Wishing you a day of festivities and fun!!
Until Monday, and spookishly yours,
Ann
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Category Archives: Fantastic Friday
A recipe for…. chocolate chip pumpkin cookies!
If you like pumpkin and chocolate, these cookies are for you. I made a batch recently and oh! Are they yummy.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Original recipe found at www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com)
Note: I tweaked the original recipe a bit. The recipe below incorporates my changes.
Yield: about 5 dozen
Ingredients
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (I used Silpat) and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until creamy. Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into the pumpkin mixture. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough. Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto the baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool on the pan for 3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store leftover cookies in a covered container.
Until Monday, and Droolingly Yours,
Ann
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TGIF!
TGIF–Thank goodness it’s Friday!
As a writer, I set my own hours, which means I often work on Saturdays and even Sundays. Still, I look forward to the weekend.
And on that note….
Until Monday, and wishing you a terrific weekend,
Ann
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Pie, Pie, Beautiful Pie
It’s fall, and I’ve got a yen for pie. Not just any pie–apple pie. Several years ago, I tried the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for deep dish apple pie. After tweaking amounts and ingredients a bit, I can truly say without a doubt, that this is the best apple pie I’ve ever made or tasted.
The crust (makes top and bottom crust):
1/1/2 sticks chilled, unsalted butter
3 cups unbleached flour
1 scant tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup cold shortening
approximately 8 Tbs ice water
Dice butter. Dump into the bowl of a food processor, along with flour, salt, sugar and shortening. Pulse until butter is the size of peas. With the food processor running, slowly pour in ice water until the dough begins to form a ball. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make filling.
Note: This is a large amount of filling, so be sure you have a large pie pan. Or just pile high like a mini-mountain. 🙂
The pie:
4 pounds apples (I use a mixture of Granny Smith, Honey Crisp and any other apples that look good), cored and sliced and peeled if you prefer. (I don’t peel mine.)
1 Tbs lemon zest plus 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs orange zest plus 2 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
Roll out half the pie dough and fit into the pie tin so that about a half inch of dough extends over the rim. Save the other half for the top. In a large bowl, combine apples, flour, sugar, salt and spices. Pour carefully into prepared pie tin. Place top crust over the apples, again with extra dough extending over the edge. With your fingers, crimp the crusts together. Slit the top dough in several places to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400 for approximately 40 minutes, then without opening the oven, lower heat to 350. Bake for 30 minutes more, until crust is browned and the juices are bubbling out. Serve warm or cold with ice cream if desired.
I am drooling now :-), so please excuse me while I run to the store for the ingredients and make this myself…
Until Monday, and wishing you good pie,
Ann
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Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Tea Bread
I love to bake in the fall and winter. The house always smells so good! This is a delicious, easy to make recipe that my family loves.
Pumpkin Chocolate Tea Bread
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate, then stir them into the pumpkin mixture until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven for about an hour, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. (At this point, I’m busy, licking the pan. Because even the batter is yummy.) Cool for at least 10 minutes.
- To remove the loaf from the pan, run an offset spatula around the edge, then invert it onto a cooling rack. Turn right side up and serve in thick slices.
Until Monday, and wishing you baking aromas that make your mouth water,
Ann
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And… Action!
I am in Ashland, Oregon, enjoying a few days of theater and fun. Ashland is noted for its amazing Oregon Shakespeare Festival, but it also offers contemporary plays. And some of the finest acting I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. This is our 11th year to attend. We drive down, an 8-hour trek. It’s a fun road trip, and a chance to listen to a book or two on CD.
Actors must audition annually to appear on the theater roster, and they often appear in several plays at the same time. I am continually awed by such amazing skills–and Ashland never takes its actors for granted. It doesn’t want its talent distracted by financial matters, such as making ends meet. Unlike most other cities, where actors must work a full-time job while they appear in productions, the city of Ashland is so supportive of its actors, that it subsidizes housing and provides membership to a local gym (physical fitness helps with acting), among other perks.
Evenings in spring, summer, and part of the fall, many of the Shakespearean plays are presented in this theater (The Elizabethan Theater) under the stars. A magical experience for we who watch.
But Ashland also offers other fun. The Rogue River is nearby, and offers river rafting and enjoyable walks. Or rent a bicycle and look around. Or try a nature walk, or a picnic. There are hotels and motels and B&B’s . There are tons of tasty restaurants and coffee shops and lots of great places to shop.
Can you tell that I’m psyched to be here?
Well, it’s time to get ready for an afternoon show.
Until Monday, and wishing you a weekend of fun,
Ann
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Cue the confetti and bring out the band!
I have exciting news!
I have just self-published two of my older books. These are my first self-published books ever–actually they are remastered from books first published in 2007 and 2008. I am over the moon that I am able to share them with you now.
Another Life, first published in 2007
Learning of her husband Stephen’s fatal heart attack is the worst thing Mary Beth Mason can imagine… Until she learns about the other family he left behind. Another wife, another daughter, another home…
For more information, click here: https://annroth.net/ebooks.html
My Sisters, first published in 2008
In some families, there is pain and loss, but there is also the unbreakable bond of love. Sisters Margaret, Rose and Quincy Lansing were never a close or loving family. When receive the tragic news that a car accident has claimed the life of their mother, they must return to their childhood home. In unraveling their mother’s secrets, they find not only revelation, but also strength, hope, sisterhood, and a chance for love…
For more information, click here: https://annroth.net/ebooks.html
Until Monday, and thanks for your enthusiasm and excitement,
Ann
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Eat Your Cake and Have It, Too
Brown Sugar Caramel Pound Cake
This cake is soooo tasty that I had to share. Maybe you’ll make it this weekend.
Brown Sugar Caramel Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups butter softened (I used 1 cup instead)
2 cups light brown sugar, packed (a bit too sweet, and I recommend cutting to 1 ½ cups)
1 cup granulated sugar (you may want to cut this, too, to ¾ cup)
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter, add ¼ tsp salt per cube of unsweetened butter)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 8oz bag toffee chips
1 cup pecans, chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325
Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan.
Beat butter until creamy. Add sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.
In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mix to batter alternately with milk and vanilla, beat until just combined. Stir in toffee buts and pecans. Spoon batter into pan.
Bake 85 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. (Mine was done in about 77 minutes.) To prevent excess browning, cover cake with foil while baking. (For the first 50 minutes or so, I covered with foil, with slits in it to let out steam. Then I took off the foil.)
Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool for 15-30 minutes on a wire rack. While it cools, make caramel sauce. (Or buy your favorite caramel topping and use that.) I used a recipe from Barefoot Contessa, below.
With a chopstick of some other stick, poke holes in the cake. Spoon Caramel Sauce over hot cake, letting it seep into the holes.
Barefoot Contessa Caramel Sauce: (for this cake, I halved the recipe)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (I substituted whole milk, which makes this a runnier sauce–perfect for this cake)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5-9 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don’t worry – the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.
Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. The Barefoot Contessa suggests letting this sauce cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours, but I let it cool for about 10 minutes and used it!
Until Monday, and wishing you Happy Cake Eating,
Ann
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TGHF: Thank Goodness He’s Fabulous!!
In less than a month, A Rancher’s Redemption will be out. I loved writing this book and I really, really like this cover. Sexy cowboy, huh? And once you get to know him, he’s even more attractive. 🙂
Which brings me to pre-ordering. To pre-order, stop by www.annroth.net. Right there on the home page, you’ll see the links to do that.
For a chance to win a free book, stop by https://annroth.net/ and enter the monthly contest. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter, with a sneak preview of this book and later on, sneaks to other upcoming books.
Until Monday, and wishing you a fabulishous weekend,
Ann
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Wake Up and Smell the… Lavender
Lavender is one of my favorite scents. I like it so much that we planted a patch of the stuff in our backyard. The flowers perfume the air and attract bees. Dried lavender makes a great sachet and a thoughtful gift for friends. I use it to scent my bathwater and to flavor tea or lemonade or even beer, as well as add depth to various recipes.
On that note, I think I’ll snip some now…
Until Monday, and wishing you a pretty-scented weekend,
Ann
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