Oh, Fudge!–White Chocolate Peppermint and Cookies and Cream

My dear friend Jewel has a following for her fudge.  You know, the good, old-fashioned kind that you have to stir for hours until your arm falls off?  Yeah, that kind.  Wonderful stuff, but you need the stamina and time to make it.  Her health is such that she’s not so sure she can do that this year but  she MUST make fudge.  Told her there are some cheating ways to make fudge now that make life a little easier and sweeter.  Not the same as the original but still good.

For your tasting pleasure i offer two newbies (at least, to us) that i’ve made in the last week.  To be honest, i’m probably their least favorite fan because i’m such a chocoholic and really don’t care for the stuff they call “white chocolate.”  Sorry, all you vanilla fans.  But, hey, that just means there’s more for you and, if that did it for me, i would LOVE these two fudges.

I’m way behind on posting goodies, so hope to make up for it today.  Hope you’ll find something that tickles your fancy (or your sweet tooth) and will make you want to whip up a batch to enjoy and share with family and others.  It’s always good to have something around the house for visitors this time of year.   Or, as Grandaddy’s cousin’s wife was known to say, “If I’d known you was comin’, I would’ve set in the floor and stirred up a cake.”  You won’t even have to “set” down for these two recipes–easy peasy!

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge  

12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips or bark

16 oz. container vanilla frosting

1/2 tsp peppermint extract or a few drops of peppermint oil

8 drops red food coloring

2 Tbs. crushed peppermint candy

Line an 8 x 8″ pan with waxed paper.

Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval.

Add the  frosting to the melted chips.  Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Add peppermint extract/oil.

Drop red food coloring, spaced apart, on surface of fudge.  Using a toothpick or knife, swirl the color into the fudge.

Sprinkle peppermint candy on top and press lightly into the fudge.

Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Cut into small squares before serving.  Keep refrigerated.

Cookies and Cream Fudge 

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed)

1–(12-oz. pkg white chocolate chips

1–7 oz. jar  marshmallow crème

1/2 cup finely crushed Oreos

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup crumbled Oreos

Line a 9″ square pan with waxed paper.

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in chips, marshmallow crème, finely crushed cookies and vanilla extract. Pour into pan. Sprinkle crumbled cookies on top. Press down slightly to embed cookie crumbs. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Cut into small squares.  Keep refrigerated.

Hot Choc in the Crock

I worry that sometimes you won’t believe me when i tell you something…, that you’ll think i exaggerate about how good something is.  So in order to help you believe me about this recipe, i will tell you this: in the last 3 days i’ve tried 5 new recipes.  Two of them were rather good and with a little tweaking or lack of mess up on my part (not sure which) they could be wonderful.  Two i’ll probably never do again.  The last one…MAMA MIA!  OH!  THIS CHOCOHOLIC IS IN HEAVEN!  I HAVE FOUND MY LIQUID DRUG!!!

Honestly, i kid you not.  I have tried many a hot cocoa and some hot chocolates.  I’ve always wanted to have whatever it was they were drinking in the movie, Chocolat.  Often wondered if it wasn’t just a combination of chocolate and Johnny Depp (hey, let’s be real here.)  But, honey, i have found my hot chocolate Nirvana.

The genius behind this is Crystal at Mrs.HappyHomemaker.com (http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2010/12/creamy-hot-cocoa-in-crockpot.html).  Her photos were adorable but it was the list of ingredients that convinced me.  A can of sweetened condensed milk.  A cup and a half of heavy cream.  Two cups of chocolate chips.  Six cups of milk.  Hold the phone and get out the sweat pants!  This has to be ten gazillion calories and sheer bliss.

So, this is what i did.  Axed the heavy cream and used a can of evaporated milk instead and used Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips.  Did i  miss the cream?  Oooooh, no!  Is the dark chocolate a winner?  Oooooh, yes!!!  Michael and Ashley sprayed whipped cream into theirs and i told them they’d regret the contamination.  Seriously.

This is not watery, powdered weakness, people.  This is molten cacao.  This is chocolava.  This is Johnny Depp in a cup.  Or Tim Tebow or whoever strikes your fancy.  But not Baby Bieber.  He would be Hot Vanilla (yuck.)

