Our nightlife has been pretty quiet the last three years. I've spent them pregnant and/or nursing which hasn't left much room for cocktails. I replaced the sugar in alcohol with the sugar in cake and the martini shaker with the KitchenAid.
I'm still nursing round the clock but looking forward to swapping out the cake for a drink sometime in the future. Saturday night we had a bunch of folks over for what turned out to be a rather rocking toddler party with shots and baked goods.
2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup soft butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze (directions follow)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1 Combine the four, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.
3 Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.
4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.
5 Drizzle glaze over cake.
Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Grandma Babe's Lemon Knots
Ingredients
Cookies:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
3 cups flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon low-fat buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375°.
To prepare cookies, place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in rind and 1/4 cup juice. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (mixture will look curdled).
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; stir with a wooden spoon to form a stiff dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead 10 to 15 times to form a smooth dough.
Divide dough into 8 equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), shape each portion into a 30-inch-long rope; cut each rope crosswise into 6 (5-inch) pieces. Tie each dough piece into a knot. Place knots on 2 baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake 1 sheet at a time at 375° for 8 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned and tops are still pale. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.
To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons juice, and buttermilk; stir until smooth. Dip tops of cookies into glaze; dry on racks.
