White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread

 Hello everyone! Ready for the holidays?  I have been baking up a storm lately between the cookies and pretzels its been a constant sugar high.  I found this recipe online a few years ago and it was an instant classic.  It has a definite holiday taste with the dried cranberries and the white chocolate chips. The ground pistachios on top add a nice crunch and nuttiness as well!

Ingredients: 

½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

¼ cup granulated white sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla

¾ cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup fine yellow or white cornmeal

1 tbsp. rice flour or cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries

¼ cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup finely ground pistachio nuts

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and place the oven rack in the center of the over. Have a ready 8 inch tart pan with removable bottom.

In the bowl of your electric mixer or by hand, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, cornmeal, rice flour, and salt.  Add this mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Press the shortbread dough evenly into the tart pan. Use a sharp knife to score the shortbread into 12 even wedges.  Sprinkle the top of the shortbread with finely ground pistachio nuts.

Place in the preheated oven and bake until the shortbread is a nice biscuit color, about 40-50 minutes.  Transfer shortbread to a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from tart pan. Place the shortbread round on a cutting board and cut into 12 wedges.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy and happy Holidays :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes (With Cream Cheese Frosting)

I made these from a cake recipe so they produce a lot of cupcakes (around 30), so they were perfect for bringing over the family's for Thanksgiving!  The cream cheese frosting is perfect with it, even for those who don't usually like super sweet frosting. These also make a very festive dessert for Christmas celebrations due to the really nice color the recipe produces. 

If you want to make a regular cake, the originally recipe uses two 8x2 inch round pans.

For the cake:

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 oz. red food coloring

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 ¼ cups cake flour)

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8 inch round baking pans with cake release or pan spray. In large mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs and food color. Blend well. Stir together flour, cocoa, and salt.  Add alternatively with buttermilk to batter mixture, beating until blended. Blend in baking soda.  Add vinegar and fold in carefully.  Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely.

For the Frosting:

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

4-6 cups confectioner’s sugar

         In a mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese.  Add vanilla. Add 4-6 cups powdered sugar depending on desired consistency. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

    This is the fudge me and my mother make every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It is absolutely amazing and creamy and rich.  Its always a hit for anywhere you go.  Try to make it on a day when there is very little rain/snow. We always use Jif traditional creamy peanut butter because it just makes it really creamy and sweet.  You can use your favorite, whatever that may be, but I suggest you use one that isn't a natural or organic because they tend to separate and I'm not sure it would turn out the same.

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

¾ cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup evaporated milk

6 oz. pkg. chocolate chips.

2 cups Marshmallow fluff

1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup peanut butter

 Directions:

                Combine 1 ½ cup sugar, 6 Tbsp. butter, and 1/3 cup evap. Milk in a heavy 1 ½ quart saucepan.  Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Continue boiling 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.   Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate pieces until melted.  Add 1 cup marshmallow and ½ tsp. vanilla.  Beat until well blended.  Pour into greased 13x9 pan. Repeat with remaining ingredients, substituting peanut butter for the chocolate.  Spread over chocolate layer. Cool at room temp. Cut into squares. Makes 3 lbs. 

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  More holiday recipes to come I hope :)

Rolled Sugar Cookies

So, when I was home for Halloween, I made some of the best sugar cookies I have ever tasted.  They actually come from food network and is an Alton Brown recipe,but I just have to share this.  I really cannot wait until I get to go home and cook over Thanksgiving.  I forsee fabulous fudge and wonderful red velvet cupcakes in my future!

So with out further wait:

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

It makes about 3 dozen cookies but it really depends on what size you are cutting out. I used my frosting on this cookie that I used on the Chocolate Cupcakes as well but you can just as easily eat them alone or with any other frosting you desire :)
Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cupcakes

So!  I finally was able to go home and bake this weekend!!  I was so excited.  Not so excited that I won't be home until Thanksgiving, but still excited enough to bake!  So I make chocolate cupcakes with traditional buttery frosting.  I decorated them with green colored frosting and mini pumpkin peeps- yup they have mini pumpkin peeps!!  These cakes are moist, chocolaty and delicious!!

This recipe as written makes 22 cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 1/2 full. (if you want to decorate them)
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting when cool.

