Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1 1/4 cup smooth Peanut Butter
• 1 box Confectioners sugar (1 lb.)
• 1/2 block Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate squares (4 oz.)
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Melt the stick of butter and combine in a large bowl with peanut butter and Confectioners sugar. Roll dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. 

In a double boiler, melt Baker's unsweetened chocolate squares and chocolate chips. Dip balls in the melted chocolate and place on wax paper to harden.

Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 pound cooked shrimp
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 lemon
• 1 pack dried Italian seasoning

Melt a stick of butter in a pan. Slice one lemon and layer it on top of the butter. Put down fresh shrimp, then sprinkle one pack of dried Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Pesto Cavatappi

Ingredients

• 1 box (16 oz.) cavatappi noodles
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1/2 pint sliced mushrooms
• 1/3 cup white wine (Crane Lake Riesling)
• 1/4 cup cream (half and half)
• 2 packets of Pesto Sauce Mix (1 oz. total)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta as directed on packaging. While pasta is cooking, saute the tomatoes and mushrooms in about a tablespoon of olive oil. When the pasta is almost done, add the wine to the tomatoes and mushrooms and reduce for 2 minutes. Then add the cream to the tomatoes and mushrooms and reduce for another 1-2 minutes. Add the pesto and stir well.

Drain the pasta and add to the pesto mixture. Stir very well and let sit a minute to soak up the pesto. Plate and top with shredded Parmesan cheese. 

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) Carnation Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit; bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Pecan Frosting

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filing)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown. Skim foam from top and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl to stop the cooking, leaving any burned sediment behind; let cool.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture. Add the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Frost with Maple Pecan Frosting. Makes 15 cupcakes.

Ingredients

(Maple Pecan Frosting)

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans toasted and finely chopped

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring maple syrup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until reduced by about a third, about 10-12 minutes. Pour into a glass measuring cup nested in a bowl of ice water and stir constantly until syrup is very thick and barely warm to touch, 3-4 minutes. Remove from ice water. In a bowl, with a mixer on low, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Beat in powdered sugar and scrape in reduced syrup. Beat until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans.

Strawberry-Lemonade Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine flour and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Stir together sour cream and next 4 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold strawberries into batter. Spoon batter into lightly greased 12-cup muffin pans, filling three-fourths full. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over batter.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Yields 15 muffins.

"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine." ~Jeffry Glassberg

Marbled Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

• 4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate baking chips
• 1 cup white chocolate baking chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Chop the unsweetened chocolate into small pieces. Place the chocolate, butter and cocoa powder in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH until the chocolate and butter are melted. Stir to combine and set aside.

Place the sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add the chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Sift the flour and baking powder; mix well.

Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake brownies for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from oven.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the brownies. Return the brownies to oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven; allow the pan to sit for 1 minute. Spread the chocolate chips over the brownies for a marbled effect. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.


"This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted." ~C.S. Lewis