Ginger Scones

The first time I tried scones I made them from a popular mix you find in the stores.  The results were far from great!  The next time I tried them it was from a local bakery, a grab and go, as my future daughter in-law, at the time, and I drove over the hill to Sacramento for a bridal gown fitting.  Of course, the highlight was having that special time to get to know her better, but, I have to say, that ginger scone was awesome.  Right then and there, it went on my food to bake "bucket list".  A year and a half later, wedding past, I dug up a recipe, made a few substitutions and voila, ginger scones, from scratch.  They don't compare to store bought package ones!

These would be great for a brunch or even a munch item.

Ginger Scones

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 tsp poppy seeds  (optional) I put them in, but next time I'll omit them.

pinch of salt

1 stick cold butter, diced

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup crystallized ginger, cut up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the cold butter, add the egg and milk and ginger pieces.  Mix well and form into a 1/2 inch thick disk.  Place on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Score the scones into 8 wedges.  Brush with a bit of milk and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.  Cool and then slice.  Delicious and so worth making it from scratch!

Basically Bread Pudding

So, what does a family of two do with a package of 8  hamburger buns?  First night, barbecued hamburgers, of course.  Then, to freeze or not to freeze...  NOT.  There's alot you can do with day old bread, you know, the kind you don't want for a sandwich.  You can make croutons, make my panzanella pasta or a strata.  But, my go to dessert happens to be a simple bread pudding.  I usually can't mess that one up.

I used sesame seed buns because that's what I had, but, I still like the rustic French or country bread.  The texture has just the right amount of crunch followed by the custard like goodness!  I used this recipe from Williams Sonoma and cut it in half.  I didn't want just the two of us gorging on bread pudding for days.  This adjustment makes at least 4-6 servings in a 8x8 pan.

Bread Pudding 

About 4 hamburger buns or the equivalent of 6 slices of bread, cubed

2 eggs

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cnnamon

pinch of fresh ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 cups of milk

1/8 cup cranberries or raisins (I used dried blueberry craisins)

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8 inch square baking pan.  Put the bread cubes in it.

In a bowl mix the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt using a whisk.  Add the milk and whisk again.  Pour this over the breadcrumbs and let it sit.  Press the bread crumbs into the egg mixture a few times to absorb the moisture a bit.  About 15 minutes.

Toss on the fruit of choice pressing gently to submerge slightly.  Put the baking dish into a larger shallow roasting pan.  Add very hot water to halfway up the sides of the dish.  Bake until done.  A knife inserted into the middle will come out clean.  Baking time should be about 45-55 minutes..

You can serve with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, ice cream, a warm amaretto sauce or all of the above!  It's great chilled also. 

Mini Strawberry Jam Turnovers

Today's recipe is one that I wanted to try for Christmas baking, but never got around to it.  The other night I made another chicken pot pie and after neatly trimming the edges, I had leftover pie crust.  I don't like waste, so I formed the dough into a disk, wrapped it in plastic wrap and refrigerated until I could find a use. 

The original recipe called for 2 pie crusts, (yielding 3 dozen) rolled out, using a 3 inch fluted cookie cutter for the "turnovers".  I only had remnants of pie crust so the yield was greatly reduced, but just enough for a snack.  I wanted to try them, anyway.  Maybe for an Easter treat!  The filling I used was a simple strawberry jam, but the possibilities are endless.  I'm thinking nutella, orange marmalade, etc.  The only problem was that they were so tasty, I wanted more!  The following is the "lite" version.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust, either store bought or made with your favorite recipe

about 1/3 cup strawberry jam, or your choice of filling

flour for dusting while rolling

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375.  On a floured surface, roll out the dough until you achieve 1/8 inch thickness.  Use a 2-3 inch fluted round cutter, making as many as you can.  Reroll the scraps and repeat, making more.  Place each round onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Top each round with your filling (1/2 tsp), moisten outer edge with water and fold over, pressing to seal.  Bake until golden, about 20 minutes or so.  Cool and then dust with powdered sugar.  Voila! 

Raisin Bran Chip Cookies

I'm always looking for a healthy alternative to sweets.  I do have a sweet tooth!  I found this recipe right on the back of hubby's cereal box, and it looked worth trying, but tweaking!  This is what I came up with.  It's worth mentioning that they didn't last a full 24 hours!  Oh no...that just means they satisfied that sweet tooth!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup oil

2 Tbsp water

2 egg whites slightly beaten (I used egg beaters)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups raisin bran

1 cup flour

1/4 cup nuts,  chopped (I used pecans)

1/4 cup or less mini  semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix the sugar, oil, water, eggs, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  Add the cereal and flour stirring well.  Add the nuts and chips.  Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.  Remove and cool completely.  Store in a tightly covered container.  (I skipped that part, they disappeared quickly)  Makes between 2-3 dozen cookies.

