Category: Kitchen

Carrot and Zucchini Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2
    cups all-purpose flour
  • 1
    teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2
    teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4
    teaspoon baking soda
  • 2
    eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 1/2
    cups shredded carrot
  • 1
    medium zucchini, shredded (1 cup)
  • 3/4
    cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2
    cup raisins
  • 1/2
    cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2
    cup cooking oil
  • 1/4
    cup honey
  • 1
    teaspoon vanilla
  • 1
    recipe Citrus-Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together eggs, carrot, zucchini, brown sugar, raisins, walnuts, oil, honey, and vanilla. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Frost with Citrus-Cream Cheese Frosting. Cut into bars.

3. Makes 36 bars.

Citrus-Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients

  • 1
    8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1
    cup powdered sugar
  • 1
    teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel or orange peel (optional)
Directions
In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. If desired, stir in lemon or orange peel.

Water Absorbing Science Fun

Fill 2 cups with water, add blue dye to one cup and yellow dye to the other.  Put an empty cup in between them.  Roll 2 paper towels. Place the end of one towel into the blue dye and one end of the other towel in the yellow dye.  Bend both the towels and put the loose ends into the empty cup and watch the magic happen.  As the colored water is absorbed in the towel it makes its way up and then into the empty cup.  The blue and yellow food dyes combine making green water. via

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Rootbeer fload cupcakesIngredients
  3/4 cup butter
  3 eggs
  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 1/2 cups sugar
  1 tablespoon root beer extract
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  1 1/4 cups root beer
  24 root beer-flavor hard candies (optional)
  12 colorful straws, cut in half (optional)

Directions
  1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line twenty four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper liners. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat on medium speed about 2 minutes more or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in root beer extract and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and root beer to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

  3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds to three-fourths full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter in cups.

  4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups. Cool completely on wire racks.

  5. Pipe or spread Float Frosting over cupcakes. If desired, top each cupcake with a root beer-flavor candy and a straw half. Makes 24 (2-1/2-inch) cupcakes.

Float Frosting
  Start to Finish: 10 mins

Ingredients
  1/4 cupbutter
  3/4 cupvanilla ice cream
  1/2 teaspoonvanilla
  4 cupspowdered sugar

Directions
Allow butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Allow ice cream to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup of the ice cream and the vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. If necessary, stir in enough of the remaining ice cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make frosting piping or spreading consistency.

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Monkey Around Cupcakes

Monkey around cupcakesIngredients
•1 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 cup mashed bananas, about 2 large
•1/3 cup buttermilk
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1/2 cup canola oil
•1 cup sugar
•2 large eggs
•2/3 cup chocolate chips (mini chips ideal)
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•2 tablespoons light corn syrup
•1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
•18 gingersnap cookies
•18 mini Oreos
•1 4 1/4 ounce tube white decorating frosting
•36 mini brown M&M’s

Make It
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 muffin cups. Combine first four ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, blend bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat in oil and sugar. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips.

  2. Fill cups. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

  3. To Decorate: Heat cream and corn syrup in a saucepan until mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat; add 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips. Cover; let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Glaze cupcakes with chocolate. Spoon extra into a plastic bag and refrigerate.

  4. Cut gingersnaps to make a mouth. For ears, separate Oreo tops and bottoms and remove filling. Pipe on white frosting for eyes and top with M&M’s. Snip a small corner from bag of chocolate; pipe on hair and nostrils.

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Chocolate Stars and Moon

Who would ‘like” to have this quick, fun to make little snack?


stars and moonIngredients
   •10 slices kiwi fruit, mango, apple, and/or pineapple, or whole or halved strawberries
   •1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted



Make It


Use a small star cutter to cut out shapes from kiwi slices, if desired. Use round cutters or the bowl of a spoon to cut moon shapes from mango. Pat fruit with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Melt chocolate in a small bowl by microwaving on medium for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring once or twice. Dip half of each fruit into the chocolate, or let kids do it themselves. Put aside for a few minutes for the chocolate to set. Serves 2.


From

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