Lemon Cupcakes with Citrus Icing

makes 18 regular-sized cupcakes (about 36 tiny cupcakes)
The flavor of this recipe is intensely citrus and simply delicious!


1 2/3 c unbleached flour

1 c. sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 c. safflower oil

2 eggs

1/3 c. skimmed milk

1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 TB freshly grated lemon zest*

1 tsp lemon extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:

1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar

2 TB freshly squeezed OJ

2 tsp freshly grated orange zest*

* For zesting, use only organic fruit.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 6-cup and a 12-cup large-muffin pan with paper liners.

CUPCAKES: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Combine the oil, eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Add to the four mixture and stir until smooth. 

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 17-19 minutes or until lightly golden and the cupcakes are springy when gently touched. Place pan on a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan, transfer to a rack, and let cool completely.

ICING: Combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and orange zest in a bowl and stir until smooth. Spread some of the glaze over each cupcake with a small spatula or the back of a teaspoon and let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe is from The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook, page 310. Each cupcake has 316 calories, 3 g protein, 45 g carbohydrates

"Old Fashioned" Pancakes

This is the recipe I longed for when you girls were young. It's a simple recipe can be "whipped up" in a couple of minutes, and it tastes so good. Make extra and freeze them for some meal in the near future.

Old Fashioned Pancakes

Makes about 12 pancakes

Materials needed:
measuring cups: 1/4; 1/2; 3/4; 1 cup
measuring spoons: 1/2 teaspoon; teaspoon; tablespoon
4-cup "mixing" bowl
mixing spoon


Ingredients & Directions:
1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour (I usually mix 3/4 c whole wheat and 3/4 c unbleached)
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter (this makes a real difference in taste but you could use Earth Balance, canola oil, etc.)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add egg to milk and mix, then add to dry ingredients. Add melted butter and stir all the wet and dry ingredients just until blended.

I use a 1/4 cup measure to "spoon" the mixture onto a heavy frying pan (you know that I use my cast irons) or griddle. Turn the pancakes over when they bubble and are dry around the edges. The second side won't take long to cook.

Enjoy!
PS~ I love you <3

I thought you should know how to make brown sugar.

Dear Daughters, I've done this a handful of times if I didn't have bagged brown sugar. It actually saves money since a 5# bag of white sugar is considerably less expensive than the equivalent amount of brown sugar.

To make 1 cup of light brown sugar:

Add 1 TB blackstrap molasses to 1 cup white sugar. Mix with a fork until the molasses is thoroughly mixed in.

To make 1 cup of dark brown sugar, add 2 TB of molasses.

Now, you can use any kind of molasses, I simply almost always have blackstrap on hand.

Always cook with love.

"Coolidge" Tomato Marmalade

This is from a compilation of my Grandmother Carr's recipes written after her death in 1978, by my Grandfather. When I googled to find the source of this recipe, I found that apparently President Calvin Coolidge loved it and requested that it be served during White House meals.

4 quarts tomatoes (measure them whole)
Sugar
3 oranges
2 lemons
1/2 ounce cinnamon stick (1 3" stick)
1/4 ounce whole cloves (1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons cloves)

Blanch tomatoes in boiling water and skin them. Slice the tomatoes into a large shallow kettle. Slice the oranges and lemons very thin and quarter the slices. Leave them while you pour off half the juice from the tomatoes. Measure the tomatoes and add an equal amount of sugar to the kettle along with the tomatoes. Stir until dissolved. Now, add the oranges and lemons, cinnamon stick and whole cloves. Turn on the heat under the kettle and, while stirring frequently, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat but continue to simmer and stir occasionally until mixture is thick. Test doneness by cooling a teaspoonful in a saucer. When mixture shows the crinkling signs of jelling, it is ready for the jars. Remove cinnamon stick and pour into small, hot, sterilized jars and seal.

No other information is given but here are some tips:
~fill jars to within 1/4 -1/2 inch of top.
~Regarding sealing: to be safe, either refrigerate the screw-topped jars after they cool or place them in a water bath canner with water covering the jars by about an inch, and process for 10 -15 minutes. (follow the canner directions)

My Grandmother was Dorothy Mae Lonkey Carr (1905-1978) and my Grandfather was Clifford Fleming Carr, Sr. (1907-1988)

Cream Cheese Frosting for Hot Cross Buns

Note: this frosting will NOT harden. See serving suggestion below.
Materials needed
2 quart bowl
Hand mixer
Rubber spatula
Pastry bag, or small plastic bag with corner snipped off to use as pastry bag

Ingredients
4 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 cups of confectioner's sugar (also called 10x or powdered sugar)
Place the first 3 ingredents in the bowl and mix until smooth. Add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth. Taste; if it's not sweet enough for you, add more sugar and beat until smooth.

