[Insert Color of Your Choice] Velvet Cake

I have had a Red Velvet obsession as of late that morphed into a green velvet cake for St. Paddy's Day.

To make Velvet Whoopie Pies, add 1 cup of flour to recipe.

ingredients

2.5 C all purpose flour

2 C sugar

1 tbs cocoa

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1C oil

1C buttermilk

1 tbs vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1 oz food coloring of color of choice

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk eggs in medium bowl. Add in oil, buttermilk, vinegar, food coloring and vanilla until well mixed.
3. Put all dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix on med-high for 2 minutes until well combined.
5. Pour batter into well greased pans.
6. Cook 15-20 minutes depending on type of pan.
7. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Modification of the filling recipe, a little thinner than the filling.

ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4C butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 lb powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

directions

1. In mixer cream butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and milk.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar until smooth.
3. If too thick, add more milk to make it the desired consistency.
4. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Filling

I used this for the whoopie pie filling and it is pretty much delicious!

ingredients

1/2 C butter, softened,

8oz cream cheese, softened

3 3/4 C confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla

directions

1. In a mixer cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla.
2. Gradually add confectioners sugar until smooth.
3. Enjoy!

Chocolate Lace Cookies

These are always the first cookies I grab out of the assorted box of Italian bakery cookies.
I made these last night. Turned out pretty good, I think I could have spread them thinner to make them a little more true to form.

ingredients
2/3 C butter, melted
2 C quick oats
1 C sugar
2/3 C flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C light corn syrup
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large bowl, combine butter, oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, milk, corn syrup and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
4. Use teaspoon to drop cookies onto foil, spread into thin circle.
5. Bake 8 minutes.
6. Move foil to cooling rack and continue for additional batches.
7. Melt chocolate.
8. Using a spreader (I definitely used a cheese spreader), spread chocolate onto smooth side of one cookie. Sandwich another cookie (smooth side) onto the chocolate.
9. Chill for at least 10 minutes, for chocolate to harden.
10. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

This is my signature recipe -- they are a major hit with everyone I make them for.

ingredients
for dough
1 C warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 C butter, melted
4.5 C bread flour (though, when I don't have it I use all-purpose flour with hardly any difference)
1 tsp salt
1/2 C sugar

for cinnamony middle
1 C brown sugar
2.5 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 C butter, softened

for icing
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 C butter, softened
1.5 C confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix sugar, butter, salt, and eggs in large bowl.
3. Add flour and mix well.
4. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
6. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
7. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle.
8. Spread dough with 1/3C butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture.
9. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls.
10. Place rolls into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan.
11. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
12. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4C butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
13. When rolls are done baking, remove from oven and flip pan onto serving tray (this allows for the cinnamony goodness to run over the rolls instead of getting stuck in the bottom of the pan).
14. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
15. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Muffins

These were a hit with my G and GGLittles for Rockathon.

ingredients
for muffins:
1/2 C butter
1 egg
1 C sugar
1.5 C flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C milk

for topping:
4 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl cream sugar and butter until well blended.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon to bowl.
4. Whisk egg and milk together.
5. Add milk mixture to flour mixture.
6. Mix until well combined dough is formed.
7. In bowl combine topping ingredients until well mixed.
8. Pour batter into greased muffin cups or liners.
9. Sprinkle topping evenly on top of batter.
10. Bake 30 minutes.

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I used these to make Phi Mu cookies for Danielle's GGLittle. This recipe worked pretty well with cookie cutters.

ingredients
2 C confectioner's sugar
1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tsp baking soda
3 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 C butter, chilled and cubed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 C chopped semisweet chocolate

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, cocoa, baking soda, flour, and salt until well blended.
3. Add butter, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed and stiff dough forms.
4. Fold in chocolate pieces.
5. Chill dough for 10 minutes.
6. On floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness and cut into shapes.
7. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes on ungreased baking sheet.
8. Enjoy!

Oreo Truffles

These are my sister's favorite. They are pretty delicious and can easily be tweaked to have different flavors using the various types of Oreos!

ingredients
16oz package of Oreos
8oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

directions

1. Crush 9 Oreos, reserve for later use.
2. Crush remaining cookies (~36) into fine crumbs.
3. Combine crumbs with cream cheese until well blended.
4. Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes.
5. Roll cream cheese mixture into 42 balls, about 1 inch in diameter.
6. Dip balls into chocolate and place on wax paper.
7. Sprinkle with reserve cookie crumbs.
8. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Macaroni and Cheese

I love mac & cheese. Personally, I think shapes taste better than regular noodles. Shells will do the trick too!

ingredients
4 tbs butter
1/4 C flour
2 C milk
8 oz cheddar, cubed
8 oz Velveeta, cubed
1 box of pasta
8 Ritz Crackers
1/2 C shredded cheddar
Salt & Pepper

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to directions, drain.
3. In sauce pan, melt butter.
4. Add flour and milk to sauce pan, bring to boil.
5. Stir in cheese cubes.
6. Add salt & pepper to your liking.
7. Combine pasta & cheese sauce.
8. Pour pasta and sauce into a baking dish. (The bigger the dish, the shorter the cooking time)
9. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar and Ritz crackers.
10. Bake to desired level of brownness, ~20-30 minutes.
11. Enjoy!

White Cake

For Tash's birthday I made a tiedye cake. In order to get all the layers in different colors, I had to make white cake batter. I didn't have a box on hand so this is what I made.

Use either 2 9" round pans or 1 9x13 pan.

ingredients

12 tbs butter, softened

1.5 C sugar

2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 egg whites

3/4 C milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In another bowl, mix egg whites, milk and vanilla extract.
5. Combine milk mixture with butter mixture and flour mixture.
6. Beat until well combined.
7. Pour batter into greased pan(s).
8. Bake 25-30 minutes.
9. Cool completely.
10. Enjoy!

To make a tiedye cake, just separate the batter in varying amounts into different bowls and dye each bowl a different color. Pour each bowl in the pan, right on top of each other in the center of the pan.