littleindiana.com » homemade

Mark This Date Down in History! It’s little Indiana’s Special Day!

Jessica Nunemaker — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:25:28 +0000

Heidy ho neighbor – and welcome! Today is a very special day! It’s little Indiana’s SITs Day! For those of you who don’t know, SITs, or The Secret is in the Sauce, is a blog recognition and comment support site. It’s a great way to network – and discover awesome blogs!

Whomever says a small town is boring just doesn’t know where to go! Check out these posts about everything small town – and enjoy the best of little. Indiana is the crossroads of America – maybe some day you’ll find yourself driving through – and you’ll need to know where to stop along the way!

You can dig into actual Indiana towns, mom and pop restaurants, family owned bed and breakfasts – even recipes — by using the categories down the sidebar, but for this one? I’m keeping it simple.

Plain and Simple: Old Order Amish in Nappanee, Indiana

Small Towns: What to Know Before You Go!

Nourish Your Inner Goddess Yoplait Giveaway: Hoosier Style!

Spring into Spring with Soft Lemon Ginger Cookies

Jessica Nunemaker — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:30:55 +0000

Spring is in the air – and what says “Spring” better than lemon ginger cookies! These are so easy to throw together and really, really soft. This is from an old hand-written index card that I bought from a (now closed) antique shop in Rensselaer, Indiana once upon a time – as well as a few variations of my own.

These are so fast to whip up even if you get the idea to try them out at 9:00 at night you would still get to enjoy them by 9:30 — while the kids are in bed asleep, of course!

Lemon-Ginger Cookies
makes 3 dozen

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 teaspoons lemon extract
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar

1. Preheat 350* oven.
2. Cream shortening and brown sugar until fluffy.
3. Add egg, lemon extract, and lemon juice.
4. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
5. Mix together just until combined.
6. I use a 2 teaspoon cookie dough scoop, plop ‘em in the bowl with granulated sugar, and roll ‘em around.
7. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I always use parchment paper) 2” apart.
8. Bake at 350* for 12 to 15 minutes until cookies are golden.
9. Remove from sheet after a few minutes to cool.
10. Enjoy!

Guest Post: Lime Cream Cookies

Jessica Nunemaker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:30:54 +0000

Today is another special day in little Indiana! It’s my very first guest blogger! After browsing through nummy recipes on Hoosier Homemade, I just had to beg, plead, whine until she relented to have her share.

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up. Do you make special “green” food to celebrate? I usually do a few fun treats for my family, this year I also decorated our Mantle.

Today, I’m sharing these little Lime Cream Cookies with you, they would be a sweet treat for St. Patrick’s Day or as a Springtime celebration.

Ingredients for Cookies:
1/2 cup Butter, softened (real butter, not margarine)
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg Yolk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/4 cup Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Ingredients for Filling:
1/3 cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Lime Peel, freshly grated
2 Egg Yolks
1 drop Green Food Coloring, if desired
Powered Sugar, for dusting

Directions for Cookies:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla in large bowl, beat until well mixed. Add flour and salt, beat well.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place on greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb or back of spoon.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from cookie sheets and let cool.

Directions for Filling:
Combine all ingredients except food coloring in saucepan, mix well. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until mixture turns glossy and thickens, about 6-9 minutes. Do Not Boil. Remove from heat, stir in food coloring, cool slightly, fill each cookie with about 1/4 teaspoon warm filling (I put a little extra on mine) Dust with powdered sugar.

These little cookies were just melt in your mouth — I couldn’t stop eating them. If you bake at all, you must bake these, the dough was really easy to work with.

You know how when you mix dough and you can just feel how good it is? This is that kind of dough. I also like that there are not many ingredients. I found the recipe from Land O’ Lakes.

.Liz is a SAHM of 3 teenage boys and happily married for 20+ years and lives in LaPorte, Indiana (about 15 minutes from Lake Michigan). Liz shares her love for baking, cooking and decorating on Hoosier Homemade – and hosting Cupcake Tuesday blog carnival with lots of cupcake creations.

Photos are the property of Hoosier Homemade and cannot be used without permission.

Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake

Jessica Nunemaker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:26 +0000

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! I thought that might just get your attention. I’m a big fan of Bundt cakes. They just scream “homemade” and “small town.” Plus, Bundt Cakes provide plenty of servings so they are great to cut in half, keep some on hand for immediate use, and freeze the other half for later! This one is my favorite.

Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake
serves 12 – 14

1 (7 oz) milk chocolate candy bar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (I used whole milk)
confectioner’s sugar for dusting, optional

In a saucepan, heat the candy bar and chocolate syrup over low heat until melted; set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk (or whole milk).

Pour into a greased and floured 10” Bundt pan. Bake 350* for 65 – 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Pumpkin Muffins

Jessica Nunemaker — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:30:18 +0000

Autumn and pumpkin go hand in hand. We eat a lot of pumpkin: it’s hubs favorite. I’ve only ever used canned pumpkin for these though I suppose I could have used one of my pie pumpkins. I’ve even subbed pie filling when I didn’t have solid pack pumpkin and they still turned out. These pumpkin muffins are fuss-free and a regular in our house year round.

Pumpkin Muffins
12-14 muffins

1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oleo, melted
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Blend pumpkin, eggs, water, and oleo in a large bowl (I use my Kitchen-Aide for this).

2. Sift together remaining ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture.

3. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.

4. Bake 350* or until muffins feel “set” when touched.

Fresh Picked Apples + Homemade Caramel Sauce = Yum!

Jessica Nunemaker — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:30:12 +0000

Who doesn’t love Indiana in the Fall? The air smells so good, the leaves are brilliantly hued, and it’s apple pickin’ time! October is National Apple Month and National Caramel Month, so I’m going to share my favorite seasonal treat (which was also popular with the kid’s preschool class last year): homemade caramel sauce!

Forget that pricey junk at the store…this is 100 times better and so easy! Best of all? No unwrapping those tiny little plastic-wrapped squares!

Caramel Sauce
makes about 4 cups caramel sauce

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt

Combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk in a saucepan. Stir, over low, until brown sugar is fully incorporated (trust me, you have to taste it – it may look dissolved but taste gritty). Stir for approximately 15 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

Add in vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to mix.

Keep refrigerated.

Not only does this sauce taste great with apples (or right out of the jar with a spoon – awesome!), I have used it in place of store-bought caramel sauce in many a recipe without a hitch.