Homemade Tagalongs

     I'm not sure why the Girls Scouts only come to your door with their cookies once a year. I really wish they could come more because I could keep them in business. Those Tagalong cookies are my very favorite. Chocolate, peanut butter, and shortbread all in one. It's pretty much the best thing ever.

    I have a friend who shares my love for these cookies. We were both at Dairy Queen about every other day when they had the Tagalong Blizzard. It wasn't pretty...but it was delicious. She sent me this recipe for Tagalongs that you can make at home. I was a bit skeptical that they would be as good, but I have to say I was impressed. These were great the first day, even better the second day, and I nearly made more when they were finished off on the third day. Seriously, they are that addictive!



2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3 cups flour (take out 6 Tbl if using white whole wheat like I did)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate candy coating

• Cream together butter and sugar. Beat until smooth. Add in the egg. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.


• With mixer on low, add in salt and flour. 


• Shape the dough into a long cylinder, about 2-3 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and freeze for at least 25 minutes. 


• Preheat oven to 350*


• Slice the dough into thin disks and place on baking sheets, about a half inch apart. They don't spread much while baking.


• Once you have made about 30 cookies (or you could make them all---like I said they are amazing!) wrap up the rest of the cookie dough and freeze for another time.


• Bake the cookies 8 minutes or until just starting to set. 


• Place on a cooling rack and cool completely. 


• Mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Form into small disks and press onto the cookies. I coated my hands with powdered sugar for this step, because it was a little sticky!


• Melt the chocolate and coat the cookies. Let set before enjoying.

linking up with

Sweet Tooth Friday

and 

Sweets for Saturday

Cinnamon Buns with a Secret

The only sign of veggies...a little un-pureed carrot-OOPS!

    I love cinnamon rolls! I love the whole thing, but the center of a cinnamon roll is the very best part. My very favorite recipe, and I think all my friends would agree, is this pumpkin cinnamon roll masterpiece. Yes, masterpiece. But, this posting is not about those cinnamon rolls...or these really good cinnamon rolls either.
     I always feel so guilty when I make cinnamon rolls...especially if they are to be eaten for breakfast. Though delicious, they are not the most healthy meal or snack. Many of you know that I often add vegetables to things so that my family will eat them without knowing. Part of the inspiration for that came from Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious. Recently, she came out with a new book call Doubly Delicious and this cinnamon roll recipe was in it...Yes this is a posting for cinnamon rolls with vegetables! Don't stop reading. I promise your family will not notice, and the best part is you I don't have to feel guilty about making cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
     If you don't have time to do all this before breakfast...make the dough the night before and let it rise overnight in the fridge. Then just bake in the morning.

1-1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/4 cup 100% orange juice
2(1/4oz) pkts yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour (Take away 2 Tbl/cup whole wheat substituted)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 1-1/3 cup ww flour + 1/2cup ww flour +4tsp cornstarch)
1/4 cup dry milk powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup carrot puree (You can see above I didn't get mine all the way pureed! Boil carrots/puree)
1 large egg
3 Tbl soft tub margarine spread
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbl cinnamon

1/4 cup cauliflower puree
9 Tbl powdered sugar
1 Tbl  vanilla
1 Tbl 100% orange juice
water

• Place milk in small glas bowl and microwave 40 seconds until lukewarm. Stir in orange juice, yeast, and sugar. Set aside in a warm place  until foamy..about 10 minutes.
• Combine flours, milk powder, and salt on low speed. Add yeast mixture, carrot puree, and egg. Increase speed to medium and knead for 5 minutes.
• Add margarine and run mixer one more minute. The dough is pretty sticky! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap adn let the dough rise until doubled..about an hour.

• Place dough on rolling mat with floured hands.
• Coat a large baking sheet (I used a jelly roll pan) with cooking spray. 
• Flatten the dough with your fingers, patting the edges making sure it is even. You should end up with a huge rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with the brown sugar and cinnamon and then flatten it out a bit more if you couldn't get it thin enough the first time. It's a bit easier once the cinnamon and brown sugar has been added since it's not as sticky.
• Roll the longest edge of the dough away from you to form a log. Cut the dough into 1-inch rounds and flip them swirl-side down onto the prepared baking sheet. 
• Preheat oven to 350*. The dough will rise a little as the oven is preheating.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze. Whisk all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and set aside. If needed add water a drop at a time to make a nice texture. If you get it too runny, add more powdered sugar to even it out again.
• Bake the buns until they are cooked through...about 18 minutes. Remove and add glaze.

linked to

Texas Caviar

     Sometimes I like to make things for dinner that are really snacks. I guess I feel like it gives me an excuse to eat something I wouldn't normally be able to eat unless company were over. At times, these snacks are not that healthy...like my favorite Party Pizzas. In this case, the Texas Caviar is pretty healthy vegetarian meal. It's loaded with beans which have all kinds of health benefits including fiber and protein. Generally speaking, this is served as a snack or side dish. It would be a great healthy addition to any upcoming summer cookout.

     Keep an eye out for my next post, which details what I did with the extra Texas Caviar.



from Biggest Loser

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup fresh salsa or pico (or can spicy Rotel in a pinch)

2 tsp dried cilantro (or 2Tbl fresh)

1-1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper, to taste

hot sauce, to taste (optional)

• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.


• Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.


• Serve with mutli-grain chips or fresh veggies (celery).

Choco-Scotch Pull Apart Bread

     I've been seeing recipes all over the place for pull-apart bread. I didn't want to just make and repost the same recipe from another blogger, so I decided to make one my own. My husband and I agreed, this might be the tastiest thing I have ever made! We ate and ate and ate until our stomachs hurt. Not something I recommend, but it was really hard to stop!
     As I thought about the filling I would put in my bread, my mind immediately went to chocolate. One of those weeks, I guess. As I waited on my rising dough, I remembered a fondue we used to make that combined chocolate and butterscotch. It was the best fondue. Ever. And, I just happened to have both butterscotch and chocolate chips. It was meant to be.
 
for the dough:
2-3/4 c flour (take away 2T + 2.25 tsp if using whole wheat)
(Add 1 tsp wheat gluten/cup whole wheat flour)
1/4 c brown sugar
2-1/4 tsp salt
2-1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
1/3 c milk
1/4 c cold water
2 eggs, room temp
for the filling:
1/2 c chocolate chips (I used both semi-sweet and milk)
1/2 c butterscotch chips
1/4 c butter, melted

• Mix 2 cups flour with brown sugar, yeast, and salt. 
• Warm milk and butter until butter melts. Add cold water. Let stand for 2 minutes.
• Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix at medium speed for about a minute.
• Add the eggs and remaining flour, and mix  for another minute. Some say the mixture may be sticky and that's ok. Mine wasn't.
• Cover the dough with a wet towel, and rise until doubled. (1 hour?)

• For the filling, combine the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Chop into smaller bits. 
• Knead dough a couple times. Add a little flour if it's too sticky.
• Roll dough into a 12x20 rectangle.
• Spread about 2 tablespoons of the melted butter evenly over dough. Add the choco-scotch bits. Make sure to spread out the bits so they cover the entire surface of the dough.
• Cut the dough into 6 equal short strips. Make two stacks of dough with 3 strips in each stack. Then cut each stack into 6 equal parts. (Now you should have 12 stacks of 3)
• Layer the dough squares in a greased (I used parchment paper too) loaf pan, like a flip book. 
• Let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Pour the rest of the melted butter over the top of your loaf. 
• Place on a rack in the middle of the oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes. Watch for the bread to turn slightly golden, then cover loosely with foil. This will allow the center to cook, but prevent the top from getting too dark.