Get the ingredients, plug in your crock pot and wait for the most wonderful liquid chocolate you’ll ever put in your mouth.  Would probably be wonderful Mayan-style with some cinnamon and chili pepper or with some peppermint for the holidays, but that may be a few crocks from now.

Hot Choc in the Crock

1 1/2 cups heavy cream OR 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1–14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups chocolate chips (milk chocolate for wimps; dark chocolate for serious people)

6 cups of milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pour ingredients into crock pot and turn on low.  Whisk ingredients initially and every so often for two hours.  The longer you wait, the better it gets!

Happy 16th birthday to my beautiful (inside and out!) niece, Haley!!!  If this hot chocolate were a person, it would be you.  Love you!!!

Sweet Sixteen--Haley

Church Windows

Today is a very special day.  For one, it is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Thank God for the brave men and women who risked their lives in Pearl and later in the war to defend freedom and our way of life!  I’m sure there are not as many of them around anymore but if you happen to know a World War II veteran, please thank them.

Today also happens to be my parents’ 55th wedding anniversary.  And yesterday was my parents-in-love’s 49th anniversary.  Pretty cool, huh?!  And, no.  We did not get married on the 5th or the 8th of December.  Anywho, back to parents.

I am a very, very blessed human being.  God gave me two extremely wonderful people to call Daddy (or Bear!) and Mama.  I could go on and on about them and it would be all true and all good stuff.  Bear–he is every little girl’s dream for a dad.  He’s sweet, funny, loving, giving…and just plain crazy.  Oh, the stories i could tell you on him!  Mama–she is the kind of LADY you would want to be.  She was an ideal role model (even though i fall far short.)  And, as you know, she sure was an awesome cook to learn from!

Since we’re doing Christmas goodies and i want to post something that embodies my parents, i offer Church Windows.  Another treat that Mama has made forever.  And they fit my parents: chocolate (her), nuts (him), marshmallows (both).  And religious too. ;0)

Happy, Happy Anniversary to both sets of parents!!!  There is no way i could ever thank God enough for you.  I only hope that some day my girls will feel the same way.  Love you!!!

Steve and Ruth

Lornie and Sue

Church Windows

1–12 oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 stick butter

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1–10 1/2 oz pkg colored miniatured marshmallows (fruit-flavored)

Flaked coconut

Waxed paper

Melt chocolate and butter and allow to cool.  Add nuts and marshmallows, mixing well.

Prepare a piece of waxed paper.  Sprinkle coconut in a line down center.  Pour or spoon half of chocolate mixture on top and form into a log.  Sprinkle coconut on top and sides.  Wrap up in the wax paper and press down slightly to form a flat bottom.  Repeat with other half of chocolate mixture.

Refrigerate.  When cooled, cut in slices.

Christmas Crunch Cookies

Happy December!  Hope your Christmas season has started off well!  Mine really went up a  notch today.  Took two dear ladies who are unable to drive at night to Mercersburg, PA, for the annual Mercersburg Area Community Chorus and Orchestra’s Christmas concert.  This was a first for me and, boy, was it everything they said it would be!  The first half of the program was excerpts from Handel’s Messiah.  Wow!  And took place in this gorgeous chapel that reminds you of an older English or European church with the Gothic architecture and gorgeous stained glass windows.  Ahhh.  A taste of heaven.  And then got a wonderful surprise at home–Michael and Ashley made an awesome light display out front.  Whoo hoo!  It’s beginning to  look a lot like Christmas. 🙂

So…i have two things to offer you today.  One i’ve been meaning to show you for several days but….  I read the neatest trick and tried it out.  And it works!  Next time you buy a bunch of green onions, use just the tops and save the bulb part.  Put them in water and, within a week, you’ll have more tops!  These are bad photos but if you can tell anything, this is about 12 days’ growth.  How’s that for frugal?!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next is one of those gifts that keep giving kind of deals.  I”m planning to do a lot of cookie and other goody baking/making in the next few weeks.  If you’re like me, you have your tried and true recipes but i also LOVE finding new stuff.  How about we do a “Cyber Cookie Exchange”, or more like a cookie recipe exchange?

