Tag: #homemade

Posted in From My Kitchen

Maple Cookies

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

I love oatmeal raisin cookies and gingersnaps as much as the next gal, but I like to look for cookie recipes that are a bit out of the ordinary too. Show up at a party with a batch of maple-glazed maple cookies and you’ll put smiles on a lot of faces! Plus, they’re a gorgeous bake. The maple glaze—made with a combo of butter, confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup—helps set the cookies apart, both visually and in terms of flavor.

Maple Cookie Ingredients

  • Butter: Either salted or unsalted butter will work in this maple cookie recipe. Use a brand with a nice, rich dairy flavor. To add an extra Vermont-y touch, use the butter that Ina Garten loves.
  • Sugars: This recipe calls for three types of sugar: granulated sugar, brown sugar and confectioners’ sugar. Granulated sugar is the standby for use in baked goods, brown sugar adds a delicious molasses flavor, and confectioners’ sugar is perfect for smooth homemade frosting and icing.
  • Eggs: If you have access to local or free-range eggs, those are always a good bet for baking.
  • Maple flavoring: For the best flavor, seek out natural rather than imitation maple flavoring. If you can’t find maple flavoring, real vanilla is a fine substitute, although you could also use real maple syrup.
  • Flour: There are many different types of flour, and for this maple cookie recipe, you’ll need regular old all-purpose.
  • Baking soda: Baking soda is often included in cookie recipes because it promotes browning.
  • Salt: In desserts, adding enough salt is crucial to achieving a balanced flavor, so don’t be shy.
  • White baking chips: White chocolate chips are creamy and mild, pairing well with lots of different flavors. Check out the maple cookie recipe variations below for other baking chips that are a great match for this treat.
  • Pecans: South meets north when you mix pecans and maple syrup, and the results are delicious.
  • Maple syrup: Maple syrup is made by simmering sap from sugar maple trees until it has reduced and caramelized. The flavor is unlike any of the imitation maple pancake syrups, so make sure you’re buying the real thing.

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

Zucchini Patties

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

These zucchini patties have a nice flavor and are compatible with just about any entree. My sister gave me this recipe and I, in turn, have given it to many of my friends. —Annabelle Cripe, Goshen, Indiana

Zucchini Patties Tips

Why are my zucchini patties falling apart?

Excess water can cause your zucchini patties to fall apart. Make sure to pat your shredded zucchini dry of excess water before adding it to the binding mixture. The binding mixture (biscuit mix, cheese and eggs) helps keep your zucchini patties together, too.

How do you store zucchini patties?

Store these zucchini patties in an airtight container in the fridge for about three to four days. You can also freeze them for about two months. Here’s how long other leftovers last.

How do you serve zucchini patties?

Serve zucchini patties with a dipping sauce, like ranch or garlic cucumber dip. They also pair well with many other main dishes. Try serving them with grilled salmon, lime chicken or any of these summer dinner ideas.

—Christina Herbst, Taste of Home Assistant Digital Editor

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

I Can’t Stop Making These Rule-Bending “Palace Potatoes” (They’re So Crispy!)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

This is part of Destination Dinner Party, featuring impossibly delicious menus from Maine, Portugual, and Thailand. Join us as we eat our way through each dreamy locale.

I love diner food. I grew up on the East Coast of the United States, where diner culture takes on many forms. There are old-school diners that have been around forever, Greek diners that you can find in the hearts of big cities, and roadside diners with vinyl booths and gigantic menus with so many offerings you feel like you could come in every week and still never try everything. I love them all. I’ve always been a diner person, and everyone who knows me knows I’m always down to head to the local diner for lunch and dinner (or for the best meal to eat at a diner: breakfast). 

When a good friend (and Maine native) told me that her favorite diner was a new-ish (in diner years, which are measured in decades) tiny affair in an old train car in a southern Maine town, I put it on my list of diners to try. She regaled me with tales of their unique tuna sandwich and how she never ate a meal there without ordering their legendary potatoes. Breakfast potatoes are a ubiquitous dish on a diner menu, and typically fall into one of two camps: home fries or hash browns. I’m a hash brown girl myself, and feel strongly that they are the superior preparation. However, when she informed me that the potatoes at Palace Diner fall into neither camp and are, in fact, closer to a smashed potato, I knew I had to give them a try for myself.

What Makes Palace Diner Potatoes So Great

The potatoes at Palace Diner in Biddeford, Maine, are unlike potatoes I’ve been served at any diner before. Instead of shredding or chopping potatoes before frying them, they boil whole red potatoes in a flavorful broth with herbs and spices, smash them on a cutting board, and then fry them. The result is a unique, delicious dish that tastes like a cross between fluffy mashed potatoes and fried potatoes, but with so much more flavor. 

Boiling the potatoes with herbs and spices infuses them with an extra layer of flavor you just don’t get from potatoes that have just been seasoned with salt and pepper. The texture is crunchy on the outside, but still fluffy on the inside, and they’re served whole, which means they stay hotter for longer than a potato that’s cut into small pieces. 

