Easter Basket Cupcakes

These festive little cupcakes will delight young and old alike.

I like to fill my baskets with strawberry cake, but you can use whatever flavor cake you choose - be creative!

You'll Need:
1 recipe of cake batter
1-2 boxes ice cream cones (depending upon how many you want to make)
1 recipe of buttercream or cream cheese frosting (ready-made will work too)
green food coloring
coconut (optional)
tiny jelly beans
pastel pipe cleaners

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fill 2 standard cupcake pans with ice cream cones.  I usually buy more cones, than I need just in case a few are cracked or crushed.

Prepare your cake batter.  Carefully spoon the batter into each ice cream cone, filling them to about 1/2 inch from the rim.  

Bake according to your recipe's directions for cupcakes (usually about 20 - 30 minutes).  I ALWAYS check the centers for doneness with a toothpick.  If the batter spills over the top and down the side of a cone, don't worry about it.  Just pick it off when the cake cools.

Frost the top of each cone. I use a basic buttercream, or cream cheese frosting, and tint it green with a drop of food coloring.

To tint your coconut, put a drop or two of food color in a medium size plastic container.  Add a cup or so of coconut, leaving at east two inches of headspace.  Cover the container with a lid, and shake it. The food color with turn your coconut green.

Decorate the frosted tops with coconut and candy.  Finally, insert your pipe cleaners. Happy Easter!

S'MEEPS

Living in rural, northwestern, Pennsylvania as we do, weekend campfires with the nieces, nephews and grandkids are common-place, and as any child familiar with the outdoors will tell you, no bonfire is complete  without S'mores.

Before Rick can even light the fire, the children, roasting sticks in hand, start jockeying for positions around the fire-pit.  My job, in addition to acting as fencing referee, is to provide the marshmallows,  graham crackers, and chocolate bars.

Last May, my little cousin, a city-gal, and fellow foodie through and through, arrived on the banks of Mill Creek with her four boys, and a shopping bag loaded with marshmallow PEEPS - purchased at a discount after Easter.

The brightly-colored, marshmallow treats, were a delightful substitute for the plain, old-fashioned marshmallows usually sandwiched between the chocolate and graham squares, but roasting them required a bit of extra vigilance, as the sugar coating had a tendency to burn quickly if exposed to direct flame.

On the plus-side, the PEEPS held their shape better than their staid conterpart, were a little less messy, and thus easier to eat.

All in all, the S'MEEPS were a big hit, but remember to stock up during the Easter season. The PEEPS will stay fresh in their original packaging for months after the holiday.

Choco-Cherry Christmas Mice

Kids, and adults will squeal with delight when they bite into these merry little mice!  

I borrowed this recipe from another room-mother at the kids school, years ago.  They're Christmas mice, made from Hershey's Kisses, and maraschino cherries dipped in melted chocolate chips.  I must thank the folks in Hershey for their Cherry Cordial Kisses.  What an awesome mouthful!


You'll need:
1 bag of Kisses (we use the Cherry Cordials, but you can use whatever variety you'd like)
1 jar of maraschino cherries, with stems
1 small bag of sliced almonds (for ears)
1 tube of red gel frosting (we like Wilton's glitter gel)
1 cup of Nestle's milk chocolate chips

Drain cherries, and wrap them in paper towel to absorb the remaining cherry juice.  You want your cherries as dry as possible.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Measure a cup of chips into a small glass bowl, and microwave at 70% power for 60 seconds.  Stir, and microwave a few seconds more to completely melt chips.  Don't overcook or the chocolate with burn.

Hold each cherry by the stem, and dip into the melted chocolate.  Quickly attach the free end of the cherry to the flat bottom of a Kiss, and place on the cookie sheet.  Continue until you've matched all the cherries and chocolates.


Pick through the almonds to find the pieces that look most like mouse ears.  Simply slip them into the tacky chocolate between the cherry and the Kiss.  Finally, use the gel to apply two eyes and a nose (the gel never really sets, so be careful when handling your finished mice).  Refrigerate to set.

To dispose of the mice, grab 'em by the tail, dangle over your tongue, bite and swallow!  Yummy in the tummy!


Note:  If you'd like, make white mice with white chocolate chips, and white chocolate Kisses.

BOO! Cookies

As a young mom, I was always looking for fun, fast holiday treats that I could make in bulk to take to the girls' school and club parties.  There was no internet to surf for ideas in the mid-eighties, so we relied heavily upon manufacturers' suggestions in women's magazines.

I found this cute and easy idea from the folks that make Nutter Butter peanut butter sandwich cookies, and they became an instant family and school favorite.  Of course, those were the days before the dreaded nut-allergy epidemic.

What's really nice about these treats, is that the children can actually help.  So many kid-friendly recipes turn out to be just the opposite.  We made these yesterday with my two-year- old grandson, and while he was a tad too young to dip the cookies himself, he had a blast watching and didn't have to wait long to sample and enjoy!

All you need to get started, is a bag of Nutter Butter cookies, a bag of white chocolate chips (I used a block of white chocolate) and some gum drops or gummy fruit rings.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double-boiler or in a glass dish in the microwave.  I prefer the double-boiler method because it's easier to keep the temperature constant so the chocolate doesn't burn.

Dip half a cookie (kids can help with this because the chocolate never gets hot enough to burn the skin) in the melted chocolate, and place on a parchment covered cookie sheet.  Continue until all the cookies have been coated.

Cut the ghosts' eyes from the gum drops and press into the still soft chocolate.   I put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes to speed-set the chocolate, then let the kids enjoy.  Richard loved them as much as my girls did!

It's just so darn hard to choose which one to eat first!

That little guy with the red eyes looks tasty.

Here goes!

I put the ghosts that survived Richard, in a plastic container.  They'll keep for quite a while in a cool, dry place.

Shepherd's Pie

In Ireland, shepherd's pie is traditionally made with bits of leftover beef, but don't fret if you haven't any on hand. I generally use ground round, or sirloin.  I've also substituted ground turkey, left-over lamb, or ground lamb.  The creamed corn is a necessary ingredient, if you haven't any gravy, as the creamed sauce mixes with the natural meat juices to make its own gravy.   


1 can creamed corn
1 small onion chopped
3 cups cooked beef (or the equivalent of the above)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups, mashed potatoes
1 cup, diced carrots, par-boiled (optional)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas (optional)
1 cup left-over gravy (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground meat in a skillet, along with the onion (if using left-over meat bits, just boil the onions until tender, and drain).

In a large, round casserole dish, combine the meat, and onion.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour the creamed corn over the meat, and if desired, add the gravy.  You may also choose to add the diced carrots and/or peas.  Finally, pat the mashed potatoes over all.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes.  The potato crust should be slightly golden and a bit crusty around the edges.

Eggnog Trifle

I love serving a trifle at Christmas to cap off our traditional English menu of roast prime rib of beef and Yorkshire pudding.  If we've a big crowd, I make enough to fill my footed trifle dish.  When there's only a few of us, I think its fun to serve individual trifles in pretty crystal or vintage glasses. I even have a few special child-friendly glasses for the children!

To add a bit of extra flare, sprinkle in a variety of berries (fresh or frozen).  Another fun idea I've run across, is to bake the cake in a 13 x 9 dish, then slice sections vertically to about 1 inch thickness.  Use a cookie cutter to cut enough cake shapes to line the outside of a large glass trifle dish.  Proceed with cubing and layering as directed.  The cut shapes look so pretty from the outside.

Ingredient amounts vary according to how many you'll be serving.  The following will make six individual trifles.

1 box vanilla pudding mix (the cheesecake pudding works well too)
2 cups eggnog
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
powdered sugar to taste
2 - 3 cups fresh berries, or frozen berries, thawed and drained

1/2 recipe of Eggnog-Spice Bundt Cake (2 - 3 cups cubed cake)

port wine, sweet sherry, madeira, or apricot brandy

Prepare pudding according to package directions, using eggnog instead of milk. Place plastic wrap directly on the pudding, and set aside.





Beat the whipping cream until stiff.  Add powdered sugar to taste.




Traditionally, a trifle is made by first soaking the cake with a sweet liquor, and then layering as follows: cake, fruit, pudding and whipped cream.  Dividing the ingredients into more layers, makes a more interesting and better tasting overall dessert.  Be creative!


