DESSERTS

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1-1 1/2 cups of sugar ( I use 1 cup)

3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups mashed pumpkin (or 2 cups grated zucchini)

1 egg

1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 TBS oil or  melted butter

Mix all dry ingredients well.  Add the pumpkin, egg, milk and oil.  Mix well.  Add a little water if it still seems thick.  Pour into a greased 9 X 13 pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  Some variations are to add coffee instead of water for a mocha type cake.  I like to use zucchini because there is no taste.  The pumpkin has a little bit of taste, but nothing that takes away form the enjoyment of the cake.  I top our cake with the chocolate syrup (seen below), but you can use whatever frosting you desire to make.  Another idea is to sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Syrup

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup hot water

Mix the cocoa, sugar, and salt in a medium sauce pan.  Add the hot water and stir.  Cook on medium low heat until it starts to boil.  Once it boils, turn off the burner and let cool on the burner.  Once cool, add the teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Mix well.  Makes about 2 cups of syrup.  Store in fridge.  Great for topping frozen (or not) Strawberries, Cherries, or bananas.  I will usually take whatever fruit I'm using and top with 2 oz of vanilla whole milk yogurt and 6 grams of chocolate syrup.  Makes a great snack or dessert.  I also use this to top my Chocolate pumpkin cake recipe, or mix a little in some milk and heat it for great hot chocolate.

Homemade Graham Crackers

12 Tbs butter softened ( 1 1/2 sticks )
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (white wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In a small mixing bowl, place all your dry ingredients, except brown sugar, and mix well.  Set aside.  In medium mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and honey til fluffy.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients.  You may need to mix this with a large spoon or even your clean hands.  The dough will be dryer than cookie dough, but it will still stick together well.  Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 350.  Using about 1/8th of the dough at a time, place dough onto a well floured (use all purpose) sheet of wax paper.  Mash hard with your hand to flatten some.  Dust the top of the dough well with more flour and cover the top with wax paper.  Roll the dough between the sheets of wax paper, turning periodically to kind of square things up.
*** Note, you may need to pull the top sheet of wax paper back and dust will more flour in order to keep the dough from sticking.

Once flat ( like 1/4 of an inch at most), you can be obsessive like me and cut it with a pizza cutter into nice neat squares, or you can just cut it into pieces in whatever shape it happens to be in.  Your choice.  Either way, it needs to be "Crackers".  Brush the top of the cracker with a little water.  This will also remove some of the flour.  Then sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 6 minutes.  Cool on a wire rake.  I store ours in the freezer, using a few at a time.

Options:  You can add 1 ts cinnamon to the mix, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for the cinnamon graham crackers.

I take two of the homemade graham squares and put good spoonful of cool whip in between.  Then freeze for some really good ice cream sandwiches.

***  If you are so industrious, you can try this recipe, but I will say that graham crackers, especially if bought at Aldi , are really cheap when it comes right down to it.  I will also say the homemade crackers make the best ice cream sandwiches.


Easy Fudge


1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup water
1 box (16 oz) powdered sugar
1/2 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
dash salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (if you have them)

In a small sauce pan heat together butter/margarine and water just to boiling, stirring to melt the butter/margarine.  Sift together (whisk together) dry ingredients.  Add the melted butter mixture.  Stir til well blended.  Stir in nuts if you have them.  Turn into a buttered 8x8x2 inch pan.  Chill several hours.  Cut into squares.

BUTTER TOFFEE CRUNCH

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbs water
1 tbs corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup semi sweet choc chips

Butter a 9 X 13 pan really well and sprinkle the nuts on the bottom. I tend to keep them clustered in the center of the pan some cause the toffee you put over them wont make it to the edges. Anyway, melt your butter in a pan (I use my iron skillet) and add the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stirring constantly bring to soft crack stage (290) keep careful watch after the temp get to 280 cause it will a)rise the rest of the way pretty quickly and b) could burn if you aren't careful. Once it reaches the soft crack stage, immediately pour over the nuts in you 9 X 13 pan. Sprinkle the choc chips over all, wait a second then spread them out will a spoon or knife. let cool completely. Break into bite size pieces. This is the most wonderful stuff in the world!



My Chocolate Chip Cookie Revamp

1 Stick butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 ts vanilla
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips (although I used 1/2 cup and chopped them up)

 2 TBS milk ( may need to add if too dry.)

Beat butter 30 seconds.  Add sugars and mix with your mixer until fluffy.  Add vanilla, Egg, soda, and baking powder.  Mix well.  Add flour 1 cup at a time ending with the quarter cup.  Stir in chips.  Bake 325 for 10 min.  Remove from oven and let cool just a minute or too then remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack to finish cooling.  Amounts vary depending on size of cookie, but would probably make 3-4 dozen easy.



Banana Cake

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 cups mashed banana

1 egg

1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 TBS oil or  melted butter

Mix all dry ingredients well.  Add the banana, egg, milk and oil.  Mix well.  Add a little water if it still seems thick.  Pour into a greased 9 X 13 pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  I top our cake with the chocolate syrup, but you can use whatever frosting you desire to make.  Another idea is to sprinkle with powdered sugar, or no topping!