I’ll post mine if you’ll send me yours!  And, yes, i promise to post them.  If you have photos, feel free to send them as well.

Here’s recipe number one to get you  started.  Mama has made these cookies since Buck was a calf…or since i was a little heifer, at any rate.  The “surprise” ingredient makes all the difference!

Christmas Crunch Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup crushed potato chips

½ cup chopped pecans

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add potato chips and pecans. Stir in flour. Form into small balls, using 1 tablespoon dough for each.

Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Press balls flat with bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar.  Sprinkle green or red-tinted sugar on top.

Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned.

DIY Velveeta, Caramel, Peppermint Syrup…and Acorns!

A short time ago, i said that i was trying to go through a gazillion bookmarked recipes and i still am.  A few lately have been one-hit wonders and not worth blogging about but today i’m giving you a boatload of possiblities, just in time for the holidays.

Homemade Velveeta

First out of the chute, Homemade Velveeta.  Now, while it may not be cost effective (especially if you buy store brand Velveeta or have a coupon), you will at least know that your version has fewer chemicals/preservatives.  It looks and feels a little grainer than its counterpart but melts just fine.  I’m actually looking forward to tweaking it and making a Mexican version, Italian version and mixing it up with unusual cheeses like Swiss.  Oh, and just a note.  Don’t know what i was thinking but i totally goofed on the dry milk and used good ol’ regular 2% milk…and it worked!

Homemade Caramel

Next up, Homemade Caramel.  Now, this will knock your socks off!  I didn’t tell my family what i was doing until after it was done and tried to make them guess what it was by tasting it.  They all had that slightly nervous, skeptical look until they put their chops around the spoon and said, “Caramel?”  Well, it is now but it started life as…sweetened condensed milk!  Yes!  I’m not kidding!  Check out the recipe to learn how to magically change SCM to caramel. ;0)

Next up in our bag of tricks is Homemade Peppermint Syrup.  We stopped by Daily Grind Friday night while Ashley was working to bring her some chow and to get something to drink, of course.  Since i’m not a coffee person (do you hate me now?), i always ask her suggestions on what to get.  She recommended a Peppermint Patty steamer.  Since i’ve got this thing for chocolate and peppermint, it was a great idea. Now she can make them for me at home (hint, hint!) since i made a jar of Homemade Peppermint Syrup.  It would be great for coffee, ice cream, chocolate-chip pancakes, etc.

Last, but not least…Homemade Acorns.  Mama sent this to me and i’ve been saving it to do for Thanksgiving.  They are soooo easy to make and are just as cute as a button!  Or rather an acorn.

Hope you find something in here that will make your cooking and your holidays just a little bit richer!  If i don’t see you before Thanksgiving, just know that i am grateful for your time.  You must be a special person to have read through my rantings.  Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!

Homemade Velveeta

1 1/2 pounds (6 cups) of grated Cheddar cheese, divided into 2 cups worth

1 1/2 cups almost boiling water, divided into 1/2 cups

1/2 cups plus 1 Tbs. dry (powdered) milk, divided into 3 parts (see note above)

1/2 envelope (1 1/2 tsp.) unflavored gelatin, divided into 1/2 tsp increments

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap.

Pour 1/2 cup water, 3 Tbs. milk and 1/2 tsp. gelatin in blender.  Blend until mixed.

Add 2 cups of Cheddar and blend well.  Pour into loaf pan.

Repeat process twice more.  Cover and refrigerate cheese overnight.

Yield: 2 lb. loaf

Homemade Caramel

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (not with a pop-top lid)

1 crock pot

water

Peel the label off of the can of S.C. milk.  Place a plate or a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the crock pot, since can will rust a bit.

Place can on top and fill pot until water is around an inch above the top of the can.

Turn crock pot on low and leave for 8 hours/overnight.

Allow contents to cool.  Enjoy your caramel!

