Homemade Vanilla Extract

When my mother in law called me and told me that I could make Vanilla Extract myself and that it's cheaper than buying it a the store, I knew I totally had to give it a try!!! I had been complaining to her about how much it is to buy it in the store and how I go through so much of it! 

And it's so easy to make!! 

1. 1 cup vodka, bourbon, rum or brandy although vodka is the preferred one 
2. 3 whole vanilla beans (from what I've read, the Madagascar ones of the favored ones to use)

Slice the vanilla bean in half length wise and add it to a cup of vodka and let it sit for 2 months. Every week or so, turn the bottle gently to mix it a bit.

I just started mine last week so I'll post again in 2 months with the final product! The long it sits, the darker it will become and turn into actual vanilla extract just like you buy at the store! 

You can use a more decorative bottle to store it in or give it as a gift! As long as this turns out like I'm hoping it will, I plan on making more and giving it out as Christmas gifts to our family along with mint extract I plan on doing as soon as the mint in my garden is ready!! 

You can buy vanilla beans online cheaper than what I found bought mine for, here at this website. 

I found these vanilla beans at Whole Foods for less than $5

Day 1

1 week later

Coffee Cake Recipe

Growing up, one of my mom's favorite dessert recipes to make with me was my Great Grandma Sonderman's Coffee Cake. For the past few weeks I've been craving it so yesterday I decided to make it for a meeting I was going to attend at our church.

And let me just say, after at least 15 years of not getting a chance to eat this coffee cake, it tasted just like I remember and took me for a nice little walk down memory lane remembering the days of baking with my mom in our kitchen when I was little. Those memories are some of my favorite and I will cherish them for the rest of my life.

Great Grandma Sonderman's Coffee Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream together:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Once you've creamed together all the ingredients, add 1 cup of buttermilk a little at a time while you cream the mixture together with the buttermilk. 
2. Mix together using the blender, add the dry ingredients a little at a time on medium speed until well mixed. 

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Mix together using pastry blender until it becomes crumb like.

Pour cake batter into 9x13 greased pan and sprinkle topping over batter.

Bake in oven 30-35 minutes or until edges of cake start to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family has for the past 3 generations!! 

Homemade Buttermilk Recipe

Even though I had heard in the past that you could make your own buttermilk, for some reason it never registered for me to give it a try, LOL!! I can't even count the number of recipes I've passed up making just because it called for buttermilk! Yesterday, while talking to my mom about wanting to make my Great Grandma's coffee cake but not being able to make it simply because I didn't have any buttermilk.

Thankfully my mom reminded me that I could make my own buttermilk and it's so incredibly easy to make and it's cheaper than buying a carton of buttermilk from the store!!!


Homemade Buttermilk

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Just pop it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes then it's ready to use!! 

Thanks mom!!! 

DIY Taco Seasoning

Lately I've been all about making things from scratch even our seasonings. I have been backing away from store bought seasoning packages, my husband and Joey are both on gluten free diets so you never know when there might be gluten used as a anti-caking ingredient or even color. Also because of all the added sodium!

A while back, I found a recipe for taco seasoning, tried it and LOVED it! It tastes so much better than the ones you buy in the store! Not to mention, in the long run, it's A LOT cheaper!

Just mix together:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

I also saved an empty spice jar and store it in there until I'm ready to use it :)

*I usually triple my batches to have extra for the next few taco nights

Gingerbread House Fun 2012

Sunday evening the kids and I went over to my in-law's house to make gingerbread houses with my sister in laws. This has become an annual tradition for Leah to decorate them with her aunties and I joined in on the fun this year. It was so much fun minus my house temporarily collapsing and having to rebuild it, LOL!

"Gingerbread has an incredibly long history as a foodstuff, and we know it has been shaped into Christmas tree ornaments since at least the Victorian era. As for gingerbread houses, they became popular after the Brothers Grimm published Hansel and Gretel, though it's unclear whether the edible edifices got their start as a literary invention. In parts of Europe in the 17th century, only professional gingerbread makers were allowed to bake the stuff year-round. That restriction was lifted during Christmas and Easter, which may explain the Christmas-gingerbread connection." via About.com

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."

 ~Joyce Brothers

This year's Christmas cookie tins

Every year for the past 7 years, I've made homemade cookies and candy to give out to my husband's co-workers. Every year growing up, my mom made holiday goodies for my dad's work, along with my brother's work, and several of our friends & family. This was something I've always wanted to continue doing even after I got married and moved out on my own. I love the idea of spreading the joy of Christmas in an extra yummy way! 

This year was tough figuring out what all I wanted to include in the tins. I wanted to make a few new things rather than the same stuff I make every year. I always make fudge, spritz cookies, and cutout sugar cookies along with a few others but added in the rest I ended up making:

• Homemade fudge
• Spritz cookies
• Pecan Sandies
• Snicker doodles
• Cranberry pinwheels
• Buckeyes
• Homemade candy canes
• Cutout sugar cookies

The end result, it was so much fun making everything. The only thing I won't make again next year in the candy canes. I enjoy baking so much, the past week has been a blast for me!!

