Hey Everybody!  Hot enough for ya?  Yikes, it is sooooo hot here in the Midwest right now.  I mean, like, gross hot. Like the kind of sticky, humid hot that punches you in the face when you open the door.  And, you know it is hot when I complain about it. I’m the kind of person who actually likes a little warmth in the summer months.  My favorite temperature range is 80 to 82 degrees, but this humidity is just disgusting. Our poor air conditioner is working overtime.  I feel like I should take it a beach umbrella and a popsicle. Hmmmm….a popsicle sounds pretty good right now. But, I digress. I have been thinking a lot about the weather because we have had so many parties and events outside lately.  There are still a couple coming up. One of them is a Battle of The Bands in Louisiana, Missouri in about 2 weeks. I don’t think that I have had the opportunity yet to say that my husband (Elliott) is in a cover band.  I didn’t make this picture very big because it was grainy and big grainy looks worse than small grainy.  

The band is called Professional Misconduct and consist of some local and some not so local business people.  They play at bars and events in our area and in the St. Louis/Metro East area. Recently, they were asked to play at this Battle of The Bands and it is outdoors. Uuuugh. Elliott said that I didn’t have to go but I still feel bad for them playing in the heat.

They were supposed to have a practice tonight and I normally send some sort of baked treat to share.  I decided what to make and bought the ingredients and then found out that the practice was canceled. The recipe is one that I wanted to share on thekitchenwench.com anyway so I made them up just for you.  I know I shouldn’t have but I love you guys so much that I couldn’t help myself. I guess that I will have to make them again for the band. Darn the luck!

Prepare to be amazed!  These are Dreamy White Chocolate Brownies.  I know that right now you may be thinking that brownies are not white.  They are brown, hence the name. Well, these babies are made with white chocolate chips or bars and boy are they delicious.  It seems strange to say that something that isn’t a traditional brownie is fudgy, but they definitely are. These bars are fudgy, moist and sweet with an elegant appearance that is perfect for parties.  Don’t get me wrong. I am a life-long chocoholic and I do love a dark chocolate brownie. But, these are too delicious to ignore. Give them a try! You won’t be disappointed!

You will need 1 cup (2 sticks of unsalted butter).  If you don’t have unsalted, go ahead and use the salted but omit the extra salt from the batter.  Chunk up your butter and put it in a large glass measuring cup or medium glass bowl that can be microwaved.  Add in 12 oz. of white chocolate baking chips or 12 oz. of your favorite white chocolate baking bar, broken into small pieces.  Microwave this in 30-second increments, stirring often. Continue this process until all the butter and chocolate are melted and are beginning to combine.  Now, at this point, depending on your chocolate, you might think that this mixture is never going to come together and be smooth. That is because the white chocolate has so much oil in it and it does not want to mix with the butterfat.  Snob.

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Hi All!  Well, we are still in celebration mode here.  There are a couple of birthday parties and Father’s Day coming up.  A few days ago, we hosted a graduation party for my son, Alex, too! It seems like there is so much to celebrate right now!  There are hopes for the future and thankfulness for past successes. There are also lots of birthday candles being wished upon.  I hope that everyone gets their birthday wish! I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago myself, but I forgot to stick a candle in my bowl of ice cream.  So sad! I had some family members over and with all the hostess duties I totally forgot that it was my birthday celebration and I should have a candle.  So, to make up for it I am wishing on all the first stars that I see in the evening. Heck, I might even start wishing when I blow out the scented candles in my home every night.  Might work…might not. But, all that I will be out is a little bit of breath.

In my house, we have favorite birthday celebration treats. Well, actually, I have recipes for all kinds of celebrations. You know, like holidays, anniversaries, Groundhog Day, trash day, cleaning day, or any time I darn well feel like making something yummy.  If you stick with me, you will see many of those recipes on this blog. They are too good to keep to myself! One of our very favorite and most festive recipes is for funfetti cheesecake bars. These bars are so creamy and delicious with loads of sprinkles and cake batter flavor!  They look so cute with all the pretty colors. You can personalize them with any color of sprinkles that you like. Just make sure to use the jimmie kind so that they kind of melt into the cheesecake and aren’t crunchy. You know, the ones that are kind of oblong and skinny and not round little balls.

