Brazilian Lemonade

I learned this from some great Brazilians, the Pachecos, that were in an Orem ward with us. It has always been a favorite drink of my kids' and I love serving it whenever we cook Mexican food. I usually make a ton of it.

2 limes
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. sweetened condensed milk
3 c. water
ice

Wash the limes thoroughly, cut off the ends and cut into wedges. Place into the blender with all the other ingredients. Blend for approximately 10 seconds. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove all the rinds and pulp. It can be made ahead and put in a pitcher, in the fridge, until ready to serve.

Kara's S'more Cookies

There are just so many things I miss about Kara McCoy. She and her adorable family moved to DC at the same time as us, and just went home to Utah a few months ago. I miss going out on date nights with them every weekend, I miss having their darling dimpled kids messing up our house on Sundays, I miss shopping with her, eating with her and I really miss just knowing she is close by. But, above all, I miss her treats that she always brought when she visited.

I made her famous S'mores cookies this past weekend for a band festival and I got so many compliments (even marriage proposals). They are fun cookies to make and taste better than a campground s'more.

Flat, square, stackable marshmallows are easily found at Target and Safeway. Double or triple the recipe, because one batch will not be enough to share with the office and neighborhood!

S'more Cookies

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. shortening
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 pkg. chocolate chips
1 box graham crackers, broken into squares
1 pkg. flat marshmallows
2 Hershey's chocolate candy bars, broken into individual pieces

Cream sugars, shortening, butter, vanilla and egg together. Add dry ingredients and mix. Stir in chocolate chips.

Line a jelly roll cookie sheet with parchment paper and layer with whole graham crackers (I left a space in between all of mine). Place a flat marshmallow on each graham square. Place a walnut size scoop of cookie dough on top of marshmallows. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes (watch closely as they brown fast at the end). As soon as they come out of the oven, place a hershey chocolate square on top of each cookie. Cut into squares and allow to cool (I put mine in the fridge until the chocolate was set up).

Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is a great recipe from my friend Heather. Funny enough, I found it on my friend Lara's blog when Heather was a guest contributor. I've made it a number of times, but I'm so in love with the way Heather decorated the tops, that I always have to borrow her HUGE frosting tip. I haven't been able to find a place to purchase that big of a tip and I love the look it creates.

For Heather's guest post on my friend Lara's amazing recipe blog, go HERE.

For Heather's post on her recipe blog, go HERE.

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 t. baking soda

1 T. cocoa powder

1 t. salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 c. buttermilk

2 T. liquid red food coloring

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. white vinegar

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

5 T. butter, at room temperature

2 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

(milk if you need to thin a little)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Heather says it's important to sift to avoid clumps of cocoa in the batter. I am too lazy and whisk it instead. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners (I use my cookie scooper to get an even amount into each cupcake). Bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on med-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and gradually add the powdered sugar until totally incorporated. Increase the speed and then beat until smooth. I have to always add a few drops of milk to get the perfect consistency. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake:

2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter, chilled

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. sour cream

1 egg

2 t. almond extract

Grease and four a 9" or 10" springform pan. Combine flour and sugar, then cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 c. of the mixture and set aside. To remaining crumb mixture, add baking powder, soda, salt, sour cream, egg and almond extract. Spread over bottom and 2" up the side of the pan.

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1/4 t. vanilla

1/4 t. almond extract

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Blend well and pour over batter.

Topping:

1/2 c. raspberry preserves, seedless

1 c. reserved crumb mixture

3/4 c. sliced almonds

Spoon preserves over cream cheese filling. Combine crumb mixture and almonds. Sprinkle over preserves Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes (do not overbake). Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

La Maison Salad

Salad:

2 heads romaine or leaf lettuce
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked crisp & crumbled
2 c. cherry tomatoes
1 c. swiss cheese, grated
2/3 c. almonds, slivered & toasted
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
croutons

Combine in salad bowl and toss with dressing when ready to serve.

Dressing:

1 lemon, juiced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
3/4 c. olive oil

Combine lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in blender or food processor and mix until completely combined. While the blender or food processor is running, slowly add oil and blend until combined and creamy. You can put in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until combined.

Apricot Chicken

This recipe originally came from my sister Elaine who cooks it in the dutch oven when she's camping. Karen and I started making it in the large roasting pans to feed a crowd. When I was in charge of the menu for funeral dinners in my Cedar Hills ward, I started serving apricot chicken and it was so easy to feed up to 150. I think they are still using my menu and it's now known as "funeral chicken."

