Please, please make this cake immediately!  Carrots are on sale, people!  They’re an excellent source of antioxidants and vitamin A, for pitty’s sake! A big hunk of cake pairs swimmingly with a glass of calcium-rich milk!  And seriously, do you really need a reason?!!

Help, my exclamation mark key seems to be stuck!!

Share this goodness with your family, friends, neighbors, and countrymen.  Heck, save it for the Easter Bunny if you’re so inclined.  Or, do what I did.  Set this cake on a pretty cake stand, then take it with you to the farthest reaches of your house.  A closet is good.  Make sure you also have with you a big fork and large glass of cold milk.  Shut the door.  Dig in.  Be at peace.

Or, don’t be like me.  Have you seen my thighs lately?

Nom, nom, nom……

OLD FASHIONED CARROT CAKE

Serves:  12

Source:  allrecipes.com

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. flour
• ½ t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1t. baking powder
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 2 c. grated carrot (for me this was one giant one; they’re on sale)

• ½ c. butter, softened
• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 c. powdered sugar
• 2 t. vanilla

• 1 c. toasted pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, blend together the sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs until well blended.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.  Add to the sugar mixture and combine well.  Add in the carrots and stir until just blended.

Choose your pan(s) and spray well with non-stick cooking spray.  I used two 8” rounds; you could use a bundt pan, cupcake tin, or 9×13” pan.  Pour in the cake batter; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with loose crumbs attached, anywhere from 25-50 minutes, depending on the pan you’ve chosen.

Remove cake to a rack and cool completely.  Make the frosting by creaming together the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl.  Gradually add in the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat to blend.  Add the pecans if desired.  Alternately, you could top the cake with the chopped pecans as a garnish.

When we were growing up, the ONLY kind of peanut butter my mom would buy was Skippy Super Chunk. There was always a jar of it in the cupboard, and we had it on our toast and in our cold lunch almost every day. I didn’t even realize that smooth peanut butter existed until the mid-70’s or so, when I had lunch over at a friend’s house! I came home from the playdate effusing with happiness over the exciting news: you could actually buy peanut butter where all the peanuts were perfectly smashed, and it was wonderfully delicious! We didn’t have to have those annoying crunchy chunks in our Peanut Butter & Wonder Bread sandwiches anymore, and wasn’t that super news?

My dad caught wind of my peanut butter recommendation and immediately had something to say about it. “Aww, YUCK, Leah!” he said. “Creamy peanut butter is boring and way too sweet! Chunky is the only way to go!”

Hmmff. And so it was and continued to be at our house.

But I remember the very first time I bought a jar of peanut butter when I was out on my own. In fact, I distinctly recall the glorious day I went to the Harris Teeter in Rock Hill, South Carolina (where I went to school) and was able to choose which kind of peanut butter I wanted – and hey Dad, guess what!?! Choosy college co-eds choose SMOOTH PEANUT BUTTER!

That was the revelation. I hope you weren’t expecting anything deeper out of me.

These days, the only time I make an exception to my ‘smooth peanut butter only’ rule is when I make these amazing cookies. Chunky peanut butter was on sale last week, and this week the other key ingredient, roasted salted peanuts, are on special. If you’ve got Super Chunk fans at your house, these cookies will knock ‘em dead!

In fact, I can’t wait to have some waiting for my dad when he comes for Christmas.

Happy Monday!

BIG, SUPER-NUTTY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Makes Approximately 3 Dozen

Source: cooksillusrated.com

• 2 ½ c. flour
• ½ t. baking soda
• ½ t. baking powder
• ½ t. salt
• 2 sticks butter, salted
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1 c. extra-crunchy peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 c. roasted, salted peanuts, ground in the food processor to resemble coarse crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Place flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or by hand), beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts, stir gently until just incorporated.

Working with two tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into large balls, placing them two inches apart on the cookie sheets. Press each dough ball with the back of a dinner fork to create crosshatch marks. Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not on top, 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked). Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

*NOTE: sometimes I divide the dough in half and freeze it – this works great and is much better than having stale cookies hanging around!

Now, I’m not that much in to sweets – I like ‘em okay, but I’d much prefer salty snacks to their sugary counterparts.  But these cookies are a serious guilty pleasure of mine.  When they’re hanging around, staring me down from their spot on the cooling rack, lookin’ all innocent and whatnot, I simply cannot be held responsible for my actions.  That’s why I made up a system to keep myself honest.  I make up a huge recipe of dough, and divide it into thirds.  I bake a small batch of cookies for my twerps, then freeze the remaining dough for a rainy day.

Honesty.  It’s the best policy.  Helps the jeans fit a little better.  Also, it limits the amount of time spent hanging out on an uncomfortable bike seat at spin class.

Whip up a batch.  They’re great with a big glass of cold milk.  Plus, they make math homework a practically blissful experience!

Nestle Chips are on sale this week, but I’ve swapped in chocolate chunks and m&m’s too!  Enjoy!

BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes:  4 dozen

Source:  epicurious.com

• 1 c. brown sugar
• ½ c. white sugar
• ½ c. Crisco (I know, I know – but you must get over it.)
• 1 stick butter, room temperature (the real deal, no margarine – kindly get over this too.)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs

• 3 c. flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt

• 1 12 oz. bag chocolate chips (or m&m’s, or chocolate chunks)

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat both sugars, the Crisco, and the butter together until light and fluffy.  Add in the vanilla and the eggs.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips).  Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and beat to blend.  Add in the chocolate chips and mix gently.

