Flour Frosting

This is Bryan's most favorite frosting. Tradtion is for him to enjoy this on his red velvet cake.
 
  1 c. milk
  5 tbsp. flour
  1 c. butter
  1 c. powdered sugar, sifted
  1 tsp. vanilla

Combine milk and flour in saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat stirring constantly.
Cook until smooth and thick.
Place in refrigerator until cooled.
Cream and beat together butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy.
Add flour mixture and beat at high speed until very soft, light
and fluffy. (This may take 10 minutes on high speed to break up and distribute flou mixture throughout.)

Must be kept refrigerated.

Texas Sheet Cake - From Pioneer Woman

THE BEST CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE. EVER.

CAKE:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup buttermilk (Or use this tip to make a buttermilk substitute: Place 1/2 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough regular milk to bring the liquid up to the 1/2 cup line. Let stand for 5 minutes, then use in the recipe.)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

FROSTING:

• 1 3/4 sticks butter
• 4 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 cup) powdered sugar (about 3 to 3 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts, optional (Jane did not use nuts in her frosting and it was great…so if you don’t like nuts, leave them out!)

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Melt butter in a saucepan and add cocoa. Stir together. Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into 13 x 18″ sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (if using a 10 x 15″ jelly roll pan, you may need to bake 22 to 23 minutes). NOTE: I greased my pan, but you’ll note that the Pioneer Woman’s recipe doesn’t say to do that, you be the judge.

While cake is baking, make the icing. If using nuts (I never use nuts in this recipe), chop them finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the nuts, stir together, and pour over warm cake. (NOTE: if you follow these directions, you’ll notice your frosting is still a little lumpy. To make frosting really nice and smooth, just simply cook the frosting several minutes longer over low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Another option if you decide to use nuts is to leave them out of the frosting mixture and sprinkle them on top of the icing instead). If you made your cake in a 13 x 18″ pan, pour on all the frosting–you may need to spread it a little so it covers the entire cake; if your cake is in a 10 x 15″ pan, just pour enough frosting on to cover the surface of the cake without going over the edges of the pan. You’ll probably have about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of frosting left over (save for another desert).

You can let the frosting cool and set before cutting into squares if you want, or cut into squares while it’s still warm and dig in! The frosting will start setting in about a half hour, but it needs between 1 and 2 hours to set more firmly; at 2 hours, it should be nice and firm.

Chocolate Marble Gooey Butter Cake

Recipe from: The Cake Mix Doctor

Crust
1pk (18.25oz) plain yellow cake mix
8 Tbs (1 stick) butter, melted
1 large egg

Filling
8oz. cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 Tbs (1 stick) butter, melted
3-3/4 C. confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 C. (6oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside an un-greased 9"X13" baking pan.

For the crust, place cake mix, butter & egg into a large mixing bowl. Blend well with electric mixer. Scrape sides. Batter should come together into a ball. With your fingertips, pat the batter evenly into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

For the filling, place cream cheese into same bowl used for crust (no need to clean bowl or beaters), and blend on low until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and butter, then blend at medium for 1 minute. Add confectioner's sugar & blend until well combined, scraping down sides as necessary.

Melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted. (OR melt in microwave stirring after every 30 seconds until smooth & melted). Measure out 1 cup of the cream cheese filling, and fold it into the chocolate mixture, stirring so the batter becomes well combined. Set aside.

Pour the reamining cream cheese filling onto crust, and spread out evenly to edges. Drop spoonfuls of chocolate batter over the top of the filling. Swirl them with a dinner knife, so the top has a marbled effect. Be careful not to cut through the crust.

Bake cake until it is well browned, but the center still jiggles when you shake the pan. About 45-47 minutes. Remove from oven & cool on wire rack 30 minutes. Cut into squares & serve.

Store this cake covered in aluminum foil at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refridgerator for a week. Or, freeze wrapped in foil for up to 6 months. Thaw cake overnight in refrigerator before serving.

This cake is great warm, but very gooey when hot/warm, and you have to eat it with a fork. I prefer to make it ahead of time & serve @ room temperature, because it has more of a brownie texture - A VERY decadent, gooey brownie. ENJOY! This is a Great cake.

Crispy Peanut Butterscotch Pie

Recipe from: Quick & Easy Diabetic Recipes

Ingredients
1/4 C - creamy peanut butter
1 Tbs - honey
1-1/2 C - oven toasted rice cereal (such as rice krispies)
1 (1 oz) pkg - sugar-free butterscotch instant pudding mix
2 C - fat-free milk
1-1/2 C - frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed & divided
Cinnamon (optional)
Additional cereal (optional)

Combine peanut butter & honey in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave HIGH 30 seconds, stirring until mixture melts. Stir in rice cereal. Using wax paper, press mixture into bottom of 8" round cake pan. Prepare pudding mix according to directions, using 2 C fat-free milk. Fold in 1 C. whipped topping. Spoon pudding mixture into prepared pan. Cover & freeze until firm. Let pie stand 15 minutes @ room temperature before serving. Cut pie in 6 wedges, and top evenly with remaining whipped topping. If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon & additional cereal.

Servings: 6
Serving size: 1 slice
Calories (g) - 149
Fat (g) - 5
Carbohydrates (g) - 21.2
Fiber (g) - 0.7
Protein (g) - 4
Sodium (mg) - 375
Exchanges - 1-1/2 starch / 1 fat

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 sm. zucchini (about 1/2 lb. total) or 2 c. grated
4 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 (8 x 4) loaf pans. (Or, prepare muffin pans)

Grate zucchini. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another bowl, combine zucchini except the chocolate chips. Stir into dry ingredients until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool on rack 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely. Bake muffins about 20 minutes, about 10 minutes for mini-muffins.

For a single batch, I got 2 dozen regular-sized muffins & 2 dozen mini-muffins. Muffins freeze well & reheat/thaw easily in microwave.

For more fiber, use 1/2 whole wheat flour & 1/2 white flour. Optional: add 1/2 c. wheat germ, 1/2 c. flax seed, 1-2 Tbs more milk, and double baking powder.

Bisquick Chocolate Waffles

1 1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa
3/4 c. water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs
Optional - 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Beat all ingredients with wire whisk or hand beater until almost smooth. Pour batter from cup or pitcher onto center of hot waffle iron. Bake until steaming stops. Remove waffle carefully.
Serve with vanilla ice cream, sliced peaches, and raspberries or sliced strawberries, sweetened whipped cream, and chocolate-flavored syrup over waffles. Makes 6 servings.

Choco-Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup milk
2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Wipe 1" wide band of butter around the rim of a 3 quart pan to prevent boil-over. Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, butter and peanut butter. Stir and bring to boil over medium heat. Let boil for 1 1/2 minutes, do not stir. Remove from heat. Stir in oats and vanilla. Stir until oats evenly distributed. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper. Cool. Makes 4 to 5 dozen.