Grammy's Buttermilk Biscuits

I got this recipe off the internet and changed it to work for my taste and altitude.

3 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup real butter

1¼ cups buttermilk

1 egg beaten


In a large mixing bowl sift the flour with baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut into flour mixture the butter with a pastry blender until well blended. Butter should be cold to start and it should look like very small bits when blended into flour. Add one cup of buttermilk and stir. If the dough is dry add the rest of the buttermilk. Mix until slightly blended. Turn out on lightly floured board or counter top and kneed for about two minutes or until dough is mixed well enough to form large ball. Roll out to about 1 inch thick and cut with round biscuit cutter or with a small juice glass that is greased around the edges. Place on a cookie sheet and brush with pastry brush the tops of the biscuits with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 to 22 minutes. Serve warm.

Corn Chowder

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and tweeked it. Don said this was the best soup I have made in years!

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 onion, chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon cumin

(dash) cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 1/4 cups milk

1½ cups frozen corn kernels

2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives

⅓ cup heavy cream

2 cups Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese shredded



1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter and stir in the onion, potato, bay leaf, cumin, parsley, and sage. Saute about 5 minutes, until the onion is tender. Mix in the flour, coating the onion and potato. Pour in the chicken stock and milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the potato is tender.

2. Mix the corn, chives, and cream into the saucepan, and cook about 5 minutes, until heated through. Remove the bay leaf, and stir in the Cheddar cheese until melted and blended. Season with salt and pepper.

German Chocolate Daisy Birthday Cake

It was fun to have another excuse to make a cake.  I have been practicing a lot and find that I can be quite artistic on simple projects that everyone enjoys. My sister-in -law's birthday is today, November 5.  She loves German Chocolate cake.  I tried making one on a previous cake but I haven't found or tweeked the recipe for high altitude so this one is a Betty Crocker box mix and Betty Crocker Pecan Frosting in the center.  I used my good ol' buttercream frosting that you can find at http://whatscookingamerica.net/.  The fondant recipe is from this site too.  I used Wilton's gum paste but I am searching for a good home made gum paste recipe to try next.  I bought the Wilton set of simple daisy cutters and used it for the flowers and the daisy leaves.

One thing that I discovered while shopping for supplies is that when it is recommended to use a foam to soften the edges of your flowers with a round ball tool I used a thick craft foam pad.  I bought it for .89.  Wiltons or other foams go upwards of $3.oo and that is for a small one.  I am learning what I can make here without the added cost of  "supplies".  I watch videos on how to make flowers.  There are many out there.  As I get better I will add tools that are required for cleaner flowers.  They are expensive and I am learning to do a lot of cutting by hand or drawing a template on card stock and cutting around it with an exacto knife.  I smooth the edges if they are slightly jagged with a lightly greased finger.  You can't get it to wet or it gets sticky. 

I had a lot of fun decorating this cake. I learned how to make simple daisies.  I want to do better centers. These are kind of kindergarten, but they are cute. I just love looking on line for video classes.  These people have figured out how to make beautiful life like flowers and are willing to share their knowledge.  So take advantage of that.  Where I live there are no classes so I have having to self teach.  It's also a fun thing to do with my grandsons. 

I used wire with a loop or hook on the end so that it "grabs" onto the fondant and then when it dries it's easier to add petals.  I also use as glue a small amount of white fondant disolved in about three Tablespoons of water.  It makes a "glue" that holds pretty strong and dries faster than plain water.  Saves on buying the "flower glue" that can be expensive too.  I'd rather save my money for cutters and luster or pear dusts.  I have ordered my first set of luster dust and will be trying that next week.  I'm really excited to be "painting" flowers.  I also ordered a leaf set with veiners to make my leaves look more realistic.  We'll post the next experiment as soon as I get it done.



Classy Junior Mint Cake

This cake is up for auction Sunday, October 31 at the Senior Citizen's Center in Alamosa, CO.  The festivities of the Sunshine Christian School Fall Festival Taco Dinner and Pie Auction begin at 4:30 pm.  All proceeds go to the school.

It's a chocolate fudge cake with buttercream mint frosting in the center.  I used Junior Mint candies pressed into the cake when it came out of the oven so they would melt into the cake and flavor it a bit.  The flowers are gum paste and the brown things are Jumior Mint candies. The green covering is home made fondant.

Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes: What really makes this yummy is the frosting.  Just get your favorite chocolate cake recipe and make the cupcakes and let them cool.

Frosting: 1 stick butter at room temperature

1 cup Jiff creamy peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

In medium mixing bowl place butter and peanut butter.  Beat till smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and beat till light and fluffy.  Use a large tip and pastry bag to apply frosting and sprinkly with mini Reeses Pieces.

Artichoke Dip

Gamma Susie's Artichoke Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 8-oz package cream cheese room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 4-oz jar marinated artichokes drained
1 Tablespoon dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup fresh grated parmesean cheese

In a small fry pan saute minced garlic in oil.  Set aside. In large mixing bowl place cream cheese and mayonnaise.  Mix well.  In a blender or food processor place artichokes and blend till small bits but not pureed.  Add to cream cheese mixture along with 1/2 cup parmesean cheese and the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Spray a pie plate.  Pour mixture in baking dish and smooth out evenly.  Place in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Place back in oven until cheese melts.  Serve warm with bagettes.

This is a great way to use up some bread.  slice into one inch by 3 inch pieces and place on cookie sheet.  Put in oven at 350 degrees until lightly browned.

Wedding Cake Top With Gum Paste Roses

This is a German Chocolate cake with fondant covering, buttercream frosting edging, and gum paste roses.  I first tried to make my own German Chocolate cake but I didn't calculate the altitude well, so I used a Betty Crocker box mix. What was nice about the box mix was there wasn't a need to altitude adjust.  I live at 7600 feet so I have to pay attention to this.  I did add 2 tablespoons flour to the mix and it came out perfect.  I also used Betty Crocker Pecan Coconut Frosting. 

This cake was fun to make.  These are the first gum paste roses I have done.  There are mistakes of course but I made a pretty cool "first" wedding cake.  I did pretty good at making the rose buds too.  For the green ribbon I made a strip of fondant and attached it to the cake by brushing a little water between the strip and the cake.  Then I brushed a light film of water over the fondant to make the ribbon shine.  Then I was able to apply sugar pearls, one at a time, to the edge of the ribbon.  Water makes the fondant sticky so that part was easy, it just took time to apply.

My problem right now is when I put the fondant on the cake I get air bubbles.  I need to figure out how to get those out before I decorate.  I think one way is to have the cake eye level and in good lighting so I can spin the cake around to make sure it is smooth.

This batch of fondant came out speckled.  Normally I wouldn't have used it but I kind of liked the textured look so I kept it.  I used butter cream frosting for the edging around the bottom.

I can understand why these types of cakes are so expensive.  One bakery charges $5.00 a slice for wedding cakes.  This is because the gum paste flowers are time consuming.  Each step takes time to make, dry, and apply.  I loved doing it and though there are flaws, this being my first wedding cake, I am really happy with how it turned out.