Chocolate Meringue Stars

I made these for the first time last night for our church fellowship.
They're the perfect light snack for a small get together.
They don't last long, so I recommend making a double batch!

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE STARS
from Taste of Home Baking Book (photo courtesy of cookbook)


3 egg whites
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Beat egg whites and vanilla on medium speed until soft peaks form.
2. Gradually add sugar, beating on high until stiff peaks form.
3. Gently fold in cocoa
4. Insert a #8b tip into a pastry bag; fill with meringue.
5. Pipe stars, about 1-1/4 in in diameter, or drop by rounded
teaspoonfuls onto ungreased parchment paper.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Remove from paper; cool on wire racks.

GLAZE:
1. Melt 3 squares of semisweet chocolate and 1 TBSP of shortening.
2. Dip cookies halfway into glaze; place on wax paper until set.

ENJOY!

Cakies...

These have become a family favorite over the years.
We named it "cakie" because they taste like little mini cakes.


COCOA DROP COOKIES
from Betty Crocker's 40th Anniversary Cookbook

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup softened butter
1 egg
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk or water
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix sugar, butter, egg, cocoa, milk, & vanilla.

3. Stir in flour, soda, salt, and nuts.

4. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfulls on greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched.




6. If desired, frost with chocolate frosting:
Heat 2oz of unsweetened chocolate and 2TBSP butter over low heat
until melted; remove from heat. Stir in 3TBSP water and 2cups
powdered sugar until smooth.

Coconut Cream Meringue Pie

This was my first time experimenting with meringue Ü.
This is a great tasting recipe found in my
Taste of Home Baking Book that I thought I'd share.

COCONUT CREAM MERINGUE PIE

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in)
6 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
MERINGUE:
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut

1. Bake pastry shell according to directions.
Cool on a wire rack.

2. In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, & salt.
Stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over
medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly.
Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minuets longer.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot
filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring
constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2
minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir
in vanilla and coconut. Pour into crust.

3. For meringue, beat egg whites and cream of
tartar in a small mixing bowl on medium speed
until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1
tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks
form and sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over hot
filling, sealing edges to crust. Sprinkle with coconut.

4. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minuets or until meringue
is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

ENJOY!

Delicious Eggnog

I'm always excited come the holidays,
since one of my favorite drinks is "in season" Ü.
This year I thought I'd try homemade eggnog before I bought some,
and now I don't think I'll ever need to buy any again!
This recipe I got from "Better Homes & Gardens"
is even better than store bought!!
I thought I'd share the recipe:

EGGNOG
6 Beaten eggs
2 1/4 Cups Milk
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Whipping Cream
2 TBSP Sugar
Ground Nutmeg

In a large heavy saucepan mix eggs, milk, & 1/3 cup sugar.
Cook and stir over medium heat till mixture coats a metal spoon.
Remove from heat.
Cool quickly by placing pan in a sink or bowl
of ice water and stirring 1-2 minutes.
Stir in vanilla. Chill 4-24 hours.
(I ADDED SOME CHOCOLATE SYRUP BEFORE CHILLING)


Right before serving, in a bowl whip cream and 2 TBSP sugar until soft peaks form.


Fold cream mixture into eggnog. Sprinkle each serving with nutmeg.


ENJOY!!!

Family Fun and Chocolate Cakes...

I know, it's a little tacky for a title, but it's true!!
Maybe I've just been aching to share the dozens of
pictures I've been taking with my new camera ;-)

My uncle and his family arrived on Monday.
Since then, we've been doing quite a bit.
We couldn't help but laugh at the weather forcast...

What was even funnier was that there really was
a lot of smoke because the base was burning leaves!

Tuesday was my mom's birthday and we went to the ocean.
We stayed there 3 hours!
For the first time ever, I actually got a sunburn.
(I've only ever tanned, and I'm not easy to burn)
Wow, sunburn hurts!!! I'm glad I've missed out on it before!!

Later on, we celebrated mom's birthday by eating cake.
I made her a cake, but one of the roses got smooshed
and the bag busted so there was excess scribbling...

See what I mean? Oh well, it tasted good!

