A couple weeks ago I wrote about how I desperately wanted Russian Tea Cake cookies.  I made them on a whim and was very happy to eat them.  Strolling through Sam’s Club last weekend, I saw large boxes of Betty Crocker cookie mixes in flavors I hadn’t seen before.  Among them?  Yes, Russian Tea Cakes.  I decided to buy the box and give it a try—it cost about $6 for two mixes in the box. I was impressed by how easy these mixes were ...

Tags: butter, walnuts, cookie kit, Russian Tea Cakes

In my last post on Rosh Hashanah, I promised some pictures of my Upside Down Apple Cake experiment.  I decided to be inspired by the Warm Caramel Apple Cake recipe, but to doctor a cake mix and make it up along the way. I started with four small cake pans (6 inch pans) and put some brown sugar (a few tablespoons), a pat of butter, a bit of pecans and very thinly sliced apples.  ...

Tags: butter, white cake mix, fall, pecans, apple cake

I love to give food gifts, little decadent treats for friends and neighbors.  One of my favorites to make and give is compound butter.  This is butter flavored with a sweet or savory element which makes a great topper for bread, sometimes vegetables and even meat.  These are easy and fun recipes which kids can assist in making for gift giving to grandparents or aunts and uncles or other special people.  Who wouldn’t want to add an extra special touch to Valentine’s Day meals?  Making compound butters is easy, and I have included some ideas and recipes below.  For a quick visual tutorial and how to form logs, ...

Tags: Valentine's Day, butter, gifts