Cream Cheese Cookies

So, I just finished baking these soft scrumptious delicious cookies!

Such a simple recipe and they can taste so good!

Ingredients

1 box of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

8 oz of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1/4 or 1 stick of Land O Lakes Butter

1 Large egg

1 teaspoon of Almond Extract

2 cups of semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

2. Cream together cream cheese and butter with mixer, then add almond extract and butter; 

blend well.

3. Stir in cake mix a little at a time until blended, add chocoate chips.

4. Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes

until the edges are brown.

Bon Appetit!

Two ways to purchase Roux!

We want to personally thank all of you for the continued support!  We now have a little office open for mailing, packaging, test tasting and coffee drinking!  Bon Appetit!

Two ways to purchase Roux...send cashier's check, money order, or personal check to our little office...Roux, c/o 12901 Jefferson Highway, Suite 216, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 or PayPal at http://rouxcajunrecipes.blogspot.com/.

Food Bank

My charity is our local food bank. For every book that I sell during the month of November, I am donating part of the proceeds to the local food bank. Bon Appetit!

Quickie Suppers...

You come in from work and have children to assist with homework, down time, bed time and you want a healthy quick meal for the family, BUT, time doesn't allow it during the week. So, here may be a help for you in planning quick, delicious meals.

Make a menu list for the week.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just good old fashion "oven cooking" as my mother said.  Example, 1 cut up chicken, 4 lbs of ground meat, smoke sausage, any canned or jarred spaghetti sauce.  You should already have rice, potatoes, shredded cheese and veggies in your cupboard as kitchen staples.

If you have meat, you can make any meal. (My mother used to say that too!)
When you get home from the store, freeze your meats, but divide the ground meat into 2lb packages before you freeze.

Prepare your food the night before you intend to serve the meal to your family. 

For example, season, unfrozen, 2 lbs of ground meat, shape into a meatloaf, place in a pan, cover with foil and place it in your refrigerator for the next evenings meal.

Wash and refrigerate your potatoes.

Open any canned veggies and place them in a pryex covered dish in the refrigerator.

Take out a half stick of butter and place that in a saucer on the counter for either the potatoes or the veggies.

You are now prepared for the next nights meal.  Is this making sense?  I hope so.

Okay, when you get home from work and school with the children, put your oven on 350 degrees, and place your meatloaf, uncovered in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Microwave your washed potatoes to either mash with the butter, salt and pepper or serve them as a whole baked potato.

Microwave your veggies for three to four minutes.  Voila, a meal.  Serve with rolls or french bread.

This way your meal is prepared while you take care of your family.  The "oven" is your slave.  Quick tasty meals. Bon Appetit!

OLD FASHIONED COCONUT CAKE

When we married we had a very small reception. As we were entering the hall for the reception we walked in at the same time with one of my husband's very elderly Aunts.  She was carrying a coconut cake to put on the side of my wedding cake.  What a wonderful memory. Thank you Aunt Belle. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. good vanilla
1 3/4 cup self rising flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour 2 round cake pans or 13x9 baking pan. Set aside.

Separate eggs; place yolks in a large mixing bowl. Place egg whites in a metal or heat resistant glass mixing bowl and set aside.

In large mixing bowl combine 3 egg yolks and remaining ingredients in the order given. Beat with spoon or electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake until cake springs back or a pick inserted into the center comes back clean. Place pan(s) on wire rack to cool.

For round pans, cool for 15 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks and cool.

While cake is cooling, prepare Frosting:

3 egg whites beaten stiff
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. good vanilla
dash of salt

Freshly shredded coconut, about 2 cups, more or less, to your taste.

In a large heat proof mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Place sugar, syrup and salt in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes; remove from heat. With mixer on high, pour boiling syrup in a steady stream over egg whites, being very careful not to get hot syrup in beaters. When all of syrup has been added, add vanilla and continue beating until glossy and thick enough to frost cake.

Pour and spread over cake, then immediately sprinkle with coconut, pressing onto top and sides if you use round pans to make a layer cake.

As a child I ate pre-packaged cakes called "Devil Dainties"...I think they were from "Jack's Bakery".  They were very affordable for a nickel and very filling for a little 7 year old girl in the 50's.

I never realized that I was eating what is called "whoopie pies".

I found this recipe for Whoopie Pies and thought you might enjoy making them.  Bon Appetit!

Whoopie Pies

Makes8 individual desserts

• Active time:30 min
• Start to finish:1 hr

The generally accepted legend of whoopie pies is that they evolved from little individual cakes mothers would make their children from leftover chocolate cake batter and frosting—the "whoopie" is said to be the kids' happy shout.

For cakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg

For filling

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 cup marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Make cakes:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.
• Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:

• Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:

• Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Cook's Notes:

• Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.