Hop Art Studio

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I had a "hankering" for some chocolate chip cookies. After spending over 300 dollars at the grocery store and then my son opening up the pantry and saying "Mom you didn't buy anything good to snack on!" I could have chosen to  1- yell at him that I just spent over 300 dollars at the grocery store and I'm sorry the snacks I picked aren't to his liking! or 2- just get over it and realize he's a teenager or 3- whip up something that I want!

Option 3

I have had this recipe for probably 20 years now. It's yellowed and permanately attached to a page from that, at the time, were in our photo albums. You know the ones, stick the picture on the page and then the plastic wrapped over the top of it. Ruined just about all of the pictures from the 70s - 80s. Who would have ever dreamt that there was such a thing as acid prof photo albums? Not then anyways.

It's Criscos Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

(I'm sure it's still on the back of the boxes)

But just in case you want it here I go

3/4 c Butter Flavor Crisco All-vegetable shortening

1 1/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar

2 Tbs milk

1 Tbs Vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 F. 

2. Combine shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed  electric mixer til will blended (I just beat it with a wooden spoon. Hate the added mess of one more tool to clean.) Add egg into creamed mixture. (Heck sometimes I just add the egg in with all the rest of it and beat the heck out of it all. It turns out fine.)

3.Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pecan.

4.Drop rounded Tablespoonfuls of dough 3 inches apart onto pregreased baking sheet. (OMGoodness! I guess I forget this part cause I've never greased it and it turns out just fine. I have really nice cookie sheets and a convention oven. So that may help.)

5. Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375 for 8-10 for chewy cookies (Ha! I usually bake 2 sheets at a time. I just watch them to make sure they aren't getting too browned. And if I need to I stick them back in for a couple more minutes.) 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies

Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet then remove them to foil (I use cooling racks) to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

(unless you eat most of the cookie dough!)

"Upside-Down" Pineapple Cake Recipe

"Upside-Down" Pineapple Cake

Cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp

2 large eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Pineapple Topping:

1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temp

1. Heat oven 350º oven. Coat 9 inch spring-form pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Cake: In large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, milk, butter, eggs, baking powder, vanilla and salt. With mixer on low speed, beat for 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl, until blended. On high speed, beat for 3 minutes. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. 

3. Bake in 350º oven until wooden skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes.

4. Pineapple Topping: In medium-size bowl, gently stir together drained pineapple, coconut, brown sugar and butter until well mixed. 

5. Remove cake from oven when done. Heat oven to broil. Spread pineapple topping over top of hot cake. Broil 4 inches from heat 5 minutes or until topping begins to brown. Remove cake to wire rack; let cool 10 minutes. Remove side of pan; let cake cool completely

Cajun Shrimp and a Winner!

Before I tell you who's name we drew I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes. I made this yummy Cajun Shrimp last night. Mmmmmm....mmmmmmm! It's a bit spicy, however the recipe is easy so you can adjust it to your own taste.

Cajun Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined (If I can't find the large I'll substitute smaller ones but just increase the quantity of shrimp used.)

1 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 -1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 Tbs vegetable oil

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag and shake to coat. (I like to let it sit in the refrigerator for a while, hour or so, to let the herbs get better absorbed.) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. (I usually use my metal large skillet and increase the amount of oil used a bit. Works just as well.) Add shrimp; saute 4 minutes or until the shrimp are done.

Now for the name we picked.....

The winner of my giveaway......

Is.....

"Your style is soooo great - I think it's because you change things up, your cards don't all look the same.  I get computer time roughly 3 or 4 times a week now that summer has us so busy but I'm always sure to stop in and see what you've done.  Thanks for always inspiring me."

DeniseLynn

Congrats Denise! Email me your mailing address and I'll get these gift out to you.

 

 

Happy Mother's Day Cake

Happy Mother's Day!

I had fun baking yesterday and of course we are enjoying the left over Pineapple Upside-Down cake I made. One of the nicest things about my new house is the gas stove with the convection oven. Oh I love this new oven! I love to bake and cook and it's really much easier now. Convection is definitely the way to go when you are baking.

Here's the yummy recipe. Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1 20 oz can unsweetened pineapple

unsalted butter

light/dark brown sugar

maraschino cherries

eggs

buttermilk/milk

vanilla

all-purpose flour

sugar

baking powder

baking soda

salt

Preheat oven to 350. Have ready a 9x2 inch round cake pan.

Drain the juice from one 20 oz can of unsweetened pineapple.

Place in the cake pan 3 Tbs of unsalted butter (for a gooier topping you can add 1 more Tbs of butter.)

Place the pan in the oven just until the butter is melted or you can melt it on the top of the stove. Tilt to coat all sides with butter. The extra butter will settle in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle evenly over the bottom of the pan 3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar(Increase 1/4 cup if you want gooier topping).

Place 1 pineapple ring on the brown sugar in the center of the pan and arrange 6 more around it. In the center of each ring place maraschino cherries. (I like to fill in the rest of the spaces with one can of drain crushed pineapple.)

Whisk together 2 large eggs, 2 Tbs buttermilk (or milk), and 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Mix for a few seconds with an electric mixer in a large bowl 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 1 cup +2 Tbs of Cake flour.) and 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt.

Add 6 Tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened and 6 Tbs buttermilk (or milk)

Beat on low speed just until the flour moistened. Increase the speed to med or high with a hand held mixture beating for 1 1/2 minutes. Batter will be stiff. Add 1/3 egg mixture at a time, beating for exactly 20 seconds and scraping the bowl after each addition. Scrape the batter over the fruit in the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a tooth-pick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and tilt the pan in all directions to detach it from the sides of the pan. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before unmolding. Invert a serving platter on top of the pan. Cover your hands with oven mitts and turn the cake onto the platter. Lift off the pan.

Serve warm or cool.