Homemade Herb Butter

Now everyone (ok, maybe not everyone, but a lot of us) love roasted turkey and chicken.  It is a plain meat so benefits from a blast of flavor, be it by marinade or rubs.  One thing my family loves is when I make flavored butters to rub on the turkey or chicken.  If you tend to make gravy with the pan drippings this will enhance that flavor greatly. This recipe would also work well on mushrooms for the vegetarian option.

• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup; at room temperature)
• 1 Tbsp of fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chop leaves

• 1 Tbsp fresh sage, leaves picked and chopped fine
• sea salt (see instructions below) and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, combine butter, all the herbs, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.  If you are using salted butter be sure not to add too much sea salt, if any. When using unsalted butter, add a healthy pinch of sea salt.  Mix the butter until everything is incorporated well.  Voila!  You now have herb butter!

Notes:

• If you plan to save the butter for a later time I would suggest freezing it and if it is for a day or so later just pop it in the fridge.  Lay out a piece of plastic wrap, about the size of a standard piece of paper, and place the butter in line down the middle, leaving enough room on the ends for twisting.  Fold the plastic wrap over the butter and roll gently.  Take the end pieces and, at the same time, twist them.  This will compact the butter and you will end up with a tightly packed stick of herb butter.  Put in the fridge or freezer for later use.
• Chicken and Turkey:  If butter is still soft, seperate the skin from the meat with a spoon.  This makes it easier since the rounded back of it will make a space for the butter.  Take the amount you want to use and place it under the skin and from the outside pat it into the areas you want it.  If the butter has been chilled simply cut disks of the herb butter and place them under the skin.  I find the chilled disks easier to manage.
  For the outside of the bird, rub with the softened butter. 

Best Vanilla Cupcake

It's incredibly difficult to find a recipe that you can make at home and it is light like the ones from the bakery.  I have tried a few that ended up heavy and tasting terrible.  Here is one that I tweaked from a Magnolia Bakery recipe I found. They call for adding salt and vanilla isn't mentioned.  The self-rising flour already has salt so you would get an icky salty batter and without the vanilla you lose another flavor.  By losing the extra salt and adding the vanilla they turned out great!!!! 

The world's best cupcake tester!  My Sweet Holly <3

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 C. Butter, unsalted and room temperature

2 C. Sugar

4 Large Eggs,  room temperature

1 1/2 C. Self-Rising Flour

1 1/4 C. All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp. Vanilla

1 C. Milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F

Line a regular size muffin tin with cupcake liners.  You may want to put non-stick spray on the muffin pan first so the cupcakes won't stick to the top.

Beat together the butter and sugar.  Add in one egg at a time and beat until light and fluffy.

In a medium size bowl, sift together the self-rising and all-purpose flour.  Add vanilla to the milk.  Alternate adding the flour and milk to the creamed mixture on low speed.  Adding 1/4 of each at a time.  This will help avoid lumps. 

Scoop batter into the cups so they reach near the top of the liners.  Place pan in middle of oven and bake until lightly golden on top.  20-25 minutes depending on your oven.  Let cool on rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let finish cooling on rack.

Store in an airtight container.

The key to a good cupcake tasting, tasting as well as wearing the buttercream.

Spiced Sweet Crinkles

By using nutmeg and ground cloves these cookies have a nice spiced flavor that reminds me of Christmas.
I tried a few different things to get the taste the way we like it and the ground cloves seemed to do the trick!  Yum!! The dark brown sugar adds a nice molasses taste without it having to be added.  The less ingredients and mess the better!!

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies; depends on size of cookie you want to make.

1 1/4 C. Dark Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 C. Butter, unsalted and room temperature*

1 large Egg, room temperature

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 3/4 C. Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves

1/4 tsp. Salt

 White Sugar (for rolling cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 F

Add the butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla to a mixing bowl and beat until lighter and fluffy.  Add in flour, baking soda, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt.  Beat until everything is well incorporated.  Let the dough chill for at least 30 minutes so it will firm up and be easier to handle.

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Roll dough into balls, I use a large tablespoon to portion my dough. Pour a few tablespoons of white sugar into a small dish.  Roll each ball in the sugar and place on prepared cookie sheet.  Cookies should be about 1-2 inches apart since they will spread. Use the bottom of a glass to gently flatten each cookie.

Bake until cookies appear cracked and are lightly browned. Will take approx. 8-10 minutes.  Let cool.

For softer cookie bake for less time.

Depending on your oven the cookies may need longer to bake.

* Note:  If you only have salted butter on hand it will work just fine.  Be sure to omit the salt from the recipe so the cookies won't end up too salty.

Tip:  No need to bake all the cookies at once.  An easy time saving way to have cookies whenever you crave them is to freeze the dough.  Place a long piece of plastic wrap on the counter and spoon out the dough to shape a log.  Roll tight and twist the ends so its secure.  Place in freezer.  When you want to make a couple of cookies just take the dough out, slice off a few circles of dough, pat them in sugar and bake as noted above. No need to let the dough thaw first! They come out the same plus no rolling!

To bake or not to bake....ok, lets bake!!

A new Cupcake shoppe opened in the City and we HAD to try it. Such a beautiful spot and the cupcake I had (the Black and White) and my mother had the carrot cupcake with maple buttercream icing were lovely. Unfortunately, my 4 month old daughter could just stare and drool with jealousy at the sweet treat she is not yet capable of eating.

After having that wonderful treat while out I got the urge to bake my own. Oh the joys of sweet icing and a light cupcake!!! The hunt is on for a recipe that would be just as yummy. Some of the recipes I find for cakes and cupcakes made from scratch end up heavy and tasting dull. As of now I have only one recipe that looks like it might be a decent contender.
I'll post the recipe and results of that one when I am done.

BBQ Sauce

This sauce is thinner than the typical store bought bbq sauces but packs a lot of flavor.
Tangy, sweet and spicy....yuummm!!

1 Small Onion, finely diced

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1/2 C. Tomato Paste

1/4 C. Brown Sugar

1/4 C. Molasses

1/4 C. White Vinegar

1/4 C. Soy Sauce

1/4 C. (real) Maple Syrup

1/4 C. Ketchup

4 tsp. Dijon Mustard

4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

4 tsp. Garlic Powder

4 tsp. Onion powder

4 tsp. Seasoned Salt (such as Lawry's)

Approx 1 tsp. of Hot Sauce. Depends on the amount of heat you like.

2 C. Water

In large sauce pot, heat vegetable oil over medium heat and add diced onion. Cook until onions start to soften. Add all the remaining ingredients into the pot and using a whisk stir together so as to avoid lumps. Simmer for at least an hour on low heat so sauce will reduce and thicken.

Check seasoning to see if you want more spice. Can adjust and add more hot sauce if needed. When done, remove from stove-top and let cool. Transfer to airtight containers.

Can last a few weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. I have also frozen batches of it for later use since Summer is such a big BBQ time!