Christmas Cranberry Nut Bread

For some reason I've found it hard to get into the Christmas "groove".   I consider Christmas to be a serene although festive time to reflect on the past year, spend time with family and bake.  Maybe that's boring to some, but I can't seem to get into the whole "shopping frenzy".  I don't like to shop during the year...why would I want to do it now?!  Is Christmas really about shopping and presents?  I don't think so!  Am I the only one who feels this way?  Can't we be kind and cherish one another without gifts?

This week  I'm beginning to bake.   That's what I tend to do when I feel the stress creeping in.   Last week's goodies were just practice, with molasses spice cookies and fruited truffles.  Traditionally, I've made pumpkin bread to wrap and give out and assorted cookies.  A few years ago a friend of mine made this, so I thought I'd try it.  This cranberry nut bread has a few redeeming factors, that is, healthy ingredients.   Just close your eyes as you pour in the 1 cup of sugar. (Then it doesn't count, right?)  The orange juice, cranberries and nuts will counteract that sugar indulgence!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup orange juice

1 tbsp grated or zested orange peel

2 tbsp shortening

1 beaten egg

1 1/2 cups cranberries, frozen or fresh, chopped

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl add the dry ingredients, stir then add the orange juice, peel, shortening and egg.  Blend it well, and stir in the cranberries and nuts.  Pour into a greased loaf pan (or 3 mini loaf pans)  Bake for 55 minutes (or about 45 for the minis) or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Cool and remove from pan.  Wrap as gifts or have them ready for guests.  These should also freeze well.  Enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Mascarpone Filling

For my birthday this year I decided to make something simple.  In a July 19th post I mentioned that my wonderful son and his girlfriend came up to make dinner and bring one of his ice cream creations.  They can both cook up a storm!  The ice cream flavor was strawberry lemonade sorbet which complimented the cupcakes. 

The recipe I've been wanting to try is courtesy of Giada De Laurentis.  These strawberry mascarpone creme filled cupcakes were a big hit!  The only difference was to pass on the icing and pipe the filling in from the top instead of the bottom.  I used cupcake liners and couldn't see peeling every one off to pipe the filling in.  Just a small minor glitch!

All in all this is one recipe to use again and again.  Maybe even change the filling to suit your taste!  Lemon custard filling would be great as would chocolate, of course!

Ingredients:

1 box of vanilla cake mix (French vanilla is good)

1 (8 oz) container mascarpone cheese, chilled

1/2 cup thawed and drained fresh or frozen strawberries

1/4 c sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Make the cupcakes according to directions. 

To pipe filling from the bottom:
Lightly grease the muffin tin and fill the batter about 2/3 full.

To pipe filling from the bottom:  (You can decorate  or frost the top to hide the hole.)  Use cupcake liners.

Bake according to the package directions.

In a food processor combine the mascarpone cheese, strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice, and process until smooth.  Transfer the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a small tip.  Push the tip gently into the top or bottom of the cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps.

I added a squeeze of chocolate frosting on top and adorned it with a strawberry slice. Yum!

Blond Memories

No, this has nothing to do with hair!  Somehow, food and hair don't mix!  It's a dedication of sorts to  a dear friend, whom I found in the blogging world.  We "clicked" because we have so much in common including the same hometown and our birthday's are one day apart!   Happy Birthday, Sue!  And, of course, we are both blonds!

Today's recipe comes from our memories of the Helms Bakery truck that  cruised through neighborhoods selling bread and amazing pastries.  We also had the Good Humor man and a local fisherman perusing the town in his fresh fish truck.  Imagine that!  This was all before the "big box" grocery stores and fast food took over. 

These bakery blondies, I have to admit, were not my favorites.  Not because they weren't good; I never tried them!  I was too busy wanting brownies, creme puffs and the like.  When the Helms bakery truck opened the drawers in the back end of the truck the decision making was difficult.  Too much beauty and goodness!  But, now, these blondies rate pretty far up on the sweet scale.  They are soft, chewy, nutty and crunchy all rolled up into one little square.  Make them, but they will not last long!

So, happy birthday, Sue.  You need these to keep your life in balance!

Makes 16 squares

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp light corn syrup

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts (I used a mix of pecans and roasted almonds)

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter has turned a light golden brown.  Remove from the heat and beat in the sugars.  Let cool to room temperature.

