Hot Toddy Pudding Cake

This cake just might be the perfect thing for a cold winter day, and as that's pretty much all we've been getting here in Ohio, it was greeted with great enthusiasm by my housemates. This cake is really simple to throw together, and the baking does all of the work for you- the cake comes out puffy and golden on top, and like pudding on the bottom. And it's excellent warm- straight out of the oven would be most preferable! This cake is baked in a water bath, but don't let that scare you off- it's easiest to put the two pans in the oven, then pour the water in the outer pan and then let it bake. OK, off to the recipe!


Here's your arsenal of ingredients- looks like a lot, but it comes together so simply!


Here are the two 'batters'- the egg whites on the left, and the egg yolk mixture on the right.


And here's the cake ready for the oven- notice how much the egg whites lightened the color of the batter.


Hot Toddy Pudding Cake
-1 cup milk
-1/3 cup lemon juice
-1/4 cup whiskey (bourbon preferable, but anything would work)
-1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup) melted and cooled
-3 tablespoons honey
-1 teaspoon lemon zest
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-3 eggs, separated
-1/4 cup flour
-1/3 cup sugar
Whisk the milk, lemon juice, whiskey, butter, honey, lemon zest, salt, and egg yolks together. Stir in the flour.
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add sugar slowly. Stir some of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the rest.
Grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes in a water bath.



And here's the finished cake- if you look close, you can see that I have a 9x13'' pan underneath for the water bath- enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

p.s. my next recipes will be non-alcoholic, don't worry! Also, I'm sure you can substitute more milk or something in for the whiskey if that's not your thing!

Bourbon Bread Pudding

I myself am not too big a fan of alcohol- I don't drink, and I rarely cook with it, but I got absolutely rave reviews on this recipe when I made it for Valentine's day. I also haven't made too many bread puddings in my life, but this one turned out perfect on the first try, and I have a feeling you could take it in a lot of different directions- you could omit the bourbon and add more milk or a different flavoring agent, add spices, different dried fruit- the possibilities are endless.


Here are all the parts to the pudding- the bread, wet ingredient mixture, and raisins.


And here's the pudding after it has soaked and chilled in the fridge for about an hour.


And here's the bread pudding just out of the oven- nicely browned on top and it smelled delicious!


Bourbon Bread Pudding
-8 oz. white bread, cubed
-1 cup milk
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup bourbon
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 egg
-1/3 cup raisins
-caramel sauce for serving
Toast the bread in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Mix the wet ingredients together, then add the bread and raisins. Chill for 45 minutes at least.
Grease a 9'' baking dish, and transfer the mixture to it. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes covered with foil, then uncovered for 10 more minutes. Serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce- and enjoy!



And since it was Valentine's day, I cut the pudding out in the shape of hearts to serve it- so cute!

Savor it!
love, rue

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I came across this recipe several years ago when trying to figure out the perfect oatmeal cookie. These are chewy and delicious and perfect in whatever direction you want to take them, whether it be the traditional oatmeal raisin (as in this post) or try adding cranberries, coconut, or making them chocolate chip- use your imagination because this recipe works with just about everything. So this time I made oatmeal raisin cookies, for which I have included the ingredients below. Let's get to the pictures and recipe!


Here's the dough- quick to mix up!


And here are the cookies ready to go into the oven...


Oatmeal Cookies
-1 cup butter (2 sticks)
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup white sugar
-2 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3 cups oats
-1 cup or so mix-ins
If making Oatmeal Raisin add:
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon cloves
-use raisins as the mix-in
-walnuts optional
Cream the butter and sugars, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the oats and mix-ins.
Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.



And here are the baked cookies- enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

So last week was a friend of mine's birthday, and I made her this cake to celebrate- a classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting and plenty of sprinkles! This cake was easy to whip up, had a tender crumb, and was absolutely delicious. This was my first time trying this recipe (the cake anyway, I've made the frosting before) and the only mistake I made was putting too much batter in one pan- don't fill a pan over halfway with this cake- split it into two pans if you have any doubts!


Here's my (slightly overfilled) pan with the cake batter- don't fill this full or it will overflow!


And here's the baked cake- mine looks a little funky because of the overflow problem, but it tasted amazing!


And here's the easy chocolate frosting I whipped up (and destroyed my hand-held mixer on! It started smoking and I decided that probably wasn't safe!)


And here's the finished cake, ready for a birthday and my friend! She's a wonderful and very colorful person, so the sprinkles were a natural choice- feel free to decorate however you like!


Yellow Cake
-1 cup butter (2 sticks)
-2 cups white sugar
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-4 eggs
-2 cups buttermilk (or use regular and add a bit of vinegar)
-3 1/2 cups flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
Beat together the wet ingredients, then add the dry.
Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or so in a greased pan. Feel free to make cupcakes or make this in any pan you choose.

Chocolate Frosting
-3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
-3 tablespoons butter
-1/4 cup milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-about 2 cups confectioner's sugar
Melt the butter and chocolate together, let cool a little. Add milk and vanilla, and beat in the confectioner's sugar. Adjust the texture with milk or sugar until spreadable.



And Enjoy!!!

Savor it!
love, rue

Monkey Bread

I tried to resist monkey bread for a long time. As a lifelong lover and loyal fan of sticky buns, I felt monkey bread was a sort of cheat code for sticky buns. However, a few summers ago I was reading a food blog and came across monkey bread yet again. I didn't want to make it, I didn't want to give in to the glorious goodness that was calling to me, but I did. I made it. That day. And I ate every single bite. That day. It was not a healthy decision, but it opened my world to the wonders of monkey bread, and its cheat code for delicious.

This recipe isn't fancy. I don't even make the biscuits I use in it- I buy the kind in the can from the store- something I never ever do. But it's worth it for this (though I'm sure you could make your own, it'd just make your wait for the fantastic monkey bread longer). So let's get to the recipe and pictures!


Here are your ingredients- so easy!


And here's the monkey bread ready to go into the oven- you can tell it's going to be delicious!


Monkey Bread
-2 cans butter flavor biscuits
-sugar and cinnamon for rolling
-1 stick butter
-1 cup brown sugar
Quarter the biscuits, and roll them in cinnamon sugar before placing in your greased baking dish (I've learned that a single or double layer is best, not more).
Microwave the butter and brown sugar until melted together and pour over the biscuits.
Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes and enjoy- it's that easy!



And the finished monkey bread- try this soon and your house will smell delicious and your tummy will be full and happy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Creme de Menthe Cookies (with Andes mint chips!)

I've been making these cookies for a few years now, ever since I found out they made Andes Mint chips; and I've got to tell you, they're a huge hit. Sometimes I make these cookies chocolate to truly make them mint-chocolate cookies, but this time I made them plain, but the Andes Mint chips make these fabulous! It's a pretty basic cookie base that mixes up quickly and bakes up beautifully. On to the recipe and pictures!


Here are the cookies on the baking sheet- I always forget to take a picture of the batter!


And the cookies all baked up!


Creme de Menthe Cookies
-1 stick butter
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup white sugar
-2 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-2 2/3 cups flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 cup Andes Creme de Menthe chips
Cream the butter and sugars, mix in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes, or until just starting to brown on top.



The finished cookies- Enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Cream Cheese Amaretto Pound Cake

I've been making a cream-cheese pound cake for a few years now, and this time I decided to throw in some amaretto as the flavoring ingredient next to the vanilla. Making a pound cake with cream cheese in addition to butter makes it light and fluffy and absolutely delicious- feel free to use it instead of biscuits for strawberry short cake (delicious!) and to make any sort of variation you can think of!

If I make another amaretto version of this, I might omit the vanilla altogether and add more amaretto to make that taste stand out more, though it certainly made itself known in the finished cake. I imagine glazing or frosting this cake would put it really over the top!


Here are the ingredients- simple as pie! (I softened my butter and cream cheese in the microwave)


And here's how the batter should look when finished- just don't eat it with a spoon!


For this recipe, I used a 9-inch round pan instead of a loaf pan, and it turned out beautifully.


Cream Cheese Amaretto Pound Cake
-1 1/2 sticks butter
-4 oz cream cheese
-1 1/2 cups white sugar
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla (1 teaspoon for plain pound cake)
-1 tablespoon amaretto (omit for plain pound cake)
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Beat the softened butter and cream cheese together, then beat in the sugar and salt. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and amaretto, then stir in the flour and baking powder.
Grease pan. Bake at 325 F for 60-75 minutes for a loaf pan, or about 55 minutes for a 9-inch round pan.



And the finished cake- Enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Blueberry Muffins

Recently we've had a glut of beautiful looking blueberries in the store (even up here in Ohio), and I've been eating them by the handful. But, as usual, I just had to bake something with them as well. I made some very simple and plain blueberry muffins that can be altered to be pretty much any kind of muffin you like, whether it be by changing the filling, adding a topping, or making them whole wheat. So I'll tell you what I did, and what I might do differently!


Here's the batter and the blueberries- I tossed the blueberries with a little flour so they wouldn't sink in the batter so much.


And here are the muffins in my mini-muffin tin. I love mini-muffins and cakes, but I also lack a regular sized muffin tin, so that's why everything's always miniature!


Blueberry Muffins
-2 eggs
-1 cup milk
-2/3 cup white or brown sugar
-1/2 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce)
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup blueberries (or other add-in)
Mix the wet ingredients, then add the dry and stir until just mixed (do not over stir!), then throw in your add-in, the blueberries in this case.
Bake at 400 F for about 17 minutes for regular sized muffins, and 12-15 for mini muffins.

To make these even better, I might add a little sprinkle of sugar on top to get a nice crust, or make a streusel topping! Try substituting some of the oil with applesauce to make a healthier muffin as well. Feel free to experiment- these are pretty much a blank canvas. Even think in savory muffin directions- cut down the sugar and add cheese and sausage for breakfast muffins, or something like that!



And here are the finished muffins- they were delicious so enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

When I started this blog, I planned on just keeping it going through Winter Term here at school, but I've discovered that some of you out there are actually reading this, so I'll keep going, though possibly with a little less frequency (maybe 1-2 recipes per week? just so you know!). So this recipe isn't a family one, and isn't one I grew up with- just me making some cookies for my friends- and these were delicious!

This chewy chocolate cookie base is perfect for making plain chocolate cookies, or you can add whatever strikes your fancy- nuts, peanut butter or chocolate chips, caramel bits, coconut, or anything else you can think of- use your imagination! I used peppermint chips in these cookies, and they're just the perfect thing for a cold day with some hot cocoa!


Here are the cookies ready to go into the oven- I forgot a picture of the dough, sorry!


Chewy Chocolate Cookies
-1 1/4 cup butter (2 1/2 sticks)
-2 cups sugar
-2 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-2 cups flour
-3/4 cup cocoa
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1-2 cups of add-ins
Cream the butter and sugar, stir in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Then add whatever add-ins you like.
Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes on ungreased baking sheets (unless using caramel bits, then grease the pans).



And the finished cookies- delectable! Enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue