“You put the lime in the coconut…”  If you’re as old as I am, you’ll now have that song stuck in your head all day.  You’re welcome.  But it’s totally worth it when you taste these tropical, summery cakes of deliciousness.

Not only do they have a fluffy meringue topping, but hiding underneath is a sweet lime goo that takes them over the edge.

Coconut Lime Meringue Cupcakes

FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 large lime (for 1 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice)
4 large eggs
1 18 OZ. package yellow cake mix
1 3.5 OZ. package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring or coconut extract

FOR THE FILLING
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup real key lime juice

FOR THE COCONUT MERINGUE
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 large reserved egg whites
1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring
1/3 cup granulated sugar

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.  Put your cupcake liners in your pan.

2. Prepare the cupcake batter…With a citrus zester or fine grater, zest the lime and reserve one teaspoon for garnish. Squeeze the lime juice over a strainer into a small bowl; you should have about two tablespoons. Set it aside.

3. Separate three of the eggs, place the whites in a large clean mixing bowl and the yolks in another mixing bowl.  No waste here, chickens!

4. Add the remaining egg, cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, coconut flavoring and lime zest (except the little bit for garnish) and lime juice to the yolks. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds.  Scrape the bowl down with a spatula and mix again on medium about 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed.

5. Spoon or scoop 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full.

6. Bake ‘em until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger about 18 minutes.  They can be just slightly underdone cause you’re gonna toast ‘em in a few minutes.  Let them cool while you make the topping.  Increase the oven heat to 450°F.

7. Prepare the lime stuff:  Place the sweetened condensed milk and Key lime juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. It’ll get thicker.  Poke some holes into the tops of your cupcakes and spread the lime stuff over.  Ideally, you would use a pastry tip to inject the cupcakes, but then I’m lazy.

8. Make the meringue… Add the cream of tartar to the reserved egg whites and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until frothy, 45 seconds.

9. Add the coconut flavoring and one tablespoon of the sugar. Continue beating on high, adding one tablespoon sugar at a time, until the whites form stiff peaks (if you pull the beaters from the meringue, the meringue should extend from the beaters in straight stiff peaks).

10.  Spoon two tablespoons meringue onto the top of each cupcake and swirl to spread it just to the edges with a short metal spatula or a spoon or be fancy and pipe on in a circular motion.

11.  Bake until the meringue is light nutty brown in color, five to six minutes.  Sprinkle with the remaining lime zest and coconut if you like.

You’re singing that song again, aren’t you?

        

Memorial Day, for all practical purposes, marks the beginning of summer.  Everyone break out the flip flops and say a collective “Aahhhh.”

It also means I’ll start enjoying pasta salad.  Call me strange, but I can only eat pasta salad in the summer.  To me, eating macaroni salad in January is like Donald Trump’s hair…it’s just wrong. But even in summer, one can only eat so much macaroni salad.  Every once in a while you’ve got to broaden your horizons and branch out into the big, wide pasta salad world.

After surfing the web, I’ve found some great new recipes from some of my favorite bloggers just in time for this weekend’s picnics.  Here’s a handy list for your summer enjoyment.  You’re welcome.

Caprese Pasta Salad from The Cooking Photographer

1. Caprese Pasta Salad @ The Cooking Photographer
2. Fruity Pasta Salad @ Cooking During Stolen Moments
3. Lemon Basil Pasta Salad @ Serious Eats
4. Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes @ Sea Salt with Food
5. Jola’s Pasta Salad with Pesto, Sundried Tomatoes, Garlic and Cracked Pepper @ Coffee and Vanilla
6. A to Z Pasta Salad @ Fatfree Vegan Kitchen
7. Summer Pasta Salad @ Novel Eats
8. Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad @ Becky’s Blog
   

   Pesto Pasta Salad at Simply Recipes

9. Pesto Pasta Salad @ Simply Recipes
10. Sesame Pasta Salad @ The Good Mood Food Blog
11. Seafood Pasta Salad @ Judy’s Kitchen
12. Pasta Salad With Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Grilled Zucchini, and Basil @ Kalyn’s Kitchen
13. Mal’s Pasta Salad @ Carrots ‘n Cake
14. Genoa Pasta Salad @ A Little Bit of Everything
15. BLT Chicken Pasta Salad @ Being Frugal is Fabulous
16. Greek Pasta Salad with Feta and Chicken @ Brandon’s Marathon
17. Feta and Carmelized Onion Pasta Salad @ Hopie’s Kitchen
18. Asian Chicken Pasta Salad @ Snapshots of Life
    