This is linked up to....

by Sweet As Sugar Cookies
and

and

Easter Babka

     During the last couple of months, I have experimented with a few types of babkas. Here are some I have made Nutella,Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Cinnamon, and Caramel Apple.
     There are two types of Babka's; Jewish and Eastern European. The main difference is that the Jewish babka is sweet and cake-like, while the Eastern European version is more like bread.
     For Easter, I decided to try my hand at a traditional Easter Babka. This is a round shaped bread, called Paska in Ukrainian, or Babka in Polish.  The top of this bread is elaborately decorated with fancy dough ornaments, having a cross as the central motif. The bread is made with a lot of eggs since Easter marks the end of Lent. Traditionally, during Lent the faithful maintain a very strict diet with no eggs, among other things.
     I really enjoy this bread. It is very flavorful and surprisingly light tasting. I think this is a result of the lemon and orange zests. It would definitely be a perfect accompaniment to a traditional Easter dinner of ham and all the "fixin's" since it tastes like a sweet dinner bread....along the same lines as Hawaiian bread.
    As a side note, I will make a half batch next time around. This experience could have been an SNL sketch for sure. The dough just kept growing and growing. I didn't seem to have a bowl big enough to contain it! In the end, it was all worth it. The bread is not only beautiful, but a perfect and delicious addition to our Easter celebration.

from Suburban Grandma
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 package dry granular yeast
3 cups scalded whole milk, lukewarm
5 cups of flour
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
½ cup melted butter
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. orange zest
1 tsp. lemon zest
6 cups of sifted all purpose flour

Directions:

• Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast over it.
• Let it stand for 10 minutes.
• Combine the softened yeast with the lukewarm milk and 5 cups of flour.
• Beat well until smooth.
• Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and let the batter rise in a warm place until light and bubbly (30min)

• Add the beaten eggs, sugar, melted butter, salt, and orange and lemon zest.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Stir in enough flour to make dough that is neither too soft nor too stiff.
• Knead until the dough no longer sticks to the hand.
• Turn the dough on a floured board, or other work surface, and knead until smooth and satiny.
• Place in a bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until double in bulk (45 minutes).

• Punch down and let it rise again (45 minutes).

•  Prepare your pans by thoroughly greasing them with shortening. I used two 9-inch cake pans...and a couple ramekins for some HUGE mini-loaves.

• divide the dough into 3 parts; the third part is for ornamental decorations
• If you wish to make several small breads, then fill your greased pans 1/3 full with the dough, still leaving some dough for decorations
• To make ornaments, one of them being the cross, you roll out some dough into a rope like shape and form it into an ornamental cross to place in the middle of the top of the bread.
• Now that your loaves are decorated, dip a pastry brush in whole milk, and gently brush the bread tops, and ornaments, to give them a nice golden color once baked.  For a darker shade, you may use a wash made out of one egg beaten with 2 Tbs. of water.
• Set the loaves in a warm place, once more, until almost double in bulk (25 minutes).
  Do not let the loaves rise longer than necessary, because the ornaments will lose their shape.
   
• Preheat you oven to 400 degrees, and bake the bread for 10 minutes.
• Lower the temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for 30 minutes longer, or until done.
  For smaller loaves your baking time should be shorter, so you need to use your judgment.
• To prevent over browning of the tops, you may cover them with loose pieces of aluminum foil, once the babka is lightly browned.
• Remove the loves from the pans, and cool completely.
• You may wrap cooled loaves in aluminum foil, and plastic bag, and freeze until ready to use, to keep them fresh.
• To thaw, keep covered, to prevent from drying out.
  

Tip: If you like raisins in your bread, you may add 1-2 cups of golden raisins to your dough, and you need to make sure to push them deeper into the dough before baking, or they will burn if sticking out of the bread.

