Tip for Tuesday: Soured Milk

I like to use buttermilk in as many recipes as I can. It helps makes things a little more fluffy, I think. And I like fluffy.

But I don't always have buttermilk at home, and I don't really want to stock it all of the time. (The fact that my 5-year-olds already take down two gallons of milk a week has me terrified for the amount of dairy this home will need to contain when they're 12.)

So, I used "soured milk." There are lots of ways to do this, but I prefer simply 1 Tbsp. white vinegar to 1 cup milk (usually 2%). You could also use lemon juice (same proportion), or you could use 2 tsp. of cream of tartar with a cup of milk.

There's also buttermilk powder, which I did use for a while. I tried just mixing it in with my powdered ingredients-- but it didn't seem to do as much. Then, I would reconstitute it to milk, but you know, I found that soured milk worked better and was easier to keep on hand.

That's today's Tip for Tuesday: soured milk instead of regular milk or buttermilk in your baked goods.

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Mini Apple Hand Pies

It didn't occur to me until I started writing this post that my nephew refers to the city in which I live (well, okay the metro area in which I live) as "Mini-Apples, Mini-Donuts." But that makes these little pies even better.

What You Need:
Pie Crust (I recommend this recipe, but you can also use store-bought) 
2-3 apples (diced small)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
butter (optional)
1 egg (beaten)

Yield: 1-2 dozen mini pies, depending on how big you make them

Personalized Fall Cookies

My Dad called me a few weeks ago and asked if I could make him some special cookies for an "autumnal equinox party." (Yes, that's my Dad, he has parties for the autumnal equinox.) He said he wanted to send his guests home with personalized fall cookies.

They're really pretty simple, they just take a little extra time if you want to add the sprinkles to the outlines. I love the acorns the best.

What You Need:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe
Sanding sugar sprinkles
Piping Bags with Tip #1 or #2
Paper Plates (for sprinkling)

Fall Treats Roundup

I'm just getting into the fall mood here, thanks to some unusually warm weather for the frozen tundra this time of year. So, a look back at some of my favorites from last year... and a couple from the last week, as well.

Pumpkin Cake Pops
I love these. They are one of my favorite treats to make.
You can watch me make them with Tom and Karen on Fox 9 in a few weeks.

Caramel Apple Cake
This cake is so tasty that I made the cupcake version this fall.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
I bribed my kids' kindergarten teachers with these at the start of school.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
SO. Rich. SO. Good!

Pretty Pumpkin Cake
Have I mentioned that I love my Pumpkin Cake Recipe?

Apple Cake Pops
These would be awesome if you used the Caramel Apple Cake recipe for the insides!

Football Cake Pops
Perfect for cheering on the newest member of the SEC!

Fall Leaf Cookies
I'm making some more of these this weekend.

Apple Cookies
Apples and Pumpkins... that's fall to me!

I've left out my Halloween treats from last year... I am not yet ready to embrace Halloween because that means I need to figure out what costumes my boys will be wearing. (Even if the stores already have some CHRISTMAS decorations out. Ridiculous!)

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Creme Brulee {Recipe}

Creme Brulee is my favorite "fancy" dessert. Even though, really, there's not much too fancy about it, and it's not all that hard to make!

Now that I know how to make it -- I'm not kidding, it's so easy! -- I will have something to do with all of those leftover egg yolks when I made my favorite icings!

What You Need:
2 cups half & half
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar (plus more for topping)

Yield: Six medium-sized custards

S'Mores Cupcakes

The first time I made cupcakes like these was for a wedding. It's the one and only wedding I've ever made cake/cupcakes for. It's too stressful for me. But these cupcakes are so, so yummy. Not stressful at all.

The recipe for these cupcakes is the same as you see on the S'Mores Cake Recipe post. In the interest of not repeating myself too much, I'm going to let you link back to that for the recipes and how-to. (Let me know in the comments if you'd rather I just post the whole recipe here. I never know which is the better way to go??)

What You Need:
S'Mores Cake Recipe -
Milk Chocolate Cake Recipe*
Marshmallow Frosting
Graham Cracker Crust
Hershey segments for decorating
Graham Cracker segments for decorating
*Note: You could also use a doctored chocolate cake mix if you want to save a step.

S'Mores Cake {Recipe}

It is sad that summer is coming to an end... but don't fret. You can have S'Mores all year round with this very sweet, very sticky, very s'mores-y (yes, made that word up myself) cake.

What You Need (for the Crust):
3 cups crushed graham crackers (2 sleeves)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

What You Need (for the Cake):
6 oz. chopped Hershey's milk chocolate
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (divided)
2 cups all-purpose flour1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk + 1/2 cup water at room temperature

What You Need (for the Icing):
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. vanilla

Pecan Turtle Cake Recipe

It's all here. Chocolate, Caramel, Pecans. Yummy turtle cake. And the best part for me was that it was all leftovers from other projects!

What You Need:
Chocolate Cake Recipe
Caramel Buttercream Icing Recipe
1 cup Pecans (toasted and chopped)
Caramel Sauce (see Caramel Icing Recipe)
Chocolate (melted)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

College Football Season!

And my team enters a new conference this year.

SEC, get ready for Mizzou!!

Click the Links Below to See:
How to Make Football Cake Pops
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe