Vanilla Cake with Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened 
1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, room temperature

1.5 cups flour (APF, not cake flour)

1.75 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp table salt 

3/4 c milk, room temperature 

Heat oven to 350*. Butter and flour 9 inch cake pan or line cupcake tins with paper and spray inside with cooking spray (about 18 or more).

With a hand mixer, beat butter until soft and fluffy. Add sugar and mix until sugar is almost dissolved (about 3-5 minutes). Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. Next add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate into butter-sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour half the flour into the butter- sugar-egg mixture, beat until smooth, add half the milk, beat until smooth, add the rest of the flour and mix, then add the rest of the milk. Beat batter about 1-2 minutes, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula until batter is smooth and completely mixed and fluffy. 

Pour into prepared pan or cupcake tins. Bake for 15 minutes, then move cake for even browsing. Continue baking in 3-5 minute intervals until cake is just done (test with cake tester or toothpick). Cake should spring back when touched lightly. Do not overtake or cake will be dry. Remove from oven and cook on a cooling rack. If desired remove cake to a cake plate or just frost when cake is completely cooled. Cupcakes can be taken out of tins to finish cooling. 

Frost with buttercream frosting when cake is cooled. 

Buttercream Frosting

1/3 cup softened butter

1.5 tsp vanilla 

3 cups powdered sugar 

2 + Tbsp milk

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and vanilla. Add sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing between. Add just enough milk to make frosting the desired consistency. If too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1/4 cup softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 c sour cream

Topping:

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the topping in a separate bowl and set aside.

With an electric mixture, cream butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix again until fluffy. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix until combined and smooth. Add sour cream by either folding it into the dough by hand or mixing until blended in.

Grease an 8x8 square pan. Place half the dough in the pan, then sprinkle 1/3 of the topping over it. Place the rest of the dough on top (might need to plop it on by the spoonful. Smooth it out and then top with the remainder of the topping, making sure to cover the entire top of the coffee cake.

Bake for 25 minutes and check middle with a cake tester. It should come  out clean. It may take an additional 3-5 minutes more. Do not over bake or it will get dry.

 

Remove from oven and cool slightly. Cut into 9 pieces and serve warm. Can also cool and serve at room temperature. Store in a covered container for no more than 3 days (it shouldn't last that long though!).

 

Makes 4 generous helpings or 9 side helpings. If you make this with an egg dish, it's enough for 9, but otherwise double the recipe if you plan to serve more than 4 people.

Joshua Birthday cakes

2017

2018

2019

Rolo Turtle Cookies

Butter pretzels (I use waffles or small twist)
Rolo candy
Half pecans

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Place pretzels on parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Place an unwrapped rolo candy on top of each pretzel.

Place in oven for 3 minutes or just until the rolo candy is soft. Remove from oven and place a half pecan on top and press down. You can also top with another pretzel instead of the pecan.

Cool in refrigerator or in a cold place until chocolate hardens. Makes about 3 dozen pretzel cookies. Salt in the pretzels will break down the chocolate, so eat them quickly!

Shortbread Bites

1/2 c. butter
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp. red, green and white nonpareils

In a food processor, combine all except the nonpareils. Process until mixed well. Remove dough and need until it comes together. Mix in the nonpareils to spread throughout the dough.

Flatten dough into a square about a half inch thick on a piece of wax paper. Wrap in wax paper to cover and freeze for 15 minutes.

Score dough into half-inch squares and then cut. Place dough on an ungreased baking sheet, separating squares into tiny cookies

Bake in the middle of the oven at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until bottoms are just browned. Watch carefully so they don't burn.

Remove to a cooling rack and enjoy!

Thanksgiving 2014

Two of the three Cantwell men...making good gravy!

Smoked cheddar and bleu cheese ball w/crackers

Bacon-wrapped Cornish Hens

Sourdough, sausage and roasted chestnut dressing

Parmesan-mascarpone mashed potatoes

Sweet potato casserole

Green bean salad with walnuts, fennel and goat cheese

Cranberry Compote

Pickles, olives, pickled beet tray

Pecan Pie

This year, Nathaniel, Joshua, David and I spent Thanksgiving Day together gathered around the bountiful blessings of God. The best part of Thanksgiving was realizing just how blessed I am to have a wonderful family and that we can all be together in a beautiful house we call home! We have so much to be thankful for! Most of all, I am thankful for Jesus, who not only has given me access to Him on a daily basis, but also who loves to bless me and my family with good things! Food, family, faith, fun -- all because Christ loves us! I must admit, I miss spending this day with my extended family like we used to do. Each of my siblings now celebrate amongst themselves - no more big gatherings like we used to do. "For everything there is a season....and a time for every purpose under heaven." Seasons come, seasons go, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

Swedish Pancakes (or crepes)

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt

Beat eggs until blended. Add milk and salt and stir. Slowly blend flour into liquid until smooth and well mixed. Batter will be very runny. If you get lumps, use a hand mixer until lumps are gone.

Heat small (8 inch) omelette pan sprayed with vegetable oil (not olive oil) on medium heat. Using a non-stick pan is best. When water skits across the top of the pan, it is hot enough. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to middle of pan and tilt pan until the batter completely fills the bottom of the pan evenly. It's okay for it to go up the sides of the pan slightly. When batter looks dry, quickly flip pancake over (you will have to loosen the pancake from the side of the pan, but it should easily slip out). Brown other side until small brown spots appear. Be careful not to overcook as they will burn. You must be very attentive to the pancakes as they cook very quickly.

Take pancake out of the pan and put on a plate. Continue process until all pancakes are made.

