The Famous Lilly Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

Probably my favorite cake EVER! My grandma's recipe. Chocolate + peanut butter... need I say more?

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks)
1/4 cup cocoa
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons peanut oil (may substitute canola oil)

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup cocoa
6 Tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Combine flour, sugar, and baking soda in large mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Melt 1 cup butter or margarine in a heavy saucepan; stir in 4 Tbsp. cocoa, eggs, salt, water, and buttermilk until well blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Remove from heat and mix into flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour batter into a greased an floured 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes.
4. Mix peanut butter and peanut or canola oil. Spread over warm cake and allow to cool completely.
5. For frosting, combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/4 cup cocoa, and buttermilk in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour over powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread chocolate frosting over peanut butter layer on cake. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.

Cinnamon Rolls

Um, sorry you can scarcely see them under all that delicious frosting!!!

So I've made lots and lots and lots of cinnamon rolls in my day. They were all vaguely terrible. Dry-ish and a little flavorless and they'd totally fall apart because of the spiral-roll shape (not in a good way). So when my friend Megan, one morning after we'd beaten ourselves to pieces with a Jillian Michaels workout, mentioned that her house happened to be full of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and would we like to come try one? I was like, "Um... is the Pope Catholic?" We HAD just worked out, after all. We'd earned those cinnamon rolls. Wow. Best. Cinnamon. Rolls. I-have-ever-tasted.

Luckily, she was kind enough to send me the recipe.

This one is from Beauty and Bedlam, but I halved it and adjusted some of the ingredients so they would be slightly less than nearly 600 calories per roll! (Yes, I did the calculations on that because I am a masochist.) This made 9 GIGANTIC cinnamon rolls, which were definitely more than enough for my family of 5... and we ate them all day long. Really I couldn't even finish half in one sitting.

INGREDIENTS

Dough

• (1) .25 oz. pks. active dry yeast
• 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter 
• 1/2 cup 110 degree water (approximately)
• 1/2 cup warm milk (must be warm)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg – slightly beaten
• 3 1/4-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 3 Tbsp. melted butter 
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbls. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cups chopped walnuts, pecans or raisins – (optional)

Frosting

• 4 oz. neufchatel or fat-free cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• About 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (I just realized I accidentally doubled both extracts, but it was yummy! Reduce these amounts if you're scared.)
• 2 cups powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For bread machine: Add water, milk, melted butter, sugar, salt, egg, flour, and yeast to bread machine bowl, in that order. Set on "dough" setting. (I did this the night before so I could just wake up and roll them out in the morning.) Then jump to Step 6.
2. Without bread machine: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together milk, remaining sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, salt, and egg; add yeast mixture and 2 cups of flour to mixture; beat until smooth; stir in enough flour to form a slightly stiff dough.
4. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes.
5. Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon.
7. Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a 15″ X 10″ rectangle.
8. Brush 3 tablespoons melted butter over dough; sprinkle cinnamon sugar liberally over dough; sprinkle nuts evenly over dough, if desired.
9. Tightly roll up dough, starting from the shorter (10") side. Pinch edges together to seal. Cut the roll into 9 slices using dental floss or thread.
10. Grease a 9″ X 9″ X 2″ baking pan. (I will say I had to squeeze them into a pan this size, and it made for gargantuan towering rolls that were a bit doughy in the middle - because they were too big to cook through evenly. I thought they were good, but you might also experiment with different pan sizes and shapes - or different roll sizes!)
11. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the prepared pan; cover pan and allow to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.
12. Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
13. For frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Add milk, a little at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency. Spread frosting on warm rolls and eat until you are stuffed.

Preparation time: 30 minute(s) (plus additional rise time)

Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 9 huge rolls

Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon Creme Filling

I have to copy down this recipe before I lose it (again). I found it in my recipe box, but it was an incomplete recipe. Some careful Googling helped me find it on the Fine Cooking website. Needless to say, these are delicious.

• 8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan
• 13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
• 1-1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 large egg, separated
• 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 2-1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries (about 13 oz.), washed and drained on paper towels

TIP:

Be sure to use room-temperature berries. Cold fruit straight from the refrigerator will prevent your dessert from baking evenly.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using your fingers, blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. You can tamp it with the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out. Bake the crust until it starts to form a dry top, 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolk. Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes; it will begin to thicken.

Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute a little more evenly, but take care not to crush the berries; it’s fine if the lemon mixture isn’t perfectly even. Bake until the lemon mixture just begins to form a shiny skin, 7 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the reserved topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours but otherwise should be kept in the refrigerator.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 270; Fat (g): 10; Fat Calories (kcal): 90; Saturated Fat (g): 6; Protein (g): 4; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 2.5; Carbohydrates (g): 41; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Sodium (mg): 140; Cholesterol (mg): 35; Fiber (g): 2

Crepes

[As a matter of interest, this is the recipe my childhood friend transcribed for me when we were in junior high. The original copy is the one my dad still cooks from today whenever he makes crepes - of course my parents kept the original version, scrawled on lined paper and with "flour" spelled as "flower." Completely priceless.]

Crepes

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup orange juice

Beat eggs and milk; add butter. Add flour, sugar, and salt at once while mixing. (An electric mixer is easiest.) Add vanilla and orange juice. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter on hot pan and immediately rotate in a circular motion until the batter forms a thin crepe. Cook over medium heat until the edges start to turn slightly golden; flip and cook for 30 seconds more. There is no need to discard the first pancake. :-)

The General's Southern Pound Cake

This recipe is NOT mine and strictly speaking, I didn't ask permission to share it. But I'm terrified that I'm going to lose it someday or, you know, my house will burn down and take the recipe with it or something, so this way I'll be sure to have it wherever I go. It comes from our good friend and legendary baker, Jeremy Rich, who got it from a good friend of his own who happened to be, not surprisingly, a Southern general. It is far and away THE BEST pound cake I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

1 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 teaspoons high quality vanilla

Cream butter shortening. Add sugar slowly, mixing thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Mix cake flour and salt, and add to batter. Mix well. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Blend for 8 minutes on medium-high speed.

Grease and flour bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 75 minutes. Turn off the oven and let sit unopened for another 5 minutes. Remove cake and cool 5 minutes, then invert over wire rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

Um.... My two favorite things in a cookie? YES PLEASE!

[A random speech - because you've come to expect that from me]:
You may notice that I prefer to BAKE than to COOK. In this world, there are cooks and there are bakers. The bakers are in charge of dessert and generally fattening everybody up. The cooks are in charge of sustenance and basically whipping up the everyday eats that keep us alive. You can guess which I consider to be more valuable, yet here I am trying to adapt to fill both roles. Let me just indulge myself here and give into my natural inclination. Which is, of course, to bake loads of delicious treats that I certainly should not be eating and/or feeding my children for breakfast.

COOKIES ~

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING~

1/2 cup peanut butter (+ maybe a little more - I had to add a bit more to make it manageable)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

CHOCOLATE FROSTING~

1/2 cup chocolate pieces (I used Ghirardelli's 60% cacao)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat butter, shortening, and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat for several minutes on medium-high. Beat in cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Batter will be very thick. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until batter is desired consistency (you may not need the full amount).
2. Drop cookies onto cookie sheets. Press your thumb into the center of each ball.
3. For peanut butter filling, mix peanut butter and powdered sugar (add another tablespoon or so of peanut butter if the mixture is too thick to stir). Drop a rounded teaspoonful of peanut butter filling into the indentation in each chocolate cookie.
4. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
5. Meanwhile, make chocolate frosting. Melt chocolate pieces and butter in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and blend with electric mixer until smooth. Add milk during mixing to keep the frosting at a smooth, mix-able consistency.
6. Spread frosting over cooled cookies, covering the peanut butter filling.
7. Try not to eat all of the cookies by yourself. At least not all in one sitting.

Travis's Famous Snow Cones

Wendi requested the snow cone recipe, so here it is! He makes the syrup (below) and drizzles it over the snow cones along with sweetened condensed milk - yes, straight from the can! Sounds crazy but it's actually good...

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 (0.13 ounce) package unsweetened, fruit-flavored soft drink mix

Directions

1. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, and boil for about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in the drink mix. Allow to cool, and store in a container for pouring. Pour over shaved ice to flavor.

Carrot Bread

I made this for our pre-school Easter party by modifying a zucchini bread recipe. Get it? Carrots? Bunnies? Right. My original recipe notes that you can try 1 ½ cups grated apple instead of zucchini (or carrots in my case) - and also omit the milk. I haven't tried it that way though!

1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded carrots (I just threw them in the food processor)
¼ cup oil
¼ cup milk (this is an estimate – just put in however much it takes to make it more like a thick batter consistency)
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

1. Grease the bottom and ½ inch up sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
2. In another medium bowl combine egg, sugar, carrots, oil, and milk. Add carrot mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts, if using. Spoon into prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan, then cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Mint Brownies

It took me many many batches to get this one right, but I finally devised a brownie base for this amazing recipe that we actually like. The original was really weird and dense. Again, I apologize for another stolen picture. I really need to start taking my own.

Brownies:
3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mint Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 lb. (3 3/4 cup) powdered sugar
1-3 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
green food coloring

Chocolate Topping:
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) - I usually reduced this to 1/4 cup, but then I discovered that only certain kinds of chocolate chips can handle less butter. Try this with caution.

Brownies: Mix butter, cocoa, and sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in flour, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Spread into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Mint Frosting: Mix butter and powdered sugar. Add only enough milk to make a smooth consistency. Add mint extract and enough food coloring for a light green color. Frosting will be thick. Spread over brownies. Refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate Topping: Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave for 2-3 minutes, stopping to stir frequently, until the mixture is smooth. Pour over frosted brownies, covering frosting completely. Refrigerate until topping is set and hardened. Let brownies sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut into 24 small squares with sharp knife.

Crèpes

(I don’t really use a recipe so these measurements are all approximates. You may have to make some minor (major?) adjustments…)

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ cup orange juice
Some flour (I really have no idea how much. 1 cup? Just sprinkle it in until it’s the right consistency)

Combine melted butter, milk, and eggs in a large bowl. (It’s better if the milk and eggs are close to room temp. so they don’t solidify the butter.) Beat on medium speed until well blended and slightly frothy. Add vanilla, sugar, salt and orange juice and beat again. With the beater going, start adding flour slowly, making sure there are no lumps, until it is thick enough. Pour onto heated pan and immediately rotate in a circle so the batter is thinly distributed. Cook over medium heat until light brown, then flip and give the other side another 30-60 seconds or so. The first one is never good to eat so it can be a practice one to get the consistency right! And then, um, just keep going until the batter is gone. Serve with whatever you like on crepes.

"Mormon" Black Magic Cake

This recipe (originally from the old Hersey's cocoa box!) is identical to the Barefoot Contessa's "Beatty's Chocolate Cake". I "Mormon-ified" it by replacing the coffee with hot chocolate (Stephen's, of course!) We made this for Brooklyn's birthday and it was AMAZING! I'm afraid it may replace the "Famous Lilly Chocolate Cake" that has been my family's birthday staple for years!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1 cup hot chocolate (I used Stephen's Dulce de Leche, and yes it should be hot!)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, hot chocolate, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired. Yields 10 to 12 servings.

* To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.

CUPCAKE VERSION: For cupcakes, pour batter into 24-30 cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
OR frost with this (if chocolate cake + chocolate frosting is too much for you!)

CREAMY WHITE FROSTING

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon, orange, or almond extract
4 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (about 1 pound)
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Beat shortening, butter, vanilla, and extract with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Slowly add half the powdered sugar, beating well. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar and enough remaining milk to reach spreading consistency. This frosts the tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake layers. (Halve the recipe to frost a 13x9x2-inch cake.)

Creamy Caramel-Pecan Rolls

From my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, 12th ed.

Prep: 25 min. Rise: 30 min. Bake: 20 min. Oven: 375° Makes: 24 rolls

1 ¼ cups sifted powdered sugar

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 16-oz. loaves frozen white bread dough or sweet roll dough, thawed

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

¾ cup raisins (optional) – (I used chocolate chips instead!)

1. Grease two 9x1 ½-inch round baking pans; set pans aside. For topping, in a small bowl stir together powdered sugar and whipping cream; divide evenly between prepared baking pans. Sprinkle pecans evenly over sugar mixture.

2. In another small bowl stir together brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll each loaf of dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with brown sugar-cinnamon mixture. If desired, sprinkle with raisins/chocolate chips.

3. Roll up each rectangle starting from a long side. Seal seams. Slice each roll into 12 pieces. Place pieces, cut sides down, on topping in pans.

4. Cover; let rise in a warm place until nearly double (about 30 min.). Break any surface bubbles with a greased toothpick.

5. Bake in a 375° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown (if necessary, cover rolls with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning). Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully invert rolls onto a serving platter. Serve warm.