Weekend Cooking, Christmas Goodies #3

I want to thank Candace of Beth Fish Reads for hosting this meme. This non-cook is really enjoying it, and I might just put a kitchen in my dream house after all! If you'd like to see the other contributions to this week's edition, click on the logo above.

One of the problems I have with all the holiday baking is that it tends to be a Sweet Overload. My taste buds can take only so much sweet before they rebel. Somehow my mother came across a recipe for a cake that's not sweet. It has a slightly tart taste, and it can definitely be the hit of any holiday party.

I've mentioned the Christmas Eve feasts I held at the Target store I worked in for many years. The first year I had it, Mom baked one Margarita Cake that I took with me. That one cake lasted 45 minutes before it was nothing but stray crumbs on the bottom of the cake stand. The next year, I brought two Margarita Cakes. Those two cakes lasted 30 minutes. The last year I held one of my Christmas Eve feasts, SIX Margarita Cakes were brought in. They lasted an hour. The most common remark made about them was "This isn't sweet like all the other stuff, and that's why I love it." Evidently I'm not the only person who has picky taste buds. After you read the ingredient list, you may think you know why I had the happiest group of cashiers in the biz!

MARGARITA CAKE

Ingredients:

• 1 package yellow cake mix (approximately 18½ ounces)
• ¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 envelope Margarita powdered cocktail mix
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup orange liqueur
• ¼ cup tequila

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; beat for 4 minutes at medium speed. Bake in greased and floured Mini-Bundt Pan or Fiesta Party Pan at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until the cake tests done. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes; turn out on wire rack or serving plate to complete cooling.

Kahlua Glaze:

• 1 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. butter
• 1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
• 1 tbsp. Kahlua coffee liqueur or strong coffee

Heat milk and butter; pour over sugar. Add coffee liqueur and mix until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add a few more drops of milk.


The most difficult ingredient for me to find was the powdered margarita mix, but I did find it (and stock up on it). It's essential for the recipe.

If you bake one of these, don't expect it to last very long once people find out that it's not the run-of-the-mill sweet confection.

You won't get drunk eating margarita cake, but you certainly will enjoy yourself!

Weekend Cooking, Christmas Goodies #2

Thanks to our Weekend Cooking host, Beth of Beth Fish Reads. I think she's still in shock that I'm one of the contributors! If you'd like to see what other weekend cooks are sharing, just click on the logo above.

Last week, I told you all a bit about my Christmas Eve feasts for all the employees who worked up front at my Target store. Each year, more and more people from my work area brought in food to contribute, so it wasn't just a huge smorgasbord of desserts. There were big pans of homemade enchiladas, fresh fruits and veggies, crockpots filled with chilis and stews, and more. It seemed as though, once they realized that they truly were appreciated, they wanted to contribute to the bounty. By the second annual Christmas Eve feast, my little idea had turned into something very magical.

This week I'm going to share another recipe for a dessert that turned into a big hit. The recipe has a lot going for it: versatility in that you can use different cookies and toppings, and it's very easy to bake up several batches. I hope you'll give this recipe a try!

Miniature Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

24 vanilla wafer cookies
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (12 ounce) can cherry pie filling


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil baking liners. Place one vanilla wafer in each cup.
2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the nutmeg and vanilla. Pour mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely, then top with cherry pie filling. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

A word of warning: these things are a bit like Lay's Potato Chips; very few people can stop at eating just one. 24 little cheesecakes won't last very long!

Weekend Cooking, Christmas Goodies #1

For several years, I supervised the front end at a local Target store. This means that I had to keep track of all the cashiers, cart attendants and service desk folks. One of the things that chapped my hide each and every year was the Thanksgiving and Christmas "feeds". These were always held in the back of the store in the employee break room, and whoever catered it always seemed to use the finest grade cardboard. Every employee in the building could go back there and pig out (and they did)... except for my folks up front. All the employees up front can't take breaks on a whim; each one is scheduled and always at the beck and call of customer traffic. If we were getting slammed up front, no one got a break, so by the time that my folks could manage to stagger back to the break room, they were lucky if a few crumbs were left.

That didn't set well with me. At. All. I had employees working as fast as they could go, and doing a great job, yet they weren't being rewarded with the free food. I decided to do something about it. I came up with the idea of a Christmas Eve feast held in a room that had restricted access directly in front of the checkouts. I baked up a storm, bought gallons of egg nog, bottles of fruit juice, water and other drinks, and loaded up my Christmas serving items and linens. I took it all to that room, and decorated everything that didn't move. There were plenty of paper plates, napkins, and plastic eating utensils, and all the food was set up in a gigantic buffet line.

And... the only people allowed in the room were my folks up front. It was a success that first year, and it just kept growing until I was at the store at 4 AM on Christmas Eve to get everything set up. As a morale booster and as a way to show appreciation, it couldn't be beat.

I thought I would share some of my most successful recipes for my annual Christmas Eve feeds. First up is a recipe for Black Bottom Cupcakes. They keep in the freezer forever, and they travel exceptionally well, since they don't have icing. (They're so good they don't need it!)

Black Bottom Cupcake Recipe

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 ounces mini semi- sweet chocolate chips (regular-sized works fine too)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup water
1/3 cup cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vinegar (white or apple cider vinegar will work)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners (to total 24).
2. In a small mixing bowl combine softened cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and pinch of salt. Beat well. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. In a glass measuring cup or another bowl, combine water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Then add to dry ingredients. Mix well.
5. Fill paper-lined muffin tins 1/3 full with chocolate batter (I use an medium ice cream scoop to do this) then top with a heaping spoonful of cream cheese mixture (I use a small ice cream scoop to do this).
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
7. When fully cooled, store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for around 3 months.

If you want to see what other Weekend Cooks are up to, click on the Weekend Cooking logo at the top of this post to be taken right to the heart of the action: Beth Fish Reads. Thanks for this fun meme, Beth!