Camellias and Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

A walk to the mailbox had me enthralled with the blooming camellias, dotting the landscape. Their colors really brighten up the late winter garden. I picked a big handful and arranged them in a favorite vase.

Earlier in the day, I cleaned house, did a mountain of laundry while listening to albums I found last weekend at TBones in Hattiesburg.

After housework, I got in the kitchen and used up part of a cake mix to make cookie ice cream sandwiches.

If the egg is left out of the cake mix recipe, you can have cookies instead. Here’s what I did:

In a medium bowl,  I dumped in the cake mix ( I had about 3/4 of a box mix). I added about a 1/2 cup chocolate chips and a generous dash of cinnamon and ginger. Then I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar and stirred all the dry ingenious together to coat the chocolate chips well. Next, I stirred in half a stick of butter, melted, and enough water to bring everything together. I pressed the cookie dough into a 10 × 12 cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Then I baked it in a 350° oven till the top was golden – 15 minutes or so.

Then I took a round cutter and, well, cut out rounds. I figured this method would be the most consistent. 

I put a dollop of my favorite ice cream on one cookie and topped it with another. Repeating till I ran out of cookies, I then put them on a plate and placed them in the freezer to harden up. Each cookie sandwich was then stored in its own baggy and back into the freezer for individual snack time.

Note: Cool cookie completely before adding ice cream. I didn’t wait long enough, and the ice cream began to melt. Learn from my mistake.

Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen. 

Pinching Pennies

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

You know it’s there. That box of cereal that no one finished. What do you do with it now that it’s gone stale? Throw it out? That’s wasteful, and in this depressed economy, we need to pinch pennies any way we can.

So, I decided to make cookies. I’m not sure what to call them. Cereal Cookies sounds kind of bland, and these cookies are definitely full of flavor. Chewy and crunchy, they are great for dunking in a cup of coffee or hot tea.

Here’s what to do:

Preheat I’ve to 350° and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a big mixing bowl, cream together one stick of softened butter, a half cup of brown sugar, and a half cup of white sugar.

Next, add in an egg and a splash of vanilla, with a dash of cinnamon. Mix all really well.

Then stir in 2 1/2 cups of cereal. I had Special K with Almonds and Great Grains. Also, add in at the same time as the cereal a cup of self-rising flour. Incorporate everything well.

(I used a cookie scoop, but if you don’t have one, drop cookie dough onto parchment in heaping teaspoons.)

Space them about two inches apart, as these buttery cookies spread. Smoosh the cookie dough down slightly, with the bottom of a small juice glass dipped in water. Then bake them for 15 minutes.

This recipe makes two dozen, three inch cookies. I still don’t know what to call these. So, how about October Cookies?

Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

Continue reading Pinching Pennies

Apple Cake Perfection

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

This apple cake recipe is the best goodie I’ve baked up in a while. Using fresh apples, this cake is super moist and perfect for an afternoon break.

Apple Cake Perfection

Ingredients:

3/4 cup con oil

2 eggs

1 and 2/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups apples that have been peeled and diced

Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 10×10 (inches) pan and line with parchment paper.

What do:

In an electic mixer or with a hand mixer, combine the oil and eggs. Then add in the sugar and vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, soda and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. This batter is quite thick. Don’t worry. Next, fold in the diced apples. The apples will give the cake batter more moisture.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread to the corners. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool and cut into 16 squares.

The top of this apple cake has a crunchy top. I used Honey Crisp apples and didn’t diced them finely. I like a little chunk in my apple cake. If you would like to add chopped walnuts, go for it.

Crunchy top and chunks of apples

Take a break Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

Cindy Lou Who Shortbread/Cookie Dough 102

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

We did it again; got together and made up rolls of different cookie dough to stash in the freezer for easy holiday baking.

A 1949 cookbook from Crisco held two of this years recipes. The third was the shortbread from August Cookie of the Month: Cranberry Pecan Shortbread, a request from the daddy of one of the young ladies at today’s party.

With these traditional cookie recipes we chose different add-ins to make specialty treats. Can you guess by the titles what was put in each cookie creation?

For my shortbread cookies I did a plain recipe and chose to roll the log of dough in red and green sprinkles. I named it the Cindy Lou Who Shortbread.

I will slice, bake and roll in powdered sugar, when I need cookies…. probably really soon…

We had a blast spending time together and prepping for the hectic holidays ahead.

Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

Continue reading Cindy Lou Who Shortbread/Cookie Dough 102

Eggless Cookies

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

I ran out of eggs and didn’t want to drive to town, so I tried an egg substitute. Using up last years sprinkles (you know, a few of this kind, a few of that kind-oh they don’t go bad, do they?), I made these eggless cake mix cookies.

Roll dough in miscellaneous sprinkles

Ingredients:

1 box vanilla or white cake mix

2 egg substitutes (for each egg needed, do this:1 tablespoon water, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons oil)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

A bowl of miscellaneous sprinkles

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix up the egg substitute, set aside. In a big mixer bowl dump in cake mix. Then add the next 5 ingredients and stir together. With a scoop, drop mounds of cookie dough into the bowl of sprinkles, one at a time, coating each cookie. Place a few inches apart on cookie sheet, as these cookies will spread. Bake until the tops crack open and the bottoms are slightly browned. Twelve minutes or so. Cool on wire racks. These cookies are very crisp and are great for dunking, if you are so inclined. Makes about 2 dozen.

Great for dunking: won’t disappear into your hot beverage

Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

Sweep-of-the-kitchen Granola

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

Left over Christmas baking ingredients were just sitting in the pantry: raisins, oatmeal, pecans, soy-free chocolate chips. So, to use them up I stirred up a big bowl of granola. Sweep-of-the-kitchen is a term describing a waste-not-want-not, money saving, frugal attitude. Use it all up.

Here’s what to do:

Preheat oven to 300°

In a big bowl combine 3 cups quick oats, about 1 cup pecans, about 1/2 cup raisins, about a 1/4 cup of each semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup light brown sugar and a pinch of salt. A couple of teaspoons of colorful sprinkles, if you have some. Microwave 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and pour over the oats and other ingredients. Give several generous stirs, to incorporate the oil with the other ingredients.

Spread evenly over a baking sheet with short sides, like a jelly roll pan, which has been covered with parchment paper. Place in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Check it halfway through to make sure it isn’t burning. Give it a slight stir with a spatula or big spoon. Continue baking. Cool, then scoop into an air tight container. Serve over yogurt, apple sauce, pear butter, ice cream.

Served two ways: On the left over Greek yogurt, on the the right over home canned pears. A light breakfast or snack or dessert.

Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

Bacon On the Weekends

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

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Randomness

Have you heard that song called Love On The Weekends?  At least, that’s what I think it’s called. I don’t know who sings it.  And I’ll be up front with y’all, not a fan.

Anyway, while getting my breakfast ready this morning, that horrible tune popped into my head. Instead of “love”, I inserted the words Bacon on the weekends. Bacon on the weekends. My thyroid is screwed up again and I’ve been reading up on thyroid nutrition. Limit processed meats, sigh, including bacon. So, like the lovers in the song, I have to wait to the weekend for my  BACON! I’m right there with you Jim Gaffigan.

In the picture you will see marshmallows in my Pecan Praline Community Coffee. Yes, yes….. Don’t judge me. Try it, Mikey. You just might like it.

Also in the pic is a square of banana, chocolate chip breakfast cake. Sweetened with honey, lower in  refined sugar, but still tasty.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake:

Line an 8×8 pan with parchment and spritz with vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, mash up a very ripe banana. Add a 1/4 cup of honey, an egg and a big generous dash of cinnamon. Stir together. Then add 1 1/2 cups of biscuit mix. Before you stir it in, pour in a half cup of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. Stir till combined. Lastly add 1/2 cup of milk and a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean; about 22 minutes. Cool slightly in pan then turn out onto a plate and cut into 16 squares.

Also in the the picture of my breakfast, is my coffee cup. My nephew sent it to me at Christmas and it has the names of my grandkids on it: Parker, Brentlee, Levi and Hazel Ray. They are so much fun and precious to me. Which brings me to my next bit of randomness.

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New York State and the Commonwealth of Virginia have legalized infanticide. God forgive us. We have become such a selfish and wicked nation. Again Crises Pregnancy Centers are located all over this country. Our local center is located at 406 Delaware Ave, McComb, MS 39648  601-684-3987.

Hug your children and grandchildren close.

Blessings.