{Amazing Spice Cake}

Hello friends! I hope you had a lovely New Year's weekend!

Isn't the thought of a new year such a wonderful thought? It is like one big, mysterious adventure just waiting for us! I am so excited to see what the year will hold! :)

I want to first thank you for your dear and thoughtful comments on my recent post concerning ideas for this blog. I was actually very nervous as I waited to hear what you would think! So thank you, for each and every comment touched my heart. And I am so glad to hear you think it all sounds all right! :)
 

Well now...

How about a slice of warm, straight out the oven pumpkin cake? Or perhaps banana is more to your liking, and well, that's all right, too!

It is soooo delicious with a cup of steaming hot coffee along side it, too!

And I must add, if you have the cake and the coffee, you might as well make it a thorough indulgence and include a wonderful book!

{It really can be any book, as long as you truly love it!} ;)

And the secret about this cake is that it is really more of a sweet bread. In fact, one of the reasons I love this recipe so, is that I was trying to duplicate the banana bread and the pumpkin bread found at Starbucks...only it would be fresher, and warm!

Well, this little recipe satisfied me to my heart's content! Delicious flavor and absolutely moist, down the very last crumb.

But the best part is that it is of those "one recipe, two ways" variety...The recipe came from a dear friend as Banana Spice Cake-

 but guess what? When I substituted canned pumpkin for the mashed banana, it worked entirely as well!

And I was as tickled as could be. Because one of my deep, dark secrets is that I use pumpkin all year round. Now that I have that off my chest, I am going to have to share this recipe with you! 

{I have also included a recipe for homemade buttermilk, should you not have this on hand!}

Amazing Spice Cake~ Banana OR Pumpkin 

2 1/2 cups flour
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon ginger {for pumpkin cake}

2/3 cup butter, softened

2 eggs
*2/3 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cup mashed banana OR 1 1/4 cup canned {or pureed} pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


*Making your own buttermilk is so easy! Using a measuring cup for liquids, first add a teaspoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice. Then add milk to the one cup line. Stir it well, and let it stand for ten minutes. This will keep refrigerated in a covered jar or other container for one week. It is the best if made with whole milk, but you can use 1% or 2 % if desired. Let it stand for 15 minutes. Store as above.

Mix the dry ingredients together first, then add the remaining ingredients. Stir for 30 seconds on low, then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan, and bake for 40 minutes.

Alternatively, you can mix the ingredients in a bowl if you prefer! I just love the convenience of the mixer!

{Grab a hot cup of coffee or tea and a book!}

Oh, and the book I chose?
 

This is my favorite book on decorating! It won't be long before it has dog eared pages, it is just that beloved!


Which book would you choose?


I hope you have a beautiful Tuesday!

Much love,
Jenni

Have A Heart {A Valentine's Day Treat}

Hi sweet friends! :)

I hope you had a fun weekend!

As you know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day...I am SO excited about this! Valentine's Day is a big deal at my little nest, and we are having our usual family party tomorrow night!

(My husband and I already went out to dinner earlier this weekend.)

One thing I personally love about Valentine's Day is baking special treats, and I tried one this year that will be a tradition, I think! :) I found it at one of my favorite baking websites, Joy of Baking, and it was just what I was looking for!

{Shortbread with White Chocolate & Raspberries}

Shortbreads:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

1/2 cup of raspberry jam

2 ounces white chocolate, grated

Shortbreads: In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter until smooth (about one minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about two minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On the lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about one inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a small cookie cutter (3/4 to 1 inch) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small "window" or "cut out" in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.) * Tip: I kept the little hearts that I cut out and baked these, too. My kids loved them!) Place the unbaked cookies, on the baking sheet, in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. *This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for about ten minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

* (I wanted the shortbread to be softer, not crisp, and so I did not bake them until lightly browned, but removed them just before this.)

To assemble cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and dust with confectioners' (powdered) sugar. (I used my flour sifter for this.)

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

Sprinkle with a little grated white chocolate, if desired. ( I didn't use it on mine~ just personal preference.) Place the cut-out cookie on top, and sandwich together gently, being careful not to smudge the confectioners' sugar.

Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

And enjoy!

{Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.}

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Thanks so much for coming by, and have a good night! :)

Blessings to you~

Jenni

The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies {Day Three}

Hi friends! I hope you are having a fun weekend!

The last weekend before Christmas...Yikes! Where did all the time go?

Now I will admit it seems my brain is running on fumes lately with the craziness of it all, but I can still do basic math. And I know that in order to give 10 more cookie recipes before Christmas, I am obviously going to have to do more than one "day" in a given day! :) I hope you don't mind this!

So, without further ado...

"On the third day of Christmas,

there was a recipe

for

Giant Ginger Cookies"

{see, it even rhymes...sort of}

;)

These are delicious cookies, and they have a "secret" ingredient that gives them a little zip, which is black pepper.

{Ingredients}

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, but it was too much for me! However, for full disclosure, my husband liked it best with 1/2.)

1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for coating

6 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

1 large egg

{To bake}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and pepper.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg.

With mixer on low, gradually beat in dry ingredients just until combined.

Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes for easier handling. * I found it took more like 45 minutes until it was easy to handle!

Shape dough into twelve 2- inch balls. Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a bowl.

