Dulce De Leche Liqueur

If you like Irish Cream & caramel, you'll love this liqueur! I had a small amount of dulce de leche left over from my cupcakes, so I made a scaled down version of this recipe. It took a little time to get it mixed well, but it was a delicious treat! It would be fantastic mixed in with coffee for an after dinner drink.



DULCE DE LECHE LIQUEUR (Adapted from All Our Fingers in the Pie)

1-2 cups dulce de leche (adjust based on your preference)
1 cup vodka
2 cups half & half

Measure ingredients into a clean jar. Mix well and chill. Store in the fridge.

ENJOY!

Snicker's Cupcakes

While I've always like Snickers, I'm not sure that I'd rank these at the top of my cupcake list. The concept of a Snicker's Cupcake is a great idea. (Snickers are wonderful in most things - I make an awesome Snicker cookie at Christmas, and I LOVE Snicker Blizzards). However, the cupcake itself didn't impress me. Many people in the blog world seem to love the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe. While it was VERY light & moist (I'd be scared to make a layer cake with it!), mine sunk quite a bit after baking. Maybe I did something wrong, but I think I'd use a different chocolate cake recipe next time. And, although I'm critical of the cupcakes, they quickly disappeared, so I don't think all of my taste testers minded that they were a little flatter than I had hoped!)



SNICKER'S CUPCAKES (From Homemade By Holman)

HERSHEY'S PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE CAKE
Makes approx 36 cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder & baking soda in a large boil. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on low until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes. Stir in boiling water. NOTE: the batter will be thin!! (This is by far the thinnest batter I've made/used) Transfer batter to prepared pans, filling each liner about 1/2-2/3 of the way full.

Bake approximately 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Fill cupcakes with caramel ice cream topping, if desired.




CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup caramel sauce (I used ice cream topping)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 cups powdered sugar

Mini Snickers bar for garnish

Beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add caramel sauce, heavy cream and vanilla and mix to incorporate. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated to reach the right consistency. Increase speed to medium-high and whip about one minute until light and fluffy. Frost as desired.

Garnish with Snicker's pieces (I chopped into small slices).

ENJOY!

World's Best Lime Fizz

I was served these wonderful fizzes for the first time about 5 years ago. My inlaws invited me over to celebrate my hubby's (then boyfriend's) birthday. They served BBQ Ribs (my hubs was always bragging up his Mom's ribs - they are delicious!) and had these lime fizzes as the refreshment. They are wonderful! A great change from a regular lemonade. (And just in time for Labor Day BBQ Celebrations!)



LIME FIZZ

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
5 medium limes

Make a simple syrup of sugar, water & lime zest. Bring ingredients to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat & cool. Add juice from zested limes.

(I found that by using a microplane zester, the flavor in the syrup is much stronger than if you use the zester that cuts long peels).

To make fizzes:

Pour lime syrup from above to make 1/4-1/3 of total drink volume. Gently layer very cold carbonated mineral water into the glass. Stir gently & garnish as desired. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Pesto & Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

I've been wanting to try spaghetti squash for awhile (I've never had it before!) While picking up some summer squash for grilling, I saw the spaghetti squash & decided to give it a try.

I'm not sure why my squash didn't have all of the strands that it's supposed to have (it really didn't look much like spaghetti), but it was a fairly easy side to prepare. We love pesto & often have it on hand, so I went with this recipe. If you like pesto, you'll enjoy this!



PESTO & PARMESAN SPAGHETTI SQUASH (From Bless Her Heart)

1 medium to large spaghetti squash (cooked)
1/4-1/3 cup pesto
1/3+ cup grated parmesan cheese

Once cooked squash is cool enough to touch, remove the seeds/waste from the center (if it hasn't already been removed). Use a fork to separate the the strands from the shell of the squash.

Toss the squash in a bowl with pesto and parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Preheat Broiler. Spread your squash mixture in a medium baking dish and sprinkle the top with a layer of parmesan cheese.

Place the dish in the broiler for about 10 minutes or until the cheese on top gets a little crispy and takes on a golden hue.

ENJOY!

Easy Rhubarb Jam

Growing up, it was always a treat to have a jar of my great-grandmother's jam in the fridge. Sadly, she passed away just as I was discovering my love for cooking & baking, and I never had the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen with her. One of my cousins, who lived much closer to her, helped my Grammie make jam in her last years, and she shared the recipe with me after her death.

