Preheat oven to 400 F

Measure and set aside:

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

Combine in a large saucepan:

      1/2 cup water

      1/2 cup whole milk

      8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

      1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring the mixture to a full boil over medium heat. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Continue to cook and stir the mixture for about 1 minute, to eliminate excess moisture. The butter may ooze out, which is fine; it simply means that the moisture is evaporating. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat in 1 at a time:

            4 large eggs

Make sure that the paste is smooth before adding the next egg. Beat the dough until it’s smooth and shiny.

Scoop the paste into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1 inch tip for large éclairs or a 1/2 inch tip for minis. Shape the paste into 8 to 10 large or 24 miniature éclairs.  Bake the eclairs at 400 F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temp. to 350 F and bake until golden brown and very firm to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes for minis and 25 to 30 minutes for large éclairs. Turn off the oven, poke the short end of the éclairs, and let dry in oven for 10 minutes.

Prepare:

3 cups Pastry Cream (recipe to follow)

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch tip with the pastry cream. Poke the pastry tip into the drying hole in each éclair and pip full. Or cut off the top third of the éclair horizontally with the serrated knife for the lids. Remove any uncooked dough and spoon the filling into the eclairs. 

Dip the top of each eclaire into:

            Chocolate Ganach Glaze (recipe to follow)

Refrigerate the éclairs, chocolate side up, until glaze is set. Eclairs are best on the day they are made.

Pastry Cream

In a medium bowl, beat on high speed until thick and pail yellow, about 2 minutes:

            1/2 cup sugar

            2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

            2 tablespoons cornstarch

            4 large egg yolks

Meanwhile, combine in a medium stainless-steel or enamel saucepan and bring to a simmer:

            1 1/2 cups milk

Gradually pour about one third of the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring the combine. Scrape the egg mixture back into the pan and cook, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan to prevent scorching, over low to medium heat until the custard is thickened and begins to bubble. Then continue to cook, whisking for 45 to 60 seconds. Using a clean spatula, scrape the custard into a clean bowl.

Stir in:

            3/4 teaspoon vanilla.

Cover the surface of the custard with a piece of wax or parchment paper to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool, then refrigerate before using.

Chocolate Ganach Glaze

Bring to a boil in a a small saucepan:

            3/4 cup heavy cream

Remove from the heat and add:

            8 ounces semisweet chocolate finely chopped (or chocolate chips)

Stir until most of the chocolate is melted. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir or whisk very gently until completely smooth.

Stir in:

            1 tablespoon liqueur, or more to taste (optional)

Cool until it becomes the desired texture. 

INGREDIENTS:

4 medium firm bananas, sliced

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 cup sour cream

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/3 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Toss bananas with lemon juice; drain well and set aside. In a bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into a greased 9-in. springform pan.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

                        3/4 C   shortening

                        1 C   brown sugar

Cream together.   Then add….

                        1/4 C light molassas

                        1 egg

Mix.

Mix together:

                        2 C  Flour

                        1/4   Tsp salt

                        2  Tsp   baking soda

                        1  Tsp  cinnamon

                        1  Tsp   cloves

                        1  Tsp  ginger

                        1/2  Tsp  nutmeg

                        1/2  Tsp  allspice

                        1/2  Tsp  cardamom

Add to wet ingredients.  Mix just until blended.

(optional—add finely chopped candied ginger)

(dough can be refrigerated for several hours but this is not necessary)

Roll spoonfuls of dough into small balls and cover in granulated sugar.  Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

2 cups rolled oats

2 cupts all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces

1.         Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.         Lightly grease cookie sheets.

3.         Combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

4.         Beat together shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract.

5.         Stir oat-flour mixture into butter-sugar mixture; stir in chocolate pieces.

6.         Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned

2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled until slightly warmed

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1/2 cup dried blueberries*

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar2 TBSP honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup old fashion oats

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

*If you can’t find these or don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for them, just use 1 cup of the cranberries instead.

—–

Preheat oven to 350.

Blend together butter, brown sugar and honey. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. In a separate large bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; add to butter mixture and mix until combined well. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Place dough 2″ apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake in center of oven until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft, about 12-15 minutes. Cool completely.

Yields about 2 1/2 dozen 2″ cookies.

-Scant 1/4 cup vegetable oil

-4 1/2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chopped

-2 eggs at room temperature

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-3/4 cup quinoa flour

-3 Tablespoons rice flour

-1 Teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil an 8×8 inch baking pan or dish.

Stir the oil with the chocolate in the top of  a double boiler set over simmering water, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Beat the eggs and add to the chocolate, whisking vigorously. Beat in the vanilla and let the mixture cool until it’s warm. Combine the flours, baking powder and sugar then beat into chocolate mixture to form a dough. Spread the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool then cut into squares.

Cupcakes: 
1 box chocolate cake mix 
Orange juice (instead of water in cake mix) 
½ 

 1/2 teaspoon

vanilla extract

1 orange, zested

Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons butter, softened (1/2 stick)

2 tablespoons lemon juice (you can substitute with 2 tablespoons limoncello)

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 orange, zested

Special equipment: cupcake liners, 2 muffin pans

To make the cupcakes: mix the chocolate cake mix according to package instructions, substituting orange juice for the water. Line the muffin pan with the cupcake liners. Fill and bake the cupcakes according to package instructions. Let the cupcakes cool for 1 hour on a wire rack before frosting.

To make the frosting: combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Using a small spatula, place about 1 tablespoon of frosting on top of each cupcake.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp. margarine, melted (I used yogurt butter)

2 tbsp. honey

2 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1 tbsp. orange extract

1/2 cup walnut halves (I just used the walnuts as a topper, in case anyone had nut allergies)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Place 12 baking cups into muffin pan

In a food processor, combine the cracker crumbs, margarine, and honey, Spoon about a tbsp into each baking cup and press firmly into the bottom. Coat the spoon and your fingers with a little flour. (It’s pretty sticky.)  Chill until set.In a large bowl, beat the ricotta with an electric mixer until soft. Then beat in the eggs, confectioners’ sugar, and orange extract.  Fold in the walnuts.  Spoon the mixture into the cups. 

 Bake for 25 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.  Chill until ready to serve.

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3 tbsp. sugar

pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) sweet butter, melted

frosting:

1/2 cup basil pesto

1 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

12 cherry tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350. Place 12 baking cups in a muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, stir the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs, milk, and butter into a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, and stir until just combined.  Spoon the batter into the cups.  Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

For the frosting, beat the pesto and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  Smear the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and top with the cherry tomatoes.

Store unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.