicken. Mix until combined and then pour into the crock pot. Add the broth, beans (liquid too, although I partially drained 1 can because it seamed like a lot of liquid), cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours (I didn't really time it). During the last 30 to 60 minutes of cooking, stir in the whipping cream and sour cream. Serve hot sprinkled with cheese (and extra sour cream).

The only pics I have of the chili is the bowl Genna ate for breakfast this morning!

Pumpkin Cheese Ball and Halloween Chex Mix

Mom had her traditional Halloween party on Friday night. It was lots of fun. I made a chex snack mix that I have made 3 times already this month. I would have got a picture of it, but we eat it too fast. When I decided to make it for the party I couldn't find the recipe anywhere! I thought I had saved it somewhere or printed it but I couldn't find it anywhere - I even tried a Google search and came up with similar things but not the exact recipe. Luckily I had it still opened on a tab on my phone. So I thought I better post it before I loose it! The original is from Ease and Carrots, but of course I changed it up!

Halloween Chex Mix
6 cups Corn Chex
2 cups mini pretzels
1/2 cup  salted peanuts
3 tbsp butter
5 tsp honey
1/2 cup candy corn
1/3 cup candy pumpkins
1/3 cup Reese's Pieces

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Pour both Chex cereals, pretzels, and peanuts onto a lined baking sheet. Put 3 Tbsp butter into a glass measuring cup. Fill to the 1/2 cup line with honey (5 tpbs). Put in microwave for 30 to 60 seconds until butter melts. Stir together and pour over cereal mixture. Stir to coat evenly. Bake for approximately 45 min to 1 hour or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes. Pour mixture onto wax paper to cool or cool on cookie sheet. Mix in candy corn, pumpkins and Reese's Pieces.

Pumpkin Cheese Ball
1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened to room temp.
1 (7.5 oz.) tub vegetable cream cheese
2 tbsp. Hidden Valley Ranch mix
3 green onions, diced
1 red pepper, finely diced (save the stem)
2 or more cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Use electric mixer to combine the cream cheeses and ranch mix until smooth. Stir in green onion, red pepper and one cup shredded cheddar cheese. form into a ball in the bowl. Spread out a double layer of plastic wrap. sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese onto the plastic wrap. Place cheese ball onto of shredded cheese. Put remaining shredded cheese over the top and sides of the cheese ball. Then wrap tightly with the plactic wrap. Use 4 large rubber bands to put around the cheese ball to make pumpkin like indents. Then put cheese ball in the fridge to chill. I stuck mine in the freezer for about 20 minutes to get it started because I didn't have a lot of time left. It needs at least 2 hours in the fridge. The original recipe said overnight was best, but I didn't have that long and it turned out fine. When ready to serve, but the rubber bands off and remove plastic wrap. Push the pepper stem into the top of the "pumpkin." Serve with crackers.  It was a big hit at the party and what little I brought home was finished off by Pierce and his friends later that night. 

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Last Sunday I decided to make the second dessert Genna wanted for her birthday and take it to the party Ashlee was having for Addie (and all the October birthday girls!) Ashlee make the MOST delicious Biscoff cake- so we didn't really eat much of my pie. And unfortunately the topping didn't look great. But it tasted good. I planned on getting some better pics, but I forgot until after the pie was gone. We stored it in the freezer- it's great frozen and all week long everyone kept sneaking a piece out for dessert.

21 chocolate filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips about 2 cups
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Use a food processor to finely crush the cookies. Pour into a pie plate. Melt butter and pour over cookie crumbs. Mix until even and press into the pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 min. Then cool in freezer.

Put chocolate chips and 1 cup in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 min. May need to microwave an additional 30 seconds so chocolate is completely melted. Whisk until smooth. Add vanilla. Put over a larger bowl filled with ice to cool. Meanwhile beat the 1 and 1/2 cups cream with powdered sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture.

When crust is cool, fill with chocolate mixture and chill or freeze until ready to serve. I used my leftover mirror glaze to top it- but I didn't do a very good job making the filling smooth- so the topping wasn't smooth either.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Genna turned 14 this week! She wanted a party similar to the one she had last year with pizza and a movie and chocolate cake. We made Monster bark again. Mine never looks quite as nice as hers does, but it tastes good. I use more pretzels and less white chocolate coating - probably why it doesn't look as good, but I like the extra "stuff" in the chocolate.