Due to the ingredients in the recipe, I'm sure this wasn't a jam she had been making since she was my age (I don't think Jello has been around that long!), although I know she made it my whole life & I will always think of her when I make it.

This is a very easy recipe - making a amateur canner feel a little better about attempting canning for the first time. I'm not sure that my Grammie water processed her jam - with lots of family nearby, I thinks she handed out all of the jars before she had an opportunity to store any. I, however, only make jam once a year & ration my jars so that I have enough to last until the next summer. (If my family is lucky, I share a few jars!)



EASY RHUBARB JAM
Makes 8-9 jars (8oz each)

7 cups finely chopped rhubarb (I've used fresh & frozen - both work equally well)
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 can pie filling
1 (6oz) box jello (or 2 - 3oz boxes)

Bring rhubarb, sugar & pie filling to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from fire & add jello.

Carefully pour the jam into jars & water process to seal.

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Favorite Flavor Options:

Strawberry pie filling, strawberry jello
Raspberry pie filling, raspberry jello
Blueberry pie filling, raspberry jello (I tried Blackberry Fusion this time - also an excellent choice!)

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To water process the jars/jam:

While making the jam, have a canning pot full of water come to a boil. (Enough water to cover the jars). Place the lids & rims in a small saucepan of water - keep just below simmering.

Keep your jars in your dishwasher - on the heat dry or plate warmer cycle. (This keeps the jars warm & prevents breaking with the temperature changes.)

After you fill a jar with jam (to the bottom of the threads) place a lid on the jar, as well as a rim. Place filled jar in the canning pot & boil for 5-10 minutes. Remove from the boiling water, & sit on a cooling rack. Within a few minutes, you should hear the popping of the lids as they seal. Keep on the cooling racks until completely cool. Store in a cool place. (No need to be refrigerated).

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ENJOY!

Vanilla Bean Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

I think I may have found my new favorite cupcake! Caramel has long been one of my favorite flavors - I always choose caramel sundaes to chocolate ones, and prefer ice cream with caramel ripples.

I was excited to have found this flavor combination. I love using vanilla beans in baked goods, and the combination of vanilla bean cupcakes with the flavor of Dulce de Leche was WONDERFUL! The buttercream is by far my favorite buttercream flavor I've made yet (in fact, the leftovers may not make it onto more cupcakes, or even onto graham crackers... it may end up in by stomach by way of a spoon!).



VANILLA BEAN CUPCAKES (Adapted from The Culinary Chronicles)
Makes approximately 24 cupcakes

2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
3 X-Large Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Vanilla Sugar
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
Seeds from 2 Vanilla Bean Pods
2/3 Cup Sour Cream

Preheat the oven to 350°degrees and place paper liners in pans.

In a standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract. Mix until well incorporated. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in sour cream until smooth.

Fill each lined cup 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Remove immediately from pan & cool completely on a wire rack.

Cut a small cone out of each cupcake & fill with a small amount of Dulce De Leche.




DULCE DE LECHE BUTTERCREAM (Adapted from Joy the Baker)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup prepared dulce de leche

Cream together butter and dulce de leche on low using an electric mixer. Add cream and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat to incorporate.

Frost as desired.



ENJOY!

Dulce De Leche

I don't know that I can really call this a "recipe." This has got to be the easiest Dulce de Leche ever to make. While, some may say this is a little risky, I've had no problems.



Since I discovered this last fall, I always like to keep a stock on hand. You'll see a few recipes using Dulce de Leche coming up on my blog, but this is definitely tasty straight out of the can. It also makes a delicious ice cream topping!




DULCE DE LECHE

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Remove the labels off of the cans of sweetened condensed milk. Bring a large, deep pot of water to a boil. Place full (unopened) cans into the boiling water. Boil for 3-4 hours. (I make multiple cans at a time...if you're boiling 1 can for this long, you just as well boil multiple cans!) Be sure to keep the water level at least 1 inch above the top of the cans. After 3-4 hours, turn off the fire. Let water cool completely with cans in it (I usually let them sit overnight).

Open cans & dig in! (Keep in closed can until ready to use; once open, store in fridge)

ENJOY!