Testing Baking powder and soda for freshness

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Chemical leaveners, like baking powder and baking soda, can lose their potency over time. This is especially true when they are not stored in airtight containers. And old baking powder and soda can cause flat cakes, dense or flat cookies  Tthere is a very simple test that you can do to see if that nearly-forgotten box of baking soda is still good enough to bake with.



For baking soda put a teaspoon into a 1/2 cup vinegar in a small bowl. You should see lots of fizzing. Otherwise it needs to be replaced. It has lost it's potency. Always keep these leaveners in a Tupperware or some other airtight containers for the best shelf life.



For Baking Powder put a half cup of warm water into a small bowl and add a teaspoon of baking powder. The mixture should make a fizzing noise and, after a moment, the baking powder will begin to fizz and the water will become very cloudy with tiny bubbles. The more bubbles, the fresher the baking powder.

I like the square, stackable containers because they leave room in my fridge for other stuff. I don't like the round containers margerine and whipped topping come in for that very reason. They take up space and are not stackable. So there you have it!  

French Vanilla Cream Puffs

My Easter desserts.....mini Cream Puffs!  

And they were so cute on the dessert bar!  

Yummy and easy Cream Puffs! 

My French born sister-in-law Danielle makes these TO DIE FOR cream puffs every year at 4th of July. Everyone has come to expect and love them. She actually can't make a different dessert or everyone gets all bent out of shape. So I have been calling her to get her recipe. I wanted to make them for Easter.

The ingredients for cream puffs are only 4....so easy! 

Water, butter, flour and eggs....

Batter before adding the eggs.....I let it beat a little to let off some of the steam....

Then I added 1 egg at a time and beat for a minute in between eggs.....

The cream puff batter is  like pudding...

Easy Cream Puffs:  My French sis-in-law Danielle's recipe
1 cup water
1/2  cube butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Heat oven to 400. Heat water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour untilmixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Let cool a bit till batter is not hot. Beat in eggs one at a time. Drop dough 1 Tbsp size onto baking sheet using a pastry bag. Mine were about 1 3/4 inches oval x 1 1/2 and I got about 30 little cream puffs.

Cook until puffy and golden. I did 14 minutes at 400 and then turned oven down to 350 for 5 minutes. I think from posts I read on other blogs 20 minutes is perfect for smaller cream puffs. Larger ones about 20 minutes at 400 and 4 minutes at 350 but watch them the last 3 minutes. Your oven might be different as I am at high altitude.

These are darling cream puffs too. I LOVED these from HERE at Land O Lakes website.

I piped the batter onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper....

I added a blob of cream puff batter to each of the 4 corners...then pressed the parchment paper on top. It helps
"glue" the paper down to the cookie sheets. 

Here are my finished cream puffs....just out of the oven! 

Now they are ready to fill with the creamy, rich pudding filling....each one was a half a handful ! 

Cool. Cut a slit in the side of puff with a knife. Fill cream puffs with a pastry bag filled with the french vanilla pudding mixture.  Make chocolate icing and spread over top.  Keep refrigerated. Makes 12 large or 24 small cream puffs (mine made 30 little round ones- bigger than the Costco size) I think this is a perfect dessert to bring to Easter dinner because if you have other desserts, this can be a side garnish and they are so cute and yummy too.

French Vanilla Cream Filling
1/2 pint whipping cream (smallest carton)
1 small box instant French vanilla instant pudding
1/2 cup milk
Whip until thick.

1/2 cup milk, pint of cream and small box of french vanilla instant pudding....

Whip it up and then put into a pastry bag....

Squeeze inside of your little puffs....so easy! 

The filling is really rich and creamy too...I had to pop one in my mouth to taste test it! 

 Chocolate Fudgy Glaze
1/2 slick butter
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Tbsp. milk
2 cups powdered sugar ( I used a little less, just add it till desired consistency)

Heat until melted, stirring constantly-add 2 cups powdered sugar until melted. Shake a fork
back & forth and then the other way to ice tops of cream puffs if you want a cool design. Or just frost with a knife.

This was the most delicious chocolate glaze!  

It was easy and quick....

And it tastes like the most divine fudge!  Really!  

