An army of peanut butter kisses.

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 (8oz) package of Hershey’s Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375F. Remove wrappers from kisses.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup white sugar and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1″ balls. Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately place a chocolate piece into the center of each cookie. Cookie will crack around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

When I make them, I get about 45 cookies. But maybe you want to tell people that it makes a few less than that, so you can keep some just for you.

Some notes from the week…

• Did you see the giveaway Olive Manna and Hooray Design are doing together? It seems like such a lovely idea to team up like that, and the little cans of goodies are so sweet! You should check out the giveaway, and then stay for the blog, or something like that. They both have great blogs.

• If you like chickpeas at all, you need to give this recipe for Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry a try. Soon. It’s so very good, and easy. I made it on a last-minute whim this week, and I liked it so much I made it a second time. I served it with some brown rice, cooked in veggie broth. And while you are cooking, make a batch of these Ultimate Double Chocolate Cookies. You won’t regret it, although your waist might.

• Are you on Twitter? I am, and I was thinking this week that if you aren’t following me on Twitter, you might be missing out on some of the little updates that I don’t think merit a whole blog post, but are still awesome. Like when I tweeted about this fashion no-no. I’d love for you to be my Twitter friend. :)
• I really loved this post on Cicada Daydream, Anatomy of a Cost Effective Project.

What are your weekend plans? Are you relaxing, doing something fun? Going somewhere interesting? Whatever they are, I hope it’s a wonderful weekend!

Apple-Pie Crumb Cake Muffins

Oh my, these muffins are so good. Go make them right now. Well, print out the recipe. Then go make them! I found the recipe for this via a post on Liesl Made, but originally the recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance. The recipe for those of us who don’t own Vegan with a Vengeance can be found (with a slight modification of the addition of walnuts) at The Flying Vegan. (The recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking powder twice, just pretend one of those is baking soda.)

I used large honeycrisp apples in mine, and I actually only needed one. I don’t know if honeycrisp apples are proper baking apples, but the muffins came out so delicious it doesn’t matter. I made these muffins last night, and I may have to make more later today. Yum.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock or water
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup raisins
Zest of 1 lemon
2 1/2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed if canned
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley
6 cups hot cooked couscous or rice

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and carrot and cook, covered, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the zucchini, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, salt, cayenne, tomatoes, stock or water, and salt to taste. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, soak the apricots in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain and finely chop. Add the apricots, raisins, lemon zest, and chickpeas to the vegetable mixture and cook 5 minutes longer, or until hot and the flavors are blended. Stir in the cilantro or parsley and serve over couscous or rice.

Serves 4-6.

Me: What should I blog about tomorrow?
Mom: How about kitties?
Me: I think I’ll blog about a recipe. Should I do pork chops or blueberry pie?
Mom: Pork shops. Blueberries aren’t in season.
Me: I think I’ll do a cake recipe.

I know my mom just loves our little chats.

Friday is a good day to share a recipe, I think, because then I have time to actually make the recipe over the weekend. This way, everybody wins — you get a new recipe, and I get cake!

This particular cake is wonderful both for it’s light taste and it’s amazingly easy preparation. I throw this cake together when I’m craving baked goods, but haven’t bought special ingredients for things like brownies or other types of cake. This cake calls for cupboard staples. Plus, you make it from scratch, which sounds fancy and impressive, and means you don’t have to worry about what’s actually in that cake mix.

Enough talking, let’s make cake!

Vanilla Crazy Cake (I don’t know why it’s crazy. Crazy good, maybe.)
Ingredients
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable oil
¾ cup milk
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup semi-sweet real chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In 8-inch square baking pan combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, with wire whisk, stir together egg and vanilla. Make 2 indentations in flour mixture; pour oil in one and egg mixture in other. Pour milk over flour mixture; mix well. Stir in pecans.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Sprinkle chocolate chips over warm cake. Let stand 2 minutes; slightly swirl melted chips to cover cake.

Pumpkin Spiced and Iced Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz) 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (12 oz package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but very good)
Vanilla Glaze

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease baking sheets.
2. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle or spread with vanilla glaze.

Vanilla Glaze

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl and mix well.

