Granny Pansy’s Baked Apples

Baked Apples a la Granny Pansy

Granny Pansy, there will only ever be one like her. She was sassy and confident and took nothing from no one, and just happens to have some super amazing granddaughters :)!

(My uncle Keith, Granny Pansy, my adorable Dad!)

She made this dish a lot, but when I think of this dish I go back to a very specific memory with Granny. Once a year, just before Christmas, she would have us (me and my sisters) over to the house and we would spend the day making Christmas crafts and eating baked apples. We glittered and glued and painted and ate until we could do no more. It was at this point that she would send the four of us back home covered in glue, sparkles, and brown sugar!  It was awesome and a time I will always and forever cherish. Will still adorn the family tree with some of the crafty decorations we made with Granny Pansy back then.

½ cup sugar
1 cup water
6 apples
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F

In a saucepan over medium heat combine 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water. Heat until sugar dissolves.

Pour this syrup in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.

Core the apple, but don’t go all the way through to the bottom. (This will help keep sugar filling in the apple.)

In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon thoroughly.

 Divide the mixture equally between the 6 apples. Place filled apples in the casserole dish.

Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the apple. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Baked Apples a la Granny Pansy

Serves 6

½ cup sugar
1 cup water
6 apples
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375

In a saucepan over medium heat combine 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water. Heat until sugar dissolves. Pour this syrup in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.

Core the apple, but don’t go all the way through to the bottom. (This will help keep sugar filling in the apple.) In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon thoroughly. Divide the mixture equally between the 6 apples. Place filled apples in the casserole dish.

Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the apple. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

The Great Cannoli Casserole Challenge!

The Casserole Queens were recently in the Kansas City area to present at the 2013 Hen House Market Holiday Celebration! We are big fans of the Hen House Market and all the terrific folks of Kansas. Everyone is always so welcoming and they truly makes us feel like royalty.

In preparation for the event, our dear friend Jasper Mirabile, the owner and proprietor of  Jasper’s in Kansas City AND one of the nicest guys you’ll meet, had us on his weekly podcast. It was just on the heels of National Cannoli Month and Jasper was still on a cannoli high! During the entire month of September, Jasper was on a mission to spread his love of the cannoli by hosting events at his restaurant, going on local TV and radio shows, as well as holding a cannoli recipe contest for his guests. The grand prize you ask? Well, cannoli’s for a year of course! Oh, and did we mention that Jasper’s also displays the world’s most expensive cannoli, designed by cake designer Cary Iennaccaro? It’s true, and the value is over $26,000. It features an antique diamond necklace from Tom Tivol Jewelers. Now that is one dazzling cannoli!

So naturally,  it comes to no surprise that while we were on the show, Jasper challenged us to create a Cannoli Casserole! We were nervous about creating a cannoli casserole for a man who loves the cannoli so, but we accepted the challenge and think he will be proud of the end result.

We walked into the challenge knowing that we needed to capture all the flavors of the classic cannoli, but still work within our beloved 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. We made certain to have all the traditional ingredients present and accounted for, but also switch it up a bit (as we like to do) to make this version our own. You’ll see that we replaced the crunchy cannoli outer shell with a scrumptious chocolate chip cookie base, infused with traditional cannoli flavors of orange, chocolate, and ricotta cheese. Then, we perfected our casserole-friendly cannoli by adding a sweetened ricotta cheese mixture on top, with toasted almonds and Maraschino cherries – super tasty and easy to whip up!

Challenge complete.

Enjoy!

CQ Cannoli Bars

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 recipe Cannoli Cream (see recipe below)
• 5 maraschino cherries (more if you love’em)
• ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and ricotta on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar, orange zest, and vanilla; beat until blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On medium speed, add the egg and beat until blended. On low speed, add the flour until mixture comes together. Pour in the chocolate chips and continue mixing until just incorporated.
4. Pour cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula
5. Bake cookie bars for 45 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan
6. Allow bars to cool completely
7. Frost the top of the cookie bars with the cannoli cream (recipe follows)
8. Top with cherries and toasted almonds 

CQ Cannoli Cream

• 3 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 2 ounces chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and orange zest – until smooth.
2. Stir in chocolate chips until incorporated evenly into cream

JASPER J. MIRABILE JR.

Chef Jasper J. Mirabile Jr. of Jasper’s commands the helm of his family’s 59-year-old restaurant, consistently rated one of Kansas City’s best Italian restaurants. In addition to running the restaurant with his brother, Mirabile is a culinary instructor, founding member of Slow Food Kansas City and a national board member of the American Institute of Wine and Food. He hosts many famous chefs on his weekly radio show Live! From Jasper’s Kitchen on KCMO 710 AM and 103.7 FM, authored two cookbooks and sells a line of dressings and sauces.

Miss Elsie’s No-Bake Candy!

Small towns and small town churches are great places to grow up. I was raised in Hargill, Texas and attended the Hargill First Baptist Church every Sunday (whether I wanted to or not).

