Bird's Nest Take Two

A few years ago, I made these tasty Bird's Nests for Easter.  This year I was a bit of a procrastinator and didn't go grocery shopping to get all the necessities for Easter dinner.  Including the chinese egg noodles that are needed for those nexts.  So instead, I scrambled and altered the recipe a bit by using Cocoa Krispies (6 cups).  I must say, I actually PREFER them this way!

 

I hope you had a great Easter, we certainly did!  

 



Cookie Dough Brownies

I made these sweet little morsels on New Year's Eve.  JC had to work the weekend so we decided to just stay home and take it easy, our niece Peanut spent the night with us.  It may not have been the best idea to serve these sugar-laden goodies to two little girls... sugar high much?

I found this recipe courtesy of Pinterest.  Made it pretty true to the original recipe, but as anyone knows me, I'll be making some changes to it the next time. 

What You'll Need:

BROWNIE:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

COOKIE DOUGH (EGG FREE!):

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

What You Do:

Prepare the brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray. In a medium glass bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave in short bursts of 30 seconds; stir after each burst and remove from microwave when melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in melted chocolate. Blend in flour and mix just until combined (don’t over-mix). Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 35 minutes. Watch closely and remove from oven when toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Prepare the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix in flour just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate until the dough is firm and serve.

These are so sweet, I can only eat about a 1/2 a bar, but they are definately good, and the kids LOVED them!

Reindeer Donuts

I don't remember where I came across this fun idea, but I knew that we would be doing it for a treat to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve.  Monkey had a lot of fun making them and can't wait to see if Santa gobbles them up!

What You Need:

• Chocolate Covered Mini Donuts
• Pretzel M&M's 
• Round Pearl Sprinkles
• Mini Pretzel Twists

What You Do: 

Press a red M&M into the hole of the donut.  Some holes weren't quite big enough, so I used a little dab of red icing for those to make the M&M stay in place.

Press two sprinkles into the donut for the eyes.

Break a mini pretzel in half and insert them into the top of the donut for antlers.

And that's it... easy enough a two-year old can do it!

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Of all the pies featured during the holiday season, pecan pie is the last one I would choose off the dessert table.  Cheesecake, though?  Well, it would be the first.  So why not improve on the dreaded pecan pie by combining it with the cheesecake?  And the pecan pie cheesecake was born!

What You'll Need:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 pie crust, unbaked
• 1 cup pecan halves

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place pie crust in greased pie pan.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla, and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.  Spread over unbaked pie crust.

Arrange pecan halves on top of the cream cheese mixture.

In mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Carefully pour over the pecans.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Vampire Cookies

Monkey and I got into the Halloween spirit over the weekend by making these cookies.  Not only were they scary, but they tasted good too!

What You'll Need:

• Chocolate Chip Cookies (you can use your favorite recipe or buy the refrigerated pre-made kind)
• Red Frosting
• Miniature Marshmallows
• Slivered almonds

What You Do:

Prepare cookies as directed.  Let cool completely.

Cut each cookie in half.

Frost bottoms of all cookies.  Place 6 marshmallow "teeth" around the outside of 1/2 of the cookies.  I found it useful to place an extra marshmallow behind the "teeth" to add support. 

Top with remaining halves.

Insert two almond slivers in between teeth for fangs.  If they don't stick, dip tips into frosting.

Here is Monkey demonstrating how easy it is!

Honeybun Cake

I made this cake for our first family Christmas get together.  And was then instructed to make it for the next two as well, it was that good!  I have a small tolerance for overly sweet things, so after one piece I had my fill, but it went quick at each gathering.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

•1 box (18.25 Oz. Box) Yellow Cake Mix
•4 whole Eggs
•1 cup Sour Cream
•¾ cups Vegetable Oil
•1 cup Light Brown Sugar
•2 teaspoons Cinnamon
•2 cups Powdered Sugar
•6 Tablespoons Milk
•1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

WHAT YOU DO:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

By hand, blend the cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil until well-incorporated. The mixture will be pale yellow; it’s okay if it has some lumps! Then set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon until well-blended; set aside.

Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13×9 pan, spreading the batter out into a thin layer. Add half of the swirl mixture to the top, covering the entire layer of batter. Don’t be alarmed if it looks like you’re over-saturating the cake—it’ll taste great! Pour the rest of the batter on top, and spread the batter until the cake is even. Top the cake off with the rest of the swirl mixture. With a knife, swirl the batter.

Place the cake into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze. In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until glaze is of desired consistency. When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour glaze onto the hot cake. You might have to pick up the cake and tilt it to spread the glaze evenly. Let the cake sit for a few minutes so the glaze can set and serve warm or at room temperature.

Pecan Pie

I'm just going to say it... I don't like pecan pie.  It's the very last dessert I would choose on Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Actually I wouldn't even choose it at all, I would rather go DESSERTLESS than have a piece of pecan pie.  Hence, I have never made one.  Never. 

However, my husband and father both love pecan pie.  So I decided to try it out this year.  What got me convinced was this:

Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce.  Oh my.  I had to try it.  And try it I did!  Delicious!

I went right on ahead and used Ree's Pecan Pie recipe as well.  I didn't have any more corn syrup so I substituted with a simple syrup made with 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water, cooking over low heat until the sugar was dissolved.  The verdict... it was great AND the cream sauce was amazing!

I even used the leftover sauce to pour over monkey bread in the morning.  Try it, I dare you.

Pumpkin Creme Pies

What You'll Need:

FOR COOKIES:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

FOR FILLING:

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 drops vanilla extract
• 2 dashed cinnamon

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin until well combined.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well, followed by vanilla.

In a seperate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.  Slowly mix these into the batter until well combined.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or 1/8-cup measuring cup, scoop batter onto greased baking sheet.  You want each cookie to be about 2 inches in diameter.

Bake for 11 minutes and cool.

While cookies are baking, beat together cream cheese and butter.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. 

After cookies have cooled, frost flat side of one cookie and top with another. 

Refridgerate until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

And here is the second installement of sweet pumpkin treats.  I still have more pumpkin puree left, so I'll keep experimenting until we get tired of it! 

This cake is really good, but the best part of it is the icing.  I'm not kidding when I say it is the BEST icing I've ever had.  It's not sickeningly sweet like a lot of icings and it is only two ingredients!  It can't get any easier than that.

What You’ll Need:

For batter:

• 1 box spice cake
• 1 cup pumpkin
• ½ cup water

For icing:

• 1 packet of dry Jello Cheesecake Mix
• 1 Tub Cool Whip

What You Do:

Mix Jello cheesecake into a tub of cool whip and let sit over night.

Mix box of spice cake with pumpkin puree and ½ cup of water.

Pour into 9x13 cake pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

After cake has cooled, ice with cool whip mixture.

Pumpkin Blondies

Here is one of the new pumpkin dessert recipes I've recently tried.  I used fresh pumkin puree instead of the canned kind and at first it was a little too moist.  Overnight it sat up nicely though and I must admit, it's pretty darn delicious. 

What You'll Need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

What You Do:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

In an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until well mixed.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.  Mix in the pumpkin puree.  With the mixer on LOW, add the dry ingredients.  Fold in the chips and pecans.

Spread the batter in prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. 

Cool and serve.

Rice Krispie Cupcakes

I made these little treats for the Hubby's birthday.  If you like regular rice krispie treats and peanut butter then you'll love these! 

What You'll Need:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 5 cups rice krispies
• chocolate icing

What You Do:

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat.

Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Stir in peanut butter until melted.

Add rice krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

Press mixture evenly into a cupcake pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. 

Cover with chocolate icing. 

Bird's Nests

I made these little treats for Easter and the kids loved them!  So easy and super cute, I suggest you make them for a nice spring treat.

What You'll Need:

• 8 cups Chow Mein Noodles
• 4 cups Marshmallows
• 1 stick butter
• Candy Eggs

What You Do:

Melt marshmallows and butter on stovetop.
Mix in noodles until evenly coated.
Place in muffin tin and indent with fingers into a nest-like shape.
Once cooled, place 2 or 3 candy eggs in the center.

I Scream, You Scream....

How many of you vowed to lose weight this year?  How many of you still find yourself going to the freezer after the kids are in bed for a little nip of ice cream? 

Yeah, your not the only one!  I actually didn't make a resolution to lose weight, but I would like to stay where I am and not gain any.... ice cream doesn't help that cause. 

I've found an amazing and simple way to fix the problem, yet still enjoy your ice cream! 