Roast Beef and Cream Cheese Wraps

     There are some days during the week, even though we have a great menu planned, that we have to go out to eat. Sometimes it's laziness; sometimes it's craziness, but we always need something for lunch the next day. Otherwise, you are forced to go out again, and that is not budget friendly. This recipe is a great one to make for such an occasion.
You could also serve it as a snack at a party if you cut your wrap into little pinwheels.

whole wheat tortillas
deli sliced roast beef (get the good stuff!)
shredded carrots
veggie flavored cream cheese spread

• Spread each tortilla with cream cheese.
• Sprinkle with carrots. 
• Top with roast beef.
• Roll up. Wrap in plastic.

Celebrate Pi Day with Berry Tartlets

Wouldn't these be cute at a dinner party?

     How are you celebrating pi Day? With pie, I hope. "Easy as pie" or so the saying goes. Pie really is an easy dessert to make, especially if you use store bought crusts. I decided to make some pie-lettes for our celebration of pi Day for easier portion control (and to use my new silicone baking cups!)...now the problem is that I want to eat five of them...
     I used a frozen berry combination of raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry for the filling. You could use whatever filling you like. Some other pie fillings I've used include Strawberry, apple (I can't believe I haven't posted that!), and peach.
     

Makes about 16 pie-lettes
1 pkg Refrigerated pie crusts
5-6 cups berries (I thawed some berry medley frozen berries)
2/3 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbl butter (to dot before baking)

• Remove pie crusts from package. Use a cup about an inch bigger around than your muffin cup to cut out little pie crust circles. Place each circle into the muffin cups.Make as many as you can, then re-roll the crust to make more circles.
• Combine the berries and the rest of the ingredients. Toss to mix. 
• Place about 2 Tablespoons of the filling into each crust. Blot with butter. 
• Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and the crusts are barely golden.

Peanut Butter Apple Wraps

     I've been planning my daughter's Yo Gabba Gabba themed birthday party. I'm working on making a food in the color of each of the characters and I needed a green snack that isn't sweet. I saw this in the Cooking for Kids Bible that my mom picked up at a discount store one time. I really like this cookbook, because it has a lot of kid friendly, healthy recipes.
     The verdict? I really enjoyed this, but my daughter wanted to pick it apart and eat the individual ingredients which proved to be very messy. This may be better suited for slightly older kids, maybe in a school lunch box for something. Overall, the wrap was light but filling. I would definitely make it again. Here, it is pictured with the fudge peanut butter swirl muffin I posted last week.
     If you were wondering, I decided on a green fruit salad for the green snack. I'm thinking apples, green grapes, and kiwi. I might add some chopped banana in there too.

3/4 c peanut butter
4 whole wheat or spinach tortillas
1 large apple, finely chopped
1/3 c shredded carrot
1/3 c granola without raisins
1 Tbl toasted wheat germ (I used milled flax seed)

• Spread the peanut butter on one side of each tortilla. 
• Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/4 apple, carrot, granola, and wheat germ (or flax).
• Roll up tightly. Cut each wrap in half.
• Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

If you are going to use this for a lunch box, cut each wrap in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Dracula Eyes

It's almost Halloween, so here is my festive recipe for this year....
Dracula Eyes.
My mom started making these when I was in high school. I came home one night, and our table was covered with these eyeballs. It is a little creepy to look at, but don't be scared...unless you are allergic to peanut butter! Basically, these are the same thing as Buckeyes. My sister just took them in for my nephew's kindergarten party, and the kids went nuts over them.

Makes about 20
1/2 c peanut butter
3 Tbl butter, softened
1 c powdered sugar
4 oz vanilla candy coating
M&M's
red & black gel icing

• Stir together peanut butter and butter. 
• Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until combined.
• Shape into 1 inch balls.
• Place on waxed paper and let stand about 20 minutes until dry. 
• Melt candy coating (it's easier to do 1 square at a time) melting in microwave for about 45 seconds or so. Don't overcook!
• Dip balls, one at a time, into coating. Let excess drip off. Place on waxed paper.
• Press m&m's on top (m's facing down)
• Let stand til firm. 
• Add black dot on top of m&m for pupil.
• Drizzle red gel onto balls for bloodshot eyes.

