Recipe

Lemon Curd

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hello everyone! It’s been a minute, but I am back in the kitchen. 🙂 Today I am dedicating this post to my Grandma Vanda, who passed away.

Recently, my Mom and Nana went to Arizona to stay with my Papa Don and Grandma Vanda. My Grandma was very sick and thankfully they got there in time to be with her so that they were able to say goodbye.

In Grandma and Papa’s back yard they have a lemon tree so Papa told my mom to take some home with them. We got an entire Yeti cooler full of lemons from Papa Don’s lemon tree! I was pretty excited, because getting a whole bunch of lemons means 2 things; lemon curd and another special treat (which will be in my next post)! Today I get to make lemon curd with my sister Kalani and my Mom. I’m very exited for this, especially because this is naturally gluten free, so I don’t have to experiment and make sure if works with GF flour or anything. So lets go ahead and start making this delicious sweet treat!

Btw, this is fine to make with limes if that’s what you prefer, but I’ve never tried to do it with limes so i’m not sure if you’ll have to do something different. If you do end up using limes, please comment and tell me how it went.

Ingredients

  • Zest of 10 lemons
  • 2 cups of lemon juice (the juice of about 10 lemons.)
  • 8 whole eggs
  • 14 egg yolks
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 5 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups butter (or three sticks)

Instructions

  1. Wash & dry the lemons. Then zest them.
  2. Cut the lemons in half and juice them.
  3. Heat up your double boiler.
  4. Add the sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, salt and lime zest to your double boiler bowl. Whisk ingredients thoroughly. When fully mixed put bowl onto your double boiler to start cooking.
  5. Over a medium heat, keep whisking egg mixture as you add the juice. When the juice is fully incorporated add the melted butter.
  6. Continue cooking the mixture slowly while whisking and checking the thermometer regularly. Once it starts to thicken up and it reaches 170*F turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove.
  7. Strain the curd into a clean bowl. We used a fine mesh strainer.
  8. Now you are ready to can your curd! With this big of a batch its great to can it and have it preserved for any time you want a treat.
  9. Sterilize your canning jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes.
  10. Remove the jars, and fill with the lemon curd. Leave a 1/2″ head space.
  11. Put the lids on TIGHT! make sure the water is no hotter than 180*F. Add the jars into the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling let the jars process for 15 minutes.
  12. Take the jars out and let them cool on a towel at room temperature. Don’t disturb them, after maybe half an hour you hear this popping, that is the jars sealing themselves. So don’t mess with them or think their about to explode, because its actually a good thing. 🙂
This is my sister, Kalani.
This electric juicer made our work SO much easier!
These are fresh eggs from our chickens.
If you use fresh eggs, remember to wash them first.
Canning! 🙂

So there it is! This delicious treat is amazing to put on toast or even get a spoon full of it. 😉 (which, if you know me by now, was the very first thing I did once they were cool!)

These can be frozen and stay good for a year but otherwise as long as their sealed they stay good for 3-4 months.

I had a great time making these and hope you do to! Have a great day!

Loft House Cookies

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hello everyone! I am back with another delicious recipe. Today we’re making loft house cookies. These delicious cookies are fluffy and sweet but not sickeningly sweet. As you might know I’ve been starting to experiment with different recipes making them gluten free. This recipe turned out to taste good but because they are gluten free they turned out a bit crumbly, which then turned into a real problem when frosting them. Frankly they didn’t turn out as pretty as I had hoped, but that doesn’t take away from them being delicious! So pull your hair back, grab you mixer and get ready to bake!

INGREDIENTS for cookies

  • 3/4 cup (soft) butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup of canola oil
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2 cups AP flour (I used an all purpose gluten free blend)
  • 1/4 cup of corn starch
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

INGREDIENTS for frosting

  • 1/2 cup (soft) butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 340
  2. In a large bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar until creamy using a hand mixer.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, canola oil & vanilla.
  4. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients.
  6. Fold your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  7. Prepare your cookie sheet with parchment paper and cooking spray.
  8. Roll the cookie dough into balls and set on the cookie sheet.
  9. Put in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes
  10. Make your frosting by beating together all ingredients
  11. Let the cookies cool and then frost them.
And their you have it! Delicious homemade loft house cookies. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Bakery Style M&M Cookies

