Yellow Cake

My friend made this yellow cake into cupcakes for a baseball team. The cake was so good & the icing made them perfect (click here for icing recipe).

Ingredients
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 c milk

Directions
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl on high for 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. On low speed, beat in flour in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, just until blended, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Pour into 13" x 9" greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Recipe courtesy: Lisa D of Georgia

Cinnamon Rolls

 

 

I LOVE cinnamon rolls and I love eating the big, ooey, gooey ones. This was my second time attempting homemade ones. The first recipe I made was a flop. When I saw this one on Pinterest it looked like a winner. Making these cinnamon rolls was not difficult but it was time consuming. However, they were worth every last second I spent on them. They were the best tasting cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted and I consider myself {almost} an expert. My family thought they were in heaven.

 

Ingredients

1 c warm milk (115 degrees F)

1 egg (room temperature), slightly beaten

1/4 c butter, melted

1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 1/2 c flour plus more for dusting

1 (.25 ounce) package (2 1/4 tsp) instant dry yeast

1/2 c butter, melted

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

3 tbsp cinnamon

 

Frosting

1/2 c butter, softened

1/4 c cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

 

Directions

 

1. In a KitchenAid mixing bowl, add milk, egg, melted butter, oil, sugar, and salt. Add flour on top of all the liquid mixture sprinkling yeast on top. Using the dough hook, knead bread mixture on speed 3 until dough is smooth and elastic adding additional flour as needed (approx. 5-7 min.). Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour in a warm area. *Hint: I typically preheat my oven to 200 degrees while dough is kneading and turn the oven off when kneading is complete. From there, I stick my covered bowl into the oven and leave the oven door cracked open to allow the dough to rise.

2. In a small bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon – set aside. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle slightly larger than a 9×13 pan (rectangle). Spread surface evenly with melted butter. and sprinkle sugar mixture on top. Use your hands to make the entire surface is evenly coated. Beginning with the long side, roll dough pinching the seam to seal.

 

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut (I like using dental floss) into 12 equal slices and place them in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

 

4. To make the frosting, beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium-high speed for three minutes. Set aside.

 

5. Bake cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Frost with icing.

 

 

Recipe courtesy: Savory Sweet Life

Pumpkin Cookies

These pumpkin cookies are amazing. I am trying to figure out why my friend was hiding this recipe from me for so long. The brown sugar icing is heavenly. Even if you don't love pumpkin, you will like these. The cookie is soft and has a slight pumpkin taste with a hint of cinnamon. I can't wait to make these again.

Ingredients
Cookies
1 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 c pumpkin
1 egg
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Icing
3 tbsp butter
4 tsp milk
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla


Directions
Cookies
Cream shortening and sugar. Add pumpkin and mix. Add egg and mix. Add dry ingredients and mix. Spoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Place cookies on a cooling rack

Icing
In a small saucepan, cook butter, milk and brown sugar on low until dissolved. Cool slightly and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spoon on top of cookies.

Recipe courtesy: Tammy M of Virginia

Royal Icing

Ingredients

3 tbsp Meringue Powder (see picture above)

4 c powdered sugar

6 tbsp warm water**

Yield: 3 cups of icing

Directions

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand held mixer). For piping, place icing in a decorating bag. You can also tint the icing using food coloring. Be sure to keep icing covered or inside a decorating bag because it hardens very fast.

Note: keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.

* For stiffer icing, use 1 tbsp less water

**When using large counter top mixer, use 1 tbsp less water.

Recipe courtesy: Wilton

White Mountain Frosting

I made this icing as a child many times. It is so delicious. Last week when I visited my parent's I found the recipe card in her box! And the best thing is the recipe is still in my handwriting.

Ingredients
2 large egg whites
1/4 c light corn syrup

1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a 1-quart saucepan. Cover and heat to a rolling boil over medium heat. Uncover and cook, without stirring, to 242°F (115°C) on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a ball that flattens when removed from water. Cooking time can take between 4 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile using an electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites in a medium bowl just until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium and while beating constantly, very slowly pour hot syrup in a steady, thin stream into the egg whites. Add the vanilla and continue beating at high speed for about 10 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Frosts a 13 x 9 x 2-inch cake or fills and frosts two 8 or 9-inch cakes.

Icing

If you desire to ice your sugar cookies, here is the recipe.

Ingredients
3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. milk

Directions
Cream together all ingredients until smooth. To make colors, separate out portions of icing in bowls & add food coloring. When we ice our cookies (see previous post) we do green, red, yellow & white.