Snickerdoodle Bars

 

  GoodMan looooooves Snickerdoodles...I like them too...but not nearly as much as GoodMan. Luckily for him, a group at our church makes homemade cookies every week for people to have with coffee while chatting between services. About once every 4 weeks or so the Sunday morning cookie flavor is Snickerdoodle. GoodMan usually restrains himself and has only one cookie on a Sunday morning, but on Snickerdoodle Sunday it's hard to keep him out of there!
  I've made Snickerdoodles more often than I care to admit, but it never occurred to me to make them into a bar cookie. I saw someone post Snickerdoodle Bars on Pinterest and I slapped my forehead with a "duh!" That looked so much easier than making individual cookies. I get tired of rolling the dough in balls and then rolling the balls in a cinnamon sugar mixture (I really just get bored).  I followed the Pinterest link to the Betty Crocker website and after reading their recipe I realized I could adapt their recipe and my Snickerdoodle cookie recipe and come up with a Snickerdoodle bar that would make GoodMan very happy. Let me show you how I did it.

I gathered the ingredients; butter, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Then I remembered the ingredient that I think makes it a Snickerdoodle ~ cream of tartar.

 I creamed the butter and the sugars, then added the eggs and vanilla.

I mixed the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar together in another container, and then I slowly incorporated the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and mixed them together until just combined.

At this point I preheated my oven to 350 degrees and prepared a 9x13 pan by spraying it with PAM. Then I took half of the dough and patted it down into the pan. I found it was easier if I got my hands wet first ~ not dripping, but wet.

Then I mixed two tablespoons of granulated sugar and one tablespoon of cinnamon in a small bowl.

I sprinkled the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough in the pan. I didn't need to use all of the sugar mixture, so I saved a couple of teaspoons out to use in the glaze. Then I spooned the remaining dough over the top in "dollops". When all the remaining dough was on top, I put it in the oven and baked it for 28 minutes (I started checking on it at 22 minutes ~ I felt it was done when the edges were golden brown and the center didn't look wet.)

This is how it looked when I pulled it out of the oven. I let it cool on the counter top...and GoodMan's nose drew him in to check out what I was cooking. I convinced him to wait until after dinner...just barely...

When I cut the bars I drizzled them with a mixture of powdered sugar, the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture, and milk...and then I brought one to GoodMan, because treating him to something special was the whole point!


This is my official recipe for Snickerdoodle Bars
(adapted from Betty Crocker's recipe)


Dough:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
remainder of cinnamon sugar mixture
approximately 2 tablespoons milk (to get glazing consistency)
pinch of salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 9x13 pan by spraying with PAM.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamed. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. 
Add dry mixture to wet mixture a little at a time and mix just to combine.
Pat half of the dough into the pan.
In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Sprinkle over the dough in the pan to cover completely. Reserve about 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Dollop the remaining dough over the top of the mixture by teaspoons until all dough is used.
Bake for 22-30 minutes until sides are golden brown and center doesn't look wet.
Cool Completely.
In a small bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth.
Drizzle glaze over the cooled bars. Cut into pieces and serve.


What was the taste tester's bottom line?
GoodMan LOVED them! He says they're better than any brownie he's ever eaten!! I liked them too. They remind me of a Cinnabon roll. We took some to the neighbors across the street so we didn't eat the whole pan by ourselves!


The bottom line:  I'll add this recipe to my "Snickerdoodle's For GoodMan" collection.

Roadhouse Rolls

You know those rolls you get when you go to the steak houses? The hostess shows you to your table and drops off a basket with about 4 rolls and a little container of cinnamon butter for you to munch on while you wait for your server to take your order.  And if you're anything like me you come in to the restaurant so hungry you gobble up the rolls and when the server comes to take your order you ask for another basket of rolls, then when your steak arrives you take a few bites and ask for a box to take the steak home, along with any rolls that happen to be left in the basket.

The steak house rolls are always warm, soft, and buttery, and they don't taste like something that comes out of a restaurant supply package. They are not all identical like they've been pressed out of a machine. The steak house may have a packaged mix, but the rolls look and taste like they've been baked on the premises. 

One day I saw a recipe for Texas Roadhouse Copycat Rolls on a blog called Eat Cake For Dinner. That blogger said although she was trying to copy Texas Roadhouse rolls, her recipe "did NOT taste anything like Texas Roadhouse's." But. her rolls were gorgeous, and she said they were soft, light and fluffy, so I decided to try them myself. You should hop over to her site and take a peek. I adapted her recipe just slightly, and my rolls intentionally don't look perfect. I wanted mine to seem more like the ones at my favorite steak house. Let me show you how I made mine. 