We later we took her out to Olive Garden (her favorite),
where I drank some of this...

Yummy strong brewed decaf coffee!!
(Olive Garden's is almost as yummy as Starbucks!)

Yesterday we went to the Aquarium.
It is on an island and I loved the view over the bridge...




The aquarium was quite fun (and exhausting).
The stingrays are my absolute favorite... I love petting them!
They're so friendly!
I couldn't get a very good picture of them though
because of the bad lighting and they swim and flap too fast.
Here was a waterfall...


This was a neat albino toad...


This adorable snake was looking right at me...


Afterwards we went to the beach on the island...




Today my mom picked up my gramma
and my great-gramma at the airport.
From 10am-2pm I was busy making cakes for my graduation...





My theme colors are black/pink/white.
I made the tassel on the smiley the same as my tassel.
It was kind of weird writing 'congrats' to myself!

This evening my dad and I are meeting with pastor
at the church to do a rehearsal for graduation,
as well as do things with the sound system.
Tomorrow we're decorating the church :-)!!!
I hope you all are having a great week!

Here's a random pic I took this week
(did I mention that I LOVE my new camera!)...

Friends Are Family

Today was a usual Friday
of having our close friends coming over for pizza :)
We had a cake mix that needed to be used,
so I thought I'd make a 'just because' cake.
I was glad with the way it turned out...



There is a face designed for each person in both families...
and everyone ate their own face!
We've known them for 7 years now,
and we truly are like family to eachother!

Anyway, just thought I'd share the cake!
Today was park day and I was able to get some
senior pictures in my cap and gown.
Stephani and I worked on Modern Greek together
and I finished Advanced Biology!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend!
I'll see you all Monday!
Oh yes, and I came across this verse in my
special time with my Beloved today...

"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions,
do the work of an evangelist,
make full proof of thy ministry."
2 Timothy 4:5

Happy Vernal Equinox!

LOL :)
I thought I'd pop in and say 'Happy Spring',
since tomorrow is the first official day.

Here's a cake I made for the occassion...



I was finally able to use all my new
cake decorating accessories!
It took me 2 hours to frost and decorate...
good thing I'm ambidextrous!
(One hand would get really tired, so I'd
just switch to the other one :)

I made homemade 'Wilton Buttercream Frosting'
and I never want to use storebought again!
(I LOVE it! Much easier to decorate with!)
The filling between the two layers is blue.
No one will know until tomorrow when we eat it 8-)

At first I was going to make a "Happy Friday" cake,
but I looked and noticed tomorrow's the 1st of spring.
So tomorrow's forcast is:
Park day (Stephani and I crochet and chat),
Cake day (finally get to eat it!),
Pizza night (Stephani and I cook them and clean),
and...
a Cool spring night (farewell to winter)

I hope you all enjoy your Friday
and first day of spring tomorrow!


"For, lo, the winter is past...
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come..."
Song of Solomon 2:11a, 3:12a

Hearty Oat Loaf

2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Oats
1/4 Cup Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
2/4 tsp Salt
1 Egg
1-1/2 Cups Milk
3 TBSP Oil

1. In a large bowl, combine flours, oats,
sugar, baking powder, & salt.
2. In another bowl, combine the egg,
milk, and oil.
3. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients
just until moistened.
4. Spread into a greased 9in. round baking pan.
(I used a 9x9 square one.)
5. Sprinkle with 2 TBSPs of oats.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes
or until a toothpick inserted near center
comes out completely clean.
7. Cool for 5 minutes before removing
from pan to a wire rack.
8. ENJOY!

Neapolitan Cookies...

I was aching to get baking,
so I took a look
at what I could cook :)

After seeing recipes I was tossed between two,
but decided I would try making something new:
They turned out so grand,
I just could not stand,
not sharing the recipe with you :)
{lol... okay, moving on from my corny poem}


NEAPOLITAN COOKIES:
These eye-catching cookies may look complicated,
but they're actually quite easy to prepare!
YEILDS: 12 dozen

1 Cups Butter, softened
1-1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2-1/2 Cups Flours
1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Almond extract
6 drops Red food coloring
1/2 Cup Chopped walnuts (optional)
1 Square Unsweetened baking chocolate,
melted and cooled.