Other ideas for Halloween Party

• Witches fingers:  breadsticks w/half a pepperoni on the end
• Bones: breadsticks w/knots tied on each end, marinara (blood) for dipping
• Mummies: Baked potato w/ strips of American cheese across top like mummy
• Dracula teeth:  Peanut butter spread between 2 apple slices with almond slivers (teeth) sticking out
• Quick Sand: cheeseball w/hand shaped breadsticks sticking out (plus more hands and veggies to dip in)
• Spider Pie: Chicken pot pie w/ top crust cut in strips and placed like a web, make a spider for center

Peanut Butter Balls

Pita Pizzas

     Sometimes when we visit my mom, we have a "make your own pizza" party. It's easier than trying to get ten people to decide on the same toppings to order a pizza....and the kids love it! You can buy individual size pizza crusts, make your own small crusts, or just use pita bread. This picture is a pizza made with whole wheat pita bread and my toppings of choice. You could be creative or traditional.

pita bread (or crusts of your choice)
marinara sauce (or pizza sauce if you prefer...or BBQ)
toppings: (your choice)pepperoni, mushroom, ham, bacon, ground beef, chicken, sausage, tomato, basil, mozzarella, cheddar, swiss, etc...

• Place pizza "crusts" on a cookie sheet.
• Top as desired. 
• Bake until cheese melts.

Double Dipped Oreos

     This week we visited Conner Prairie's Apple store. While we were there, I got my daughter a chocolate covered pretzel rod. As she was eating it I noticed that it was first dipped in caramel, then in chocolate. I tasted it, and it tasted just like a Twix candy bar! Then, I was inspired to try out that dipping combination with Golden Oreos.
     I wasn't sure there could be any improvement to Golden Oreos, but I found out there could. These are so good. It's too bad I only ate one since my husband had to take them to work for a pitch in!
    I think the combinations are endless...next time I might try dipping in peanut butter and chocolate or using regular oreos.

1 pkg caramel bits
2 Tbl water
4 squares chocolate candy coating
1 pkg golden oreos

• Place greased wax paper on a cookie sheet.
• Melt the caramel bits and water over medium-low heat. Stir constantly.
• Dip the oreos in the melted caramel and place them on the wax paper cookie sheet.
• After you dip the oreos, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to set for about an hour.
• Take out of the refrigerator and let sit for about 5-10 minutes. This will loosen up the wax paper so it won't be stuck to the bottom of the cookies.
• Melt the chocolate.
• Dip the cookies in the chocolate making sure to cover the caramel on the back side so it won't stick to the wax paper.
• Set on wax paper to cool.

linked up to
Sweet Treats Thursday
and

Sweet Tooth Friday

and 

Sweets for Saturday

Amish Bread Cookies

     I wanted to make some muffins the other day, so I turned to Debbi's blog and all her amish bread recipes for help. I ended up making this Bananas Foster Bread into muffins, and they were so good. Since I still had about a half cup left of my frozen starter, I needed to find another recipe. Following Debbi's link, I headed over to the Friendship Bread Kitchen. I could not believe all the recipes and ideas for using the starter! It was hard to decide, but I finally chose to make a half recipe of the basic cookies.

     Let me tell you, these things are so addictive! They have the subtle yeasty taste of the starter and the perfect chewiness of a sugar cookie. Classic, but just different enough to stand out. I will definitely make these again!



This is a half recipe and it makes plenty! For the full and original recipe, follow the link to basic cookies above.

1/2 cup Amish Starter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup shortening

1-1/4 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1-1/2 tsp flax seed

1-1/2 Tbl water

1 tsp baking soda

2-1/2 cup flour (take out 5Tbl for whole wheat)

1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C).


2. Cream butter, shortening, eggs and sugars.


3. Stir in rest of ingredients.


4. Drop tablespoon size dough onto ungreased baking sheet.


5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.


6. ENJOY!

Linked up to 

Sweet Tooth Friday

and

Sweets for Saturday