Homemade Peppermint Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 peppermint candy canes, broken in large pieces

Put water, sugar and candy canes in a medium saucepot.  Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until candy canes are completely dissolved.  Add a little red food coloring, if you want a deeper color.

Refrigerate overnight.

Homemade Acorns

1 box miniature Nutter Butter cookies

1 bag Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped

1 bag miniature Semi-Sweet chocolate chips

Pour a couple tablespoons full of chocolate chips in a bowl and microwave until melted.

Using melted chocolate as your glue, attach the flat bottom of the Hershey’s Kiss to one side of the Nutter Butter.  Again using the melted chocolate, attach a mini chip to other side of Nutter Butter as the stem.

Makes as many as you’d like…or until you run out of ingredients.

Special Birthday Shout-Out to my Favorite Father-in-Law, Lornie Franz!!!  Hope you had a WONDERFUL day!

Pickin' and Grinnin' with Devin and Cody

Birthday Boy!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Today is the birthday of two very special guys.  I can tell you some stories about one of them because he just happens to be my “baby” brother, Russ…but i’ll be nice because it’s his birthday.  Come back tomorrow and i’ll tell you those stories. ;0)

In honor of these awesome fellas, today’s special feature is Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes.  Made these last week for a get-together for Stef’s work crew.  Of course, i tweaked it a little because a most joyous thing has occurred: Trader Joe brought out the Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s early!  WHEE-HA! It’s a good thing that these Joe-Joe’s and Chick-fil-A’s Peppermint Milkshake only come out at limited times or i’d weigh considerably more!  Anywho, i used the Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s in place of the Oreo’s and added some crushed peppermint candy on top.  Yeah, baby!  We’ll be making these bad boys again.

So here’s a cyber cupcake for you, little bro.  Hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday!  I may not say it often, but i’m thankful that God ended my reign of terror as an only child.  You are an awesome brother and an even better man.  Love you!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

22 Oreo’s (16 whole, 6 crushed)

2–8 oz pkgs cream cheese, at room temp

1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs (at room temp), slightly beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Line 16 muffin tin cups with cupcake liners.  Place an Oreo on the bottom of each cup.

Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually add sugar and vanilla.

Add eggs, a little at the time.  Scrape down sides of bowl while mixing.

Add sour cream and salt.

Turn off mixer and add cookie pieces, stirring by hand.

Pour batter into muffin cups, almost to the top.

Bake until filling is set, around 22–25 minutes.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

The Grill Master

Birthday Boy Russ

Potato and Ham Soup and Reese’s PB Cheesecake Bites

Look out!  i am a woman on a mission.  Not once but TWICE yesterday my three scoffed–pshawed–Holy Cow! ed my bookmarks.  Okay, i will admit that when it comes to things i see and bookmark on the interwebs, i’m a hoarder.  My Recipes and DIY (crafts, etc.) bookmarks are out of control, but shame on them for pooh-poohing me for it.  At least i keep my mess confined to a computer.  (Mmm hmm!  You got that right!  You tell ’em, honey.)  So…because of the snorts and raised eyebrows, i have decided to do one of two things.  I have to either try the recipe (if i have tried it and it’s a keeper, it can stay) or i have to delete it if it’s something that i really am not THAT interested in.

Tonight they got recipe number one: Potato and Ham Soup.  We have an absolutely wonderful Loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe that, of course, i got from Mama and have been using for years and you just can’t beat it.  This one is a little different and probably a little healthier.  However,…everyone but me ended up putting sour cream and shredded cheese on their soup anyway because it’s potato soup and you HAVE to have that on potato soup. ;0)  i liked it just as it was.  Very thick and creamy and the flavors were a nice combination.

Now the dessert was not in my recipes-to-try bunch.  It was just a wild hair.  Had the won ton wrappers and bought the Reese’s on sale (Halloween leftovers) and it was just a matter of putting together.  I will say, though, that they probably would have been better with less PB cup.  i know–sacrilegious, isn’t it?  They overpowered the cheesecake part, you see.  If you have those new little tiny guys they’ve come up with, that would probably be just right or instead of halving the regular Reese’s cup like i did, use a third or a quarter instead.  They still got the thumbs up.

