Cupcakes and Friends

My girls had some friends over earlier this week, and I let them loose in my kitchen for an adventure in baking cupcakes.

Part of me wishes that I’d taken pictures of them while they were making the cupcakes.  They had a great time.  But I think it was best that I didn’t get the camera out until the end of the project because I think they would have been a little intimidated by the camera.  They would have felt more like they had to do it “right” and less like they could have fun.  So it all worked out well, I believe.  I just sat in the other room and listened as they mixed batter, poured it into muffin tins, baked, checked for doneness, mixed up frosting, decided how much sugar they should add to the frosting to make it thick enough, and on and on.  It was great.

And in the end, the cupcakes they produced were great, too.
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The icing set well, and they were very cheerfully decorated.  The cupcakes themselves even tasted good.
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Best of all, we had five happy girls who were very proud of their creations.
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We also had an amazing kitchen counter when it was all said and done:
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Have you ever seen a batter bowl like this?
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Yep.  We had a pretty decent mess.
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And some scrubbing to do.
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We even had a few cupcakes that had been forgotten.
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But more importantly, we had happy faces.
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And a fun memory, not to mention sweet treats.
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I also think they learned.  This was a building block in their baking skills experience.
It will help them get better at it.  (In fact, my girls baked some miniature cakes the next day for their dolls, and they did it in less time and with much less mess.)

Sometimes I forget that learning makes some messes.  But we get better at it, if we keep trying.

It gets easier to clean up, and we make fewer messes as we learn and grow.   But isn’t it wonderful that we can try?
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I know that I make a lot of messes, both in my kitchen and in many other aspects of life.
I’m grateful I can keep trying and make fewer messes as I improve.
And hopefully, in the end, I’ll have some yummy cupcakes to show for it.

Whole Wheat Rolls

Think freshly ground wheat transformed into delicious warm rolls!
It can’t get much better than that.
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In my Bosch, I combined 3 cups warm water, 2/3 cups vegetable oil, and 4 large eggs.
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Blend together, then add 1/2 cup powdered milk, IMG_6312 (Large) and 1/2 cup honey.  (I didn’t have time to go get honey from my basement, so I used honey powder.  Just pretend this is a nice gooey pile of honey going in.  The powder works fine, too, in case you have some.  I really like it.)
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and 1 Tablespoon salt IMG_6314 (Large) Mix well, and now it’s time for the whole wheat flour.
This flour is straight from my grinder.  It doesn’t look very dark because it’s white wheat.
Using white wheat means I don’t have to add any white flour to the dough because it will be nice and light on its own.
If you’re using red wheat, you will probably want to have at least 1/3 of the flour be white flour.
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I digress.  Add about 4 cups of wheat flour to the mixer.
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And 2 1/2 tablespoons SAF Instant Yeast.
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Turn on the mixer and blend until well incorporated.
Add another 3 cups of flour and watch so see the consistency of the dough.
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You might need to add another cup or two, but you don’t want to add too much.
You want the dough to begin pulling away from the sides of the mixer.
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Cover and let knead for 5 minutes.  Remove the dough hook and cover again.
Let rise for 10-15 minutes.  Then remove dough from mixer, divide into 4 pieces, and roll each piece out (one at a time, of course) into a large rectangle.
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Using a pizza cutter, cut in half lengthwise.
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Then cut each half into triangles.
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Roll into crescent roll shapes.
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Place on baking sheet to rise.  Cover and let rise another 10-15 minutes.
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Bake at 400 for 8 minutes or until tops are just beginning to brown.
Remove from oven and brush with butter.
Enjoy with butter, or in our case this time, homemade cherry jam.
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Talk about homemade goodness!  Yum!
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Whole Wheat Rolls 3 cups warm water 2/3 cups vegetable oil 4 large eggs 1/2 cup powdered milk 1/2 cup honey 1 Tb. salt 7-9 cups freshly ground white wheat flour 2 1/2 Tb. SAF Instant Yeast In mixer, combine water, oil and eggs.  Mix well.  Add powdered milk, honey and salt.
Mix well, then add 4 cups flour and the yeast.  Mix again and continue adding flour until dough reaches proper consistency.  Let knead 5 minutes.  Remove dough hook and cover.  Let rise 10-15 minutes.  Roll into rolls, cover and let rise another 10-15 minutes.  Bake at 400 for 8-9 minutes.  You can also bake at 375 for a few minutes longer depending on your tastes.  They’re delicious either way!

Mom’s Oatmeal Chocolate Cake

Do you have some foods that, when you make them, transport you back to your mother’s kitchen table?
This is one for me.

Last night my Dad was in town, so we had him over for dinner, along with my brother and his wife and my sister and her husband.  I made this cake for them for dessert.

It’s so easy and so wonderful.

Start with 1 cup of oatmeal.
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Pour 1 1/2 cups of boiling water over the oatmeal and let sit for 10 minutes.
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In another bowl (I decided to use my mixer), combine 1 cup brown sugar IMG_6298 (Large) 1 cup granulated sugar IMG_6300 (Large) 1 cup shortening IMG_6301 (Large) Add the oatmeal.
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Beat well.
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Add two eggs and beat well.
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Then add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 Tablespoon cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt.
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Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
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Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan IMG_6307 (Large) Sprinkle the top of the cake with more chocolate chips and some chopped nuts (optional).
I used some pecans.
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Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.
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Last night we served it with whipped cream on top.
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It’s delicious with ice cream, as well.  Or if you’re like me, you love it plain.
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Delicious!  And filled with happy memories of home.

Mom’s Oatmeal Chocolate Cake 1 cup oatmeal 1 1/2 cups boiling water 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 1 cup shortening 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 Tb. cocoa 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/4 cup chocolate chips 1/4 cup chopped nuts Pour boiling water over oatmeal and let stand 10 minutes.   To the oatmeal, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and shortening.  Mix well.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add flour, soda, salt and cocoa to the mixture.  Beat well.  Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup chocolate chips and nuts over top of cake.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Cool and enjoy!

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