Coconut Cream Cheese Icing

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 1/2-1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of sweetened desiccated coconut

1 Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scraped down the sides and bottom.
2 Slowly add the powdered sugar, taste as you go adding more sugar until you have reached the desired sweetness.
3 Fold in the coconut. Spread onto cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle on a bit of extra shredded coconut on top and serve.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Yield: 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix

3 eggs

½ cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

German Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1/2 cup butter

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cup chopped pecans

1 ½ cup flaked coconut

Chocolate Buttercream:

4 ounces cream cheese

½ cup butter

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk or cream (if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two muffin tins with 20-24 cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, gently combine oil, eggs and vanilla extract.

3. Sift (for easy mixing) in about 1/3 of the cake mix and stir until combined.

4. Add Buttermilk and stir until combined.

5. Add another third of the cake mix (again, sifting for easy stirring).

6. Add sour cream, then final third of cake mix.

7. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 18-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

8. German Chocolate Frosting: On medium heat in a sauce pan, constantly stir evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks and butter until thickened. (Basically, until it boils and it will take approximately 15 minutes.) Stir in vanilla extract, pecans and coconut. Let cool.

9. Chocolate Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter for 4 minutes. Add cocoa, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Let beat for 3 minutes. If it is too thick, add milk. If it is too thin, add powdered sugar. Or if it is not dark enough, add more cocoa.

10. Pipe Chocolate Buttercream around the edge of the cupcakes tocreate a barrier, and scoop a small amount of cooled German Chocolate Frosting into the center.

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Chocolate Cut Outs

• 2½ cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
• ½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, cut into chunks
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
•  
• 1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together. Set aside.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla; beating until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
  4. Beat in the melted chocolate.
  5. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, beating on low after each addition. Beat just until the dough comes together.
  6. Pat into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
  7. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Roll the dough on a surface lightly coated with a mixture of flour and cocoa to about a ¼” thick. Cut with a 2” round cookie cutter.
  9. Place the cut-outs on a prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer for 5-10 min. (This will prevent spreading.)
  10. Bake the cookies for about 9 minutes, or until done.
  11. Remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
   

30 Minute Chili & Chili Seasoning

• 2 pounds lean ground beef 
• 1/3 cup Chili Seasoning Mix
• 2 (14.5-oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green pepper, celery, and onion 
• 2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce 
• 1 (16-oz.) can black beans, undrained 
• 1 (15.5-oz.) can small red beans, undrained

Preparation

1. 1. Brown beef in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes or until beef crumbles and is no longer pink; drain well. Return beef to Dutch oven; sprinkle evenly with seasoning mix, and sauté 1 minute over medium-high heat.
2. 2. Stir in diced tomatoes and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
3. Italian-Style Chili: Substitute 1 lb. Italian pork sausage and 1 lb. lean ground beef for 2 lb. lean ground beef. Remove casings from sausage, and discard; brown sausage and ground beef together as directed. Omit beans, and stir in 1 small onion, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 2 small zucchini, diced; and remaining ingredients. Proceed with recipe as directed. Serve chili over hot cooked spaghetti noodles tossed with olive oil and chopped fresh cilantro. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Prep: 10 min., Cook: 25 min.

• CHILI SEASONING MIX
• 3/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 tablespoons seasoned salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar $
• 2 teaspoons dried minced garlic

Preparation

1. 1. Stir together all ingredients. Store seasoning mix in an airtight container up to 4 months at room temperature. Shake or stir well before using.

Rich French Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse: Yields 2 Qts
Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate 1lb (454g)
Hot Water 1/2 c (4fl oz)
Dark Rum (I use Meyers) 1 Tablespoon
***If you do not want to use Rum leave it out and add 1Tablespoon more of hot water
Egg Whites 5 (150g)
Sugar 2Tablespoon (25g)
Cream Of Tartar 1/4teaspoon
Heavy Cream 2c (16 fl oz)

Mix Method:
First melt the chocolate in a large bowl.
Add the hot water to the melted chocolate all at once, very quickly while whisking vigorously to incorporate well.
Add the optional rum.
In a small bowl rub the cream of tartar through the granulated sugar to combine well.
In a clean mixing bowl with the whisk attachment whip the egg whites until foamy and then sprinkle in the sugar/cream of tartar very slowly.
Do not dump all the sugar at once or you will deflate your egg whites and they will not whip as full.
Continue whipping until you reach medium-firm peaks but not overwhipped to the point of “styrofoam”. The cream of tartar will help ensure you do not overwhip the whites.
In a separate mixer bowl, whip the heavy cream to make whipped cream to medium-firm peakes. Again be sure not to overwhip you cream.
Take a small portion of the egg whites and fold them into the chocolate mixture to lighten the mixture. Use a whisk to fold in the remainder of the whites and aerate the mixture.
Next do the same thing with a small amount of the whipped cream, lightening and aerating the mixture by whisking it through. Gently fold in the remainder of the whipped cream. Some small streaks of chocolate or whipped cream may remain. Tightly cover your bowl and refrigerate overnight.
Refrigerate until firm and use to fill cakes, or pastries or simply for serving in a bowl.
Be sure to refrigerate any pastry with Chocolate Mousse as it is highly perishable.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Overnight Baked French Toast

Overnight Baked French Toast
Recipe by Our Best Bites
8 eggs
2 cups half and half (one pint)
1 cup milk (whatever kind you have on hand)
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (a little less if using table salt)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 lb loaf of french bread
softened butter for greasing baking dish (2-3 tablespoons)
Topping
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons cold butter
For Serving
melted butter
maple syrup
powdered sugar
berries
whipped cream
Crack eggs into large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.  Whisk in half and half and milk.  Add brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.  Set aside.
Use softened butter to butter bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking dish.  Cut bread into  1 inch chunks and place in dish.  Whisk egg mixture one more time and then pour evenly over bread.  Use a rubber spatula to very gently toss bread, moving bread on bottom to top, and making sure all of the piece on top get dipped in egg mixture.  Spread out evenly, cover dish, and place in fridge overnight.
To make topping, place brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and stir to combine.  Cut cold butter into very small pieces and add to bowl. Use clean hands to break up butter and combine mixture until crumbly.  Cover and place in fridge until morning.
When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove plastic from dish and sprinkle topping evenly over top.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until top is golden brown.  You can stick a knife or skewer in the casserole to make sure the egg mixture is set on the bottom.  *Note I have left a generous baking time window because it varies on ovens and the size of your bread cubes.  I used to cook this closer to 60 minutes at my old house, but in my new convection ovens it’s done closer to 45.  Keep an eye on it and let me know how long yours takes to bake!
Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares.  Drizzle with melted butter and syrup, top with berries, whipped cream and a sprinkle of powdered sugar if desired.

Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (that’s 2 6-oz. containers)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tsp. lemon juice

3 green onions, firm ends finely chopped

1 tsp. dry dill weed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.