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Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there! Anyone who knows me knows how much I cherish my dad. He is an incredibly hard worker, and would do anything for anybody. :) He definitely deserves a relaxing day of bean bags, paddleball, and a few brewskis.

I decided dad needed a special treat to help celebrate the day with. A while back my favorite cupcake bakery Happy Cakes had made a beer and pretzel cupcake as one of their mystery flavors. I thought I would step out of my safety box once again, and try to create a beer and pretzel whoopie pie! I must say I nailed this one. My official taste tester, my sister Jackie, gave it the thumbs up and said it's even better than the banana whoopie pies.

I'm A Native Whoopie Pies (Beer and Pretzel Whoopie Pies)


1 c. light brown sugar
3 Tbs. butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 t.  baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 bottle Colorado Native Beer
1/2 c. pretzels bits

Cream Cheese Filing-From Martha Stewart

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs; one at a time until well blended.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Stir 1/4 of dry ingredients into the egg mixture until combined. Then pour in some of the beer. Continue this process until both are completely added and mixed.

Stir in pretzel bits.

I also used my new toy to bake these. My cousin got my a BabyCakes Whoopie Pie Maker for my birthday. It worked pretty well! It is definitely super fast! Each batch cooked in about 1 1/2 minutes. The only hard thing is that the underside of the pies cooks a lot fast than the top. They didn't burn, but they were quite a bit darker.

For the frosting:

Beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pipe onto whoopie pie halves.

Pineapple-Sage Chicken

I LOVE this time of year!!! Our garden is up and running, and I get to start using it in the kitchen! When we were on our yearly adventure to Tawagas, getting all of our supplies, Michael found an herb that he insisted we get because "it smells like Hawaii." This lovely Pineapple Sage plant found a home in it's own little pot.....

Pineapple Sage

As soon as we put it in the garden, I was wondering what I could create with it. Of course since it is a tropical herb I immediately thought of Pineapple Sage Mojitos (which will probably be made sometime soon.) I plugged pineapple sage recipes into Google and I found a lovely website already devoted to this alluring shrub.

Voilà! Dinner was planned! Pineapple- Sage Chicken!!!! My hubby grilled it to perfection and it was very flavorful. May be a new summertime favorite! Any other ideas???

Pineapple Sage Chicken

1/4 C Teriyaki or Tamari Or Soy sauce
1/4 C honey
1/2 C Olive Oil
2 TBS lemon Juice
2 TBS Apple juice
2 tsp ground ginger
Handful of Pineapple Sage leaves chopped
Boneless Chicken Breasts
Marinade chicken in above ingredients. Cook on grill
Serve with Pineapple kabobs

Banana Whoopie Pies

Wow! Another school year has successfully come to an end. I was blessed with such an awesome group this year, and it was hard to let them go. On the bright side, now I will have that much more time to update my blog with delicious treats....and even more time to work them off hiking, biking, and enjoying the Colorado summer life.

We had two fabulous teachers retire this year, so before we said goodbye, we held a community celebration in their honor. It was decided to have a table full of small sweets; so that students, parents, and colleagues (new and old) could quickly snag a treat while enjoying the party. Since my sister has been begging me to try this recipe I thought it would be a great time to try it out.

Banana Whoopie Pies  from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mashed banana (from 1 large ripe banana)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Combine banana and sour cream in another bowl.
   
2. Beat butter and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed, until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, beating until incorporated. Add banana mixture in 2 additions, alternating with flour mixture.
   
3. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip. Pipe batter into 1 1/4-inch rounds on baking sheets, spacing rounds 1 1/2 inches apart.
   
4. Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Slide parchment, with cookies, onto wire racks. Let cool. (Unfilled cookies can be stored for up to 1 day.)
   
5. Beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
   
6. Pipe or spoon 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture onto the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve immediately.
   
   
   They were a hit! Got lots of compliments :)  I'm still not very fond of my whoopie pie pan. I think I could get better results the old fashion way. Next time....