Portion out the dough into desired amounts, based on how large you want your cookies to be.  Space dough two inches apart on the cookie sheet; bake for 12 minutes.  Check cookies; rotate pan in the oven, and continue to bake for an additional three minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Remove cookies to a cooling rack.  Remove yourself from the premises!

There’s nothing like the raucous shrieks and laughter from the kids splashing around in the lake, playing “king of the raft” and dousing each other with squirt guns.  We tried for hours to exhaust both Daisy and Lola (the DamDog, and our friend’s golden retriever, respectively) by firing tennis balls, sticks, and frisbees by the dozen off the dock; the energy level of these dogs is endless, amazing and hilarious at the same time!   I’ll admit I’m an easy audience, but I can’t help laughing my flippin’ head off every single time these crazy canines would swan dive off the pier into the lake, each trying to beat the other to whichever object had been thrown into the water.

Ahhhh, good times.  Lake living is the BEST!

I wish I would have taken a picture of the fantastic dinner we had that evening, and the fabulous view of the lake we enjoyed while dining on top of our friend’s boathouse.  Grilled hanger steak, three fabulous salads, and several bottles of red wine later, our husbands each dubbed the menu by far, “The Best Dinner of Summer”.  I had to agree!

(By the way, one of the salads was the Panzanella I blogged about a few days ago.  If you’d like to check it out, just do a quick search and the recipe will pop right up.)

We had the perfect night’s sleep with a soft breeze blowing through an open window, and the sound of crickets chirping….heavenly!  We all awoke to the delicious smell of homemade pancakes and a fluffy, savory ham strata.  As for the pancakes, they’re another story all together, but we’ll have to wait for buttermilk to go on sale before I tell you about them!

I  brought this coffee cake as part of a hostess gift.  I love to make this cake when fresh blueberries are on sale, but it could of course be made with frozen berries in the dead of winter.  Speaking of freezing, I’ve doubled the recipe and frozen one for a rainy day;  I’ve made it in round cake pans, loaf pans, and muffin tins too, with no trouble.  You’ll be a welcome overnight guest wherever you go if you take this coffeecake along, or try it out on guests of your own!

BLUEBERRY COFFEECAKE

Serves:  6-8

Source:  Epicurious.com

For the cake:

• ¼ c. vegetable oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ c. milk
• 1 ½ c. flour, sifted
• ¾ c. sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• ½ t. salt

For the topping:

• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 T. flour
• 1 t. cinnamon
• ½ c. chopped nuts (I’ve used either walnuts or pecans)
• 1 T. butter, melted
• ¾ c. fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the oil, egg, and milk.  Sift together dry ingredients and add them to the milk mixture.  Mix well.  In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping.

Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 9 x 2” pan.  Sprinkle the berries evenly over the batter.  Top the berries with the nut mixture.  Bake in for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with loose crumbs attached.   Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Four for five?!  “SHUT UP!” I thought.  That cannot be right.

Oopsie, I apologize…we don’t say ‘shut up’ at our house.  That phrase is on the naughty word list, along with ‘duh’, ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, and a few others I won’t discuss today.  You can use your imagination. I’m quite sure you have a naughty word list of your own.

Anyway, back to the blueberries.  Pick up all four pints, please.  You’ll need three for the Crumble, and then you’ll probably want to munch on some, toss them in to fruit salad, and sprinkle them all over your cereal tomorrow morning.  Trust me, I know.  So kindly put four pints into your cart.  Thank you.

I’m willing to bet that you have all of the ingredients for this recipe in your pantry already, so all you’ll really need to put on your grocery list are 1). The blueberries, as we’ve discussed, and 2). A half gallon of Edy’s Vanilla Ice Cream, which is on sale, 2 for $6.00.  Oh, you’ll also need to grab some nuts.  I use either slivered almonds, or chopped pecans.  You can choose whichever one makes your skirt fly up!

Just a side note: Cool Whip is also on sale, which you could use in leui of the vanilla ice cream.  Cool Whip is fine with me.  I know true culinary snobs will scoff at the suggestion, but hey you foodies, don’t be hatin’!  There’s a time and place for Cool Whip in every kitchen now and then, so if you and yours enjoy it, then by all means, top your Crumble with a hefty plop of the white fluffy stuff.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE
Serves:  6

• 3 pints of blueberries
• 3 t. sugar
• 1 t. cornstarch
• ¾ c. flour
• ¾ c. sugar
• ¼ t. salt
• ½ c. slivered almonds or chopped pecans
• 1 stick of butter, chilled and diced
• Vanilla Ice Cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 425.

Rinse the berries and place them in a bowl.  In a small bowl, combine 3 t. sugar and 1 t. cornstarch, then toss the mixture with the berries to coat.  Place the berries in either a 9×11 pan, a deep dish pie plate, or divide them into small ramekins for individual servings.

Place the flour, sugar, salt, and nuts into the bowl of a food processer.  Pulse until nuts are chopped and incorporated.  With motor running, add in the butter and continue to process until butter is combined and the mixture forms a dough (this usually takes a couple of minutes for me, because my food processor is 19 years old and rather decrepit).

Take out the dough and crumble it all over your berries (you will have to break it up into clumps).  Don’t worry if you have extra topping; it freezes great.  I love to keep it on hand for a quick dessert!

Bake the Crumble for 25 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and berries are bubbling.  Cool it slightly, then spoon in to serving dishes.  Top with vanilla ice cream and serve!