Stir in the egg and yolk, then the corn syrup and vanilla.  Stir in the nuts, then fold in the flour mixture.  Pour the batter into a generously greased 8 x 8 pan.

Bake about 30 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool and cut into bars.  Enjoy!

http://www.helmsbakerydistrict.com/

http://sueslifeinbalance.com/

Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate!

Good things come in small packages!  Especially when they're delivered right to my front door and the package is filled with CHOCOLEY CHOCOLATE.  What is Chocoley (pronounced cha-co-lee)?  It is a made in America chocolate, crafted in the finest Belgian tradition.  It boasts peanut-free, egg-free, celiac safe and tree-nut free chocolate.   I was chosen to review this fine product.  How lucky can one girl be?

Life is a box of chocoley!

While I am certainly a connoisseur of chocolate I've rarely had the opportunity to "play" with this much chocolate in my kitchen at one time.  My mind is racing as I try to think of ways to incorporate the chocolate into my recipes!

Over the next couple of days I'll post some interesting ways to use the wide array of products that were sent.  Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white and extra dark chocolate.  Candy making equipment, caramel, liquid lava chocolate...these are a few of my favorite things!

The company has graciously offered you, readers of my blog,  a 15% discount on your retail order.  Just visit http://www.chocoley.com/ and enter the coupon code: wendysfav15.  This offer will expire 5/15/2011 so order up!

For my first experiment, I wanted to get familiar with its melting capabilities.  What better way than to make some chocolate covered strawberries!  I don't have a double boiler, so I used my trusty microwave.  The steps I used are as follows: 

 I placed 1/2 lb of the extra dark "Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom" chocolate (that's the name!) into a microwave safe bowl.  I microwaved for 1 minute at 50% power. 

Remove and stir with a spatula.

Return to microwave for 15 - 30 second intervals until almost melted, stirring with the spatula between intervals.

You'll find the chocolate melts beautifully into a silky consistency.  Perfect for dipping those strawberries.  Wash and dry the berries.  I dipped about 15 with the 1/2 lb of chocolate.  Yes, there was a little left over...but I had to make sure it was edible, so I ate it!  Yum, yum!

I left them at room temperature for a while and then placed them in the refrigerator overnight.  The chocolate hardens nicely if you like your strawberries that way.  If not, leave them out for about 10 -15 minutes and they soften up a bit.  So good!  They're gone!  Ready for the next chocolate experience!  Stay tuned and check out their website..

www.facebook.com/bestchocolate
www.twitter.com/chocolatesupply

Change and the Hummingbird

Change is not always good or comfortable.  But, I've learned over the years to embrace it.  It may take you to places and situations  that will cause you to grow, if you're a willing participant.  


This year I decided to conquer several different classes to better myself as a person, foodie, writer, etc.   I'm from the class of "If it's going to be, it's up to me".  Therefore, I aggressively enrolled in my first class, Culinary Sanitation and Health.  Check and done!  Now I go into restaurants and find myself evaluating their sanitation practices.  Not good, because if you look close enough you'll find infractions everywhere.  I created a monster!  I have to say, though, it's probably a class that should be taught in all high schools. 


My next class was "Writing and Publishing your non-fiction book".  Great information for anyone moving in that direction.  It was the "jump start" I needed, although alot of credit goes to my dear friend, Cathie, who's been my guide and cheerleader all rolled up into one great lady.  You can visit her blog at www.supernovel.com/blog


My next endeavor or class will supply the tools to further build my website to make it more interactive and professional.   The classes are "paced" at two lessons per week (way too slow for me), so I'll probably take on another fun class like conversational French.  I have a plan! 

For this year, and perhaps the rest of my life I will be "hummingbird-like", flapping my wings at a rapid pace, but with a calm demeanor, hovering when I need to and drinking in the sweetness of life.  We can learn alot from these miniature creatures.

  On that note, I just took out my hummingbird cake of Southern origins which is loaded with banana, pineapple and pecans.  To frost or not to frost, that is the question!  We will see...I'll worry about that tomorrow....so Southern!

A Special Birthday to a Special Lady

Happy Birthday, Grandma. Even though its been about 30 years since she left this earth, her influence and memories remain strong. I spent many moments with her and developed quite a bond. As much as I'd like to write more about her, I don't want to divulge too much. She is a main character in my book. Yes, the book is coming along!

But, I didn't want the day to pass without honoring her memory and wishing her a happy birthday! My grandmother had a "severe" sweet tooth and taught me everything she knew! I was a good student! She loved her piece of pie but I didn't want to bake a pie. I'm not that great at baking. So, in her honor I made the simplest cookies ever. To make it special for her I used orange marmalade. It seemed as if she always had marmalade to go on her toast. Very French!

