Author: Dragonfly Home Recipes (Page 6 of 32)

Cozy Apple Spice Cake

December 5, 2014 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 14 Comments

Sometimes you just need a simple, satisfying dessert to make an evening more enjoyable. Sometimes you crave something sweet, but somewhat healthy. Sometimes you want something to offer your kids for a snack besides a plate of pretzels or chips. Or sometimes you want your kitchen to have that iconic scent of apples and cinnamon baking away in your oven. That’s when I like to make this apple spice cake. It is still making something from scratch, which is a satisfying and healthy thing to do, but it doesn’t take much thinking, and the margin for error is pretty small (unlike making a pie with a homemade pie crust, which I also really like to do, but mostly only when I have the time and energy). The most time-consuming part of this recipe is peeling and chopping the apples, but even that isn’t too bad, since the recipe calls for just about 4-5 apples (3 cups chopped). This apple cake recipe is something you can pull out in a pinch when you need a comforting dessert or snack, and don’t want to go to too much trouble. It is made up of mostly basic things I usually have on hand. The wheat germ is the only ingredient that may not be a staple for everyone, though I like to keep it on hand to add to smoothies and muffins. Wheat germ gives this apple cake a little extra heartiness and lots of health benefits, since it is full of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. Of course, if you have a wheat allergy, this cake is probably not for you, but otherwise, I highly recommend it as a delicious, cozy, simple dessert.

Apple Spice Cake

Servings: 6-8
Time: about 15 minutes for preparation, about 45 minutes for baking
Print

Ingredients:

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup wheat germ

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with butter. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture. Stir in the apples and wheat germ. Stir until just combined. Pour and spoon the batter into the baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is lightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with vanilla ice cream or on its own. Enjoy!

Ruby-Red Goodness: Tart Cherry Pie

December 1, 2014 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 16 Comments

For my husband’s birthday, instead of a cake I made him a cherry pie, one of his favorite things to eat. Cherry pies are layered with all kinds of memories for me. More tart cherries are grown and harvested in Michigan than in any other state in the U.S., and my family has always enjoyed Michigan cherries. As a child, one of the highlights of my summer vacations was getting a cherry pie at the Cherry Hut in Beulah, Michigan, and eating it outside. Then we started going to Charlevoix (also in northern Michigan) every vacation we got, and we discovered Friske Orchards, just south of Charlevoix. My mom and I began making cherry pies regularly from Friske Orchards Montmorency red tart cherries, and a family tradition has continued and evolved. I cannot think about cherry pies without thinking of my father, since it was his favorite dessert for as long as I can remember. He called it a “bright and lively” pie. And it is bright and lively. A cherry pie is a great way to add some cheerfulness to a dark, cold evening. When we look outside and see so much brown and gray, it is nice to feast our eyes (and palates) on the deep, bright hue of the cherries. And that ruby-red goodness is full of health benefits too–tart cherries contain antioxidants and help reduce inflammation. I have continued to make cherry pies for special occasions, and my husband and children have come to love them too. In fact, we planted a couple of cherry trees in our yard a few years ago, in hopes that we can someday make cherry pies with our very own cherries. But we will have to be patient until our trees get bigger. Right now we have to share what little cherries our trees produce with the birds and insects, not to mention the deer who chew on the branches!

Anyway, the frozen cherries from northern Michigan are deliciously tart, and are a source of pleasure. Because of their delicate nature, most tart cherries are frozen right after they are picked and washed, so they are available to be enjoyed year-round. I am sharing the recipe for the cherry pie filling found on the package of frozen Montmorency tart cherries from Friske Orchards. I am sure you can use any type of frozen tart cherries and this filling recipe will work. If you need a simple and delicious recipe for a double pie crust for fruit pies, I have a good one at this link. What a treat to enjoy some brightness when the darkness is coming earlier and earlier.

Friske Homemade Cherry Piefill

Servings: 6-8
Time: about 20 minutes, plus about an hour for baking
Print

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds (680g/5 cups) frozen tart cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Filling thickens as it cooks. Pour into a pie crust and cover with the other pie crust. Follow the baking directions for the pie crust recipe. Serve with vanilla ice cream or just on its own. Enjoy!

Cocoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 21, 2014 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 11 Comments

I had the urge to make something with chocolate today, and I wanted to share a fun adaptation of a recipe that has become a favorite at our house. It has been very cold and snowy this week, and the driving has been precarious at times. The air is fresh and the snow is beautiful though, and it feels good to come in from the cold and have something warm to drink and a chocolate cookie to eat. My kids are on a hot cocoa kick lately, so we have a lot of hot cocoa packages in the pantry. My daughter and I love to experiment in the kitchen, and she is the one who actually came up with this variation of the traditional Nestle’s Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies. We have tested it several times, and it has become a favorite winter treat. We replace 1/4 of the white sugar with hot cocoa mix (I buy the kind sweetened with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup, and try to see that it is ethically sourced cocoa) and we add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the batter, which gives a hint of cherry flavor. Serve these cookies with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea, and a little bowl of fresh raspberries. They are the perfect treat to take the edge off the stress of the week! “As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U, is the proper time for chocolate.” –author Sandra Boynton

Cocoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: about 48 cookies
Time: about 1 hour
Print

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (if you are using salted butter, cut the salt to 1/2 teaspoon or omit completely)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sweetened hot cocoa mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Vigorously stir the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, hot cocoa mix, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a bowl until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well as you add them. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until everything is combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until cookies are done. Cool for a couple minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from the traditional Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe