Bench

Saw this most beautiful upcycled bed made into a bench! $350

Glazed Chocolate Macaroon Bundt Cake

Glazed Chocolate Macaroon Bundt Cake

So here's the original recipe and it looks amazing....


or the slightly less homemade version from Duncan Hines....

Starbucks Lemon Cake

Starbuck’s Iced Lemon Pound Cake Copycat Recipe

1 box yellow cake mix
4.3 ounce cook and serve Lemon OR 3.4 ounce instant Lemon pudding mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces sour cream
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 2 loaf pans (9×5) generously with cooking spray.
2. Place all cake ingredients in no particular order into stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Divide cake batter between two prepared 9×5 loaf pans spreading evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing loaves from pans.
3. To prepare icing, place powdered sugar into a large bowl. Drizzle in lemon juice stirring until smooth and thick. Should be a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over cakes after they are completely cooled, and let set for 20 minutes for a firm icing. Otherwise slice while still wet if desired.

Makes about 24 slices
Note: You can make this same recipe into cupcakes, small loaves and even a layered cake. Adjust baking time accordingly.
http://picky-palate.com/2012/03/22/starbucks-iced-lemon-pound-cake-copycat-recipe/

Top Secret STARBUCKS LEMON LOAF 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
2 tablespoon Butter; Softened.
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup(s) Oil

Lemon Icing Ingredients:
1 cup Powdered Sugar; Plus 1 Tablespoon
2 tablespoon Milk
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Extract

Instructions:

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Use a mixer to blend together the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.

Add oil and mix well.

Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the cake comes out clean.

Make the lemon icing by combining all the icing ingredients in a small bowl with an electric mixer on low speed.

When the loaf is cool, remove it from pan and frost the top with the icing.

Let the icing set up before slicing.

No Knead Artisan Bread

It worked a Pinterest Success....

Basic No-Knead Bread (Large Loaf)slightly adapted from Jim Lahey’s My Bread

6 cups bread flour (recommended) or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 t. instant or active-dry yeast
2 1/2 t. salt
2 2/3 c. cool water

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated; the dough should be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours on the counter at room temperature. When surface of the risen dough has darkened slightly, smells yeasty, and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.
2. Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.
3. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with enough flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran to prevent the dough from sticking to the towel as it rises; place dough seam side down on the towel and dust with more flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran. Cover with the edges or a second cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.
4. After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot, such as a cast-iron Dutch oven, in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and slide your hand under the bottom towel; flip the dough over into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.
5. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 10-15 more minutes, until the crust is a deep chestnut brown. The internal temperature of the bread should be around 200 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer, if desired.
6. Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

No Knead Artisan Loaf (Small)

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 cups water

Whisk the flour, salt and yeast together. Add the Parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano and mix together. Add water and mix into a moist dough.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours

Heat oven to 450 degrees. When oven has reached 450, place cast iron pot and lid in oven for 30 minutes. While the pot and lid are heating, remove the dough from the bowl onto a well-floured surface and form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.

After heating for 30 minutes, remove the hot pot from oven and place dough in pot (Be careful!).

Cover and place the pot in oven at 450 degrees. After baking for 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven. The bread should slip out of the pot and then cool on a rack.

Other Varieties:

Whole Wheat Molasses No Knead Bread (Large):

If you want to use some whole wheat flour, substitute 3 cups of whole wheat for 3 cups of the all-purpose flour (3 cups whole wheat and 3 cups of unbleached flour for a total of 6 cups) and add 3 Tablespoons of molasses (optional). This will produce a slightly sweeter, denser loaf of bread. 

Parmesan Garlic No-Knead Bread (Large)

Add 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or dried minced garlic) and 2 tsp of dried oregano leaves to large loaf ingredients and continue.

Jalapeno & Cheddar No Knead Crusty Loaf (Large)

Add 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese and 1-2 chopped fresh jalapenos or several teaspoons of canned jalapenos (depending on your taste) or roasted hatch chilies and to ingredients for large loaf and continue.

Cranberry – Pecan No-Knead Bread (Small)

Add the zest of one orange, 3/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts) to the small loaf ingredients and continue.

Cinnamon Nut No-Knead Bread (Small)

Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the small loaf ingredients and continue.

Muesli No-Knead Bread (Small)

Add 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Muesli Cereal (uncooked) to the small loaf recipe and continue.

Whole Wheat Multi-Grain No-Knead Bread (Small)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal (uncooked)

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

2 tablespoons fax and/or sunflower seeds (optional)

2 cups water

Poppy seeds (optional)

Whisk the flour, salt and yeast together. Add the uncooked cereal (and flax/sunflower seeds if using). Add water and mix into a moist dough.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours

Heat oven to 450 degrees. When oven has reached 450, place cast iron pot and lid in oven for 30 minutes. While the pot and lid are heating, remove the dough from the bowl onto a well-floured surface and form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.

(Tip: use a sheet of floured parchment paper and turn dough out on the parchment paper, form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. When you are ready to cook, you can pick up with parchment with the dough on it and place in the hot pot. Use scissors to cut away excess paper or fold down to make sure you still have a tight fit with the pot lid.)

After heating for 30 minutes, remove the hot pot from oven. Sprinkle dough with poppy seeds, if desired, and place dough in pot (Be careful!).

Cover and place the pot in oven at 450 degrees. After baking for 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven. The bread should slip out of the pot and then cool on a rack.

Oreo Truffles

My sweet 17 year old son Mitchell asked for Oreo Truffles for his birthday ~ couldn't help but add a couple of sprinkles for the occasion.  I used the basic recipe found here.