Cake Batter Pancakes

We made these for our "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" breakfast on Christmas morning. These are definitely a sweet treat, but a fun way to celebrate a birthday.

Cake Batter Pancakes
From Betty Crocker

Pancakes:
1 cup Bisquick mix
1 cup yellow cake mix
3 tablespoons candy sprinkles
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Glaze:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix pancake ingredients. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto heated skillet. Cook until golden brown. Mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Add additional milk, if necessary, to reach a consistency that is easy to drizzle. Drizzle over pancakes.

Cherry Pie

Cherry Pie
From Joanna Knox

1/3 cup flour
1 can tart, pitted cherries
3/4 cup sugar
salt
1 tablespoon butter
2 pie crusts

Combine cherries, flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix well. Place one pie crust in the bottom of the pie plate. Fill with cherry mixture. Place dollops of butter on top of filling. Top with second pie crust, trim edges and cut slits in the top. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes.

Note: If using a deep dish pie plate double the filling.

Chicken & Dumpling Casserole

A yummy, comfort food casserole! I think this would be good with some broccoli mixed in for a one-dish meal.

Chicken & Dumpling Casserole
From Plain Chicken

3-4 cups of cooked chicken
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt butter in the microwave and pour into bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Shred the chicken and spread it on top of the butter.

Whisk together the milk and the flour, baking powder and salt.  Slowly pour over the chicken.  Don't stir.

Whisk together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. Pour soup over the flour and milk mixture.  Don't stir.

Bake uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes, or until dumplings are golden brown.

Snickerdoodles

Aaron's favorite cookie!

Snickerdoodles

2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the shortening, sugar and eggs at low speed. Gradually mix in the flour mixture until the batter becomes dough-like. Chill dough until easy to handle.

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into balls and roll the balls in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place balls on a cookie sheet and flatten slightly.

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.

Gooey Butter Cake

Based on the name of this cake you ought to know whose recipe it is. Paula Deen's. It is definitely gooey and buttery. A rich treat!

Gooey Butter Cakes
From The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

For the cake:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted

Combine ingredients and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Prepare filling.

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
16 oz. (or 3 3/4 cups) powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add butter; beat. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not overbake.

Notes and Variations:
1. You can leave out the butter (all of it) in the filling. It still tastes great but isn't quite as rich and gooey.
2. Add a can of pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spice to the filling.
3. Use chocolate cake mix and add chocolate chips to the filling.
4. Use chocolate cake mix and add 3/4 to 1 cup peanut butter to the filling.

Ebelskiver (Filled Pancakes)

This is one of the coolest things I know how to make. Have you ever heard of Ebelskiver? I hadn't either until several years ago when I saw this really cool pan at Williams-Sonoma and had to know what it was for. Turns out it makes fluffy little pancakes stuffed with whatever deliciousness you can dream up (fruit, jam, chocolate, etc.). Today I filled them with baked cinnamon apples. I make neither Ebelskiver nor baked apples very often, and each time I make either one I wonder why I don't make them more. Neither is that difficult and both are so tasty. See if you can get your hands on one of these pans and try them out!
 

Here they are cooking before being flipped.

And after being flipped.

And here are the tiny spatulas my mom bought to go along with them. Aren't they cute?

Ebelskiver (Filled Pancakes)
From Williams Sonoma

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for cooking
Fillings such as jam, peanut butter, chocolate or fruit
Syrup or whipped cream for serving

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the melted butter. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the whites into the batter in 2 additions.

Put 1/4 teaspoon butter in each well of the pan. Set over medium high heat and heat until butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 tablespoon batter into each well. Put 1 teaspoon of the filling of your choice in the center of each pancake and top with 1 tablespoon batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers (or spatulas), flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling. Serve immediately with syrup or whipped cream. Makes about 40.

Note: This makes a lot. You could easily halve the recipe.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

There are 2 things I really love about this recipe. First, it's a casserole that doesn't have any cream-of-whatever soup. I make plenty of recipes that do have canned cream soups in them, but to find a casserole that doesn't have any is a win. Second, it's really versatile. I'm already imagining how I can play around with the flavors of this dish. Ham and cheddar. Chicken-bacon-ranch. Taco seasoning and Rotel.

Chicken and Rice Casserole
From Culinary.net

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 1/2 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast meat
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) Nestlé Carnation Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1 tablespoon diced jalapeños
• Salt

Combine all ingredients; stir well. Pour into lightly greased 2-qt. casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.