My mom played the piano, my sister led the singing, and the elegant and amazing Miss Elsie taught my Sunday school class. I was about 5 years old and Miss Elsie was simply magic to me. She was kind and gentle and the bearer of stickers and happiness. I miss and think of her often.

Miss Elsie was an AMAZING cook and I could spend many days on this blog recreating some of her dishes (her chocolate pie and cabbage rolls are the stuff of legends), but today, I’m sharing her no-bake candy that she made for us kids.  It’s a sugar-on-sugar extravaganza with an accent of peanut butter — super sweet and super awesome! We all LOVED it. Not sure where the original recipe came from, but here is how my beloved Miss Elsie made it.

Enjoy!

4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups powdered milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

Combine everything in one bowl

Roll into bite size balls

Miss Elsie’s No-cook candy

4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups powdered milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

Mix all the ingredients. Roll into small balls and place on wax paper to harden. Eat them with your face.

For the Love of Ramekins: Pot de Crème

Have I ever told y’all about my deep affection for ramekins? If not, you’re about to find out.

Ahh ramekins…the oh-so-versatile dish that is a must in any kitchen. Perfect for individual sized meals and desserts, ramekins also have a number of other uses. In fact, ramekins help you organize recipe ingredients so that you‘re ready to go once the oven is fired up (professional chefs refer to this practice as mise en place). You can also use them for condiments at the dinner table like dipping sauces, toppings, or fresh sea salt or cracked black pepper. (Yes, I am in love!) I am constantly finding ways to use them since my friends and family tease me about the sheer amount of ramekins that I own. I admit, it may be excessive, but you never know when a gal might just want to whip up some Pot de Creme! Am I right?!

Which brings me to this tasty post. Pot de Creme is one of those crazy simple recipes with an end result that feels so indulgent. It takes less than 10 minutes to whip up, and requires only 5 simple ingredients. The only potential drawback you could possibly find is that it takes time to set in the refrigerator (about 2 hours). But I don’t even find that to be a negative, since I love things that you can prepare before hand. You can’t be a “hostess with the mostess” when you’re all stressed out. I like having more time with my company to do the things I want, like enjoy a glass of wine!

So let me show you how easy this really is!

5 simple ingredients: Milk, Vanilla Bean, Egg, Sugar & Dark Chocolate.

Cut the bean lengthwise and scrap out the good stuff!

Pure heaven!

Add milk and vanilla bean to a saucepot and scald. To do this heat over med-high heat and remove pot from heat right before milk comes to a boil or reaches 180F.

Place the remaining ingredients in a blender.

Pour milk into a blender along with the sugar, chips, and egg. Blend for 1 minute.

Pour into 6 ramekins and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator or until set.

Garnish with favorite toppings. We used our caramel sauce, berries and powdered sugar – but we have even more suggestions in the recipe below!

Voila!

Pot de Crème

3/4 cups milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped lengthwise

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

1 egg

6 (3-4 ounce) ramekins

Garnish suggestions: powdered sugar, caramel sauce, berries, mini marshmallows, chocolate covered espresso beans, cocoa powder, shaved chocolate.

Method:

1. Add milk and vanilla bean to a saucepot and scald. To do this heat over med-high heat and remove pot from heat right before milk comes to a boil or reaches 180F.

2. Pour milk into a blender along with the sugar, chips, and egg. Blend for 1 minute and pour into ramekins, chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator or until set. Garnish with favorite toppings.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls of Yumminess

I saw this recipe back around Easter and have wanted to try it ever since. Thank you Vanilla Sugar Blog!! Since it’s not Easter, and I couldn’t really make them look like eggs, we are just going to call them balls. They are sinful, crunchy, sweet and rich. You will eat one, then you will feel full and say you don’t want another one, but you will be back for another. I guarantee it. Here’s how it went down!

Ingredients!

Mix the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and panko crumbs together in a large bowl.

Mix well.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Take out of the fridge. (It will look just like it did when it went in. Just more firm.)

Scoop out.

Roll into a ball shape or whatever shape you want. Go crazy. You could make ovals, or spheres, or circles, or logs.

The world is your oyster!

They are good to eat right now, but chocolate will make’em even more teriffical!

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.

A bowl of melted chocolate. I’m gonna need a moment.

Ok, I’m back. Dunk’em in the chocolate and coat well.

Back in the fridge until their yumminess has solidified.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls of Yumminess

12 ounces high quality chocolate

1½ cups crunchy peanut butter

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

½ cup plain panko crumbs

Pinch of sea salt

Mix the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, panko, and salt together in a large bowl.  Check to make sure it is sweet enough. If you want to make it sweeter;  just add a little more powdered sugar and mix it in well.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put that bad boy in the fridge for at a few hours at the very minimum.

Time to roll these boys into balls. We are getting much closer to eating them. Once rolled; put them on a tray covered with parchment paper and chill again.