1. Line a 9in. x 5 in. x 3 in. loaf pan
with waxed paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar
and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Combine flour, powder, and salt;
gradually add to the creamed mixture.
5. Divide the dough in thirds.
6. Add almond extract and food coloring
to one portoin; spread evenly into pan.
7. Add nuts to one portion (I didn't);
spread evenly over first layer.
8. Add melted chocolate to third portoin;
spread evenly over second layer...

9. Cover with waxed paper; refrigerate overnight.
10. Unwrap dough; cut loaf in half lengthwise.
11. Cut each portion into 1/8 in. slices...



12. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheet...


13. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm.
14. Remove to wire racks to cool.
15. ENJOY! (Caution: Do NOT skip this step!)

(recipe from The Taste of Home Baking Book)

These have turned out to be so good!
They came out of the oven yestermorning,
and they're half gone tonight!
These were so fun and easy, (as well as eye-appealing!)
I think I've found my dessert tray
for our next church fellowship :)
If you happen to try them,
I'd love hearing what you think of them :)

I hope you're all enjoying your week!

Friday Fun and Busy Baking...

As our usual Friday tradition,
our friends came over and we had a great time.
We had fun doing Bible study and fellowshipping.

Before I go further, I wanted to say "Thank you, Mom"
for the baking book she purchased for me!




Oooooh!
It was so thoughtful and sweet of her!

Perhaps you can guess what my friend and I did?
Oh yes! We spent 40 minuets drooling over the book
and then we had to make the hard choice of what to bake!
We decided on chocolate mint wafers... yum!


(these are NOT our wafers, unfortuneately,
these are from the book)
Thankfully, we had just enough mint extract!
So she started mixing the cookies
and I started making the sourdough pizzas
that we have every Friday...









We had a great time in the kitchen.
After the pizzas were done and the dough was chilled,
we sat together making shapes for the cookies.
Lots o' fun!

I've also been really busy crocheting gifts.
I'm finally almost finished with Mom's, but I can't
tell you until after Christmas because she reads my blog ;-)

I've also really been enjoying my Advanced Chemistry...




I've finally learned all there is to physical chemistry
(my favorite branch of chemistry!) and I love it!
Actually, the one who wrote my Advanced Chemistry
said that most chemists don't like physical chemistry
and have a difficult time comprehending it.
But I sure LOVE it!

Speaking of Chemistry,
we did one of my experiments together yesterday.
I dippped a Q-tip in colbat chloride solution
and wrote on a piece of blank paper.
You couldn't see it until I blow dried it,
and the solution was readable in blue...
(Please excuse the hideous faces mom caught us in!)



(Colbat Chloride is originally pink,
but I won't explain all the deatils in the experiment! ;-)
You can hardly see the writing in the picture, though.

The Lord's creation is SO wonderful and complex!
How can anyone believe this all happened by chance?
There is so much evidence of God in His complex creation!

Well, I hope everyone's had a great week!


"Therefore also now, saith the LORD,
turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the LORD your God:
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil."
Joel 2:12&13

Choice Corn Chowder

I was flipping through my cookbook,
looking for some delicious, fast, easy,
and plain meals, and I came across 'corn chowder'.
It sounded good so I tried it.
It was very delicious and, now, I plan to make it a lot!


Choice Corn Chowder

10-oz package of frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup cubed potato
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1/3 cup water
2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
1 3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp margarine or butter
2 Tbsp flour

In a large saucepan combine frozen corn, potato,
onion, water, bouillon granules, and pepper.
Bring to boiling; reduce heat.





Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or till corn
and potatoes are just tender, stirring occaisionally.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the milk and butter.
Combine the remaining milk and flour.
Stir milk-flour mixture into corn mixture.
Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.
Makes 4-6 side-dish servings.




Recipe adapted from 'Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook'

It's a great meal that can be made different everytime.
Try it with bacon, ham cubes, your favorite seasonings,
and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Personally, though, I'm a bit of a 'plain Jane'. ;)
I loved it just the way it was.

If you decide to try it, tell me what you think!