Sweet Treats with Peggy

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day yesterday with their family and friends.  I spent Thanksgiving with my girls at my sister, Ann's house.  I want to thank Ann and her husband, Adrian for a great day.  I am extremely thankful for my children, friends and a job that took me a long time to get.  I am grateful for military personnel who put their lives on the line every day so that we may live with the freedoms we are so lucky to have. When I think of the Fall or Thanksgiving, I automatically think of pumpkin.  I'm not sure why I don't think of pumpkin any other time of the year.  Maybe it's the spices that give that warm feeling and comforts of home. I made this for yesterday's dinner and it was delicious.  Even though it is perfect for Thanksgiving, please feel free to make it any time of the year! CAKE  1/4 cup powdered sugar 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. ground ...

Full credit for the ultimate vanilla cake and vanilla frosting goes to Rosie from  Sweetapolita .  Not only were the directions really easy to follow, but I made two batches on two different days and they came out exactly the same AND perfect.  I have never made a cake this way before.  It was backwards from the way I've usually done it.  It almost seemed like making pastry for a minute.  The only thing I did different was add 1 Tbs. of vanilla bean paste and then 1 Tbs. of vanilla extract.

Happy Halloween!!!!  I made a Halloween version of my Caramel Crisp ( check out the original recipe here ) for my work today.  Everyone loved it.  I used chopped Butter Fingers and Reeses Pieces for the candies.  I added food coloring to the white chips (it seized up in the microwave so I added a little bit of vegetable oil and put it back into microwave and it was okay, but still a little thick.  Since I could not drizzle it with a fork, I put it in a pastry bag and used a ribbon tip)  After drizzling the milk and white chocolate over the top, I topped it all off with some Halloween sprinkle decorations.  The funny thing is the only containers I had to put it in were Christmas.  Nothing like mixing two holidays together :)

It's still National Baking Week.  I volunteered to donate a baked good for a basket being put together for a 19-year-old boy who is in the military and is on his way to  Korea as I write this.  Chapel Guarnieri started a Facebook Group  We Stand Behind Those Who Stand Up For Us .  It's an interactive group for people in Pepperell and Townsend, MA to recognize veterans and family and friends who put their lives on the line to allow us to live in this great country. Take a look at it and see if it's something you would like to be involved in.

October 15-19 is National Baking Week.  I had great intentions to bake and blog every day this week.  The only problem is I am in week three of my new job and it is kicking my behind.  I have been exhausted.  I actually baked this four days ago and I'm just getting around to blogging it.  It is another recipe from Pinterest and I give full credit to:   Elizabeth's Edible Experience  (who credits Southern Living Magazine 2009).  I brought it into work and everyone loved it.  I love pound cakes because you can have a small piece and, yet, it is still very substantial.  There is just something about a piece of pound cake.  You can enjoy it plain, you can add fruit and whipped cream or you could toast it and it tastes fantastic any way you serve it.  The other thing I love about this recipe is that it is really quick to make, though it takes a long time in the oven.  Enjoy!!

Have you ever bought hot nuts from a street vendor in New York City?  It's the best!  My daughter, Megan, LOVES nuts, especially sugar-coated ones.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and I made a few changes here and there.  I won't say it's the fastest way to make these type of nuts, but it certainly is easy.  Make sure you are going to be home for several hours, though.

This is one of the quickest breads to mix together.  As long as you know ahead of time that you are going to make it, you can pull out the frozen strawberries to defrost.  I found this recipe in the newspaper over 30 years ago.  I love strawberries so I thought it would be something interesting to try.  It is certainly a different way to use strawberries in a baked good.  I love that it makes two loafs and I don't have to double the recipe.  If you go strawberry picking, make sure you save some for this bread.   Place 20 oz of strawberries in a freezer zip-lock bag and store until ready to use.