The frosting is simple but you will definitely want to use a stand mixer.
1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of more of milk

Beat the butter and Crisco together until smooth.  Add vanilla and beat until mixed. Alternately mix in powdered sugar and milk.  The resulting consistency should be easily spreadable or your desired consistency.

Crockpot Pulled Chicken

Slow cookers are, by far, one of the best inventions in the field of cooking.  Talk about a perfect lazy Friday night, when you don't feel like cooking and just want dinner to be made already!  We made this last weekend and it was fabulous.  It may be blasphemy to say this, but I think I liked the chicken better than the pork. I know. It's that good.

One package of bone-in chicken thighs. (however much you with think you will need)
1/4-1/3 cup chopped onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
Barbecue sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's)
Grilling seasoning (we used Apple wood seasoning but you can use whatever, or make your own)

Chop up the onions and garlic and add to the crockpot.  Place on high.

Take the skin off of the chicken thighs.  Lightly coat the chicken thighs in the grilling seasoning and rub in.  Place the chicken, one layer at a time, into the crockpot.  Between each layer, cover with a generous amount of barbecue sauce.  Continue this process for the rest of the chicken.  Let it cook for about 4 hours on high, or until you can easily pull off the bone. 

When ready to be pulled, take a ladle and spoon of about 1 1/2 or more of the liquid. This is mostly fat or unnecessary liquid that will make your chicken soupy. When tender and falling off the bone, take each piece out and pull the meat off the bone with a couple forks.  Do this until all thighs are pulled.  Put the meat back into the crockpot and add one cup of the barbecue sauce.  Put on low for about 15 mins to a half an hour.

Enjoy!  Especially good paired with sweet potato fries :)

Apple Pie

Apple picking again, this long weekend!  For those of you who don't know about my passion for apple picking are in for a treat with this new recipe!  We combined cortland and macintosh apples but you can use any good bakng apple that you usually use.  This is an older recipe that my mom has been using since I was born, and probably much before then as well.  It comes from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. It is probably the best cookbook hands down for traditional cooking.  Our copy is well worn, having it since 1980, it should be. 

Now this recipe, I will not ever change, try to sub the necessary fat, exchange whole wheat flour or anything else.  You can if you want to but this is the best, no substitutions.  So, if you do, don't say I didn't warn you!

For the crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Crisco
6 tablespoons butter
5-6 tablespoons or more of ice cold water

(It's important that all ingredients are cold for this to come together properly.  I suggest putting the Crisco in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before starting it.)

In a medium bowl, measure out flour and salt.  With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut Crisco and butter into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly.

Sprinkle in cold water, a tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork until the dough just hold together.

Shape into a ball and divide into two equal portions.

Take one dough ball and roll out on a flour surface until large enough to cover the bottom of the greased pie plate. Trim off extra overhanging dough.  Fill with the pie filling.

Roll out other dough ball and repeat process for making the top pie crust.   Make sure to seal the crust by folding around the edges and pressing in with a floured fork. 

Slit holes in the top, Brush with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake according to directions of the pie recipe.

For Blueberry Apple Pie Filling:
2 pie crusts
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
6-7 cups thinly sliced, peeled, and cored cooking apples
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or well rinsed frozen
milk

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel and juice, apples, and blueberries in a large bowl.  Mix until well incorporated. 

Dish into pie crust. Cut up butter into small pieces and sprinkle over top of filling.  Top with second pie crust.  Slit top crust and brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, lower oven temperature to 375 and bake for another 40 minutes or until golden brown and syrup has a thick consistency.

Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

It is fall and although I really cannot get enough fall flavors, I had to go for some old fashioned blueberry pancakes today.  After a brief search I found this recipe and did a tweak or two to it.  They were AMAZING.  I have never had a fluffier pancake. Ever. Period. So I decided to make these and it was my plan to take a few pictures and to finally get some photos of my food on here, but alas, no such luck.  They were gone before I had even finished cooking them.  So!  Here's the recipe:

2 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl and add milk and melted butter. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth and stir in blueberries. Fold in beaten egg whites. Bake on hot greased griddle. Serve with warm maple syrup. 
For big crowds, I suggest a double batch!