You are going to need some Golden Oreos for this dessert.  I buy the family size package and use 30 of them. I like to say exactly how many cookies to use because the manufacturers of many of our baking staples keep changing package sizes.  Have you noticed that? That really ticks me off. I have a couple of recipes that I am working on adjusting because cake mixes are no longer the same number of ounces that they used to be.  What the heck!? Why would they do that? Well, I know why but, come on! Help a girl out here! Quit messing around with my cake mixes and Oreos! Ok, rant over. Anyway, use 30 Golden Oreos.  Grind them up in a food processor or put them in a zipper plastic bag and crush them up with a rolling pin. Oh hey! You could take out your frustration over package sizes. Just saying.

Melt 6 Tablespoons of butter and stir into the crushed Oreos with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened.  Press this mixture into a 13 X 9 inch metal pan. I always spray a little cooking spray into the bottom of the pan and then line it with parchment paper letting the paper hang over the ends of the pan just a bit.  The spray helps the paper stick to the pan. Set this aside. Begin preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

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Hi Everyone!  Happy Mother’s Day!  A big shout out to all the Moms, Grandmas, Sisters, Aunts, Nieces, Daughters, and well heck, everyone out there.  I hope that you all have a great day! Mother’s Day can be a bit tricky. It is ideally a day for all moms to relax and have fun.  However, for most moms that entails cooking and entertaining their kids and/or grandkids and that means at least some work. But, I can tell you from my own perspective that it is a labor of love and we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Recently, I decided to foray into dangerous territory.  I decided to make a version of angel food cake using a couple of vintage recipes as guides.  I say that this is dangerous because old recipes carry so much history and so many powerful memories that families are fiercely protective of their own versions.  To even hint that you can make something that is just as good (or better) than grandma so-and-so or Aunt Whozit is asking for trouble. In my own family angel food cake is one of those recipes.  My paternal grandma, Starcy, made legendary angel food cakes. I was never fortunate enough to try one of those cakes, but I have heard the stories of how wonderful they were. I do remember that my family hosted an auction when I was a teenager to assist an uncle’s wife and kids after he passed away.  Some of the items auctioned were baked goods; including Grandma Goode’s angel food cake. I can’t remember exactly but I believe that it went for close to $100. Many of my cousins were involved in a bidding war for it. I wish that I had Grandma’s recipe to use but I was not lucky enough to end up with any of those.  I’m not sure how much good it would do anyway because, like many cooks in years past, she did not use standard measuring cups or spoons. Likewise, she would use pinches and dashes and instructions would include mixing something until “it looks right”. I’m sure that many of you have experienced the same problem. I do have one of her smock aprons hanging in my kitchen for inspiration.  Grandma Goode raised 10 kids in a 2-bedroom house on a small farm income. She knew how to stretch her groceries. The picture below shows my Grandma Starcy (on the right side with the glasses) along with her kids, kids-in-law and some of her grandkids.  I love that little smirk that she has.  You can tell that she is mighty proud of her family.  My mom is in the middle of the picture with the sleeveless blouse.  My grandpa is in the middle of that picture somewhere too.  Poor guy was covered in a sea of children. 

I have asked my dad about Grandma’s baking prowess. He says that she did not just bake one cake for the sake of baking a cake. She would spend a day baking enough to last the family for a few days. She had her own chickens, so angel food cake was a natural treat to make since it takes so many egg whites.  I wonder what she did with all the yolks. Hmmmm. I will have to ask around about that. Maybe there is an awesome pound cake or custard recipe out there. Someday I hope to get the recipe for her sugar pie to share with you all. But that is a story for another day.  

I tried out a few angel food recipes and this one was the best, I think.  The method comes from a vintage cookbook that I got at an auction years ago.  I must admit that I have made angel food cake from scratch before that turned out okay but not nearly as good as this one.  I did not then use any of these tried and true measuring and mixing methods. I was skeptical, but they really do make a huge difference.  This cake turns out really light and fluffy and TALL. The flavor is delightful with a hint of almond and a wonderful sweetness.

Put your eggs out on the counter a few hours ahead of time if possible to bring them to room temperature.  When you are ready to start mixing your cake, sift some of the cake flour in a large bowl. You don’t need to measure at this step just sift.  Now you should measure out 1 ¼ cups of the sifted flour being careful not to pack the flour into the measuring cup. Just scoop and level it off with your finger or a knife.  Sift this flour 3 more times along with ½ cup of sugar. You will need 2 bowls for this. Just go back and forth between the bowls. Set aside.

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Hi Everyone!  In your family or group of friends are there food traditions?  I mean, do your loved ones have signature dishes? Does it seem wrong somehow if you make someone else’s dish?  Well, in my family (the Goode side) that feeling of protectiveness and competition is becoming more prevalent. As the nieces and nephews grow older and develop some mad cooking skills of their own the need to one-up each other is growing.  One of the signature recipes in my family is the famous Tea Ring. The recipe is Mom’s but my sister, Marilyn, started making them for our Christmas gathering many years ago. Now she has to make two and hide one so that there is some left for the rest of us to take home.  There have been good-natured arguments about these Tea Rings and many threats to abscond with the whole extra ring before anyone else can find it. This past year I finally worked up the nerve to ask for the recipe. Marilyn gladly gave it to me. The thing is, it was an exact copy of Mom’s recipe and while it gave the ingredients and amounts; it gave no instructions.  Yikes! Marilyn verbally gave me her process which I promptly forgot. I did a little research of other Tea Ring recipes to get an idea of what to do. I finally got brave enough to give it a try. You see, I have an irrational fear of yeast baking. I needed to make a Mardi Gras dessert for a work potluck and I decided that the Tea Ring was close enough to King Cake to work. I gave it a shot and it actually turned out great!  Winner, Winner, Tea Cake Dinner! My husband and sons asked who was going to break it to Marilyn that someone else could make the famous Tea Ring. Not me! I am perfectly happy to let her make them for Christmas. But I know that I can do it and that is all that counts. And, I can make them whenever I want. This is not a good thing for my thighs. I am even playing around with the basic recipe to make other goodies.  More to come on that.

Start off by adding your yeast to the water along with 1 teaspoon of the sugar.  The water should be around 100 degrees. I try to get mine just slightly cooler than my bath water.  You can certainly test it with a thermometer to be absolutely sure. Let this mixture sit until the yeast activates and a foam develops on the top of the liquid.  

Meanwhile, mix the shortening and remaining sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer.  A stand mixer works better for this recipe since a dough hook is recommended toward the end of mixing.  Add the eggs and salt and mix well.

If you have a dough hook for your mixer go ahead and switch your beaters for it.  It will be much easier to get your dough to the correct consistency. Add the flour a little at a time alternating with small amounts of the yeast mixture.  When all of the flour and liquid have been added continue to mix on high speed until a nice elastic dough has formed and pulled away from the edge of the bowl slightly.  When I made mine for this post the dough was too sticky as you can see in the photo. I added another ½ cup of flour and the dough came together. It does not need to be a completely formed dough ball.  You will be adding a bit more flour during the kneading process after rising.

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Hello Everybody! I’m pretty sure that I have mentioned that I am a chocoholic. I absolutely love it! The darker the better! My mom has always been a huge chocolate fan too and I believe that she must have ate so much of it before I was born that I have cocoa as part of my DNA. So, you see, this incessant desire for chocolatey goodness is not my fault. I must have some each day, or I might develop some sort of chemical imbalance. That’s my reasoning and I’m sticking with it.