Snickerdoodles, Pinwheels & Pecan Sandies, OH MY!!

I was on a massive baking roll over the weekend in preparation for the cookie tins I take to my husband's office every year! I totally forgot to take pictures while I was making all the cookies, but did get a quick pic afterwards of all 3, LOL!! 

\

Snickerdoodles

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup of sugar, baking soda, and cream of tarter. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour. Cover and chill about 1 hour or until easy to handle. 
2. Combine the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mix until coated. Place balls 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to wire rake to cool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cranberry Pinwheels

• 1 cup cranberries
• 1 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

1. For filling, in a blender/ food processor bowl, combine cranberries, pecans and brown sugar. Cover & blend/process until they're finely chopped. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer of 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until well combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs until combined. Then beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill about 1 hour or until easy to handle. 
3. Roll half of dough between 2 pieces of wax paper into a 10 inch square. Spread half the filling over dough square to within 1/2 inch of edges. Roll up dough into log. Moisten edges; pinch to seal. Wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Chill for 4 to 24 hours.
4. Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices. Please slices 2 inches on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cook on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes then transfer to wire rack and let cool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gluten Free Pecan Sandies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup tapioca flour**
• 1 cup rice flour **
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in water and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flours that you can, stir in rest. Beat or stir in pecans (I beat mine in).
2. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack; let cool. Gently shake cooled cookies in a plastic bag with the 1 cup powered sugar. (I actually use a salt shaker with powered sugar, since mine are so flaky with the rice flour in them, they tend to fall apart when I've tried to shake them in a bag)

**You can use 2 cups of all-purpose flour rather than gluten free flour if  you'd like. I've made these both ways. 

Homemade Candy Canes

Beside chocolate candy recipes, this is the first candy recipe I've ever made. This recipe came courtesy of Whirly Bird. They were definetly A LOT of work to make and I couldn't get them to roll out very well, so I ended up with flat candy canes, LOL!). I also tried to swirl two colors together but I just couldn't get it to work. It was also a lot of work to clean up afterwards, I'm not sure if I'll ever make these again but it was fun to at least make them once :)

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon Peppermint flavoring (or whatever flavor you have on hand. I used 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon orange extract. Made a creamsicle-like flavor)
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon food coloring
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• powdered sugar, for dusting
• vegetable oil, for greasing pans and utensils

*You'll need a candy thermometer, latex gloves and a pair of tight-fitting knit gloves.

*Make sure you have read the instructions before you start. Also, set out all your ingredients, measured out and ready to go. You'll want to move fast!

*Preheat your oven to 350 degrees before you start. If the candy starts to cool while you are forming the canes, it will break easily. No problem, just set your candy in the warm oven for a couple of minutes and it will become pliable again.

1. Combine sugar, water, syrup, and cream of tartar. Heat until the sugar is dissolved very fine (medium heat).
2. Bring to boil, but don't stir until it reaches 280 F.
3. Pour globs of mixture onto oiled sheet pans - you want a separate glob/pan for each stripe color. We made white the prominent color, so it was the larger portion.
4. Drip 1/2 tsp of flavoring on each pile and add the coloring to the non-white portions.
5. Put on your knit gloves and layer the latex gloves over them. The candy is hot and you don't want to burn yourself! Tight fitting knit gloves work best because your fingers have more freedom to move and work.
6. With an oiled Teflon or silicon spatula, gently lift the edges of the candy, folding it over itself a few times. Scrape it off the pan, and start working it with your hands. Like taffy, you stretch and pull and form it into ropes. The more you work it the lighter the color becomes, so if you are making white, you will have to work a little longer on the uncolored portion until it turns from yellow to white. However, if you are working on a colored section, don't pull it too much or the color will fade.
7. After you have formed 8" ropes of each desired color, it is time to form a log. Set the main color (in our case white, the largest section) on an oiled surface. Press the remaining colors onto each side of the log. When you press and rub the ropes with your hands, they should melt into one smooth log.
8. Working on one end, gently pull the candy outward, twisting to form the striped candy cane pattern. This part is a little tricky and takes a bit of hand strength. It's like you are jerking off an enormous candy dick, actually. Crass! I'm so crass! I'm sorry. But seriously.
9. When you have pulled a section of your desired thickness, cut the rope and shape into a cane. Set aside on a surface dusted with powdered sugar to keep the canes from sticking. Repeat this process until you run out of candy.
10. Allow your candy canes to set out overnight to cure before eating them. Otherwise, they will stick to your teeth.

*If your candy gets too cool at any time during this process, set it in the oven for a moment and it will become easier to work with.

Sugar Cutout Cookies with Buttercream Icing

Another one of my favorite things to goodies to make during the Christmas season is cutout cookies. So over the weekend, I made a batch of Christmas tree cookies with buttercream Icing.

In the past I've always cheated and bought decorating icing at the store but this year, I wanted to change it up a bit. I received a Wilton cake/ cookie decorating kit a few years ago for Christmas and never used it until now. I found a fairly simple buttercream icing recipe and gave it a try! It was so easy and takes AWESOME! I used the star icing attachment when I iced them and I think they turned out super cute!!

