Carrot Cake

I hate carrots, but oh how I love carrot cake. I guess I can't escape the call of sugar.
After trying several different recipes for carrot cake, I combined the best of each into this. Try it out! And yes, Josh, myself, and my grandma ate the WHOLE thing by ourselves :)

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple (or you can chop up some larger chunky pineapple)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (or 2 8 inch pans).
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots and pineapple. Fold in pecans and coconut. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

YUM!

Pumpkin Pie Tartlets

I just made the cutest little mini pumpkin pies the other day. They are just about as much fun to look at as they are to eat!

Crust:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold water

Combine the first 3 ingredients, and then add the water to desired consistency. The dough should be moist enough to roll out, but not so sticky that it is squished beneath the rolling pin. It takes practice to find that consistency. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm-up the dough.

The crust should then be cut into 3-4 inch circles (I used a tupperware bowl. cups work great too).

Then line either cupcake liners in a cupcake pan, or little tartlet pans (like you see in the picture below) with the dough circles. Make sure to grease well! Take a fork and jab the bottom of the crust a few times.

Filling:
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can Pure Pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1/2 tsp vanilla


Whisk ingredients together until smooth.

Fill with crusts with the pumpkin pie filling and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Cool the tartlets for at least 30 minutes before you attempt to remove them from the pans/cupcake liners. Ease them out slowly and top with whipped cream if desired.

Chocolate cake from scratch

I have been hunting for a good chocolate cake recipe for a while now, and while this one isn't perfect, it's the best I've found so far.

Ingredients:

1 egg
2 egg whites
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cocoa
1 c. flour
1/2 c. boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, and butter. Beat until light and whipped, about 4 minutes. Add soda, vinegar, salt and cocoa, beat until mixed in. Add flour, water and flavoring. Beat just until mixed. Do not over-beat. Spoon into pan (12 cupcakes or one cake) and bake at 350 degrees for 24-27 minutes.

Cheddar Crackers

Homemade crackers are surprisingly easy. This recipe is one of the best I have tried.

Ingredients

4 ounces cheddar, coarsely grated
2 ounces Parmesan, finely grated
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons water, plus more if needed

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, place all ingredients and pulse till crumbly (add more water if dough does not hold together).

Turn the dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log, 9 to 10 inches long, and square off the ends. Refrigerate, well wrapped, for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Or freeze it for up to 1 month. (You may want to cut the log in half or in thirds to freeze if you think you will want to defrost a smaller amount at a time.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the crackers, cut the log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet 1-inch apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crackers are a light golden color. Cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature.