Zucchini is one my favourite plants to grow in the garden. It doesn’t require the best of soil and can take in the heat of the Texas summer . One of my zucchini plants grew about 4 feet wide this spring and was producing some great and sweet fruit. We only grow organic at home so the fruits are a little sweeter and have a creamier texture than store bought. With all this delicious zucchini we have been looking for a way to incorporate it into more daily meals. We added Smitten Kitchen’s lemon zucchini pasta to our menu and also started grilling zucchini with olive oil and salt more often.

Since zucchini can be both sweet and savory, we had been looking for way to use it beyond zucchini bread in a dessert. I recently came across a recipe tucked in the back of Cooks Country magazine for chocolate zucchini cake. We adapted a little to make muffins. We prefer all our desserts less sweet so that they can be served with tea, coffee, and to a 3 year old. Thanks for Tamara Anderson of Road Island for the inspiration:

This recipe makes 8 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour.
1/4 cup non-sweet dark cocoa powder.
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
4 tbsp. softened unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter milk or (1/4 cup whole milk + 1 tbsp while vinegar)
1 medium zucchini shredded.
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Add cupcake paper to the muffin tins – no need to grease. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl. In a stainless steel bowl using a wooden spoon or using an electric mixer combine the butter, oil, and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, and butter milk and mix until blended. Stir in dry ingredients, stir in shredded zucchini. Pour mixture into prepared tins.

Top batter with chocolate chips and walnuts if desired. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Use a toothpick as your indicator (poke and see if the toothpick comes out clean).

There’s not a person in the south who hasn’t had pecan pie. Pecan pie is an integral part of the culture of southern US and Texas . Pecan pies are made throughout in the south. They are especially made and served at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Growing up, everyone knew my mother for her pecan pies, as well as for her cakes. They were deliciously sweet with a velvety texture inside. During the height of the pecan season, the pecans on top were sweet and juicy on their own. I had to be careful not to eat too many of them so that the pie would have enough to go on top.

It is possible that pecan pie originated with the Acadian settlers who were migrated from French Canada to south-west Louisiana . In French Canada, there is a very similar pie called “tarte de sucre” or sugar pie. It is like pecan pie made with maple syrup, rather than sugar and corn syrup, and without pecans on top.

Pecan pie remains one of those foods that in usually better if homemade. Being from Texas , I would never, ever eat a store bought pecan pie. One sure sign of a quality pecan pie is the pecans on top. Great pecan pies should have a mixture of of whole and cut up pecan pieces. Generally frozen commercial pies and mass produced ones have only whole pieces on top.

Recipe for Pecan Pie

This is for a 9″ deep dish pie

3 eggs
1 cup cane sugar
1 cup light Karo corn syrup. Use cane syrup if cannot find corn syrup.
2 tbsp butter melted and cooled.
1 tsp. quality vanilla extract
2 cups pecans (mixture of whole and cut up pieces.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F
Blend all ingredients, except for pecans.
After all ingredients , blend in pecans.

Place mixture into a uncooked 9″ deep dish pie shell.
Bake on flat sheet or cookie sheet for 50 to 55 minutes until a knife can
be stuck into the mix and come out clean.

Let cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Holiday Fruitcake

Fruitcake has to be one of the best fruit and nut cakes. It has an undeserved reputation of being hard and too sweet; this comes from certain commercial fruitcakes which use super sugared pieces are fruits. This recipe is guaranteed to inaugurate you as a new fruitcake fan!

1 Week Before Baking Day

Candied Fruits
Add 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier, Brandy or Calvados to
1/4 cup raisins
zest of 1 small orange
4 snipped mejdool dates, pitted
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Baking Day

Dry
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground cloves
1/2 tsp. freshly ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg (preferably freshly ground)
1/2 cup walnuts

Wet
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup no salt butter
2 tbsp. molasses
1/4 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy or Calvados)

2 days prior to baking the cake create the candied fruit mixture and keep in the refrigerator

Pre-heat oven to 300 F. Butter an 8X4X2-inch bread pan

Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, ground cloves, ground allspice, and walnuts, then mix well.

Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl, add beaten eggs, brown sugar, apple juice, orange juice, butter, and molasses and mix. Add candied fruit mixture and mix.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until combined. Do not over-mix. Pour mixture into baking pans. Bake on 300F for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Cut some cheesecloth to a size big enough to wrap cake in. Wet the cheesecloth with a liqueur of your choice and wrap around fruitcake.

Tip: Add liqueur to a small spray bottle and spray cheesecloth daily for 2 week, then cut fruitcake and eat.