By popular demand…  the home-made twinkie recipe!   Note that the ingredients in the parentheses are for the chocolate version that I haven’t tried to make yet (melt the chocolate into the butter).    Next time I might try grapeseed or coconut oil instead of the canola.  Likewise I used 2% milk in the filling and I might try whole or half and half to make the filling sweet and creamy instead of just sweet… oh so sweeeet.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Yield: 24 cakes

Snack Cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a canoe pan or muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they are very stiff. They should hold their shape when removed from the bowl. Set aside.

Combine the flour, corn starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together or beat on low speed for a minute, until combined. Add oil, water, Princess flavoring, and egg yolks. Beat on medium speed until smooth.

Using a rubber spatula, gently scoop 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Fold the egg whites in by slicing the spatula through the center of the bowl, gently scooping batter from the bottom and wrapping it over the top. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn and repeat until the egg whites are barely visible. Repeat this process with each remaining 1/3 of the egg whites.

Spoon the batter into the pan, filling the wells 2/3 full. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cakes are golden brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cakes will puff up when cooking, but will settle as they cool. Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently remove them from the pan using a rubber spatula. Allow them to cool, flat side down, directly on the cooling rack.

Filling:

In a small saucepan, heat the flour and milk over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture becomes a paste (about 5 minutes), remove from heat and allow to cool for 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and set aside to cool completely.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.

Fill!:
Use the pastry filler that comes with the pan (or a pastry bag with round tip) to fill the cakes. Place the tip about halfway into the cake and squeeze gently. Holding the cake in your palm while filling it will allow you to feel when it is full. Fill each cake 3 times to ensure that each bite contains cream filling!

• 1 can pumpkin
• 4 cups flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2/3 cups cold water
• 4 eggs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Grease and flour (or spray with Pam for baking) 2 loaf pans (or 1 large loaf pan), or muffin tins.
• Combine in a mixer all of the ingredients except for the eggs.
• When well blended, add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one.
• Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes for loafs, 20-30 for muffins, depending on size. Check with a toothpick or bamboo skewer, done when it comes out with a few crumbs.

**freezes well**

Boil the syrup in a relatively small-diameter, high-sided pan. Use a candy thermometer. (Yes, I know you don’t own a candy thermometer, but it’s worth your while to get one. They’re cheap, and they’re useful not only for candy but for cheesemaking and deep-frying as well.) Keep boiling on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the boiling temperature reaches 242 degrees F, or 30 degrees above the local boiling point of water if you don’t live near sea level. If the syrup starts to boil over despite the low heat, you can add a small dab of butter to settle it down.

Remove the boiled syrup from the stove and leave it to cool without stirring until it’s at about 170 degrees F. Then remove the thermometer and stir gently but continuously until the syrup goes from transparent and dark brown to a more opaque, lighter brown. When you see that happening, quickly pour it into molds, or pack it into the molds if it’s already hardened too much to pour. De-mold when the candy cools.

What’s that? You waited too long to put it in the molds, and the candy solidified in the pan? No problem. Scrape it out, mix the scrapings with a small amount of water, and restart the process from the beginning. No problem. Maple sugar is very forgiving.

What? You say it never hardened at all, no matter how long you cooled and stirred it? You must not have boiled it enough. No problem. Reboil, starting at the beginning. Maple sugar is very forgiving.

Ingredients for loaf:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine or shortening (I prefer butter)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon, rind of

Ingredients for glaze:

• 1 lemon, juice of
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until creamy.
3. Blend in milk.
4. In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind.
5. Pour into batter.
6. Stir to moisten.
7. Scrape into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes.
9. Cool in pan for 5 minutes.
10. Remove to rack and while still hot, with a toothpick poke holes all over the top of the loaf, and spoon glaze evenly over. (note: glaze will be watery and this is o.k.)
11. Cool.

Glaze:  Combine lemon juice and sugar in saucepan.

1. Stir and heat till sugar is dissolved.
2. Spoon evenly over top of hot loaf.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 12oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 package milk chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Grease a 9×9 pan.
2. Combine sugar and half & half in a sauce pan and heat on medium.
3. Stir constantly while bringing the mixture slowly to a boil.
4. Turn down the heat slightly and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the burner and stir in the chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla.
6. Stir until the fudge is smooth and pour it into the greased pan.
7. Let the fudge cool completely at room temperature without covering it. This is best if made a day ahead!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (the higher the quality of peanut butter, the better!)
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 12oz packages semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar.
2. Roll into small balls and place them on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. Put them in the refrigerator.
3. In a double boiler, melt chocolate and shortening. Turn off the heat.
4. Use a toothpick to dip each ball in the chocolate, leaving a small circle around the toothpick uncovered by chocolate. When the chocolate cools, it will get difficult and messy to dip the peanut butter balls in it, so reheat the chocolate if necessary.
5. Use your finger to smooth over each toothpick hole.
6. Refrigerate for thirty minutes until chocolate is firm.

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

grated lemon zest

1 cup white flour

dash salt

1 tsp baking powder

dose of good vanilla

In food processor mix ricotta, eggs, sagar and lemon until smooth. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth. Put mixture in buttered and floured 9″ cake pan. Bake at 350 for around an hour/until toothpick comes out clean.

*great alone/topped with fresh fruit.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers (usually one package)
1 tsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 stick of butter
Filling:
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Second Filling:
1/2 pint sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend all the ingredients for the crust and press them evenly into a pie pan.
Mix the cream cheese and the sugar, then add the eggs and beat until the mixture lightens.
Add vanilla to mixture.
Pour mixture into crust.
Bake at 350 for 20 min.
Stir second filling ingredients together and spoon on top of the cheesecake.
Bake about 25 minutes longer.
Chill before serving.

topping:
1/2 point sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
crust:
1 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1 tsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 stick of butter

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Beat the butter and sugar on high speed for a few minutes until lightened.
Beat in the flour mixture until blended.
Slowly beat in 2 large eggs.
Mix in bananas and choc chips.
Spread batter into pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
Lately I’ve been using a 9×9 glass baking dish, instead of a bread pan and it comes out great.