I mixed 1/4 cup of yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 teaspoon of sugar in my mixing bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it got foamy. While the yeast was doing its thing, I warmed 2 cups of milk in the microwave until it was just a little warmer than lukewarm (not hot), and melted a half a stick of butter. Then I mixed the warm milk and melted butter, 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons of salt and enough flour in with the yeast mixture to make a batter about as thick as pancake batter. I started with my dough hook, but decided to change to my paddle so I could mix the batter enough to remove the lumps. When the lumps were gone I changed back to the dough hook and started adding flour.

I added flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulled away from the sides of the bowl. That took a total of about 8 1/2 cups of flour. Then I left my mixer kneading on low for about 5 minutes. 


I didn't take pictures of this, but when the kneading was done I put the dough in a greased bowl and covered it with a towel and set it aside for an hour to rise. 

When the dough had doubled in size I divided it into two pieces and put one piece on a floured counter and rolled it out to a large rectangle. 

I used my pizza cutter to cut the dough into uneven pieces...that's easy! Making each piece perfectly squared would have been much harder, and I wanted this to be easy and imperfect.

I put my uniquely uneven pieces on a silicone lined baking sheet. If you don't have silicone you can spray it with PAM. Then I covered the tray with a towel and set it aside for about another hour to rise again. I did the same thing with the other half of the dough so I ended up with two baking sheets full of funky shaped rolls.

When the rolls had raised for a second time I baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. As soon as they came out of the oven I brushed them with melted butter. Aren't these funky? And kinda cute? I really like the way they don't look like I pressed them out of a machine.

This recipe made 24 large rolls. I served them with whipped cinnamon honey spread. 


This is the official recipe
(adapted from the one on Eat Cake For Dinner)
1/4 cup yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
8 - 9 cups all-purpose flour


Combine yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar in mixing bowl. Leave for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
Warm milk in microwave until approximately 110 degrees. Warmer than lukewarm, but not hot. Melt butter.
Add warm milk, melted butter, remaining sugar, eggs, salt, and about 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Beat until all lumps are gone.
Begin adding remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl 
Knead with dough hook for about 5 minutes.
Put dough in a greased bowl and cover until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough, divide dough in half, roll out one half on a floured circle making a large rectangle.
Cut dough into 12 or more pieces. Put the pieces on a greased (or silicone lined) baking sheet. Do the same thing with the remaining half of the dough. Cover baking sheets of dough and set aside for dough to rise a second time - about 1 hour.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
Brush with melted butter immediately after removing from the oven.




What was the taste tester's bottom line?
We really loved these rolls! They are different than the garlic breadsticks I make ~ we like them both, but they are very different from each other. These rolls are soft and fluffy with a delicate sweetness. The breadsticks are chewy and a little salty. My littlest taste testers liked these rolls so much it was hard to get them to eat anything else for dinner...I guess they take after me! I had to send them home with doggy bags for their remaining dinner...kinda like me at the steak house!


The bottom line: These may not be a true copy of Texas Roadhouse Dinner Rolls, but they taste good enough for me to avoid roadhouse cravings.

Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

I am a macaroni and cheese connoisseur. In this day of low fat, healthy lifestyles that is almost like admitting I've eaten dessert for breakfast (there's eggs and milk in that cake). I really can't remember when I started liking macaroni and cheese. I don't remember my mom or my grandma making it. It wasn't a part of our holiday meal traditions. All I know is, as long as I can remember, if macaroni and cheese has been part of the menu, I wanted it!


Macaroni and cheese is one of those dishes that varies widely. One end of the spectrum hardly resembles the other end. The funny thing is, I like it all. I like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and I like homemade macaroni and cheese. They don't look or taste anything alike, but I like them both. That makes it easy for me when I see macaroni and cheese on a menu at an unfamiliar restaurant ~ chances are good I'm going to like it. My grandchildren do not carry my "mac & cheese acceptance" gene. They like Kraft, and sometimes Bob Evan's grocery brand, and that's it! Over the years I've tried to expose them to the wonders of homemade macaroni and cheese, but I've never been successful in converting them. Many of their parents, on the other hand, love it ~ but try to eat healthier foods on a regular basis.


