The Creaming Method

• First, measure out and sift together your dry ingredients. (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa) You want to be ready because you don't want your butter-sugar-egg mixture to loose volume.
• Mix your room temperature butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

• Add eggs (room temp) one at a time, mixing until smooth between each addition. Mixture should be light, fluffy and almost silky.
• Start by adding a portion of the dry ingredients to the mixture and alternately add a portion o the wet ingredients (again, room temperature or else you could change the consistency of your batter), preferably in 3 stages, or until everything is mixed in.
• Once you add the flour, DO NOT OVER MIX or your texture could turn out tough.

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

I discovered this recipe years ago here at: allrecipes.com. I changed it slightly to suit my personal tastes. Since I'm not particularly fond of the taste of oil, I use butter instead of oil. Since I didn't use oil, I also changed the original mixing directions. I also always use buttermilk instead of regular milk as I love the flavor that buttermilk contributes to quick breads.
 

 Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

-1 C Butter                  
-2 ½ C Sugar                  
-1 ½ tsp Salt                
-1 ½ tsp Vanilla            
-1 ½ tsp Almond extract
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-3 C flour
-1 1/2 C buttermilk
-2 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

-Cream butter, sugar, salt, and flavorings together.
-Add eggs, mixing in one at a time until fully incorporated.
-Sift together flour and baking powder
-Add the sifted flour alternatively with the buttermilk, starting and finishing with flour.
-Gently fold in the poppy seeds. 
-Drop into lined muffin tins

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes 

(or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffin)

Chocolate Truffle Brownies

These brownies are a chocolate lovers delight. The basic brownie recipe was formed over the course of my college years as I attempted in trail and error, a countless number of times to make brownies that tasted better than ones from a box. (It wasn't easy!)
These kind of brownies are thick, gooey, dense and chocolaty, and when you add the truffle cream to them, they are absolutely rich and delicious!

Brownies

-1 C butter (room temperature)
-2 C sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp vanilla
-4 eggs (room temperature)
-1 C cocoa
-1 C flour

-Mix butter and sugar together in a bowl until combined
-add salt and vanilla
-Mix in eggs one at a time, until fully blended
-add in cocoa and flour, mixing only until combined


Truffle Center

-1 C milk chocolate chips
-1/4 C heavy whipping cream (if using white chocolate chips, use a little less than 1/4 C cream)

-In a microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips and heavy cream.
-Melt chocolate chips in cream on high for 30 second intervals, stirring each time until chips are completely melted and it makes a nice chocolaty sauce.

Putting it all together:

-Spray a  9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and spread out 1/2 of the brownie batter.
-Pour on the truffle cream and spread it out as best as you can over the brownie batter.
-Add the rest of the brownie batter and then use a knife gently to spread it over the truffle cream.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes
(The center will be set and not jiggle. The toothpick test will NOT work on these brownies as the truffle cream does not set up until cool)

Let chill. These are super gooey when warm, but will firm up as they cool. 

Best EVER Buttermilk Pancakes

Growing up, I NEVER liked pancakes. But these pancakes are something else, they are pretty much AMAZING. Ever since I started making these pancakes I found that I actually LIKE pancakes now. These go great with this Butter Pecan Sauce

Buttermilk Pancakes  

-1 C flour
-2 Tbsp sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 egg
-1 C buttermilk
-1/2 C melted butter

-Mix everything together until smooth. Drop desired amount of batter onto a medium heated, greased griddle or pan.
-Flip when there are air bubbles on top and the bottoms are golden brown.

If the batter is too thin for your personal preference, add less buttermilk. If the batter is too thick for your liking, add more buttermilk. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I'm not a huge fan of Mushroom soup in general, but this stuff is waaay better than the canned stuff.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

-1 C Chopped Celery
-1 C Chopped Onions
-1 tsp minced Garlic
-12oz Mushrooms Chopped (or more or less depending on what you prefer)
-1 C Chicken Broth 
-1/2 to 1 C Cream
-1/2 to 1 C milk
-Salt and Pepper to taste
-Poultry Seasoning to taste (or about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp)

-Saute the celery, onions, garlic and mushrooms in the bottom of your pot until they have softened up a bit.
-Add the chicken broth, cream milk and seasonings and simmer over medium-low for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetable have reached your desired softness.   

TIP: If you make a lot or have a ton of leftovers, freeze the soup and use it in place of canned soup in another recipe.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is one that my mom found a number of years ago. I've slightly changed a few of the ingredients, such as using butter instead of shortening and using whole wheat flour instead of white flour because the texture and taste isn't overly affected by it in these particular cookies. You could even go as far to say that they are almost healthy. Almost.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

-1 C Butter (room temp)
-1 C White Sugar
-1 C Brown Sugar
-1 tsp Salt
-2 tsp vanilla
-2 eggs (room temp)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda 
-2 C whole wheat flour (white flour works too)
-2 C oatmeal
-a bag of Chocolate chips

-These work best if you chill the cookie dough for 1/2 hr or hour in the fridge before baking.
-Scoop or roll out desired amount of dough and place ball a few inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Pumpkin Muffins

Awhile back I was checking out a bunch of recipes online for pumpkin muffins and didn't like any of them so I made up my own recipe. I've now made these muffins more times than I can count, and decided that I just have to share it...and write it down somewhere so I don't loose it.

Pumpkin Muffins

-1 C Butter                
-1 C Brown Sugar     
-1 C White Sugar       
-2 tsp Vanilla            
-1 tsp Salt                  
-1/8 tsp Ginger           
-1/8 tsp Cloves          
-1 tsp Nutmeg
-1 tsp Cinnamon
-2 eggs
-3 C flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/4 C buttermilk
-2 C pumpkin puree
-bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

-Cream together butter, sugars, vanilla, salt and spices until light and fluffy
-add eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated
-sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda
-starting with the flour mixture, add a little bit and mix just until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix again, just until combined. Add more flour until combined and then alternate adding the pumpkin puree with the flour until it is all combined. DO NOT OVER MIX or your muffins will be tough.
-gently mix in chocolate chips.
-drop into muffin liners

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

(or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean)

NOTE: if you want more spice flavor, feel free to add more to taste...or less depending on personal preference.