Cheesy Garlic Crescents

I am a fan of mysteries with recipes.  Sometimes I purchase a book I have already read from the library just to have the recipes.

I recently read Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke.  Most of her recipes are cookies, and they are fabulous!, but there was a recipe for some Pillsbury Crescent Rolls with a twist.  They were quite tasty and you may want to make them.  I adjusted this recipe for one package, but it is easily doubled, as that was the original recipe.

  

Cheesy Garlic Crescents

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon softened butter
1 egg
1/3 cup sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

  

Preheat the oven to 375º.  Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking sheet or parchment paper.

  

Clean the counter and dry it.  Open the Pillsbury rolls and unroll on the counter.  Don't separate them.

  

In  small bowl, mix the butter and garlic.  Spread the butter mixture over the dough.

  

Take the same bowl and break the egg into it.  Whip it with a whisk and add the shredded cheese. Mix.

  

When I halved this recipe, I didn't make a plan for half of an egg.  So there will be more egg than you need. So use a fork or slotted spoon to transfer the egg and cheese mixture on top of the butter mixture on the dough.

  

Use a knife to separate the rolls along the original lines.  Roll the crescents from the wide end and place on the prepared sheets and curl them into a crescent.

  

Bake at 350º for 10 to 12 minutes, until they turn golden brown.

  

Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm.  We had them with frittatas.  And two kinds of fruit. We had sliced oranges and fermented grapes.

  

Better known as wine.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Cookies

I didn't invent this cookie.  I was reading a book and a character mentioned eating a cookie with all these elements. It sounded fabulous.  I had never considered combining a peanut butter cookie with an oatmeal cookie.  But YOU should. They are fabulous.  One tester said they were the best cookie she had ever eaten!

  

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Cookie

2 cups oatmeal
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chip cookies
1 cup roughly chopped peanuts

  

Pre heat the oven to 350º.  Line some cookie sheets with a Silpat sheet or some parchment paper.  Set side.

  

Combine the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

  

Set aside.

  

Use an electric mixer to cream the butter. I used a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  Mix it on high for at least two minutes.  You want the butter to be super soft and very pale.

  

Add the peanut butter and continue beating.  Add the two sugars and beat another 2 minutes.

  

Once the butters and sugar are light and fluffy beyond belief, add the eggs and vanilla and mix some more.

Carefully place the flour into the mixing bowl and start the mixer on slow.  Once the flour is all mixed you can speed it up until it is well combined.

  

Add the chocolate chips and chopped peanut and mix.  Remove the mixing bowl and give the dough a few stirs by hand to make sure all the chips and nuts are evenly distributed.

 

Use a Tablespoon sized cookie scoop to place the dough on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake at 350º for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

  

These soft and chewy cookies have a creamy peanut butter taste and the oatmeal kind of disappears.  The crunch of the peanuts and the chocolatey goodness of the chips make for a truly wonderful cookie.

Fireball Cake

My Aunt Suzy likes a drink now and then.  She has made a point to tell me she likes Fireball, which is a whiskey flavored with cinnamon.  She turned 87 last week, so I made her a Fireball cake.  It wasn't difficult, but it also didn't taste particularly of Fireball whiskey.  The flavor was mostly a bit of cinnamon.  So it should go well with people that don't go for a boozy cake.  But it may disappoint those that were really looking for an alcohol flavored treat.

Suzy liked it, so that is what counts!  I found this recipe on delish.com

  

Fireball Cake

White or Vanilla cake mix of your choice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Fireball whiskey

  

Frosting

3 sticks butter, softened
pinch of kosher salt
6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup Fireball whiskey
yellow and red food coloring
Hot Tamales

 

Preheat the oven to 350º.  I heat mine at 325º because I have the dark nonstick cake pans.  Spray the 8 inch pans with Pam and set aside.

You basically follow the recipe on the box, except you you replace 1/2 of the water with Fireball.  You also add cinnamon.

  

Place all the ingredients for the cake in a large bowl. Mix gently to moisten, then beat vigorously for two minutes.  Pour 1/2 of the batter into each of the prepared pans. Bake according to the package directions.

Let cool and flip the cake out onto cooling racks until completely cool.

  

I used a stand mixer to make the frosting.  Beat the butter for two minutes until light and creamy.  Add the powdered sugar, salt and the Fireball.  Beat slowly until mixed.  Beat on high until it is creamy and smooth.  Remove from the mixer and stir in a few drops of yellow food coloring, I did about 6.  Add a few of the red, but don't mix it all the way. The frosting is supposed to be streaky.

  

To frost, place one of the cakes on a cake plate.  Spread about 3/4 of a cup of frosting on top.  Place the second cake on the first layer.  Frost the top and sides, reserving enough for the last bit.  Smooth the frosting and then fill a piping bag, fitted with a star tip, with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frosting.

  

Place a dollop of frosting all around the top of the cake.  Place four dollops in the center of the cake.  Gently press a hot tamale into each dollop of frosting.

  

Serve with a shot of Fireball!

Lavender Scones

I had a guest request lavender scones.  No problem. I love scones, too. I still had some food grade, dried lavender.  Then the kicker, a lavender scone that is dairy free.  I found several recipes and mixed them together to find one I liked.

If your grocery store doesn't have dried lavender, you can find some online.  Tea shops are also a good source.  I used coconut milk instead of the buttermilk I usually use for scones.  Then I used a dairy free butter substitute.  You have to read the labels.  Some of the fake butters have some milk or whey in them.  These turned out so delicious I made them again a week later!

  

Lavender Scones

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter substitute, I used Country Crock
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds, food grade
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

raw sugar

  

Preheat the oven to 425º.

  

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter substitute, lavender and lemon zest in a large bowl.  Mix.  Add the fake butter.

  

Use a pastry blender to mix all the ingredients, until they resemble coarse crumbs.

  

Add the coconut milk and vanilla.  Use a spatula to gently mix, just until all the flour is moist and included.

Chill the dough and allow it to rest while you tidy up and prepare a baking sheet.  Line one with parchment paper or use a Silpat.  Get about about 1/4 cup of flour before you put it away and hang on to the raw sugar.

The dough really isn't pink.  Somehow my pink shirt reflected against the dough while I was trying to block the sunlight from my shot!

 

Spread a small amount of flour on a clean counter.  Get the dough and place it on the floured counter. If it is sticky, sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Knead gently two or three times.  Don't overwork the
dough.  I like to make smaller scones so I separate the dough into two equal balls.  I use a pastry scraper to cut the ball in half. Gently shape the dough into two rounds and press to flatten until they are about 3/4 inch high and about six inches around.

  

Use the scraper to cut each round into eight even pie shapes.  Then use the scraper to transfer the scones to the baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with coconut milk.  Sprinkle them with the raw sugar.

  

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. I baked them for 10 minutes for the smaller ones and 12 minutes when I made eight scones from one large dough ball.  Test with a toothpick when they just start to turn golden on the edges, to make sure the scones are cooked through.  The toothpick should come out clean.

  

Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.  Transfer them to cooling racks.

  

Serve warm.  These scones are best on the day they are made.