Apricot Chicken

15 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 bottle Russian salad dressing

1 pkg. Lipton onion soup mix

1 sm. bottle apricot jam

Remove as much fat as possible from thighs. With a little oil, brown chicken thighs and then add to crock pot or roasting pan. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. Serve over rice.

Lemon Macarons

I'm not sure why the bad luck with lemon macarons, but I've ruined more batches of them than any other variety. I'm starting to really hate the lemon ones. First time I made them, I used a recipe I found that added a little bit of lemon juice and rind to the shell batter. It was a flop, as were a few other attempts, even when I only added the yellow food coloring and nothing else.

I decided to attempt it again tonight, as I had to get some lemon ones to go with my blackberry ones. I'm giving them as a "thank you" from our middle school band, whose colors are blue and yellow.

Once again, the first batch was a disaster. I realized the problem I was having, at least tonight, was with humidity. Macarons hate humidity, which may end my current love affair, at least until next fall. Not only did the air feel humid today, the almond flour was one I was using was an opened bag that had been in the cupboard for a week and absorbed some of the humidity, which made it a little too wet. The second batch worked well enough, but still not as pretty as all the other varieties have turned out. Luckily, I at least have enough to complete my gift bags and the kids love eating the cookie shells that just didn't make the cut!

Lemon Macarons

2/3 c. almond flour (sometimes called meal)

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

3 egg whites

5 T. granulated sugar

1 t. vanilla extract
yellow food coloring

Heat oven to 280 degrees and place the racks on the two lowest positions. Cut pieces of parchment paper to fit two cookie sheets perfectly and then make 1-inch circles all over the papers, leaving at least 1/2-inch of space in between circles. With practice, you will be able to skip this step and pipe your macarons without the circles, while maintaining a fairly consistent size of circles. Also, silpat baking sheets are so much easier than parchment, if you want to make the investment.

Whisk the almond flour and powdered sugar together and set aside.

Place egg whites in the bowl of a mixer and start to mix on med-high. When they start to get frothy, add sugar, 1 T. at a time. Continue to beat until glossy, stiff peaks appear. To test it, pick up the whisk and if the egg whites peak and the top doesn't fall, they are ready. If it falls down, keep mixing. Make sure you don't over mix (it will become clumpy).

Transfer egg whites to a large bowl. Add half of the dry mixture and fold it about a dozen times until just mixed. Fold with a spatula, going up the sides, pushing down the center. Finish mixing the rest of the dry ingredients, being careful to fold and not stir. When you lift your spatula, the mixture should pour off like thick molten lava. If it's not flowing when you lift the spatula, it is too thick and needs more mixing.

Use a piping bag (ziplock bag with the tip cut does not work) with a large round tip. Place it in a large cup and fold over the sides. Pour in half of the mixture and twist the top. Start piping the batter into the circles. The best way to do it is hold just over the pan (not touching) and let the batter come out until the circle is perfectly filled. Then quickly turn your wrist as you lift the tip to try and not leave a tail. Once the first pan is filled, hold the pan with both hands and tap hard on the counter 3 times. Turn the pan so your hands are on the opposite ends and tap again 3 times (helps get any air pockets out and flattens the cookies). Continue until both pans are filled and the rest of the batter is used up. Let them sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes, or until the tops are no longer wet when you touch them.

Place the cookie sheets on the two bottom oven racks. You will have to experiment with the cooking times, but this is what worked for me. Set the timer for 2 minutes and when it rings, open the door to let any humidity escape. Then set the timer for 6 minutes. Once the time is up, change the pans so that the top one is now on the bottom, as well as turn around so the back of the pan is now in the front. Bake for 7 more minutes. To test the doneness, carefully lift the cookie off the sheet. If it comes off the parchment easily, they are done. If the cookie separates in half, bake one more minute, and so on. Cool the macaroons completely before filling with the lemon curd.

Lemon Curd Filling

4 lg. egg yolks

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 lemon, finely grated zest from

Prepare an ice water bath; set aside. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the lemon juice, butter and lemon zest. Place over a pan of simmering water and cook, whisking occasionally, until thick, about 15 minutes. Transfer bowl to ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Transfer to refrigerator until completely cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.