French Toast Sticks

I posted this recipe on my Savoring the Circus blog over 2 years ago! I can't believe it's been so long ago...

Anyway... this is a really good recipe and I hadn't taken a picture of it since I got my new camera last August. I love the recipe because it makes french toast sticks that are sweet enough to be enjoyed without syrup. I do love syrup, but somehow it always seems to end up all over the table, floor, hands, hair, dog, cat, etc... whenever we eat it.

Anyway, I digress... here's the recipe:

1 loaf bread (The first time I made this I used homemade whole wheat bread & cut it into thick strips. I thought it was better than the store-bought loaf I used the second time.)
4 eggs (I used 5 because my chickens are laying small eggs right now.)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbs pancake syrup
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
butter

Combine everything except the bread. Cut the bread (I recently used homemade sour dough bread & boy was it good!) into thick strips. Dip each strip into the egg mixture and cook them on a lightly greased griddle, turning every so often so that each side is browned.

Makes about 10 servings.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I love these cupcakes! They have real strawberries in them and are moist and perfectly paired with a not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting.Ingredients:

1 cup of thoroughly squashed strawberries
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs

Cream the butter & sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder & salt in another bowl. Stir the milk & strawberries into the butter mixture and then stir in the dry ingredients until everything is combined.

Fill the muffin liners 2/3 full - this batter doesn't rise very much. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool before frosting.

Makes about 4 dozen cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups of powdered sugar

Thoroughly beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy and no lumps remain. Beat in the remaining ingredients, adding enough sugar to get the consistency you want. (For piping, add more, for spreading, add less...)

Frost your cooled cupcakes and try not to eat them all at one time! If you do have some left, store them in the fridge. :)

Strawberry Trifle

Our strawberries have ripened and this dessert is one of our favorite ways to use them! It is simple, elegant and DEElicious!

Ingredients:

about 4 cups sliced strawberries
2 boxes cheesecake pudding, prepared according to package
1 pint heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
about 4 cups cake, cut into chunks (I used leftover cupcakes)


Sprinkle about 2 tsp of sugar over the strawberries and set them aside. This will allow them to make a little yummy syrup. Go ahead and make the pudding now, if you haven't.

Whip the cream until peaks form, gradually adding the 1/4 cup of sugar while whipping.

Layer in this order:

1/2 of the cake chunks
1/2 of the strawberries (drizzling their juice over the cake and placing some of the prettier slices against the side of the bowl)
1/2 the pudding
1/2 the whipped cream

Repeat & top with a whole strawberry. Chill for several hours before serving. Makes about 12 servings.

Note 1: A crushed pineapple layer also tastes good. And blueberries. And bananas. And...

Note 2: You can use any kind of cake - sponge, angel food, chocolate, or even Twinkies!

Pink Lemonade Sherbet

I have Sugar Baby (my 12 yr old dd) to thank for discovering this yummy treat! Lucky for us - she loves trying new recipes.

She found this one on allrecipes. It is pretty, creamy & delicious! I'm sure we'll be having this a lot this summer when the temperature goes up. And as pretty as it is, I could easily see it being served at a Mother's Day brunch or something like that...

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix or flavor of your choice [she used a .23oz packet of pink lemonaid flavored Koolaid]
  
• 3 cups milk

Directions

1. In a bowl, stir sugar, soft drink mix and milk until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a shallow freezer container; cover and freeze for 1 hour or until slightly thickened. Transfer to a mixing bowl, beat until smooth. Return to freezer container; cover and freeze until firm. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Pops!

These were too cute not to post here!

I've been dabbling with cake pops recently and I've discovered that brownie pops taste wayyyy better!

Here's how to do it:

Bake a box of brownie mix, using 1 less egg than the directions call for. Let it cool and then roll & squish it into balls that are slightly smaller than a golf ball. (I made the chicky ones a little more egg shaped - or at least tried to).

Chill the balls for at least an hour and dip in candy coating and allow to dry.

NOTE: Do NOT attempt to add food coloring to candy coating/bark. Trust me on this one.

Overnight Coffeecake

We've been going to the early service at church on Sunday mornings. Getting eight people fed, dressed & out of the house by 7:45am is no easy task! This recipe is great, because I can make it at night, stick it in the fridge and then bake it in the morning. Mmmm... and with all that sugar & cinnamon, everyone is bound to love it.

Overnight Coffeecake from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts [I had none, so I left these out]
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon [I crumbled the brown sugar with 3Tbs of butter before sprinking]; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over warm coffee cake.

Apple Strudel Muffins

I love muffins! And especially ones with struesel/strudel (or whatever that sweet, crumbly stuff is called) on top! This is another yummy one that I found on allrecipes and tweaked a little. It makes your kitchen smell so good when they're baking, too!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apples
• 
  
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.