How to: Soften Butter

I know that sounds SO silly, but it’s a great trick that I’ve learned! Almost all baking recipes call for butter to be room temp, right? But honestly who actually remembers to pull out their butter at least 1/2 hour before using it?  And who else besides me has nuked their butter into a melty mess? Welp, here’s trick for for perfect softened butter: (I learned this from my mom!)

Place your butter in the microwave, and microwave for 5 seconds full power. (I left mine in the wrapper because I was using the whole cube. If you’re using half, you can cut the cube through the wrapper and leave it wrapped, or unwrap and place in a microwavable bowl.)

Stop the microwave after the 5 seconds, this is important! and flip it over, so what was on the bottom, is now on top

• Now microwave again for 5 seconds, then pull it out and see how it’s doing.  You may need to throw it back in for a couple of seconds depending on how soft you want it.10 seconds usually does it for me! The trick is stopping it half way through to rotate it.  It makes it so there isn’t a melty spot right in the middle, but more of a perfect soft all the way through! Easy huh?? 

**You an also do this with frozen butter, I did it in 8 second increments for a total of around 30 seconds**

Seedless Raspberry Jam

First off, I have a new page on Facebook!! search Fredellicious the page and ‘like’ it!As much as I love the flavor of raspberries, I have a hard time getting over the seeds.  There are so many!!  and they always get caught between my teeth.  I very much prefer anything raspberry to be seedless. (have you ever had Red Mango? They make delicious frozen yogurt, and their raspberry is one of my favorites… it’s seedless!!)

I also love freezer jam.  I remember growing up, one summer my mom made seedless raspberry jam.  and my whole family still has fond memories eating it.  Everyone was sad when the last jar was empty.  So, when I saw that raspberries were on sale at the local store for $.99 I knew I wanted to make some.  and you know what? It’s really easy!! slightly time consuming, but totally worth it!

Seedless Raspberry Jam (adapted from the Sure-Jell package)

1 package Sure-Jell Pectin

5 pints of fresh and ripe raspberries – to make 3 cups of raspberry sauce

5 1/4 C sugar

3/4 C water

• Wash your raspberries. I did this in batches, 1-2 pints at a time.

• Put a batch of the raspberries in a sieve or mesh strainer, and place that over a bowl (or pyrex measuring cup) 

• Get a flexible but firm spatula and start mushing the raspberries through the sieve



• Keep mushing and mushing, until all the raspberry goodness makes its way through the sieve



• Repeat these steps until you have 3 cups of the raspberry sauce with no seeds in it.

• Measure exactly 3 cups of the seedless raspberry sauce, and put in a bowl.

• Stir in the 5 1/4 C exactly of sugar and let sit 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• While that is sitting, put 3/4 C water and sure-jell pectin in a small sauce pan, over medium-high heat



• Stir all together and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute



• Pour the pectin mixture into your bowl of raspberry/sugar mixture



• Stir until all the pectin is mixed in.  Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. (to check this, rub a bit between your fingers, it should feel smooth, not grainy)



• Pour into clean freezer safe containers – leave about 1/2” at top for expansion in the freezer



• Let sit at room temperature for about 24 hours, until the jam is set.



• After it’s set, it keeps for 3 weeks in the fridge, or up to a year in the freezer. 

This jam is delicious, bursting with fresh raspberry flavor, and no seeds to get in the way!! I especially love it on whole wheat toast. I hope you like it as much as I do!!

Banana Bundt Cake

My son loves bananas. He kind of goes through phases, but sometimes he’ll eat 1 maybe 2 whole bananas in a sitting.  I think he likes bananas more than any person I know. He’ll eat them so green that I can’t even barely peel them, and then my fingers have that nasty bitter taste on them.  So, I very rarely have bananas that get ripe enough to bake with.  But I think he forgot they were on the counter, or I forgot to offer them to him, because I had 3 bananas that were awesome for baking: lots of brown spots and WAY more ripe than I would eat.Good thing their so delicious in baked goods!  This is probably one of my husbands favorite cakes that I make.

Banana Bundt Cake adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

2 eggs room temp

2 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1 1/2 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 C mashed RIPE bananas (about 3)

3/4 C buttermilk*

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

*I rarely have buttermilk on hand, so instead, I make ‘sour milk.’ To make it, place 1 Tblsp white vinegar or lemon juice in a 1 C measuring cup.  Fill to the top with milk. Stir, and let sit for 5 minutes before using.