It actually called for three tablespoons of butter, but I only had about one and wasn't going to the grocery store until later so I just added two teaspoons of oil and it was still delicious and probably not needing of the extra.  You could also make these any kind by substituting the blueberries for chocolate chips, apples, cinnamon chips etc. Anything works! 

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the long weekend!  Perfect pancakes to make on a day off!  Sometime soon, I'll also be posting recipes for a wonderful pie crust to go with an awesome blueberry apple pie.  It's actually in the oven right now :) See you soon!

Long Weekend!

Isn't that exciting!  I absolutely adore long weekends!  All the more time I get to spend with the family and, of course, cooking and baking :)  I don't know what we will try this weekend, though I'm still in sort of a pumpkiny mood! Going to have to make plenty, whatever it turns out to be! I'm not going home for a couple weekends after this one... I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, I get to get some homework done and hang with friends, on the other I miss my family and my kitchen...We shall see!

So one of the things I can get involved in up here at my home-away-from-home are bake sales :)  How I love bake sales!!  One way to bake and have fun and still stay relatively healthy: Sell what you bake (you know, except for the samples!)

Wednesday (And a Giveaway)

So ever since I started blogging, I have been following a number of other blogs about cooking and whatnot.  One of my favorites is Lovin from the Oven  She is awesome and has tons of wonderfully delicious looking recipes as well as many various other posts.  So she is running a giveaway and this is the Link for the contest if you all would wanted to apply!  The prize is a $50 gift card to drugstore.com and I'm pretty sure you can get anything you need there.  Good Luck! :)

Turkey Chili Soup

Arg! Forgot to post this yesteray, but here you go!! Ok so this weekend, we did a lot of cooking obviously... This was one of the best soup/chili recipes we have tried.  It was a pretty basic recipe at first but we added to it and it was perfect, especially for a rainy day like there was plenty of last weekend.  Oh, by the way, I LOVE spicy food, so if you like things a little more mild, I suggest you use a bit less spices originally and add from there.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cans white or black beans, drain and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped chilies
1 can chopped tomatoes with green chilies mixed in
1 can chopped tomatoes (plain)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons beef bullion
4 cups water
1 teaspoon chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (or to taste)

A dutch oven or a large stockpot works well for this. 
Spray and heat up the inside of the dutch oven or pot with PAM original spray or just coat with a little olive oil.
Brown the turkey meat and add in the garlic and the onions to the pot. 
After the onions are slightly caramelized, you can throw in all other ingredients... how easy is that??
Bring to a  boil, then let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Super simple recipe and super delicious!  I love it spicy so again, use the spices to your taste!

Cinnamon Roll Sunday

To brighten up this rather rainy day, my mother and I decided to make cinnamon rolls.  We actually found the recipe on Allrecipes.com and decided to change it up a little bit from there.  We subtracted the raisins, walnuts, and the white sugar from the original. Instead we added brown sugar, pecans, dried cranberries and diced apples. 
Dough:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

Filling:

3 tablespoons softened butter

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1/3 cup finely chopped apples (optional)

Icing:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Put wet ingredients in the bread machine first, then add the dry and select the right dough cycle. 

Once Dough cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread machine and punch down. On a floured surface, roll into a large rectangle. Smear with the softened butter. Combine the cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar. Sprinkle over the rectangle. Generously sprinkle the raisins and/or chopped nuts over the top.

Roll the dough up into a log starting at the long side. Cut into 12 slices. Place the rolls cut side down into a 9x13-inch greased baking pan. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). For the icing, combine the confectioners' sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, and milk into a thick frosting; set aside.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with the frosting and allow to cool 10 minutes.

These were amazing! Perfectly moist and warm and fluffy and just absolutely delicious!  Might be the best we have made.  I hope you all enjoy!! :)

A Fair Saturday

Hello All! 
How are your weekends going so far? We went to the Deerfield Fair today in New Hampshire. Talk about a food overload! Though, I justified it by walking for a while, and the fact that I haven't had good fair food in about three years.  Split three ways between my parents and me, not too bad I suppose. 

So,coming back today, I decided to make something pumpkin! I found a recipe in passing a few days ago that looked promising and surprisingly healthy. I changed a few things during my version but I will give you the origional recipe from http://www.fitsugar.com/

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or half wheat flour and half all purpose)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/4 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

I also added in 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds and 1/2 cup dried cranberries.
For my version I used only 1/2 cup brown sugar and it was plenty sweet with the add-ins. I didn't use the walnuts but that's just my taste. I used the pumpkin seeds instead. Raisins and diced apples might be good as well!

Preheat oven to 375.  Line muffin tin with liners.
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl mix wet ingredients.  Combine the two and stir until will mixed.  Fold in the add-ins you want. 
Fill the liners with the batter evenly.  I would fill them to the top if you want larger muffins.  Because of the add-ins and so many oats, the batter seems to not fluff up as much as other recipes. 
Bake for 18-25 minutes.

These are really quite good!  The did not puff up as much as  I would have liked for a muffin, but the flavor is really good and filling.  I can see grabbing one of these with an apple in the morning and being quite satisfied.  

Enjoy! :)

Fall in Love With Fall

Ahhhhh!!  It finally feels like fall up here in the Northeast.  It may have been a cool, rainy, and somewhat uncomfortable day for some, but I am just enjoying the fact that my favorite season is once again here.  I am also pretty excited that I am headed home tomorrow night and looking forward to trying something along the lines of a pumpkin baked good :)

Another thing fall gets me excited for is, of course, the holidays!!  I know that you all probably do not want to hear anything about snow, cold weather, Christmas, or anything of the sort but, as it turns out, there are only 87 days left until Christmas.  Around early September I started listening to Holiday music so I am well prepared to start off the holiday season.  Not to mention all the baking and all the posts I can do!

Sorry for the short post, but I am headed to bed!  Have a fabulous Friday all!

Lazy Tuesday

So Tuesday is my busy day (contrary to the title) with four classes, gym time, and homework all squished into the 16 hour block that is my day.  By this time at night, it's time to relax! 

I was thinking today, how surprisingly easy it can be to eat healthy in this day and age compared to even a few generations ago.  Now, I LOVE food.  There is nothing wrong with loving every aspect of a chocolate cake or a Thanksgiving diner.  However, I also enjoy being healthy and eating smart.  Everything is fine in moderation in my view.  How cliched is that? But no, really!  All you see these days are articles on what not to eat, not what you can eat and still feel good about yourself.  So, in my humble opinion, eat what you want (again in moderation), exercise regularly, and keep up on your sleep and you can lead a very healthy and still pleasurable life style.  I just know that I would be miserable if I had to give up cake and iced cream for the sake of following some strange fad diet.  In many of my recipes, you will see that I make some substitutions.  Usually I will put these as a side note, and you are more than welcome to just ignore it.  I promise though, the recipes I put up, I have tested with the substitutions and I wouldn't put them up if they didn't work! 

Have a good Wednesday all! Hope to post again Thursday :)

French Toast Sunday

Yesterday was my parent's 29th anniversary and since nobody was home yesterday, I made French toast this morning.  On  my way home from school Friday, there is a very small bread shop, all made in a house (I know; people still do that?!).  Anyway, she has all sorts of different kinds of bread and though I know her cinnamon raisin bread is to DIE for, I wanted to try something new.  Walking into the bread shop was like walking into heaven.  I would pay big for my own house to smell like that.  Perfect air freshener.  I spot exactly what I was looking for.  She has the mini loaves sitting there temptingly on her shelf.  Besides the cinnamon raisin, plain, and asiago cheese, there was maple walnut as well as cranberry orange; both of which I got.  Might as well have variety!
So! They turned out wonderfully and I think the overall favorite was the maple walnut bread.  It just seemed to work better with the maple syrup... I'm thinking next time I may try making a fruit syrup like cranberry maybe?  Anybody have any good recipes for that?

Made the trek back up to school and all I want to do is sleep for the next week or so.  Trying to battle the startings of a cold.  I'm hoping that if I will it away, it will just leave...I'll let you know if that works.

Hope youhad a relaxing Sunday all!

Rainy Day and Quilting Stores

So, I'm sorry to all of you that like this delayed summer weather up here in the Northeast but I, however, am all but thrilled about it.  It was rainy this morning only to lead to a rather hot and sticky day.  To me, fall should be crisp, cool, with a hint of musk in the air, better to enjoy sweaters, hot cider and cozy gatherings around the first fires of the season.  Call me sentimental, but that's what this time of year is all about.  Enough with the humidity please, Mother Nature.  Even just a little cooler would be much appreciated! 

Today was the annual Seacoast Shop Hop in the quilting and crafting world.(www.seacoastshophop.com) Besides having a lot of food at each shop, they also were doing raffles, having sales, and just in general enjoying the company and enthusiasm of other quilters and crafters alike.  I know that this years shop hop is almost over (tomorrow being the last day), but it was a lot of fun and I highly recommend going to future events!  Not to mention, you can get a nice jump on holiday sewing where a lot of these shops are now getting in their fall and winter fabrics!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Saturday!

Fridays are Awesome!

Does anybody else agree with this statement?  I think it's a well known fact that Fridays are indeed second only to Saturdays on the awesomeness scale. Home for the weekend and I couldn't be happier.  I even got to make my own food tonight!  Ever tried grilled pizza? It is deliciousness defined, I have to say.  It's so easy too!

Grilled Pizza

One package of premade dough cut into fours (or make your own, either way)
Sauce and any other toppings (cheese, onion, peppers, pepperoni etc.)
Olive oil
Extra flour
Cookie sheet

Cut the dough into fours for four personal size pizzas.
Flour dough balls and start to stretch them in small, pizza style circles.  This might take a few cycles, especially if the dough was refrigerated and really cold. 
After the dough is stretched, put a little more flour on so they don't stick and place them on the cookie sheet.
Coat one side with olive oil and place oil side down on a preheated grill on High. Now coat the other side with oil.
Wait until it starts to bubble up a bit and get puffy (about 2-3 mins)and flip it over with tongs.
Add your toppings to the already cooked side and close the top of the grill.  You can turn the heat down to medium/low so the crust doesn't burn.
Give it about 2-3 minutes or however long it takes the cheese to melt. 
Pull it off the grill, cut it up and enjoy!

Awesome Apple Pie Muffins

Fall is, by far, my favorite season all year.  Everything about it makes me happy.  Being a sophomore in college in an exceptionally pretty area of New Hampshire is one of the best ways to enjoy the changing weather.  Leaves are beinging to change and though it's raining, it cannot dampen my spirits about the beauty of fall.  One of my favorite activities in all of life is apple picking.  There is simply nothing I can complain about when it comes to the sweet smell of apples in the orchard or the juicy crunch of the first bite! And apple cider; liquid happiness. No contest! It has always been a family tradition and am I happy with just one apple picking weekend? Of course not! At least two or three weekends every fall have to be somehow related to apple activities; preferably more :)

A local apple orchard in full swing as you can see! Just the perfect image of fall!

So the first thing I made with some of these delicious apples were muffins to take back to school with me!  Delicious and warm way to start off a day!

Apple Pie Muffins

Topping

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Muffin Batter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup oats (optional)
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or half whole wheat and half regular)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups diced firm tart apples

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with Pam, either way works (but liners are more colorful). 

Mix topping ingredients together and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, applesauce, egg, and vanilla. In another bowl, mix oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Alternate mixing in buttermilk and the dry ingredients to the wet.

After combined, fold in diced apples and raisins.

Scoop batter and fill to the top of the muffin liners.

Sprinkle the yummy topping over all muffins evenly.  Be generous :)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

Just a note:  The origional recipe did not call for oats or raisins so they are completely optional but delicious! You could also add any nuts you may like as well!

Recipe was based off a recipe by another blogger, a personal favorite of mine and I highly recommend her!
The Hazel Bloom

Rainy Day

Today is a rather rainy and cloudy day up in the Northeast, so what am I to do?  I guess I'll start a blog!  My love of crafting, cooking, baking, and just generally living is something I think I want to share.  Thanks to my mother, I seem to have inherited some skill when it comes to working with my hands (yay!), so I'm planning on posting different artworks, food and other crafts whatever they may be.  It may be a bit of a random selection but it all fits... sort of :)