Karla's New York Cheesecake

Crust:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Stir dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry mixture and then add in yolk and vanilla. Mix together until a dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of a springform pan and slightly up the sides. Refrigerate (or freeze) while you make the filling and preheat the oven.

Preheat oven to 475 F with a pan filled with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom rack.

Filling:
4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
5 eggs, room temperature

Beat cream cheese thoroughly with a mixer until it's smooth. Add all other ingredients except for the eggs. Beat again, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl until it's very smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended. Pour filling into crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 F. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for about 45 minutes. Cool completely, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours before serving. It's best after about 24 hours in the fridge.

You can serve it with fruit, of course, but it really (truly AND seriously 😉) doesn't need anything with it! We always eat it by itself (I refuse to say "plain") and it is probably our favorite dessert around here. Also, I am claiming it as my own since I've combined and tweaked three or four different recipes over the years until I settled on this.

Shirley's Shortbread

1 lb butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup rice or potato flour
3/4 - 1 cup sugar
4 cups flour

Mix together just until combined. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters.

(From a volunteer at TAN, December 2013)

Date Cake

This date cake does not contain a drop of sugar. It is super moist and so delicious. I like to serve it with (a lot) of whipped cream (can sweeten with a bit of honey or maple syrup to make it truly sugar-free), and sliced bananas. This recipe doubles well for a 9x13" pan.
It is from The Great Nova Scotia  Cookbook, by Pauline Carter

Place in a saucepan:
juice of 1 large orange
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 C raisins (I usually use extra dates in place of the raisins but I don't think it matters)
1/2 lb dates
2 C water

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until dates are very soft. Make sure to stir it often. Set aside to cool. Puree with hand blender (or mash well with a potato masher or something).

Pour into a large bowl and add the following:
1/2 C oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix well and then pour into a greased 9x9" pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350F.
The original recipe says to bake it about 1 hour, but I find it's always done before that.
Bake it until a toothpick comes out clean!

World Famous Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

With Christmas coming, we could all use another sugar cookie recipe. This one is dear to my little heart since it's about as close to the Paradise Bakery ones as you can get without actually going there. I recommend using regular or decorative sugar and not other sprinkles since (I think) they need a bit more sweetness. They are almost like a shortbread, but different. I'm sure that's helpful. Here it is:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups shortening
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, beaten
4 1/3 cups cake flour (really, do use cake flour or cake flour substitute)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar, for decorating

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and shortening using an electric mixer. Mix on slow speed 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Slowly add vanilla and beaten egg while mixing. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, mixing on slow speed just until blended. Do not overmix. Scoop with an ice-cream scoop and roll in sugar. Place directly on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with palm of hand. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Cookies are done when pale golden. Ideally, edges do not brown.

Pumpkin Brownies

I got this recipe from Pinterest, but after I read the comments and people were saying that they were cake-y and muffin-y, I changed the oil and eggs amounts to hopefully make them denser and more like a brownie. In my defense, I also changed the flour to 1/2 whole wheat, and cut down the sugar! :) But don't hold back on the chocolate chips, and definitely bake them long enough so that they aren't completely doughy, but without over baking them...I'm confident that you can find that balance.

4 eggs

1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup oil

1 cup ww pastry flour

1 cup white flour

2 tsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add dry ingredients and stir well. Add chocolate chips. Bake on greased 12x18 cookie sheet with sides, for about 15 minutes. (it looked puffed up, but definitely still soft in the middle and not overbaked!) Cut into 48 bars.

Coconut Whoopie Pies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
White of 1 large egg
3/4 cup lite coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Coconut Fluff Filling:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup marshmallow crème
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2 tablespoons lite coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

Position oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add egg and egg white, and beat until incorporated. Add half of flour mixture and half of coconut milk to creamed mixture; beat at medium speed just until blended. Add remaining half of flour and coconut milk and vanilla; beat until blended.

Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, drop batter into 12 mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Or drop batter into 24 mounds by well-rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle half of the mounds with coconut. Bake for about 10 minutes for large cakes and 8 minutes for small cakes (just bake them the way you like them). Remove from oven and onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Spread flat side of the plain cakes generously with Coconut Fluff Filling. Top with remaining coconut-topped cakes, pressing down lightly to seal them together. 

Coconut Fluff Filling:

Beat butter and marshmallow crème in a large mixing bowl at medium-high speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in confectioners’ sugar, coconut, coconut milk, and extracts. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

My notes: This recipe is almost perfect. I still want to tweak it a bit next time, but wanted to share it with you whilst I do so. I made it almost exactly as the original recipe. My only change was that I added coconut to the cookie batter itself, because I thought it seemed like it needed it. The original recipe said to bake the cookies til they have cracks in the top, which is ridiculous. Who likes dry cookies? Not me. Next time I will make a double batch (12 total small cookies are just not enough), and instead of this filling (which really is very good) I'll try Karla's which you can find here, but I'll use coconut milk and coconut extract in it. 

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

1 cup shortening

3 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp soda

3 cups flour

3 cups oatmeal

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Roll into small balls and flatten on cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F. When cool, put 2 cookies together with filling.

Filling:

2 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla

4 Tbsp milk

4 cups icing sugar

1 cup Crisco

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add vanilla, milk and 2 cups icing sugar. Beat thoroughly and add remaining icing sugar and Crisco. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

(I realize that this isn't the most detailed recipe ever, but I just copied it the way it's written. I recommend not over-baking the cookies.)

Deb's Blueberry Brown Sugar Cookies

This summer the kids and I joined the in-laws and their friends at a cabin for a few days. Deb had brought these, and I have to admit, at first glance I thought they looked terrible. I started nibbling on one and was amazed. I couldn't pinpoint what the familiar taste was, but now I know it is blueberry cobbler. Little, yummy, doughy, cinnamon-y, sugary bites of blueberry cobbler. (I am especially thinking of Kim when I say that.)
A couple of things:
1) I made these with whole wheat pastry flour and I think they are very, very nearly as good as the original.
2) I made them with frozen blueberries, and while the berries were very hard to incorporate into the dough, it turned out okay. Experiment with another method other than adding them in at the end.
3)Don't forget the all-important, long-standing, ultimate cookie rule of leaving them just a tad on the doughy side.

1 C butter, softened (please don't bother wasting your time with margarine)
1 1/2 C brown sugar (I cut back on this just a bit)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp milk + more if needed
1 1/2 C fresh blueberries

Beat butter and sugar until smooth, then add egg and vanilla. Mix well.
Mix in dry ingredients until dough comes together. Add milk a little at a time until dough is no longer crumbly.
Fold in blueberries gently (this is the part I'm not sure about. I think you should mix them with the flour first perhaps).
Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F.
Roll dough into balls and bake 10-12 minutes but not too long!

Thanks, Deb! :-)

Ice Cream Cake

The Cake

Make Wacky Cake, and divide batter into two greased and floured 9" round cake pans. Bake (duh), then remove from pans and cool on rack. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and freeze for several hours or overnight.

The Ice Cream
Choose your ice cream. I chose a delicious coconut gelato, and I think it was one of those 1.5-quart containers. You know, the kind where you feel a little ripped off. Using one of the cake pans you used for the cake, take some more plastic wrap and put it inside the pan. Then take your chosen ice cream, which is now slightly softened, and press it all into the pan. I'm guessing you could fit up to 2 quarts into a pan like that. Cover with the plastic wrap and freeze for a couple of hours.

The Frosting

Put into small saucepan:

5 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk

Stir constantly over medium heat until you have a think paste. Let cool to room temperature.

Add:

1 tsp vanilla

Stir, baby.

Cream together:

1 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar (not powdered/icing/confectioners sugar!)

When this mixture is light and fluffy, add the other mixture and whip it into a delightful frosting.

Here's the original recipe for the icing. Of course, you can never go wrong with Anna Mae's(ing) Icing either.

All of the following must be done quickly: Put one round of cake on whatever serving vessel you have. The ice cream goes on next, and then the other cake. Drown that cake in frosting (quickly!). I toasted some unsweetened coconut flakes in the toaster oven until they were slightly browned and then sprinkled them all over the cake. Freeze again. I didn't cover the cake from when I put it together in the afternoon until we ate it in the evening, and it didn't hurt it at all. It served about 15 adults and 13 kiddos and there was a chunk leftover. Good stuff.

I can't wait to try more flavor combos, like peanut butter ice cream with this. And Rhonda and Robyn, I know you make ice cream cakes, so you should post what you do too.

Nova Scotia Oatcakes

I had never heard of oatcakes before I lived in Halifax. Almost every coffee shop serves them here, and at first I was a little skeptical. They seemed pretty bland and boring. Once I got my mind past the fact that they are not cookies, well, it was true love. They are the perfect dunking biscuit, especially with your coffee or tea mid-afternoon. There are also savory versions, but I prefer this one, which is just a little sweet. My favourite oatcake is the one that the Second Cup downtown serves (the Bedford Second Cup's are different). I prefer more oats, less "dough" surrounding the oats. This recipe has a lot of dough, but I kept adding more oats until my dough was quite stiff and you could see more oats and less dough. This recipe reminds me more of the Mrs. P's Bakery oatcakes (for those of you who know what those are).
Please leave comments if you try these!!!