Frosting the buns
Hold the plastic bag and open it up so the cut tip is at the bottom. Roll the top of the bag to the outside so the top doesn't get sticky with frosting. Place 1/2 of the frosting into the open cavity of the plastic bag (pastry bag), fold the top over and squeeze the frosting onto the Hot Cross Buns in two crossing lines to form a cross.

Note: When doubled, this frosting recipe can be used for cakes. It's delicious on banana cake when 2 Tablespoons of Limoncella are added instead of vanilla!

Hot Cross Buns

Prompted by my Plurk friend, Supergran's plurk, and by the memory of my growing-up neighbor, Mrs. Lillian Vock's Easter babka, this first recipe is dedicated to Stephanie Rebekah. Dad and I will always remember your kindergarten voice asking us, "what song is this? Hm--hm--hmm. Hm-hm-hmm. Hm-ahmmy, hm-ahmmy. Hm--hm--hmm!"



So, for you, Daughter:
Hot Cross Buns!
Hot Cross Buns!
One, a penny,
Two, a penny!
Hot Cross Buns!

I searched all my books for a recipe, took the good from each, then added my own candied orange and tangerine peel.


The Day Before:

Candied citrus peel
In a small saucepan on a low burner I combined 2 cups of white sugar to 1 1/2 cups of water. When it was totally dissolved, I added thin strips of both the rind of a tangerine and the "de-pithed" rind of an orange. After these simmered for about an hour I removed the candied pieces and laid them individually on a fine wire rack over paper to catch the drips. I covered them with a dishtowel and let them dry overnight.

When the pieces were dry, I gathered them together and finely chopped enough of them to make a 1/3 cup. Store the rest in a clean, dry, fairly air-tight jar away from the light. (They will remain fresh and ready for use for weeks!)


The Day of:

Materials needed
Bowl large enough to mix dough comfortably (at least a 4 qt. bowl)
Small bowl or cup for beaten egg
Mixing spoon
Measuring spoons (1 Tablespoon; 1 teaspoon; 3/4 teaspoon...or 1/2 teaspoon and 1/4 teaspoon)
Measuring cups (1 cup; 1/4 cup; 1/3 cup)
Small saucepan to heat milk, then use it to melt butter
Rubber spatula to help with bowl clean-up
Metal spatula to help with counter clean-up
Parchment covered baking sheet or baking pan (No parchment paper? Lightly spray or rub baking sheet with vegetable oil.)


The dough (makes 12 good-sized rolls)
1 cup of lukewarm milk (slightly warm to the touch, but not warm enough to hurt)
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 pkg (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast (NOT quick-rising)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
3 1/2 cups to 4 cups unbleached or white all-purpose flour (keep the bag handy!)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins, chopped, which ended up to be about 1/3 c. (I used golden raisins)
Candied citrus peel, finely chopped to make 1/3 cup

Add sugar to the warm milk and stir to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let rest for a couple of minutes. *When bubbles begin to form, add the melted butter, beaten egg, 3 cups of the flour, salt, the spices, and the fruit. Mix by hand until all flour is taken up, adding more flour as needed to make a smooth dough that won't stick to your hands. Turn the dough onto a clean, floured counter and knead for about 5-7 minutes. (To make sure the dough isn't sticky, you will probably need to add more flour a sprinkle at a time.)

When you've achieved a good, smooth dough, let it rest on the counter while you wash your hands and clean your bowl. When bowl is dry, spray or wipe the insides with a light layer of oil. Put the mound of dough into the oiled bowl, giving it a swirl to pick up some of the oil, then flip the dough so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with a piece of waxed paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap, then a dishtowel. (Try to NOT let the wrap touch the dough.) Put the bowl in a place that's draft-free. (Do NOT place in the sun or in a warm oven to rise. When yeast rises too fast you'll get a "yeasty" tasting dough.) Check on the dough several times and when it's risen to double, place the bowl on the counter to begin your work again.

*I now use my Kitchen Aid mixer to complete the kneading process. (Thanks, DAD!) So, when bubbles begin to form, gently stir the yeast mixture to slightly incorporate the yeast, then use a rubber spatula to scrape it gently into the clean mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aid. Add the egg, 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, the spices, and the fruit, and mix for about 6 minutes. Then, while the mixer is going, carefully add more flour a little at a time through the guard/chute until the dough is just past sticky. (I've found that I usually need less flour than mixing by hand.)

Turn your dough out onto a clean, unfloured counter and cover it with a large bowl or pot that's been sprayed with non-stick spray (or wiped with oil). Let the dough double in size (an hour, more or less).

Second Rising
Punch the dough down by gently putting your fist into it. If you've used a bowl, remove dough from the bowl and place it on a clean (unfloured) counter.

The dough will make 12 rolls: Divide dough in thirds; divide each third in half; then divide each of those pieces in half. Gently mold each piece into a round, smooth ball and place them, almost touching each other, on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Let the rolls rise until they have doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place into a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and place rolls on a baking rack to cool.

Frost with your favorite frosting in a cross pattern or use my favorite, simple creamcheese frosting (posting to follow).