• grease/flour a Bundt pan (or just use a spray with flour in it!!)
• stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda
• add bananas, buttermilk, butter and vanilla, beat on low to combine
• add eggs, beat on medium for 2 minutes, then pour into pan
• bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean
• let cool in pan on rack for ~10 minutes then flip out to cool

Cream Cheese Drizzle

2 oz cream cheese room temp

1 Tblsp butter room temp

3/4 C powdered sugar

~2 tsp cream

• cream butter and cream cheese until combined
• add powdered sugar, 1/4 C at a time, combining before next addition
• add enough cream to make it a fairly runny consistency, so you can drizzle
• put it in a ziplock bag with a corner cut off, and drizzle away!I drizzled it lopsided though: for more equal frosting to cake ratio, don’t drizzle it in so far into the middle, and be more generous on the outside

mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Hi-Hats

Remember how my niece came to town? And she loves to bake too? well, she had a recipe that she wanted to share with me.  And boy am I glad she did.  She did her take one these.  Yum.  I can’t lie though, these bad boys are pretty rich. that’s why I made mine mini style:Just you wait…That frosting is fluffy peanut butter goodness.  Awesome right? 

These cupcakes have been a big hit with some of my reliable taste testers.  Comments like, “honestly the best cupcakes I’ve ever had” or “to die for” and my personal favorite, “holy yummy oh so deliciously sinful cupcake”

want to make some??

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hi-Hats

*this recipe makes a ton of mini cupcakes just so you’re aware*

• Start with a chocolate cake mix (Sure you can use a mix!! the frosting is the star in this recipe! I used Betty Crocker’s Devil’s Food) + the oil, water, eggs
• divide evenly into lined cupcake pans. You don’t want to fill them too full, it’s better if they come out with a fairly flat top.
• mini cupcakes don’t take very long to make, and you don’t want to over bake them! I started at 8 minutes, then removed them when a toothpick came out clean.  Cool on racks

Peanut Butter fluff recipe

1 1/2 C (3 sticks) butter room temp

1 1/2 C creamy Peanut Butter

1 1/2 C Marshmallow creme

3 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

~2 Tblsp milk

• cream butter, then add peanut butter

  *tip for adding peanut butter: line the measuring cup with plastic wrap before putting the PB in:then just flop it out. see how nice it comes out?

  

• add marshmallow crème and mix to combine

• add the powdered sugar 1/2 – 3/4 C at a time

• beat until fluffy, then add the vanilla.

• Add milk 1 T at a time until it’s a good piping consistency

it should look about like this, and yes, I took lots of taste tests.now pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.  I just used a ziplock bag with a hole cut into the corner.

now, throw them into the freezer for about 20 min, you want the frosting pretty firm to the touch

Chocolate Coating

1 bag of chocolate chips

3 Tblsp oil

while the cupcakes are freezing, melt the chips with the oil in the microwave on 1/2 power, stirring every 30 seconds.  You’ll want the chocolate to be in a cup or bowl that is deep enough to dip the cupcakes into, but with a wide enough mouth so it’s easy.  I used big mug

dip em in, then pull em out, and let the excess drip off a bit.

let the chocolate harden.  I recommend storing these cupcakes in the fridge, in a container or with plastic wrap on top.  It makes the chocolate coating more of a shell, so you bite through chocolate shell, chilled PB fluff, and then the soft cake. Pretty dang good!

Easy Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

I have fond memories of homemade ice cream while growing up.  It was a special treat.  and So delicious.  The ice cream maker would run outside, and it was so exciting to hear the machine slow down, because that meant it was ready! 

A couple of years ago, my husband wanted to start making ice cream.  So, we got an ice cream maker!  We tried Several vanilla recipes.  That’s the basic, so we needed to get it right.  Some had so much cream, you’re mouth would be coated within a couple of bites.  Some were too sweet.  Some have lots of ingredients that I don’t usually have on hand.  Some you have to cook, then cool, but I would never think to make it early enough. You get the picture.  Then I found a recipe that contains only 4 ingredients:Yup. that’s right.  Boo-yah! 

and that vanilla on the right, is from Mexico.  Let me tell ya, Mexican vanilla is delicious.  When I smell it, I kind of want to drink the whole bottle….

So, 4 ingredients, no cooking, no eggs, perfect cream ratio, sounds good to me! 

Vanilla Ice Cream for a 2 quart ice cream maker

2 C heavy whipping cream

2 C milk

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (I’ve tried Great Value… it’s not the same)

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

• combine all ingredients whisk to combine (whisking seems easier to me)
• put into an ice cream maker to chillthis is the one we use.  perfect little 2 quart-er.  and it doesn’t involve ice and rock salt, which makes it even better.

and when it looks like this is when you should be very excited!  Since the ice cream is so soft, and melts quickly, you can put bowls into the freezer while making the ice cream.  The cold bowls will help keep it frozen longer. I forgot to freeze my bowl, you can see it starting to melt around the edges.  But you know what? It’s still delicious.  Eat it plan like this, or with fresh fruit, or with oreos, or pie, or cobbler….  the options are endless! Enjoy!