by pancakeandpepper | Aug 21, 2020 | Recipes
These cookies remind me of Halloween, which is right around the corner. I hope that you are as excited about it as I am. This recipe is super simple. It just takes 3 ingredients and is so yummy.
Ingredients:
1 box of spice cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 bag of chocolate chips
Any brand of spice cake mix will do. I did have a hard time finding it one fall, so I make sure that I always have a few boxes in my cupboards just in case. I like to stock up on them when they are on sale. They don’t go bad very quickly so it’s really not a big deal if you don’t use them right away. In fact, that’s the case with this whole recipe. It can all be made from things you store in your pantry.
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The larger cans of pumpkin are a better value, so if you have those on hand or would rather buy them you can double the recipe and use two boxes of cake mix, or you can just use half of the can and save the rest for something else.
Chocolate chips never stay in my house long enough, but I like to have some on hand to make cookies if I want to. I like the milk chocolate chips, but any kind you like would work just fine. Semi-sweet, or dark chocolate will both be good in these cookies.
Instructions:
The instructions are very straightforward. Empty the box of cake mix into a bowl and add the pumpkin. Mix together thoroughly. I suppose you could do this with an electric mixer if you wanted to, but I never bother because it’s very easy to do with just a mixing bowl and a spatula.
Once the cake mix and pumpkin are mixed together well add the chocolate chips. You really don’t need a whole bag, this makes very chocolate dense cookies, you could easily use half a bag or less. I recommend starting with a cup and adding more until it looks like about the right ratio for you.
The cookie dough this makes does not taste nearly as good as the cookies do. If you can try not to taste it before the cookies are baked, it’s safe because there are no raw eggs in it, but it is super disappointing compared to the cookies. I don’t know why. Just trust me here.
Spoon the cookies out onto a greased cookie sheet. You don’t need to leave a lot of room between them because they stay fairly close to the same shape when they’re baked (they don’t spread out much). You could try to make them nice neat little circles if you really wanted to, but this is difficult because the dough is so sticky. I just use two spoons and make small piles on the cookie sheet.
Bake:
Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 8-15 minutes. I like my cookies to be just barley baked and then they firm up as they cool, so I bake them for the absolute minimum time for the bottoms to be cooked, which is about 8 minutes. I like them to still be super soft and gooey, but you can bake them longer and they will become more cake-like.
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Set the cookies aside to cool and enjoy them. Store any you don’t eat immediately in a cookie jar.
Recipe:
1 box spice cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
Chocolate chips
Empty contents of spice cake mix into a mixing bowl. Add pumpkin and stir to combine. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and stir gently. Add more chocolate chips until there seems to be enough.
Spoon cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-15 minutes. Remove cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool. Enjoy!
Store remaining cookies in a cookie jar.
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by pancakeandpepper | Apr 3, 2020 | Recipes
I’ve seen a lot of people asking for bread recipes lately. I think with everyone being stuck at home they are having more time to bake and are wanting to try something new. And if you can make your own bread at home that means you don’t have to go to the store!
I’ve been making my own bread for years. I have a system in place so that I can have 3 loaves of fresh-baked bread ready in 2 hours. Don’t worry it’s only about a half-hour of active time. The rest is just waiting for the bread to rise and bake.
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This bread recipe is great because it is very versatile. You can make it with whole wheat flour and have a very hearty bread, you can make it with all white flour which makes a sturdy and very yummy bread which is great for cinnamon toast, or sandwiches. You can also use half and half with the whole wheat and the white flour and have a very yummy in-between type of bread. Feel free to experiment with different amounts of each to find what you like best!