Have another person help you to butter cooked pancake, fill with apple butter, jam, cinnamon and sugar or just roll up and dip them in real maple syrup.

Makes approximately 8 or 9 8-inch pancakes. Cool any leftovers and then place between wax paper or parchment paper and place in a plastic gallon bag and keep in refrigerator. These can be used for sweet or savory dishes.

**I got this recipe from Henny Leonard who got it from Cathy Clark. Henny made these as a special breakfast often and called them "skinny pancakes" for her children. I lives with the Leonards when I went to college at UW-Whitewater. They made many special recipes that I still use today, but this is one of the easiest and most favorite of them all!

Homespun Fresh Raspberry Tart

Pastry Dough
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter (not unsalted), cut into 6 pieces
3 Tbsp. milk

Filling:
10-12 oz. fresh raspberries
5 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. AP flour
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. melted butter

Using a food processor to make the pastry dough, place flour, sugar in the food processor and process for 10 seconds to blend. Turn off the food processor and add butter, spreading around evenly on top of the flour-sugar mixture. Process until it has a coarse texture, but not creamed (about 15 seconds). Add the milk evenly and process for about 30 seconds or until a soft ball forms. Do not over-process dough.

Gather up dough and make a ball and then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator at least 1 hour to allow the gluten in the flour to relax.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Once chilled, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit on a pan (I used my round pizza stone). Flatten dough into a 11-12 inch circle, taking care to turn it so it doesn't stick, but not too much flour to dry out the dough. I rolled mine on the parchment paper to make it easier to roll out. Dough will be fragile and may crack, but repair cracks and continue to roll dough evenly. Once it is done, set aside while making the filling.

In a small bowl, add raspberries and flour and stir to evenly distribute. Add sugar (use more or less depending upon the sweetness of the berries). and lemon zest and give a gentle stir.

Pile the raspberries in the middle of the dough, leaving 1 1/2 inch around the edge of the circle. Turn the dough over the top of the raspberry filling, leaving an opening of raspberry mixture. Evenly pour the butter over the dough and raspberry filling.

Bake for 20-35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and raspberries begin to bubble.

Remove tart from pan and cool taking care not to break the tart! Transferring the tart via the parchment paper is the easiest way to do this. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Serve with fresh-whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Makes enough to feed 4-6 people.

**Try with other berries...blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries, etc. There are endless possibilities to use other fruit, but flour and sugar measurements will need to be adjusted depending upon how much liquid each fruit produces and how sweet the fruit is

.

Grandma Cantwell's Easier than π Lemon Pie

Easier than π, this pie has may varieties, but this is the original recipe from Grandma Cantwell (Carol). Be careful not to over-mix!

1 baked 9-inch pie shell or graham cracker crust
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
12 oz can sweetened condensed milk
(optional: 1/2 tsp. freshly-grated lemon zest)

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a medium glass bowl. Add lemon juice and stir just until the juice binds (is incorporated) with the milk.  Do not over-mix or it will become runny and not stay together. Add the zest and stir to distribute. Pour into pie crust, cover, and chill in the refrigerator 2-3 hours.

Serve with whipped cream on top and/or raspberries. Simple, but sweet treat for a lovely spring dessert.

Serves 8.

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

12 oz (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk
2 cups powdered sugar
2/3- 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (no substitutes, please)

Mix ingredients together in 1 1/2 qt. pan. Bring to a boil and then boil 8 minutes until smooth and glossy and thick enough for hot fudge (if you over cook it you will make fudge!). Take off heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla and stir to incorporate. Cool.

Start timing (8 minutes) when it comes to a full boil!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

This is a no-egg, no-cook recipe and is simple as well as delicious. It can be used as a base to make fruit-flavored ice cream or even chocolate ice cream. You can be as creative as you want with this. All you need is an ice cream maker and a little bit of time.

1 cup Heavy whipping cream
1 cup Half and half
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of the ingredients in a 4 cup measuring cup (with a lip for pouring) until sugar is dissolved.

Pour into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions. It will be soft-serve right out of the machine or you can put it in an air-tight freezer container and freeze for several hours to make it a bit harder.

Makes 0.75 Qt. Full of calories (so eat only a small amount), but delicious! It is especially good with homemade hot fudge!

Mexican Wedding Cakes

Some people call them Russian Tea Cakes, others call them snowballs, but I call them Mexican Wedding Cakes because that's what my mom called them! They melt in your mouth and are soooo easy to make!

1 cup butter (I use 1/2 c. salted and 1/2 c. unsalted), softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup finely chopped unsalted pecans
3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar

Mix 1/2 cup powered sugar, butter, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing in between until well-blended. Mix in pecans.

Shape into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes or until set, and very slightly brown (do not allow to get browned). Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes and then roll in powered sugar and cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Roll a second time in powered sugar until well-coated. Cool completely and store in a tightly sealed canister.

 Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

My Favorite Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe comes from Quaker Oats and is the best, chewiest oatmeal cookies we've ever eaten. I like using organic (fresh) raisins or diced up dates, but if you don't care for them, just leave them out.

1/2 pound (2 sticks), softened butter (I use unsalted butter)
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. (heaping) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)
3 cups Old Fashioned oats, uncooked
1 cup raisins (or dates)
(optional -- add 1/2 c. chopped walnuts)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and mix well. Add beaten eggs and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

Combine baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and flour and mix into egg-sugar mixture until well incorporated. Add oats, mix and then raisins or dates and nuts if using. Mix until well incorporated. Raw dough should look like photo.

Drop rounded Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet -- or line cookie sheet with parchment paper for easier cleanup.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for about a minute or until set and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.