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hello everyone, what’s up? Today I am making the fluffiest M&M cookies. These cookies are the richest fluffiest giant cookies ever! They are amazing!! With my mom being gluten free I’ve really started to experiment with more sweets to make them GF, so I will be using gluten free flour. So if your ready, let’s bake!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/3 cups AP flour (Im using gluten free)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 stick + 2 TBS butter ( your going to want this soft so its easier to mix)
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of M&M’s

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Start by whisking together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt & baking soda.
  • Now cream together the butter and sugars together.
  • Once the butter sugar mixture has a light color & fluffy texture, add the vanilla and eggs until fully combined.
  • Now add your flour mixture until it turns into a dough.
  • Using your hands create 12-14 even balls of dough.
  • Put them on a greased cookie sheet and cover with Saran Wrap and chill for two hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for about 16-17 minutes or until golden brown.

And there you go, you have some delicious M&M cookies. I hope you enjoy them!

The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cake.

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hey guys! welcome back. Today is a cold day so the perfect time to turn on the oven and make something sweet. So I’m going to show you how to make a delicious chocolate cake! It’s not only gluten free, but it’s also dairy free! It’s so delicious, sweet and rich. So, if your ready to be blown away by this delicious cake, then keep on reading!

By the way, I am cutting the cake recipe in half but giving you guys the full measurements. Also, even though I’m cutting the cake recipe in half I’m doing the full frosting measurement’s. I decided to do this for two reasons, first I love the frosting and second I love to decorate my cakes so having extra frosting is helpful!

Cake Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose gluten free flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 1/2 cup dairy free butter plus 1 tablespoon (I’m using plant butter made with avocado oil)
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cherry rum
  • 1 cup butter milk (to make it dairy free add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of coconut milk and let it set for a few minutes)
  • 2 room temperature eggs
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup boiling water

Frosting Ingredients

  • 1 cup dairy free butter
  • 2 teaspoons cherry rum
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons almond milk (you could also use cashew or coconut milk)

Cake Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 F
  2. Cut parchment paper for the bottom of two 8″ cake pans and spray with some gluten free cooking spray (since I cut the recipe in half I only had to use one cake pan)
  3. In a medium sized bowl mix together your gluten free flour, Xanthan gum (if your flour already has Xanthan gum than just leave it out) mix in salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
  4. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer.
  5. Add eggs and cherry rum to the butter mixture and make sure you mix it in completely.
  6. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully combined, you will also have to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets mixed in.
  7. Add the butter milk and mix until completely combined.
  8. Pour in half of the batter into the cake pan and put the other half in the other pan.
  9. Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes but make sure you watch it or it could burn, you can never be to sure because all ovens are different.
  10. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting

Frosting Instructions

  1. In a large bowl cream butter until nice and smooth.
  2. Add the cherry rum and almond extract to the butter and mix until fully combined.
  3. Add the cocoa powder and mix.
  4. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
  5. Finally, add the milk to the frosting and mix until smooth and spreadable.
  6. Then frost the cake. I started out by using a spatula to make it nice and smooth then used a piping bag to decorate and use up the extra frosting.

Here are some ideas for decoration…

You could dust with powdered sugar, or use a zip lock bag and a piping bag, add decor, add fake or edible flowers or make for a special occasion and write… Happy Anniversary or something like that.

Finally ENJOY! I hope you guys like this recipe and have fun making it! Thank you guys for reading and don’t forget to come back for more Favorite Foods of a Hummingbird.

Surprise Cake

Posted on by Miky Jo

Hey guys, I am so sorry I haven’t been able to write in a while, I have been pretty busy. I’m in fifth grade so I have my school work and even though I do it from home I get tired and just want to take a break sometimes. I also help my mom around the house and like to cook dinner once a week so I am not always able to do my blog. So I have decided to write as much as I can but not necessarily every week, that way its not too much pressure. So make sure to follow my blog so you get notifications when I post a new recipe. Now let’s talk about this new recipe. Today I’m going to make a surprise cake. I saw a video for it on Pinterest and it was for a New Year’s Cake, I decided to put my own special twist on it though to make it girly and fashionable. If you want to make this cake for a party or something you will want to make this a day or two in advance because this takes quite a while. I’m super excited so lets get started!