Ingredients:
3 cups warm water (90-100) degrees *
1/3 cup sugar or honey
2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups flour †
2 tbs instant yeast
Optional:
2-3 Tbs of vital wheat gluten
1000 mg vitamin C tablet (crushed)
1 cup dry milk
3-7 cups flour ‡
Directions
Combine warm water, sweetener, salt and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the first 3 cups of flour and mix thoroughly. Add the yeast and optional ingredients and mix again. Add the rest of the flour ½ cup at a time until the dough clings to the mixer’s hooks (or begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky to the touch.) When sufficient flour has been incorporated into the dough, knead the dough until the gluten has developed and the dough is smooth. In a mixer, this can take 5-10 minutes or by hand 20-25 minutes.
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Spread a thin layer of flour on the countertop and empty dough onto the counter. Separate and form the dough into loaves. Place each loaf in a pan sprayed with cooking spray. Allow loaves to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size and slowly rebound when poked. For me, this takes about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350° and bake loaves for 30-35 minutes. Cool before slicing.
*When I was learning to make bread, I was told that this should be about the temperature you like for a warm shower (that way you don’t need to actually measure the temperature). This will help the yeast to rise.
† Use whole wheat flour first if you’re doing half-and-half. Otherwise, just use 3 cups of the type of flour you’re planning on using.
‡Use white flour for the half-and-half recipe. Otherwise, just use the same type of flour as before.
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Tips:
- Because this bread doesn’t contain any preservatives it will go bad quickly. Freeze what you don’t plan on using in 2 or 3 days.
- If you grind your own whole wheat you can add a vitamin C tablet to the wheat berries when grinding.
- If you don’t have instant yeast, active dry yeast can be used, but you will need to let the dough rise twice (once before forming into loaves and once in the loaf pans.)
- The amount of flour to incorporate depends on a number of factors, so learn to depend on what the dough should look like rather than a set amount of flour.
- My favorite way to help the dough rise is to set them on top of the dishwasher while it is running. This will make it just a little bit warm, however, you can let it rise in any warm place. Even a slightly warm oven. Preheat the oven to 100° and then turn it off before placing the loaves inside.
Let me know how you like this recipe and send me a picture of it if you decide to make it! he***@************************ve.host
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by pancakeandpepper | Feb 28, 2020 | Recipes
Who doesn’t love some popcorn?!? I absolutely love popcorn. I learned how to make it myself a few years ago and I will NEVER go back. Microwave popcorn just doesn’t cut it anymore. Homemade popcorn tastes sooo much better than microwave popcorn and doesn’t even take much longer to make!
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I used to take this to work all the time and my co-workers loved it too. I think it’s better than movie theater popcorn and way cheaper too.
What you need:
A large pot with a lid (preferably a clear lid) or a Whirly Pop
Canola Oil
Orville Redenbacher’s Popping & Topping Buttery Flavored Oil
Flavacol Popcorn Salt
Start with a pot, preferably one with a clear lid, but this isn’t absolutely necessary. A lid of some kind IS necessary. You can use a Whirly Pop if you have one, but any large pot with a lid will work. The larger the better.
Start with a little bit of neutral oil in the bottom of the pan. I use about one tablespoon of canola oil. Add three regular popcorn kernels to it and turn the heat up to medium and cover. When those three kernels have popped you will know your heat is right.
Then add popcorn to the pot. If you have a large pot, like a soup pot you can add about a half cup of un-popped kernels. If you have a smaller pot you will need to add a lot less. It may take some experimentation to find out what amount of un-popped kernels your pot can handle but don’t worry, you won’t have to experiment with taste, you may just have a pot that is not quite full or a few more un-popped kernels than you would like.
Occasionally shake the pot while it is on the stove. If you have a Whirly Pop, you can turn the crank instead of shaking the pot. This is why it is best to have a clear lid, so you can see your popcorn popping. Keep cooking the popcorn and shaking the pot until the pops slow down and you don’t hear any pops for 1-2 seconds (just like in the microwave). Then remove the pot from the stove.
This next part is where the real magic happens. Pour the popcorn into a large bowl and add a generous amount of Orville Redenbacher’s Popping and Topping Oil on top of a batch of freshly popped popcorn and some popcorn salt. Cover the bowl and start shaking.
That’s it! Now you have some super yummy freshly popped popcorn that is so much better than that stuff you put in the microwave. This stuff is arguably better than the popcorn you get at the movie theater.
Feel free to experiment with the amount of popcorn oil and popcorn salt you add to get the mix you like the best. Remember to start small because you can always add more.
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You can buy Orville Redenbacher’s Popping and Topping Oil at most major grocery stores near the popcorn.
I used Flavacol popcorn salt. I bought mine at GFS, but it looks like it’s also available on Amazon.
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by pancakeandpepper | Feb 21, 2020 | Recipes
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I decided to try something new today and post a recipe. We’ll see how it goes. This recipe was my great grandmother’s. I never met her, but I like this recipe because I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand. The cake itself doesn’t require eggs, milk, or butter (things I run out of frequently) and it’s a really good, moist chocolate cake. The frosting does include a little bit of butter and milk. Come on, who doesn’t like chocolate cake? I made this one for my husband’s birthday.
First, you want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and then prep your pan. I used a 9×13 glass pan and I greased it with shortening, but you could also use butter or oil, then dump some flour onto it. You will want to shake and tap the pan to spread the flour all over and cover all of the inside surfaces. This keeps the cake from sticking after it has been baked.
dump some flour into a greased cake pan
cake pan coated with flour
*You can use a different sized pan if you like. A good option would be two 9’ round pans. This will also reduce the baking time.
You will also want to get out half of a stick of butter and leave it on your counter. You will need room temperature butter to make the frosting later.
To start making the cake you will add the dry ingredients together. I’ve seen some recipes that have you add the wet first, but this one asks for dry. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and soda. Mix these together in a bowl. I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer, but this recipe works just as well in a regular bowl, just make sure it is a large bowl!
Mix dry ingredients
After you’ve mixed the dry ingredients you will start to add the wet ingredients. Start with the oil, then move on to the vinegar, vanilla, and water. I know it seems like a lot of water to add, and it is. The water and oil are what make this cake so moist!
This is what the batter looks like after the wet ingredients have been added. It is very wet.
After you’ve added all of the wet ingredients mix them together well with an electric mixer or for several minutes by hand.
Pour the cake batter into your prepared 9×13’ pan. The original recipe says to bake for 25-30 minutes, but I found that it takes closer to 50 minutes to bake. Test the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center and when it comes out clean the cake is finished baking.
This is what the wet batter looks like in the cake pan
While the cake is baking you can make the frosting. If you’re using a Kitchenaid stand mixer wash out the bowl and paddle so that you can re-use them to make the frosting.
Add your half stick of room temperature butter to the bowl, then add cocoa powder and milk. Start mixing! I’ve never tried this by hand, so I would recommend using some kind of electric mixer, whether it is handheld or a stand mixer. A stand mixer is best though because even with a handheld mixer I think your hands will get tired. Add the powdered sugar last ½ cup at a time to keep it from flying everywhere!
Frosting
Then you just need to wait . . .
baked cake
When the cake is cool you can start frosting it. I found that using a spatula to spread the frosting tore the cake up a bit so I would recommend a butter knife instead.
Add sprinkles or other decorations as you like and enjoy this super moist and super yummy chocolate cake!
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Great Grandma’s Chocolate Cake
3 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
5 Tablespoons Cocoa
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
Mix above ingredients in a bowl, then add:
¾ cup Oil
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
3 Cups Water
Mix well with an electric mixer. Pour into 9.13’ greased pan. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes
Notes: You can use another size of pan if you like, such as 2 9’ round pans. This will affect baking time, so make sure you check on your cake. You will know it is finished baking when a clean toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
I also found that it takes closer to 50 minutes for the cake to bake in a 9×13’ pan.
Frosting:
¼ cup (half stick) of room temperature butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup milk
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
Mix all of the ingredients together with an electric mixer and wait for the cake to cool before frosting.
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