I just frosted mine. I spread the fudgy icing on very generously!  This chocolaty glaze was finger licking delicious! 

My finished plates of cream puffs.... I wasn't done sprinkling the sprinkles! And this recipe made 30 puffs....

That was 2 full plates full....enough for a crowd of people....

I added some purple Peeps to the plate of cream puffs... it added the cuteness factor....yeah! .

And I know somebody CUTE who LOVED my cream puffs!  

And somebody else who loved the Easter egg hunt too! 

Hope everybody has a wonderful Easter!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Do you like an easy and yummy dessert? Like right now easy? When I want easy I always make this one....it takes a few minutes to put together...and it is soooo worth it!

I LIKE pineapple and marachino cherries....

 I love desserts with fruit in them....

And I LOVE Pineapple Upside Down Cake....yum! 

I just doctor up a yellow cake mix by adding a cup of sour cream, a small vanilla pudding,  and a few other things....

Ingredients and Recipe

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water

Nuts make anything tastier...mmmm.....

Then I spray a cake pan (glass, oval shaped) with Pam and pour 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter  and some chopped walnuts.
Line Pan with.....
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 cup butter melted
1/2 cup to 3/4 cups walnuts

Brown sugar and the walnuts...don't forget to dot them with pieces of butter.....

Then after mixing up the cake mix....I decorate that nutty, sugary pan with the rings of pineapple....

 Then dot the insides of the pineapple with marachino cherries.  They add the really pretty touch to the dessert. Then pour the cake mix on top and bake for 30 to 35 minutes on 350.  It is super easy!

Mixing up the yellow cake mix batter......

Adding the extra oil, sour cream and pudding to the mix......

All those nuts and the brown sugar and butter make it a decadent topping for your yummy pineapple cake! 

Bake up that baby!  

Here it is just out of the oven....The sour cream and pudding mix make the batter really rich and tasty! 

Let it cool about 10 minutes and then cut spoonfuls and turn them over as you
dish out the servings....topped with whipped cream of course!  

Try to include a ring and a cherry in each serving for a great presentation....
This is one of my husband's favorite desserts!  

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Okay the Girl Scouts in my neighborhood delivered our boxes of Thin Mints cookies over the weekend and of course they were seriously gone in a day! What is with those cookies I ask you!  Everybody loves the Samoas, but I am very addicted to the Thin Mints.
 


So on my Facebook page today one of my friends put up this picture with the yummy recipe to go with it. I'm trying it!  I'm craving minty chocolate cookies ever since I downed the last sleeve of my Girl Scout Cookies. It was so weird because a day later I found 4 little cookies in a leftover sleeve my husband had been eating and I seriously felt like the Easter Bunny had just laid a Cadbury Egg in my basket! It is embarrasing!


I've got to get over this Thin Mint addiction I've got!!!  Especially because, well, you know what my doctor told me.....nothing greasy, fried or yellow! So I'm sure those cookies have something yellow and buttery in them. I'm not going to think about that today.  Those darn girl scouts. Hmph!

Kelly's Thin Mint Cookies for the severely addicted .....

Cookie bottom: 
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix (I like the ones with pudding in the mix the best)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs


Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together (do not follow the directions on the back of the cake mix- disregard them completely). Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes (don't cook any longer than that! You don't want them to be overdone!). Let cookies cool completely.


Peppermint Frosting: 


1/2 c. butter, softened (Uh Oh, it's YELLOW! OLD DOC WON'T LIKE THAT!) 
2 Tablespoons milk
2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Green food coloring (optional- I added about 8 drops to get the colors of green that I had)
Mix together all the ingredients (add more or less powdered sugar until you get the consistency you like). Spread on top of each cooled cookie.


Chocolate Topping:
2 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. butter    (Oh NO, not again!)  
Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a double boiler OR in a microwave (I usually microwave for 30-second intervals, then stir and repeat until the chips are fully melted). Spread melted chocolate on each cookie- I have found that it works best to use the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate around.

Now they even have THIN MINT ICE CREAM!! What 's a mint fiend to do? 

Okay this recipe is a keeper.  If you have the darm Girl Scout Cookie cravings like I do. Thanks Kelly, our wonderful PTA President, for giving me a fix on my Thin Mint addiction.