Beat together:

1/2 C butter
1/2 C shortening
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar

Put 3 Tbsp boiling water in a cup and dissolve 1/2 tsp baking soda in the water.
Pour over butter mixture and beat well.

Add:
1 1/2 C flour (part whole wheat if you want)
1 1/2 C rolled oats (I probably ended up using about 2 1/2 C but just keep adding more until it's the balance of dough vs. oats that you want. It's not picky.)
1/4 tsp salt

Roll into balls and shape and flatten with hands until they are perfectly round with no rough edges (if your dough ends up stiff you can roll them out and use a cookie cutter).
Bake in preheated oven at 375F for about 8 minutes or until the edges are golden.
*Note to my sisters: this is one biscuit that I don't leave underbaked. They are for dunking anyway so go ahead and dry them out a bit, just not too much! :-)

**This recipe makes about 12 medium oatcakes.

Double Orange Scones

1 C all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp grated orange peel
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/3 C milk
1/2 C chopped mandarin oranges, well drained
additional sugar

Orange butter (note: I have not tried this part)
1/2 C butter, softened
2 Tbsp orange marmalade
Beat until fluffy and serve on warm scones.

Scones: Combine dry ingredients and orange peel. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Combine the egg and milk; add to crumb mixture. Stir in the oranges just until moist.

Knead gently, using more milk or flour as needed (I had to add a bit more milk). Pat into 2 6-in. circles; sprinkle with additional sugar and cut into eight wedges (or one big circle for larger scones). Separate wedges gently and place on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

(Steel-cut) Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 C rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/3 C steel-cut oats (not cooked)
3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 C butter
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C raisins or dried fruit of your choice

Bake at 375F for 10 minutes
*I think you can cut down on the sugar, or leave the white sugar out. They're really sweet.
Pretty basic recipe...I think the main difference is the steel cut oats - really a nice crunch in them.

Apple Pie Bars

Crust:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 c. butter

Mix together and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Chill in refrigerator until you have the other parts ready.

Filling:

5 c. apples, peeled and diced

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Spread apples evenly over crust.

Topping:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. quick oats

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter or margarine

Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in butter until crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over apple mixture.

Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and the bottom of the crust looks golden. Cut into 24 squares

That last line is just a complete guess, because I don't know how long I baked them. I started them at 375 and then was in a hurry and cranked it up to 400 F...just bake them.

I was dreaming up these bars for awhile, and I couldn't find any recipes that looked like what I was dreaming of. Out of pure desperation, I pulled from two different recipes and made adjustments and OH MY WORD they turned out soooooooooooooooo good! Kirk and I were quite blown away by them and I think they might be the best dessert I've had in a good long while. Please make them and tell me if you love them the way I do.

Carrot Cupcakes

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

2 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups (heaping) grated carrots

1 cup chopped nuts

Beat together sugar, oil and eggs until thick. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to first mixture. Mix well. Add carrots and nuts. Bake in 20 - 22 cupcake papers, or a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350*F for 35 to 40 minutes for large cake and 20-25 minutes for cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Icing:

4 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

3 oz cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all together until smooth.

Top icing with chopped nuts.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

2 cups Cake Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

¾ teaspoons Salt

½ cups Butter, Softened

1 cup Sugar

3 whole Eggs

2 teaspoons Vanilla

¾ cups Milk

Juice and zest from one lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for a few more seconds. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix to combine.

Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk in three batches, mixing for a few seconds after each addition.
Scrape sides of bowl, then mix one final time.

Fill 12 paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until poufy but not brown. Cool before icing.

Icing:

½ cup butter or Crisco (or combination)

4 Tbsp coconut milk

2-3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Icing sugar to make a soft icing.

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. I added a little green food colouring to mine and then sprinkled coconut on ½ of each cupcake.

Mocha Cupcakes

3/4 cup Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon Salt

4 Tablespoons Butter

3/8 cups Cocoa Powder

1/2 cup Strong Brewed Coffee

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

1 whole Large Eggs

1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 10 -12 muffin cups with cupcake papers.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in the coffee, buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in the in the flour mixture until no streaks remain. (The batter will be very runny – almost liquid.)

Bake about 15-18 minutes, until just done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

Icing:

1-2 Tablespoons Instant Coffee

1/2 cup Butter, Softened (may use ½ Crisco)

1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups Icing Sugar (or more to make the right consistency)

1 Tablespoon Milk, Up To 2 Tablespoons If Needed

Mix all together very well, until slightly fluffy. Add more milk or icing sugar to get a spreadable icing.

Kim's Tart

Kim's Apple Tart: Better Late than Never

Crust:

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

Press in springform or tart pan, bake at 350F for 8-10 min.

Filling:

Cream 6 oz. Neufchatel or cream cheese (Neufchatel is supposedly less fat with all the flavor)

Stir in:

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp. cream (or milk)

1/2 c. ricotta cheese

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

Pour over crust.

Topping-Apple Part:

Peel, core, and slice 2 Granny Smith apples

Splash some lemon juice over top so they don't get brown and stir them up

Set aside

Bring to boil:

3/4 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

Splash of vanilla

3 slices apple

Mix 1/4 c. water and 2 Tbsp. clear jel (or cornstarch, you poor thing)

Add to boiling mixture, stirring constantly til thick.

Remove from heat and add:

~2 tsp. cinnamon

~1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Pour over sliced apples. Stir together. Layer over the cream/crust layer. Bake at 350F for about 45 min. or til you think the creamy layer is cooked.

Ok, so. I just had my first piece and it's quite delicious, if I do say so myself. I didn't want the texture of the cream part to be completely creamy, so I like the ricotta for that. However, next time I think I would add some more lemon juice and a bit more sugar to that part. The crust was delicious, but I wanted it to be a bit more phyllo-dough-like than it was. I really loved the apple part, and overall it wasn't that sweet which is what I was going for as well (not that I was trying to be like Robyn or anything). :) I'm pretty pleased with it. Oh, please don't think I'm so fancy that I keep ricotta on hand. I just happened to have some leftover from a lasagna and thought it would be good in there. :) Also: this turns out quite thin and would easily fit in a tart pan, which is also what I was going for. Pictures to follow.

The Best Apple Tart

(like my title?)
This was a little tough, since I was supposed to be copying something I've never tasted! I thought I'd go for more of a European flavour - in my limited experience this means buttery and not too sweet. This was on the thin side, but I thought the "height" of it was perfect. I wanted something that actually was more of a tart, in case one day I actually own tart pans and could make little ones.
I happened to have leftover hazelnuts from Christmas, so I used those in the crumb topping. It tasted really good while I was snitching it, but after it was baked, I couldn't really taste them.
Oh, one important thing: I lost the paper that I was jotting things down on as I baked this. So, sorry in advance if you try this and it doesn't turn out. This is my guess.
Anyway, without anything farther, here is my recipe:

Crust:
1 C flour
1/2 C icing sugar
1/2 C butter
1 egg yolk
enough cream to make a soft dough
Mix flour and icing sugar and rub in butter with your hands. Leave some chunks. Mix in egg yolk and cream until soft but not too sticky. Use some extra flour to press dough into pan.
(I used an 8" springform pan)

Chop 4 large apples and place evenly on crust. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.

Mix together the following and put on top of apples:
1/2 C ground hazelnuts
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C oatmeal that has been ground in a blender
2 Tbsp butter

Bake at 350F until crumbs are golden and you're sure crust and apples are done. Don't underbake it.

[I wouldn't bother with the caramel sauce I made. It was more like a butter sauce, and even though it was good, I would have preferred this without it.]

All in all, I would give this a very high rating, Thank you, Karla.
I loved the crust. I loved the topping. It was very buttery and not too sweet. Yum.

Karla's Apple Tart

Crust
Blend:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Cut in:
1/2 cup butter

Add:
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix to form a soft dough, and press into 9” tart pan or springform pan. I used a springform; I really don't know how a tart pan would be.

Filling:

5 cups Granny Smith apples (about 3 large), peeled and sliced

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. salt

Mix well and pour on top of unbaked crust.

Crumb topping:

Blend:

¾ cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cut in:

1/3 cup butter

Spread crumbs evenly over apples. Bake tart at 400 F for 40 minutes.

Caramel Topping:

½ cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 Tbsp. butter

¼ cup whole milk or heavy cream

Boil the sugar and water, whisking constantly, until the sugar turns brown. Add butter and continue whisking until butter melts. Remove from heat, stir for a few more seconds, and then add milk or cream. Caution: there will be a lot of steam when you pour the milk in, and you might burn your hand off! Keep whisking until it’s slightly cooled. Drizzle desired amount on the tart. Wow. The crust could use a little improvement, but overall it was quite good, if I may say so myself.