Penne Pasta, Beef, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) uncooked penne pasta
1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/2 tsp peppered seasoned salt
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and cut into strips
2 tbsp oil reserved from the tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 jar (6 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Cook and drain pasta. Meanwhile, spray a 12″ skillet with cooking spray. Add beef to the skillet, sprinkle with peppered seasoned salt, and cooked 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until brown. Stir in tomatoes, 1 tbsp oil, and onions. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in the artichoke hearts, pasta, and remaining oil. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until heated. Sprinkle with parsley.

Relax and enjoy.

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium ( 1/2 cup) onion, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
2 stalks (1 cup) celery, sliced
1 (15 to 16 oz) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can beef or vegetable broth
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4 oz) can green chilies (optional)
2 tbsp dry sherry (optional)
1 tsp group cumin
sour cream

Directions
1. In a 4-quart saucepan heat oil; add onion, red pepper, and celery. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisply tender (about 2 or 3 minutes).

2. Add all remaining ingredients except sour cream. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and flavors are blended (10 to 15 minutes).

3. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream (or not).

Tomato Sauce for Pizza

Ingredients
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
5 cups (2 28 oz. cans) Italian plum tomatoes, drained
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried tarragon
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
6 oz (small can) tomato paste
pepper

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy sauce pan. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until they are transparent. Add the tomatoes, chopping them up with your spoon in the pan. Rub the dried herbs between your hands and let them drop into the sauce. Add the salt, sugar, tomato paste and a few grindings of black pepper. Stir all of the ingredients together and simmer gently for 40 minutes. Don’t let the sauce reach a boil.

Notes
This recipe will make about 6 cups of sauce. If you like a smooth sauce, you can run it through the blender after it’s cooled. I personally like it a little chunky, so I just leave it as is. Just break up the tomatoes with your spoon to the size you want. Keep leftover sauce in the refrigerator. You can use it in all sorts of things (although I tend to like it as a topping for pasta), or you can save it for another pizza.

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) olive oil
2 packages dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp light brown sugar

Directions
Measure 1/2 cup warm water (about 100?F) in a measuring cup and stir in 2 tsp of light brown sugar. Be sure the water is only warm — not hot, or it will kill the yeast and dough won’t rise. The warm water and the sugar help the yeast to become active. Dissolve the 2 packages of yeast in the water and set it aside for at least 5 minutes. The yeast will become frothy.

Meanwhile, sift 4 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl with the salt. Make a depression in the middle of the flour and add 3 tbsp of olive oil and 1 cup of warm water. When the yeast mixture has risen for 5 minutes, add it to the flour.

Dust the surface on which you will be kneading the dough with flour. Now mix all of the ingredients in the bowl with your hands and gather them together and place them on the floured board. Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Knead the dough by pushing part of it away from you with the heel of one hand and then folding it back towards you. Repeat with the heel of the other hand. Then rotate the dough 1/4 turn and repeat. Add more flour to the board (it will become incorporated into the dough) if the mixture is too wet or too sticky. Eventually the dough will become elastic and will stay together in a cohesive ball.

Rub a clean bowl with olive oil and place the kneaded dough in it. Moisten the top of the dough with oil as well. Place a clean dish towel over the bowl and put it in a warm, draft-free place to rise. The oven is usually a good place.

When the dough has risen for 1 1/2 hours, remove it and place it again on the floured board. You are now ready to roll out the dough. You have enough dough to make:

• 2 thin crust pizzas at 12″ each (preheat oven at 500?F)
  Divide dough into equal balls and roll out into a circle (if you are using a rectangular baking sheet, roll out your dough in a rectangle instead). Sprinkle a little cornmeal on your baking stone or pizza pan and carefully slide the dough onto the stone or pan. Roll up the edges of the dough to form a rim. Brush the dough with olive oil, then add sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you like. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and crisp looking.
• 1 thick crust pizza at 14″ (preheat oven to 350?F)
  After the dough has risen for an hour, punch it down and let it stand for another hour. Roll out the dough and place it on your pan or stone and make a rim around the edge of the dough. Allow the dough to rise in the pan for 15 minutes and then place it in the oven for 10 minutes unfilled. Remove partially baked crust from the oven and add sauce, cheese, and other toppings. Bake for another 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Personally, I like to use a pizza stone to make pizza. It gives you a nice, even, tasty crust. If you don’t already have one, you may want to pick one up. You can get a nice one from Sassafras about $20 on Amazon. You may also want to invest in a pizza peel, to transfer your freshly assembled pizza onto and off your pizza stone. It’s not a necessity, but it’s definitely nice to have one.

Enjoy! If you make pizza, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you.