Apple Turnovers

Another new pick from my new cookbook, The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger. I am seriously addicted to these they are so tasty. It was my first experience with phyllo dough and I think it was very successful. These were really easy to make once I got the hang of it. There's really not much else to say! 

Notes:

• I didn't think Scott would like the cranberries so I left them out. 
• I don't know what happened, but somehow I ended up with enough apple mixture for 16 turnovers rather than 8 so I doubled everything else to use it all up (ladyfingers, phyllo dough, and canola oil). I really don't see how I could possibly have fit all those apples into the first 8. *shrugs shoulders* 
• Also, my turnovers did not take the full 20 minutes to bake, so I would keep an eye on them after about the 15 minutes mark.

Yield: 8 turnovers

Ingredients:

• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tablespoon cold water
• 6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• 3 Tablespoons canola oil
• 4 ladyfinger cookies, crushed
• Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large nonstick skillet, combine the apples, cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until the juices in the skillet thicken, another 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Lay a sheet of phyllo on a large cutting board and brush with the oil. Top with a second sheet and brush with the oil. Sprinkle half o fhte crushed cookies on top. Add another sheet of phyllo and brush with the oil. Cut the layered phyllo into 4 long strips (I ended up doing my width-wise to use up more apple mixture). Put a small mound of the apple mixture about an inch from the bottom of one strip and fold the phyllo over the mixture into a triangle shape so a turnover is formed. Repeat with the other three strips. Repeat the whole process again with the remaining three sheets of phyllo so that you wind up with 8 turnovers. Be sure to reserve a little oil to brush the top of each turnover.

coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, place the turnovers on the sheet, brush the tops with the remaining oil, and bake until nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes.  

Carrot Cake III

The past few weeks Scott has been having to work nights (luckily not anymore), so finally Thursday night I was bored out of my mind and decided to attempt not only my first layer cake, frosted cake, but also my first cake from scratch. And we think it turned out well! Scott really liked it aside from all the pecans, so he will compliment it - it must be good!

Keep in mind that this was my first ever layer cake so I made some simple mistakes like frosting too soon and um...not having a cake stand! So I just had to make due with a regular plate. But it tasted good so that's all that really mattered. ; ) Also, my spring-form pan was an inch smaller than recommended so I made some cupcakes with the extra batter (sp?).  

I got the recipe off of allrecipes.com and followed all the adjustments from the first review. Any additional adjustments I think I'll make later will be under Notes.

Notes:

• I used 2 8x8 cake pans (all the store had) and then made 4 cupcakes from the leftover batter. 
• Next time, I'll use less pecans, if any, in the batter for Scott, and probably won't add the pineapple either, simply because of texture.

Yield: 1 9x13 cake, 1 2-layer 8x8 or 9x9 inch cake

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots (~ 1 lb.)
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple, juice squeezed out
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• Cream Cheese Frosting recipe below.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour either a 9x13 or 2 9x9 cake pans.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, both sugars, pineapple, and 3 t of vanilla extract. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan(s).

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cook in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3 1/2 c confectioner's sugar (poster measurements vary from 3-4 cups)
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 c chopped pecans

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Beat until smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans (I reserved all for garnish.) Frost the cooled cake. 

Apple Dumplings

So, I've been on a hiatus for a while because of school and everything, but I'm gonna try to get into a regular routine of blogging. This is all so new to me!

I made these for Scott and mine's little Christmas dinner for just the two of us and they were great! They were kinda like my mom's apple pie (which is delicious by the way) but I didn't have to buy a pie dish! I got the recipe from Taste of Home's Cooking for 2's website after discovering their little gem of a magazine in Border's. Sorry the pic isn't very good, I was just anxious to get started eating!

Notes:

• I pretty much followed the recipe to a 'T' besides cutting it in half.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 8 medium tart apples, peeled and cored (I used Golden Delicious)
• 8 t butter
• 9 t cinnamon-sugar, divided

SAUCE:

• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide into 8 portions. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

Roll each portion of dough between two lightly floured sheets of waxed paper into a 7-in. square. Place an apple on each square. Place 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar in the center of each apple.

Gently bring up corners of pastry to each center; pinch edges to seal. If desired, cut out apple leaves and stems from dough scraps; attach to dumplings with water. Place in a greased backing dish. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar. 

In a large saucepan, combine sauce ingredients. Bring just to a boil, stirring until blended. Pour over apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until apples are tender and pastry is golden, brown, basting occasionally with sauce. Serve warm.

Golden Applesauce

No pic for this one. : (

I love apple desserts. So because this is so easy, I enjoy making it to eat on it for a few days as a dessert for lunch. It's really easy and very tasty. I got it from an episode of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals.

Notes:

• I haven't been able to find the golden raisins and it tastes fine without.
• I also smash the sauce right at the end with a spoon just to make it more like a puree than a chunky sauce.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 oz. golden raisins, a handful (I haven't been able to find any and it is still tasty w/o)
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger root
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 cups all natural apple juice or cider 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

 Combine all ingredients in a medium pot placed over medium high heat and cook until chunky sauce forms, 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. If sauce begins to spatter as it bubbles, reduce heat back a little, but it shoul be allowed to reduce and form quickly. Once apples are soft and sauce forms, remove it from the heat. 

Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

I made these cupcakes off a recommendation from Little Ms. Foodie and I have to say that they are the absolutely best cupcakes I have ever tasted. They are so moist they are sure to melt in your mouth. The recipe I'm using is from LMF's blog (linked above.) The original is from Giada De Laurentiis.

Notes: 

• I made regular size instead of mini. 
  
• Next time I will follow the package instructions for 3 egg whites instead of just 2 from the recipe because mine turned out rather crumbly and hard to handle. I want them to melt in my mouth and not in my hand!
• Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cheese. I found mine in Reasor's grocery store in the section near the deli with all the specialty cheeses. It was in an 8 oz. shallow tub (kind of like Philadelphia cream cheese in a tub.)
• For the glaze, I used probably an extra 1/4 cup of strawberries. I didn't like the glaze at first (too sweet), but once it firmed up like the recipe says it was much better and had a great strawberry flavor. 
• For a thicker glaze: Use more powdered sugar and less strawberries for a thicker glaze.
• For thinner glaze: Use less powdered sugar and more strawberries for a thinner glaze.

Yield: About 18 or 20 large; 48 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup), softened
• 2 egg whites (I would follow package instructions)
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 box white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

      

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins w/ paper liners.

In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil. Using mixer beat the ingredients until creamy. Add the cake mix (1/3 of the mix at a time) and water and blend until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Fill the cupcake tins to just below the rim and bake until puffy and golden, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly in the tin then transfer the cupcakes to wire rack.

Meanwhile, puree strawberries in a blender or food processor. Place the powdered sugar in medium bowl. Pour in the strawberry puree and whisk until smooth. After cupcakes have cooled slightly, top the cooked cupcakes witht the glaze. Let the cupcakes sit for a few minutes for the glaze to firm up before serving.