We made pretzel pizza again. I found a new sauce to use! I was tired of the Campbell's soup - have you noticed all the canned soups taste the same- kind of salty and gross. I tried to decide what else we could use. I didn't really want to make a homemade cheese sauce- that didn't seem quite right either. I thought maybe I could use Velveeta. I have NEVER used Velveeta for anything, but I thought I'd try it. Anyway, when we went to the store to find Velveeta (and I had to ask someone where to find it in the store because I've never bought it) we found a bottle of Kroger cheese sauce next to the Velveeta that seemed like it might work. And it did! I think it turned better than the Campbell's sauce.

Genna wanted a chocolate cake for her birthday. I found several different recipes and showed her the pics and asked which she might like. There was a chocolate mousse pie that she thought looked good, but I wasn't sure if the rest of the party guests would like a mousse pie - and it wasn't really cake. I considered making the Nothing Bundt Cake copycat chocolate cake recipes, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to use a cake mix to make it. After all as Ryan reminded me it always tastes better from scratch! I had pinned a recipe for something called "Brickstreet Chocolate Cake" and after reading through it I realized it was really similar to the Nothing Bundt Cake one. I made a few changes so I could make it into a layer cake and I added a chocolate mousse filling - so Genna could still have the mousse part and added a chocolate mirror glaze- It turned our great!

Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 cups plus 3 Tbsp flour
5 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix (about 1/2 cup)
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I think next time I will use less or skip them all together.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray two 8x8 square pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Beat sugar, butter and vanilla in large bowl. Beat in eggs. Add soda, salt, chocolate pudding, buttermilk corn starch, and flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread evenly into the square pans and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Lower temperature to 325° and continue baking for about 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Then remove from pans and use cut each cake into 2 even layers when cake is no longer warm.

Chocolate Mousse (Next time I might double or 1 and 1/2 times this recipe)
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Put chocolate chips and 1 cup heavy cream into a microwave safe bowl. Put in microwave for 1 min. Stir and repeat for 30 seconds at a time until chocolate is melted. Add vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour chocolate into a bowl and cool to room temperature stirring occasionally. Meanwhile beat the other 1 cup cream with 2 Tbsp powdered sugar until cream forms stiff peaks and fold into the chocolate mixture when it is cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.  Use mousse to frost between each cake layer and over the top and sides of cake as well. Put cake back in refrigerator for the mousse to set up while making the glaze.

Chocolate Mirror Glaze (this make extra so you'll have leftovers)
1 Tbsp powdered gelatin
3 Tbsp water
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
½ cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cocoa powder

In a small bowl, SLOWLY sprinkle the gelatin over the 3 tablespoons water and let bloom for 5 minutes. (The gelatin should absorb into the water before you sprinkle more on top of it. I stirred it around some too.) In a small saucepan, bring the ½ cup water and the sugar to a boil. Whisk in the cream and cocoa until smooth and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and Add the gelatin, mix thoroughly so there are no lumps and gelatin is completely melted. Then poor the chocolate glaze into a small bowl nested inside a larger bowl filled with ice let cool to about 75 F stir frequently. I don't think I stirred enough and when I was ready to use mine, some of the outside edges of the glaze was a little too thick. The glaze needs to be 75 degrees so it will flow nicely. Use a ladle to pour glaze over top of cake and allow it to drip down the sides. Return to the fridge until ready to serve.

Pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon frosting

Steven came into town for a quick visit and so we threw together a quick birthday party for him. Of course we had to eat the traditional Hawaiian haystacks! Mom made yummy pumpkin cupcakes from a recipe Jessica found on the internet. We all asked Mom for the recipe and so she sent us the link. I am re-posting it here so we can find it again because otherwise we will never know where it came from. Not sure if mom made any changes or if she just made it as is. I know she did mini cupcakes instead of regular size ones and she decorated hers with candy corns too. The kids ate all those so fast there was no way to get a picture!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugars, vegetable oil and eggs.
Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir just until moist.
Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Place into oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pumpkin candy or candy corns for garnish

Beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating just until incorporated. Add vanilla and cinnamon until well combined. Increase speed to medium high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, approximately 1-2 minutes.
Use a small offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with decorative tip to frost the cupcakes. Top with candy corn or pumpkins.