Recently, I tried making just a few small changes to my macaroni and cheese recipe in hopes of addicting enlightening another generation to the wonders of good macaroni and cheese. Let me show you what I did and then I'll let you know how it worked.

I started by gathering the ingredients. I decided not to use traditional elbow macaroni. My thinking was I could call this something other than macaroni and cheese, thereby avoiding the kids' automatically comparing this dish to the boxed variety. I wanted to use cavatappi (which is a pasta shaped like a spiraled tube), but my little local store didn't carry that, so I bought bow tie pasta. I also got out shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chopped onion (I had some in the freezer left over from another day), dry mustard, salt, pepper, flour, butter and milk (not pictured). 

 As I was cooking the pasta on the stove, I melted the butter in a large sauce pan. And I added the onion. I got sneaky again here. I decided since some of the complaints I've gotten from the kids has been the onions, I would put them in the food processor and puree them so they would impart flavor, but wouldn't be seen.

 When the onions and butter became bubbly, I added the salt, pepper, and dry mustard.

 Then I added the flour.

 I stirred the flour into the butter mixture and let it cook for about a minute. At this point it is very thick. I had to keep stirring it so it wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pan. I moved it off the burner as I went to get the milk.

 I stirred the milk into the pot of butter/flour mixture and put it back on the burner.

 At this point I broke out the whisk so I would not have any lumps.

 Then I added the shredded cheddar cheese, and I kept stirring to make sure it didn't scorch.

 After just a couple of minutes I had a thick, cheesey sauce.

I poured the sauce over the cooked and drained pasta noodles and gave them a gentle stir to distribute the sauce throughout.

 I poured the noodle/sauce mixture into a casserole dish I had previously sprayed with PAM. Here again, I got sneaky...how can I make this appeal to the little guys?...hmmm I'll crush potato chips and sprinkle them over the top. This is a trick I've used on other casseroles and it always seems to appeal to the kids. I didn't take a picture of this with the chips, but just believe me, it did it. I then popped this in the oven preheated to 350 degrees for about a half an hour.

 I forgot to take a picture of the finished product right out of the oven, but this is a shot of it on my plate. It's cheesey, creamy, yummy, delish!

 This is what it looks like after a few minutes if you take it to a potluck, family reunion, or holiday dinner.


This is the official recipe:


14 ounce box of pasta cooked al dente, and drained
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard
4 cups milk
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 3 quart casserole dish by spraying with PAM. 
In a large saucepan on top of the stove, melt butter and cook onions over medium heat until onions are tender.
Add salt, pepper, mustard and flour.
Cook and stir for about a minute. Remove from the burner.
Add milk. Whisk to remove any lumps.
Place back on the burner and add shredded cheese. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.
Pour cheese sauce over drained pasta. Stir to combine.
Pour pasta and cheese mixture into the prepared casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browning on the edges.


Enjoy with caloric guilt!



What was the taste tester's bottom line?
The little rotters didn't like it!!   What?!! How can this be? I really have no idea. I was sure I could fool them by calling it "Bow Tie Casserole", by pureeing the onion, and especially by adding the crushed potato chips. But no, not a one of them liked it. Bummer!! I liked it and my daughter-in-law liked it enough to take leftovers home for herself so it didn't go to waste. I served it with wonderful homemade dinner rolls, and they were the hit with the kiddos.  

The bottom line: Put this recipe in the "keeper file" but save it for big gatherings, and serve the cheap boxed stuff to the kids. 

Grilled Pork Loin Chops

When I was a kid I really didn't like pork chops. I remember them being very dry and as tough as shoe leather. Back in those days people were warned to cook their pork to a very well done stage in order to avoid trichinosis (a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork). I never understood why people would pay money for the meat and then cook it until it didn't taste good. The only way I ever saw it cooked was pan fried with just salt and pepper.  

When I was about 10 years old Shake 'n Bake was introduced. Shake 'n Bake is a product that mimics the texture on the outside of fried foods similar to a bread crumb coating. The coated meat is then baked in the oven. This method of cooking pork chops produced a moister chop, but my mother wasn't convinced they were cooked all the way through until they were baked and baked and baked...dry, dry, dry. So I still didn't like pork chops.