There are only a few recipes or dishes that I associate with my childhood.  Chocolate Drop Cookies are first and foremost on that list. I wonder why? Mom used to make these when I was very young and then she just kind of quit baking them.  She was always trying new recipes and I suspect that she found other cookies to make. This well-loved treat just fell by the wayside. For years I thought that these cookies would remain a memory alone but then one of my sisters happened to mention that she had the recipe.  WooHoo! She was nice enough to share with the rest of us and I could not wait to try it out. I have to say, though, that the memory was better than the result of my first few attempts at these cookies. Maybe it was the lack of Mom that made the difference. Anyway, lately, I tried again because I wanted to share this recipe with you.  Success at last! I tweaked the measurements just a bit to get them just right. When I used the original recipe, they turned out very flat. The cookies that I remembered were quite puffy, soft and light. I would suggest that if you try out this recipe (and I really hope you do) you bake 2 or 3 only during the first round of baking. If the cookies spread too much and turn out pancake flat you should add just a bit more flour.  Make sure to add it in small increments so that you don’t overdo it. These cookies are soft, fluffy, light and not extremely chocolatey. The addition of the frosting makes for a blissful cocoa moment with each bite that you take.

Start off by softening your butter.  You can use solid shortening in place of the butter.  I have not tried that yet because I am a butter kind of girl.  Maybe Mom used shortening instead of butter and so her cookies turned out differently?  Hmmmm. I will have to make these again with shortening just to see what happens. If you make these cookies with shortening let me know what happens, please.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.  

In a separate bowl, cream the packed brown sugar with the butter or shortening until fluffy using either a hand mixer or your stand mixer.  Now, note that this mixture will not get as fluffy as it would if there was white sugar instead of brown. Get it as fluffy as possible. For years, I did not understand the importance of getting my butter and sugars creamed until fluffy.  I can really tell the difference in cookies if I scrimp on this step. The sugars don’t seem to dissolve as well which leaves you with a grainier texture, in my opinion.

Add in the eggs and cocoa powder.  The original recipe says that you can substitute 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate at this point.  I have not tried that either, but I would imagine that you would melt it in the microwave until smooth and then let it cool to almost room temperature before adding it so that you don’t cook your eggs.  Mix all of this until well combined.

Add the vanilla to the milk in a liquid measuring cup.

Begin adding the flour mixture about ½ cup at a time, alternating with the milk/vanilla.  Continue until you have all your ingredients added. If you are adding nuts, then stir them in at this point.

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It has been my experience that some of the very best recipes come from co-workers and business colleagues.  I have worked in several different office settings and in every one of those situations I have gained recipes that became personal and family favorites.  I have been lucky enough to work with people who enjoyed office potlucks and sharing treats with others. Maybe this resonates with me because I am such a foodie or maybe I have had extraordinary good fortune.  

My very first job was at a local bank as a teller in the summer months.  I worked at that bank during my last 2 summers in high school and during my college summers.  There was one full time employee there who did a lot of baking during her off hours. She would bring decadent treats to work to share.  In fact, I loved her baking so much that I hired her to make my wedding cake. It was so good and really pretty. Today I want to tell you about another recipe that I gained from that friend and co-worker.  I have changed it very slightly over the years, but it is basically the same.

I know that this might sound weird, but we are going to make Popcorn Cake.  Yep, a cake made from popcorn and a few other delicious ingredients. I used to make this occasionally to take to potlucks or to the office.  My mom started to use the recipe to make popcorn balls at Halloween for her grandkids. Those were a big hit! I must have forgotten about this Popcorn Cake for a while or perhaps I didn’t keep it around the house if I did make it.  For whatever reason, when I made this a few months ago my elder son, Cody, asked me where this cake had been all his life. He didn’t really remember ever having it. He became a little addicted…oops. So, I knew that I needed to share this with you.  After all, the point of this blog is to share what I love and what my family loves with all of you.  Make this cake and share the happiness it brings!  Popcorn cake is a sweet and unexpected treat that combines popcorn, chocolate candies and nuts with gooey marshmallow.  The best way to describe this treat is colorful and happy. I dare you not to smile when you look at it!

Begin by making some good quality popcorn.  I like to use a large white or yellow kernel corn and pop it in coconut oil in a large pot on the stove.  I do have a popcorn popper that uses oil, but I find that the stovetop method with coconut oil produces no unpopped kernels and very few hulls.  I use my large stock pot and lid. I add 1 ½ tablespoons of coconut oil to the pot and turn the heat to high. Add 3 kernels of corn to the pot and wait until all of those have popped before adding ½ cup of popcorn.  You can leave the lid off during the time when you only have the 3 kernels in the pot but cover the pot after you have added the ½ cup. Shake the pot every 30 seconds while the corn is popping. When the sounds of popping corn decrease to 1 or 2 pops per 5 seconds remove the pot from the heat.  When the popping has subsided entirely you can pour the popped corn into a large bowl and set aside. You will need 10 cups of popped corn so you may need to pop 2 batches as I do. Then you can eat the leftovers with a bit of salt or your preferred seasoning…yum. Do not salt the popcorn for the cake.  Try to remove any unpopped corn or large hulls from your popcorn. It is so annoying to bite down on a kernel when you least expect it. Ouch!

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So, Easter is on its way.  Do you celebrate big for Easter?  We do…..big. One of my sisters, Marilyn, and I tend to go just a bit overboard on holidays.  We decorate inside and out. We fill plastic eggs for the traditional egg hunt. We get little gifts for each kid.  Consequently, we are the ones that have become responsible for the family Easter evening dinner.

Now, normally I have this rather large gathering at my house but this year I begged (I mean asked) Marilyn if she could host.  You see, my house is out in the boondocks on an old farm. It is still fairly close to most of my family members but when the spring rains come it is MUDDY. We don’t have a large amount of parking except in the grass at the edge of our yard and there have been times when our guests have gotten themselves stuck out there.  And, then there is the very likely event that the kids hunting eggs are going to get muddy. They are usually wearing their cute little easter outfits and I hate to see them ruin a sweet little frilly dress by falling on their tuckus in the mud. Anywhoo…Marilyn (or Mert as we affectionately call her) very kindly agreed to host.  I have offered to help with the bulk of the food and the planning of course.

We figured out the menu and Mert assigned dishes to the other sisters and sister-in-law. Like most families, we have pretty much the same menu each Easter so this was not a huge deal. We always have ham and everyone thinks that Marilyn makes the best ham ever so she bakes that.  We will have mac and cheese, cucumbers soaked in vinegar (a family favorite), deviled eggs, cherry jello with banana slices (another family fav) and potato salad among other things. For the dessert table anything goes but there is one sweet that I always, always, always make. I’m not even sure if very many people eat them but I do and my sister-in-law, Bev, does and my mom used to as well.  In fact, my mom used to make a candy that was very nearly the same recipe and these remind me of her so I make them. They are chocolate nests with Cadbury eggs and they tell me that Spring is coming.

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So, I know that ya’ll don’t know me well yet but here comes a big old truth bomb.  I am addicted to chocolate, I have very little self control and I struggle with my weight.  Those three facts have a direct correlation. Shocking, I know. Now, I do a lot of baking and cooking because I loooooove it.  It is my stress release and where I find peace. To try to alleviate some of the temptation and therefore calories I will occasionally make things that I don’t particularly like because then I won’t eat them. Sounds like a good plan, right? Sometimes it does work but not always…in fact not even often. That is the case with these cookies. I always try to bake up some cookies on Sunday afternoon when/if my sons are at my house.  It is part of my master plan to make them miss me when they aren’t there. Hey, a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do. So anyway, I decided to make up some of my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough but add in some peanut butter chips and some Reese’s Pieces Baking Bits and milk chocolate chips (because why not).  I am not a fan of peanut butter chips or Reese’s Pieces. I thought I might be in the clear here. WRONG! These turned out so well. They have that wonderful buttery cookie dough flavor with melty chocolate and peanut butter and then you get the crispy little crunch of the candy coating on the Reese’s Pieces. That is why I named them Triple Threat.  Because there are three levels of dangerous going on here. Oh, well, what’s a few more calories.

Gather up all of your ingredients.  Make sure that your butter is softened a bit if not at room temperature.  I use salted butter because that is what I normally have an abundance of in my frig but you can use unsalted and then add 1 tsp. of salt.  I use the eggs that come from our own chickens so the sizes vary as you can see from my picture. I always use eggs that would be considered large when purchased from a store.  A little bit of extra moisture doesn’t hurt because of the refrigeration time but too little and you will have a dry cookie.

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