It's something called One Ingredient Ice Cream (but, I don't just stick to one ingredient, I'm crazy that way).

And that one ingredient?  It's Bananas!

This is what you do....

Start with some ripe bananas.  Not banana bread ripe, but ripe.

Then peel them and freeze.  You can slice them or freeze whole.  I find they blend faster if they are cut up. 

After freezing, throw in a food processor and start processing.

At first they will crumble up and not really blend, looking something like this.

But keep going.  It'll start looking like soft serve ice cream.

Now you can stop here and enjoy or you can mix it up more and add other ingredients.  I think it's just a little too banana-y if you stop here. 

Is banana-y a word?

So I tried a few different things. 

I added vanilla....

                            

And blueberries...

                             

And strawberries....

Blueberries AND strawberries....

                           

Chocolote syrup....

                            

Peanut butter...

                           

And Nutella.....

                            

Once you have it the way you want, you can eat it.  It will be the consistancy of soft serve ice cream.  If you throw it into a freezer-safe container and freeze it again though, it will turn into harder ice cream.  It is so good!

                           

One thing I noticed though, was if I added fruit, the excess water made it more of a smoothie consistancy rather than icecream.  While it was still good, I thought it should just be used for a breakfast smoothie.  Two birds one stone, right?

I threw a few scoops of the frozen mixture into the processor again and mixed it up.  I then poured in maybe 1/2 cup of orange juice.

                           

And poured it right into a cup for a nice cold smoothie.

                            

Try it and let me know what other concoctions work for you.

Oh yeah, please excuse any messiness you see... I had a little helper in the kitchen that day.

                                       

Mini Cheesecakes

I made these tasty little treats for New Year's Eve, but they are good for anything.  Make them and then be prepared to not stop eating until they are gone. 

What You'll Need
Nilla Wafers
2 blocks cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can pie filling (blackberry, raspberry, cherry, whatever you prefer)

What You Do
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two muffins pans with cupcake liners (makes about 20)
Place Nilla Wafer in the cupcake liner.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until thick and creamy. 
Spoon mixture on top of the Nilla Wafer, filling about 1/2 to 3/4 full. 
Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool then add pie filling to top.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

I was looking for something different to make for Thanksgiving and ran across these Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes.  While they look scrumptious, I’m not a huge chocolate fan and thought it would be too much for me. I also thought of the peanut butter kiss cookies that Mom makes so well, you know the ones that look like this:

I thought maybe I could combine the two ideas into something I call Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies.

Now let me warn you, they didn’t turn out as pretty as I had intended, but they taste delicious and you won’t be able to eat just one!

The ingredients that you’ll need are as follows:

Cookie Batter
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping
2 jars of maraschino cherries, drained
1 tablespoon of cherry juice
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
½ cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Shape into 1-inch balls and drop onto ungreased baking sheets. Press down onto center of the dough with your thumb.

Place a cherry into the center indention of each cookie.

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over low until chocolate is melted. Stir in 1 tablespoon cherry juice.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the topping over each cherry, spreading to cover the cherry. If the frosting seems too thick add a little more cherry juice.

Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Betty Crocker I'm not

I’ve already confessed that I’m a junkie, a food junkie that is.

I failed to mention that while I love to cook I am not a skilled baker. I’m more like Betty Crocker’s distant cousin Bertha. Baking involves following recipes and measuring ingredients. Things that I just don’t do.

I’m a rebel baby, a rebel without a cause.

Unless you count experimenting and coming up with divine new recipes a cause, in that case, I’m a rebel with a cause.

I did put on my baking boots and Betty Crocker apron over the weekend. I put them on for two of my darling friends that are getting married in a few weeks. They are a perfect couple and I couldn’t be happier that they’ve decided to spend the rest of their lives together. To celebrate this I wanted to do something special, something more than just the ordinary gifts that people give at bridal showers.

So along with other gifts that I had for them, I also made these.

I even did the icing all by myself! So don’t look too close at them and see all the flaws I made. Betty never has shared all her secrets with me.

So maybe they weren’t the prettiest cookies I’ve ever seen, actually they kind of remind me of something you’d see on this website.  But they were definately scrumptious! 

I offered my services to the happy couple to do their wedding cake. I’m not sure why they turned me down.

Congratulations Jake & Kati, I love you both dearly!