One day about 10 years ago I was watching a morning television show (I can't remember which one, probably Regis and Kathy Lee) and they had a cooking segment showing how to cook moist pork loin chops. The person demonstrating the method told the audience they don't have to cook their chops to death. That it is very rare for American pork to carry the trichinosis parasite, and  slight pink color is actually fine for pork. This sure was news to me, but since then I've heard that same thing over and over again. I decided to try cooking pork myself.

I'm happy to say I've found a method of cooking pork chops that keeps them moist and flavorful, and at the same time is safe for my family to eat. Let me show you how I do it.

 I gather the ingredients: boneless pork loin chops about 1/2" thick, olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, chopped fresh garlic, and a gallon size zip lock bag.

 I lay the chops out on a board and drizzle olive oil all over them. Then I sprinkle salt, pepper, and chopped garlic on top and massage it all over the top side. Then I turn them over and do the same thing to the other side.

 Then I put them in the large zip lock bag, close it tightly, and then massage the seasonings around some more as I put it in the refrigerator to marinate. I try to marinate them like this for a few hours, but I've been known to do this just before I cook them. A few hours is best, but any length of time is better than nothing.

 I like to grill these chops on my outdoor BBQ grill, but if the weather doesn't permit it (or I haven't cleaned the grill since getting it out of its winter storage in the garage), I use my cast iron grill pan, or even my George Forman Grill. When I use the indoor method I usually add a small amount of olive oil to the pan and heat the pan to medium high before I add the meat. I cook each side about 7 minutes until the inside is just past the light pink stage. Usually I cut into one to make sure they are cooked enough (my mom's fear has left it's mark on me). When I pull these off the grill or out of the pan I put them on a serving dish and cover them with foil. I let them "rest" for at least 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute through the meat. 

These are the tenderest, juciest pork chops you will ever eat. I know a lot of people who only like bone-in pork chops because they believe the flavor is better. I find these chops to be super flavorful, and I don't have to eat around a sharp bone.  I like to find chops that are no thicker then 3/4". Any thicker and you have to cook them a long time to make the center done enough, and by that time the outsides get charred. I also don't like to get the thin cut chops because they cook too quickly, and it's hard to get them off the grill before they are overcooked.


I hope you'll try this method of cooking pork chops either on your BBQ grill or indoors on a grill pan. If you have a great method for maintaining the moisture in your pork chops I'd love to hear about it!

 

Two Duds ~ Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes and Mississippi Pot Roast

Each time I try a new recipe there is a distinct chance it could be a dud. Of course I try to find recipes I think my taste tester's will like, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. It's always hard to share the duds, but you probably wouldn't believe me when I tell you how good a recipe is if you thought I never make a bad one. So it's time to catch up on some duds...oh, how I dread talking about the recipes that don't appeal to my taste testers...But I said I'd tell you what works and what doesn't and these are the "doesn'ts".

First, I did what everyone tells you not to do...I tried out a new recipe on a holiday. This past Easter weekend most of my kids and their families were visiting. I put together a meal plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and another breakfast for about 25 people. I had a big dinner planned, so I tried to make the other meals easier. I found what I thought was a good idea on Pinterest for the lunch meal. It was Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes, which were to be served on toasted buns with melted provolone cheese. Not one person who tried it gave it a "thumbs-up". Since everyone knows I try these recipes out for my blog they were full of suggestions, but the best suggestion I got was to go back to the Crock Pot Shredded French Dip recipe I've served before. I will take pictures of that recipe the next time I make it and I know I'll get "thumbs-up" on that one. Sometimes it's just smart to make what you know everyone will like.

Mississippi Pot Roast ~ almost

My second dud is another recipe I found while searching the internet. I saw a recipe for Mississippi Pot Roast using beef roast, ranch dressing mix, au jus mix, a stick of butter, and pepperoncini peppers. A whole stick of butter in a recipe for roast beef seemed like a lot. In the "comments" section of that blog one person said they substitute a can of beer for the butter. I decided to try it. My first problem was I got the roast out of the freezer the day before I wanted to serve it and the next day when I went to put everything in the crock pot I realized I had gotten a pork roast out of the freezer ~ not a beef roast! Oh well, I was committed now, so I put everything in the crock pot and hoped for the best. Well, I don't know how it would have tasted with butter and beef, but the beer with pork was way too strong. I don't think I'll try the recipe with the butter because I don't want to find out I like a roast beef recipe that I have to add a stick of butter to.

There you have it. I've fessed up to two complete failures. Does anyone else out there want to share a recipe failure?