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Happy New Year Eve! I figured this will be my last post of the year. Since this is my last post of this year, I want to recap my favorite recipes of this year.

Favorite breakfast:

Apple and Cheddar Scone

Favorite meat:

Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken

Favorite bread:  

Double Cheddar Biscuits

Favorite dessert: 

Allie's Bars

Do you like New Year's Resolutions? I always do. I went one year without eating any french fries. I will admit I did have sweet potato fries but I say they do not count! 


Did you already know:
-According to CBS news, resolutions should be focused, specific, positive, and chart your progress.


If you need a New Year's Resolution, check out this site and it will pick one for you. My daughter did the resolution generator and it told her to give more compliments. She replied, "I had planned on doing it."

Double Cheddar Biscuits

We love biscuits! My Dad would make biscuits for breakfast and serve it with gravy or syrup. My Dad is from the South and My Mom is from the North. My breakfast was like the best of both worlds. I didn't want gravy but maple syrup.

I would not recommend these biscuits for breakfast but supper/dinner. They have double the amount of cheddar. My children had at least two biscuits each. I served these with soup. The biscuits are hardy so if you have never made biscuits before then I recommend trying these biscuits.

Double Cheddar Biscuits
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded extra sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded sharp orange cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 to 1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. The rack needs to be in the center of the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cayenne.
5. Add the shredded cheeses and incorporate well.
6. Add the cold butter by rubbing the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the mixture resembles oatmeal.
7. Stir in the heavy cream and mix.
8. Add a little of the buttermilk at a time and stir. The dough should be chunky and a little dry but not too dry if so add a little more buttermilk but you do not want sticky dough.
9. Onto a lightly floured surface, turn the dough and begin to knead to form a cohesive dough.
10. Roll the dough out to a 1/2 inch thickness. 
11. Dip a fork into flour and evenly prick holes over the dough.
12. Take a round 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or glass and cut out the circle biscuits. Re-roll the left over dough and repeat cutting out additional biscuits.
13. Place the biscuits onto the parchment paper spaced about 3 inches apart.
14. Bake the biscuits for 16 minutes or until browned.
15. Allow the biscuits to cool slightly before serving.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

Did you already know............
-In America, biscuit is referred to a soft bread.
-In England, biscuit is a hard cookie or cracker.
-Biscuits have been around before Roman times.

Chocolate Cupcakes

My son has been singing "Its the best day ever." He has been singing this song since Christmas morning. I have a strong feeling he was happy with all of his gifts.

 Since Christmas, we have a lot of family and friends with birthdays. I decided to make a chocolate cupcake. Since this cupcake is not the Boozy Bourbon Chocolate Cupcakes, these cupcakes are perfect for everyone.  I did put a little instant chocolate pudding in the middle instead of the previous filling. Also, the difference between the previous frosting and this one is I replaced the liqueur with melted unsweetened chocolate.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes


2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup milk
4 large eggs

Directions:

1. Line 18 cupcake tin with liners.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the butter at low speed for 1 minute.
5. Add the oil to the butter and continue beating until texture of sand.
6. Add the milk with the vanilla to the butter. 
7. Mix for about 2 minutes while scraping down every minute.
8. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. The batter should be thin.
9. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. 
10. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
11. Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting.

Recipe adapted from the Moist Chocolate Cake recipe on the back of the King Arthur Flour unbleached cake flour blend.

Did you already know............
-Medieval pudding was made out of meats.
-In the 1930s, instant puddings were available. 
-The first instant pudding Jello introduced was chocolate.