Got tomorrow’s recipe-to-try in the crock pot now.  Will let ya know how it goes!

Soup in the soup bowls from the first "every day dishes" i remember from childhood

Potato and Ham Soup

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste (didn’t add any)

1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

n a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.  (Add more milk if soup gets too thick.)

Reese’s Peanut Buttercup Cheesecake Bites

16 won ton wrappers

16 Reese’s Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups or 1/4 or 1/3 of a regular Reese’s cup

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

In a bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy.  Add confectioner’s sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Place one won ton wrapper on a board or plate.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling in center of wrapper and place Reese’s cup on top.  Fold opposite corners across the middle, using a little water on finger as the glue to hold them together, forming a pillow or square.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking oil spray.  Place wrappers, fold side down, on sheet and spray with oil.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10–15  minutes.

Not What You Expected Ice Cream Cake

Okay, people, tonight you are doubly blessed…because i was doubly blessed.  My waistline is doubly blessed too. 😛  As if the Corn and Cheese Chowder weren’t enough, i had to try another recipe because it’s been driving me bonkers ever since i read about it.  Honest.  I know i shouldn’t be that way, but when a bee gets in my bonnet,….

A few nights ago i was reading a food blog (imagine that!  nah, you don’t say! really?  how unusual!) and found myself completely fascinated.  The recipe said it was for Ice Cream Cake.  I would’ve stopped if it hadn’t been for the photo.  The photo was of a “vintage” cookbook put out by a church.  According to the blogger (Aleta at Omnomicon), it was from a Calvary Baptist Church in Easthampton sometime in the 1950’s or 1960’s.  Okay, i’m intrigued.  For one thing, i know that Baptists can cook so there’s got to be some doggone good stuff in there!  For another, i’m in a phase where i want to find older recipes.  Having run across some of my Granny’s recipes recently has kindled a fire, i guess.  Anywho, i read the recipe and got hooked.

This is not ice cream cake as in Baskin-Robbins-make-a-cake-that-tends-to-get-hard-when-frozen-and-slather-ice-cream-on-top ice cream cake.  The ice cream never makes it to the top.  It goes inside the cake.  No, not inside as in in-between layers.  Inside the cake as in it’s part of the batter!  Yes!  Are you intrigued now too?

In her recipe, she used a chocolate cake mix and chocolate ice cream and said it was the moistest cake ever.  Well, as much as i love chocolate, i had to change it up a bit but i will tell you this: IT IS THE MOISTEST CAKE EVER!!!  I cannot overstate that.  It is the lightest, airiest, moistest, most incredible cake.  I don’t know why the ice cream does that, but it does and that’s enough for me!  I used a Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream and it is moluscious!

Now…i almost didn’t include this photo but i wanted you to see that i was on the up and up.  However, i knew it could cause some serious flack from my Southern friends.  Yes, that does say Breyer’s Ice Cream.  Yes, i agree.  Blue Bell is hands-down the best commercial ice cream in the world.  There’s just one problem.  We don’t get Blue Bell in our grocery stores in WV.  I know.  I know.

Anyway, i am way too excited about this recipe.  My little pea brain is just racing thinking of all the cake/ice cream combinations!  Butter Pecan/Butter Pecan.  Carrot or Spice Cake/Pumpkin Ice Cream.  Strawberry/Strawberry.  Chocolate/Cherry-Vanilla.  Chocolate/Coffee.  Caramel or Golden/Dulche de Leche.  Wheeeee!

Ice Cream Cake

1 box cake mix
1 pint ice cream, softened
3 eggs
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350^o. Grease a tube or bundt pan, then dust with cocoa powder (if cake is chocolate) or flour.

Beat all ingredients together for 4 minutes, pour into pan and bake 45 minutes.

Serve with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, a thin icing, whipped cream or the frosting of your choice. (i made a glaze with confectioner’s sugar, milk and mint chocolate chip flavored oil and added some green food coloring for fun.)

