Tag: flour

Amaretto Pound Cake

Pound cakes are my jam! I absolutely love to have one at the house. I think it’s just homey to have a pound cake in a beautiful cake plate on the kitchen counter. Aside from that and more importantly, they are fantastic for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. Greg even loves them toasted with butter.

There is one little secret you should know about me, though. Do not ever believe me if I ever tell you that a particular pound cake recipe is my favorite because they are like best friends. I can not have just one favorite! So, with that said, here is another FAVORITE pound cake!

This Amaretto Pound Cake recipe is terrific! It is from my VeryVera Cookbook. I lived in Augusta for five years, and I know that Vera knows pound cakes. If you follow Vera’s directions, your cake will be delicious! This cake is tender and moist, and it’s delicious for days…if it lasts that long!

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Amaretto Pound Cake

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1/3 cup amaretto liqueur
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 large eggs room temperature
  • Floured baking spray
  • GLAZE
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 tablespoons water

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325℉.
  • Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 20 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  • While the butter and sugar are creaming, measure out the remaining ingredients for the cake.
  • In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cream, almond extract, and amaretto.
  • In another bowl, whisk together the cake flour and salt.
  • Once the butter and sugar have finished creaming, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  • With the mixer on low-speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Let the mixture beat on low speed for 5 minutes.
  • With the mixer still on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until well blended.
  • Scrape the bowl and incorporate any unmixed batter if necessary.
  • Prepare a large 12-cup Bundt pan with floured baking spray.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan until it is about 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the top. Tap the pan on the counter to ensure there are no air bubbles. (If there is remaining batter, us it to make muffins.
  • Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer into the cake, and if there is no cake on the skewer, it's done.
  • While the cake is in the oven, prepare the glaze.
  • Remove the cake from the oven. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, on a wire rack, for 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle with pot holders. Place the wire rack on top of the cake pan and flip the pan over. Gently lift the pan, being careful not to remove any of the outside crust.
  • Using a pastry brush, generously douse the curved top of the cake with glaze. The cake should appear shiny with the glaze but not saturated.
  • Glaze Instructions:
  • Melt the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and not grainy.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the amaretto until well blended.

Banana Bread

I come from a long line of cooks and bakers. Most of the men in my family love to grill, smoke meat, and cook. The women in my family love baking and cooking. Either way, we have never been short on good food at any of our family gatherings.

However, we all have that one cousin, don’t we? That would be Melissa in my family. We grew up next door to each other and shes just like a sister to me. Melissa has a heart of gold, but she did not get the love of cooking. In our old family and church cookbooks, her recipes are easy to spot because her instructions are always “mix and bake.”

To my surprise, she actually shared a recipe with me a few weeks ago. A real recipe! No pinches of this and a little bits of that. With the addition of instant pudding and sour cream, this is wonderfully moist banana bread with great flavor.

This recipe makes two loaves of banana bread. Melissa’s recipe had no pecans, but I added them to mine.

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Banana Bread

Course Breads
Servings 2 loaves
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups mashed ripe bananas
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 (3.5-oz.) package vanilla instant pudding
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray two (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch)loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
  • In a large bowl whisk together oil and eggs. Add bananas and mix.
  • Add the flour, sugar, pudding, salt and baking soda and stir.
  • Fold in the sour cream and vanilla.
  • Spoon batter evenly in both pans. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

 

Lemon Oreo Cheesecake aka The Best Cheesecake EVER!!

 

Hey, y’all! I would like to thank my guest, Loretta, for writing about this scrumptious cheesecake. Loretta and I have been friends for years and have seen each other though the good and the bad. I’m thankful to have friends like this, and I hope you enjoy her post! Thanks again, Loretta!

TIME – I used to think I never had enough of it. Now, I have more than I ever thought I would. With the Coronavirus keeping us home and the fact that I just got laid off from my job, TIME is precisely what I’ve got. If you’re like me, we all have lofty goals of EVERYTHING we have ever dreamed of doing if only we had more TIME. Well, I’m happy to say that cooking and baking just made my list!

Hi, my name is Loretta. Amye and I have been friends since middle school, and with a little extra time on my hands, she asked me to be a guest on NJSD.

On a recent visit to her house, I tasted one of the best cheesecakes! It was light and fluffy and delicious, and Amye gave me the recipe. Typically, I would have thought baking a homemade cheesecake to be a lot of work. I would have added the recipe to my collection, and I would have never taken the TIME to make it – but guess what – I now have the TIME, so I did! It turned out fantastic!

I added some whipped cream around the outside of the crust and sprinkled a little bit of lemon zest over the top. You could also use any leftover cookies and crumble on top as well.