Roll balls in sugar to coat; place on prepared baking sheets, at least 4 inches apart. Flatten into 3-inch rounds; sprinkle evenly with sugar remaining in bowl.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set and cracked on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

{Makes 12}

* Now I prefer them a little less large, so I rolled the dough into about 1 inch balls. This way the recipe makes about 2 dozen. But either way, they taste good!

Well, thank you for letting me share another cookie recipe with you! I will be back later today with a craft idea for kids! Have a beautiful day! :)

Until then,

Jenni

The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies {Day Two}

"On the second day of Christmas"

I am giving you a recipe for:

Mexican Wedding Cake

Now I don't know if this is truly served as wedding cake in Mexico~ does anyone know if it is?~ but it is such a delicious cookie, it could certainly be served at a wedding. It even looks the part, covered in powdered sugar! And they fit in nicely as a Christmas cookie, too. I found this recipe years ago on the back of the C & H powdered sugar bag, and they've been a favorite of my husband's ever since. This one is definitely worth a try!

{Ingredients}

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups nuts, finely chopped

additional powdered sugar~ about 1 and 1/2 cups

{To bake}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

With electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla.

Combine flour, salt and nuts; stir into sugar mixture. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 15 minutes until lightly browned.

While hot, roll in powdered sugar.

Cool on a rack, then roll again in powdered sugar to coat.

Makes about 5 dozen.

{Enjoy!}

Well, I am still trying to decide whether or not to do a one time "linky" party for homemade goodies this week. It seems like a Christmas kind of thing to do! And again, if this is something you'd be interested in, please let me know! I will let you know in a couple of days if it's a go! :)

I sure hope your weekend was wonderful! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit!

Blessings,

Jenni

The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies

Hi friends! Are you having a good weekend?

I sure hope so! :)

I want to share with you another one of my hair brained ideas ;) But first, an apology...

I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you! There has been much sickness at my little nest these past few weeks, and I was right in the middle of a huge painting project that I had to finish last week, sick or not...anyway, not to bore you or anything, but this week I just kind of crashed! But I am getting back into the swing of things, and plan on doing some serious catching up! I have truly missed visiting you. :)

Well now...I have been thinking it would be fun to do a "cookie/candy recipe a day" for the next twelve days. You know, kind of like the "Twelve Days of Christmas"?

And here is a question for you: would any of you be interested in participating in a "virtual cookie swap" this next week? We are considering doing a one time linky party here at {Beautiful Nest}, where everyone could link up their posts showing their favorite recipes for cookies and candies, even pies and cakes! This is the season for baking, and I know I can't be the only one who is always looking for another good recipe! :) Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

SO...

The first up:

Peanut Brittle

I found this recipe last year at Joy of Baking (joyofbaking.com) and it has become a family favorite that now must be made every Christmas! :)

{Ingredients}

1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups white granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups raw peanuts

Lightly butter two cookie sheets. Set aside.

In a small cup or bowl, place the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter (with the butter on top). Set aside.

In a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat, bring the water, corn syrup, sugar, salt, and peanuts to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (I used a plastic spatula, and it worked fine, though!) Cover the pan with a lid for about one minute to allow the sides of the pan to wash themselves down and dissolve any sugar crystals. Remove lid after one minute. Then clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan and, stirring occasionally to prevent the peanuts from sticking to the bottom of the pan, cook until the candy thermometer reaches 296 degrees F (147 degrees C).

Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter (the brittle will puff up) stirring for about 30 seconds. Immediately pour half the brittle onto each of the two buttered cookie sheets. If you want a thin brittle, then while the brittle is still very hot, use gloved hands to stretch the brittle until you get the brittle to how thin you want it. Do this by gently pulling the edges of the brittle, working your way around the entire mass. Let the brittle completely cool and then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag as this will prevent the brittle from becoming sticky and breaking down. Store at room temperature for up to two weeks.

{Makes about 2 pounds.}

I hope you all have a good night! I will be back on Sunday with the Third Candle of Advent, and, if all goes well, a fun new ornament idea I have been working on! :)

Blessings,

Jenni

Featuring Quit Eating Out

When it comes to recipes, look no further. Quit Eating Out is the place to fly away to for inspiration. Kim has a variety of recipes, from heavenly desserts to kid-friendly meals to elegant dinner menus. We're featuring two of our favorite recipes at Beautiful Nest.

My Favorite Sandwich

{photo courtesy of Kim at Quit Eating Out}

{Both Belle and Jenni have made this recipe for their families who loved it! } The pesto loving woman that Belle is, she just couldn't resist making it for dinner one summer evening. Not only did this sandwich taste amazing, it was easy to make, a plus for a busy momma of four lil' ones!

Roasted Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes

{photo courtesy of Kim at Quit Eating Out}

If you're like Belle, you've attempted many a time to bake a tender, juicy, flavor-filled chicken only to be disappointed with dismal results. Well be disappointed no more! Not only was this recipe easy to prepare, the results were stunning! Belle was so impressed with this recipe she intends to use it for this year's Thanksgiving turkey. It will be Belle's first attempt preparing and baking the turkey, so wish her luck!

{photo courtesy of Kim at Quit Eating Out}

Not only does Kim have a quantity of recipes to glance over, but she hosts a blog party each Saturday called Saturday Swap, so if you enjoy baking and cooking be sure to stop by and link your recipe to the swap!

simply . living . life