*note: i no longer have my tube pan and used 3 baby bundt pans and a loaf pan.  Let’s just say my reputation as not a pretty cook still holds.  The baby cakes spilled over (this stuff rises!), so be careful.  Oh, and it took a little over an hour for the loaf pan to bake.

oopsy! guess who gets to clean the oven?

Sweet Patootie’s Sweet Potater Surprise

My Sweet Patootie really has been very sweet the last few days.  Now that’s not to say that he isn’t usually sweet…just that he’s been extra sweet.  For instance, he cooked breakfast two days in a row.  Believe me, it beat the cereal and milk i would’ve eaten by a mile!  He’s especially been good to poor little Persi during her illness.  Today he held her for an hour while he worked.  When he finally had to put her down, she hopped up on the back of his chair and completely showered   his head in one of her sneezes.  Poor guy turned his head to the side to look at her and whammo!  She sneezed again.  Instead of being angry, he said sweet things to her and began petting her before going to wash the sneeze gel out of his scalp.  That’s why we love him. ;0)

While i was at the store picking up some essentials, i wandered down the sugar, spice, and everything nice aisle and stared at the marshmallow section.  Have you  noticed all the flavors Jet Puff Marshmallows come in lately?  I’ve bought the strawberry a few times but today spotted one that was made for the Sweet Patootie–Caramel-Vanilla.  And, of course, the germ of a recipe idea was born and away we go.

So this is for you, my Sweet Patootie.  It may not be meat but it is potatoes!  Thanks for being such a wonderful guy.  Sneezy Wheezy and i sure do appreciate it!

Sweet Patootie and Cutie Patootie

Sweet Patootie’s Sweet Potater Surprise

4 cups grated sweet potato (i only needed one really large potato)

2 cups grated apple (used 3 small/medium)

1 bag Kraft Jet Puffed Caramel-Vanilla flavored marshmallows

Pumpkin Pie or Five Spice

Butter or margarine

1/2 cup apple cider or juice

Grate enough sweet potato(es) to make around 4 cups worth (not packed.)  Grate apples to make around 2 cups worth and mix with sweet potato.

Lightly grease a square casserole/baking pan.  Pour half of the sweet potato/apple mixture in bottom and press down.

Line up marshmallows so that they cover the top.  I was able to get all but two of them (36–6 down, 6 across) in.

Cover with remaining sweet potato mixture.  Sprinkle spice along the top and dot with butter.  Pour apple cider/juice on top.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Sneezy Wheezy dreaming of a better day

Persi’s Pumpkin Pound Cake

Our precious little Persi cat has been having a bad time with her allergies the last few days.  You’ve never seen a kitten sneeze so many times in a row.  She’s also been sleepier and much more cuddly than normal which is nice but sad too.  Course, her Aunt Ashley and i didn’t help any last night.  Kinda overdosed her on her med accidentally.  Poor lil thing was loopy.  I get that way too…only i don’t need medication.  Just comes natural. ;0)

Everybody and their brother is featuring pumpkin this and pumpkin that on their websites/blogs, so i decided to jump on the bandwagon.  But you know we couldn’t do the same ol’, same ol’ as everybody else.  No sirree.  We is doin’ pound cake.  That’s not a dessert i make often but it’s not because it’s not wonderful.  Wanted to do a little twist on it though and, by Jove, it’s twisted all right!  I like it. Really moist and the taste is quite unique!  None of my three guessed what the mystery flavors were.   Not sure what you might think but if you’re in for a walk on a little bit wilder side, leave the pumpkin pie spice in the cabinet and give Persi’s cake a shot.  As Bear (my dad) would say, “It’s different.”

Persi’s Pumpkin Pound Cake

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree

6 eggs, separated

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 Tbs. curry powder

1 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp chili powder

Cream butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed.  Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well.  Blend in pumpkin, vanilla and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, salt, curry powder, ginger, and chili powder.  Add to batter and beat well.

In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Fold gently into cake batter.

Pour into a greased and floured tube pan.  Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, checking after the first hour.

*I used miniature tube pans, a leaves and pumpkins-shaped silicone muffin pan, and a loaf pan instead.  The muffin pan cakes were done around 30 minutes or so.  The loaf pan took just a little over an hour.