So, if you’re looking for something to do, I say, go through that box of recipes you’ve collected (I know you have them), dust off those cookbooks that are sitting on your shelf, or pick any of these fabulous recipes that Amye shares on NJSD. You might be surprised, like me, to discover that cooking and baking can be fun! Make TIME for it.

My new motto – “Cheesecake for breakfast” – you bet!

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Lemon Oreo Cheesecake aka The Best Cheesecake EVER!!

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Equipment

  • springform pan

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups crushed lemon Oreos (about 25)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons salted butter melted
  • 5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese softened
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • Lemon Curd

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with a double layer of foil. Have a roaster ready for water.
  • Stir together crushed cookies and melted butter. Press into bottom and 2-inches up sides of springform pan. Bake 7-8 minutes. Cool on wire rack until ready to use. Reduce oven temperature to 325℉.
  • Beat cream cheese on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar and flour, beating until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add yolks, one at a time. Stir in zest, juice, and heavy cream.
  • Pour into crust and place pan in the roaster. Gently pour water in roaster until water reaches halfway up springform pan.
  • Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until center is almost set but still slightly wobbly.
  • Turn off the oven and let cheesecake stand in the oven with the door partially open for one hour.
  • Remove from oven to a wire rack if it is still warm.
  • When completely cooled, remove foil from around the bottow and sides of the pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Notes

F

Marcy’s Legendary Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I am asked to bake cookies, my mind automatically goes to Chocolate Chip Cookies. I would say that I love a chewy chocolate chip cookie the best. However, if you give me a thin, crispy chocolate chip cookie, I love those too!

These cookies are phenomenal! If you follow the recipe, you will get between eight and ten cookies. For a small-group ladies’ bible study, they were a great choice. They will be massive with the perfect amount of chocolate and chew. They are excellent with a glass of cold milk!

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Marcy's Legendary Chocolate Chip Cookies

Course Cookies
Servings 8 jumbo cookies
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate (preferable Lindt)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Stack two baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper. Arrange oven rack to upper third position.
  • In a mixer bowl, cream butter with both sugars until well blended.
  • Add vanilla, eggs, and egg yolk.
  • Fold in flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, and chopped chocolate and blend well to make a thick batter. If batter seems soft and greasy, add 2 to 4 tablespoons more flour. Dough should be soft but not too greasy or slack. You can also chill it 10 minutes if you think it has enough flour or let it stand 20 minutes. Either approach will help cookie dough "set up".
  • Scoop or form balls of 7 to 8 ounces of dough (yes, weigh it!) and place on prepared baking sheets about 1 to 3 inches apart. If you don't have a scale, use 1 cup of dough per cookie; each will measure 3 inches in diameter once placed on baking sheet. You can only bake a few at a time.
  • Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until cookies are nicely browned on top and just set-up looking.
  • Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 15 to 20 minutes before removing.

 

Chicken and Dumplings (like Grandma’s)

The “crud” has been at our house for weeks now. Thankfully, I have not had it yet, but Greg has been sick at least a month!

What do you want to eat when you are sick? I love Mama’s potato soup, which I have not had in years, or a big pot of chicken and dumplings! That’s comfort food at it’s finest!

Chicken and Dumplings are not challenging to make, but they are a little time-consuming. They are not something I make often, but with Greg being under the weather and the weather being so cold…it’s that time!

It took me years to perfect this recipe, that I’m sure cooks had been making forever. I tried so many short cuts over the years! Flour tortillas, canned biscuits, and frozen dumplings. You name it; I probably tried it. That is until I realized that there is no substitute for homemade dumplings. Why have mediocre dumpings when homemade dumplings are much better and super easy to make.

I promise, even the new cook can make dumplings like grandma! Give this recipe a try, and you will please everyone in your house!

 

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Chicken and Dumplings

Course Main Course
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ice water enough to make a stiff dough

Instructions

  • Remove chicken pieces, if any, from inside the chicken cavity. Discard and place chicken in a large Dutch oven. Add water to the Dutch oven to cover or almost cover the chicken. Cook until the chicken is completely done.
  • Remove chicken from the pot and set aside to cool.
  • Strain broth in the Dutch oven into a large measuring cup. Add 8 cups of chicken broth back to the dutch oven, set aside. (If you don't have 8 cups of broth add enough homemade broth or canned broth to equal 8 cups.
  • Mix 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour and 1 tsp. salt in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. With the motor running, pour in ice water a little at a time,just until dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board. Roll the dough to 1/8" thickness or less. Cut into 1-inch strips (about 3 to 4 inches long). Let dry while you prepare broth.
  • Combine chicken broth, 4 c. water, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and 4 tbsp. butter in the Dutch oven.
  • Pick cooked and cooled chicken off the bones and add to the pot. Bring to a boil.
  • Drop dumplings into boiling broth. After you have added the dumplings, place the lid on the pot and reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer, leaving the lid on, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.