This recipe is almost embarrassing it's so easy. Set the oven to 400 degrees. Use 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry. After defrosting it, roll the edges into a tight jellyroll. Cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Dip one end in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Make a small indent with a spoon and spoon your favorite jam into the center. Sprinkle with more sugar and bake for 20 minutes or so. Sweet, simple and lovely just like my grandma!

Christmas is What You Make It

Being with friends is wonderful, coming together with family is comforting, but, remembering the reason for the season is priceless. I wanted to write yesterday, however I found myself a little too introspective at times and maybe a little weepy. I have always known that Christmas is what you make it not what you make, bake, buy or receive during Christmas. I always feel overloaded weeks before and for no apparent reason other than being subjected to the "pull" created by Western civilizations and the media. I yearned for a simple Christmas so I went back to my roots and memories for inspiration.

For my father and mother I digitally copied the dusty slides of their Europe 1972 trip into a DVD they could watch. Photography is one of my "loves" along with cooking. The slides transported them back to a whirlwind tour of 3 weeks which they would never forget, hopefully. From Amsterdam they set off in a VW bug across many countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and a little corner of France. The country, I believe, that was the most memorable for them was Czechoslovakia which is now the Czech Republic. At the time they had to "check in" at the border because it was behind the Iron Curtain. How frightening that must have been. The border patrol needed to know their exact whereabouts at all times!

My parents went to visit my great aunt and uncle in a small village of Domazlice, southwest of Prague. Never having met them, they were warmly welcomed into their humble home. My Czech relatives continued to treat them as royalty and apologized for having such simplicity in their ways. In my mind, almost 40 years later, I see those pictures and think to myself that they are the ones that are truly "rich". Simplicity and a sense of family is what it is all about.

Getting back to the cooking aspect, there were many family recipes I wanted to make this year, just not enough time. I wanted to mention my dad's Czech bread, though. He tries to bake it every year and there is always some family member to ask if he will do so. This season he did and probably made about 6 or 7 loaves and shipped some to family members out of state. It is the best bread and I regret not being in the kitchen with him this year, snapping pictures of the process and the flour flying everywhere!

A few years ago I wanted Czech bread but did not want to struggle with the process of rising and kneading, etc., so I found a similar recipe of Italian descent. It does not have the yeast making it extremely simple for anyone to make, quickly. I made a large loaf and brought some over to my parents as we watched their travel adventure DVD and exchanged gifts. Although it is easy (recipe tomorrow), it will never replace my dad's Czech bread. Too many memories attached to it making it special to us all.

I hope you all had a merry Christmas and seek the simplicity that is sometimes overlooked in our lives. God Bless..

Spice Cookies for Santa

I remember many a Christmas Eve when my sister and I would lay in our beds and quietly listen for Santa's sleigh bells and reindeers screeching to a halt on top of our roof. I just knew I'd be able to hear them if I listened long enough. I'm sure nobody else did this, right? As a tradition we would bake cookies for Santa and leave carrot sticks for his reindeer, especially Rudolf! In the morning we would check our stockings and always rush to see if Santa enjoyed our cookies. For some reason the carrot sticks would still be there, maybe a little chewed up on the ends but the cookies were always gone. I don't remember what kind we made. It's been many years.

Flash forward, 25 years later, as parents, we made sure Santa and his reindeers were taken care of. I enjoyed the time with my son as we busily baked and baked. Festively frosted and decorated sugar cookies were the most popular. Those "rolls" of cookie dough sure came in handy when I was working and short on time. But, this was a tradition that couldn't be left out during Christmas week, so I did whatever I could to welcome Santa into our home!

This year, I swore to myself that I wasn't going to bake as much. But, tradition got in the way and I proceeded to bake. This time I found a spicy molasses type cookie recipe I've been meaning to try. The results would be good enough for Santa and maybe a few elves. Hopefully someone can carry on those cookie capers with this great recipe! And you should always leave a glass of milk since Santa has acquired the "dunking" skill over the years!

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 c butter, room temperature

1 egg

3 T molasses

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ginger, ground

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp each of salt, ground cloves and ground nutmeg

additional sugar in a bowl for rolling

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Mix until fluffy, and add egg and molasses. In large measuring cup or bowl add sifted flour, baking soda and spices, mixing well. Add to the butter mixture and blend. At this point you can refrigerate and make them later, or not. Place additional sugar into a bowl. Using a teaspoon, scoop dough the size of a walnut, make into a ball and roll in the sugar. Put on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. Cool and try not to eat all of Santa's cookies! Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Amaretto Balls

When I am cranky or bored I will go into my kitchen and cook, or I will clean house. Yuk, I'd rather cook. All the frustrations of the Holidays allowed me to get some serious baking done yesterday. It also helps to stay in when there is a foot of fresh snow outside! Earlier this week I revealed my homemade amaretto recipe. Now, what to do with this quart or so of beautifully sweet liquid!