Sugar Cookie Cutouts

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until well combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of flour as possible, stir in the remaining if needed. Divide dough in half and chill for 30  minutes or until easy to handle. 
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough until 1/8 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7-8 minutes until edges are firm and bottoms are slightly brown. Transfer to wire rack to let cool.

* Recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buttercream Icing

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups (1 lb.) sifted confectioner's sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.  When all the sugar has been mixed up, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Add food coloring of choice if you want. 

*recipe courtesy of Wilton

Buckeyes, aka Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Growing up in Ohio (the Buckeye State), one of the favorite chocolate treats are Buckeyes. Typically only Ohioans (or people in surrounding states) know them by that name. I've mentioned eating Buckeyes to people up here in Connecticut and no one knew what I was talking about, LOL! 

I decided the other day that I wanted to try making them myself for the first time. I thought Buckeyes would be the perfect addition to add to the goodie boxes I'm making for my husband's co-workers! 

I found a few different recipes online but couldn't pick out which one to use, so I compared a few of the recipes & changed a few things around and came up with my own recipe! Truthfully I was pretty apprehensive that they would turn out but to my surprise, they did!! And by my side while I was making them, my sous chief, Leah! 

If you want to give this recipe a try, just be sure you have a few hours to make it!! 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 package(8 squares) Bakers chocolate

Directions 

1. Combine everything but the Bakers Chocolate in a mixing bowl with a spatula. It makes a minute or two for all the ingredients to be mixed completely together. Once mixed together, put the bowl in the fridge until the mixture until it starts to become firm. 
2. Roll mixture into approximately 3/4 inch balls and stick a toothpick into the top of each ball. Sit them on a cookie sheet with wax paper on top. If the mixture is sticking to your hands, you will want to put it back in the fridge for a bit. I actually had to put the cookie sheet back into the fridge every once in a while to firm them back up a few times while rolling out all the PB balls. 
3. Once all the PB balls are rolled, put the cookie sheets into the fridge. And leave them there for at least 30 minutes.
4. In a double boiler, melt the Bakers Chocolate (I actually use a glass bowl sitting on top of a sauce pan with a little boiling water in the sauce pan and the chocolate in the glass bowl). Swill the toothpick back & forth a few times to get some of the access chocolate off of them. If the PB balls start to slip off the toothpick, you'll need to put them back in the fridge again.
5. Once the chocolate is completely melted, dip the PB balls into the chocolate except for the very top, that way the ball resembles a buckeye nut. Place back on the cookie sheet. After a while, the balls may start to soften back up, so you'll need to place the cookie sheet back in the fridge until the firm back up again. 
6. After you have dipped all the PB balls into the chocolate, you'll want to place the cookie sheets back into the fridge until they're firmed up (again, LOL!) and the chocolate it completely hardened. Then you can remove the toothpicks from each Buckeye and take your finger and gently cover up the hole. 

PS, go Buckeyes!!! O-H-I-O!!! 

One of my favorites, Spritz Cookies!

Another one of the tasty desserts I used to make with my mother as a child was Spritz Cookies using a cookie press. Just like with the fudge, I decided to let Leah in on the fun this year! This week, I'll be a handful of goodies for my husband to take into his office to give to his co-workers.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, vanilla. Then beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixture then stir in the rest (although I'm always able to get it with the mixer)
2. Force unchilled dough through a cookie press onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Decorate with decorative sugar or sprinkles.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes until the edges are firm not brown, although if your oven is like mine, they're done at 7!!! Then transfer to a wire and let cool.

shhhhh, I just noticed the edges of this batch did get a little brown, LOL!! 

Homemade Fudge

Growing up, it was an annual tradition to make homemade fudge with my mom using the wooden spoon my Great Grandpa Sonderman made by hand decades ago. I would stand on a chair next to the counter and unwrap the individual pieces of the Bakers Chocolate as my mom stirred all the ingredients together and as I got older, she started to let me stir the pan as well.


Unfortunately, a several years back, the old trustworthy wooden spoon broke but my mom and I continued to make our fudge together. After I got married and moved from Ohio to Connecticut, I continued on with the tradition of making homemade fudge.

This year, I let our daughter, Leah join in on the fun. She stood up on a chair next to the counter and unwrapped the Baker's Chocolate for me and watched as I stirred the pan. Our youngest son, Aiden decided to join us long enough to lick the seal off the marshmallow fluff jar, LOL!

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
• 1 can (15 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 package (12 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 1 jar (7 oz) Marshmallow Fluff (we always use the Jet-Puffed brand)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Line 9 inch pan with foil (we actually use the disposable tin pans). Bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a full rolling boil in large sauce pan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes or until 234 degrees on candy thermometer, still stirring continuously, being careful not to scorch the bottom of the pan (I've done it a few times over the years!) Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow fluff; stir until melted. Stir in vanilla and nuts.

Pour into pan. Cool completely and enjoy :)

*update, I tried using a different brand of fluff to make a second batch and it didn't turn out right! The other brand of fluff must have a different consistency to it!!