streusel apple coffee cake

i baked this a few nights ago for a company xmas party. we were about to watch black swan and i wanted to bake it before we did because i didn't have any time to bake it before the party. i used a ton of grease on the pan and then floured it because i didn't want the cake to stick. well that did really work. when it was done i follow the directions to pop it out and the bottom half disconnected from the top where the streusel is. so i just left it in the tube pan and said fuck it, it still tastes good. how can u go wrong with a ton of streusel? i really need to work on my presentation for baked goods. anyways, i took it to this party and most people chose to eat individually packaged cobblers and cookies because they didn't want to cut into this messy cake. oh wells, more for me.

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

16 ounces plain low-fat yogurt

2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and finely diced

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.

To make streusel: In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork until crumbly. Stir in walnuts.

In a medium bowl, stir together 3 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Then stir in the vanilla and yogurt. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until blended.

Pour 3 cups of the batter into the Bundt pan, sprinkle with 1/4 of the streusel, and layer with apples. Sprinkle with 1/2 the remaining streusel. Pour in the remaining batter, and top with the remaining 1/4 streusel. Lightly pat the top layer of streusel so it sticks to the cake batter.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Place cookie sheet over pan and carefully invert both. Remove Bundt pan, and let the cake cool completely.

split pea and ham soup

i made a huge pot of split pea and ham soup. we had all this leftover ham and ham hock from thanksgiving that we froze so i used that. i got the recipe from the ultimate soup bible by anne sheasby. that cookbook is great for people that love making soup. i basically doubled the split pea and ham soup recipe, but i added some of my own touches. i also put the ham in before i blended the soup instead of after. i wish i waited, but i already had the ham in there. the soup had the nice smoky flavor from the ham and bacon. in the end i topped the soup with some sour cream, a little soup garnish that gillian showed me. it's only because we're obsessed with sour cream, her more than i because i think she opens a carton of sour cream and eats it with a spoon. anyways, i like the way the soup came out for my first time making split pea soup. i'm happy i have a lot of leftovers and i realized i have got to make soup more often.

vanilla pudding cupcakes

i didn't know what to bake for a company christmas party, so i asked the kid i'm working with and he suggested cupcakes. i usually don't bake vanilla cupcakes so i decided to try these. they were very flavorful vanilla cupcakes even without the vanilla bean. they cake itself taste pretty buttery even though there is no butter in them.

vanilla bean cupcakes

32-36 cupcake papers

3 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla pudding mix

1 3/4 cups plus

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoons vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup warm water

Seeds from half a vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange paper cups in muffin tins. Sift flour, baking soda, salt and pudding mix into large bowl. Using an electric mixer on low, mix sugar, oil and buttermilk until blended. Add lightly beaten eggs, vinegar, vanilla and water and blend. Gradually add dry ingredients. Scrape the seed from the vanilla bean into batter and mix until just blended.

Spoon batter into tins, about 3/4 full. Bake cupcakes, 1 sheet at a time, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-23 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to racks and cool before frosting.

Vanilla Bean Frosting

8 Tablespoons (one stick) softened butter

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 pound (3 3/4 cups) confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 pinches salt

Seeds from half a vanilla bean

In a small bowl, combine butter and whipping cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the butter. Beat until smooth. Beat in sugar 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Finally, beat in vanilla extract. If frosting is too soft to work with, refrigerate 10 minutes.

(i also added some vanilla pudding mix into the frosting)

peanut butter nutella oatmeal cookies

this is not a pile of cow pie, this is a stack of cookies on a plate. my cell phone camera kind of sucks. for the record, these cookies were yummy. well, except that i burned the bottoms a bit. i used a greased cookie sheet when i shouldn't have. oh well, now i know not to do that same next time. nutella, i love u so! i might make then into sandwich cookies with nutella in the middle.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy and loved the added texture it gave!)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

3 spoonfuls of nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mix butter, sugars and peanut butter. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add into flour mixture and stir. Slowly stir nutella into the mixture.

2. Place batter in spoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool shortly before serving