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Pronounced bool it's a cuban beer spritzer. This recipe is adapted from "Cooking Light"
Makes 3-4 cups

In a pitcher combine:

1 bottle light/blonde bear (don't use an ale, it'll be too heavy)
1 can diet ginger ale
juice of 1-2 limes (I love lime, so we do 2)--then throw in the lime halves

Mix and pour over ice. If you want to be fancy you can serve with an un-mooshed slice of lime.
This drink is sooooo wonderful on a hot day!

Buttermilk Scones

Makes 12- 2" scones.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
fruit preserves, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. With pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal
3. Add buttermilk and egg. Stir until moistened.
4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is a uniform consistency.
5. Pat dough into a 1/2" thick circle.
6. Cut 2" circle from dough with a biscuit cutter
7. Place circles onto a greased or Silpat lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden

Substitutions:

Cinnamon Scones: Omit jam. Brush biscuit circles with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking.
Fruit scones: Omit jam. Add 1/2 c. fresh or frozen fruit (do not thaw) when kneading dough. Dough will be a bit stickier and harder to handle, but the result is good.

These freeze well before baking. Bake from the frozen state just a couple of minutes longer than fresh scones.

This recipe is also great for little ones--the shape doesn't need to be perfect, the dough can survive a little extra kneading, and the jam is just plain fun to add!

My Experiece with Little Birdie Secret's Thin Mints

Recipe adapted from Little Birdie Secrets: I prefer dark chocolate and just a subtle peppermint, so I switched out dark chocolate chips for milk chocolate and added less peppermint extract.

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 package dark chocolate chips

1 tsp. peppermint extract

2 sleeves Ritz Crackers

1. Melt your chocolate on a double boiler--glass bowl on top of a deep pan works well

2. Add peppermint once chocolate is melted--chocolate will seize up a bit, so just keep stirring until a smooth consistency is reached.

3. Dip crackers in chocolate using a fork or your finger.

4. Lay on wax paper. Refridgerate and ENJOY!

Don't put directly on a rack like you see in picture. The chocolate sticks to the metal making it very hard to remove the cooled thin mints

And if your glass bowl ends up vacuum sealing to the water filled pan...just let it cool overnight and the bowl will eventually pop off. Makes for a great hands-on science lesson, though!

Visit Baking Bites for some more awesome faux Girl Scout Cookies like Do-si-dos, Samoas, Tagalongs and a more authentic faux Thin Mint.

Pumpkin Scones

Adapted from Family Fun magazine. These scones freeze very well!

4 c. flour
4 t. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter, softened (I've begun using 6Tbl. canola oil + 6 Tbl. butter)
2 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 c. chocolate chips
2 c. raisins
1 c. chopped nuts, if desired
Cinnamon-Sugar Mix ( 4 T. sugar + 3 tsp. cinnamon)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients through the ground cloves.
3. With a mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs and pumpkin.
5. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and nuts.
6. Spoon several Tbl. of dough onto a greased, or Silpat lined, cookie sheet. An ice cream scoop sized scooper is the perfect size for us.
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
8. Bake for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned.
9. Cool at least 5 minutes before eating, completely for freezing and storing.

Tara Couture's Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I've reduced some of the sugar, lowered the fat w/yogurt, and changed out oil for butter in order to make this recipe a little healthier. My kids love this for breakfast and it freezes very well!

2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 Tbl. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 chocolate chips (mini chips suspend in batter best)
1/2 canola oil
1/4 c. plain or vanilla yogurt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 c. grated zucchini
2 eggs + 2 egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine dry ingredients through chocolate chips in a bowl.
3. In a mixer or by hand beat oil, yogurt, and sugar until lighter in color.
4. On low speed beat in eggs, zucchini, vanilla, and milk.
5. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Do not overmix or cake will be flat and tough.
6. Pour into a greased bundt pan or 2 loaf pans.
7. Bake for 1 hour. Cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing

Blueberry Muffins

From Molly Katzen






2 1/2 C. flour
3/4 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder (use aluminum free such as Calumet)
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 to 2/3 C. sugar (we use 1/2 C.)
1 T. grated lemon zest (we prefer orange zest)
1 1/2 C. buttermilk
2 T. fresh lemon juice (we use orange)
1 Large Egg
1 T. vanilla extract
4 T. melted butter or oil
1 1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12 muffin cups or line with papers
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and zest.
3. In another bowl or 4 cup liquid measuring cup, measure out buttermilk and add juice, vanilla, egg, and butter. Whip until smooth.
4. Add liquid ingredients to dry. Mix until moistened. Do not overmix--lumps are okay. Fold in blueberries carefully.
5. Spoon into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. When using frozen blueberries we've found that baking time should be increased at least 10 minutes.

Butternut Squash Muffins

Recipe is from Jamie Oliver's TV series Jamie at Home

14 ounces butternut squash-seeded, not peeled and cut into rough chunks

2 1/4 c. light brown sugar

4 large eggs

Pinch of salt

2 1/2 c.all purpose flour

2 heaping tsp. baking powder

Handful of nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffin cups with paper.

In the food processor, pulse the squash until finely chopped--not paste, though. Add the sugar and eggs and pulse to combine. Add the salt, flour, baking powder, nuts, cinnamon, and oil and process until just combined.

Fill muffin cups with batter--I use an ice cream scoop for this. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes clean. Frost with a spoonful of Frosty Cream Topping when cooled. Store in the fridge.

Frosty Cream Topping

I use whatever citrus fruit I have on hand and just use a splash of vanilla extract instead of a bean.

1 Clementine. zested

1 lemon, zested

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 c. sour cream

2 heaping Tbl. powdered sugar

1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth. I like to let my frosting sit in the fridge while the muffins bake, so it's a little firmer.