Strawberry Poke Cake...

I made a Poke cake this week.  My oldest son requested that I make it since he had eaten a piece at a friends house and loved it.  I'm pretty sure I've made it before but no one in my house remembers it.  If I actually did make this cake before...it evidently didn't make much of an impression on the family OR it's entirely possible I imagined I made it for the family.  Yep...definitely possible!  I DO remember my Mom and Grandma making this cake when I was young and it was always good...and very easy to make.  I've taken the recipe straight off the Kraft website...so feel free to go there if you'd like to see the original.  Such a quick and easy cake recipe and always tastes good.

Have a great Friday!

--jackie

 

What You Need

1pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix

1cup boiling water

1pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

 

Make It

PREPARE cake batter and bake as directed on package for 13x9-inch pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.
 
ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; pour over cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Sugar Sugar...

Before I tell you about the sinful sugar cookie bars up there...I just have to say that it's a darn good thing that I have Pinterest since I can't find my dang camera anywhere.  If it weren't for all the crazy pinning I do, I would have lots of photo-less posts which aren't near as fun for me to do.  Those pins sure are an inspiration to me and I come up with posts in the middle of the night sometimes from one little photo I pinned earlier in the day.  I just don't have enough time in my day to write up the posts and then I forget them.  Note to self:  place notebook and pen on my bedside table tonight for middle of the night scribbles.

So, what do you think about those bars up there?  Let me tell you they are Delicious with a capital D!  Several people were pinning them yesterday and I did the same.  I tried the recipe and it was a huge success.  I mean...who doesn't like sugar cookies and if you can just press them into a pan and make bar cookies it's even better.  Now, to be totally honest, mine didn't exactly look like the photo above.  Mine weren't as white...more of a buttery yellow color and I didn't have the cute sprinkles.  No worries... they tasted great and the men in the house didn't complain one bit about the color...not that they would ever complain about cookies!  Oh, and a shout-out to Ice Cream Before Dinner for the recipe.

Enjoy...

Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat to 375. Sift together the flour, salt & baking soda to combine, and set aside. Spray a 9 x 13 cookie sheet (with raised sides) with non-stick spray. Put the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and turn on to cream the butter. Slowly add the sugar and mix until creamy, about two minutes. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Add vanilla. In three parts, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just to combine, scraping the bowl in between additions. Spread the dough in the 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 14 - 19 minutes, or until it is slightly golden around the edges. Leave in pan to cool, on a wire rack. When completely cool, spread with about 1 cup of frosting (recipe below), or to taste. Wait until frosting has set a bit before cutting, at least a half hour.

Butter-cream Frosting
this recipe makes a lot more than you'll need for this, but it stores really well in the frig. I just make it in big batches and save it for future use.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C solid white vegetable shortening
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
1/3 C + 2 tablespoons warm water
a 2 LB bag of confectioner's sugar

Add shortening to the electric mixer bowl and turn on to cream it. Add 1/2 the sugar and mix on low to combine (you'll certainly want your bowl's dust lid/shield thing on at this point!). Add the warm water and mix to a paste. Once it is creamed, add the rest of the sugar. Mix. Add the extract. Mix to combine completely, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then, turn mixer to high and beat to about 8 minutes. Store in the frig for up to 8 - 12 weeks

Until Next Time,

Jackie

Putting The Apron On...

It's time to pull out the aprons at my house...this coming weekend the oven will be busy with all the baking that will be done.  All my gifts are purchased and wrapped.  My house is somewhat clean...as clean as it's gonna get anyway...and now I can spend some time in the kitchen.  

I'm looking forward to baking bread this weekend.  My boys are really excited about taking gifts to our neighbors this year.  We haven't really done this in the past...but it's never too late to start, I say!   I plan to use my bread maker to make the dough and then bake in mini loaf pans in my oven.  We're doing yeast bread and I have a couple of recipes that I'm going to try out.  The absolute best bread machine recipe that I use often is Light Oat Bread.  I'll probably use that one if the others don't work out.  As my family knows....I frequently have to start over in the kitchen.  I foresee that we'll be eating a few of the test runs before they ever make it out the door.

The top photo is of Ted's Mini Loaves.  I don't know who Ted is...but his bread looks yummy.  We'll be trying out his recipe.

The photo below is from Country Living Magazine and it's another recipe we'll be trying called Mini Country Loaves.  Looks yummy and the box is adorable.  I hope to find something similar to package my loaves. 

I hope all your holiday baking is going well and that you're having fun with it.  We're supposed to have fun, right?  Sometimes, for me, the baking feels like another chore to add to my already over-packed schedule.  This year, I'm trying to enjoy all the moments and not worry about perfection.  So far...it's working.  I'm less stressed and enjoying the holidays more.  I hope you are too.

Jackie

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins...

Once again, I have snagged a GREAT recipe from Pinterest.  This recipe was super easy and I even had the ingredients in my kitchen.  While they aren't the most beautiful muffins I've ever seen...I couldn't resist a shot in front of my Pumpkin Patch sign.  Also, my boys loved them!!  These are perfect for a cool, fall morning.

Ingredients:

1 Box Cake Mix (I used Yellow Cake Mix from Aldi)

1 15 oz Can of Pumpkin (also from Aldi)

Mix both ingredients until most of the lumps are gone and bake at 350 degrees.

That's It!!   

For the record...I added in a couple of shakes of Nutmeg and Cinnamon.  I guess, technically, that would make these 4 ingredient muffins...but who's counting.  I'm making these again today with a Spice Cake mix.

Enjoy!

Jackie

Oh, September...

I love September,

especially when we're in it.

-Willie Stargell

As I write this...it is 41 degrees this morning.  I have the oven on and the door open to warm up my kitchen...I'm drinking my coffee with vanilla caramel creamer.  I love cool, fall mornings.  Something about this time of year makes me want to bake some of this and while it's in the oven set to work on some deep cleaning in this house.  In the garden, I'm enjoying watching the blooms fade and some of the leaves start to fall.  We have a new friend who has moved in under our driveway...a groundhog...a large one.  Maybe he, too, is enjoying fall and looking to spruce up his home before the cold sets in.   I'm guessing he is all huddled up in his new home this morning though, since there is a chill in the air.  I suspect we don't really want a groundhog living under our driveway since kids are playing in that area all the time.  Hmmmm...if it weren't for the possible dangers...I kind of like the thought of a groundhog living under the driveway.

I hope it's feeling Septemberish wherever you are today. 

Jackie