Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup and 1T sugar
2T (or 2 packages) yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
6 cups shifted flour
6T shortening
3 eggs
2t salt


Directions:

Scald and cool to lukewarm 1 cup milk. Meanwhile dissolve 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 pkg yeast in 1 cup lukewarm water. Add milk. Sift before measuring. 3 cups flour, add to above mixture and best until smooth and fine grained. Cream 1/2 cup sugar with 6 Tbsp shortening and add to first mixture. Add 3 beaten eggs. Add 2 tsp salt and enough flour (about 3 cups) to make dough to handle. Knead lightly and place in bowl greased with butter. Let raise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Roll about 1/2 inch thick, spread with melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, raisin, and nuts. Roll up and cut in slices. Place cut side up on greased tin and let rise 1 hour. Bake 400 degrees until nice and brown. About 15 minutes. Ice while hot. Makes about 24

Tip: use a length of thread to cut the rolls so they don't get smashed. Just wrap the thread around the roll and pull.
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Frosting ingredients:

4 cups powder sugar
4T butter
4T milk
1t vanilla


Frosting directions:

Blend all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy. Makes about 2 cups.

Best Brownies

From Allrecipies.com. I just think it's worth passing on, especially since these are the ONLY brownies I'll make now. And since I'm lazy- copy and paste. For the record I think the brownies stand alone just fine if you prefer them without frosting (the picture is without frosting).

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

Lemon Cake

I took this recipe from here, and well think it's worth sharing. Since I'll copy and paste most of the recipe I'll just add my own thoughts in italics.

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter (umm yeah I used half butter and half vegetable oil spread came out just fine though I can't recommend less then half real butter)
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here--you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I squeezed 1 lemon and got 2T)
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk (yeah. no buttermilk here I used the substitute of 1T vinegar and enough milk for that to become a cup)


Preheat oven to 325.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don't go skimping here--you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake. (yeah if I had a stand alone electric mixer, a hand mixer worked fine but it did take longer to get the desired results- Don't be afraid to look at the recipe I used to see a picture of how this should look)

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated. (don't just dump them in at the same time it's important to get it all mixed together and all mixed together creamy)

The recipe I used was for cupcakes at 325 (20-25 minutes). I did bake it at 325 but I bake mine in a 9x13 for 35-40 minutes. Be very careful not to over bake.

Also there is a lemon butter cream frosting to top it. For actual frosting wait until the cake is completely cooled and mix the following.

1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency. Makes 2 3/4 c.

For my cake since my husband prefers a glaze on his lemon cakes I added 1/8c water decreased the amount of butter by half (I just didn't need that much frosting since I was turning it into a glaze) I'm not sure how much sugar I used since I just kept adding it until I liked the consistency. Then I drizzled the glaze on while the cake was still warm.

Personally I thought YUM. This was amazingly light but not airy. The flavor was wonderful it wasn't "just a hint" nor was it overpowering. Perfect for summer because really who doesn't love a citrus dessert in summer? Two thumbs way by from me and my family (birthday boy included).

Peanut Butter Frosting

This is a great frosting on Chocolate cake it is your choice though if you want it chunky or creamy. But like the cream cheese frosting you will have to add more powdered sugar to decorate with it. I am personally a big fan of light and creamy frosting that isn't just sugar. It allows the other flavors to come out more.

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powered sugar.

Directions:

Cream peanut butter and butter together. Add sugar and mix well.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Not really for decorating but I have used it for a base and added another 2-3 cups to make it a better decorating option. Great on any cake.

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add Vanilla. Then whip sugar in.

I also make a Chocolate version of this that tastes like fudge.

Melt 1 12 ounce package milk chocolate chips and add into butter and cream cheese mixture. Once completely mixed add vanilla and 3 cups powdered sugar.

Also a raspberry version that is to die for and taste great on a chocolate cake.

After mixing all frosting ingredients together add 1 cup raspberries and mix well. Not for decorating with.