Morning Glory Muffins

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe, and it is FANTASTIC. I love muffins, and these are among the best I've had. I made them this morning and they turned out great!

Morning Glory Muffins
4 c. flour
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. soda
4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 c. grated carrots
1 c. raisins
1 c. pecans
1 c. coconut
2 apples peeled and grated
6 lg. eggs
2 c. oil
4 tsp. vanilla

Mix all together and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Use liners in the muffin tins.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen. For our family, halving the recipe is more than enough.

Butterfly Cake and Flower Cupcakes

For Audrey's birthday I wanted to make a cake that was super girly. I found this video online, and followed it exactly(that's how creative I am) to make the butterfly cake! It turned out awesome, and was really pretty easy. Here's a link to the video on bettycrocker.com:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/how-to-videos/Butterfly-video.htm

I used a cake mix, but added a small package of instant pudding. I think it tastes a lot better that way. Since we had a lot of people, and the butterfly cake is made with only one 9-inch round pan, we made a dozen cupcakes to go with it, using the other half of the batter.
I used pink marshmallows to make the flower pettals, and I dipped the sticky side of the marshmallow slices into purple-colored sugar. I decided to use just a plain mini marshmallow for the center of the flower. I couldn't be more pleased with the result! Cute and yummy. I just love birthdays!

Eggnog Cake

I tried making homemade eggnog two weeks ago, and it did NOT work out too well. It was a very humbling experience, and I don't know that I'll ever try it again. So I ended up with a whole bunch of fine-tasting but terribly-textured eggnog. I didn't want to just throw it out! So I looked for recipes. I found this recipe for eggnog cake, which looked (and was) very easy! It was a great looking cake, and it tasted delicious! It's a layered round cake with a filling and a topping. So if you somehow end up with extra eggnog this year, go ahead and give it a try! I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com. I tweaked it a little, as noted.

 EGGNOG CAKE

Cake:
1 yellow cake mix
2 eggs
2 cups eggnog
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. rum flavored extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans.
Mix all cake ingredients together and divide evenly between the two pans. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (I'd check it before then. Mine were a little overdone.) Carefully dump out of pans and cool on wire rack.

Filling:
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
2 cups eggnog
1/2 tsp. rum flavored extract

Mix together, cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm. Spread on the bottom cake layer and top with the other cake layer.

Topping:
1 T. unflavored gelatin
2 T. cold water
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. rum flavored extract

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let sit for five minutes. Stir until completely dissolved. In a large bowl, whip cream until it forms soft peaks. Mix in the gelatin, sugar, salt, and rum extract and whip until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use. Spread on top and sides of cake.
(this is where I short-cutted. Instead of doing all of this stuff for the topping, I just used Cool Whip and mixed in the rum extract. It might be even better if you follow the recipe, but we really liked it the way we did it.)

Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.

Jenny's Rolls

This is my favorite roll recipe. Granted, I haven't tried that many recipes in my life, but these really are to die for. My mom's been cooking/baking for a lot more years than I have, and she said this is the best recipe she's found. The recipe comes from a family friend who is well known for her talent in the kitchen. Thanks for the recipe, Jenny!

Jenny’s Rolls

2 Cup warm water	2 Tsp salt
2/3 Cup powdered milk	1/2 Cup butter softened or melted
2 Tbsp active yeast	2 eggs
1/2  cup sugar	5 -6 cups bread flour*

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water mixed with powdered milk in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt, and stir to dissolve. Add butter and eggs, mix slightly. Add 2 cups flour, mix on low speed for 2 minutes, add 2 more cups flour mix on medium speed, add flour until dough separates from sides of bowl. Remove from mixer and knead dough until smooth. Dough will still be slightly sticky. Clean bowl and spray with cooking spray, place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size (about 1/2 hour) You can punch it down and let rise again or take out and make rolls at this point into whatever shape you desire. Let rise again. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

 *I've never used bread flour, just regular white, and it always turns out great!

Yummy Yam Casserole

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. It sounded a lot like the yams my aunt Kristie started making some years ago, which I remember absolutely loving. They turned out fantastic! I hope to use this recipe every year now. I think it was a big hit with the whole family. Try it!

•  4 pounds yams

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 ounces pecan halves
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Poke yams in several places with a fork, then cook them on high power in microwave oven until heated through and soft, about 20 minutes. When cooled, remove skins and place the yams in a large bowl.
3. Beat yams until smooth. Then beat in one egg at a time, blending after each addition. Stir in 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup melted butter, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 3 quart casserole dish. Arrange the pecans in a single layer on top. Sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter over the top.
5. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned and bubbly.