    

    Mint Basil Pasta Salad from Cookin' Canuck

19. Mint-Basil Chicken Pasta Salad @ Cookin’ Canuck
20. Roasted Shrimp, Orzo and Feta Salad @ Simple Daily Recipes
21. Pasta Salad with Pesto @ Wingerz Blog
22. Florentine Pasta Salad with Lemon @ notes from my food diary
23. Broccoli Pine Nut Pasta Salad @ eat me, delicious
24. Pasta Salad with Buttermilk Fried Chicken @ justJENN recipes
25. Pasta Salad with Cilantro Lime Pesto @ My Veggie Kitchen
26. Smoky Chipotle Pasta Salad @ Culinary Adventures of a New Wife
27. Rainbow Seafood Pasta Salad @ Food 4 Tots
    

    Tuxedo Pasta Salad at The Pink Peppercorn

28. Tuxedo Pasta Salad @ The Pink Peppercorn
29. Pasta Salad Nicoise @ Gastronomer’s Guide
30. Cookout-friendly Salad with Pasta @ Red Ramekin
31. Spinach, Feta and Orzo  Salad @ Une-deux senses
    

    Tortellini Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, Mozzarella and Carrots at Pickycook

32. Tortellini Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, Mozzarella and Carrots @ Pickycook
33. Salmon Pasta Salad with Dill and Yogurt @ Savoring Time in the Kitchen
34. Angel Hair Pasta Salad with Tomato and Basil @ Annie’s Eats
35. Mediterranean Orzo Salad @ Andrea’s Recipes
    
36. Poached Chicken Noodle Salad @ Smell & Taste
37. Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad @ Flavor Explosions
38. Ramen Noodle Salad @ Rasa Malaysia
39. Gourmet Italian Pasta Salad @ Skinny Gourmet
    

    Lemon Pepper Bucatini Salad at Supermarket Serenade

40. Lemon Pepper Bucatini Salad @ Supermarket Serenade
41. Mango Salsa Pasta @ NoobCook
42. Mediterranean Pasta Salad @ Michelle’s Test Kitchen
43. Szechuan Pasta Salad @ Sommer Designs
44. Salad Shells (Salad IN Pasta) @ The Homesteading Housewife
45. Asian Green Bean Salad @ Culinary Cory
46. Kimchee Cold Noodles @ Tasty Meals
    
47. Tortellini Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette @ Living Tastefully
48. Ravioli Pasta Salad @ 101 Cookbooks
    
49. Pasta Salad with Fresh and Sun Dried Tomatoes @ Appoggiatura
50. Chicken and Tortellini Salad @ Rookie Cookie

Got a great one to share?   Do share, chickens!

        

Oatmeal Cookies are the Rodney Dangerfield of the cookie community.  They just don’t get no respect, ya know?   They have a reputation as being bland, slightly boring attempts to pass off a healthy breakfast grain as a dessert.    Even my youngest thumbed her nose up…like so:

“I don’t like oatmeal cookies.”
“You’ve never had oatmeal cookies.”
“I know.  Because I don’t like them.”

Ok, there is a certain “8 year old kid” logic to that.

Maybe what we need is a marketing campaign for oatmeal cookies.  Like..

• “Hey, it’s a cookie.”
• “Oatmeal: It’s not boring, just laid back.”
• “They were good enough for Grandma.”

Grandmas know that oatmeal cookies are economical, delicious and easy.   And I think this recipe might change your mind about oatmeal cookies.

First, we’re going to soak the raisins.  And feel free to swap out the raisins for dried cherries or cranberries.  Those are great too!

Put your raisiny mess in the fridge for about 1 hour.

`

Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies

3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Pour the beaten eggs over the raisins and add the vanilla.  Put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Cream together butter and sugars together.  Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and add to the creamed mixture.  It’ll be crumbly.

Blend in egg-raisin mixture and add the oatmeal.  The dough will be stiff.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (a silicone sheet works great), or roll into balls and flatten slightly.

Bake ‘em at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Then visit your Grandma and share ‘em.