For the above trifles, I started with a dollop of whipped cream, a large berry, a dollop of pudding, a few cubes of cake - sprinkled with your choice of suggested liquor (omit for the kids) - a spoonful of berries, pudding, more berries, whipped cream, cake (sprinkled with liquor), pudding and whipped cream.  I finished each trifle off with a blueberry on top!

For the children in the family, I make alcohol-free trifles in special holiday glasses (plastic, in this case)!

Frosty, Pink Arctic Freeze

As festive as it is frosty!  

A good friend from Cleveland, gave me this festive recipe years ago, when my children were small.  It makes a lovely salad accompaniment to a holiday dinner, or serve it as dessert.  Either way, the kids will love it.

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 can whole cranberry sauce
9 ounces crushed pineapple (I used a 15 oz can), drained
1 cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 - 1  cup mini marshmallows
1 regular size container Cool Whip, thawed

Beat together the cream cheese, mayo and sugar.  Blend in the next four ingredients.  Fold in the Cool Whip.

Line a loaf pan (I use two small pans so I don't have to handle all at once) with large sheets of plastic wrap so the plastic drapes well over the outside of the pan.  Pat the mixture firmly into the corners of the loaf pan and level off the top.  Fold the wrap over the top (like a present).  Freeze overnight.  When ready to serve, carefully remove the frozen loaf from the pan by uncovering the top and pulling up on the plastic so the loaf slides out with the plastic (if you have trouble, quickly wipe the bottom and sides of the pan with a hot kitchen wash cloth, to loosen).

Remove plastic wrap and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch slices.  Serve on a lettuce leaf with a small dollop of whipped cream and a piece of maraschino cherry.

Thumbprint Cookies

Everyone loves a thumbprint cookie!  My mother's recipe calls for putting a dollop of buttercream in the center of a tender little butter cookie, rolled in pecans.  The size of the frosting dollop is dependent upon the baker and her sweet-tooth.


The best thing about thumbprints, is that the kids can help make them, as well as eat them!  Another 'quick and easy' baking project for kids.

Cookie Dough:
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups butter, softened
4 eggs, separated
4 cups flour
3 cups finely chopped pecans

Buttercream Frosting:
powdered sugar
butter, softened
few drops milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Cream together sugar, butter and egg yolks.  Add flour.  If dough is too soft to handle, chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Using a rounded teaspoonful of dough, form balls by rolling between the palms of your hands.  Dip each dough-ball into beaten egg-white.  Roll in pecans, and place on cookie sheet.

Make a thumbprint in the center of each dough-ball, being careful not to press too hard.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven, and carefully reset the thumbprint if needed.  Bake 8 minutes longer, or until the pecans just begin to toast.  Don't let them cook too long, or the cookie will be dry.

When completely cool, fill centers with buttercream frosting.  I always tint the frosting with food color or the holiday.  These can be frozen, but flash freeze on a cookie sheet first to protect frosting.

Mom's City Chicken

These little mock chicken legs will put a smile on every face at your table.  

What kid doesn't like eating a drumstick?  Back in the 1960's, City Chicken was considered a gourmet version of the All-American classic, and was served at dinner parties all over the northeast. Mom made them all the time, and I thought it such fun to eat meat from a stick with my fingers.

In many butcher shops in Pittsburgh, they still package the cubed meat together with the skewers - how convenient!  I was looking for a way to avoid having to fry them, and noticed a display of Shake and Bake next to the butcher case in my neighborhood market.  Bingo!  My family actually likes the Shake and Bake version better than the original breaded, fried and baked version.

1 1/2 pounds cubed, lean, veal
1 1/2 pounds cubed, lean, pork
1 egg, beaten
bread crumbs, or 1 box Shake and Bake, for chicken or pork
8 - 6 inch wooden skewers (the heavier type)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.

On each skewer, alternate pieces of pork and veal.  You should have room for four pieces of meat on each skewer.  If using bread crumbs, dip each skewer in egg, and roll in bread crumbs.  If using Shake and Bake, drop each skewer in the provided plastic bag to coat - no egg needed

For bread crumbs:  brown skewers in a tablespoon of oil, in skillet.  Transfer to baking dish.
For Shake and Bake:  Transfer coated skewers to baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes.  Turn over half-way through baking.  Cooking time often depends upon the size of the meat cubes, so keep an eye on them so they don't over-bake and dry-out.  Mom always served these with applesauce.