Wonder Twin powers activate.  Well, not really, but I did have fun experimenting tonight.  Tonight I made Baked Potato Soup.  I more or less looked at a few recipes and winged it!  All in all it was a success, but I would like it to have a little more zing.  Either I need a bit more sour cream, a different cheese, or a bit more pepper.  I will write what I did and that way I have something to work off of next time.

Baked Potato Soup

*Peel and chop 8 potatoes into one inch cubes.  Cook on stove top in salted water until soft, but not mushy.

*Melt 1/4 c butter in large sauce pan.  When melted, mix in 1/4 c flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook until bubbly.  Add 4 c half and half and cook until thickened.

*Add cooked potatoes and onion powder to taste.  Cook ten minutes.

*Add 1 c sour cream and 1 c cheddar cheese and cook until cheese is melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve in bowls topped with more cheese and crisp bacon.

Okay folks, I admit this was really easy.  And it was.  I am not sure why I never tried it before.  Well, after the first experiment, I suppose the others will only be easier.  Rawr!!

So this is not a blog about ethnic German food.  It is about German Chocolate Cake.  For a while, this cake has been on my wish list to make and a few weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet and try.  The recipe was for a cake, but I needed to make cupcakes for a spaghetti dinner for band.  So I took an interesting recipe from Taste of Home and turned it into cupcakes.  And boom! I killed two birds with one stone.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

4 eggs, separated

1 4 oz. package German chocolate

1/2 c water

1 c softened butter

2 c sugar

1 t vanilla

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 c buttermilk

*Let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Separate into yolks and whites.

*Line muffin tins with 28 cupcake liners.

*In  a saucepan, melt the chocolate in the water over low heat.  Cool.

*In large mixing bowl, cream eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

*Add egg yolk one at a time, beating well after each.

*Add chocolate mixture and vanilla.  Mix well.

*Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to chocolate/butter/sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk.  Start and end with the flour mixture.

*In clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the batter.

*Place batter in liners til about 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

1 c evaporated milk

1 c sugar

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/2 cup butter

1 1/3 c flaked coconut

1 c roughly chopped pecans

1 t vanilla

*Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks, and butter in large saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until it thickens.

*Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut, nuts, and vanilla.  Beat until it cools and spread on the cupcakes.

 

What else can you make with pie filling?

 

Fruit Trifle

*Prepare fresh fruit of choice (4 c.) or pie filling for 9 inch pie. Strawberries are best fresh. Sour cherries and blueberries are best in pie filling.

* Thaw 12 oz. container of Cool Whip.

*Make a yellow cake. (Mix or scratch… doesn’t matter.)

*Make a large package of instant vanilla pudding.

Assemble in the following order:
1/2 cake crumbled
1/2 pudding
1/2 fruit
1/2 Cool Whip
and repeat.

 

Fruit Oat Bars

1 c. Butter softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 c. quick oats
1 c. flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1 can pie filling of choice

*Beat butter with mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat well.

* Combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl and mix well. Add four mix to butter, beating at low until blended and crumbly.

*Spread 2/3 in ungreased 13 x 9 in pan and press down with plastic wrap to form a firm layer. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

*Pour pie filling over partially baked crust. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture evenly.

*Return to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and filling bubbles.

*Cool completely before cutting.

 

Last week I tried something new.  I took yellow cupcakes.  Made holes in them.  Filled them with cherry pie filling and topped them with Custard Icing (amazing and wonderful icing that makes me melt).

 

Custard Icing

Cook together 1 c milk and 4 T flour until thick and then cool.  Beat together 1 c sugar, 1/2 c butter, 1/2 c Crisco, and 2 t vanilla.  Add the paste mixture and beat until the sugar granules disappear.  Admittedly, it is a very long time.  Thank goodness for my Kitchenaid.  Use when this happens.

Frankly, the experiments are bound to continue.  So I imagine that I will revisit this another day.

I love pie.  Seriously, love love love.  I believe that it is because my grandmother made incredible pies of every type.  My mother makes amazing pies too. Both of my sisters are also goddesses of pie crust.  I can make a mean pie when I want to, lard crust and all, but I usually don’t.  Why you may wonder?  I think it has to do with my love of experimentation. I just don’t see room to mess around with traditional pies.  Perfection just should not be messed up.

But… I do love to mess around with pie filling.  Egads, the amazing things you do with a batch of that stuff!  And so, that is the topic of the day – playing with pie filling.  There are so many types of pie filling that today I will focus on fruit pies and different things you can do.  So I guess the first step is getting the fruit pie filling.  I suppose you can use that horrible canned stuff in my recipes, but homemade tastes far superior.  As well, pie filling is easy to make on the stovetop.  I precook many of my fillings even when I am making pies.

Cherry Pie Filling

Place the following in a saucepan, mix together, and cook to warm and bubbling while stirring constantly:

4 cups fresh sour cherries (thaw frozen and use the cherry juice)

1 1/3 c sugar

5 T flour

Dash of salt

2 drops of almond extract

2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Cool before using.

Blueberry Pie Filling

Place the following in a saucepan, mix together, and cook to warm and bubbling while stirring constantly:

4 c fresh or frozen blueberries

7/8 c sugar

5 T flour

1 T lemon juice

Dash of salt

1/4 t cinnamon (optional)

Cool before using.

Raspberry or Blackberry Pie Filling

Place the following in a saucepan, mix together, and cook to warm and bubbling while stirring constantly:

4 c raspberries, blackberries, or a mixture or the two (if frozen use juice when thawed)

7/8 c sugar

5 T flour

Dash of salt

Cool before using.

 Apple Pie Filling

Place the following in a saucepan, mix together, and cook to warm and bubbling while stirring constantly:

6 – 7 c chopped apples

2 T flour

3/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

3/4 c sugar

Cool before using.

Now let us look at some interesting ways to use pie filling… without ever baking a pie.  I will give you more in the next post.

Cherry Blossoms

2 pkgs. puff pastry sheets

1 can or 1/2 batch of homemade  cherry pie filling

1 beaten egg for egg wash

sugar

Cut each sheet into 9 pieces.  Place six on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Fill squares with 1 T of filling.  Pinch the four corners together above the filling.  Seal one diagonal seam all the way across.  Brush top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  Repeat four times.  Cool and dribble with the following glaze while still warm:

Glaze

1 c confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 T milk

Mix together until smooth.

I got smacked in the face with a sinus infection last week and so cooking has been minimal at best.  But this weekend is the only weekend each year I make Cherry Junk so I dragged myself to the kitchen for a little bit.

This is one of my mom’s recipes and it is very old.  No idea what it is really called.  We just always asked Mom for that cherry junk and the name stuck I think.  It really is simple and a bit of a throw together.  It can be made with real whipped cream instead of Dream Whip.  I make my own cherry pie filling instead of using canned.  I imagine that it would be good with a different type of pie filling as well… perhaps some berry.

Cherry Junk

9 x 13 Pan

Layer One:
Half cup melted butter
2 1/4 (scant) graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c sugar

Mix together and press into the pan.

Layer Two:
Cherry Pie Filling (Canned or Homemade – I make my own)

Layer Three:
Cream together:
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/4 c powdered sugar

Make two envelopes of Dream Whip (this is equal to two cups) and fold in the cream cheese mixture. Spread on top.

Chill thoroughly and eat.