For a while now, I've been contemplating what to do with the cranberries I had in the fridge.  I have an abundance of apples on hand, so I decided to do a variation on apple crisp.  It turned out very well.  Not too sweet, not too tart, just perfect!  I served it with vanilla bean gelato, but it would also be tasty with a dollop of whipped cream.

I failed to take a photo plated, so I quickly took one of it in the pan before packing the leftovers for the fridge.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit

Serves 12

Ingredients:

Filling;

4 cups of apples - I used 1/2 Granny Smith and whatever other apple I had on hand)

4 cups of fresh cranberries, rinsed (I used the whole bag, so this might vary a little)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of cloves

pinch of salt

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 cup oats

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter melted

Instructions:

Prepare the Filling.

• Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until everything is well coated.
• Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
• Turn the mixture into the pan and spread evenly.

Prepare the Topping:

• Using the same bowl, add all the dry ingredients.
• Melt the butter and pour over the ingredients and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.  Mixture should be crumbly.
• Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the filling.
• Bake in a 325 degree oven for an hour.

....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's  ~  Enjoy!

Today I attended a gathering of high school friends for lunch.  Following lunch, we continued our visiting at the home of a classmate.  During planning of this gathering, I was asked to make dessert.  I know, no pressure, right?! Anyway, what to fix...  I know most folks like banana pudding so I found this cheesecake recipe on https://cookiesandcups.com/banana-pudding-cheesecake/ and decided it would be perfect.

Long story short, we had a grand time and my what a "hen party" it was!  Everyone was very complimentary of this lovely cheesecake.  I followed the recipe pretty close, but I did use my homemade vanilla extract and added around 1/2 tsp. more.  I also used stabilized whipped cream since I knew we were having lunch before and it needed to "hold-up".  If you want to short-cut and use Cool Whip on top, that will work as well, no judgement!

I know all the steps look very involved and perhaps are intimidating, but don't let that scare you off.  I hope you make this and enjoy it as much as everyone did today! I know I'll be making it again when opportunity presents itself. It is a keeper!

Banana Cheesecake

Serves 16

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies (around 60, plus 17 whole for the rim)

5 Tbs, butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

Cheesecake:

4 (8 oz) packages full fat cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 eggs, room temperature

12 coarsely chopped vanilla wafer cookies

1 large banana, thinly sliced

Whipped Cream Topping

1 cup heavy cream, very cold

1/4 cup powdered sugar

10 vanilla wafer cookies to decorate 

1/4 cup caramel sauce

Instructions:

Make the Crust:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl combined the crushed vanilla wafers, sugar, salt.  Mix to combine.  Pour in melted butter and stir well to combine.  
• Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.  
• Press the 17 whole vanilla wafer cookies around the side of the pan.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden.  Set aside and make your filling.

Make the Cheesecake:

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed.  Mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Turn the mixer to low and add the sour cream and vanilla.  
• Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition. Do not overmix or beat hard. Overmixing causes cracks!  These only need to be mixed until combined.
• Pour 1/2 of cheesecake mixture into the crust and spread evenly.
• Sprinkle the coarsely chopped wafers over the cheesecake mixture.
• Top with the thinly sliced bananas,
• Pour remaining cheesecake batter over the bananas and spread evenly.
• Double wrap the bottom of the springform pan with foil.  Ensure a tight seal to prevent water from getting into the pan.
• Place the springform pan into a larger pan and pour very hot water into the larger pan to a depth of 1".  Be sure to not add water above the edge of the foil.
• Carefully place the pan into the oven and bake 60-70 minutes.  The center should slightly jiggle while the edges will be set.  
• Remove the cheesecake pan from the larger pan of water.  Be careful so you don't get burned.  
• Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
• Cover and move to the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours.  Overnight is better.

Whip Topping:

• Just before serving , pour the chilled heavy cream into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
• Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on medium high speed until the cream thickens and stiff peaks form.
• Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the whipped cream, or dollop it on with a spoon.
• Place the remaining 10 vanilla wafers randomly into the whipped cream.
• Randomly place some sliced bananas (about 1/2 banana) among the cookies and whipped cream.
• Drizzle with caramel sauce if desired.

....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy! 

Its a frosty 4 degree morning and a little dusting of snow fell overnight and while there is not enough to have snowballs outside, we can definitely have them inside.  What could be better than to help warm the kitchen with some cookie baking! Grab your apron and let's get to baking.

These little gems are addicting, so consider yourself warned!  They are buttery, melt in your mouth, toasted pecan bits of heaven.

This is a vintage recipe and I've seen it everywhere, so it is hard to know who to attribute it to.  I will say this is recipe is a little different than many of the recipes in that it requires the pecans to be ground very fine, almost to the same consistency as the flour.  The pecans toast during the bake and your kitchen will smell so delicious.

Snowballs

Preheat Oven:  300 Degrees Fahrenheit

Yield:  4 dozen or so, depending on the size you make them

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter softened 

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups ground pecans

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

1.  Preheat Oven to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit.  Line baking sheet with parchment.

2.  Cream butter until softened.

3.  Add sugar, pecans, flour and mix until blended.

4.  Using a tablespoon of dough for each cookie, shape into balls.  I use a small cookie scoop to make this easier.  You can put these close together as they do not spread.

5.  Bake 40 minutes.

6.  Cool for 10 minutes and roll in powdered sugar to coat.  Set back on parchment.

7.  When cookies are completely cool, give them a second coat of powdered sugar.

Grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy.

......that's what's Cooking at Cathy's ~Enjoy!

Banana Bread Cupcakes

Today I decided to use the lone banana laying on the counter.  Why does it always seem to come down to just a single banana?  I didn't really want a sliced banana bread or banana cookies so I decided to do a single serve option and turn the traditional bread into cupcakes.  Some will go into the freezer for later for a quick single serve option; easy to thaw quickly to satisfy that sweet craving or breakfast on the go!

It is a cold, cold day out with single digit temperatures and sub zero windchills so all in all a good day to be snuggled nice and warm inside.The additional the warmth of the oven with the wonderful aroma eminating from the kitchen just adds to the coziness.

I've been away from the blog for several years and decided I needed to start it up again.  We will see how well that goes.  It takes a lot of time and I do it for the simple pleasure of it and having some of my favorite recipes quickly at hand as opposed to those who do it for ad and sponsor money.  I need to figure out a better solution for the photographs since the lighting in my kitchen isn't always the best!  I hope  you enjoy the recipes and that some of them become your family favorites.

These cupcakes are simple to make and really easy if you have a stand mixer, but a hand mixer will also do a good job.

I make my own vanilla extract, and I used that in this recipe.  I also make vanilla sugar and used that as well.  I'm expecting these little gems to be so so good!

Here is the recipe.  The origin is unknown.  It is a pretty standard banana bread recipe, but I modified it just a bit with additional yummy ingredients like chocolate chips, chopped walnuts and coconut.  Feel free to omit them to adjust the recipe to your personal taste.  I toyed with the option of adding a crumb topping, but for now, decided to just go with them plain. They taste amazing!

Banana Bread Cupcakes

Yield:  12 cupcakes

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Farenheit

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1 stick of butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.  Line your cupcake tin with parchment liners or silicone ones, whatever you prefer.  These are the ones I use and I get them from Amazon.

2.  Add the softened stick of butter and peeled banana to the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix until well blended and smooth.  

3.  Add the egg,  milk, vanilla, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and mix thoroughly and mixture is smooth.  

4.  Add the walnuts, coconut and chocolate chips to the bowl and mix on low speed until well blended.

5.  Using a 1/4 cup measure (I like an ice cream scoop) fill the parchment lined muffin tin,  I used a heaping measure so as to have only 12 muffins.  

6.  Bake for 35 minutes,.  I'd recommend you start checking them at around 25 and increase the time as necessary.  You should have a nice rise and a lovely golden brown top.  A toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake should come out clean (no wet batter).

....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

BBQ Hot Dogs

This recipe is not exotic nor is it necessarily healthy, but for me it is comfort food.  It is one of those dishes that reminds me of home and family. 

This is easy to mix up and doesn't take a lot of unique ingredients.   I was salivating with anticipation when I made this.  I had been thinking about fixing this all day and couldn't wait to get my fork into it (okay, I didn't wait, I had to sample it while it was simmering).  These BBQ dogs make a quick supper to warm you up on a chilly evening.

I don't know where the recipe originated, it was something that we had at home when I was growing up.   Give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

We always had it with mashed potatoes and who am I to mess with tradition!  I will admit that I cheated and used the Bob Evans microwaveable mashed potatoes rather than making them the old fashioned way.




BBQ Hot Dogs

Ingredients:

1 package of hot dogs, your normal brand will do
1 medium onion, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
3/4 cup catsup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons margarine
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons prepared mustard
1 Tablespoon Worchestershire Sauce

Directions:

Slash hot dogs, but not all the way through.
Brown the hot dogs in a large skillet.  I typically add a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Simmer 15 minutes until everything is heated through.

Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.


....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

 Christmas Fruitcake

Fruitcake.  You either love it or you hate it.  

While fruitcake is often the dreaded Christmas gift and the butt of bad jokes, I think this recipe might change the perspective of fruitcake haters!  This fruitcake is not baked so you don't have to worry about burning anything.   It looks difficult, but is really easy to make.  Ingredients are typically easy to find with all the holiday baking goodies at the local grocery.

Holiday time often triggers childhood memories.   This year it was the memory of making fruitcake with mom at the kitchen table in this huge pan.  It was a treat because it requires a lot of ingredients that are seasonal, such as candied fruit and combined with nuts, dates, raisins, etc. it becomes quite expensive to make.  Growing up, we had this for many years and the first year we didn't have it, I remember mom saying that the ingredients cost too much. 

This week I set out on a mission to find my mother's fruitcake recipe and recreate some memories.  This fruitcake doesn't contain any spirits nor is it baked, but rather made with a prebaked spice cake that gets crumbled up and mixed with all sort of goodies and packed into a 9x13 pan.  I was able to get all the ingredients at my local Walmart with the exception of candied red cherries.  I called and visited multiple stores in a two county area and no one had them!  Well, I was not about to have my plans derailed!  I bought some maraschino cherries and made the candied red cherries myself!

I learned that the recipe mom used is a Betty Crocker Recipe that originated in 1957 and was called Mystery Fruitcake.  I took a few liberties with the recipe, making some modifications to the quantity of some of the ingredients to avoid waste.  I also added a container of candied pineapple as well.

Give this recipe a try and create some new memories and start a new tradition!

Low Carb Coffee Ice Cream

Are you a coffee fanatic?  I will admit that I enjoy my coffee. However, it is over 90 degrees here and I'm really not into hot beverages much after my morning java jolt.

I have made cold brew coffee and I like it, but I don't always have it on hand. Thinking about cold brew my mind wandered on to ice cream.  Don't ask how, it just did and as a result I have made a killer coffee ice cream...and yes, it is low carb friendly.  The chocolate covered coffee beans I added drove up the carb count and  I have included the nutritional info from My Fitness Pal and the end of the post with and without the chocolate covered coffee beans, so you can decide which version you want to dive into.

This recipe takes just a wee bit of preparation because you need to coarsely grind your coffee, as though you were making french press, then mix it into your cream mixture and let it steep overnight in the fridge.  The little bit of prep is worth it in the rich coffee flavor you'll have in your ice cream!

Low Carb Coffee Ice Cream

Serves 12

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup coarsely ground coffee (I used Roasterie City of Fountains)
1/2 cup erythritol (or Swerve)
4 large eggs
3 Tablespoons of espresso vodka (I used Roasterie Dizzy Three)
2 Tablespoons vegetable glycerin (optional)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia extract
1 cup chopped chocolate covered coffee beans

Directions:

24 hours prior to mixing and freezing the ice cream, grind your coffee and mix it into the cream and unsweetened almond milk. Cover the container and refrigerate overnight.  The coffee will infuse into the cream and turn into a light tan color.

This is after steeping in the fridge overnight

When ready to make the ice cream, remove the cream mixture from the refrigerator and strain it to remove the coffee grounds.  Don't worry if there are teensy-tiny bits, that's okay.  Make sure you press the grounds to get as much of the cream mixture out as possible.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and erythritol and beat on high speed until thick and creamy and the sweetener dissolves.  Add the cream mixture to the egg mixture along with the espresso vodka, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum and liquid stevia.  Beat an additional 2-3 minutes to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into the canister of your ice cream maker and freeze for approximately 40 minutes.  When the mixture is the consistency of soft serve, add the chopped chocolate covered coffee beans and continue to churn until they are combined.  If your ice cream canister is too full to do this, just layer in them in when you put the ice cream into your air tight freezer container.

Serve immediately or scoop into your freezer container for enjoying later.

Yield 12  1/2 cup servings.

....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

With the chocolate Covered Coffee Beans  

Nutrition Facts
Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 273
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 24 g	36 %
Saturated Fat 14 g	70 %
Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 130 mg	43 %
Sodium 67 mg	3 %
Potassium 64 mg	2 %
Total Carbohydrate 12 g	4 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	4 %
Sugars 8 g
Protein 4 g	7 %
Vitamin A	18 %
Vitamin C	1 %
Calcium	8 %
Iron	4 %

Without the Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

Nutrition Facts
Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 216
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 20 g	31 %
Saturated Fat 12 g	60 %
Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 130 mg	43 %
Sodium 67 mg	3 %
Potassium 64 mg	2 %
Total Carbohydrate 4 g	1 %
Dietary Fiber 0 g	1 %
Sugars 1 g
Protein 3 g	6 %
Vitamin A	18 %
Vitamin C	1 %
Calcium	8 %
Iron	2