You might also like:

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
Amish Snickerdoodles
Lemon Cookies are Like Spring Without Sneezing

        

Calling all you pie lovers (or just people who love FREE STUFF!) …I’ve got a YUMMY prize to giveaway this month. Pillsbury is generously giving out a sweet little package just in time for Christmas. It has two 9-inch glass pie pans, a pie server, pie-top cut-outs and a CD-ROM with photos and recipes of Pillsbury pie favorites!

i tried one of the recipes myself this weekend, and, I kid you not, I will be adding this glaze to ALL my pies with a top crust from now on. It MADE the pie, lemme tell ya.

PILLSBURY® Frosted Cranberry – Cherry Blackberry Pie

Crust

1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce (I swapped this for a bag of frozen blackberries)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I left this out because I used blackberries)

Glaze and Topping

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3-4 teaspoons water
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, using 9-inch pie plate. In large bowl, mix filling ingredients. Spoon into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. (I used a small star cookie cutter to punch out some stars which I then stuck back on the crust. Husband thought this was genius. He doesn’t get out much. The prize includes a bunch of these little cutters to so my husband will think you’re a genius too.) Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown. After 15-20 min of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.

Ok, now THIS is where the the magic happens. As soon as you pull the pie out of the oven, in a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, corn syrup and enough water until smooth and desired drizzling consistency. I brushed this all over the crust and sprinkled with sugar. (oooh. pretty.) Top with almonds. Cool at least 1 hour before serving.

I tell ya that sweet glaze combined with the slight tartness of the cherries was divine and it was so Christmasy. (Is that a word?)

Anyhoo, all you need to do to grab this package and make your own magic pies is to leave a comment. I’ll draw a number for the winner on Friday, December 12.

Good luck, chickens!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congrats to our winner, Meg, who was the 11th comment (The number 11 was chosen by Random.org)!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

        

So I became a mom, right? And I bake and bake and bake…this one hates coconut, this one only likes vanilla, this one hates nuts. But when does Mama get a cake of her own, I’d like to know!? This is the first year I’ve baked MYSELF a cake. I think I broke some unwritten Mama law in that I made a cake that ISN’T anyone else’s favorite. It’s mine. And you see all that frosting, 800 calories per spoonful and worth every stinkin’ bit of it! It’s only once a year.

“It’s My Birthday” German Chocolate Cake

4 oz. bar of sweet dark chocolate (try not to eat this raw…you’ll need it)
2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

FROSTING (THE GOOD STUFF)
12 oz. can evaporated (NOT sweetened condensed) milk
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
7 oz. package of sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Grease 2 (9″) round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (I use a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.) Stir until melted. Sift flour, baking soda and salt.

Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (you know, like Snuggles, the fabric softener bear). Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Bake at 350° Farenheit for 30-35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes and remove from pans.

THE BEST PART:

Place evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes until it turns golden brown and thickens slightly. Take off heat and add coconut and pecans. Let cool until it’s a frosting consistency, about 15 minutes. Slather it on the cake or just sit down with the bowl. It’s YOUR birthday, right?

        

Y’all remember this post? The one where I dedicate this blog to healthier recipes my family will actually eat? Well, it seems that my sugar-loving children are the ones reading this blog.

See, I love blogging but food costs a lot of money these days so when my blog makes money to pay for that food, I’m happier than Bill Clinton at a Girls Gone Wild party. And the more hits I get, the more pennies I make. Yes, I have a point. Be patient.

So I’m looking over the graphs of how many hits I’ve gotten for various posts…the ones y’all are submitting to Digg and StumbleUpon, the ones where lots of people comment, and here’s the thing – the more gooey, sugary and fatty-licious the food, the more the hits go through the roof. (see Exhibit A below.)

Exhibit A

See what I mean? The more hits per post, the more generous my advertisers are with money to buy more food for this blog. You get my dilemma. I’d like to know what y’all think in the comments.

But while we’re here, here’s a little present from me to you. You’re welcome.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Cinnamon Sugar Wontons

1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 can Dulce de Leche
4 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. honey roasted peanuts
Canola oil

Most people would just buy Dulce de Leche ice cream, but I like to control the ratio of caramely-goodness to ice cream.

Soften the ice cream. Mix in the Dulce de Leche with a spatula. Sprinkle in about 2 Tablespoons of the cinnamon. Mix in about 1/4 c. of the peanuts (I like to chop mine in the food processor first, but it’s your call.) Put the ice cream back into the freezer to harden.

Mix the sugar and remaining cinnamon and a pinch of salt. (Trust me on the salt. Just trust me.)

Heat the oil to about 325° Farenheit. Cut the wonton wrappers into triangles and drop into the oil, turning once with tongs to brown evenly. Watch ‘em because they brown quickly. Drain them about 1 minute then sprinkle well with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Serve it up with a scoop of the ice cream, a couple wontons and a sprinkle of the honey peanuts. Go into a closet and shut the door so no one will hear you moan while you eat.

        

Obviously, I didn’t learn from this. When Daughter Youngest asked for cupcakes for her class, I came up with the stupid bright idea to make a cupcake resembling each of her classmates.

I’m a member of Great Cooks Community, a great blogroll of cooks ranging from hobbyists to pros run by my friend, Jill McKeever. If you like cooking, you need to go join this phenomenal group of people from all over the world who love to share their recipes.

In case you’re also crazy creative enough to try this, here’s what you’ll need:

• Cupcakes (betcha didn’t see that one comin’, did ya?)
• Fondant
• Food coloring
• Mini M&M’s
• Pink coloring gel
• Chocolate melting wafers (I used yellow, milk chocolate and dark chocolate)
• Wax or parchment paper

Break off a piece of fondant and add the food coloring. I found this one called “Flesh” at the cake decorating store (imagine how strange it felt buying something you can eat called “FLESH.”) Add just a bit at a time and knead the fondant (it’ll get more pliable with the warmth of your hands) until the color is well blended. I found I could adjust the skin tone by adding more.

I used marshmallow creme to attach the fondant to the cupcakes but frosting would work fine.

See how it’s on parchment paper? You could use wax paper or a Silpat. Just don’t pour the chocolate directly in your mouth. It might be fun but it won’t accomplish your task. (Although I admit the chocolate squirt bottle makes it too tempting…kind of like those pressurized squirt cans of whipped cream.)

I used more royal icing to attach the hair. One thing I learned from this is that my cupcakes tops were CURVED while my hair had dried on a FLAT surface. Next time I might fill the cupcakes less or shave the tops flat before putting on the fondant.

I can’t say that they’ll recognize themselves. These cupcakes looked much better in my mind (kind of like my life!) But they’ll certainly laugh about them (or at me…not sure which.)

Still, for seven year olds, these are probably cool enough.

If you think I’m crazy enough to warrant a vote at the Great Cooks County Fair cookoff, please be sure to drop a vote here. Voting starts June 1.

        

You should already know because of the title but:

You’ve seen this in your produce section, right? I keep mine in the freezer and grate it as needed.

So these cookies require two kinds of ginger.

(For those of you born after 1980, that’s Tina Louise.)

CANDIED GINGER COOKIES

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1/3 c. water
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. minced crystallized ginger.
Turbinado sugar (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and mix well. Stir in water.

In separate bowl, combine, flour, salt, spices and baking soda.

Add gradually to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Roll into 1″ balls and coat well with Turbinado sugar (regular sugar’s fine…just not as pretty.)

Cook on ungreased sheet at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Tops will be cracked.

        

Ok, so Eleven Year Old asked for cupcakes for her class of 26(!) to celebrate her bday.  This is the image I saw in my head:

Apparently, however, she saw this:

Now, I know cupcakes have been in vogue lately.  Like so many simple things from my childhood, they’ve been “Martha Stewart-ized.”  Oh no…simple chocolate cupcakes like our moms made are no longer sufficient.  Now a simple cupcake can be a major production with vanilla bean from Madagascar, French rose water and gold dust.  Like this from Dozen …which comes with the following description:

The Emily

Named for a wonderful friend, our buttery yellow cupcake is topped with a Tiffany inspired blue royal icing with a hint of lemon and finished with delicate white non-pareils.

I’m not sure when cupcakes started being named like shoes or described like designer couture. Don’t get me wrong. I cleaned my computer screen with my tongue while viewing their cupcakes. But it just sets the standard so high for normal people like me.

As you can tell, I’m not really thrilled with the whole “designerization” (I just made up that word) of simple home cooking.  (I know…cupcakes that look like dogs aren’t really gourmet….it’s just the idea.)

But anyhoo, said Eleven Year Old hardly ever asks for anything so I really wanted to give her this one thing.  But a cake designer, I’m not.

Nevertheless, we rallied the troops and started decorating.

And like all kids who start out excited about something, they bored of it about 20 minutes in and started backing away slowly and quietly so as to avoid my attention as they made their escape. When I looked up to talk to them, they were long gone.

So I finished them myself.  And like all loving mothers who do things for their beloved children, I thought,

“I HOPE she remembers and appreciates all this when she’s 50!”