Old Fashioned Chocolate Pie

This pie is perfect for any season, but it is especially perfect for spring...during the time you want pie, but before fresh fruit comes into season. This old fashioned chocolate pie is super simple to make and will always be a hit.

We find it especially delightful to serve at a family function, a revival meetin' or an after funeral fellowship supper. Its the perfect combination of sweet chocolate goodness and festive wholesome bless your heart hospitality. 

Old Fashioned Chocolate Pie

Danish Pie Crust (yields two crusts)

• 2 1/2 C Self-Rising Flour

• 1 C Crisco

• 1 T Sugar

• 1/2 C Milk

• 1 Egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix well. Roll flat, and work into pie pan. Prick bottom, then bake until golden brown. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.

Chocolate Filling

• 1 C Sugar

• 3 T Baking Cocoa

• 4 T Cornstarch

• 2 T Margarine

• 2 Egg Yolks

• 3/4 C Milk

• 1/4 C Water

• 1 t Vanilla

Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, egg yolks, cream, and water in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook over medium to medium high heat. Remove from heat when thickened and stir in margarine and vanilla. Pour into baked pie crust and top with meringue. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes, until lightly browned.

Photographed with a Canon 5D IV

Candied Violets

Candied violets are perfect for spring. They are perfect for cake toppers, fruit salads, or beautiful garnish when creating a platescape. They also couldn't be more simple to create and to master.

Simply take clean, organic, violet blooms. Place on a flat surface. Make sure they are dry. In a bowl mix together one egg white and two tablespoons of fine white sugar. With a small brush. I use a paint brush. Paint the egg white and sugar mixture very carefully on each bloom. Allow to air dry for several hours. Then you're ready to decorate cakes, plates, and more with these beautiful sweet petite moments. 

Shamrock Peppermint Creams

Shamrock Peppermint Creams

BY: RIKKI SNYDER

To be perfectly honest, I’m probably only about 3% Irish, but as a little kid I always got strangely excited for St. Patrick’s Day. In grade school we would go outside for recess and come back in to find the items in our desks were all messed up and rearranged and the teachers told us it was from the pesky leprechauns. To this day, I still don’t know why, but I thought that was the coolest thing ever.  

Many years later and I still find myself getting excited for March 17th to roll around. Seeing all the green of this holiday makes me feel like spring is right within my reach! It’ll be here before we know it and for that I’m celebrating with these bright green shamrock peppermint creams!

If you’re wondering what a peppermint cream is think of it as a slightly larger after dinner mint. That’s what it reminds me of. If you can’t find a miniature shamrock cookie cutter a bigger one will work just as well. And if you’re a chocolate lover like me, dip your mints in some melted chocolate and sprinkle with some St. Patty’s sprinkles!

Shamrock Peppermint Creams

1 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

4-6 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Green food coloring paste

A mini shamrock-shaped cutter

Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. Gradually add the condensed milk and peppermint, mixing with a wooden spoon. The mixture should come together like a dough and you may need to use your hands towards the end of mixing. To knead the dough, sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on a clean work surface. Shape the dough into a ball and push on it and press it onto the work surface, turning it round often. Do this for just a minute of so until smooth. Divide the dough in half and tint one half green using food coloring. Knead the dough again until it is evenly green. On the work surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch using a rolling pin. Stamp out shamrocks with your cookie cutter and arrange them on a sheet of baking parchment. Let dry out overnight. Dip in melted chocolate and cover with sprinkles if desired. 

Slow Cooker Chocolate Covered Pretzels

If you're anything like me you have an irrational fear of burning chocolate. I found a solution for this by melting chocolate in a slow cooker. Basically you're creating a double boiler, but one that will melt your chocolate and allow you to work at your own pace. This winter I've been creating several treats with melted chocolate. Below is my way of melting chocolate in a slow cooker.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This technique works for any kind of treat you'd like to create using melted chocolate. 

Fill your slow cooker, I use a Kenmore 5 Quart Slow Cooker, with several inches of water. You will want it to go about 2/3's up the side of your bowl you'll use for melting. Turn your slow cooker to low or high, depending on how long you have to create your treats. 

Place your chocolate chips, chunks of bark melts, or whatever sort of chocolate you will be melting into a microwave safe bowl. Place the bowl into the water, making sure not to get any water inside  the bowl. Water in the bowl will cause the chocolate to be grainy. 

Allow your chocolate to slowly melt, uncovered. Stir on occasion to ensure even melting. 

Once the chocolate is fully melted dip your pretzels into the chocolate. Place on waxed paper to cool. If you'd like to sprinkle with sprinkles, do so while the chocolate is still hot. If you're in a hurry place in fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling and setting process. 

I found that one regular size bag of chocolate chips will cover around 40-50 pretzels. 

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Images created with Canon 5D Mark IV | Slow Cooker by Kenmore

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Homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter

I think I have had PSL overload after the past three years of everything being pumpkin spiced. This year I have been all about the apple and the apple cider. From apple cider cakes, to apple pies, to apple butter...I have been baking at least two or three dishes a week with apples in them. I recently partnered with Kenmore to try out their 5 Quart Slow Cooker. I developed a super easy Slow Cooker Apple Butter recipe for their newly redesigned blog. 

So, after you head inside from a picture perfect trip to the orchard to load up your pantry with enough apples to survive the winter, head over to Kenmore’s website  and give my recipe a try. Don’t worry, it only takes six apples, that you don’t even have to peal....and store bought apples will do.

MAKE IT NOW

Apple Cider Spiced Cake

We're going to go ahead and declare this the official dessert of fall 2017. It couldn't be easier to make, and it couldn't be any more delicious. The addition of the apple cider gives it a fresh crisp taste that you'd never expect in a spice cake. Our icing continues the apple cider theme, and is truly a dessert all to its own. We aren't even going to pretend like this cake is healthy, but it is worth every bite.

 

Apple Cider Spiced Cake

• 1 Box Spice Cake Mix
• Apple Cider
• Butter (melted)
• Eggs
• Brown sugar

This cake couldn't be easier, you're basically just grabbing yourself a spiced cake mix from the local grocery, market, or store. Any brand will work. I use Betty Crocker because its the easiest to reach on the Walmart shelf. Once you've gathered your ingredients, pay for them, and taken them all home. 

Follow the instructions on the back of the box, but substitute your water for apple cider. If you can't find apple cider, you can use apple juice, but I really don't like the idea of using it. Substitute the oil for melted butter, and add however many eggs the box tells you too. 

I bake mine in a bundt pan simply because it is my favorite pan. You can absolutely use a loaf pan or a baking dish. The key to making it amazing is absolutely covering your pan in cooking spray. After its well lubricated add a handful of brown sugar. This will give your cake a delicious crunch. Add however much you'd like.

Bake the cake according to the instructions on the box. Use a tooth pick to see if the cake is done. If it comes out clean the cake is fully baked. If it is still wet, keep baking. Remove and cool. If baking in a bundt pan, remove from the pan a few minutes after taking out of the over.

 

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Apple Cider Whipped Creme Icing

This is the very basic form of the recipe. We also have a more complex creamed cheese apple cider whipped creme. 

• One cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/2 tsp corn starch

Mix all ingredients with a mixer on high. Gradually add the powdered sugar to avoid a mess. Whip until stiff enough to spread. Drizzle on cake. Chill and eat left overs while watch fall episodes of Gilmore Girls. 

Savory Herb Biscuits

And what would go better with this soup than a warm biscuit smothered in butter and dried basil? They're quick and easy too. Pop them right in the oven just before the soup is done and you have the perfect bread for dipping.

Savory Herb Biscuits

BY: RIKKI SNYDER

2 cups biscuit mix

1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon basil, dried

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine biscuit mix, cheese and milk until a soft dough forms. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto and ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Combine basil and garlic powder with melted butter and brush over biscuits after removing from oven. Makes 12 biscuits

Potato Soup

This rustic and hearty soup makes for a perfect savory meal this season. The yukon gold potatoes offer a unique flavor that is perfectly complimented by the crumbled bacon. Save some extra bacon for garnish and if you're a cheese lover, sprinkle some shredded cheddar on top before serving and it'll melt right in.

Potato Soup

BY: RIKKI SNYDER

 

8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cups yukon gold potatoes, chopped

1 cup water

10 3/4 oz. Can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1 3/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Fry bacon and crumble. Set aside, reserving some drippings in skillet. Saute onion in same skillet until transparent. Add potatoes to and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Add soup, sour cream, milk, bacon and onions, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well and let simmer 2 hours. 

Cast Iron Apple Pie

This has been our most popular recipe every year since we first published it in 2011. A traditional cast iron skillet apple pie with a few seasonal additions make it the perfect treat to serve all autumn long. 

It is my go to recipe for fall. Nothing is better than going to the local orchard and hand harvesting the apples yourself. I use a Martha Stewart enameled cast iron skillet. The pie comes out perfectly every single time. The pie is perfect served hot or cold. 

RECIPE:

Ingredients 

1 stick + 1 tablespoon butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon  

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 tablespoons sorghum or maple syrup  

1 boxed pie crust  

5 pealed and sliced apples

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees. Add stick of butter and brown sugar to bottom of skillet. Place in oven until melted, do not let boil.  

Remove from the oven. Put bottom crust in skillet. Toss apples in sugar, spices, and syrup. Add mixture to skillet. Place remaining butter on top. Cover with crust. Dust top of crust with a dash of sugar and spices. 

Cut vent holes or decorative pattern in the top of the pie. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until apples are tender. 

Easy Whipped Cream

Cool Whip is overrated and not that good....fresh whipped cream is so easy to make..and so much better. Our recipe keeps it super simple.

WHIPPED CREAM

• 1 quart heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl pour the whipping cream and the vanilla. As you beat the mixture add the powdered sugar to help provide stiffness and a bit of extra flavor. Whip until it is as thick and creamy as you'd like. I prefer stiff peaks. Be sure to not over whip or you'll end up with butter.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie

This recipe is so very simple. It is absolutely delicious. It literally takes less than five minutes to mix together. I found the recipe in my aunt's handwritten recipe book from the 1970s.

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1/3 cup cocoa

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/2 cup evaporated milk

• 1/2 cup coconut

• 1/2 cup pecan pieces

• 1 9” pie shell

Mix all ingredients by hand and pour in pie shell. Bake for 30 min in 400 degree oven. Cool and serve with whipped cream.

Oh Holy Delicious! | Our 5 Fav. Pecan Pie Recipes

Christmas is coming! The warmth of the autumn season is quickly fading into the cold joys of the holiday season. With that the woods are scattered with delicious organic-free-range pecans. You could spend hours harvesting the tiny nuggets of delicious only to spend even longer busting those nuts--we mean cracking those nuts, as you prepare to turn them into pie...but who are we kidding...you nor I are Ina Garten...so just go to the store and stock up and lets bake some pies. These are our 5 favorite pecan pie recipes from 5 of our favorite bloggers.

1) Chocolate + Pecan Pie by Living the Gourmet. 

2) Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie by Crumb Kitchen

Chocolate chunks and crunchy pecans swirl together with a flaky pie crust in this decadent rich chocolate pecan pie.

3) Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie by Crumb Kitchen

4) Dark Chocolate Brownie Pecan Pie by Melanie Makes

5) Pecan Custard Pie by Briana Thomas

There you have it! Our 5 favorite pecan recipes for this Christmas season! No Ina needed. Just simple and easy and festive. Always festive.

Make your pecan pie experience Mariah Carey level extra festive by ordering our FOLK coffee. CLICK HERE TO ORDER. Roasted weekly. Mailed Daily. Only 25 bags per week.

Almond Lavender Cake

Have you ever cooked with lavender? It’s a very unique scent and flavor. It can be used in many things like lemonade and ice cream... I’ve even seen lavender cupcakes! I like trying new things and before this cake I had never actually tasted something with lavender in it. 

It’s almost hard to describe because there’s nothing else like it. The lavender adds a slightly floral taste that you feel when you breathe in after biting into this cake. Same with the glaze, it adds the softest, sweetest floral taste that’s unexpected but very delicious. 

This cake is absolutely beautiful and makes for a perfect springtime dessert. Garnish the slices with some dried lavender for an extra splash of purple! You can use your own lavender if you grow it in your garden or look for dried lavender in spice shops. 

Almond Lavender Cake

1/4 cup half-and-half cream

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons boiling water

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Additional dried lavender flowers, optional

2 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers, divided

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Grease a 10-in. fluted tube pan and sprinkle with sugar; set aside. Place 1/2 cup sugar, almonds and 1 tablespoon lavender in a food processor; cover and process until finely ground.

In a large bowl, cream butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy; beat in almond mixture until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream and half-and-half. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, beating well after each
addition.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For drizzle, in a small bowl, combine water and remaining lavender. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain, discarding lavender. In another small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and enough infused water to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over cake. Garnish with additional lavender if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

Almond Lavender Cake photography, styling, and recipe by Rikki Snyder. Find more from Rikki on her website and on Instagram—@RikkiSnyder.

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Before we go any further there is one thing that I must confess, I have a huge sweet tooth. And I mean huge. However, if there was one flavor that I could ever love more than chocolate it would be cinnamon. And so, you can imagine my excitement when the two are combined. This hot cocoa is nothing short of delightful and is a great drink to sip on a cold winter evening. It will warm your bones, and liven your taste buds. 

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

BY: RIKKI SNYDER

3 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

A few drops of almond extract

Whipped cream, chocolate shavings and cinnamon sticks for garnish.

Cut chocolate into pieces and place in blender or food processor. Add sugar and cinnamon. Cover and blend or process until finely ground. Cook and stir chocolate mixture and milk in a large saucepan over low heat about 10 minutes or until chocolate melts. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extract. Beat with a rotary beater until very frothy. Serve in mugs. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and cinnamon sticks if desired. Makes about 4 (8-ounce) servings.