Amaretto Balls used to be a tradition during the holidays as well as frosted sugar cookies and loaves of pumpkin bread wrapped and given to friends and family. One year after our trip to Italy, I wanted to start a tradition of a seafood pasta feast for the family. Lots and lots of mussels, clams, crab, shrimp and cod, yum! I thought it went over quite well, but at the risk of sounding too melancholy, I'll say that idea soon faded away, for whatever reason.

So, this year I started to bake and bake. The amaretto balls are done. I will have a seafood pasta feast for someone. Any volunteers? And it's snowing outside. My dream for a white Christmas will be fulfilled!

Although this dessert is not for children or people with allergies to nuts, everyone else will love these. The longer they "marinate" the stronger and more flavorful they get. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups or 1 box (11 oz.) of ground vanilla wafers

1 cup ground walnuts

1 cup powdered sugar

3 T light corn syrup

1 1/2 T cocoa

1/2 cup amaretto, brandy, bourbon or liqueur of choice

Mix all ingredients. Roll into balls the size of a small walnut. Dust with powdered sugar and place into a covered container. Refrigerate and eat.

Pumpkin Ginger Pie Bars

Is anyone out there tired of pumpkin yet? I'm not. It's really too bad that pumpkin is so prevalent in the fall months and all but disappears the rest of the year. You can always get your hands on canned pumpkin so there's no excuse to go without.

Another flavor that grows on you (you either love it or hate it) is ginger. Many Asian meals will have some ginger for the main spice. While I don't cook many Asian recipes because of all the slicing and dicing, etc, I love to sprinkle ginger into baked goods such as cakes, cookies and these pumpkin ginger bars. I savor the spicy sweetness and heat that comes through with every bite. So, if you want the flavors of pumpkin pie with chunks of ginger, try this one. It's super easy too.

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, softened

3/4 c brown sugar, light or dark

3/4 cup pumpkin, canned

1/2 tsp maple flavoring

1/2 c chopped crystallized ginger

1 cup flour

1 tsp ginger, ground

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

Set oven at 350 degrees. Spray (or butter) a 9 by 9 inch baking pan. Cream butter and sugar, add the pumpkin and maple flavoring, beating well. Add the remaining ingredients and pour into the pan. Bake for around 20 minutes. Cool completely. IMPORTANT HINT: You will be tempted to try these as soon as they have cooled, but put them in the refrigerator for a few hours for the best result. The flavors will really come through. You won't be sorry for the wait!

Pear Dumpling Cake

Patty cake, Patty cake, baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can! It's funny what stirs up memories for some of us. As a toddler, this nursery rhyme was recited for hours (it seemed) along with "this little piggy". My dad's mother, Emma, used to teach me these verses as I sat on her small antique stool at her house. She lived in a modest craftsman style home with lace doilies on all the armchairs and couches. I still have some of her crocheted doily gifts she made for me! She would always have some kind of treat waiting for us on our visits. Isn't that part of what grandmothers do? Whether it was her snicker doodle cookies, or peach dumplings, it sang "comfort" to me.

I saw this recipe years ago, possibly in Sunset or Better Home and Gardens magazine and could not wait to experiment with it and make it my own. I've made different variations of it, mostly using fresh peaches or pears. This time I used canned pears, oh no! The result is always good and it has the consistency of the peach dumplings my grandma made. So, year after year and any time of year, I bake this for my family. The only drawback is that it doesn't last very long!

Ingredients:

2 cans of peaches or pears, drained and sliced. Set aside half of the sliced and chop the remainder. If using fresh, peel, core and slice about 3 fruits.

2 eggs

1 c sugar

1/2 c milk

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 c flour

1 T cinnamon

a sprinkle of baker's sugar or regular (for topping)

1 T chopped pecans, optional (for topping)

Using a 9 inch round pan, butter and flour it. In a bowl blend sugar, eggs, milk and salt with a mixer. Add the flour, mix, and fold in half of the chopped peaches or pears. Arrange the sliced pears on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and top with nuts. Dot with butter and bake at 350 degrees for about 55 minutes. Cool and serve with powdered sugar, ice cream or just plain. Enjoy!