Get your chocolate melted while the peanut butter balls are chilling in the fridge.

In a double boiler, carefully melt the chocolate (set a heat proof bowl on top of a saucepan with an inch of boiling water – don’t let the bowl touch the water).

You can start dipping when the chocolate is melted. Drop a couple of the peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate and coat well. Place the coated peanut butter balls on your prepared tray. When done place tray in the fridge and let firm up.

Eat! Do it now.  SO GOOD!

Can you feel the love?

My dashing man of 12 years and I don’t do Valentine’s Day. We never really have. We typically try to find a place to grab some dinner and drinks that would normally be packed if it weren’t for it being Valentine’s Day.

When February popped up on the calendar, and isles at the grocery store started to look like cans of red paint threw up everywhere, I thought I should try to embrace the holiday and post something Valentiney! So, in my attempt to be more valentine-focused, I rocked out some love cookies. They are crazy easy to make, super yummy and all around awesome.

Here’s how it went down:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

Cream together butter and sugar

Add the egg and vanilla and mix

Sift together the baking powder and flour

Add flour a cup at a time. The dough will be stiff, but if it is too stiff and does not hold together in a ball just add some water (a teaspoon at a time).

That’s what you’re looking for.

Form a ball with the dough and turn it out on a lightly floured surface.

Roll the dough out. You are looking for 1/4-inch thick cookies (they will rise in the oven a little)

Using your favorite cookie cutter, start stamping out your shapes. I was being kinda nutty and went with a heart shape. I know it’s out of the ordinary, but I’m an artist.

Time to make the icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons water

Food coloring

Stir confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and water together. Stir in food coloring if desired. This glaze must be stirred each time you use it. If it is not stirred before each use it will dry with a mottled look instead of a solid color.

It’s true.

I had some sprinkles so I rolled the uncooked dough in the sprinkles and into the oven they went. I think they are simple and pretty (and yummy).

The end.

Inside the Queens Studio: Meet Olivia!

Drawing inspiration from James Lipton (or maybe Will Ferrell playing the part of James Lipton on SNL), we periodically interview someone we find interesting and inspiring. In our second installment, we talk to cupcake cutie Olivia Guerra O’Neal.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am Olivia Guerra O’Neal, owner of Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop.

I have always had a love of baking and as I got older I realized that it was more than a passion, it was something I wanted to pursue as a career. I love creating and baking desserts and watching people’s reaction when they have that first delicious bite of cake. I also love being a part of our customer’s birthdays, weddings, and “just because” celebrations.

What is your “recipe” for success?

My recipe for success is that I truly have a passion for the industry I am in and I work hard to ensure that I have an equally passionate team. All of our staff truly cares about the product we are creating, along with making sure that our customers have a great experience when they come into our shop. We have a very low turnover rate for the restaurant industry and I think it’s because we all love what we do and what Sugar Mama’s stands for.

If you weren’t a pastry chef you would be…

A rockstar! I recorded music back in the day and have always wanted to have a singing career, lalala!

Your spouse called and his Aunt Edna is in town and coming over for dinner. Quick – what is your go to meal?

I can bake a cake, but cooking is a whole other ballgame for me. With that said, we love Taco Night at the O’Neal household, along with an ice cold Margarita and my famous guacamole.

If your personality was described by a casserole – what would it be?

King Ranch casserole for sure! A little bit spicy, a lot cheesy, and everyone would have a strong opinion about me one way or the other.

Name one kitchen disaster you’ve had.

Just one? The one that comes to mind is the day we opened Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop and I realized that I didn’t know how to run a convection oven. There were lines out the door and we were in over our heads! I called a fellow baker in Las Vegas and she gave me some pointers, and Sandy of Casserole Queen fame spent opening day at Sugar Mama’s saving my behind! The Casserole Queens aren’t just amazing cooks, they’re superheros on the side.

What dish from your childhood brings you the most comfort and why?

My dad makes a soup that he named Hobo Stew. You take all the veggies from the kitchen along with some lean sirloin and cook it over a hot stove for about 8 hours. Hobo Stew and a some crusty San Francisco sourdough makes everything right in the world.

Who was the most fun/interesting person you cooked for?

We’ve had celebrities and notable personalities come through our shop, but I get the most pleasure from baking for my three-year old. He is in love with everything I make and when I watched him eat his first piece of chocolate cake his eyes actually rolled back into his head. It was fantastic and he’s a great eater – from Ethiopian food to Sushi it’s so fun exposing him to new cuisines and he loves them all. The other day he told me he wants to be a chef.

What would I find in your refrigerator right now?

Off the top of my head we have roasted red pepper soup, plums, roti, veggie burgers, a bottle of sparkling red and a drawer full of peppers, onions, tomatoes and other yummy veggies.

If someone wrote a book about you, what would the title be?

A Woman and Her Whisk

To learn more about Olivia and Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop, visit her website at http://www.sugarmamasbakeshop.com/.