Ingredients (For First Cake)

  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 box white cake mix (16.25 oz)
  • gel food coloring (I used red)
  • Cookie cutter of your choice

Ingredients (For Second Cake)

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 box white cake mix (16.25 oz)
  • 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
  • 1 16oz jar of Frosting

Instructions (For First Cake)

  1. Mix water, oil, egg whites, (I used store bought egg whites so that we didn’t waste the yolks) flour, and cake mix.
  2. Once its blended well add food coloring, start with 1/4 tsp and add more to get your desired color
  3. Pour mix in loaf pan and bake @ 350 for 45-50 minutes
  4. Cool cake completely. Then cut off the ends and take your cookie cutter (I used lips) and measure the thickness of it to get the size slices. Once you have all the slices done cut out the shape with your cookie cutter from the middle of each slice.
  5. Put shapes on a cookie sheet and brush with egg whites and then freeze them for 6 hours or overnight.

Instructions (For Second Cake)

(Start this cake only after your shapes from the first cake are frozen and ready)

  1. Put 3 egg whites in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl mix water, oil, cake mix and sprinkles.
  3. Add egg whites and fold in gently to cake mix.
  4. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 of batter into a greased loaf pan.
  5. Then set frozen cake shapes in a line down the center, matching them up till they are all added. (I got so excited that I totally forgot to take a picture of these steps, sorry!)
  6. Gently pour the rest of your cake batter over the top. (I had cake mix left over so I made some mini cupcakes)
  7. Bake @ 350 for 40-50 minutes. Check to see if it’s done with a toothpick. Make sure it comes out clean.
  8. Cool cake completely
  9. Frost cake and decorate if you want. When you slice it you will see the shape you used in the middle of the cake. SURPRISE! Its a lot easier to frost if you have the cake on a flat surface, I learned this the hard way! But I wanted to put it on a cute plate so I used one of my mom’s Pioneer Woman plates.
  • I got impatient and took a bite before I took this picture.
I wasn’t joking about my mom’s love of Pioneer Woman stuff. In that one picture you can see her plate, water bottle and curtains from #ThePioneerWoman and that’s not even half of what she has. LOL

Even though this cake took me two days to make and it didn’t come out perfect, I still really enjoyed making it and it was so delicious!! I hope you guys love this cake as much as I do. Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for more favorite foods of a hummingbird!

Delicious Black Bean Brownies

Posted on by Miky Jo

You are probably thinking “Black beans in brownies? That does not sound good! Why don’t you just get a delicious fudge brownie? But prepare to have your mind blown! These brownies are fudgy and rich and not too sweet or too bitter. They are perfect! Plus, they are healthier than normal brownies and naturally gluten free. If you use a dairy free chocolate chip they would also be vegan. So let’s start baking and change your mind about black beans forever!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup black beans (1 15 oz can drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
  • 2 TBS cocoa powder (10g)
  • 1/2 cup quick oats (40g)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, honey or agave (75g) (I used maple syrup)
  • pinch of uncut. stevia OR 2 TBS sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g)
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips
  • optional more chocolate chips for decor on top of brownies

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender will work if you absolutely have to but the texture and even the taste will be different so I highly recommend a food processor.)
  • Stir in chocolate chips and pour in a greased 8×8 pan. Mixture will be almost like a cookie dough and won’t ribbon in to the pan like regular brownie mix, so don’t think you did something wrong because you didn’t. Spread out the batter evenly in the bottom of the pan so it cooks evenly. If you have a serious chocolate addiction you can now sprinkle more chocolate chips on top. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you if you do. LOL
Ready to put in the oven
  • Cook the black bean brownies 15 to 18 minutes then wait 10 minutes before cutting.

Now all you have to do is enjoy. I hope you love these delicious black bean brownies!! Try serving one to a friend or family member without telling them what is in them and see their reaction after they’ve eaten them. They won’t believe you, but they will definitely want another brownie! Try these out and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading my blog and make sure to check back next week for another recipe of a favorite food of a “Hummingbird.” Don’t forget to follow me so that you get notifications when I post a new recipe.