Don’t get me wrong — I still love regular diner potatoes, but I can’t deny that since trying these for the first time I’m often thinking about when my next trip through Maine will be so I can make a stop to get some more. In service of saving myself from having to make the drive to another state every time I want great potatoes, I spoke with Chad Conley, one of the owners of Palace, who gave me advice on how to recreate them at home.

The Kitchn

Posted in From My Kitchen

Mandarin Orange Cake

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

I grew up making boxed yellow cake with my mom for countless family gatherings, so there’s something instantly comforting about this mandarin orange cake. Perfect for those impromptu summer gatherings, this Southern classic (aka pig pickin’ cake) is traditionally made with boxed cake mix, instant vanilla pudding, and Cool Whip. And while I’ll never turn down a slice of good-ol’ boxed cake, the pastry chef in me couldn’t resist giving this semi-homemade dessert a bit of a glow-up. 

In my riff, the addition of butter to the cake batter makes for a richer flavor, and a simple-yet-strategic swap of freshly whipped cream for Cool Whip keeps the overall sweetness in check. The result is a super-moist cake speckled with mandarin oranges that leans ever-so-slightly into pound cake territory. It’s frosted with a light and airy whipped topping that is perfectly sweet, thanks to the tangy bursts of pineapple. Light and tropical, yet unbelievably decadent, this mandarin orange cake is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. 

Why You’ll Love It

  • This classic got a slight upgrade. Using a blend of oil and butter in the cake batter makes for a super-flavorful moist and airy cake. In addition, the homemade whipped cream (in place of the Cool Whip) creates an unbelievably rich topping with just the right amount of sweetness.
  • It’s semi-homemade in the best way! Boxed yellow cake mix and instant vanilla pudding make for an easy dessert that can be whipped together in no time at all. 
  • It’s light, tropical, and perfect for a warm summer day. Crushed pineapple nicely balances out the creamy whipped topping. Want to take the tropical flavors up a notch? Add in sweetened shredded coconut to the cake batter for added texture and flavor! 
Creamy yellow dessert topped with bright orange mandarin segments, swirled texture.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Key Ingredients in Mandarin Orange Cake

  • Boxed yellow cake mix: Feel free to use your favorite vanilla cake mix. Just take care to use a 15.25-ounce box. 
  • Mandarin oranges: Provide a subtle orange note that pairs beautifully with the vanilla cake; it’ll remind you of a Creamsicle! 
  • Unsalted butter: Makes for a richer, more flavorful cake with a texture that’s ever-so-slightly more dense than if you used all oil. 
  • Instant vanilla pudding: Adds body to the frosting while helping to stabilize the homemade whipped cream for a longer shelf life. 
  • Crushed pineapple: Provides a tartness that cuts through the richness of the pudding and whipped cream. 
  • Heavy cream: Traditionally the topping is made with Cool Whip, but using freshly whipped cream not only takes this cake to the next level, but also allows you to more easily control the overall sweetness. 

The Kitchn

Posted in From My Kitchen

50 Amazing Ways To Make Homemade Ice Cream

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

I scream, you scream, we ALL scream for ice cream, and it’s easy to see why: It’s the perfect dessert whether you’re turning it into a sundae, eating it alongside a fruity cobbler or pie, or enjoying it all on its own (with sprinkles ofc, we’re not monsters). The one issue? Making it at home can be intimidating. We get it, but we’re here to tell you—not only is it completely doable, it’s also SO worth it. From no-churn to completely from scratch, with a few showstopping ice cream cakes thrown in for good measure, we’ve got something here for everyone. Check out our 50 homemade ice cream recipes, then get to scooping!

There are two camps when it comes to homemade ice cream—completely homemade, using milk, eggs, and an ice cream maker; and no-churn, where you combine a little heavy cream with sweetened condensed milk, and freeze. We’ve got a number of recipes here in both categories, each with their own merits. For the former, try our homemade red velvet ice cream, our chocolate ice cream, our peppermint ice cream, or our pumpkin ice cream. For the latter, some of our faves include our mudslide no-churn ice cream, our cookies & cream ice cream, or our cannoli ice cream, but peruse the list and you’ll see—the sky’s really the limit for flavors here. Looking for a fun ice cream project with kids? Our ice cream in a bag or our mason jar ice cream are fun to make and to eat (and are a little educational, to boot).

We’ve also included a few frozen dessert recipes here—while they aren’t ice cream, per se, they’re ice cream-adjacent, so we’re counting them. Our gelato (check out our explainer on it vs. ice cream), sorbet, and granita follow some of the same tenets of ice cream, but with an extra-refreshing twist. Want to turn some of your homemade (or store-bought, we won’t tell) ice cream into something even more spectacular? Check out our copycat Dairy Queen ice cream cake, our baked Alaska, our cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream pie, or our strawberry shortcake ice cream cake for ideas. The best part about these? You can change them up with your favorite flavors and toppings every time you make them!

delish!