Berry Hand Pies

These Hand Pies were easy to make ....they will be a great addition to school lunches this fall. I found the recipe on King Arthur's Flour website.. Enjoy !! Blueberry Hand Pies (Printable Version)   These sweet and fruit-full pastries can be served anytime and anywhere, thanks to their convenient portability. Pastry 2 cups All Purpose Flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter 1/2 cup cold sour cream Filling 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon Instant ClearJel 2 teaspoons lemon juiceTopping 1 large egg, beaten white sparkling sugar, for garnish Directions 1) To make the dough: Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter, working it in to make a coarse/crumbly mixture. Leave most of the butter in large, pea-sized pieces. 2) Stir in the sour cream; the dough won't be cohesive. Turn it out onto a floured work surface, and bring it together with a few quick kneads. 3) Pat the dough into a rough log, and roll it into an 8" x 10" rectangle. Dust both sides of the dough with flour, and starting with a shorter end, fold it in three like a business letter. 4) Flip the dough over, give it a 90° turn on your work surface, and roll it again into an 8" x 10" rectangle. Fold it in three again. 5) Wrap the dough, and chill for at least 30 minutes before using. 6) To make the filling: Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan set over medium heat. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked berries to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. 7) Preheat the oven to 425°F; place a rack on the middle shelf. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 8) To assemble the pies: Roll the dough into a 14" x 14" square. With a straight edge and pastry wheel, or a 3 1/2" square cutter, cut out sixteen 3 1/2" squares. 9) Divide the filling among eight of the squares, using about a heaping tablespoon for each. Brush some of the beaten egg along the edges of each filled square. 10) Cut a vent into the each of the remaining eight squares, using a decorative cutter of your choice. 11) Top each filled square with a vented square, and press along the edges with the tines of a fork or a pie crust crimper to seal. 12) Brush the top of each pie with the remaining beaten egg, and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Transfer the pies to the prepared baking sheet. 13) Bake the pies for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and let cool for 20 minutes before serving. Yield: 8 hand pies.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cakes

 Another fabulous recipe from Our Best Bites....make sure to have plenty of milk around when you serve these. They were great..

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Recipe by Our Best Bites
(Printable Version)
1 Duncan Hines yellow or white cake mix
1 cup sour cream (full-fat or light, but not fat-free)
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
24 unwrapped mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Chocolate Frosting:
1/4 cup melted butter (real butter, not margarine)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 pound powdered sugar
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup  real butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons (or more) of milk (you can use some of the leftover evaporated milk; it’s awesome in this frosting)
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all the cupcake ingredients except for the peanut butter cups with an electric mixer on medium-low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl frequently. Turn the speed to high and beat for another 3 minutes.
Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full with batter. Top with an unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup , then fill the muffin cups with the remaining batter. Make sure the Peanut Butter Cups are covered and the cups are about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frostings. For both frostings, just combine all the ingredients for each one and whip until light and fluffy, adding additional milk as needed. Frost the cupcakes with the swirled frosting in this tutorial.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

My 14 yr old son requested gingerbread cake as a treat for his class party, we decided on cupcakes and topped them with creamcheese frosting YUM!! This is a super easy recipe that everyone seemed to enjoy. His classmates thought we bought these cupcakes from a bakery....


Gingerbread Cake or Cupcakes
(Printable Version)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup shortening or butter

1/4 cup sugar

1egg

1 cup molasses

1 cup very hot water

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons orange zest (optional)

whipped topping garnish (optional)



DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour 9-inch square pan. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar together and combine until smooth.

Stir dry ingredients together, add to liquid mixture, and combine until smooth. Pour into prepared pan, bake for 45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold, and garnish with whipped topping if desired.

I made mine into cupcakes and topped with cream cheese frosting. I doubled the batch and made 43 cupcakes I bake them in a 350* oven for 17- 18 minutes.

Thin Mints

This great cookie recipe was given to me by a friend. It is a wonderful minty perfect copycat of the girl scout thin mint cookies. I topped some of mine with white chocolate and candy canes in  honor of the Holiday Season. Enjoy these great treats.

Thin Mints by Sherri Yard

(Printable Version)

Ingredients:

Makes 72 cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 tsp. peppermint oil
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate (I used semi sweet chips)

Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse a few times to combine the ingredients. Add the butter and pulse to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the egg yolks, peppermint oil, and vanilla and pulse until a dough forms on the blades of the food processor.

Remove the dough from the food processor and shape into a 2-inch-thick log. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Place racks in the middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick disks and arrange 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Switch the baking sheets from top to bottom and rotate from front to back and continue to bake for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the cookies are light brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on racks. Make sure to let the baking sheets cool between batches. Do not handle the cookies until they are cool, or they'll break; they're very delicate.
Melt and temper the bittersweet chocolate. Keep the chocolate warm while you dip the cookies.
Place a sheet pan upside down on your work surface, next to the melted chocolate. Cover with parchment paper. Dip the cookies one by one in the chocolate, using a fork to turn them over and then lift them out of the chocolate. It helps to tilt the bowl forward by leaning it on a folded kitchen towel.

Set the dipped cookies on the parchment, beginning at the far end so you don't drip chocolate on other cookies when you set them down. Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container. 

Dessert Auction Ideas

It was the annual spaghetti dinner /dessert auction fundraiser for the youngmen/youngwomen in our ward.

Last year I did carmel popcorn in a cute crock and a cookie jar filled with chocolate chip cookies.

This year with a little persuasion from Kellan, we chose peanut butter chocolate cupcakes with a cute cupcake stand .