Sweet, Sweet Babies!

Wow, I've truly been gone far too long! I'm sure I've said it before and meant it, but I'll say it anyway, I hope to be back for good and on a REGULAR basis now. I greatly appreciate all the encouragement and well wishes I've received from y'all. I've been in and out of the hospital a few more times since my last post, but I'm doing much much better. Life is very different these days from how it was a year ago. I'm still not where I want to be with my health, but I've come a long way and I refuse to give up and think I'll never reach the level of health I desire and pray for. In some ways I'm pretty healthy again, I'm doing well, I wake up everyday feeling great and I'm loving life. There's one thing I can say for sure, the crisis I (and the rest of my loving family) have dealth with this year has truly changed my life. I've learned so much about myself and the love and support of my family. As strange as it sounds, sometimes amid tragedy you discover there are blessings in there somewhere. So, with that said, who wants to talk about some food? I do! My Big, Bad Dad does pretty much all the cooking these days. What can I say? I love his cooking! I haven't been doing a great deal of baking, but I am getting back into the groove. I recently got a chance to preview Christmas with Southern Living 2007 and decided to try out a recipe for Baby Pound Cakes that looked pretty promising. The result was a sweet and buttery moist cake. Although not really what I would call a typical pound cake these little babies were definitely worth baking. Overall a pretty simple recipe and definitely got good reviews from my taste testers. Baby Pound Cakes 1 1/2 c. butter, softened 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened 3 c. sugar 6 large eggs 3 c. all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. almond extract Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixter for about 2 minutes or until cream. Gradually add sugar, beating well for 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Combine flour and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended; stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tins (standard size), filling three-fourths full. Bakeat 350 degress for 22 to 25 minutesor until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks. Yields approx. 2 1/2 dozen. Alternatively, pound cakes can be made in fluted mini pound cake pans: size varies according to brand. Pans should be greased and floured. Fill pans three-fourths full and bake at 350 degrees. Length of time will vary according to pan size. Cakes can also be baked in mini-muffin tins following same instructions baking for 16 to 18 minutes. Yields approx. 9 dozen.