Eggless Carrot Cake

This is BY FAR the best carrot cake I have ever made. I love the consistency and the little crunch of the nuts. The frosting recipe makes 4 cups which was a little much for my family.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 dollops sour cream

2 cups flour

2 tsps cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl mix together the sugar, vegetable oil, and sour cream.

Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Mix until smooth.

Fold in the carrots and walnuts.

Pour into a greased 9x13" or two 9" round cake pans.

Bake the 9x13 for 40-45 min or the round pans for 30-35 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool at least 1 hour before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tsps milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla until smooth.

Slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time.

Beat until very smooth.

Flaky Layered Biscuits

I made these biscuits a fews weeks ago. They tasted very good and were fun to pull apart.

Flaky Layered Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cold butter
• 2/3 cup cold milk
• extra flour for dusting

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
Using a pastry blender cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Pour in the milk and stir just until the dough holds together. The less mixing the better.
On a floured surface roll the dough out until it is about 1/4” thick.
Lightly flour the dough as needed while you are rolling and folding the layers.
Here's the trick for the layers, fold the dough as if you were folding a letter: fold the bottom 1/3 of the dough up and the top 1/3 down over the part you just folded.
Roll the dough out until it is 1/4” thick again and then fold the dough in the same way but perpendicular to the last folds.
Roll the dough out until it is 1/2” thick and cut biscuits with a sharp biscuit cutter. Make sure that you do not twist while cutting as it will make the layers stick together and you won't get nice fluffy biscuits.
Bake on an un-greased baking sheet at 450 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.

Eggless Cherry Cheesecake

8" pie-size cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

Combine graham crackers and butter in the bottom of an 8" spring form or pie dish. Press firmly to line the bottom of the dish evenly.

Filling:

16 oz. sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 tbs. corn starch

2 tbs. lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat on high until smooth. There shouldn't be any lumps.

Pour onto the crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until top starts to lightly brown in some spots.

Let cool and then refrigerate overnight.

Topping:

1/2 lb sour pie cherries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs. corn starch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water

Heat the cherries with the sugar in a medium sauce pan until they start to simmer and slowly add the corn starch mixture stirring constantly. Let simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat and let cool completely before pouring onto chilled cheesecake.

King Cake

King Cake is a traditional New Orleans cake served at Mardi Gras parties.

Pastry:

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg-replacer

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Frosting:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons water

Colored Sugar:

Purple, Green & Gold

Directions:

Scald milk in microwave for 2 minutes then add butter and let cool until lukewarm.

In mixing bowl combine warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly. Add lukewarm milk mixture, the egg replacer, salt, nutmeg and remaining sugar to yeast mixture.

Add the flour 1 cup at a time to the wet ingredients.

Once combined kneed with mixer or by hand for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is very elastic.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled (approx. 1 hour).

Make the filling by combining the cream cheese, powdered sugar, cinnamon and pecans.

Roll the dough into a rectangle measuring approx. 14x20".

Spread the filling mixture on the dough to within about 1/4" of the sides.

Roll the dough up length-wise and pinch the seam to seal.

Pinch the ends of the roll together to create an oval.

Place the oval on a backing sheet that is greased or lined with parchment paper, cover and let rise in a warm place for approx. 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake for 30 mintues.

Forst while the cake is still warm and sprinkle with alternating stripes of purple, green and gold colored sugar.

Chocolate Cookies

These are my favorite soft and chewy chocolate cookies. The kind you need a tall glass of milk with.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 dollops sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and sour cream mix until combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll into 1 1/4" balls.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sour Cream & Yeast Noodles

This has been one of my favorite dishes since I was very young. Friends are always requesting I make this when they come over for dinner, and it's often made for family functions. It's rich and creamy with a nice almost cheesy flavor. Eating only one bowl is always a challenge. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz) sugar snap peas, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 cups cauliflower florets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 1/2 tsps salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste

Directions:

1. Bring 6 cups of water to boil in a large pot.
2. Add cauliflower and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Add macaroni and sugar snap peas and cook according to macaroni instructions or until al dente.
4. Drain quickly retaining some of the moisture in the macaroni and put the macaroni back in the pot. This helps make a creamier sauce.
5. Add the sour cream and mix until all the macaroni is covered. Your pasta should look creamy as shown in the picture.
6. Add the nutritional yeast and mix well.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve warm.

Wonderful Waffles

I made waffles this week and froze them so that we can toast them for breakfast. They turned out great and toast up quickly.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg replacer equivalent

I use Bob's Red Mill's egg replacer: http://www.bobsredmill.com/vegetarian-egg-replacer.html

You could also probably use sour cream to replace the egg.